Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 4-10-08
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Don Milbrand (DM), Paul Fraser (PF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Town Manager Elizabeth Corrow
Members Absent: Joe Denning (JD)
Chairman Rick Alpers called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Purchase Order
Freightliner of NH & HP Fairfield, 1 complete plow truck, front plow/wing dump body/spreader. $113,7000 total. 2008 payment $59,075. Mr. Alpers stated this is a 2 year lease. Mr. Bucklin stated the interest rate may change a little between now and the delivery of the truck. Mr. Bucklin stated it is a combination truck with the sander built in. Mr. Fraser made a motion to approve the Purchase Order as presented, seconded by Mr. Millbrand; vote was 4-0.
Planning Board Vacancy
Mr. Alpers stated both Mr. McGwin and Mr. Campbell were present and had an interest in becoming a full member on the Planning Board. Mr. McGwin gave the board an overview of his background and explained his interest in becoming a full member. Mr. Campbell did the same. Mr. Fraser asked Mr. Milbrand to weigh in with his opinion as he has been a member of the planning board. Mr. Milbrand stated this is a very hard decision as they have both had very good attendance at the meeting. Mr. Van Derven stated this is very difficult decision and he is very excited that there is interest by both members. The Board asked the members various questions about the Planning Board and their participation on the CIP Committee. Mr. Campbell stated he would be willing to step down and let Mr. McGwin take the full member position since he is the CIP Chairman and understands this is a very hard decision for the Board to make. Mr. Van Derven congratulated and thanked Mr. Campbell’s involvement and wonderful job he has done for the CIP Committee. Mr. Fraser made a motion to appoint Mr. McGwin to the Planning Board as a full member with great thanks to Mr. Campbell, seconded by Mr. Van Derven; vote was 4-0. Mr. Milbrand stated there are now 2 alternate positions available, one for Mr. Duguette who resigned due to personal matters and one to replace Mr. McGwin. Mr. Milbrand made a motion to appoint Mr. Steve Favorite as an alternate should he be willing to accept, seconded by Mr. Fraser, vote was 4-0. Therefore, there is one seat available and will need to be posted.
Newfound Lakes Region Association
Martha Twombly from Newfound Lakes Region Association presented the Board with a certificate acknowledging the Town of Bristol as a member and thanked them for the financial contribution. Ms. Twombly provided the board with the Watershed Master Plan. She gave a brief overview of the Master Plan and discussed what the Association has been working on. Newfound Lakes Region Association represents the entire Newfound Area. Ms. Twombly explained the make up of the water shed. Ms. Twombly stated they have a steering committee that they are looking for additional members and stated any one is welcome. Ms. Twombly stated they do many tests of the lake throughout the year. She explained they are available to assist the public with any shoreland protection questions and questioned if the board could think of any workshops they would like to see provided. She explained the involvement of students they have with the association. If anyone is interested in being a lake host, they should contact Newfound Lakes Region Association. Mr. Favorite stated he attended a meeting last week regarding steep slope and zoning.
Mr. Alpers questioned if Mr. Favorite would be interested in a vacant position as a Planning Board Alternate. Mr. Favorite accepted.
Article 13 Reconsideration Town Meeting
Mr. Alpers stated the reconsideration for Article 13 will be on April 12th at 10:00am. Mr. Alpers stated the brochures have gone out and there is a banner at Old Town Hall advertising. Ms. Corrow stated we held an open house but did not have a very good turn out. We did send out about 1600 letters. Ms. Corrow stated she has been trying to figure out how to present this to the public. Mr. Fraser suggested a 5-10 minute presentation to inform those voters that do not know about the project and then have a question and answer time prior to the voting. Ms. Corrow stated she will also be there early as stated in the notice sent out to answer any questions. Ms. Corrow stated from her understanding through an email from the moderator, Jon Thouin will speak first and then there will be a brief opportunity to explain the project followed by questions. Mr. Van Derven felt there should be ample time to have discussion as this is a reconsideration not just a re-vote. Mr. Van Derven was troubled why this time and date was decided upon based on one individual’s sapping schedule and not all the community members like working members throughout the town. He would like to see if there is a way to keep the voting open for more then an hour to accommodate those that are working. Ms. Corrow stated she can check with town council as he will also be at the meeting.
Borough Road Bridge
Ms. Corrow stated she received verbal commitment from DOT that they will hold the funding for us for next year. Hill has contacted us and is wondering if Bristol is still going to move forward with the easement and pursue putting this back on the warrant next year. Mr. Fraser felt we have already spent money on this project and the amount needed to raise is not very large. Either we waste the 80,000 previously invested and be done with the project or spend 64,000 next year and replace the bridge. Mr. Van Derven feels we should not waste tax payers’ dollars by not moving forward again this year with the project and questions if this should be considered as a need for a special town meeting. Mr. Alpers stated Hill would need to have a special town meeting as well if Bristol does for their amount. Ms. Corrow stated technically it is not an emergency as there is a temporary bridge in place for this year, however, if we do not get the funding next year then DOT will give the funding they have for us to another community and we will need to wait. Ms. Corrow stated we can pursue the project this next year and continue working on the easement. Mr. Fraser agrees. Mr. Milbrand feels the presentation of the warrant articles needs to be precise and presented better with these numbers that we are discussing. The board agrees to move forward with the Bridge on the warrant article again this year. Ms. Corrow questioned if the board wanted to negotiate a different percentage of funding from Hill. The board agreed to see what Hill would offer.
Mr. Van Derven questioned if the board may want to make an amendment to article 13 at the reconsideration should the tone of the meeting be negative. Mr. Fraser feels for what could be taken out of the project, it would not be substantial enough to make a difference and does not feel doing the project in phases would be beneficial as well. Ms. Corrow stated Mr. Mirski suggested making a motion to split the project and make an amendment to the article. This would allow voters to vote on each project individually. The Board continued to discuss presenting various options for article 13.
Elderly Housing Project
Ms. Corrow stated the Elderly housing project requested a letter from the board stating they would be willing to accept a payment in lieu of taxes. Ms. Corrow will draft the letter similar to the one Mr. Alpers drafted for his community if the board is interested in a payment in lieu of taxes. The board agreed
Advertising Expenses
Ms. Corrow stated last year the Advertising line was over spent and sometimes it is hard to control this in order to recruit which can cost several hundred dollars. Ms. Corrow is looking for guidance from the board as to the papers the board prefers to use for advertising for the town; notices, help wanted, etc. The Newfound Voice will put our notices and help wanted in for free but there is a charge for other submissions. The other papers do the opposite. They charge for advertisements but to submit editorials or informational articles there is no charge. Mr. Van Derven does not feel tax payers money should be spent on paying for editorials but should there be a help wanted or notice money should be spent for proper notification. Mr. Fraser agrees. The other members of the board agreed as well.
Policy submissions to NHMA
Ms. Corrow stated submissions need to be in by May 1st if the board had anything.
Selectboard Items
Mr. Alpers asked Ms. Corrow to check to see if we are going to receive deed waivers this year.
Public Comment
Mr. Favorite questioned the status of the permits for Cummings Beach. Ms. Corrow stated they are still processing, DES had questions and when the circuit rider planner was here (Peer Lund) he responded to their questions.
Town Manager Items
Central Street Bridge
Ms. Corrow stated there is a decision that is being made on whether to reuse or truck in abutment stone. They can do a combination of both trucking in new material and breaking up existing boulders which should look fine. Ms. Corrow stated there has been a lot of discussion regarding the utility location. There is a question as to whether to put Metrocast and Verizon underground under the sidewalk, along the bridge. Metrocast would cost about $2068.16 and Verizon would cost $13,002.00 maximum but would not include labor for the construction crew Winterset. The other question was electric but it ended up too expensive and would take a very long time to go through the process. Ms. Corrow stated she sent a letter to PSNH requesting the pole be located differently. PSNH stated they will look at it when the bridge is done, but we do not want to wait until the bridge is done as we will have to disturb the construction site again. Ms. Corrow would like the boards’ decision regarding Metrocast and Verizon. Ms. Corrow stated New Hampton supported placing Metrocast underground but not Verizon. Mr. Fraser agrees to go with Metrocast underground and work with PSNH to relocate the pole and do Verizon above ground. The rest of the Selectboard also agreed.
Update on Upper Dam Project
Ms. Corrow stated she was contacted by a representative from HL Turner and they are ready to come before the Conservation Commission to share the planned improvements for the upper dam because they will need permits. They would like the Selectboard to attend the meeting as well. If they get their permits in place then they will be able to do the improvements this construction season. Mr. Alpers stated the board never followed through with requesting a donation from Freudenberg for this disruption that has been caused and it needs to be done. Ms. Corrow stated maybe there is something they will do when making improvements that the town could benefit from. Mr. Alpers stated he was looking more for emergency management equipment for the future.
House Bill 1226
This Bill passed the house and is going to the senate. This bill allows the town of Bristol to establish a capital reserve fund for use of the water and sewer department. Our Representative put this forward as he is also the Clerk of the Works for the Water and Sewer Department. Ms. Corrow stated this would commingle the accounts so the reserves can be used for either Water or Sewer needs as one reserve has more funding then the other. Mr. Milbrand believes the fees should be balanced out better instead of combining the two. Ms. Corrow wanted to know if the board wanted her to go in support of this Bill. Mr. Fraser suggested Ms. Corrow go. Mr. Van Derven stated he did not know enough about the bill. Some board thought maybe it would be good if they spoke with Representative Williams directly.
Local Official Workshops for 2008
Ms. Corrow provided the board with information on the Local Officials Workshops that are coming up for 2008.
Mr. Alpers made a motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II(c) seconded by Mr. Fraser: roll call vote taken all members agreed to enter into non-public session. At 9:25 PM the BOS entered a non-public session.
Motion to return to public session made by Mr. Milbrand, seconded by Mr. Fraser; vote was unanimous.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Paul Fraser; seconded by Mr. Don Milbrand; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:05pm
Respectfully submitted,
Krystal Alpers
Administrative Assistant
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Richard Alpers, Chairman Paul Fraser, Vice Chairman
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Joe Denning Donald Milbrand
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Bruce Van Derven