Bethlehem Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
May 20, 2019
Present: Chairman Boisseau, Selectman Moore, Selectman Jensen, Selectman Moritz.
Chairman Boisseau opened the meeting at 6:00 pm.
Sarah & Carlos Roman spoke to the Board about a lot of land they own on Cherry Valley Road. Mrs. Roman said she rented a house on Cherry Valley Road for 10 years and liked living there. She explained they now own a manufactured home that is in the park but when they saw land for sale on Cherry Valley Road, they bought it. Mrs. Roman said they put a septic in and got the property ready to move the manufactured home to it and has a full foundation. She said the lot is 5.8 acres and the home is a 2011. She explained they are supposed to be out of the park in a week so hope to proceed with their plan.
Chairman Boisseau said there is a zoning ordinance that restricts manufactured homes outside of zoned areas. He said the former building inspector made exceptions for that and he said the Board could follow the zoning laws or make an exception. He also said in March it may make sense to change the ordinance.
Rod Marvin said he is the contractor and told the Board that Littleton, Landaff and Monroe consider a manufactured home a home when it is put on a full foundation. He said this home is built extremely well and said Dave Wiley saw the plans and he indicated the ordinance should change for newer trailers to be allowed on lots. It was stated $80,000 was put into the lot and if they knew they wouldn’t have been able to move their home to it they wouldn’t have bought the land.
Chris McGrath said there are a lot of modulars on foundations and you wouldn’t even know the difference. He also said there was a similar situation with someone else years ago. He said he thinks it should be allowed.
Harry Newell said he was the Building Inspector in the late 90’s and there is an RSA that changes class of home from manufactured to home.
Selectman Moritz suggested having a public hearing to get feedback from people, people on Cherry Valley Road in particular.
Mr. Marvin said there are 4 other manufactured homes on Cherry Valley Road down the road from where this one would be.
Chairman Boisseau said this would be setting a precedent.
Mr. McGrath said it is no longer mobile when it is on a foundation.
Mrs. Roman said the neighbors know of their plans and are okay with it.
Peter Roy said this meeting was noticed and it was on the agenda so if someone was concerned, they would have been here.
Mr. Marvin said they (manufactured homes on their own lots) are all over town.
Selectman Moritz said if the Board has a public hearing for this specific purpose it shows they are doing their due diligence.
Selectman Jensen said he wished Dave Wiley was here to give input on this.
Rita Farrell said the Board should follow the law and said the law wasn’t followed with the Ahead project.
Chairman Boisseau pointed out this is not about the Ahead project. He also said the Board needs to look at what law says and said just because past decisions were wrong doesn’t mean we can continue making wrong decision. He read RSA 674:32
It was decided the Board will contact NHMA and pass on to PB and ZBA to look at Zoning Ordinance. The Board also discussed having a public hearing and including the Zoning Board.
Cheryl Jensen suggested asking Dave Wiley to be here.
Selectman Jensen said they need to go through the process to prevent lawsuits.
The Board decided to have a public hearing on June 3rd at 6:00pm.
Mr. McGrath asked if NHMA says no public hearing is needed will they cancel and was told yes it would be. The Board got the contact information for the Roman’s to notify them if the hearing would be cancelled. There was discussion about if the zoning board could participate in the public hearing without an application before them. NHMA will be asked that as well and the public hearing will be cancelled if the advice from NHMA allows for that.
Rec Director, Tim Fleury, told the Board that Dawn Ferringo is moving away and she had been doing the gazebo concerts. He said he will run it through rec, and everything is all set to go for this year. There was discussion about continuing to do a petitioned warrant article or to put a line in the budget or possible a separate warrant article.
Mr. McGrath suggested it stay as a warrant article because it passes when it is a warrant article. He asked about employee salaries going up due to taking on more responsibility.
Mrs. Jensen asked if Bethlehem Events could get involved with the concerts.
The Board reviewed the quotes for the visitor center paint job. There was one quote received from Target New England Historical Restorations for $18,760.00 which includes all labor, materials and insurance. The Board discussed how last year they received 2 quotes that were $10,000 less than that. The Board discussed posting the ad again and reaching out to people who bid last reach and invite them to submit a quote. The quotes will be due by June 10th and opened that night at the Select Board meeting.
Selectman Jensen talked with the Board about the website and making it more viable and modern. He suggested they apply for Tillotson Grant up to $20,000 to do this. He said they get an answer within 3 months. There was discussion about the benefits of redoing the website including economic development, rebranding, getting more people involved in town government and making it more interactive to get into and easier for employees to use and update. Selectman Moritz will get estimates to rebuild website and marketing materials.
The Board reviewed the minutes from 05/13/19. Selectman Moore moved to approve the minutes. Chairman Boisseau seconded. Carried 3-0 (Selectman Moritz abstained).
The Board discussed the highway department bucket truck and how to dispose of it. The options are by sealed bid or scrap it. The Board asked what Road Agent Brett Jackson recommends and was told that he believes it still has some use so sealed bid. The Board agreed to sell it by sealed bid.
Selectman Jensen said Consolidated would be willing to come meet with the Board on the 10th or 24th. He said he also contacted Department of Transportation about the safety concerns of pulling out of Agassiz and he was told they had looked at that and the only remedy is to eliminate parking in that area and he also told Selectman Jensen that there are a lot of places that have that problem. He (Phil Beaulieu) will come to the Select Board meeting on 06/24 to talk with the Board.
Mrs. Farrell asked who determines safety issues when pulling out of an intersection. She was told she could ask that on the 24th of the DOT representative.
Selectman Jensen asked the status of the stagnant pool at Baker Brook and was told Dave Wiley is looking into it.
Chairman Boisseau said he talked with Paul Greenlaw about the grant Bethlehem Reimagined is applying for and said it is a Tillotson grant and it will be to do the gardens at the basketball courts and golf course. He said the Board would have to approve to accept the funds and said they will be doing permaculture for low maintenance.
At 7:25 Chairman Boisseau moved to go into non-public session per RSA 91A:3 II for matters of personnel and (d). Selectman Moore seconded. Chairman Boisseau did roll call with all members agreeing to go into non-public session.
The Board discussed personnel.
Selectman Moritz moved to hire AB for the recreation department. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 4-0.
The Board discussed deeding.
At 7:54 Selectman Moore moved to adjourn. Chairman Boisseau seconded. Carried 4-0.
Respectfully submitted,
April Hibberd
Administrative Assistant
