Skip to content
Home » 05/08/2017 SB Minutes

05/08/2017 SB Minutes

Bethlehem Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
Bethlehem Selectmen Office
May 8, 2017

Present: Chairman Moritz, Selectman Moore, Selectman Glavac, Selectman Ubaldo, Selectman Boisseau.

Chairman Moritz opened the meeting at 5:45 pm and moved to go into non-public session per RSA 91A:3 II for matters of personnel. Selectman Moore seconded. Chairman Moritz did roll call with all members agreeing to go into non-public session.
The Board discussed personnel.
Chairman Moritz moved to hire Warren Bullock for the Fire Dept. at 8.00/hour. Selectman Boisseau seconded. Carried 5-0.

At 5:56 Chairman Moritz moved to come out of non-public session. Selectman Moore seconded. Chairman Moritz did roll call with all members agreeing to come out of non-public session.

PUBLIC INPUT: None

Nick Storella and Bill Keiler came before the Board to discuss the skate park. Selectman Boisseau said he reviewed minutes from the former Boards but would like an update. Mr. Storella said last year they came to the Board after talking with then Rec Director, Rhienna Miscio. He said the Board said they could have ½ of the rink so they did it last summer as an experiment to see if there was interest. He said they did some temporary signs. Mr. Storella said they want to do the concrete park which will be permanent and said they received quotes and will be doing fundraisers and benefits to raise the money. He pointed out that it was already determined the insurance falls under the recreation insurance and said new signs have been ordered. Mr. Storella also said the skating rink is on blacktop which is not great for an ice rink and is also uneven. He said they were initially going to build a wall to separate the skate park from the ice rink but said that would prevent kids from being able to ride their bikes in there. He asked if the ice rink is utilized. Selectman Boisseau asked if there could be a removable partition like sand bags and was told yes they could do that and would be funded by the committee. Selectman Boisseau asked if the committee is the one that sees to the upkeep of the skate park. Mr. Storella said he tries talking to kids and parents etc. but with the concrete park they at least wouldn’t have to worry about screws etc.
Chris McGrath said on 01/04/2015 it was ordered to have signs put up because the cost of insurance would go up without the signs. He said signs should go up immediately and said the Town should not pay for them. Chairman Moritz said the town has ordered the signs. Rec Director, Richard Ledoux said he ordered 2 signs that cost under $50.00. Selectman Boisseau said they can figure out payment after we get them. Mr. McGrath also said he thinks there should be a warrant article to make sure the town wants this because it is permanent. Selectman Glavac said the quote is for $8000.00 and asked if they have the money and was told they will hopefully have all they need after the fundraiser in June. There was discussion about different ideas and suggestions on where the ice rink could go. Paul Greenlaw said all recreation properties should be inventoried for signage. There was discussion about details of the plan for the permanent park including dimensions of 800 square feet. Mr. Keiler said they would like to start in June for phase 1. Selectman Ubaldo asked if they (Board) would get more information before it would start and was told they would get more information and could also meet with the company who would be installing it if they would like. Selectman Moore said she would like more information on the separation wall.

Ben Woo came before the Board to discuss a sign permit for his coffee/donut shop in the WREN block. He showed the Board mock pictures of the signs. Chairman Moritz moved to approve the sign permit. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 5-0. Mr. Woo said his opening date will hopefully be June 1st.

Kevin Roy from North Country Environmental Services came before the Board to discuss the services provided per the agreement. He reviewed the services for providing for municipal waste and recycling for residences. He said they have made some exceptions but the service is for residences and not intended for commercial. Mr. Roy talked about the holiday schedule for the truck and also spoke on how the truck carries waste and recycling. He explained they provide services to all private roads by contracting with Whitings to do them. Mr. Roy complimented Mike, his truck driver, who he said does a fantastic job. He explained the transfer station is for residents only and they have given out 500 stickers. He said they require 2 proofs of residency to get a sticker. Mr. Roy said people still try to bring construction debris in but said that has to go over the scale and said they could talk about different hours if need be. He said every year there is an increase in recycling which is 40% and is above the national rate. He said the zero sort bumps it up. Mr. Roy talked about trends in electronics and tires and said they have leveled off. He said the hazardous waste day will be on June 10th and said other towns were asked if they wanted to participate due to the reduced response in the past. He said they may go to every other year and said Twin Mtn. may participate in this years. Alan Jackson said the services are spot on and said he noticed they take a lot of brush and asked what they do with it. Mr. Roy said they chip it and people can take it for mulch. Rita Farrell made a reference to the BR&E Committee and an email on April 4th that Mr. Roy sent and asked Mr. Roy when the landfill will be filled or closed. Mr. Roy said it is estimated to be filled in 2021 when the airspace is exhausted. He said the serviced end when the landfill stops receiving waste which will be 2021 or thereabouts. She said the settlement agreement refers to stage IV. Mr. Roy explained that part of the Solid Waste Permit is to have a public benefit for certain amount of time and that time is 5.3 years so it is guaranteed until 2021. Mr. Roy said stage IV that Mrs. Farrell referred to has been depleted and they are filling stage V and that is what will last until 2021. Mrs. Farrell said the settlement agreement specifies stage IV. Chairman Moritz said they will check on that. Selectman Glavac asked Mr. Roy about the recent newspaper article about developing gas conversion. It was noted that was not what Mr. Roy was here for and could be invited back another time to talk about that. Selectman Glavac said they need to plan for services and said it is important to consider zero sort recycling when they are planning for that. He said there is $75,000.00 in the account for that now but nothing passed last year so need to save for that.

Cheryl Jensen came before the Board to give an update on Northern Pass. She said they have begun cross examining interveners and more hearing dates will be in June, July, and August. Chairman Moritz asked how this will impact the legal fees and Mrs. Jensen said she is not sure that it is hard to tell. Chris McGrath asked what happens when they hit the $15,000.00. Chairman Moritz said she is not sure exactly what is expended so far and will give an update at the next meeting. Selectman Ubaldo said the SEC has to make a decision by September. Mrs. Jensen said if the public interest demands it that date can change.

Police Chief Ho-Sing-Loy came before the Board to discuss quotes on a new cruiser. He said he priced one out and received 4 bids. He explained he would be replacing the Impala and getting a pick-up truck. The price would be approx. $37,000.00 without the outfitting of the lights, radios, cage, etc which would all cost approx. $6000.00. He said he would use what he can from the Impala. He said the cruiser would be delivered in August and said the trade value for the Impala would be $400.00 but could try to sell it by sealed bid. Selectman Glavac asked if the trend was to use a truck and Chief Ho-Sing-Loy said they don’t have a means to transport big items and have had to pay Presby’s to transport items. Selectman Moore said the warrant article was for $23,000.00 so asked if there were enough funds available and was told there are enough funds in the Capital Reserve Fund. Chris McGrath said he wishes we could get something more fuel efficient and said Twin Mtn. got rid of theirs quickly because of that. He also said he thought we needed the 4th cruiser so the prosecutor could use it to get to court but now we have a prosecutor in house. Chief Ho-Sing-Loy explained the need to idle the cruisers and said he wished they had a garage but they don’t. He also said most cruisers get 12 – 23 MPG and said the truck will be within that range. He said the Impala got about 20 MPG and the Crown Vic got 13 MPG. He said the prosecutor used the cruiser but that was not the only factor in needing 4 cruisers. Andrea Bryant asked if it was 4WD and if it was 1500. She was told it is 4WD and a 1500 Crew Cab. Chairman Moritz moved to purchase the cruiser and to take the funds from the capital reserve fund. Selectman Glavac seconded. Carried 5-0.
Chief Ho-Sing-Loy also talked with the Board about an ICM upgrade on his computers in the cruisers. He said it was last done in 2000. He explained with this upgrade the computers would tie in with the county and would be able to share data and will save onto their server. He also said it would be more efficient for them and said the cost for the upgrade is $5000.00. He said he has $2500.00 in his budget for tech so would take the other $2500.00 from other areas in his budget. He explained this will also tie in with the e-ticket system they just got a grant for. Chief Ho-Sing-Loy explained the e-ticket system and said the grant for the e-ticket is $3600.00 which is more than the cost of the system. Chairman Moritz moved to approve the ICM upgrade and the e-ticket system. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 5-0.

The Board discussed EB2Gov and the possibility of accepting recreation payments through that on the Town’s website. Chairman Moritz moved to approve Richard Ledoux starting the process of EB2Gov. Selectman Glavac seconded. Carried 5-0. Selectman Glavac said we have had some billing issues so he is hoping it will help keep the accounts current.

It was announced that the BR&E committee will begin meeting again on 05/15/17 at 4:30 in the library. Selectman Glavac said the questionnaire is ready and now the volunteers need to be trained to interview the businesses. Mrs. Farrell asked if the volunteers are already on board and Selectman Glavac said they need additional volunteers. Mrs. Farrell also asked if committee members would interview their own business and was told no.

The Board discussed the need to update the wi-fi for the town building which would cost approx. $50.00 more a month. The Board had multiple questions about this so Selectman Glavac and April will get more information for the Board.

Selectman Moore explained we do not have a maintenance person and the highway dept. usually takes care of the voting booths when they can fit it in.
Selectman Moore said she was asked at a previous meeting the lifespan of the flowering pears and the dogwood trees and said it is 20 years for the pear and 80 for the dogwood.
Selectman Moore received a quote on the painting of the Visitor Center and said it does have lead in it. The quote is $8640.00 which includes lead paint remediation and painting the building. She said there is $9,552.00 available in the GGB budget that she would like to use for that. Selectman Moore moved to put the painting job including lead paint remediation out to bid. Selectman Glavac seconded. There was discussion about the prisoners doing it but they do not have the availability this summer to do it. Selectman Moore amended her motion to requesting quotes instead of putting it out to bid. Selectman Glavac seconded. Carried 5-0.
Selectman Moore also said they put a temporary lattice fence at the Visitor Center where there was a section missing. Julian Czarny asked if it would need to be remediated for lead each time it is painted in the future and was told no.
Selectman Moore said 57 people came to the roadside cleanup and there were 6 bags of trash collected and 102 bags of recycling.

Selectman Ubaldo said there is a watering hose at the shack at the Gazebo that could be used to water the trees.

The Board reviewed the minutes from 04/24/17 and 04/28/17. Chairman Moritz moved to approve both sets of minutes. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 4-0 (Selectman Glavac abstained).

At 8:35 Chairman Moritz moved to go into non-public session per RSA 91-A:3 II for matters of personnel and reputation. Selectman Moore seconded. Chairman Moritz did roll call with all members agreeing to go into non-public session.

Chairman Moritz moved to approve all Country Club hires (Edmund Marvelli 9.50, Adrian Stites 9.00, Alec Drummond 9.50, Jane Dyer 10.50, Robin Maki 9.50). Selectman Boisseau seconded. Carried 5-0.

Chairman Moritz moved to approve hiring Tyler Ruggles at 9.75 for the recreation dept. Selectman Boisseau seconded. Carreid 5-0.

At 10:09 Chairman Moritz moved to come out of non-public session. Selectman Moore seconded. Chairman Moritz did roll call with all members agreeing to come out of non-public session.

At 10:09 Selectman Glavac moved to adjourn. Selectman Boisseau seconded. Carried 4-0.

Respectfully submitted,
April Hibberd