Bethlehem Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
Bethlehem Selectmen Office
May 22, 2017
Present: Chairman Moritz, Selectman Moore, Selectman Glavac, Selectman Ubaldo, Selectman Boisseau.
Chairman Moritz opened the meeting at 6:02 pm.
PUBLIC INPUT
Peter Roy asked if the Board is meeting every week and was told they are meeting every other week unless another meeting is needed. Mr. Roy also asked if the landfill replacement money and the transfer station will be talked about soon. Chairman Moritz said it will come up tonight when discussing the Master Plan goals.
Selectman Glavac said the Business retention and expansion committee met on 05/15/17 and said the next step will be training volunteers to interview businesses.
Chairman Moritz said there will need to be a plan to address the landfill revenue loss.
Mr. Roy said he can’t see the agendas on the website. Chairman Moritz said they know of the issue and are trying to address it.
Chris McGrath said it is time to find someone else to do the website.
Cheryl Jensen asked about the minutes for the BR&E committee not being on the website.
Chris McGrath said he is trying to spearhead an ice rink and will be on the agenda in 2 weeks.
Road Agent, Brett Jackson, came before the Board. He said his bucket truck is a 1998 and has 223,000 miles on it. He said it has rust issues and has to be inspected and looking at approx. $6000.00 in needed repairs. He said this truck will eventually go away and that it is mostly used for hanging up decorations. He said it may pass inspection this year but will probably be the last. Selectman Boisseau asked what the yearly expense is for the truck and asked about the possibility of contracting the work out that it is used for. Mr. Jackson said the 3 year average expense for the truck is $1,674.00 per year. Mr. Jackson said he bought a limb saw to trim the trees with and would not recommend replacing the bucket truck. Mr. Jackson will look into the cost of renting.
Mr. Jackson also reviewed the weather policy with the Board. Some changes were made to match our current winter weather parking ban (9pm – 6 am, Nov 15th to April 1st no parking on roads).
Mr. Jackson said they usually paint the crosswalks by now but wasn’t sure if they should because of the upcoming paving project. He said it would be $300.00 in materials to paint them. Selectman Ubaldo said it would be worth the money spent due to safety issues. Selectman Boisseau said it will be busy with lots of traffic so thinks it should be done and said hopefully DOT will pay to paint them after the paving is done.
Mr. Jackson had quotes for a mower for the cemetery. He said they would get a $1350.00 trade value for the current 1999 John Deere. He said the money is in the budget to buy the mower and said with the discount and trade allowance it would cost $4,800.00. Chairman Moritz moved to approve the Blackmount Mower for $4800.00. Selectman Ubaldo seconded. Carried 5-0.
The Board reviewed the Bretzfelder Park Committee appointments. Chairman Moritz moved to appoint Julie Yates and Liz Carter for 3 year terms. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 5-0.
The Board reviewed Library Trustee appointments. Chairman Moritz moved to approve Deborah McKenzie for Library Trustee. Selectman Boisseau seconded. Carried 5-0.
Cheryl Jensen asked if the positions were posted. Selectman Ubaldo moved to withdraw the last 2 votes to see if they were posted. Chairman Moritz seconded. Carried 5-0. Selectman Ubaldo said he will look into whether or not they were posted.
Chairman Moritz said they have an abatement (exemption – religious) application that she has questions on and has received information form NH Municipal Assoc. and our assessor. She said she would like to get more information before the Board votes. Mr. Jensen requested the owner be made public. Chairman Moritz said they were going to handle it the way it has been handled in the past and not state who the owner is but the information would be available in the office. Tim Vaughn suggested the Town’s attorney handle this. Selectman Glavac said the Board is questioning this because it is not being used for religious purposes year round. Chairman Moritz said NH Municipal Assoc. said prorating is an option. The Board decided to send this to legal counsel for advice.
The Board reviewed the Master Plan Goals – Chapter 1. Selectman Glavac asked if this was part of setting the agenda for the year. He also asked if there is more the Board should talk about like the landfill committee. Chairman Moritz said it is a work in progress. She said they have a set of goals and guidelines but it can be changed or altered. Selectman Glavac asked if the Board would come up with annual objectives and goals for the year. Chairman Moritz said goals outside of the Master Plan can be added to the agenda. Selectman Glavac said the landfill committee issue should still be discussed because the lost revenue will be a huge impact. Chairman Moritz said she agrees. Selectman Ubaldo said the Master Plan guidelines are to look at but they are not legally binding to implement. Selectman Moore said they are talking points. Dann said he has written the Master Plan committee counteracting their recommendations.
Goal 1 – Keep the Small Town Feel – ongoing.
Goal 2 – Promote Development –
a) Website – short-term – work in progress
b) Friendly image – website, banners, crosswalks painted, fix the flag pole
c) Join a Chamber – possibility of joining Littleton’s Chamber
d) Promote the fact that Town has the 4th best High School in state – website.
Goal 3 –Plan for a Transfer Station – Selectman Glavac said there is $75,000.00 in the account but need to develop a plan and establish goals. He said the plan was to put $75,000.00 a year in the fund to build it up. Chairman Moritz said this should be a whole agenda item. It was determined it would be on the agenda for the 06/19/17 meeting.
Goal 4 – Monitor the NCES Landfill Closure – Selectman Glavac asked what role the town would have because a state agency monitors landfills. Mr. Vaughn suggested building a kitty to access engineering to do independent testing during the 30 year window for monitoring in addition to state testing. Selectman Glavac said the state agency is in charge of it just like they are with the culvert project and we are not paying someone to double check that project. Mrs. Jensen said it is 30 years ongoing for monitoring and we have had Aries Engineering look at landfill related things before. Mr. Jensen said DES doesn’t have enough people. Selectman Ubaldo asked if Aries would be taking states information and reviewing their results. Leslie Dreir said other communities have landfills and utilize the town engineer. Mr. Jensen suggested getting Casella to pay for the independent testing.
Goal 5 – Support Senior and Low Income Housing – Senior and low income housing is available in town and the town allows grants to come through the town.
Chairman Moritz said Sandy Laleme has offered to write a letter about the Town’s intervener status to put on the website. Selectman Glavac moved to have Mrs. Laleme write the letter. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 5-0.
The Board discussed an email about the Town needing to have an ADA Coordinator. After reviewing the criteria to be the ADA Coordinator Selectman Glavac moved to appoint April Hibberd as the ADA Coordinator. Selectman Boisseau seconded. Carried 5-0.
The Board reviewed the minutes from 05/08/17. Chairman Moritz moved to approve the minutes. Selectman Moore seconded. Carried 5-0.
At 7:40 Chairman Moritz moved to go into non-public per RSA 91A:3 for matters of personnel. Selectman Glavac seconded. Chairman Moritz did roll call with all members agreeing to go into non-public session.
Dann stated he objected to the non-public session.
At 9:55 Chairman Moritz moved to seal the non-public minutes because it is determined that divulgence of this information likely would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of this board. Selectman Moore seconded. Chairman Moritz did roll call with all members agreeing to seal the minutes.
At 9:56 Chairman Moritz moved to adjourn. Selectman Glavac seconded. Carried 5-0.
Respectfully submitted,
April Hibberd
