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12/12/16 – SB Minutes

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Bethlehem Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
Bethlehem Selectmen Office
December 12, 2016

Present: Chairman Glavac, Selectman Blanchard, Selectman Laleme, Selectman Ubaldo.

Chairman Glavac opened the meeting at 6:09.

Chairman Glavac said the Board would be reviewing and discussing the Sustainability Park agreement.
Chairman Glavac moved to accept the agreement as written. Selectman Blanchard seconded.

Chairman Glavac read the agreement Recitals and read:

#1: MSW Pickup and Disposal: Chairman Glavac said this is the same as the current agreement.
#2: Trudeau Road Transfer Station: The leasing part is new in this agreement.
#3: Host Community Payment:
#3.1: Amount of Fee: Chairman Glavac explained this is increasing from .75 to $1.00 and adding .50 to daily cover which we do not have in the current agreement. Selectman Laleme moved to increase the host community payment to 1.50, keep the .50 for daily cover and begin the 1.50 at ratification. Chairman Glavac seconded. Selectman Ubaldo asked if the ratification would be March 2017 and was told yes. Carried 4-0.
#3.2: Adjustment of Fee: Chairman Glavac explained the rate would be adjusted every year at the Consumer Price Index with a cap of 3%.
#3.3: Reporting and Audit Rights: No comments or discussion.
#3.4: Minimum Payment: Chairman Glavac said if you combine the tax and host fee it would be a minimum of $4.50 per ton. He said currently with the taxes and host fee it is around $2.00 to $2.50. Selectman Laleme asked why it says for Stage VII and not Stage VI and moved to amend that to Stage VI. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 4-0.
#4: Road Sand: Selectman Laleme said she is concerned with the wording of “NCES’s good-faith determination” and moved to amend to have more specific information on method used to determine when they will stop providing sand and loss of benefit over the length of agreement. Selectman Ubaldo seconded. Carried 4-0.
#5: Light Industry Complex:
#5.1: Establishment and Termination: No comments or discussion.
#5.2: Use of Complex Parcel: No comments or discussion.
#5.3: Development of the Complex: Selectman Ubaldo said it says the Board has to develop the complex and asked what happens if it doesn’t happen and doesn’t get developed. Chairman Glavac said it went from $75,000.00 to $100,000.00 a year to develop the area and that is a benefit to the town. Selectman Blanchard said $100,000.00 is not enough and suggested $150,000.00 for the first 2 years. Chairman Glavac said they would hire a consulting firm and thinks they could do that with the $100,000.00 and said that is a half million over 5 years. Selectman Laleme said the language is committing the town to something it may not be able to do and moved to change shall commence development to endeavor to develop. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 3 – 1 (Chairman Glavac opposed).
Selectman Blanchard moved to change the $100,000.00 for the first 2 years to $150,000.00 and keep the $100,000 the same for the last 3 years. Chairman Glavac seconded. Carried 4-0.
#5.4: Conveyance of Complex Parcel, Limitations:
#5.4.1: Selectman Laleme said the fee should be specified and moved to add of $1.00 at the end of the first sentence. Chairman Glavac seconded. Carried 4-0.
#5.4.1.1: Selectman Laleme moved that the second sentence starting with NCES be deleted and to add if zoning not approved then land will be added to conservation area. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Chairman Glavac said the sustainability park will stay with the town after the landfill closes and we lose revenue from the closure. He said they need to look at the bigger picture. Selectman Laleme said if the zoning isn’t approved then it is done anyways; there will be no park or money. Carried 3-1 (Selectman Ubaldo opposed).
#5.4.2: No comments or discussion.
#6: Recreational Uses:
#6.1: Selectman Laleme said it is nice to connect trails at their site but she would rather see trails in town.
#6.2: Selectman Laleme said the language of fields at or near BES would limit us because we have other recreational areas like the tennis and basketball courts that are not at or near BES. Selectman Laleme moved to increase the amount to $250,000.00 from $200,000.00 and change the word fields to facilities (referring to recreation facilities) and end the sentence with facilities and deleting at or near the Bethlehem Elementary School. Selectman Blanchard seconded. The Board agreed the walking trails in 6.1 should not be included in this. Carried 4-0.
Selectman Blanchard moved to amend 6.1 to strike it because it doesn’t pertain to the town. Chairman Glavac seconded. Chairman Glavac said if we strike it they don’t have to do the trails. Selectman Laleme suggested leaving in the 1st 6 sentences. Selectman Blanchard and Chairman Glavac withdrew their first and second. Selectman Laleme moved to remove the sentence or such other locations on the NCES property the Town and NCES agree upon. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 4-0.
#7: Enlargement of District V: Chairman Glavac explained there is a minimum payment starting with stage VI which includes increasing the host fee to $1.50 and said the town hosting a landfill of that size justifies the amendments. He explained the negotiations were done through the attorneys and this is the first time the Board has discussed as a Board and speaking with NCES directly.
#8: Restrictions on Development: No comments or discussion.
#9: Town Meeting: No comments or discussion.
#10: Board Support and Action: Selectman Laleme moved that all costs of noticing and filing of deeds get paid by NCES. Chairman Glavac seconded. Carried 4-0.
#11: Property Taxes: Chairman Glavac said it is the same formula we currently have.
#12: No Exactions Claim: Chairman Glavac moved to seek clarification of double negative. Selectman Laleme seconded. Carried 4-0.
#13: Executory Obligations Terminated: No comments or discussion.
#14: Property Protection Plan: Selectman Blanchard moved to strike and who has, before the date of this agreement, notified NCES or NHDES in writing of any adverse impact upon the resident allegedly arising from the presence of the landfill. Selectman Ubaldo seconded. Chairman Glavac said the current agreement does not have this. Carried 4-0.
#15: Selectman Laleme moved to remove under specified conditions. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 4-0.
#16: No comments or discussion.
#17: No comments or discussion.

Chairman Glavac moved to accept the amended contract. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Chairman Glavac said there are a lot of amendments and that is what the Board wants NCES to consider. Carried 4-0.

Chairman Glavac moved to send the contract with the amendments to NCES with a deadline for them to respond by this Thursday at noon. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Chairman Glavac explained that if they accept the terms the Board does not have to meet to discuss it again but if they don’t accept it they will have to meet on Monday. Carried 4-0.

Chris Jensen said this would have an enormous effect on the town and asked who was on the negotiating team and was told the town attorney did the negotiating. Mr. Jensen asked what the rush was and asked why we aren’t getting a more professional negotiator to get a killer deal. Chairman Glavac said the town will be divided again so doesn’t want to prolong it and said what is on the table brings a lot of value to the town. Chairman Glavac also said the Board may not bring it to the voters if they don’t feel it is a good deal. Mr. Jensen said the contract is not the best they can do and said they are rushing. Chairman Glavac said if it is a bad deal the town will vote it down.

Don Lavoie said in #3.2 CPI – the language should read annualize.
Cheryl Jensen said the Board didn’t take any input from the voters and missed information because of that including the amount of $17,500.00 for the Conservation Easement not being enough for the life of the easement. She also said they are giving up leverage for 20 years and there is some language that the current one has that they are violating.
Len Reed asked what the advantages and disadvantages are of the agreement and asked what the attorney recommended. Chairman Glavac said the attorney did not advise to vote for or against it. Andrea Bryant asked about the attorney fees for this and was told NCES has agreed to pay the town for the legal fees and that is a separate agreement. Steve Dignazio asked if any Select Board members live within 1 ½ miles of the landfill and Selectman Ubaldo said he does. Mr. Dignazio said Selectman Ubaldo should have recused himself from voting.
Mary Lou Krambeer said the Littleton Industrial Park is 43 years old and suggested consulting with Littleton to get information. Ms. Krambeer said as the town moderator she would be happy to moderate a meeting to get the Board off the hot seat and said it is important to hear concerns. She also said it can be put on the warrant but it may not be a good contract and it is a 20 year contract. Ms. Krambeer said it should be a really good contract and recommends a public hearing. Chairman Glavac said the meeting that was held on November 7th was for public comment and he has received only a handful of emails since then. He said the emails he did receive were forwarded to the town attorney. He also explained the Board could not sit with NCES and he doesn’t think we have a chance to have a public comment hearing. Ms. Krambeer said the Board should have forum for people to have a say and said people were yelling at each other at the meeting on the 7th. She said she doesn’t want it to be that way and said the question of how the agreement compared to others was never answered. She said they need to come up with the best solution and said she would work with the Board on a better forum. Chairman Glavac said the Board did see the comparison to other agreements and said that information is confidential. He did say that it is not a bad deal compared with other agreements. Ms. Krambeer asked if we could have the public comment forum next week and Chairman Glavac said if they (NCES) accept the amendments then it goes to vote. Ms. Krambeer said it is not a strong deal. Ms. Jensen told the Board they are in charge of the process and said $17,500.00 is not enough for the conservation easement and there is a problem with the 3% cap. Chairman Glavac said the Board has done the best they could and unless NCES accepts the proposals they haven’t voted to send to the voters. Stan Harrison said the voters need to discuss this.
Julian Czarny said on Page 7 C shall not acquire real property was also in the 2012 agreement. He asked if this will be brought up to the judge who moderated the agreement. He said it may disqualify NCES from doing any more landfilling and said we can survive without the landfill.
Don Lavoie asked at what point in the process would they be presenting to the public exactly what the revenue numbers would be and Chairman Glavac said when it is decided whether or not to put it on the ballot. Mrs. Jensen said not following Ms. Krambeer’s suggestion and rushing this through will not end the strife in town.

The Board reviewed the minutes from 12/05/16. Chairman Glavac moved to approve the minutes. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 4-0.

Chairman Glavac moved to approve an abatement due to a veterans credit for $500.00 for Map/Lot 204/041. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 4-0.

The Board reviewed a job description for the Sexton. Selectman Laleme said she met with the Cemetery Committee and drafted the job description. She asked the Board to read it and they can vote next week.

At 8:30 Chairman Glavac moved to go into non-public session per RSA 91-A II for matters of personnel. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Chairman Glavac did roll call with all members agreeing to go into non-public session.
Selectman Laleme moved to pay 120 hours of vacation pay to Brett Jackson due to lack of staff and inability to take vacation time. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Mr. Jackson will receive a letter saying it is an exception being made but to manage time to be able to take vacation next year. Carried 4-0.

At 8:55 Chairman Glavac moved to come out of non-public session. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Chairman Glavac did roll call with all members agreeing to come out of non-public session.

The Board discussed putting out an ad after Christmas requesting letters of interest to fill the vacant Select Board seat and make letters due January 30th.

At 8:55 Selectman Blanchard moved to adjourn. Selectman Laleme seconded. Carried 4-0.

Respectfully submitted,
April Hibberd

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