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Home » 05/19/2014 – Minutes

05/19/2014 – Minutes

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Bethlehem Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
Bethlehem Selectmen Office
May 19, 2014 Present: Chairperson Laleme, Selectman Blanchard, Selectman Culver, Selectman Fiorentino,
Selectman Glavac.

Chairperson Laleme opened the meeting at 6:00pm.

Fallon O’Brien came before the Board to discuss a proposal for a skate park in Bethlehem. She said she is raising money for this and explained why she thinks it is so important to have a skate park in Bethlehem. She said she is only looking at an area of 100 x 85 feet for the skate park. Chairperson Laleme said it may have to go before the voters but the Board will read through the proposal. Ms. O’Brien asked the other Board members what they thought. Selectman Fiorentino said he is against it because he thinks it is dangerous and he told Ms. O’Brien that she should be going through the Recreation Director for projects in the rec areas. Ms. O’Brien said the park would not be dangerous but would provide a safe environment and said this ramp would be made of fiberglass and not wood like the last one. Ms. O’Brien left the meeting.

Matthew O’Brien said he would like to speak about this because of his history as a skateboarder. Mr.
O’Brien said in previous years equipment has been less than adequate and feels this would be a great
avenue for kids. Chairperson Laleme said this community spends a lot of time, effort, and money for the
children of the Town. Mr. O’Brien said there is a division of children being missed with the lack of a
skate park. Julian Czarny said the Board needs to look at themselves in the mirror and not criticize
someone who wanted to better the town. Selectman Blanchard said there are 5 members of the Board
and only one spoke and said he is very open minded about this and will read the proposal. Selectman Glavac said the pool started off like this but he wants to see a more concrete plan before making a decision. Chairperson Laleme said if a Board member has an opinion they have a right to their opinion.
Selectman Fiorentino said it is his opinion and that he doesn’t think it is a concrete proposal and pointed out that Mrs. O’Brien asked for his opinion.

Chairperson Laleme told the Board that the Planning Board has referred the Douglas Drive access to the drag strip issue to the Select Board. She asked that they familiarize themselves with the file so they can vote on it in a couple of weeks. She gave the Board a brief explanation of the issue and said the Select Board needs to decide whether to require Mr. Ingerson to come in for Site Plan Review or not.

Chairperson Laleme said the highest bidder on Map 404 Lot 32.1 defaulted on his bid so it needs to be awarded to the next highest bidder. Chairperson Laleme moved to award the bid to Gerald Virge for
$105.00. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 5-0.

The Board reviewed the minutes from 05/12/14 and tabled them until the next meeting.

Chairperson Laleme read a proposal from Chris McGrath to clean up the Stoney property for $75.00 and moved to accept the proposal. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 4-0 (Selectman Culver abstained).

Selectman Culver said there is another lot in that area where the banking is covered in trash but he isn’t
sure if the Town owns it or not. This will be looked into.

Chairperson Laleme gave an update on the cemetery stones on the Cedarcroft site and said the little boy
also has a stone at the Mt. Washington Cemetery and the lady possibly has one there as well but it has a
different name. She said a fence will be put around the stones.

Selectman Culver said the new sign at the Town Forest has “no hunting” on it and he wanted to know how it was determined that no hunting would be allowed. Marilyn Johnson said she copied the same sign the Rocks has and she thinks it says no hunting to protect wildlife and plant life. Cheryl Jensen said there are also wetland areas in the forest. Selectman Culver said he doesn’t think it is legal to post no hunting on public land. Chairperson Laleme said per the RSA the state law preempts that and suggested that Marilyn Johnson contact Fish & Game to get clarification on that and whether an exemption exists for that property.

Chairperson Laleme said the opening day for the pool has been pushed back a week. Rhienna Miscio said because of the weather not cooperating they need to push it back a week and said the new opening date is June 21st.

Chairperson Laleme said a representative from Habitat for Humanity will be coming in to formalize the Pleasant St. Building.

Chairperson Laleme said the Highway Dept. receives a lot of requests from other departments and said the cost should come from the department requesting their help. Chairperson Laleme said Departments need to submit a list that the highway Department can work from when they have time.

It was noted that Susan Schibanoff who was on the agenda to speak about the Northern Pass was not at the meeting.

Selectman Blanchard said he confirmed that he will be the representative from Bethlehem for the Memorial Day Parade in Littleton.

Cheryl Jensen gave the information about the annual roadside clean-up day and said there were many volunteers and lots of garbage picked up.

Dick Robie asked the Board if there will now be 4 police cruisers and Chairperson Laleme confirmed that a fourth one will be ordered but we won’t receive it until the end of the year. Mr. Robie said he doesn’t
understand why the Town of Bethlehem needs 4 cruisers. There was discussion about how recently 2 cruisers were down at the same time so that left just one in operation. Rita Farrell said she would like to know how many cruisers, Highway, and Fire vehicles we have.

Mary Jackson came before the Board to ask about funding for the Town Clerk and Tax Collector certification program. There was discussion about not having any money in the budget for this because of having to train the new deputy. Chairperson Laleme moved to have Mary Jackson apply for the scholarship because of budgetary constraints. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 5-0.

Frank Claffey said he gave Passumpsic Bank a copy of the Town Report for now and told them to contact him with anything they need.

At 6:55 Chairperson Laleme moved to go into non-public session per RSA 91 A-3, II (a) & (c). Selectman Culver seconded. Chairperson Laleme did roll call with all members agreeing to go into non-public session.

The Board discussed personnel. Chairperson Laleme moved to approve the 3 Recreation Department raises as recommended by the Recreation Director. Selectman Glavac seconded. Carried 5-0.

Chairperson Laleme moved to hire 2 new Country Club employees and to ok the hiring of the 17 year old. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 5-0.

At 7:45 Chairperson Laleme moved to come out of non-public session. Selectman Fiorentino seconded. Carried 5-0.

At 7:45 Chairperson Laleme moved to adjourn. Selectman Blanchard seconded. Carried 5-0.

Respectfully submitted,

April Hibberd

Administrative Assistant

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