10/17/2022 SB Minutes

Bethlehem Board of Selectmen

Meeting Minutes

October 17, 2022

In person – Select person Hibberd, Select person Queiroga, and Select person Morris

Select person Hibberd opened the meeting at 6:00.

 

Public Input – Barry Zitser Columbus Day appreciated switching to indigenous people day.

Candidates Night 10/25 Profile School- Tuesday October 25th at 6 pm attending: State Rep (Cathy Qi/Jared Sullivan) State Senator (Carrie Gendreau/Edith Tucker) County Commissioner (Glen Libbey/ Martha McLeod) The moderators are Mike Bruno for Bethlehem and James Walker

Procurement Policy Reviewed Thornton Procurement Policy and made the following changes

Nonmajor purchases means any purchased or good under $5000.00

Under exception for bid process remove: Utility purchases, Advertising, Postage, Taxes, Court judgements, Financing or borrowing, Police special investigation cost and the provision regarding non-profits

Compare updated policy with Guilford’s procurement policy and two other towns

Code of Conduct for Rec Sports- modify to make the tone more positive and verify with Legal/Primex

Applying for the planning/zoning code update grant –

Select person Morris made a motion that the Town Of Bethlehem will apply for a grant through North Country Council to update our zoning ordinances.  Select person Queiroga seconded and all were in favor.   

Capital Improvement Plan (developing one) Select person Morris would like to reinstate the Capital Improvement Committee to develop a capital improvement plan (CIP) and plan for future capital needs of the town.  A CIP would allow the town to assess fees to cover the costs that the town would accrue due to the development.   A tiny home development was used as an example and having to add water and sewer, or additional road construction were used as examples.  The planning board would trigger the impact study to assess the necessary fees.  The Capital improvement committee should include a community member, subject matter expert, a select board member, and 3 up to planning board members.  Select person Morris is going to speak to the planning board to see if they are interested in moving forward.

Master Plan Update – Select person Morris would like to review the action items listed in the masterplan for the Select Board.  Select person Quiroga suggested reviewing the masterplan after the March election.

Salary increase guidance – Last year there was a substantial pay increase to make wages more competitive and it was communicated not to expect the same pay increase for 2023.  Select person Queiroga stated she did not think the budget should increase by 6% again this year unless there is revenue to cover the increase.  Select person Morris recommended looking into non-profits and PILOT.  It was decided to discuss as a whole board the 10/31 meeting.

Minutes – 10/03/2022 – Select person Queiroga made a motion to accept the minutes from October 3^rd.  Select person Morris seconded and all were in favor. 

Other- Craig Wheeler from Rambling Woods is seeking the town’s assistance with a grant to demolish some trailers at the park.  The board recommended revisiting later because the deadline to submit the grant was too close.

Police Cruiser– It was agreed to wait until the 10/31 meeting for additional information to order the police cruiser

Select person Hibberd made a motion to go into non-public per RSA-91A-3 for reasons of personnel, reputation and legal.  Select person Queiroga seconded and Select person Hibberd did roll call and all were in favor.

Select person Hibberd made a motion to adjourn 8:30 pm Select person Queiroga seconded, and all were in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Moritz

Administrative assistant