BOS Minutes 1/22/18
MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 22, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
MEMBER’S PRESENT: Board Members Bruno Federico, Michael Houghton, Joe Lovejoy and Town Administrator Paul Deschaine.
At 7:33 pm Chairman Federico opened the general meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
MINUTES
Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to approve the minutes of 1/8/18 as amended and to approve the 1/16/18 minutes as written. Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Town Treasurer Deb Bronson reported that the current general fund balance was $10,641,078.78.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Federico made a motion to appoint the following individuals to the Smyk Committee: David Canada, Stella Scamman, Allison Knab, Pamela Hollasch, Roger Thompson, Dick Swett, Dan Crow, April Mason and Jennifer Hubbell. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Goals and expectations of the committee were established: To accept or not accept the bequest, perform a cost benefit analysis (potential use), make a recommendation on whether the Town can support ongoing expenses and ramifications of not accepting the bequest.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Fire Chief Matt Larrabee reported that the Fire Department responded to 759 calls for the year and distributed a report to the Board detailing their response to those calls. This year there have been 55 calls thus far.
Chief Larrabee updated the Board. Two Way has been installing the radios. Four firefighters are ready to start training. Chief Larrabee offered to review his budget before the Budget Advisory meeting on Thursday. Lastly, he reported that the Bonfire that Parks & Recreation hosted was a huge success.
Mr. Houghton asked if the increase in calls is driven primarily from ambulance calls. Chief Larrabee said that yes, a majority of it is. In 2017 the ambulance billing account generated $131,480.
NEW BUSINESS
Director of the New Hampshire Lottery Charlie McIntyre appeared before the Board to discuss Keno. Keno has been approved by the Legislature as a funding mechanism for full day kindergarten as part of SB 191. The legislative body of the Town needs to approve it for a ballot question, then the voters vote on it. There are six establishments in Stratham that qualify to sell Keno. They’ve been asked to respond by 1/29 if they’re interested. If adopted, the Town would receive approximately $1,100 per child enrolled in kindergarten. Mr. McIntyre discussed the benefits of adopting Keno in Stratham.
Tyler Blood, Troop 185 Boy Scouts stated that he was seeking a merit badge and wanted to ask questions about the proposed skate park. He inquired as to the status of the skate park. Mr. Lovejoy responded that it was being presented by the Parks & Recreation Department at the Budget Advisory meeting. Mr. Blood asked about funding for the project if the Town didn’t support it. Mr. Lovejoy responded that businesses would likely contribute, but it would take a great deal of time to fund it in that manner. Mr. Lovejoy said it would go to Town Meeting and be voted on by the citizens.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Deschaine reported that the Route 108 Corridor Study Committee has endorsed the TIF District Report with ADG and recommended acceptance of it. A few minor changes in the report were suggested. Resident Dick Swett noted reference to an appendix was made and didn’t seem to match what was referenced. He asked for clarification on the amounts being requested. Mr. Deschaine said that whatever the total capital costs are, the Town will only pay $30 million of that using the TIF. That’s 60% of the commitment, the remainder, probably in excess of 40%, will be private investment. To clarify, it would be 40% over the $30 million. Mr. Swett requested that someone come to a 76er’s meeting to explain the TIF district.
Murphy Lane was proposed as a name for a new road off of Stratham Lane. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to accept the name as proposed. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Deschaine distributed a report dated 1/8/18 in which the Heritage Commission submitted guidelines pertaining to any work to be done on town owned historic properties. They request that they be consulted prior to work being done. Mr. Lovejoy motioned to adopt the outline of suggestions as to whether the Heritage Commission should be consulted with respect to Town owned properties as outlined in the memorandum dated 1/8/18. Mr. Federico added a stipulation that the ultimate decision will be made by the Selectmen. Mr. Lovejoy accepted the amendment to his motion. Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT
Parks & Recreation Director Seth Hickey reported that the ice rink move has gone well and is getting a lot of use. The snowshoe and community bonfire was well attended and very successful. Looking forward to summer, Mr. Hickey is hoping to host a mountain bike race on June 2nd for the NE HS Cycling Association. He’d like to add Eastman’s Corner Food truck to the Thursday Nights Pizza at the Park beginning in June. In youth sports: basketball is underway, baseball and softball registration opens this week, summer camp filled up in 3 days. There’s a trip to the Boston Flower Show in March. The yoga program, coyote club and ski programs have started. Mr. Hickey discussed parking concerns on Scamman Road. It is only supposed to be an access point, not a parking area. Parking is allowed on the side of the roads. Police Chief John Scippa has been involved in ongoing discussions.
Mr. Hickey is meeting with Chief Scippa tomorrow regarding Large Event coordination. He hopes to be more involved with the Emergency Management plans.
Mr. Federico asked if the skate park proposal had gone before the Recreation Commission. Mr. Hickey said they are aware of it but a vote hasn’t been taken. Mr. Federico expressed concern that the CIP has increased significantly (12%) over last year. He said he could see several issues and wanted them addressed. Mr. Lovejoy and Mr. Houghton agreed that more research and discussions need to be had.
RESERVATIONS
David Emanuel is requesting use of the Morgera Room for Cub Scout Den 6 for dates from January through June. Mr. Lovejoy motioned to approve the request and waive the fee. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
One Sky is requesting use of the Front and Scamman Pavilions on June 15, 2018. Mr. Federico motioned to approve the request and waive the fee. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
MEETINGS
Meetings of the coming and past week were reviewed. Mr. Deschaine asked the Energy Commission to hold off on their proposal for solar at the Bartlett Cushman house. Public Hearing on the telecommunications amendments were postponed to the 31st due to the changes made by the attorney. The Safe Routes to Schools, a subset of the Pedestrian & Cyclist Advocacy Committee, met to formulate a plan in the event we receive the grant money.
ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Deschaine is waiting to hear back from the Olympic banner company to see if they can use Eric Flaim’s image instead of a generic one.
The hearing on Senate Bill 450 will be held 1/30. Mr. Deschaine reminded the Board that we were supportive of Senate Bill 121 to establish a commission to study delegated authority of the MS1 program to DES. The outcome of that is Senate Bill 450 to actually hire a consultant to evaluate the necessary steps to do so. Mr. Federico made a motion to support Senate House Bill 450 to provide delegated authority on behalf of the EPA to DES. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
The Governor’s final 10 year transportation plan was sent to the legislature on 1/15 and did include the Bunker Hill intersection for $1.3 million. Predicted timing is 2028. Mr. Federico said that he had heard of a federal plan to support infrastructure projects which perhaps could facilitate our project.
There was a request to purchase a town owned property by an abutter of that property. Neither the developer nor the previous owner had any interest in developing it, as it is a very restricted lot with ¾ of it being under power lines. The Town took it by tax deed years ago. Legal issues had complicated selling it so it was decided to wait 3 years when the issues would be diminished. The property has no great value to the town. The selectmen asked Mr. Deschaine for more information on the lot and decided to discuss it further at the next meeting.
Stratham resident Dick Swett asked if the TIF District Report had been approved. The Board said that there were edits to it and approval would be decided next week.
Mr. Deschaine asked to go into a non-public session. At 9:10 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion to go into a non-public session to discuss a matter that might affect the reputation of another. Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously. At 10:01 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion to come out of the non-public session and seal the minutes. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
At 10:01 pm Mr. Federico made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary