BOS Minutes 12/4/17
MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 4, 2017 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
MEMBER’S PRESENT: Board Members Bruno Federico, Michael Houghton, Joe Lovejoy and Town Administrator Paul Deschaine.
At 7:36 pm Chairman Federico opened the general meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
MINUTES
Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to approve the 11/27/17 minutes. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Town Administrator Paul Deschaine stated that the General Fund balance is $8,142,495.89.
HIGHWAY
Mr. Deschaine presented the performance bond from ICL in the amount of $185,833.50 for their work at the Audi site and recommended the Board accept the surety bond and execute the performance bond. Mr. Federico made a motion to accept the surety bond from ICL Auto. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Public Works Director Colin Laverty said that he’s cancelled the contract with their uniform company, G&K Services. He’s proposing to purchase the uniforms and buy disposable coveralls. There would be no increase in his budget. He reviewed the items he’d like to purchase. Mr. Federico questioned if the employees’ income would be impacted. Mr. Deschaine said the logo distinguishes it from regular clothes, so there wouldn’t be an impact. Mr. Houghton suggested setting a policy requiring the uniforms be worn and offered suggestions on how to manage replacing the uniforms in the future. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to authorize Mr. Laverty to commence the clothing arrangement he outlined this evening and to expend $4,474 in so doing. Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Laverty reported that he is working with Town Planner Tavis Austin on a drainage survey inventory. They are prioritizing areas of concern for drainage structures for the MS-4. He talked about his concern for the new design standard being put in the new subdivisions. He hopes to discuss the issue with the Planning Board after Town Meeting.
The Highway Department is finishing fall cleanup at all the Town properties this week. River Road and Fifield Lane paving projects are complete and on budget.
Mr. Laverty has been considering his 2018 budget and is planning to recommend adding a 5th full time Highway Department employee and including another 6 wheel dump plow truck. Among his reasons for the truck was providing for public safety during the winter months. He added that he would like Shop Foreman Al Williams to train a replacement for when he retires.
Mr. Laverty requested a vacation buyout of 54.7 hours for Al Williams due to storms and ongoing large scale projects and a vacation buyout of 31.94 hours for himself. Mr. Deschaine added that the department was unexpectedly short-handed for a significant amount of time.
Mr. Laverty said that they have the fixtures for the municipal center sign light and it will be installed shining upward at the sign. He is still researching the options for the lights on the Police Station sign. He is also researching replacement options for one side of the sign that has faded.
Jeremy Ricks expressed disappointment with the lighting fixtures. He asked if the lights at Stratham Hill Park could be shielded. Mr. Deschaine reported that some flood lights had mistakenly been left on after some park activities and will be shut off. Mr. Ricks went on to question why the Town Center lights are being left on all night. He then asked if the Board had heard from the engineer regarding the lights on the bridge to Newmarket. Mr. Federico responded that they had not. The Board and Mr. Laverty discussed putting the town lights on a timer. Mr. Laverty said he has been in continuing discussions with Unitil regarding the Town Center lights and will add this discussion to the dialog.
Mr. Laverty said that he was having some problems with lighting the wreaths due to issues with water getting into the GCFI outlets. He said it would be fixed shortly.
MEETINGS
Mr. Federico reviewed the meetings of the coming and past weeks. Mr. Lovejoy attended the EOC meeting and thought it was well worth the time. Town Planner Tavis Austin learned useful information to be used in the MS-4 at the Seacoast Stormwater Coalition. Mr. Houghton reported that the Planning Board discussion centered mainly on cell towers. They are getting a draft ready for a public hearing. Mr. Lovejoy said that at the Rt 108 Corridor Study meeting the Arnett Group did a presentation on the TIF district and the challenges they are facing regarding restrictions. The Recreation Commission met. Mr. Deschaine and Mr. Austin attended the PTAP meeting where they learned that new data collection methods will require site plan and subdivision regulation changes.
ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Deschaine gave the Board a spreadsheet detailing the proposals for the Bartlett Cushman house. Pros and cons of each proposal were discussed with a focus on fees and market reach. The Board felt that leasing the house would be preferable, but selling it couldn’t be ruled out. None of the proposals were what the Board had in mind. In the interest of moving things forward, they decided to go back to Keller Williams, the favored proposal, with more specific terms. The terms were reviewed.
Next, the Board discussed who would be an appropriate person to ask to be on the committee for House Bill 431. They decided to talk about it at the next Public Works meeting.
Mr. Deschaine notified the Board that he extended the budget submission deadline by a week.
Mr. Deschaine reported that we will need to order recycling bins in the coming year. NH the Beautiful offers bins at a slightly lower rate, but they would be blue and wouldn’t have the Stratham logo. Given the small number of bins we order, the cost savings would be miniscule. To maintain consistency, it was decided to stay with the red bins.
In addition to Mr. Laverty’s request of payment in lieu of vacation, Mr. Deschaine is requesting payment for 23 hours. Police Chief John Scippa and Lieutenant David Pierce are also asking for payment of unused vacation or that they be allowed to carry over more vacation time than our policy allows. Mr. Deschaine noted that a considerable number of employees are getting to an age where they are eligible to retire and allowing this would be an incentive for them to continue working. We want to avoid what has happened in other towns where people accumulate their unused vacation, then retire and have their retirement benefit being calculated on the higher compensation. The Board will make a decision next week after Mr. Deschaine verifies the hours. Mr. Deschaine relayed difficulty with salaried employees remembering to submit their vacation time in a timely manner. Mr. Houghton recommended instituting a vacation authorization form.
Ms. Pam Dziama would like to resign from the Recreation Commission. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to accept Ms. Dziama’s resignation with regret effective on the date of her email. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
There were nine applicants for the Land Use Administrative Assistant position. The Board reviewed the list for familiar names and Stratham residents. Mr. Deschaine and Mr. Austin will narrow the list to suitable candidates.
Mr. Deschaine presented the performance bond for Kennebunk Savings Bank site. The Board expressed concern with the visibility of the generator, hoping it would be screened. Mr. Lovejoy motioned to accept the performance bond. Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
RFPs for printing the Town Report have been sent. We have received four responses. Mr. Deschaine will confirm adherence to the specifications.
Mr. Deschaine reported that Mr. Morong is still working on the details of the Special Inspector position.
The Board submitted some names for the Study Committee on the Smyk property and are still waiting to hear back from a few more people.
At 10:27 pm Mr. Houghton motioned to adjourn. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary