BOS Minutes 4/16/18
MINUTES OF THE APRIL 16, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
MEMBER’S PRESENT: Board Members Joe Lovejoy, Mike Houghton and Town Administrator Paul Deschaine.
At 7:36 pm Chairman Houghton opened the general meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
MINUTES
Mr. Houghton made a motion to approve the minutes of 4/9/18 as amended with the time and name of chair. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Town Treasurer Deb Bronson stated that the general fund balance is $5,361,659.84. The paperwork for the bond has been submitted.
CODE ENFORCEMENT/BUILDING INSPECTION
Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector Mark Morong handed out his Dept. report. There was discussion about reformatting the department reports to have a more forward focus. Mr. Deschaine asked for information on building permits; he had a concern that there might be duplication in the numbers. He wanted Mr. Morong to be aware of the potential issue as he was producing his reports. Mr. Morong spoke about possibly using the software in different ways to develop a report that is more useful. He talked about various projects in Town. Mr. Morong is working with Public Works Director Colin Laverty on a Notice of Deficiency to be given to the developer of 7 Barbara’s Way. Mr. Laverty has been unsatisfied with the stormwater system and Mr. Morong will be withholding issuing permits until the issue has been resolved.
Mr. Morong continued his report saying that he has found an arbitrator to help resolve the ongoing Lindt issue. Lindt hasn’t responded to his emails. Mr. Deschaine agreed to get involved. Mr. Morong gave background on the issue, explaining that the dispute is over where the utility begins which would determine whether or not they need a permit. They are consolidating their meters into one and it is the placement of that one meter that is in question. Mr. Morong would like to resolve this issue as it would let us know where the line is for our responsibility for inspection and liability. There was discussion about the interpretation of the utility codes. They considered what action to take regarding Lindt’s unresponsiveness.
Mr. Morong continued his report stating they are continuing to work on home occupancy permits. He noted that he will be talking with Lexi’s, the company that has taken over the Eastern Burger lease, to ensure they are staying within the code.
POLICE
Police Chief John Scippa reported that the Police Department maintains a Drug Asset Forfeiture Account which is money that comes in from drug seizures. The Dept. of the Treasury oversees it and requires an annual certification report to track the funds. He presented the report with a balance of $1,777.43; it gained $7.01 in interest and noted that no expenditures were made from the fund in 2017. We are given a portion of the funds because we assist the federal law enforcement officers. He hopes to use the funds to upgrade some IT equipment.
Chief Scippa informed the Board that the Annual Trans NH Bike Ride for MDA will be held June 22 – 24. Not more than 100 cyclists will travel down Rt 108 south to Squamscott Rd then east to Portsmouth Ave. There have never been any issues in the past.
Chief Scippa reported a recent ongoing issue with the plumbing in the ladies bathroom at the Police Station. It is becoming a costly issue. He detailed what has been done to rectify the situation thus far.
Chief Scippa reported that April 28th has been designated as Drug Take Back Day. They will be accepting drop offs between 10:00 – 2:00 at the Police Station.
On Saturday, April 28th the Stratham Police Dept. is hosting a regional training program for police officers to train their officers on addressing immediate first aid techniques that can save someone’s life in the first 5 – 10 minutes. Mr. Deschaine asked if the officers carried Narcan. Chief Scippa said he has been researching that. There is training and certifications involved in carrying the drug. Mr. Houghton felt the training should also include the Fire Dept., especially the EMTs in the ambulances. Chief Scippa said the April 28th training was made available to the Fire Dept. who is having a duplicate training on a Tuesday night.
On Sunday, April 29th the Chief Maloney Race will be happening. The race is from the Stratham Police Dept. to the Greenland Police Dept.
On May 5th Stratham Fire Dept., EMS and Police departments will be conducting an active shooter drill at the Stratham Memorial School. The drill will focus on the collaboration between the Fire and Police units, securing the area, administering first aid and extricating people.
On May 11th there will be a bike to school event at SMS. The police will set up safe crossing points along Portsmouth Avenue.
Mr. Houghton asked about the question Mr. Wool had raised last week about the DARE money. Chief Scippa responded by explaining that the difficulty in using the money is that a portion of the funds are donations that must be used for DARE activities. We no longer have that program. Chief Scippa said that he went to court twice to see if the money could be used by the School Resource Officer for a school related program. His filings were rejected both times. Mr. Deschaine noted that if we were to use Town Counsel to take the matter to court, Town funds would need to be expended. Chief Scippa speculated that perhaps the new SMS principal would like to re-introduce the DARE program or perhaps we could take it to the middle school. It was noted that there are copyright issues with regards to the emblems, characters and books. The officer would have to become a certified DARE instructor.
Mr. Houghton asked about the solar panels at the Police Station. Mr. Deschaine said there was a meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
Mr. Houghton asked about the sign outside the Police Station. Chief Scippa met with Public Works Director Colin Laverty who is getting quotes on lighting and refinishing one side of the sign.
MEETINGS
Mr. Houghton reviewed the meetings of the coming week. He noted the Smyk meeting will take place on 4/17. They will be hearing final comments and will ascertain which direction to take. The will make their recommendation to the Board on the 30th. He asked about the Seacoast Stormwater meeting. Mr. Deschaine said that Mr. Austin met with a subcommittee of that group to identify elements that will have to go in to our Notice of Intent permitting in September. Mr. Houghton reported that Planning Board main topics include: the old town hall, the Whittaker subdivision and a Union Road application. Mr. Deschaine described some issues with easements rights to the wells on Union Road that will need to be addressed. Thursday, 4/19, is the Route 108 Committee presentation regarding the TIF District. They discussed who would be speaking and, generally, what was being presented. The PCAC and the Energy Commission had meetings last week. The Conservation Commission expedited a wetlands permit for the Sullivan Project thereby waiving the 30 day comment period. The Heritage Commission gave endorsement of a sale of the Bartlett-Cushman house as long as a preservation easement was put in place. Mr. Deschaine went to the REDC meeting noting the CDBG grant is moving forward.
ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Houghton made a motion to reappoint Mike Welty and Charles Case as members of the Energy Commission. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
PCAC and Conservation Commission requested to be included in the next email blast from the Selectmen. The Conservation Commission wants to promote the sale of their rain barrels and compost bins. The PCAC wants to get the word out about their survey on the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.
Mr. Deschaine gave out the listing agreement for the Bartlett-Cushman House. He said Colleen Lake is leaving Brick & Barn and joining Tate & Foss. She is taking our listing with her. Mr. Houghton made a motion to authorize the Town Administrator to execute the document associated with the exclusive listing of the Bartlett-Cushman House with Tate & Foss Sotheby’s International replacing the listing with Brick & Barn with no conditions attached. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Houghton stated he plans to move the Selectmen’s meetings to the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month and have department heads report once per quarter. He continued to say that he is looking for a different format for those reports and detailed what he’d like included. The reports should include a vision statement, functional responsibilities, key performance indicators (kpi) with visible metrics and any ancillary items that are part of the functional aspects of the department. They discussed the reports they’ve received so far and how the information will be useful. Next steps were outlined. He’d like to see a measurement that can be used to determine what is working well and what can be improved.
At 9:44 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion to go into a non-public session to discuss a contract negotiation. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. At 10:04 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.
Mr. Deschaine concluded his report by saying he is continuing to work on the bond bank and the truck lease.
At 10:06 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary