Select Board Minutes 2/18/20

MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 18, 2020 SELECT BOARD MEETING

MEMBER’S PRESENT:  Board Members Chair Mike Houghton, Vice Chair Joe Lovejoy, Board member Allison Knab were in attendance along with Town Administrator David Moore.

The Board Chair opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.

MINUTES
No minutes were available.

TREASURER
In the absence of the Town Treasurer, Mr. Moore reported a general fund balance of $10,334,252.23.

Mr. Houghton recognized residents Donna Jensen and Tim Horvath for public comment.  The two came before the Board to advocate that the Town switch from synthetic mosquito spraying to organic.  They both have done a great deal of research and reported their findings.  Ms. Jensen, a biochemist, described the chemical difference between synthetic and organic chemicals used against mosquitos.  Dragon Mosquito offers organic spraying.  Mr. Houghton thanked them for bringing this issue to the Board’s attention.  Members of the Board expressed their interest in learning more and that the proposal made good sense.  Mr. Moore offered to the Board that he look into the issue further with Public Works, the Town’s contractor and the advocates as necessary and report back on a recommendation.  Two residents in the audience also made known their support for the switchover.

PLANNING
Town Planner Tavis Austin gave an update on the Master Plan implementation.  He will report progress to the Planning Board quarterly and will ensure outreach to the various committees and commissions.  He noted the Rt 33 Legacy Highway Ad Hoc Committee of the Planning Board is off to a good start.  The probation period for the Land Use position is coming to a close.  The two new job descriptions are working well.  Mr. Houghton suggested creating an evaluation form to be implemented at the end of every new hires probationary period and to include a peer review as well.  Discussion ensued.  Mr. Austin went on to say his department was eager to have new phones and internet connectivity set up.  The RPC GIS contract is moving forward.  The Planning Board and ZBA are now full; Public Works Commission is looking for alternates.  Pamela Hollasch is resigning as the RPC Planning representative.  Next, he reported that the State’s timeline for the work on the Bunker Hill intersection project is now within 10 years.  Regarding the MS4, he is working with Public Works Director Nate Mears on forms and templates.  Still waiting to hear on the EPA report which was submitted last August. 

Planning Board Projects include:  Lindt is working with their abutters on the smell and noise coming from their business.  Ms. Austin assured the Board that, as a matter of process, the Planning Board notifies various committees and departments of activities that would affect them.  He said that he would be more diligent about getting feedback from the groups.  He and Ms. Knab discussed process and communication issues between the Planning Board and Conservation Commission.  Chipotle is proposing a development next to Starbucks.  Mr. Austin updated them on where they are in the process.  There was discussion about role of the Technical Review Committee, their coordination with the Planning Board and at what point a third party review would be called for.  TRC was created to facilitate projects going to the Planning Board.  If projects are Gateway compliant, they are accelerated through the process; if not, they must be reviewed by the Planning Board.  Conversation continued about compliance with the Gateway vision and the conceptual design in general.  Mr. Houghton felt that many people still had misconceptions.  They discussed the most common ones and how to address them.  They went on to talk about the presentation for Town Meeting. 

RESERVATIONS
The Military Vets Motorcycle Club, One Sky, Great Bay 5K and Friends of the Library all are requesting reservations and fee waivers in accordance with the non-profit status policy.  Mr. Lovejoy motioned to approve the requests.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 

Mr. Houghton made a motion to open the public hearing for the TIF district discussion with school and county officials.  Mr. Moore noted that all local and county school officials were invited to attend tonight’s meeting to discuss the proposed TIF via a letter sent in late January.  In addition, he submitted a follow-up communication reminding invitees about the opportunity to meet with the Board in early February, which included a copy of the draft TIF Plan.  No representatives were present.  Mr. Houghton made a motion to close the public hearing.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS
Heritage Preservation Fund is requesting the release of $15,000 to begin study efforts.  Ms. Knab motioned to authorize the Town Administrator to negotiate and execute a professional services agreement for a town-wide historic resource inventory up to $15,000.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Moore spoke to the trails management plan update provided by the Parks & Recreation Director Seth Hickey.  He had shared materials with the Board in advance of the meeting including a cost sharing memo with the Park Association, Conservation Commission and Rec. Revolving Fund. Funding will come from various funds, but not the general fund.  Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to authorize the Town Administrator to enter into and execute a trails management plan.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. Lovejoy motioned to accept the resignation of Pamela Hollasch from the Rockingham Planning Commission.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Finance Administrator Dawna Duhamel is working with IT consultant Lee Todis on the phone replacement project at the municipal center, Police Department and Library.  Mr. Moore described the benefits of the open source software product they are considering and the research that has gone into ensuring back-up programming services is available to the Town. 

In other administrative issues:  Regarding the PFAS issue, Wilcox & Barton suggested submitting our report to the State and Mr. Moore is following-up.  The Police Chief approved the Alzheimer’s race.  Cemetery Trustees are working with DPW.  Ms. Grella from the Purple Heart Committee will be coming before the Board sometime after Town Meeting.  Mr. Moore, Mr. Mears and Chief King will work together to address the complaint we received about traffic flow on Bittersweet Lane during elections. 

Mr. Moore discussed the process for organizing monthly Department Reports.  Mr. Houghton reiterated the need for the reports and suggested they set aside time to review them after the 15th of the month, when they are due. 

Mr. Moore presented the MS-636 for the Board’s signature, noting that it will be included in the Town Report, as is required. 

The Board then moved to the signing of the Town Warrant to be posted prior to February 24th.  Mr. Moore discussed the order of the Warrant Articles.  He checked with the DRA to confirm compliance.  It was decided the money articles should go first; select board matters second; citizen’s petitions last.  The Board signed the Warrant.

Mr. Moore reviewed the preparations being made for Town Meeting.  The Board discussed who would read the dedication and memoriam.  There was much discussion about how the budget will be presented.  They discussed meeting at a different time to have a more in depth discussion about Town Meeting.

Mr. Moore reviewed the communication efforts the Board has made to get information to the residents about the TIF.  The Public Hearing will be Thursday.  They discussed the false information on social media and the best way to get the facts to people.  They decided to hold open houses where residents could come in and ask questions.  Mr. Houghton advocated putting information in the newspaper and cited a couple of articles supporting development.  They discussed the detrimental effect to the tax rate should Lindt or Timberland ever leave the Town.  Conversation turned to expectations for Voter Information Night. 

At 10:18pm Ms. Knab voted to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3, II (a); Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion and all voted in favor. 

Following the non-public session, the public session resumed at 10:30 p.m. Ms. Knab moved to seal the minutes noting that failure to do so would render a proposed action ineffective.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

At 10:31 p.m. Mr. Lovejoy moved to adjourn.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard, Recording Secretary