Select Board Minutes 7/1/19
MINUTES OF THE JULY 1, 2019 SELECT BOARD MEETING
MEMBER’S PRESENT: Board Members Mike Houghton, Joe Lovejoy, Allison Knab and Town Administrator David Moore.
At 7:00 p.m. Mr. Houghton opened the public meeting of the Select Board.
MINUTES
Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to approve the minutes of 6/17/19. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
TREASURER
Town Treasurer Deb Bronson reported that the General Fund balance is $12,268,710.88.
ASSESSING
Town Assessor Andrea Lewy was recognized by the Chair to provider her Department’s quarterly report to the Select Board. Ms. Lewy presented a Veteran’s tax credit for the year 2020 that meets all the criteria. Mr. Houghton made a motion to approve the Veteran’s tax credit for Andrew Stellmach. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Next, Ms. Lewy presented a request for a solar exemption. She suggested that, in the future, the Board may want to consider a warrant article to exempt the total cost instead of limiting the amount as is done currently. Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the solar exemption for Joan Alger. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Ms. Lewy presented three land use change tax bills and warrants. Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the bills and the warrants related to three lots at Breslin Farm. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Ms. Lewy presented a timber tax warrant and bill for $918.38. Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the timber tax warrant and bill for Albert Carbonneau’s lots. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Next, Ms. Lewy presented a timber tax bill and warrant for $21.68 Rollins Hill Development. Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the timber tax bill and warrant for Rollins Hill Development. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Moore reviewed the timber tax procedures.
Ms. Lewy presented an updated map and reported the department is finishing up the revaluation. In order to promote education across the staff, Ms. Lewy indicated she intends to review assessment cards and notices to residents on the staff and offer to explain them. This effort is intended to help the Town staff communicate about the revaluation who may be asked about revaluations in the community. She would like to mail the preliminary notices next week. Hearings would begin either the 19th or 22nd and will continue for two weeks. She continued to describe the process, including how she arrives at the final numbers and next steps. The commercial appraiser is also making good progress. The Board asked questions about the timeline and preliminary vs final assessments. They discussed the tax rate, higher assessments and the likelihood that the tax rate would go down. It was noted that, similar to Exeter and other locales going through revals, the value of condos and smaller homes is increasing because the market is much larger for those properties. They discussed the economy and the effect on the valuations as opposed to previous years where the revaluations took place during or soon after macroeconomic downturns.
RESERVATIONS AND PERMITS
The Exeter Area Garden Club is requesting use of Rooms A and B for April 2020 and, consistent with the Select Board policy for non-profit organizations, waiver of the fee. Mr. Houghton made a motion to approve the use and waive the fee. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
The 4-H Cottontail Club is requesting to hold a raffle at the Stratham Fair. Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the raffle application. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
The Skate Park Committee is also requesting to hold a raffle at the Stratham Fair. There was discussion about whether this group is a non-profit group or not. After reviewing the State RSA on the application, it was deemed the group met the definition established for the raffle rules. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to approve the raffle application. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
APPOINTMENTS
Mr. Moore reviewed the current openings on the Planning Board and noted a new resignation which had been received during the day. He summarized there were now two openings for regular members and one opening for an alternate position. He noted that, depending on whether a current alternate is appointed to a “regular” seat, there could be as many as two openings for alternate positions. The resignation letter received was submitted from Bob Baskerville. He is stepping down from his position as chairman and regular member but has offered to serve as alternate. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to accept with regret Mr. Baskerville’s resignation effective immediately as a regular member of the Planning Board and to thank him for his service as a regular member and chairman. Ms. Knab seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Ms. Knab made a motion to appoint Rob Roseen to a regular voting member on the Planning Board. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to appoint Colin Laverty as a regular member of the Planning Board. Ms. Knab seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to appoint Pamela Hollasch as an alternate member of the Planning Board. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Mr. Houghton made a motion to appoint Bob Baskerville to the alternate position on the Planning Board. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Mr. Houghton inquired about a potential conflict with the application the Board received from a sitting ZBA member to serve on the Planning Board and asked Mr. Moore to provide additional information about this at a later date. Ms. Knab noted that Ms. Hollasch has indicated willingness to serve as a commissioner representing Stratham at the Rockingham Planning Commission.
OLD BUSINESS
The week of August 12th is the schedule for installation of the remaining light pole in Town Center.
Mr. Moore said that although there is a tremendous amount of work being put into the Master Plan, there is nothing new to report in terms of process as the Board is up to speed. The new draft will include new content as requested during the recent Planning Board/Master Plan Steering Committee meeting and other in-depth reviews from Boards and Commissions which are in various stages.
Regarding the site investigation in Town Center, Mr. Moore reported monitoring wells were installed last Thursday. In two weeks they can begin to draw samples. There are new proposed regulations regarding PFAS compounds which will impact Stratham. Mr. Lovejoy explained the legislature defeated the bill because they didn’t have expertise within the group to determine appropriate levels. It was passed to DES for consideration, which is progressing through their rulemaking steps.
NEW BUSINESS
The Board discussed the draft agenda for the All Employee meeting. They reviewed the topics to be presented at the meeting. These include receiving input from the staff, health insurance, IT, communication efforts, human resource development, curbside collection, PFAS update, the Master Plan, and the Rt 108 Study Committee final report. They discussed organization and logistics of the meeting.
The Select Board inquired about the Police cruiser recently “totaled” as a result of a review of the insurance adjustor. This was the vehicle damaged in an accident late last month. Mr. Moore indicated he is reviewing procedures for accepting the insurance proceeds and applying them to a vehicle replacement, which is necessary for basic operations of the department.
Mr. Moore briefly discussed being at the halfway point for the budget and he recommended taking a more detailed look together at the next meeting.
Mr. Moore reported the Town only received one bid for the 2001 International truck, which was under the minimum requirement. The Board decided not to accept the bid based on that fact and to re-issue the notice with some changes.
Mr. Moore presented a letter of resignation from Town Treasurer Deb Bronson effective December 31st, who has served as Treasurer of the Town for six years. Mr. Moore reported Ms. Bronson cites her original intention to stay on up to five years as well as her willingness to be involved in the Town in other capacities in the future. Ms. Knab made a motion to accept the resignation and send a letter of thank you. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Mr. Moore added that Ms. Bronson has been very thoughtful to ensure time to plan for transition.
Mr. Moore met with Cemetery Trustee June Sawyer to review the work to be done at the cemeteries. Some work has been delayed because of staffing transitions and vacancies in positions (workers’ compensation and resignation). Mr. Houghton encouraged the Board and Administrator to recognize there have been disruptions due to transitions and that the patience of the community has been appreciated as has the work of the staff to “step-up” during the transitions.
Mr. Moore advised Curbside Collection Advisory Committee will have their first meeting next Monday, July 8th.
Mr. Moore noted Stratham has signed up for the State of NH Code Red/Emergency Notification system to expand the community’s ability to communicate in emergencies. It enables emergency services (and in some cases non-emergency services) to communicate through the phone if there is an emergency. Training is the next step.
At 9:01 p.m. Mr. Houghton made a motion to enter into a non-public session to discuss personnel matters. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. At 9:40 p.m. Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to come out of the non-public session and seal the minutes after finding failure to do so would render the action taken ineffective. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Ms. Knab made a motion to accept Accounting Supervisor Valerie Kemp’s resignation as of October 4th due to her upcoming retirement. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Houghton made a motion to accept the Temporary Alternation of Duty Policy for injured workers returning to work. Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
At 9:40 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary