BOS Minutes 10/15/18
MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 15, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
MEMBER’S PRESENT: Board Members Bob O’Sullivan, Mike Houghton and Town Administrator Paul Deschaine. Joe Lovejoy was unable to attend this evening.
At 7:03 pm Mr. Houghton opened the public meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
MINUTES
Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to accept the amended minutes of 10/1/18. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
TREASURER
Town Treasurer Deb Bronson reported that the General Fund balance is $5,612,786.58.
Mr. Houghton wanted to make everyone aware of the upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Day being held Saturday, October 20th from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Exeter DPW Garage.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Joyce Charbonneau requested the office be closed Election day, as she feels it will be extremely busy with approximately 4,500 people expected to vote. The employees will work helping with the Election. Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to close the Town Offices on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously. She will make a request to the Library Trustees to close the library that day. Public Works Director Colin Laverty said that he will discuss logistics of traffic and parking with Ms. Charbonneau and Police Chief Scippa. Mr. Deschaine talked about past practices.
Ms. Charbonneau requested that there be no bake sales on Election Day, as it prolongs the number of people staying in the building when it is important to move people in and out quickly. There have been two requests to hold a bake sale. Resident Dave Canada spoke in support of the bake sale fundraisers. They are very popular. Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to authorize the Historical Society and the 76er’s to hold a bake sale at the election. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Ms. Charbonneau distributed the current returned check policy. It doesn’t address electronic payments. She will draft a new policy and present it to the Selectmen at a later date.
Heritage Commission Chair Dave Canada is seeking to obtain a baseline document for the Bartlett-Cushman House which is required for the preservation easement. It cost $3,000 for the Baseline Document and $500 for the Conditions Report to be paid for from the Heritage Preservation Fund. Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to authorize spending the funds as proposed. Mr. Houghton confirmed that the preservation easement is the only way to protect to protect the home’s historical features for future generations. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
PUBLIC WORKS
Public Works Director Colin Laverty and Assistant General Manager of Casella Waste Systems Brian Groshan reported that recycling markets have been changing over the past several months causing the Town to explore other options. Switching from manual to automated collection will save the Town money ($612,000 over 8 years). Mr. Laverty reported on the financial drivers and Mr. Groshan reported on the instability of the recycling market. In addition to the lowered cost of automation, Mr. Laverty cited cleanliness (debris doesn’t blow with the wind) as a benefit. Recycling would go to every other week. The larger bins are ample enough to hold 2 weeks’ worth of recycling. Also, it would reduce the MSW quantity tonnage by discouraging residents who are putting out trash not generated by their household. Mr. Laverty proposed keeping the Transfer Station open every Saturday, even during the winter, and opening a day during the week. They discussed the difficulty and cost involved in glass recycling. Mr. Laverty proposed a CIP budget for $339,290.40 for MSW and Recycling carts. He recommends the condos throughout town be included in the collection. Mr. Deschaine noted the space restraints of the condominiums. Mr. Laverty continued, saying the contracts are for longer terms due to Casella’s investment. They continued to talk about fees and costs. Conservation Commission member Allison Knab said the Conservation Commission supports this initiative. Mr. O’Sullivan also voiced support. There will be public information sessions to explain why the Town advocates going to an automated process. It will most likely be a Warrant Article.
Mr. Laverty sent a request to NHDOT to install “Share the Road” signs on state roads. Town Planner Tavis Austin has offered money from a “Special Project” fund to pay for the signs. Mr. Laverty is working with the Pedestrian & Cyclist Advocacy Committee on this. He will submit a map showing the locations of the signs so that there is a record of it. Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion pending the mapping out of sign placement for the Pedestrian & Cyclist Advocacy Committee to move forward with the project. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion.
Mr. Laverty hopes to do a Public Works Safety Day at Stratham Hill Park next year. He has been talking with UNH about a Public Works Expo. He would involve neighboring communities and include vendors that cater to public works. It would be open to public works departments throughout the state. Only the vendors would be charged a fee.
Mr. Laverty said that he will be on vacation from October 19 – 26.
Mr. Houghton asked about the lights that were knocked down in the Town Center. Mr. Laverty just received the police report and will coordinate with the insurance company to get it reinstalled as soon as possible but may not be for another two months. The pendant on the other pole was broken and has been reordered.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Deschaine gave background on the process for selecting a new Town Administrator. The consulting firm, MRI, has narrowed the pool of candidates to five. They discussed dates/times to do interviews. The selectmen and the three additional resident interviewers decided on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24th. At 8:33 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion enter into a non-public session. Mr. O’Sullivan seconded the motion which passed unanimously. At 9:07 pm Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to come out of the non-public session and seal the minutes. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
Library Director Lesley Kimball requested a disbursement from the CIP Library Computer Replacement line. It is time to upgrade the software on the public computers. Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to authorize not more than $5,000 to upgrade the firmware and software on the servers supporting the Linex terminals. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Deschaine said the warrant for the November election needs to be signed and posted.
Mr. Deschaine said that they needed to appoint a new deputy Health Officer to perform school/daycare inspections, etc. Mr. O’Sullivan and Mr. Houghton signed the document to authorize Code Enforcement/Building Inspector Shanti Wolph to be the deputy Health Officer. The form then goes to the State for final approval.
Mr. Deschaine said that he needs to finalize the audit, as it is holding up the MS4. He has been busy finalizing the Smyk property closing, the old town hall preservation easement and the Barker conservation easement. He described in detail the issues related to each item.
RESERVATIONS
Mr. Deschaine said that the local representative of Mary Kay would like to use the Scamman Pavilion on Oct. 28th to hold a fundraiser to raise awareness of domestic violence. The selectmen approved use of the pavilion but declined to waive the fee, stating there is no recipient listed for the monies raised.
Mr. Houghton said that, regrettably, he will be away on business the week of November 5th. He is concerned about scheduling budget meetings and department head evaluations. They would like to do the budget advisory meetings in December this year so that the new Town Administrator can see the process. Dave Emmanuel needs to make the appointments.
Mr. Houghton expressed reservations about the salary evaluation process. Mr. O’Sullivan advocated using an average of the Boston Brockton CPI. Mr. Deschaine said that there has typically been a comparative market analysis done but noted difficulties with that process. Mr. O’Sullivan feels the department heads should be empowered to evaluate and set their staffs’ increase. Mr. Houghton would like to see more discussion and planning put into the process.
In light of Mr. Houghton’s inability to make the November 5th meeting, they decided to move the next selectmen’s meeting to November 12th. Mr. Houghton would like Department Heads to complete evaluations and make their recommendations for merit increases by November 16th. They talked in general terms about average percentages, operating budgets remaining flat and the CIP. It was strongly felt that Mr. Lovejoy’s input is needed. Because of the Step Program at the Police Dept., Police Chief Scippa’s recommendations will be done differently. They discussed budgets and increases in general.
At 9:48 pm Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary