BOS Minutes 5/21/18
MINUTES OF THE MAY 21, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
MEMBER’S PRESENT: Board Members Bob O’Sullivan, Joe Lovejoy, Mike Houghton and Town Administrator Paul Deschaine.
At 6:30 pm Mr. Houghton made a motion to go into a non-public session to discuss a personnel matter. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously. At 7:18 pm Mr. Houghton motioned to come out of the non-public session and seal the minutes. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
At 7:23 pm Chairman Houghton opened the general meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
MINUTES
Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to approve the minutes from May 14, 2018. Mr. O’Sullivan seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
TREASURER
Town Treasurer Deb Bronson stated that the General Fund balance is $3,872,697.75.
RESERVATIONS
Roger Thompson, Port City Amateur Radio Club, is requesting use of the top of the hill at Stratham Hill Park for an overnight from June 22 through June 24, 2018. Mr. Lovejoy motioned to authorize the use. Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Mr. Deschaine explained that it is a worldwide contest of amateur radio operators to see how many countries they can connect to.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Deschaine said that four properties are scheduled for tax deeding. Two have payment plans and require the Selectmen to sign a waiver of deed lien form. Today was the day the owners were notified that the property would be deeded, however, Tax Collector Joyce Charbonneau has requested forbearance. The Selectmen decided to defer until June 4th.
The Town held Doe Run Lane property has been declared surplus. The Planning Board and the Conservation Commission will be notified.
The Selectmen signed the Performance Agreement from Mr. Perlowski. However, the Letter of Credit had no maturity or expiring date noted. Mr. Perlowski will have bank revise it. The Performance Agreement will be held until the Letter of Credit is received.
Bruce Scamman of Emanuel Companies followed up with a revised Performance Agreement for the Millbrook Office Park but still referenced the Letter of Credit. Also, he didn’t have an amount in the Performance Agreement. The understanding reached last week is not being followed.
Mr. Houghton made a motion to appoint, upon the recommendation of the Planning Board, Rebecca Mitchell to the Technical Review Committee, to replace Nathan Merrill upon his resignation. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Deschaine sent around a list of Smyk house restrictions that identifies items that would create potential hardships in the long term. Some of the provisions are illogical and could be burdensome to the town in the future. Reviewing them now and having the Trustees endorse the recommendations would make it easier if these items were to someday go to probate court. Items discussed were:
Playground equipment – The bequest states it must be made of wood. Currently, wood is considered unsafe and has been removed from school playgrounds.
Management of the Property – The bequest has been given to the Trustees of the Trust Funds. It is against state law for the Trustees to manage property; they can only manage funds. Mr. O’Sullivan advocated the Parks & Recreation Dept. manage the property. Mr. Houghton felt the Selectmen or its designee should manage the property.
Trees – The Selectmen agreed that if trees need to be replaced, they will be of similar species of at least an inch and a half in diameter.
Topography – The Selectmen agreed that no significant changes may be made to the topography of the land and the park except to provide for parking to support its future use around the original building structure. They were in agreement to take down the building.
Potential structure – The bequest states its height must not exceed 20 feet. A pavilion would exceed that. The Selectmen agreed to recommend adopting our zoning ordinance limitation of 35 feet instead.
Mr. Deschaine will share the modifications with the attorney.
Parks & Recreation Director Seth Hickey presented Mr. Deschaine with a contract for Pillar Design to design the Skate Park. The Selectmen noted they haven’t seen a report comparing possible locations for the park, nor have they seen a site plan. Mr. O’Sullivan remarked that Public Works Director Colin Laverty had significant concerns regarding building it at Stevens Park. Mr. Houghton advocated receiving multiple bids for the design.
The selectmen discussed Memorial Day events.
Mr. Deschaine brought to the Board’s attention the reduction in marketability of recyclables, particularly glass. For the first time this past month, we have had to pay Casella more than the guaranteed $75 per ton to process recyclables since there were no revenues received from the sale of recycled materials. He didn’t plan for this in the budget. Mr. O’Sullivan expressed concern regarding the environmental impact. They discussed alternatives and will continue to watch the situation. It will, most likely, continue to be a problem which will need to be addressed during budget season.
Public Works Director Colin Laverty as part of the Joint Loss Management Committee would like to hold a Safety Slogan contest among the employees to raise awareness and get them involved. Mr. Houghton motioned to authorize the Safety Mission Slogan contest as outlined in the May 12, 2018 draft memo. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Regarding the Bartlett-Cushman house, Mr. O’Sullivan commented that with all the Heritage Commission’s restrictions it is unlikely the house will sell. Mr. Houghton said it has been included in the lease/sale for over a year. It hasn’t been a concern with the current party, if she is still interested. The discussion was tabled for another time.
Mr. Houghton wanted to devote the rest of the meeting to discuss the presentation for the all employee meeting on Thursday and the establishment of the Board’s priorities for 2018. Mr. Deschaine presented the organizational chart and a draft dashboard template. Mr. Houghton reviewed last year’s meeting and wants to continue the format with Thursday’s meeting. He will start with organizational chart, then follow with how the Board is looking to transform the organization by empowering department heads. He will then discuss the progress from last meeting, and what is yet to be done, and what else needs to be done using the Start, Stop, Continue process again. Mr. Lovejoy will talk about priorities and accomplishments. The Selectmen discussed items on last year’s list.
The Selectmen will review last year’s list with the employees to hear their opinions regarding what’s on the list, what should be carried over, what can be discontinued and what needs to be added. As was done last year, they want three big easels on which to write. Mr. Houghton hopes for more engagement between meetings, as a Board, working on these issues. These should be priorities. Mr. O’Sullivan expressed concern that they are taking more on, yet they are reducing the number of times they meet. He wondered what they, as a Board, are required to do vs what they are we doing that they don’t have to. They debated some items on the list, whether or not they can or should be done.
Mr. Deschaine asked to revisit the organizational chart, noting that he added depth by listing assistants’ positions. He described the difficulty as to where his position should be in the chart. Mr. Houghton noted his original intention with the chart was to talk about how they hope to transition the organizational structure and approach; bring clarity of roles and responsibilities and establish expectations with dept. heads so we understand accountability and we have a process to move forward dept. by dept. At this phase, the selectmen didn’t want a detailed chart. Mr. O’Sullivan originally asked for the organizational chart to learn the role of BOS relative to the organization.
They discussed priorities for 2018, including an annual review of real estate assets, organizational empowerment, the master plan, and the Route 108 Corridor Study Committee. Other priorities include MS4 compliance, organizational/employee development. Mr. O’Sullivan advocates fewer goals, making the potential to accomplish them more realistic. Mr. Houghton views the meeting as an opportunity to engage in idea generation.
The Board signed the final draft of the Rules of Procedure. Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to accept the draft of the Rules of Procedure. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Mr. Houghton proposed that beginning in June the Selectmen will begin to meet on the second and fourth Monday’s of the month. Because of the short notice and the holiday, they agreed to meet June 4th. In discussing the twice a month schedule, Mr. Houghton believes they can work more efficiently, noting items can be accomplished outside the Monday meetings. Mr. Deschaine noted there would be obstacles to the twice a month schedule, including difficulty with Eagle Scout projects. He outlined the steps he’s taken to avoid the problem, yet it continues.
Mr. O’Sullivan questioned various items that come before the Board that, perhaps, don’t need to. Mr. Houghton recognized that organizational development is on the list of priorities.
At 9:37pm Mr. O’Sullivan made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary