Select Board Minutes 10/28/19

MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 28, 2019 SELECT BOARD MEETING

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

At 7:00 p.m. Mr. Houghton opened the meeting.

MINUTES
Mr. Lovejoy made a motion to approve the minutes of 10/7/19 as amended.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 

TREASURER
In Town Treasurer Deb Bronson’s absence, Mr. Moore reported out on the General Fund balance of $3,343,562.00 he was provided by Ms. Bronson.  The schools have been paid.  Tax bills will be going out shortly. 

ASSESSING
The Chair recognized Town Assessor Andrea Lewy.  Ms. Lewy recommended three veterans receive the veteran’s tax credit.  Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the recommendation.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 

Ms. Lewy recommended approving the last five lots at Whittaker Drive for a Land Use Change Tax for a total of $90,000.  The money would go into the Conservation Fund.  Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the recommendation.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 

At 7:20 p.m. at Ms. Lewy’s suggestion, Ms. Knab made a motion to enter a non-public session to discuss legal matters regarding the Town.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 

At 7:30 p.m. Mr. Lovejoy moved to come out of non-public session and seal the minutes, indicating that failure to do so would render the action ineffective.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion.

Ms. Lewy reviewed the results of the revaluation and noted that the average increase for residential properties was 20%. She noted this was her third reval with the Town of Stratham and the other revals took place at points in time where the residential market was stagnant or worse and less dramatic increases were seen.  However, the land values have gone up significantly, as they have all over the seacoast for this reval period.

The Chair recognized Police Chief Anthony King to present Emergency Response Planning Updates and Training.  Recently, an alarm was accidentally triggered at the Cooperative Middle School, causing the school to go into lockdown.  Chief King detailed the events, commenting on what procedures worked well and what could be improved.  He praised the school, the first responders and the community for their efforts to help the students.  Protocol for this type of event was recently reviewed in a tabletop exercise involving Stratham’s Police Dept. as well as Homeland Security and other Federal agencies and the SAU schools.  They discussed the event.

NEW BUSINESS
The Chair recognized Town Moderator Dave Emanuel who appeared at the Board’s request to discuss the Budget Advisory Committee.  Mr. Emanuel reviewed how the process has worked over the years.  It was agreed that the Committee’s role in weighing on goals and overall strategy that goes into creating the budget is valuable and should be a future focus.  The group discussed weights of structuring the meetings and the work of the Committee to this end.  Much discussion was given to changing the process going forward including revising the frequency, content and timeline of the meetings.  The Board indicate it plans to place on creating budgets that align with the Town’s strategic initiatives (Master Plan, infrastructure requirements based on MS4 or EPA regulations, addressing capital expenditures, etc.).  Mr. Moore will work on the details of a draft schedule of meetings for the BAC and review with the Board at a later meeting.  The topic will be revisited next Monday.  Committee appointments were also discussed.

RESERVATIONS
Girls on the Run, a 501c3, requested use of Room A next March and requested the fee be waived.  Mr. Lovejoy motioned to approve the request.  Ms. Knab seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS
The Chair then moved to the proposal for naming the small park area at the end of River Road.  He reported out on the Board’s desired motion discussed at the last meeting, a public hearing on a matter, in accordance with the Town’s policy.   Ms. Knab moved to name the small park area at the end of River Road and near the Town landing the “Dorothy Clemons River Road Park at Stratham Town Landing” and to further amend the Board’s policy to reflect the addition of this named area to a list of named facilities. Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 

Heritage Commission is recommending a clarification to their Veterans engraving policy.  Ms. Knab made a motion to accept the recommendation of the Heritage Commission.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 

Mr. Moore updated the Board on the work Jeff Gallagher is doing to organize the Veteran’s Day ceremony on behalf of the Board and the Town.

Next, Mr. Moore reported that conversations have been ongoing regarding the Parks & Recreation / DPW reorganization.  They are working on the details and will be reflected in budget proposals being drafted.

Mr. Moore will reach out to the various committees regarding the restructuring of the budget process.  He suggested some changes going forward.

Mr. Moore reported out on the work of the Finance Administrator and indicated the interviews are being scheduled for the Accounting & Benefits Coordinator. 

Next week Chief King will present his department report.  At that time he will preview his budget with a focus on his personnel allocation plan. 

Mr. Moore reviewed the Capital Improvements Plan suggesting modifications on how it is structured and what is included.  Discussion primarily centered on computer and vehicle replacement planning.  Other topics included planning for maintenance on the municipal center and other town owned properties, town-wide recreation improvements, library improvements, etc. 

Mr. Moore reported the Library and Parks & Recreation department are making progress with senior programming and the new senior space, a schedule for its opening is being refined.

Mr. Moore addressed the next item on the agenda - TIF outreach.  He and the Board discussed the recent TIF event and some of the questions and concerns raised.  They discussed future outreach efforts and events.  A TIF FAQ document is in draft form for November distribution and an outreach event was also tentatively set for January.  

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR
Mr. Moore has developed a memo to accompany the Select Board agenda.  The memo gives more detail as to the topics the Board will cover in their meeting.  Mr. Moore has also developed Action Sheets, which note actions that are taken during a Select Board meeting.  It was decided to distribute the memo, along with the agenda and to discontinue sending the minutes and only send the Action Sheet in order to communicate actions in a more timely manner.  Mr. Moore indicated he would follow-up with this after he worked out the technical aspects with staff.

Mr. Moore advised that he had received a budget request submission by the Heritage Commission, which included funding for the completion of a survey of historic properties likely eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.  Mr. Houghton believes the upcoming meeting will be focused on creating a Historic District or recording an inventory of significant properties.

Mr. Moore presented a request from Director of Public Works Nate Mears to trade in equipment.  Ms. Knab made a motion to approve the request.  Mr. Houghton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. Houghton made a motion to authorize Finance Administrator Dawna Duhamel to have administrative privileges for the Town credit card.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. Moore reported that there will be a special meeting of the Recreation Commission to dissolve the softball program and merge with Exeter.  Mr. Lovejoy noted that the Softball Board requested that funds and equipment be transferred to the proposed program with Exeter.   He shared that he does not believe the Recreation Commission is inclined to endorse such request.

In addition, Mr. Lovejoy noted Parks & Recreation Director Seth Hickey would like to keep an entry level program in town. 

Other upcoming meetings this week are the Curbside Collection Advisory Committee and a Housing Summit meeting geared toward housing affordability in communities without water and sewer.  . 

As recommended by Town Planner Tavis Austin, Mr. Moore presented three performance agreements for signature.  Given the late hour, Mr. Moore recommend these be reviewed and executed at a later date.

Mr. Lovejoy spoke to the value he has found in the past of attending the NH Municipal Annual Meeting being held in November. 

At 10:21 pm Ms. Knab made a motion to adjourn.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen Richard
Recording Secretary