Meeting Minutes

SELECTMEN’S MEETING MINUTES

December 18, 2017

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 P.M. by Chairman Harris.  Present were Ms. Pitt and Mrs. Paight. Also present were Ellen Smith, Town Administrator, Ellen Orkins, Tax Collector/Town Clerk and the three members of the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) Daniel Belluscio, Richard Hill and Jeffrey Miller.

There was a brief discussion about Mrs. Orkins proposed budgets.  The only significant increases were due to the fact that 2018 has three elections when 2017 had just one.  There may be a reduction in ballot printing, more information is needed.

A few comments were made on last week’s Police Budget presentation and that it would be helpful to have data and statistics to better analyze staffing needs.

The proposed budget for the Conservation Commission was slightly lower.  The water testing fees for the Town beach are to be reclassified to the Recreation budget.  The $400 annual registration fee for the Meetinghouse Pond Dam will be added back to this budget due to the lack of a more appropriate budget to house the expenditure.

Brian Tarr joined the meeting at 2:20 P.M. to discuss the Roadway and Highway budgets.  Mr. Tarr increased the asphalt line item by $ 25,000 to help catch up with paving projects.  Southwest Regional Planning Commission has a program that helps municipalities develop a road plan which can then be used for better budgeting and prioritizing.  Mr. Tarr will look further into this program.  Additional funds were added to loader maintenance to cover the cost of brakes and center pins in 2018. The 1998 machine currently has 6,500 hours.

Questions were asked as to how the highway wages were allocated between highway, water and sewer budgets.  Mrs. Paight was able to clarify that 90% stays in Highway, 8.8% goes to the water budget and 1.2% goes to the sewer budget.

The final item brought forward by Mr. Tarr was the proposal to add on to the highway garage with a 36’x38’ Morton Building. The current facility is crammed with equipment and the additional space is needed to get the rest of the equipment out of the weather.  The approximate cost of the building is $ 71,800 with an additional $ 12,500 for cement which will be a separate bid.  The estimate does not include heat.  Ms. Pitt asked if there was an option to lease, Mr. Tarr was not sure so he will follow up.

David Aiken joined the meeting at 2:50 P.M. and Mr. Tarr left at 3:15 P.M.

Mr. Aiken of the RTC is asking for a modest wage increase for his staff.  The BOS would like to see comparative data and is not taking up increases at this time.  There was a lot of discussion about the flow of the facility and how the work is labor intensive and very physical.  BAC members suggested touring other facilities to see how the RTC could be configured differently to perhaps make it more of a “self-serve” for users, alleviating some of the labor.  The major increase in the RTC budget is occurring because of increased mandated testing and monitoring of the closed landfill as required by NH DES. A new vendor is being used to dispose of electronics which should realize some savings moving forward.

Mr. Aiken left the meeting at 4:00 P.M. and BAC members left at 4:15 P.M.

Ms. Pitt moved Chairman Harris seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the December 11, 2017 meeting, vote to approve was 2-0, Mrs. Paight was absent.

Mrs. Paight moved and Chairman Harris seconded a motion to accept the December 14, 2017 Direct Deposit Register in the amount of $7,821.20 and Payroll Check Register in the amount of $1,040.40, the December 21, 2017 Direct Deposit Register in the amount of $9,246.50 and Payroll Check Register in the amount of $26,252.81, the December 11, 2017 Accounts Payable in the amount of $35,302.42 and the December 18, 2017 Accounts Payable in the amount of $ 411,326.97, vote to approve was unanimous.

Chairman Harris will contact Town Council about Charter Communications negotiations.

The next regular Board of Selectmen’s meeting will be held on Tuesday December 26, 2017.

Chairman Harris moved and Mrs. Paight seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting, vote to approve was 3-0.  Meeting adjourned at 4:30 pm.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Ellen Smith

Town Administrator