TOWN OF WALPOLE
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
NOVEMBER 3, 2005
Selectmen Present: Sheldon Sawyer, Whitney Aldrich, Charles Miller
Mr. Sawyer opened the meeting at 7:30 P.M. with ten people present in the audience.
PUBLIC BUSINESS:
JOAN DeVAULT – RECREATION DEPARTMENT BUDGET: Joan DeVault reported that the tennis court and basketball court need to be resurfaced. An estimate from Wilson and Lawrence in Grafton is $13,979.00 for the same surface on both courts. She asked if the Board of Selectmen would like this figure put in the budget or submitted as a Warrant Article? There was a consensus of the Board of Selectmen to put it on as a Warrant Article. The lights in the park by the basketball court were donated by the Hooper Golf Club and Herb Hurlburt is working on the installation. There is money in the Recreation Department budget for basketball, soccer, PVA Hockey and the Senior Citizens. This year they included the Age In Motion that usually runs two sessions a year. Currently there is no policy for summer employees, rehiring or letting go; there is no back-up for positions terminating at the end of the season. The Board of Selectmen agreed that if the Recreation Department wants to draw-up a policy and submit it to them, they will review it. Some landscaping needs to be done near the pool; the Board of Selectmen agreed to have Jim Terrell assist in the spring. A future project to be considered is the playground near the pool as the equipment is not safe, it is antiquated and not ADA approved. There are many young families that would benefit from having a better playground there.
DAN SCHWENK – LAND EROSION: Dan Schwenk reported that they have had a lot of problems with land erosion from the South Street Creek. He lost close to 15’ of soil and the creek is about 25’ from his barn. The creek used to “Z” but now it goes straight down. Other properties owners in the area have had similar problems. Mr. Sawyer advised that the recent rains were equivalent to a 500-year storm; that is what FEMA is calling it. Since this is private property, the Board of Selectmen recommended that Mr. Schwenk and the other property owners contact FEMA. Mr. Sawyer said they can have somebody look at it to see if there is something that can be done to mitigate some of the problems but right now the Highway crew is still right out straight. For residents the FEMA Hotline phone number is 800-852-3792.
GARY DENNIS – WALPOLE YOUTH HOCKEY: Gary Dennis talked to Sam Jacobs about forming a Walpole Youth Hockey floor program but the school has so many scheduled activities that they felt finding another location would be more suitable. He asked for permission to use the second floor of the Town Hall. The teams would be for 4-to-6 year olds that would be wearing sneakers; they would have two small nets and would be using soft sticks that do not do any damage. It would involve about 45-to-60 minutes once a week. There are now 12 sets of parents interested in the program. It is his understanding that the second floor is available on Tuesdays in the early evening. The parents will be meeting in a few weeks; an approximate time might be from 6:00 to 7:00 pm or possibly 6:30 to 7:30 pm.
Mr. Aldrich moved to allow the Walpole Junior Youth Hockey teams use of the upstairs on Tuesday nights from 6:00 to 7:00 pm on a trial basis. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
SANTAW LANE: Mr. Sawyer announced that they still have not received an answer from the Local Government Center relative to the status of Santaw Lane. The Board of Selectmen will need another week before making a decision.
BUILDING PERMIT:
LLOYD HALL – MAP 011-014-000: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve Building Permit No. 2005-044 for Lloyd Hall to construct a house with attached garage on the LeClaire Road. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Accounts Payable check register and manifest in the amount of $90,164.36. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
PAYROLL: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the payroll voucher for the week ending October 29, 2005, for gross wages in the amount of $16,679.62 or net wages in the amount of $9,574.78. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the electronic fund transfer for the Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $4,043.85. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
MINUTES –SELECTMEN’S MEETING- OCTOBER 27, 2005: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Minutes of the public Board of Selectmen’s meeting of October 27, 2005, as printed. Seconded by Mr. Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer amended the motion as follows: Page 2 –Set the 2005 Tax Rate- change “2006” to “2005” in three places and “2005” to “2004” in one place.
Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Sawyer were in favor of the amendment and motion. Mr. Miller abstained as he was not present at this meeting.
DEPARTMENT / COMMITTEE REPORTS:
The Board of Selectmen received and reviewed the minutes of the following meetings: 1) the North Walpole Village Board of Commissioners – November 01, 2005; 2) the Planning Board Work Session – October 25, 2005; and 3) the Hooper Institute Committee – October 18, 2005.
WARRANTS:
INTENT TO CUT TIMBER –WENTWORTH HUBBARD- MAP 010-019-000: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Notice of Intent to Cut Timber for Wentworth Hubbard for 75 cord of wood on Levy Lane. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
INTENT TO CUT TIMBER –WENTWORTH HUBBARD- MAP 012-067-000: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Notice of Intent to Cut Timber for Wentworth Hubbard for 100 cord of wood. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
INTENT TO CUT TIMBER – KENNETH RAMSAY – MAP 016-005-000: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Notice of Intent to Cut Timber for Kenneth Ramsay. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
REPORT OF WOOD CUT – KENNETH RAMSAY – MAP 016-005-000: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Warrant for the Report of Wood Cut in the amount of $1,498.00 for Kenneth Ramsay. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
REPORT OF WOOD CUT - LESLIE KREEK – MAP 011-043-005: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Warrant for the Report of Wood Cut in the amount of $296.00 for Leslie Kreek on the Valley Road. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
WARRANT FOR THE COLLECTION OF WALPOLE WATER FEES: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Warrant for the Collection of Walpole Water Fees in the amount of $79,098.16. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
WARRANT FOR THE COLLECTION OF WALPOLE SEWER FEES: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Warrant for the Collection of Walpole Sewer Fees in the amount of $43,348.72. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted.
OLD BUSINESS:
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT LETTER – REF: COMPLAINT ON BLACK JACK CROSSING: Mr. Sawyer visited the property on Black Jack Crossing but no one was present. He suggested writing a letter to the property owner to ask him to come to the next meeting of the Board of Selectmen; Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Miller agreed.
EAST SIDE DOORS – MR. MILLER: Mr. Miller is trying to get an estimate to repair the east side doors of the Town Hall.
NEW ENGLAND POWER: Mr. Aldrich moved to approve signing a draft settlement assessment agreement between the New England Power Company and the Town of Walpole but it is with the understanding that a letter will be written to Gary at Avitar to check on Mr. Miller’s concerns. Seconded by Mr. Sawyer. Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Sawyer were in favor of the motion. Mr. Miller abstained from this vote.
NEW BUSINESS:
WARRANT ARTICLE PROPOSAL – BRIDGE MEMORIAL LIBRARY: The Board of Selectmen acknowledged receipt of a Warrant Article for the Bridge Memorial Library to replace the furnace and duct work in the amount of $5,400.00.
TAX BILL REQUEST: The Board of Selectmen put the tax bill change request from the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Public TV on-hold pending receipt of more input.
STORM RELATED OVER-TIME: The Board of Selectmen discussed the over-time hours during the disaster relief.
COLD RIVER ROAD: Mr. Sawyer advised that the top layer of mix will be put on the Cold River Road tomorrow. Because there aren’t any guardrails, Mr. Sawyer suggested putting up some barriers with yellow tape to mark the road off. There was a consensus of the Board of Selectmen to have Jim Terrell put up “limited to local traffic only” signs if he chooses to do so.
MEETING ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH: Mr. Aldrich moved to reschedule the Thursday, November 24th meeting, as it is Thanksgiving Day, to Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005. This meeting will be for monetary purposes only; there will be no public business. Seconded by Mr. Sawyer. All in favor, so voted.
FALL MOUNTAIN REGION SCHOOL DISTRICT: The Board of Selectmen acknowledged receipt of a letter from Robert Beaudry, Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Fall Mountain Region School District, regarding budget questions for the next school year.
Mr. Aldrich moved to adjourn this meeting. Seconded by Mr. Miller. All in favor, so voted. The time was 10:40 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Regina Borden ______________________
THESE ARE UNAPPROVED MINUTES. CORRECTIONS, IF NECESSARY, MAY BE FOUND IN THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 10th, 2005, SELECTMEN’S MEETING.