TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN

FEBRUARY 01, 2007

Selectmen Present:   Whitney Aldrich, Charles Miller, Sheldon Sawyer

Mr. Aldrich called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM with seven people present in the audience.

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

NEXT BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING:  The Board of Selectmen announced that their next regular meeting will be changed from Thursday, February 8^th, 2007 to Wednesday, February 7^th, 2007, at 7:30 PM

JEFF EARLS – CROSS COUNTRY APPRAISAL GROUP:  Jeff Earls, Cross Country Appraisal Group, LLC, discussed the specific services that the Board of Selectmen is requiring including the general assessing, statistical up-date and the time table.  Several documents were reviewed for pertinent information.  Mr. Earls will submit two quotes; one will include the utilities and the second will be without the utilities.        

DENNIS PELLEGRINO – ABATEMENT DISCUSSION:   Dennis Pellegrino and the Board of Selectmen negotiated an Abatement settlement.  They reached an agreement for a total value of $471,500 for one property on Map 021, Lot 013. 

KRYSTYNA MARCOM:  Krystyna Marcom submitted a Petition to the Board of Selectmen on September 6^th, 2006, but never received a response and she wanted to know what was going to happen to it.  She declared that she is not anti-memorial but the Common is a public place and any changes would be altering that space.  Mrs. Marcom left a copy of the previous Petition with the following wording: 

“We, the undersigned citizens and voters of Walpole, hereby petition the Selectmen to defer any decisions on the construction of all permanent structures or monuments on the “Walpole Town Common” to a vote of the town by an article on the official ballot to be voted on at the polls”.  It has 76 signatures. 

Mr. Sawyer stated that the Board of Selectmen will seek a legal opinion to see if it is properly worded and whether or not it can be put on the ballot. 

WRAP COMMITTEE:  George Watkins advised that members of the WRAP Committee were disappointed when they looked at the Warrant and discovered that only one of their Articles was on it even though they submitted five.  They had given a lot of thought to them before presenting them to the Board.  1) The first item is the burn pit as they do not know how long it will last.  They asked for $5,000 but it may not cost that much.  Mr. Sawyer felt that the burn pit could be considered as maintenance so it would be possible to include that amount in the budget.  Rick Cooper will work on obtaining a firm quote.  2) The fence is a liability problem as the laws says that they have to restrict accessibility to the area.  3) A loader would make their operation more productive as they could pack the material down more.  Another benefit would be their ability to move the compacter boxes around.  Transportation and tipping costs are up so a full load is more cost effective.  4) A second compacter would cost about $15,000 to $20,000.  Mr. Sawyer said that Jim Terrell is willing to work with them to take the backhoe to the Solid Waste Facility to help out.        

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:  Mr. Miller moved to approve the Accounts Payable check register and manifest in the amount of $19,615.50.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

PAYROLL:  Mr. Sawyer moved to approve the payroll voucher for the week ending January 27, 2007, for gross wages in the amount of $15,720.81 or net wages in the amount of $7,904.29.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

Mr. Miller moved to approve the electronic fund transfer for the Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $3,871.19.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

ANNUAL AUTHORIZATION DOCUMENT:  Mr. Sawyer moved that the Chairman be authorized to sign the Annual Authorization Agreement to transfer funds from the Savings Bank of Walpole to the MBIA.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

MINUTES –SELECTMEN’S MEETING- JANUARY 25, 2007:  Mr. Sawyer moved to approve the Minutes of the public Board of Selectmen’s meeting of January 25, 2007, as printed.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

DEPARTMENT / COMMITTEE MEETINGS:

The Board of Selectmen received and reviewed the minutes of the North Walpole Village Board of Commissioners meeting of January 30, 2007.

OLD BUSINESS:

KEENE ROAD BRIDGE:   Mr. Sawyer moved that the Chairman be authorized to sign the Easement document for the Old Keene Road Bridge that was previously signed by property owners, Sean and Tania Hannan.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

BUDGET HEARING:  Mr. Aldrich announced that last night the Moderator advised that the Public Hearing on the 2007 proposed Budget and Warrant Articles was not legal because of the posting of the notices but the Board of Selectmen has now declared it as a legal meeting since it was published in the Keene Sentinel and Eagle Times and legally posted in three locations.  The Board of Selectmen will have letters sent to those in attendance to notify them of this decision. 

REGIONAL PROSECUTORS MEETING:  Mr. Aldrich and Police Chief Hewes attended the Regional Prosecutors meeting.  Peter Heed, Jack Pratt and several others also attended.   They agreed to split into two committees; one for the legal and one for the finances. 

BOARD OF SELECTMEN’S STATEMENT FOR THE TOWN REPORT:  The Board of Selectmen reviewed their statement for the Town Report.

NEW BUSINESS:

CONNECTICUT SCENIC RIVER BYWAYS – APPOINTMENT – SHELDON SAWYER:  Mr. Aldrich moved to appoint Sheldon Sawyer as a Town representative to the Connecticut Scenic River Byways Committee.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  Mr. Sawyer abstained.  With Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Miller in favor, the motion was approved.

HOCKEY TEAM – UPSTAIRS TOWN HALL:  Mr. Brady, Town Hall Custodian, had concerns about some scratching on the Town Hall upstairs floor.

Mr. Sawyer moved that the Board of Selectmen take a look at the floor.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

During their inspection, the Board of Selectmen discovered the scratches on the floor but felt they were normal wear-and-tear.  They thanked Mr. Brady for his concern.

SOUTHWEST REGION PLANNING COMMISSION:  The Board of Selectmen will plan to attend the next SWRPC dinner on February 20^th at the Keene Country Club that begins at 6:00 PM.  Amy Ignatius, Director of the NH Office of Energy and Planning, will be the guest speaker.

ATTORNEY ROBERT KASPER:  Mr. Sawyer moved to sign the Purchase and Sale Agreement between the Trust for Public Land and the Town of Walpole.  Seconded by Mr. Aldrich.  All in favor, so voted.

Mr. Sawyer moved to approve the payment for work performed by Attorney Robert Kasper.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted. 

LETTERS:

ATTORNEY ROBERT KASPER:  Mr. Sawyer moved to sign the letter to Attorney Robert Kasper thanking him for his work on the debris clean-up project.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.              

Mr. Sawyer moved to adjourn the Board of Selectmen’s meeting and to enter into a Trustees of Hooper Trust meeting.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.  The time was 9:34 P.M.

TRUSTEES OF HOOPER TRUST

HOOPER INSTITUTE – BLACK LOCUST COMPANY:  Mr. Sawyer moved to approve payment of the bill in the amount of $390.00 for brush work done by the Black Locust Company at the Hooper Institute.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.

Mr. Sawyer moved to adjourn the Trustees of Hooper Trust meeting.  Seconded by Mr. Miller.  All in favor, so voted.  The time was 9:38 PM. 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary