Littleton Board of
Selectmen-Meeting Minutes-April 26, 2006
TOWN OF LITTLETON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES
MEETING MINUTES
LITTLETON OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: Chairman George Hicks, Selectman Burt Ingerson, Selectman Ed Farrell, Town Manager Jason Hoch and Executive Assistant Cheryl Sargent
Stephanie Eaton was not able to attend the Selectmen’s Meeting because the Legislature is in Session in Concord. She will call for another appointment when she is free.
Chad Stearns advised the Selectmen of “Valley Pride Day” which will occur on May 6th. He noted this has expanded from Fryeburg, Maine and has become a regional “earth day”. Everyone will be meeting at the Fire Station and will be coordinated by Chad and Tony Ilacqua. The day will end with a cookout at the Mt. Washington. Chad and Tony are also working together on the “adopt a Road Program.” It is hoped that this road pickup can be done about three times a year with recognition given at the end of the year.
Eddy Moore handed out copies of a suspension order from the bureau of Land and Tax Appeals in regard to tax abatement denials, which are being contested in a Motion for Rehearing by Mark Lutter and his Attorney,. The denials were made because the State had mandated that the forms be signed by the individual property owners but were signed by the agent handling the abatement for the property owner.
Jason noted that Joe Lessard will keep the Town updated on this situation as he is paid by the Town for this service.
Police Chief Cam Brown has followed up on the handicapped parking violation fines as he was requested to do at an earlier meeting. Currently, the Town fine for violating the handicapped parking space is $50.00. The RSA allows a minimum fine of $250 for this violation and presently the State charges $300 per violation. The Police Department would like to see the Town fine mirror the fine assessed by the State and increase this fine from $50 to $300. The Selectmen asked how often tickets are written for these violations. Officer Paul Smith stated that three citations had been written on Tuesday.
Eddy Moore asked if there was some way to indicate on the handicapped parking sign what the fine is if violated. This was considered a good idea and it may be possible to put a sign on the town’s handicapped signs alerting people to the cost of violating the parking spaces.
Selectman Ingerson moved to increase the handicapped parking space violation fine from $50.00 to $300.00 effective June 1, 2006. The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
Jason asked the Selectmen to approve a SEA Comp Time Policy to be run for a demonstration period of May 1-June 30, 2006. This will allow time to see how the program is going to work before the Policy is negotiated into the next SEA union contract.
Selectman Farrell moved to approve this policy be given a trial run from May 1 – June 30. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
Jason went over a list of surplus items which he would like to sell. Administrative Office computers which have been replaced will be offered for sale to the employees first come first serve and then to the general public. There are approximately 100 old street signs which Jason would like to offer for sale at the Farmers market this summer. He thinks there might be a better market for them in this setting. The 2000 Crown Victoria Police Cruiser will be sold at sealed bid. There is also a miscellaneous assortment of items which have been gathered up from various Town Departments.
Selectman Ingerson moved to authorize Jason to sell surplus items as described. The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
The bid opening for Badger Street and Kelley Lane was uneventful with no bids being submitted. Jason has asked Mike Stein to follow up to see why there was no interest. He suspects that high fuel prices may have contributed to this.
The State has given Littleton an equalization ratio of 96.9%. The Town had hoped to be at 100%.
Bill Church and students are working on a new project. This project will monitor road conditions and send the information online. A cameral system aimed at the road surface will take pictures at intervals which are preset. It will also monitor surface road conditions and temperature. There is prototype set up and working at the school.
Selectman Ingerson asked when the road bans will be lifted.
Jason stated it is hoped that some of the road bands can be lifted next week. In some cases, the road agent has allowed some traffic on banned roads if weather conditions permit and he is asked in advance.
Some road sweeping in-town has been started as well as the schools.
Jason asked for authorization to enter into the first phase (preliminary design) of the VHB Contract for Main Street reconstruction. He noted this part of the contract will cost approximately $90.000 with an addition $20,000-$30,000 for sub consultant work. Selectman Ingerson moved to authorize Jason to approve and enter into contract with VHB for the preliminary phase. The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
The High School has requested permission to close off one lane of Tamarac Street for approximately three hours on May 15, 2006 for a softball game. They will leave a travel lane open so residents will be able to get to and from their homes. Selectman Ingerson moved to approve this request. Selectman Farrell seconded the motion and it carried 3-0.
Organizers of the Summerfest have requested permission to bag the parking meters the weekend of festivities. They will be responsible for bagging the meters and unbagging them when the festivities are over. Selectman Farrell moved to grant this request. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
Pastor Ralph Green has submitted his resignation as Chaplain for the Police Department. He and his family are being relocated to Texas.
Chad Stearns and Jason have been working on a draft CIP and hope to have it ready for review by the Selectmen soon.
The informational meeting regarding the Coop went very well with approximately 275 people attending.
Selectman Ingerson moved to appoint the following:
Planning Board-Curt Dexter and Stacy Hall elevated to full members.
Donna Cahill and Jon Criswell as Alternates
Conservation Commission-Charles Richey
Littleton Water & Light-Perry Goodell as Commissioner
Main Street Reconstruction Oversight Committee-Jon Criswell as LMSI designee
The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
The Board of Selectmen approved the Citizen’s Advisory Board’s request to add Tom Carstins to their Board.
Selectman Farrell moved to yield Board authority for oversight of the operation, use, maintenance and activity on public ways within the downtown area (between the Congregational Church and Opera House, both sides of Main Street and back to the river) to the Town Manager in the limited cases of events sponsored by the Littleton Area Chamber of Commerce and Littleton Main Street and to direct the Town Manager to consult with all appropriate Town Department heads to ensure appropriate planning and operation of such events. This authorization will expire on March 31, 2007.
The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
Selectman Ingerson moved to authorize Town Manager Jason Hoch on behalf of the Town of Littleton to enter into lease agreements approved by a majority vote at the Annual Town Meeting. This authorization will expire on March 31, 2007.
The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
Selectman Farrell moved to authorize Town Manager Jason Hoch to issue permits to any charitable organization desiring to conduct a raffle under the provisions of RSA 287-A. the permit shall expire at the time of the drawing, and shall not be transferable. This authorization shall expire n March 31, 2007.
The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
Selectman Ingerson moved to authorize town Manager Jason Hoch to enter into all contracts regarding sewer and storm water re-design. This authorization shall expire March 31, 2007.
The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
Selectman Farrell noted the Opera House/Police Facilities Committee held their first meeting and it resulted in a very good discussion. The Committee is split in their opinion of how the Opera House should be used. The Committee will be looking for cost figures to get just the basic repairs done at the Opera House. They will also research as to how non-tax dollars could be raised and what type of funding is available.
Justin Lavely asked if the Selectmen have reconsidered their opinion as to whether the Police Department should return to the Town Building. Burt Ingerson and George Hicks both adamantly stated they do not feel the Police Department should return to the Town Building.
Jason presented the revised budget to the Selectmen for their approval. He noted that arriving at the revised budget figure he has followed the directives of the Board by not eliminating any permanent staff, by deferring equipment purchases where necessary, restoring full funding to social agencies as requested at Town Meeting and also reducing the cut to the library to $7,000. The revised budget reflects a cut of $315,407.
Selectman Ingerson moved to approve the revised budget as presented. The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
Selectman Farrell moved to approve the minutes of April 12th as amended. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 5:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Sargent
Executive Assistant
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Chairman George O. Hicks
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Vice Chairman Burton E. Ingerson
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Selectman Edward Farrell