Littleton Board of Selectmen-Meeting
Minutes-July 26, 2006
Littleton Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
July 26, 2006
Littleton Office Conference Room
Present: Chairman George Hicks, Selectman Burt Ingerson, Selectman Ed Farrell, Town Manager Jason Hoch, Tony Mincu, Executive Assistant Cheryl Sargent
Chairman George Hicks opened the meeting at 4:00 pm.
Selectman Ingerson moved to appoint Tony Mincu as Interim Town Manager. The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0.
Town Clerk Judy White swore in Interim Town Manager Tony Mincu.
Chairman Hicks closed the Board of Selectmen’s Meeting and opened the Board of Assessors Meeting.
Selectman Farrell moved to approve the abatement recommendations which were included in Carol Cullen’s memo of July 19, 2006. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
Carol Cullen told the Selectmen the Town has received a draft report from the state on the Town’s certification with DRA. There were a couple of areas which will need to be corrected. Current Use needs to be updated in assessment files and there is some outstanding exemption information which also needs to be added. Carol stated letters have gone out requesting the needed information but that there is always a lag when requests are sent.
Chairman Hicks closed the Board of Assessors Meeting and re-opened the Selectmen’s Meeting.
Jason noted road improvements continue, with more work scheduled for mid August. Old Waterford Road is next on the schedule.
Both Union contracts are ready in draft form. They will now be sent for review by legal counsel.
The Police Department has identified a strong candidate for the vacant position of Police Officer. The candidate has passed the polygraph test which has been the hardest part for many of the applicants. The candidate will undergo psychological as well as medical testing next week. Training at the academy will also be needed if this candidate passes testing.
The bailer at the Transfer Station was down for a short time while being repaired. Tony is checking into the situation as this is a fairly new piece of equipment and the repairs were expensive.
A formal request for a recount has been filed with the Town Clerks Office. Judy White will be setting this up. The Selectmen will take part in the recount. Burt Ingerson stated he may request someone act on his behalf as he does not want to be accused of any conflict.
Selectman Farrell stated the Selectmen should decide very soon on a date for an Opera House Hearing if they intend to have a vote on it in the fall. He would like to see the Selectmen set a date soon.
Tony Mincu will call Mitchell & Bates to get the timeline for a late October Special Town Meeting.
Selectman Farrell asked if there will be fees to the Town for videotaping the Selectmen’s Meetings for Channel 2. Jason stated the Town and School already have costs built into the budget. The videotaping is charged by the hour. He felt there was enough money in the budget to cover taping for the remainder of the year.
Bernard Chase asked if Tony Mincu is free of the Police Department. Tony stated the ties with the Police Department were severed last week. The Police Department will now report to Tony in his capacity as Interim Town Manager.
Mr. Chase stated he would like to meet with the Selectmen at some point. He would like to see the Board become more involved and pro-active in issues of concern in Town. He added he feels that in the past too much has been turned over to the Town Manager which should have and could have been handled by the Selectmen.
Chairman Hicks stated he still intends to follow the chain of command. All issues or concerns will be brought to Tony’s attention.
Mr. Chase stated the Redington Street Bridge is a good example of what he has been discussing. He noted he had brought a request to the Board a couple of meetings ago. He had asked that the bridge be swept. To date, it has not been done.
Jason stated the reason it has not been swept is because the Town equipment is too heavy for the bridge.
Mr. Chase stated in that case, the bridge should be swept by hand and that a road crew has been in the vicinity lately but have continued to ignore the bridge.
Mr. Chase noted he has driven around Town and has taken pictures of many “pitiful” areas which need to be addressed. He feels that some of these situations pose a serious liability. In addition, he stated several people have complained to him about insubordination on the part of Town employees.
The Selectman agreed that this is a serious allegation which if true, needs to be addressed.
Mr. Chase once again voiced concern regarding the intersection of Cottage Street and Route #302, just past the old hospital. He stated something must be done to slow traffic down in this area before there is a serious accident. He would like the situation studied with recommendations made for alleviating the traffic problem.
Eddy Moore asked if the Selectmen will hire a firm to search for a new Town Manager or if they will do this themselves. Chairman Hicks stated the Board has not discussed this as yet.
Selectman Farrell moved to approve the minutes of July 19, 2006. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.
Interim Town Manager Tony Mincu requested a non-public session with the Board to discuss personnel and legal issues.
Selectman Ingerson moved to go into non-public session per RSA 91A:3c & 3e. Each member was polled, all agreeing to go into non-public session. The Board entered non- public session at 4:35 pm.
At 5:20 pm, Selectman Ingerson moved to leave non-public session. The motion was seconded by Selectman Farrell and carried 3-0 with each member being polled and agreeing to come out of non-public.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:22 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Sargent
Executive Assistant
___________________________ _________________________
Chairman George O. Hicks Selectman Burton E. Ingerson
___________________________
Selectman Edward Farrell