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Town of Work Session Minutes Members
Present: Barbara
Annis, Paul Violette, Rick Davies, Dan Watts
and Ed Mical. Members
Excused: David
Hartman, Hank Duhamel Members
Absent: None Members
Arriving Late: None Alternates
Present: J.D.
Colcord and Alternates
Arriving Late: None Alternates
Excused: Peter Wyman, Aedan Sherman Alternates
Absent: None OPEN
MEETING AT The Roll call was taken at 7:00 PM. Barbara Annis
opened the meeting. Barbara Annis elevated J.D. Colcord to a voting
member. 1.
PRESENTATION OF CIP TO BOARD OF SELECTMEN Budget
Committee Roll Call: Members present: Marc Violette, Martha Bodnarik,
Mike Cutting, Alfred Hanson,
Kimberly Brown-Edelmann and Not present: Peter
Savlen and Paul DiGeronimo Board of Selectmen present: Clyde Carson Board of Selectman not present: David Hartman and
David Karrick There is no quorum for the Board of Selectmen. Ed Mical made a short Power Point presentation for
2011-2016 CIP. Ed Mical recognized the members of the CIP
subcommittee: Aedan Sherman, Peter Wyman, David Karrick, Martha Bodnarik,
Jeanne Hand, Laura Buono, and Ed Mical. Ed Mical explained the same criteria were used as
in the past. One of the criteria that the project should be consistent
with Warner’s Master Plan has not been followed closely in the past
couple years since the Master Plan is being updated. Ed Mical said the
CIP projects should be tied in to part of the Master Plan. THE CIP PROCESS
Ed Mical said there were three CIP Subcommittee
meetings. The Public Hearing was held at the Ed Mical said there were 24 projects included in
the 2011-2016 CIP. Ed Mical said there were some Departments that did
not request any projects this year: Cemeteries, Ed Mical presented a summary of the projects in the
2011-2016 CIP through the Power Point Presentation. Some of the projects
were talked about in more detail. Ed Mical explained the repair of the
granite steps in front of the Town Hall cost was changed from the
original request of $20,000 to $11,000 due to a recent price quote
obtained. The current boiler in the Town Hall is approximately 40-45
years old and has had issues; therefore a request has been made to
replace it in 2011. The CIP committee requested more information on the
energy upgrades to Town owned buildings; therefore the project was not
recommended. Marc Violette questioned the ranking for the energy
upgrades. Ed Mical said the committee agreed with the Departments
requesting the projects ranking. He said rather than changing the
ranking the subcommittee put in comments. Martha Bodnarik said the
subcommittee did not recommend the project since they did not recommend
the libraries similar request from last year without definite costs. It
was decided for consistency sake to reject the Board of Selectmen’s
energy upgrade request for the same reason. Ed Mical continued with his presentation. He said the cost of the Police Department cruiser replacement was cut down to $16,000 each year for two years since the price of the new cruiser was less expensive. The projection will be $18,000 for 2014 and 2015. Mike Cutting confirmed they were requesting $16,000 for 2011 and 2012. Ed Mical said that was the projection. Ed Mical said the information for the six years is in the provided spreadsheet. Mike Cutting said he found a discrepancy in the A brief discussion was held regarding the new Fire
Station that is projected for 2014. The land status was discussed and
the cost to build a fire station. Clyde Carson said more information
will be available in the near future. Ed Mical spoke about the request for new radios and
pagers for the Fire Department. In January 2013 all radios must meet the
new narrow band requirements. He said the new radios will be okay but
the older radios cannot be retrofit so they will need to be replaced.
There are a few pagers that will also need to be replaced. Ed Mical
added that the Highway Department will also have the same issue. Any
Town radio will need to meet the new narrow band requirements. Mike
Cutting asked if grant money would be available. Ed Mical said yes but
the radios that are covered by grant monies are very expensive and the
Town does not need to spend that amount of money per radio; they can get
3-4 radios for the same amount of money. Ed Mical said the Fire
Department has some radios that are already compliant, however, once the
change becomes in effect those radios will need to be reprogrammed so
there will be some fees associated. Alfred Hanson asked about the Police Department
radios. Ed Mical said they will also need to have their radios
reprogrammed. He said it is his understanding that those funded by the
grant from the State, the State of Mike Cutting said radios and pagers have been
bought right along. Ed Mical said only pagers were purchased. There were
a few radios received through a State grant over the past couple years
that are compatible with the narrow band requirements. Mike Cutting
asked if there is any value in the old radios. Ed Mical said no because
they will not be able to be used at all per the FCC regulations. Ed Mical said listed in the CIP over the years
there has been a replacement schedule for the cruisers and for the
Highway Department trucks; however, there has never been a replacement
schedule with cost estimate for fire apparatus so this has been added.
Ed Mical explained that due to limited money in the Capital Reserve Fund
the Town was forced to pay the entire cost of the new pumper approved at
the 2010 Town Meeting. Ed Mical said the idea is to start putting money
into a Capital Reserve Fund for Fire Department vehicles. A brief
discussion was held regarding the life expectancy of the vehicles. Ed
Mical said on average it is 20 years. A few other projects briefly discussed were: dry
hydrants, highway department construction fund as well as bridges, and
Highway Department truck replacement schedule. Ed Mical said photos were added to the CIP. The A lengthy discussion was held regarding an
alternate route off of Alfred Hanson asked about Paul Violette said this is only a recommendation.
The Budget Committee and Board of Selectmen do not have to fund the
project. Ed Mical said it is a project submitted by Emergency Management
just like any other project submitted. It is a life safety issue. Paul Violette said even if it was decided to fund
the project and 3-4 years down the road it was decided not to do the
alternate route they could get a change of purpose through a Town vote
for any monies in the Capital Reserve Fund. Mike Cutting asked if the Planning Board had
investigated the cost of the study. Ed Mical said this project was not
submitted by the Planning Board. Emergency Management had received an
estimate a couple years ago with a ball park figure of $30,000-$50,000. Dan Watts said he agreed with the comment that if
we are not going all the way in terms of taking the land to put in a
road then spending the money on a study next year would be like tossing
away good money. Ed Mical said this may never happen however it is
listed in the CIP as a project. Alfred Hanson asked what the Road Committee thought
of the project. Ed Mical said they have not looked at it they are
working on existing roads. Ed Mical continued with his presentation on: The Transfer Station requested: Equipment
replacement. Martha Bodnarik questioned the requested amount being
changed from $13,000 to $10,000. Ed Mical said the CIP subcommittee
lowered the amount because they were considering using the current
machine as a trade. Clyde Carson said the Transfer Station Committee
came up with the recommended $13,000 based on the equipment needs out
through 2015. Clyde Carson said that originally the request was for
$10,000 but then they decided to request $13,000; Parks and Recreation
(mower replacement). Martha Bodnarik said she thought they should be
looking at the $13,000. The other request was for the expansion of
loading dock area. The subcommittee recommended taking the left over
money from the land purchase to put towards the expansion. Parks and Recreation placed a request for a
replacement mower. Originally a higher figure was requested; however,
the amount was lowered after a new bid was submitted. The amount was
lowered from $15,000 to $12,000. Pillsbury Free Library submitted a request for
$13,800 for energy upgrades for 2011. A computer upgrade request was
submitted for $10,000. Mike Cutting asked if they could work that into
their normal operating budget. Ed Mical said that was discussed in
length at the Planning Board presentation. He explained that the Library
had used their funds for repairs. Since the Town’s revaluation was
lowered the Library will have a decrease of $5,000 to $7,000 in money
received from the Town. Marc Violette said the Library as of today is
not sure what amount they will have. The amount will be known shortly. The CIP subcommittee did not recommend funding the
Conservation Request of $50,000 for 2011 due to the economy. The request
is for $50,000 each year over the course of 5-6 years. The Planning Board requested $10,000 for a more
comprehensive study to be done in the Exit 9 area for traffic control
improvements. The subcommittee recommended $5,000. Martha Bodnarik asked
if the project qualified as a Capital Improvements Project since it was
under $5,000. Ed Mical said yes since the request from the Planning
Board was for $10,000. The Warner Water District did not make any request
for 2011. The previous projects submitted for 2014 are still included in
the 2011-2016 CIP. The only change was a reprioritization of projects. Ed Mical said the Marc Violette
verified that the CIP subcommittee recommended total projects amount of
$569,800 is the number they are looking at. Ed Mical said yes. Mike Cutting asked
if the Departments are in agreement with the recommended amount. Paul
Violette said the Planning Board did not come up with that amount. The
recommended amount comes from the CIP subcommittee. Barbara Annis said
she did voice her opinion on the decrease in funds for the Exit 9 area.
Martha Bodnarik said as a committee member she knows the Department
heads do not have a chance to say how they feel until the budget process
starts. Alfred Hanson
questioned why the Fire Department does not have a yearly amount going
into a Capital Reserve Fund for the new station since this is a project
that will be done in the near future. Ed Mical said a new
thing added to the CIP this year was an Expenditure Sheet for the past
few years. Ed Mical explained as agents the Selectmen can spend the
money in the Capital Reserve Fund without having to go before Town
meeting for approval. The addition of the Expenditures shows what has
been spent over the past few years. Barbara Annis said
it bothers her that the Selectman can use the Highway Construction
Capital Reserve Fund (CRF) as an operating budget to repair roads. She
said a CRF is used to accumulate monies for a big project down the road.
She asked why it is not added into the operating budget to show the Town
what is actually going on. Martha Bodnarik agreed if the money is
expended every year it would make it an operating budget rather than CRF. Ed Mical said they
are spending a portion of it every year not the full amount. Mike
Cutting said that is the critical part if only part of it is spent it is
still a CRF. Barbara Annis said as part of the operating budget what was
not spent could be encumbered. Clyde Carson said the Selectmen are
limited to what they can encumber. If the money is encumbered you need
to have a pending bill or you lose it. Using the Highway Construction
CRF they can decide which projects need to be done and still keep the
left over money to work on another project at a later time. Clyde Carson
said he does not foresee ever running out of projects to use that CRF
for. Alfred Hanson said
the available money for the Fire Station is only $206,000 in Capital
Reserve Fund. He asked is the money for land or the building. Mike
Cutting said the money is put away for building or expanding the Fire
Station which could be used to purchase land, build with, as long as it
used for a fire station. The money cannot be used to buy a fire truck.
Alfred Hanson said for 2011 the Fire Department is requesting $30,000
for vehicle fund but no money requested for a Fire Station. Alfred
Hanson said they see something they know is going to happen and they see
things they do not think will happen; he cannot understand the logic of
putting money aside for projects that may not be done instead of putting
it away for an imminent project. Mike Cutting said a few years back it
was agreed to not add anymore money to the Fire Station building fund
until an actual site or proposal was submitted. Alfred Hanson said
his point is that putting away $50,000 for an alternate route on Ed Mical said some
of the members of the Fire Department along with the building committee
had contacted some architectural firms to come up with a packet of what
is actually needed for a fire station as well as coming up with some
realistic costs. Alfred Hanson asked if this process was costing money.
He was told yes. Paul Violette said the architect is coming up with
early concepts and costs estimates and what is required by NFPA, Paul Violette said
back to Alfred Hanson’s point about the alternate route on Ed asked what the
Budget Committee thought of this year’s CIP with the new changes. Marc
Violette said he thought it was well presented as well as clear and
precise. It was agreed by all the CIP is a great tool to provide an
overview of all department requests. A copy of the
2011-2016 CIP will be sent to all Department heads. 2.
DISCUSSION OF GRAVEL PIT ORDINANCE AS RENEWAL OF APPLICATIONS WILL BE
DONE IN DECEMBER Barbara Annis said there are three gravel pits in
the Town: Courser, Hill and Warner Aggregates. All permits expire
December 31, 2010. She said there have been times it has taken more than
one meeting with the applicant to approve the permit. Barbara Annis
asked what the Planning Board requires from the applicant so they can be
prepared when they come before the Board at a regularly scheduled
meeting to renew the permit. Paul Violette asked if they are proposing making
changes to the Earth Excavation Ordinance. Barbara Annis said no they
are not changing the regulations. J.D. Colcord said he would ask if the Selectmen or
Conservation Commission see anything that might be happening at the
gravel pits that may be a problem such as hitting ground water, etc. Barbara Annis said she checked to see if the
applicants needed to do a new plan, etc. She read aloud a section of the
regulation: Permit
holders wishing to alter the size or location of the excavation, the
rate of
removal or the plan for reclamation shall apply for a renewal or
amendment,
following the same procedures as those required for the original
excavation permit.
Permit holders wishing to renew a permit where there are no
changes to the permitted operation may do so by requesting a renewal
from the Planning Board. The Planning Board may approve such a request
without a public hearing if it finds the operation to
be in compliance with all current plans and narratives describing
the operation. Paul
Violette asked if they should ask the Board of Selectmen and
Conservation Commission in writing if they have any problems with the
gravel pits. Clyde Carson said the Selectmen are not aware of the
renewals coming up. Barbara
Annis said she would like each permit holder to receive a formal letter
from the Planning Board stating the expiration date, if they wish to
renew the permit please apply to the Planning Board for a renewal of the
permit, advise if there are any changes in the property from the
previous permit, if there are changes what are they, etc. Barbara Annis
said she would like to see it in writing from the permit holders before
sharing information so the Board, the Selectmen and Conservation
Commission have the information in front of them provided by the permit
holders. Paul
Violette said he agrees that the information needs to come from the
permit holders. Clyde
Carson asked how long the renewals are for. Barbara Annis said three
years. Ed
Mical said the intent to excavate is signed by the Selectmen. J.D.
Colcord said it would be useful if he knew the Conservation Commission
was satisfied with the way the gravel pits were conducting excavation,
cleaning up after themselves, reseeding, etc. Dan
Watts asked who certifies they are in compliance. He asked if the
Selectmen are the certifying agents. Clyde Carson said he is not sure.
Everyone agreed the Conservation Commission would be a good choice for
this. Ed
Mical said they could compare the Intent to Excavate with the plan
quantities to see how they match up. Clyde
Carson asked if the Town gravel pit was subject to the same rules. The
Town gravel pit is subject to different rules. The
Board agreed to send a letter to the three gravel pit permit holders as
well as a letter to the Conservation Commission and the Board of
Selectmen asking them to review the information. Clyde Carson suggested
giving the Boards a date to give feedback by. Paul Violette suggested
the permit holders not only provide a desire to renew but also a summary
of their activity over the past three years. J.D. Colcord said Martha
Mical would have that information. It was suggested to give the
information to the Conservation Commission for their review. Clyde
Carson asked what is the sequence of events for approval. The Planning
Board approves a permit to have a gravel permit; Martha Mical, Assessing
Clerk, provides the Intent to Excavate; and then the Board of Selectmen
sign the Intent to Excavate. 3.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS A. CDPC The subcommittee minutes of A meeting will be scheduled in the near future to
continue discussions. Dan Watts had some feedback for the subcommittee.
He suggested that the committee for consistency keep to either gross
floor area or footprint. He also suggested when talking about the total
land for Commercial Districts that the percentage be used throughout as
well as acreage to tie them together. Paul Violette said it is a work in progress. They
are working on draft warrant articles with an easy to understand
rationale. Most of the discussion is on the Davisville area as
well as discussions on the maximum building area and height requirements
for a pitched roof. LED lighting has been briefly discussed. Dan Watts
said his only concern is having wording that will not be a first
amendment issue by limiting what is said. He said Dan Watts said he likes the new Shell sign with the
backlit numbers. It can be easily seen coming off the highway. Rick Davies asked if there will a subcommittee to
look at the sign ordinance. Barbara Annis said maybe next spring after
they get through the Site Plan Regulations, Subdivision Regulations, and
Zoning Ordinance as well as the Public Hearing. The Board of Selectmen
have requested that the sign ordinance be looked at also. Barbara Annis said there is miscommunications
between the various Boards and Departments causing misinformation to be
given out. She feels the Zoning Ordinance is clear. Dan Watts worked on a definition for Major
Subdivision in the Zoning Ordinance. A short discussion was held
regarding the current definition of a Major Subdivision and a Minor
Subdivision. Rick Davies said he was also looking at if an
office building is attached to a warehouse they are two different use
types what should the square footage be. B.
Transportation Committee Exit 9 Area Paul Violette wrote a letter requesting RPFP/RFQ
from approximately 8-10 engineering firms but only one answered. Paul Violette said Holden Engineering dropped off a
packet to the Planning Board with an overview of the project as well as
a schedule. Barbara Annis said a copy is available in the Land Use
Office and the Board Selectmen’s Office. Paul Violette said the time schedule in the packet
will need to be revised. J.D. Colcord said he understood that it would be
determined what type of option was wanted there and have Market Basket
help with the costs as they proceed with any new plans. Barbara Annis said she disagreed with that idea.
Barbara Annis had the secretary contact the Concord Planning Board to
ask what their procedure is regarding road safety issues. The Concord
Planning Board stated that if a business is going to create a large
increase in traffic flow the developer is required to conduct a traffic
study and the impact fees go towards the traffic light or whatever they
need. If there is money in long term capital improvements then that is
credited to the work. J.D. Colcord said in sitting in Paul Violette said there is potential for expansion
in the Market Basket property that would create
heavier traffic in the area. A brief discussion was held regarding the pros and
cons of impact fees and exaction fees. Barbara Annis said she feels the Town needs to
encourage growth at the Market Basket area to help with the Tax base as
well as helping unemployment in the area. She said she can remember the
Selectman working with Jordan Milton by having them pay half the taxes
on half of their assessment the first year. Barbara Annis said sometimes
you need to give a little something to get something. The Board agreed to send a letter to Don Gartrell,
Market Basket attorney, requesting a meeting to discuss the traffic
issues in the areas. Paul Violette agreed to compose the letter. A meeting has been scheduled for C. Site Plan Review Committee Barbara Annis said the subcommittee has not had a
chance to get together since their last meeting. A meeting will be
scheduled in the near future. Barbara Annis said she sent Ed Mical a copy of the
latest draft of the Site Plan Regulations with proposed changes. She
said the only problem she sees is the Board is trying to make it so
every applicant does not have to come before the full Board for every
site plan review, but the regulations still read a change of land use is
determined by “the Board” and the ‘the Board” makes a decision.
Looking at other towns it all depends on the situation if they are
required to go before the full Board. Barbara Annis said some of the
towns have in their regulations a committee will determine whether the
application needs to go before the full Board and others delegate the
responsibility to the City Planner, a Planner from If a committee is created to make the decision if
an applicant needs to go before the full Board it would need to go
before Town Meeting before being created. Rick Davies asked who would be
on the committee. J.D. Colcord suggested Chairman of Planning Board,
Chairman of Board of Selectman and the Land Use Secretary.
Barbara Annis said she was thinking the Planning Board Chair,
Zoning Board of Adjustment Chair and possibly the Building Inspector. Paul Violette said the idea was to make it a less
lengthy, cumbersome process for someone to move into a space that was
just recently vacated. Paul Violette said it probably is not a big issue
for someone to wait 15-20 days from the time they apply to the time of
approval from the Planning Board. Barbara Annis said she would prefer to have everyone take the responsibility of approving or disapproving an application rather than just one person. Paul Violette said it may be better to have an
applicant come before the Board to explain what they want to do and give
the Board the option to waive the Site Plan or have them return with
more details. Paul Violette asked if a more streamline approach
could be limited to the B-1 Zone. In the B-1 Zone a designated
representative could make the decision if a Full Site Plan is required.
Barbara Annis asked the Land Use secretary if she would want the
responsibility. She said yes. Paul Violette said there will need to be
some criteria that can be followed. A short discussion was held on the Use Table. The
Board agreed the Use Table in the Zoning Ordinance was just put together
without any ranking system. Rick Davies said he is worried about a grey area
and he would not like to see one person take on the responsibility. J.D.
Colcord said he would prefer to see the Land Use secretary make the call
and if a mistake happens then it can be dealt with and move on. The Land Use secretary, Tracey Hallenborg,
suggested having a short application for Site Plan Reviews that everyone
would need to fill out with key questions such as hours of operation,
parking impact, outside storage, is a building permit required any life
safety issues, etc that would stand out as an impact on the Town. At
that point if there is no significant impact then the secretary could
sign off on the application. If the application is questionable it could
go before the Board at a Work Session meeting under communications to be
reviewed by the Board if a full Site Plan is required; if one is
required there is still time to send notices to abutters, place an ad in
the paper and schedule the applicant for the upcoming monthly meeting.
If there is an obvious impact then the secretary would schedule the
applicant at a regular Planning Board meeting. The secretary also stated
that the application would kept on file and if the applicant did
anything different there would be a signed record that the Planning
Board could refer to and have them come before the Board if necessary. The Board agreed that a signed short application
would be a good idea. D. Board of
Selectman Report Clyde Carson said the Governor is coming to Town
Wednesday September 22, 2010 for the Executive Counsel Meeting. 4.
COMMUNICATIONS Rick Davies said he received an e-mail that the
Selectmen were concerned about the subcommittees meeting at other places
rather than the Town Hall. Clyde Carson said the Selectmen are
requesting subcommittees to meet in the Town Hall if space is available.
Paul Violette asked if there were any complaints from anyone not being
able to find a meeting. Clyde Carson said no. 5. PUBLIC
COMMENTS No public was present. 6.
ADJOURN J.D. Colcord made a
MOTION to ADJOURN. Paul
Violette seconded the MOTION
and all were in favor. The meeting adjourned at
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