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Warner Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes Tuesday, Chairman Karrick opened the meeting at In Attendance:
Selectman David Karrick, Jr. � Chairman, Selectman David E.
Hartman, Selectman
Town Administrator � Laura Buono Absent:
None Others present: Allan N. Brown, Peter St. James, Wayne Eigabroadt,
Martha Bodnarik, Richard Senor, Martha Mical, Tom Payne, Jim Hand,
Jeanne Hand, Dick Fisher, Ken Benward, Jan Dyment, Sean Bohman, Debra
Buckley, Janice Cutting, Mary Cogswell, Don Wheeler, Wayne & Sharon
Face, Paul Fouliard, Shawn Olsen 1. Public Hearing - Funds Chairman Karrick opened the public hearing for the acceptance of the
following funds totaling $267,547.32: State of State of NH ( State of State of State of Chairman Karrick opened the meeting to
public comments: Chairman Karrick closed the public
hearing and re-opened the public meeting. Selectman Hartman moved
to retroactively accept and expend funds totaling $267,547.32.
Chairman Karrick seconded the motion.
All were in favor, the motion passed. Selectman 2.
Public Hearing � Cemetery Lane Chairman Karrick opened the public hearing
for the purpose of hearing public testimony and information on a
petition submitted to the Selectmen asking to lay out a Class V road
over a Class VI road known as Chairman Karrick read into the record the
petition that was submitted to the Selectmen on We, Wayne B. Face and Sharon L. Face do
hereby petition the Board of Selectmen of Warner NH to initiate
proceedings to reclassify Cemetery Lane from West Main Street to Pine
Grove Cemetery from a Class VI public highway to a Class V public as
soon as practical. Chairman Karrick said the road has been
maintained by the Town for a long period of time, the road is paved but
not as wide as other town roads. The
Selectmen understand the Pine Grove Cemetery Association is in agreement
with the petition. Chairman Karrick opened the meeting to
public comment: Mary Cogswell, a
representative of Pine Grove Cemetery Association is in favor of
reclassifying the road to a Class V. Martha Mical informed the Selectmen that
this section that is being discussed will need to be renamed because
Cemetery Lane is actually at the other end of the street, there will be
a section remaining that is not public because it is the cemetery.
Martha suggested naming the potential reclassified section Director of Public Works, Allan N. Brown
said the Selectmen have the authority to rename a road anytime they want
to. Mr. Brown did say there
is another road in town named Mr. Face said someone brought up the idea
that this road should be a seasonal road.
Mr. Face said because a house will be built the town will be
receiving an additional $5K in property taxes a year.
He feels the cost to maintain the road is extremely minimal.
Martha Bodnarik asked
if Lane is the appropriate designation for a dead end street. Mr. Brown said he did present the idea of
a Class V seasonal road but in thinking further when everyone is out of
office and no one remembers that it�s a Class V seasonal road, he said
the plows will be in the center of the town plowing anyway, the road is
only 400� long and does not feel this to be an impact. Wayne Eigabroadt said he feels it is a
good idea to consult with the Historical Society on the name because
they have been given the opportunity with most of the other roads. Chairman Karrick asked if the Historical
Society has been contacted on this issue.
Allan Brown said it is not necessary to change the name of the
road at this meeting, it can be done at a later date.
Selectman Mr. Brown said when the Road Committee was
established in 1985 and when a road name was changed it was always the
intent to give a name that had historical significance. Mr. Face asked if the name could be
changed now. Chairman
Karrick said the Selectmen will decide to either change the name today
or at a later time. Selectman
Hartman likes the idea of consulting with the Historical Society before
giving the road a name. Chairman Karrick
closed the pubic hearing and re-opened the public meeting. Selectman Hartman moved
to change the classification of the current 3.
Wayne Eigabroadt � Upcoming Elections Mr. Eigabroadt asked if there will be any
specific policies/rules regarding electioneering this year and if so,
when does the Board foresee that these rules will be established as well
as providing copies to those who are considering running for a position.
Chairman Karrick said the Board could review the current
Electioneering Policy at the next meeting or the one thereafter.
Mr. Eigabroadt felt last year was very confusing.
He said he was told that people who were electioneering were to
stay a minimum of 20� away from the Transfer Station building and out
of the path of people. He
said there were other candidates that were allowed to electioneer next
to and inside the building. Selectman
Hartman said the Board did approve and adopted an Electioneering Policy
last year. Mr. Eigabroadt
said he was familiar with the policy; it was the application of the
policy that was confusing. Mr.
Eigabroadt asked to be notified of the next meeting when the
Electioneering Policy is discussed.
4.
Wayne Eigabroadt - RSA 91-A Request - Smith v Warner Mr. Eigabroadt discussed his most recent
RSA 91-A request. He said he
requested several items and the answer he received from the Town
Administrator was the material he requested is internal personnel
practices which are exempt from disclosure; Mr. Eigabroadt disagrees
with classifying the sealed nonpublic minutes as personnel practices.
Mr. Eigabroadt pointed out to the Selectmen that RSA 91-A has a
specific subsection that talks about the discussions of threatened or
actual litigation. He also
said when litigation is finalized the minutes of those meetings become
public. Mr. Eigabroadt said he was part of and present at these
nonpublic meetings, and again, he disagrees that they are personnel
practices. He said to the
Board that he is trying one more time to try to get the Board to do what
he considers to be the right thing before he moves on to the next step
which would be legal action. The Town Administrator explained to Mr.
Eigabroadt that the sealed nonpublic sessions the Selectmen had, some of
them were before any lawsuit, it was because a complaint was made, and
discussed about personnel with names of employees and the situation.
The Town Administrator said to Mr. Eigabroadt the last email she
sent to him he was discussing the legal side of the nonpublic sessions
which is subsection (e) and she asked Mr. Eigabroadt in the email to
supply her with dates because the initial right-to-know request didn�t
say anything about dates of meetings, it just explained what he was
looking for. Mr. Eigabroadt
said RSA 91-A is written in such a way so that the public is assisted.
The Town Administrator said yes, we do assist the public, but she
said Mr. Eigabroadt was specific in saying that the minutes were under
subsection (e) so she thought he knew what dates he had in mind because
the minutes that are on file are not under subsection (e).
Mr. Eigabroadt said he would assume any nonpublic minutes that
fall under subsection (e) would be made available to him.
The Town Administrator said again, there are no nonpublic minutes
under subsection (e). Mr.
Eigabroadt felt the majority of the nonpublic minutes did fall under
subsection (e), he said the key word is threatened or actual lawsuit and
a lawsuit was threatened way back in the beginning when the effected
employee said �please let�s handle this now before I have to go to
the point of a lawsuit.� Mr.
Eigabroadt said if an agreement is not met this evening then the courts
will decide. Mr. Eigabroadt clarified why he wants the
nonpublic minutes. His
biggest concern is the transcripts are riddled with errors, they are not
correct. He said he was
given 10-12 pages of the transcripts while he was giving his deposition
at the lawyer�s office, that�s when he noticed inconsistencies.
The Town Administrator asked Mr. Eigabroadt if he was referring
to the transcripts that an independent company made of the nonpublic
tapes. Mr. Eigabroadt said
yes. The Town Administrator
said the Selectmen�s office does not have copies of the transcripts,
they were done by the attorney who has advised the Town that they are
not public information (Mr. Eigabroadt�s 91-a request was sent to the
attorney). The Selectmen�s
office does have the nonpublic tapes.
The Town Administrator said the Selectmen could review the
nonpublic sealed minutes that are under subsection (a) & (c) which
is reputation and personnel, it would be up to the Selectmen to decide
if they should be unsealed. Selectman
Mr. Eigabroadt said the Legislature felt
it was important enough to put in a specific subsection dealing with the
litigation and the meetings pertaining to threatened or actual
litigation. He feels it is
reasonable to assume that when discussing litigation you get very
specific about the situation of the case.
RSA 91-a subsection (e) says those minutes become public after
the litigation is finalized. Mr.
Eigabroadt asked the Town to do the right thing and make the nonpublic
sealed minutes public. Selectman
Selectman Hartman asked Mr. Eigabroadt if
he has some major questions about the transcripts.
Mr. Eigabroadt said yes, he said the transcripts have Selectman
Hartman and he reversed. Selectman
Town Clerk, Judith Rogers said Mr.
Eigabroadt said he thought it was his opinion the sealed nonpublic
minutes should be made public. She
said on August 13, 2009 she submitted a request to the Town
Administrator copying the Selectmen asking for original copies of three
cases one being Smith v Warner. She
also said the sealed nonpublic meeting minutes need to be looked at and
unsealed, and she also said she has not had a response to her request.
The Town Administrator said that she spoke with the Town Clerk
about the Smith v Warner telling her that she does not have the original
signatures on the settlement. The
Town Clerk said as far as unsealing the non public minutes they should
be public because the case has been settled.
Chairman Karrick said sometimes there are nonpublic minutes even
when an issue has been resolved that for personnel reasons among others
should not be unsealed. The
Town Clerk said the Selectmen should be aware of that when they go into
nonpublic. Chairman Karrick
said he didn�t understand what the Town Clerk was saying.
She said sealed non public meetings are reviewed periodically and
are unsealed after issues have been resolved.
Chairman Karrick said that�s correct, there have been sealed
nonpublic minutes that have been unsealed by the Selectman, but not all
sealed nonpublic minutes are unsealed.
Selectman Mr. Eigabroadt cautioned the Selectmen
about what they were saying about some situations that may be sensitive
to certain people and that some of the things said at meetings may not
be true. He said the town
does not have the right to redact something that may be sensitive to
somebody if it falls under the category to be released.
The Town Administrator said names would be redacted.
Richard Senor asked can the sealed
nonpublic minutes be unsealed if an employee retires or is unemployed
from the Town. Chairman
Karrick said even though the person may not be working for the Town the
release of information may be damaging to the person�s reputation.
Mr. Senor asked what about papers that are about a person that
works for the Town but are not in their personnel file and should be
there, how does one go about finding out why those papers are not there.
The Town Administrator said it wouldn�t be known what�s in
someone�s personnel file because it�s not public information.
Mr. Senor (not mentioning any names) said when he asked the Town
Administrator if �those papers� were in �his� file she told him
they were not, he then said obviously you can go into personnel files.
The Town Administrator said she is allowed to go into personnel
files, but the public would not be able to access the file. 5.
Jim Hand � School Budget Mr. Hand reported on three large budget
items being considered for the 2010/2011 school budget; a new collective
bargaining agreement for teachers and para professionals, and the
repair/relocate SAU office. Mr.
Hand commented on the $600K that was approved by the voters for the
school to use in the most efficient way to resolve the SAU facility.
Mr. Hand feels that the school should present a breakdown of the
$600K before it is spent. Chairman
Karrick asked if the voters have any recourse for the $600K.
Mr. Hand said the warrant article was worded giving the school
board authority. Mr. Hand said there have been some ideas
for using some of the space at the Middle School in Mr. Hand said for the collective
bargaining agreement the plan is to go no higher than 3.4% on pay raises
for the first year. The para
professionals contract is still being created.
Selectman The Board of Selectmen will attend a Joint
Board meeting on September 10th located at the Tracy Library
in 6.
Sean Bohman � Fall Foliage Festival Mr. Bohman reported some changes to the
Fall Foliage Festival. There
will be no road racer or Stitch this year.
Chairman Karrick asked why there will be no road race.
Mr. Bohman said mainly the cost for advertising the road race was
too high as well as the cost for certified timers.
The FFF is looking for help in this area.
The 7.
Jeanne Hand Ms. Hand said she was told that the High
School is not accredited as well as not being competitive in testing,
she is wondering why this is happening.
Ms. Hand asked what the goal is for the
Joint Board Meeting. Chairman
Karrick said communication, discussion on the school district and
budgets. Ms. Hand wants to
know if the school receives money from the State by route of the
Stimulus Package will it be used to reduce the budget.
Selectman Jeanne Hand asked how the Town is going to
prevent any future lawsuits. Chairman
Karrick said in this day and age lawsuits are hard to prevent.
Jeanne Hand recommended creating a policy that is presented and
signed by the employees confirming that they agree with the policy.
Ms. Hand also feels there should be a Human Resource Officer.
The Town Administrator explained if an employee has issues they
go to their supervisor, if they can�t go to the supervisor they can go
to the Town Administrator, if they can�t come to the Town
Administrator they go to the Board of Selectmen.
There are Human Resource functions completed in the
Bookkeeper�s office and the Town Administrator�s office. Jeanne Hand asked if a public meeting
could be arranged when the School Board is finished with the budget and
before the budget goes to the Municipal Budget Committee.
The Selectmen said for the last two years they have met when the
School Board when the budget is completed. 8.
Shawn Olsen � Ms. Olsen asked the Selectmen to waive the
Town Hall rental fees for a benefit concert that will be held on
September 15th. The
only requirement will be the refundable cleaning deposit.
Selectman 9.
Fisher � Shooting Course The Board of Selectmen toured Mr.
Fisher�s property on Thursday, August 27th.
Chairman Karrick said the Board is trying to bring a balance
between Mr. Fisher�s neighbors who are concerned about the noise and
Mr. Fisher possibly being able to continue target shooting.
Tom Payne said Mr.
Fisher�s property is not wide enough because there are clay pigeons on
both abutting properties. Chairman Karrick said
he walked both edges of the property and didn�t see very many clay
pigeons. Debra Buckley lives
next to Mr. Fisher and she said she does not want any clay pigeons on
her property. Mr. Fisher said he could change the angle
of the throws on the machines, he feels this will remedy the debris
problem. Selectman Hartman moved
to refer Mr. Fisher to the Zoning Board, and if the Zoning Board finds
it is not their responsibility Mr. Fisher would then come back to the
Board of Selectmen. Mr. Fisher feels the Zoning Board has no
jurisdiction in this shooting course situation.
The Town Administrator said the Zoning Board�s jurisdiction is
if the shooting course is an allowed use. Selectman
Hartman added that in the Zoning Ordinance noise is a factor, being
limited or prevented. Chairman Karrick asked the Board if the
Cease & Desist Order should remain in effect until the Zoning Board
refers a course of action or refers Mr. Fisher back to the Board of
Selectmen. Selectman Mr. Fisher asked if this is any different
than Peter St. James having friends over to his house to shoot.
Someone said yes, very different; there is a difference between
one or two men once a year. Ken Benward said the shooting that the
neighbors are complaining about is not 50 rounds.
The shooting they are complaining about 200,300,400 rounds for
three hours. Mr. Benward
said if the course grows, the shooting will be more often with more
people. He also said it�s
a change of use of Mr. Fisher�s property, next door to his home.
Mr. Benward said he was home during the Selectmen�s site visit;
they didn�t have Mr. Fisher shoot, he was hoping they would come over
so they can hear what it�s like from his property. Someone requested for the Cease &
Desist Order to remain in effect until the Zoning Board makes a decision
or if it�s passed back to the Selectmen, until the matter is settled. Mr. Fisher said the problem he has with
the Cease & Desist as applied is he is guilty until proven innocent.
Mr. Fisher feels a lot of the complaints are not valid.
Someone asked what complaints the
Selectmen felt were not valid. The
Town Administrator explained the Cease & Desist Order is dealing
more with the noise nuisance, which was the complaint.
The Town Administrator said Mr. Fisher came into the
Selectmen�s office the day after the last meeting.
Both Mr. Fisher and the Town Administrator talked about if there
was anything in the Cease & Desist Order that wasn�t true at the
time it was served and he said no. The
Town Administrator said the Cease & Desist is not saying Mr. Fisher
is guilty because he agreed with what was in the Cease & Desist.
Someone asked again if the Selectmen felt
any of the complaints were not valid.
Chairman Karrick said the main complaint is the sustained noise
and the other complaint is clay pigeons on neighbor�s property.
Someone confirmed that the complaints the Selectmen received were
valid. Ken Benward said it�s not really a point
of being guilty until proven innocent.
There is an issue with noise; the Zoning Ordinance is in place to
protect neighbors. Chairman
Karrick agrees the noise is a valid issue, but there is the issue of an
individual being able to shoot on their property if they choose.
There is shooting at the Fish & Game Club that creates noise
as well as other people in Town that shoot on their property. Wayne Eigabroadt does not think shooting
at the Fish & Game Club can be compared to shooting on a lot in a
residential area. Mr.
Eigabroadt thinks it�s unreasonable for residents to listen to
prolonged multiple shots fired for hours and litter falling on other
people�s property. Mr.
Eigabroadt recommends keeping the Cease & Desist order in place
until the Zoning Board can make a decision.
Selectman Hartman amended his motion
to include and maintain the Cease & Desist Order on Mr. Fisher�s
property until resolved by the Zoning Board.
Selectman Mr. Fisher was
informed the next Zoning Board meeting is in October and that he should
contact the Land Use office. 10.
Property Inventory Forms The Town Administrator asked the Board if
they would be considering any penalty waivers.
A list was created of residents that have requested waivers, of
those; residents were indicated if they submitted their form in 2008.
The Town Administrator asked if the Board wishes to waive the
penalty for those who did return the forms in 2008.
Selectman Richard Senor made a statement about a
person that said to him they do not fill out the Taxable Inventory Form
because they feel it�s an invasion of privacy. He said a lot of people
who find out they were fined the $50 penalty are OK with the fine and
are still not going to fill out the form.
Mr. Senor doesn�t understand why the Town has this form when
the Town goes through a revaluation every 5 years.
He said if the Town is going to use the form as a type of census,
do so and drop the penalty. Selectman Hartman does not see the form as
an invasion of privacy; he said the form keeps the Town up to date in
between revaluations as well as being up to date on the school census.
Mr. Senor said the Town now has an
interior building permit requirement, he feels this is an adequate
reference for people who are updating their home.
Mr. Senor is not in favor of the Taxable Inventory Forms. Shawn Olsen asked if the form is available
from the Town�s website. The
Town Administrator said that could be another option.
Selectman Hartman recommends Selectman
Carson working with Town Administrator and Martha Mical on a letter for
next year addressing late inventory forms.
As for the requested waivers for this year the Selectmen will
review what has been received and agree or disagree waiving the penalty. 11.
Manifest Selectman Hartman moved
to authorize the Selectmen to sign manifests and order the Treasurer to
sign payroll check numbers 2025-2051 (includes 11 direct deposit stubs)
in the amount of $30,858.31 and accounts payable check numbers
43433-43489 in the amount of $212,786.88. Selectman 12.
Map 29 The Town Administrator presented an
addendum to the Moser contract adding two more items to the scope of
services for $900. The
contract does not include definite boundaries only to define if a
building can fit on the property. Richard Senor asked what the property is
for. The Town Administrator
said possible future fire department.
Mr. Senor asked where the property is located.
The property is located on Map 29 Lot 001. Selectman Hartman moved
to approve $900 to cover the increased scope of services that will be
drawn from the Fire Department Capital Reserve Fund.
Chairman Karrick seconded the motion; all were in favor, the
motion passed. 13.
Current Use Penalty � Map 18 The Selectmen were advised by the
Department of Revenue Administration that said the land can remain in
current-use because of the agricultural function.
Martha Mical said in this situation the reason the land may
remain in current-use is because the plants are in the ground.
Chairman Karrick moved to
abate the current-use penalty plus interest on Map 18 Martha Mical reported that the Women�s
Club Garden Club will be taking care of the flower bed beginning in
2010. The Board of Selectmen
thanked Martha Mical for the many years that she cared for the flower
beds at the statue. 15.
Meeting Minutes Selectman Hartman moved
to approve meeting minutes dated August 4, August 18 and July 28 amended
meeting minutes. Chairman
Karrick seconded the motion; all were in favor, the motion passed. 16.
Selectmen�s Other Business Selectman Selectman Hartman reported damage to Town
property located on Selectman 17.
Nonpublic Session Chairman
Karrick moved to enter into Nonpublic Session at 8:45 p.m. per RSA 91-A:
3 II (c), reputation. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hartman. A
roll call vote was taken. Chairman Karrick � yes; Selectman Hartman
� yes; Selectman Carson � yes. Motion passed unanimously.
In
attendance: Chairman David Karrick, Jr., Selectman David E. Hartman,
Selectman The
Selectmen and the Assessing Clerk discussed the status of the
revaluation and the job performance of the company doing the work. Selectman
Hartman moved to come out of Nonpublic Session at 9:22 p.m. The
motion was seconded by Selectman Carson. A roll call vote was taken.
Chairman Karrick � yes; Selectman Hartman � yes; Selectman Carson
� yes. Motion passed unanimously. 18.
Motion to Adjourn Chairman
Karrick moved to adjourn at 9:25p.m.
Selectman Hartman seconded the motion; all were in favor, the
motion passed. Board of Selectmen David E. Hartman Clyde Respectfully submitted, Mary Whalen Recording secretary
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