TOWN OF SUTTON
Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall
93 Main Street
Sutton Mills, NH  03221

Board of Selectman
Meeting Minutes of June 5, 2017

The meeting was called to order by Robert Wright, Jr., Chair. Present at the meeting were, the Sutton Board of Selectmen: Robert Wright, Jr., Selectmen, William I. Curless, Selectman, Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; the Bradford Board of Selectmen:  John Pfeifle, Selectman, Sonny Harris, Selectman, Jim Bibbo, Selectmen, Karen Hambleton, Bradford Town Administrator, Molly Hopkins, Bradford Recording Secretary; Chris Connors, Trout Unlimited and Elly Phillips, Sutton Town Administrator.

The minutes from the meeting of May 22, 2017 were approved as written.  The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests:

PAYROLL MANIFEST: $   9,770.45

VENDOR MANIFEST:   $11,912.56

 

APPOINTMENTS:

The Sutton Select Board met with the Bradford Select B oard to discuss a regional approach to providing services to residents. Selectman Pfeifle observed that living in NH is a privilege but it has become very expensive to do so.  Mr. Pfeifle added that Sutton, Bradford, Newbury and Warner are contiguous communities which meld together well for combined services.

 

Mr. Pfeifle discussed savings that Bradford has achieved by using Henniker for the ambulance service, thus allowing Henniker to staff their ambulance crew 24-7. Bradford no longer has the overhead of a municipal ambulance-service and therefore has invested in a rescue vehicle instead.   Bradford has experienced an increase in volunteer first responders since the transition.    Better service for less money has been achieved by both Bradford and Henniker as a result of their collaboration.  Selectman Wright observed that Sutton has a similar arrangement with New London.

 

The Boards discussed the logistics of shared services. Addressing transfer stations, Selectman Baker felt that if extended services were offered so that citizens could go to a transfer station seven days a week, it would be of benefit to the public.  There was a discussion regarding public safety services, and an interest was expressed in sharing part-time resources to expand coverage hours.  The Select Boards reviewed areas whereby collaboration might result in costs savings or increased services including cemetery care, welfare administration, collective acquisition of heating oil, maintenance services, revaluation, planning resources, acquisition of commodities, coordination of paving project schedules to reduce staging costs, as well as shared facilities and personnel.   Bradford Selectman Bibbo emphasized the need to continue to look for areas of service commonality.

 

Selectman Curless felt that the towns could see a savings through pooled commodity acquisition such as cutting edges for the plows, sand/salt, diesel. The Selectmen discussed where to start and determined that joint heating fuel bids, cemetery maintenance, welfare and assessing, coordination between the highway departments, transfer station utilization/recycling for expanded services.  Selectman Harris felt that aggressive marketing of scrap metals/recycled materials could be a good revenue source for the towns and that Bradford has the capacity to stockpile materials and sell at peaks rather than just shipping materials.

 

The Board members agreed to compile lists of areas that they felt would be conducive to a collaborative effort for further consideration. The Sutton Board expressed interest in being included in the upcoming bid for heating oil which Administrator Hambleton will facilitate. Sutton Selectmen expressed an interest in attending a joint meeting with Bradford and Warner at Warner on June 20^th to further explore consolidation of resources.

 

Chris Connors, Trout Unlimited, met with Board to discuss Workshops that are being conducted by the Warner River Watershed Conservation Project on June 14 and 28 at 4:00 p.m. The workshops will provide information on conducting a successful culvert replacement process that will improve infrastructure as well ecological connectivity.  Basal Trout Unlimited in conjunction with NH Fish and Game and has completed a stream crossing assessment of all the culverts within the Warner Watershed.  Those numbers have been collected by NH DOT and run through an engineering model that help determine aquatic organism passage, hydraulic capacity, and flood resiliency. Ms. Connors provided a handout which predicted how many culverts would fail during a 2-year storm, a 25-year storm and a 100-year storm.  Of particular interest are the wild brook trout whose presence is an indicator of water quality.

 

The purpose of the workshop is to create a better understanding of watershed-wide infrastructure and strengthen the relations ship between community, state and federal partnerships resulting in increased grant opportunities. Selectman Wright advised that Selectman Curless was the liaison to the Planning Board and Selectman Wright was the liaison to the Conservation Commission.  Selectman Baker expressed an interest in attending the workshops and will invite Stephen Bagley, Road Agent to attend as well.  Don Davis, Conservation Commission Member will also be invited to attend.  Selectman Curless will check to see if there are members of the Planning Board who might be interested in attending the workshops.

 

BUILDING PERMITS:

A building permit for Peter and Deborah Rucci, Map 10-396-222, Summit Road for a shed was approved subject to wetlands setback approval.

 

INTENT TO CUT:

The Board approved the following intent to cuts:

Anthony Acevedo, 04-302-422 Route 114, 3 acres out of 5

Kristin and Benjamin Prime, 07-797-303, Whiskey Pine Road for 4 acres out of 11

 

NEW BUSINESS:

The Board entered into the Contribution Assurance Program for CY 2018- CY 2020 for Workers Compensation with Primex. Selectman Wright executed the resolution on behalf of the Board.

Supplemental Warrant:   Map 02-055-310 – $608.00 not billed on first issue.

 

The Board approved a PO for the Town Clerk/Tax Collector for Staples in the amount of $421.98.

 

 

The Board approved a petty cash request from the Town Clerk/Tax Collector as well as a new cash drawer with starting balance for the Cindy Stillman, Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector.

 

The Board received notification that Tax Anticipation Note Issued in the amount of $500,000 6/1/2017

 

Phillips reported that Daniel Baker expressed concern regarding the Town’s tax rate and requested that his concerns be conveyed to the Board of Selectmen.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

The Board received notification from Brad W. Simpson, Director of Division of Forest and Lands, of the following Fire Warden/Deputy Fire Warden appointments:

Fire Warden: Robert (Bud) D. Nelson

Deputy Fire Wardens: Robert DeFelice, Corbett Cochran, A. Garrett Evans, Aaron Flewelling, Matthew Grimes, John McBroom, Andrew Palmer, D. Keven Rowe, Brendan Rowe, Carl Smith

 

REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE:

Legislative Bulletin – noted

 

SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS:

Selectman Baker reported on progress of the library ramp. The library has agreed to proceed with the plan as discussed at the annual meeting.  Selectman Baker will instruct Erin Reardon, Engineer, Right Angle Engineering to develop plans for the ramp.  Selectman Baker reported that the guard rails have been installed on the Hominy Pot culvert.

 

Selectman Curless reported on a complaint that he had investigated on Memorial Day regarding damage to the South Sutton Common which resulted from winter road maintenance activities. In addition, damage done during PSNH’s installation of a pole has not been repaired.  Fritz Pratt also broached concerns regarding the condition of the common.  Phillips was instructed to follow up with the Road Agent and PSNH.  A complaint has been received regarding the condition of Smiley Grove.  The Conservation Commission will be reviewing the complaint. Selectman Curless conveyed a citizen concern regarding the fact that the highway department did not have an American Flag flying, adding that it was the only town facility that did not have a flag and also requested that arrangements be made for regular mowing at the highway facility.

 

Selectman Wright reported on the Rain Garden presentation conducted at the Tom McLoughlin Memorial Rain Garden which was held on May 31 at the Kearsarge Regional High School. Selectman Baker and Selectman Wright were in attendance at for the presentation.  The rain garden is adjacent to the high school parking lot and to a stream which feeds into Stevens Brook and contains a high number of brook trout.  The development of the garden is to mitigate runoff from the parking lot, thereby minimizing pollution which might be affecting the trout population. The McLoughlin family was recognized for their contribution and in memory of Tom McLoughlin. Noel Eastman Excavation Co. and Pellettieri Associates Landscaping Co. were contributors from the business community.  Henry Howell of the Sutton Conservation Commission provided instrumental guidance and support.  NH Fish and Game and Basil Woods Trout Unlimited also lent their expertise to the Rain Garden. This project represented a rare cooperative effort between the business community, the schools and local/state agencies.

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:31 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted – Elly Phillips