Town of Sutton

Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall

26 Grist Mill Street Committee

Meeting Minutes of July 15, 2019

 

Members present:  Dane Headley, Chair; Don Davis (late), Glenn Pogust and Betsy Forsham. Absent: Cindy Johnson, Andy Jeffrey, Bob DeFelice and Wally Baker.

Call to order:  Chair Dane Headley called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m.

Previous meeting minutes: It was moved by Glenn, seconded by Dane and unanimously approved to accept the minutes of July 1, 2019 as written.

Old Business:

Still no word when Andrew Cushing of the NH Preservation Alliance might be coming to view the buildings.  Don said he would try to contact him again.

Discussion of what makes a building “historic”.  Don thought that a building 50 years old or more qualifies, at least by federal standards.  He will check to see if the state uses the same criteria.

Don also reiterated that, from a preservationist’s point of view, the barn holds more interest than the house, as it has retained more of the original features/character.

 

Betsy let members know that, despite several attempts over many days, she has been unable to make contact with Geddes Moving Company.  Even the answering machines didn’t pick up when she tried today.

 

Committee Members’ Comments:

It was decided that we need to find out the ratio of handicap parking to regular parking spaces.  Glenn volunteered to do so.  Don also said that 180 linear feet would be needed for 20 parking spaces, room for turning radii into the spaces and the ingress and egress into/from the parking area.

 

Members agreed that on busy days, such as voting, we would need someone to direct parking to

ensure a safe and unimpeded flow of traffic. We will need to consult with the PD about the traffic pattern.

 

In thinking about parking, members felt that the road agent, Adam Hurst, should be consulted about plowing the lot, with or without parking.  Dane agreed to invite him to the next meeting.

 

Glenn wondered what we would do if the house remains as is, to keep it tight and water free.

Dane said we would drain the pipes and not heat it.

 

Dane reiterated, and we discussed, the scenarios we have been discussing since the committee   was formed:

1) Create parking/remove all buildings

2) Create parking/ retain some portion of the buildings

3) Create parking/move the house (or a portion thereof) to the west side and repurpose the

barn (part of the structure or, if torn down, reuse the lumber for whatever).

 

Whereas some of the agenda items can’t be discussed due to the absence of members crucial to the topics, it was moved by Betsy, seconded by Dane and unanimously approved to adjourn at 4:00 p.m.

 

The next meeting will be held on Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Betsy Forsham, Recording Secr