October 31, 2022 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board October 31, 2022 4:00 p.m. Selectman Headley, Chair, opened the meeting at 4:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Dane Headley, Chair; Michael McManus, Selectman; Walter Baker, Jr. Selectman; Robert DeFelice, Budget Committee Chair; Beth Holly LaDuke, Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector; Glenn Pogust, Motor Vehicle Clerk; Tom Schamberg, State Representative, Ben France and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator. APPOINTMENTS: At 4:00 p.m., Selectman Baker made a motion to enter into Non Public Session under RSA 91-A:3, II (e) Consideration or negotiation of pending claims or litigations which have been threatened in writing. Selectman Headley seconded the motion. The Board was polled with Selectmen Headley, Baker and McManus voting in the affirmative. Public session resumed at 4:44 p.m. Selectman Headley made a motion to seal the minutes because it was determined that divulgence of this information likely would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of this Board. Selectman McManus seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 2-0 with Selectman Baker abstaining. At 4:45 p.m., Selectman Baker made a motion to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3:II(a) The dismissal, promotion or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee or the investigation of charges against him. Selectman Headley seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. Public session resumed at 5:03 p.m. Selectman McManus moved to seal the minutes as it is determined that divulgence of this information likely would affect adversely the reputation of any person other than a member of this Board. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. At 5:15 p.m., Beth Holly LaDuke, Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector/Election Registration met with the Board to review the Financial Administration and Election Registration proposed 2023 Budget. Wages were increased for the Deputy Town Clerk line item to 22,464 due to an increase in hours. The position has been budgeted for 15 hours a week. The position is currently being staffed at 24 hours per week. For the computer line item, an increase of $600 is proposed to better reflect actual expenses. Ms. LaDuke will verify that there are no increases being proposed by the software vendors for the 2023 tax year. An increase to $2,500 is being proposed for Dues/Conferences and Publications so that both clerks can attend conferences and training. The office supply line item was increased to cover printer cartridges, etc., and because surplus supplies have been depleted. For Election and Voter Registration, the Supervisor of the Checklist and Ballot Clerk line items were reduced because there will only be one election this year. The other line items remained at the same level. Ms. LaDuke agreed to provide the budget chair with her budget breakdown/rationale supporting documentation. Ms. LaDuke agreed to support the Budget Committee’s request to cut capital reserve requests in half and reduce the appropriation for a ballot counting machine to $500.00. Selectman Headley made a motion to approve as written the minutes from October 24, 2022 and October 27, 2022 public and nonpublic. Selectman McManus seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Vendor Manifest: $32,963.00 Payroll Manifest: $20,430.17 BUILDING PERMITS: The Board reviewed and approved a building permit for Joseph K. Wallace, Map 07-198-402, Kearsarge Valley Road, for a garage. The Board granted a one-year building permit extension for Earle & Cathy Chesley, Harvey Road, for home and garage. Camp to be removed after construction is complete. OLD BUSINESS: Mr. France met with the Board to notify them that cleanup has been completed on the Stotler property. Mr. France shared a scrapbook of the project with the Select Board. One Hundred and twenty one tons of trash were removed from the property. The Board commended Mr. France on his excellent work and Mr. France received final payment for the project. The Conservation Commission has a methodology for collecting donations for the Select Board to accept. The preference of the Board was for the Commission to wait for Town Meeting acceptance of a revolving fund for Trail Maintenance. Selectman Baker advised that the funds would go into the King Hill Fund. The Board discussed the Sutton Free Library. Selectman Baker made a motion that the library submits quarterly reports by the 15th of the month following the close of the quarter. Selectman McManus seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. The oil tank at the library requires replacement. The funding to come from building and grounds. The Board had received notification of this needed repair on Mr. Grimes and Mr. Pederson’s facility report. The Budget Committee and Select Board would like more information on the dehumidifier. The Select Board also would like two or more estimates for the electrical upgrade and dehumidifier. Phillips expressed concern that the contractors were asking the library to pay a fee of $70-$100 in order to provide an estimate. The Board emphasized that the Town should not have to pay for estimates. Phillips was instructed to follow up with the library. Selectman McManus will follow up on acquiring temporary lighting for the Grist Mill Parking area. The Board discussed renting temporary lighting as an option. NEW BUSINESS: The Board issued the 2022 2nd Issue Property Tax Warrant in the amount of $3,876,578. The tax rate will remain stable at $24.16. The breakdown is as follows: 2021 2022 Variance Municipal $7.80 $7.21 -$0.59 County $2.40 $2.61 $0.21 Local Education $12.10 $13.06 $0.96 State Education $1.86 $1.28 -$0.58 Total $24.16 $24.16 $0.00 The Board used $385,000 from the undesignated fund balance to offset the Town portion of the tax rate, leaving a 12.68% fund balance retention which is within the DRA recommended retention guidelines. The town rate was reduced by .59 per thousand to compensate for a .96 increase in the local education rate and a .21 increase in the county rate. The Board noted that electric rates have been locked in at a kilowatt rate of .16640. Last year’s rate was .1299 and PSNH’s current kilowatt rate is .22656. The Board discussed membership on the Budget Committee and the process for filling vacancies. The Select Board will wait for recommendations for appointment from the Budget Committee. The Board received October 2022 Expenditure Reports for review at their next meeting. REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE: PUBLIC INPUT: SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS: The Select Board will issue a letter to Ben France in recognition of the outstanding job that Benny’s Auto Hauling did on the cleanup of the Route 103 Stotler property. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Town Administrator
