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

October 24, 2022 4:00 p.m.

 

Selectman Headley, Chair,  opened the meeting at 5:02  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; Gail Guertin, Budget Committee Vice Chair; Adam Hurst, Road Agent; Glenn Pogust, Planning Board Chair; Peter Stanley, Planning and Zoning Administrator; Timothy Hayes, Cemetery Trustee, Ira Thomas and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator.

 

At 5:03 p.m. Selectman Baker made a motion to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3II(a) compensation of a public employee.  Selectman McManus seconded the motion.  The Board was polled with Selectmen Headley, Baker and McManus voting in the affirmative.   Public session reconvened at 5:06 p.m. The minutes were not sealed.

 

The Board discussed the drainage problem on Jennifer Call’s property.  The work is being scheduled for November.  Mr. Hurst agreed to  coordinate stone wall repairs on the Sweet property  with Selectman Baker.

 

Glenn Pogust reported on the Peacock Hill subdivision advising that he, Peter Stanley, and the consulting engineer have visited the site.  All of the cut lines have been well flagged and the logger understands the scope of the cut.  Over the weekend, residents became concerned regarding a number of vehicles being parked on the street.  An additional issue was raised regarding trucks turning in an unsafe manner.  The Developer had informed the Town that an area of the stone wall needed to be removed for the road cut and would be rebuilt.

 

Phillips and Pogust visited the site earlier in the day and confirmed that there is an opening and the wall has been repaired.  Riprap has been installed for the logging activities.  At the time of the site visit, there was one vehicle parked off the road but within the State’s right-of-way.  The logging work that is being done is consistent with the cut line for the driveways.   The developer arrived on site and was reminded that parking needs to be off the road and was asked to advise truckers to use the wide turnaround located at Eaton Grange Road.  Mr. Fitzgerald said that he had requested that the truckers use the specified turnaround and that he would reiterate that with the subcontractors.   The Town also followed up on a reported inappropriate hand signal.

 

Ira Thomas relayed safety concerns with trucks turning on East Sutton Road and said there  was a previous incident whereby a turning truck had taken down the electrical lines.  Mr. Thomas said that it is such a bad corner for turning that the school bus goes up to Eaton Grange to use the turnaround.  Mr. Thomas emphasized that contractors parking along East Sutton Road were not permitted to park  within the right-away according to the NH DOT.  Mr. Pogust assured Mr. Thomas that he would ensure that the developer was aware of that requirement.  Mr. Pogust encouraged Mr. Thomas, or any concerned citizens, to notify the Sutton Police Department of infractions using the non-emergency number.  Mr. Pogust explained that the Planning and Select Boards do not have authority over parking violations, and the Planning Board does not have authority over the subdivision.  However, Mr. Pogust and Mr. Stanley have offered to assist the Select Board with monitoring the subdivision and communicating enforcement concerns with the Select Board.  The Developer has expressed a willingness to cooperate with the Town.    Selectman Headley  thanked Mr. Thomas for making the Board aware of the neighborhood concerns.

 

Mr. Stanley  presented the Planning and Zoning 2023 proposed Budget.  Mr. Stanley advised that the professional services line item will be used to cover consulting from the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Board to draft proposed ordinances to ensure that the Zoning Ordinance coincides with the goals of the Master Plan.  Mr. Stanley said that now that the Master Plan is completed that line item can be reduced to $9,000.  Otherwise, there are no changes.  Engineering expenses will be paid through a separate escrow account.

 

Capital Reserves were discussed.  In response, to the Budget Committee’s request to limit, where possible, appropriations to the Capital Reserves, the Mapping and Revaluation capital reserve can be reduced to $12,500 for this year.   The Master Plan expendable non-capital reserve appropriation will remain the same.

 

Selectman Headley thanked Mr. Pogust and Mr. Stanley for the excellent job that the Planning Board does.   Mr. Pogust acknowledged  that they were an excellent group, very engaged and committed to the Town.

At 5:30 p.m. Tim Hayes met with the Board to discuss the Cemetery Trustees 2023 budget.  Mr. Hayes is proposing a $4,000 increase in the operating budget primarily for landscaping services/tree removal.  Mr. Hayes is interested in doing a bid for landscaping services.  Fence repairs also need to be  performed in 2023.  The Millswood Fence is beyond repair and needs to be removed and replaced.  There is a possibility that there is some value for scrapping or resale.  However, the fence is in an extreme state of deterioration.   Mr. Hayes is considering replacing it with a fence similar to the one enclosing the Village Cemetery.

 

There was a general discussion regarding capital reserves available for the cemeteries.  Mr. Hayes discussed progress on the Mastin Cemetery project.  He is working with the NH Cemetery Commission to obtain references for engineering services.  Mr. DeFelice recollected that the Town was considering  adding a position or using existing staff  to perform landscape maintenance services in-house rather than using a private contractor.  Mr. Hayes discussed the challenges and considerable  expense associated with tree removal in the cemetery.   A discussion regarding additional funding for the tree removal capital reserve ensued.    Mr. DeFelice advised that the Budget Committee was asking all departments to consider reducing their appropriations to capital reserves if possible due to current economic conditions.  Mr. Hayes was asked whether it would be possible to reduce the Mastin Cemetery Capital Reserve.  Selectman McManus recommended getting engineering recommendations prior to town meeting.  Mr. Hayes said that the estimate for site work that he obtained two years ago was approximately $125,000 and costs have like increased.  Mr. Hayes was asked if he would be willing to reduce the Mastin Cemetery Capital Reserve to $30,000.  Mr. Hayes said that he was reluctant to have the project drawn out too far into the future  but understood that times are tough.  Mr. Hayes agreed to reduce the request from $60,000 to $30,000.  Selectman McManus said if engineering numbers become available, the appropriation amount certainly could be reconsidered.

 

Mr. Hayes discussed the vacancies in the Cemetery Trusteeship.  Ms. Guertin recommended promoting the vacancy on the website.

 

Selectman Headley made a motion to accept the  October 17, 2022, as corrected. Selectman McManus seconded the motion.  The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote.   The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests:

Vendor Manifest:  $495,984.18

Payroll Manifest:   $  16,272.39

BUILDING PERMITS:

The Board reviewed and approved the following building permits:

Will & Jan Peirce, Map 09-993-316, Rowell Hill Road, for a pool

Richard and Kim Lovell, Map 01-890-282, Roby Road, for a home, variance granted 10/19/2022

 

OLD BUSINESS:

Selectman McManus updated the Board on the clean up of tax deeded property located at Map 01-407-067.  The project has been completed.  Contractor Ben France and his team did an exceptional job.  Phillips will follow up on disposal of household hazardous waste.

 

The Board deferred action on a request from the Conservation Commission to accept donations pending further review of advice from Town Counsel.

 

Selectman Headley made a motion renew insurance coverage with Health Trust.  Selectman McManus seconded the motion.  The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote.

 

The Board agreed to Meet November 1, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. to review and complete employee performance evaluations.

 

The Board discussed a drainage concern raised by an abutter due to the handicapped parking spaces that are being designated in front of the  Pillsbury Memorial Hall.  The sense of the Board was that the parking spaces will not affect drainage patterns.  Mike Vignale, Engineer, is also reviewing the matter.

 

The Board agreed to meet with Joe Driscoll at 4:00 p.m. in non-public session to discuss legal matters.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Selectman McManus made a motion to enter into a  Rack + fixed adder in the amount of .2295 for on road diesel.  Selectman Headley seconded the motion.  The motion passed by a unanimous vote.

 

REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE:

The Board noted the following items of correspondence:

Email/link  from Joanna Murphy regarding the importance and healthy benefits of leaving leaves.

DRA regarding 2020 Assessment Review.

 

SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS:

Selectman Headley referred back to a previous meeting pertaining to  police department salaries and said that recently WMUR did a story on the shortage of police officers, both State and Municipal.  Selectman Headley said that the state police  were offering a $21,000 sign up bonus .

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:17 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Elly Phillips

Town Administrator