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

March 7, 2022 @ 4:30 p.m.

 

 

William I Curless, Chair, opened the meeting at 4:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Present at the meeting were:  William I. Curless, Chair; Dane Headley, Selectman; Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; Derek Lick, Moderator, and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator.

 

 

APPOINTMENTS:

Derek Lick, Moderator, met with the Board to discuss the annual meeting.  Masks will not be required for voting and annual meeting.  The Board discussed Warrant articles.  Selectman Curless will propose an amendment to Article 2 due to anticipated increased energy costs.  The amount will be presented on a gross basis but a breakdown will be available to address potential questions.  The TA was instructed to follow up with the DRA and Town Counsel regarding presentation of a gross amount.  For Article 3, an amendment may be proposed for blacktop roads.  Robert DeFelice, Budget Chair or Gail Guertin, Vice-Chair will respond to questions regarding Capital Reserves.  Selectman Curless will respond to questions regarding Article 4.  Tim Hayes, Cemetery Trustee, will respond to questions on Article 5.  Robert DeFelice, Budget Chair, will respond to questions regarding Article 6.  Selectman Headley will respond to Article 7 and Selectman Baker will respond to Article 8.  Select Board members will be present for voting.

 

The minutes from February 28, 2022 were approved as corrected.

 

The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests:

Vendor Manifest:  $126,281.82

Payroll Manifest:   $  11,974.89

 

OLD BUSINESS:

The Board reviewed the draft Code of Conduct.  Selectman Curless asked whether there was further elaboration on item A-11.  Selectman Headley advised that Town Counsel was to review and finalize that section regarding legal meeting requirements.  Selectman Headley discussed items that are still being fine-tuned which included making a complaint, hearing a complaint, sanctions and censure.  Selectman Headley described the complaint process.  All complaints will be acknowledged.  Formal complaints cannot be anonymous and must be in writing.  Initial review of complaints will be non-public except in cases where an open meeting is required.  A formal written procedure for handling complaints will be developed to ensure fairness.

 

The Board discussed the Budget process.  There should be a two week interval between Department Head presentation to the Select Board and Budget Committee.  The minutes from the Select Board meeting can then be forwarded to the Budget Committee prior to their meeting with the Department Heads.  Questions can the be presented in writing for response.  The more extensive budgets such as highway and police should be scheduled toward the end of the process.  The Select Board will be the final party to present.

 

The Board discussed increased energy costs in conjunction with the 2022 operating budget and instructed the Town Administrator to prepare a cost analysis for electric, fuel and heat for all departments .

 

NEW BUSINESS:

The Board discussed the building permit review process.   Selectman Curless recommended that the Board consider creating a position for facilities management and project review.  The position could also be responsible for building permit review.  Selectman Curless also discussed repairs to Corporation Hill and associated engineering as well as plan review.  Selectman Curless recommended the Board explore an engineering firm to review the water problem on Corporation Hill.  Selectman Curless encouraged the Board to consider GM2 in Concord, because of their comprehensive in-house staff and services.  Selectman Baker said he would be happy to discuss the project with engineers and request proposals.  Selectman Headley and Baker both stated that there would be a bid process for the project.

 

The Board noted that Town Roads were posted for weight limits during mud season.

 

Phillips reported that she had received a complaint regarding timeliness of posting agendas and minutes on the website.  Phillips said that agendas for Select Board meetings are posted the Friday before the meetings.  Phillips said that she missed posting some minutes in February and that she needed to do better.    The citizen making the complaint said that she would be happy to discuss her concerns with the Board.  Phillips will follow up with the citizen to see if she would like to arrange a meeting with the Select Board.    Phillips discussed some of the difficulties encountered in the office due to the amount of multi-tasking that was required.  Selectman Curless acknowledged that the office staff needed assistance.  Selectman Curless emphasized the need for future planning and stewardship responsibilities of the Board.

 

 

REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE:

The Board received DRA notification of the 2022 Equalization Ratio.  The equalization ratio for the Town is 77.5%.  Phillips will follow up to see if the DRA will require the Town to do a statistical revaluation but  felt that a low ratio was probably the norm statewide.

 

NONPUBLIC SESSION: 

At 6:20 p.m. Selectman Curless made a motion to enter into RSA 91-A:3,II(b) The hiring of any person as a public employee.  Selectman Headley seconded the motion.  The Board was polled with Selectman Curless, Selectman Headley and Selectman Baker voting in the affirmative.  Public session resumed at 6:25 p.m.  The minutes were not sealed.

 

SELECT BOARD COMMENTS:

Selectman Baker and Headley thanked Selectman Curless for his service.  Selectman Curless stated his willingness to assist the Board in the future.  Selectman Baker said that it has been a pleasure to serve with him and this Board and that he appreciated his fellow Board members willingness to work together even though they don’t always agree on matters

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:34 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Elly Phillips

Town Administrator