June 26, 2023 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board June 26, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m. Dane Headley opened the meeting at 4:40 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Dane Headley, Chair; Michael McManus, Selectman; Barbara Hoffman and Deborah Lang, Conservation Commission; Robert DeFelice, and Michael Cornelio, Trustees of the Trust Funds; Adam Hurst, Road Agent, Glenn Pogust, Planning Board Chair; and David Grinsell, Town Administrator. APPOINTMENTS: At 5:06 p.m. Barbara Hoffman and Deborah Lang met with the Board to discuss the Conservation Commission’s concerns regarding plastic recycling at the Solid Waste Facility. The Commission requested that the Select Board form a Waste Reduction and Recyling Committee to address these concerns. Commission members visited the Bradford Facility to learn more about plastic recycling. Bradford recycles #2 plastics. When they have a load, the Highway Department transports the #2 plastic to Warner. The Warner Transfer Station recycles #1 and #2 plastics. The Commission members also learned more about the services of the NRRA. Ms. Hoffman stated that the goal of the committee would be to research issues and cost out solutions, develop community surveys and make recommendations to the Board regarding recycling options. Diego Solimine, Solid Waste Supervisor, has expressed a willingness to work with the committee to explore recycling options. Ms. Hoffman acknowledged that Mr. Solimine has done research on recycling and that there may not be any viable alternatives. Ms. Hoffman stressed that recycling was an important issue for many citizens. Ms. Hoffman said that if an effective solution could not be reached than the committee could explore options for the reduction of plastic use and educate citizens on methods to reduce the use of plastic which would result in a reduction of the amount being shipped to landfills and ultimately a cost savings for the town. Several citizens have expressed an interest in serving on the committee should one be approved. Selectman Headley asked how the Town of Bradford was separating the #2 plastic and was advised that there is a compactor bin, and the compacted plastic is stored in a container until a full load is achieved. Transfer Station employees monitor citizen recycling. Ms. Hoffman discussed grant opportunities for balers etc. Selectman Headley noted that the Board had concerns regarding whether staff would have ample time to monitor the plastic recycling to ensure that only #2 plastics were being disposed of. Ms. Hoffman responded that the Town could apply for grants to obtain instructional signage. Ms. Lang noted that at the Bradford facility provides orientation regarding the town recycling ordinances are provided to new citizens. Selectman McManus supported the concept but did not feel that it was necessary to establish a committee and felt that the concerned citizens could provide recommendations on an ad hoc basis. Selectman Baker expressed enthusiasm for enhanced recycling and felt that information regarding associated costs would be beneficial for citizen support. He noted that the Town’s recycling of plastics costs twice as much as tipping MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) and it was all just going into the landfill. Selectman McManus advised that recycling is expensive, and that last month was the first month in a long time that the Town got a check from NRRA. Selectman Headley reiterated that previously the segregated plastic was being shipped out of state and co-mingled plastic ends up going into the landfill. Selectman McManus said that the Board has explored this issue multiple times and that there is no guarantee that the plastic is being recycled. Selectman Headley verified that there is a market for #2 plastic. Selectman Headley felt that making #2 plastic recycling optional might be a good solution. The challenges of educating citizens regarding the various types of plastic were discussed. Ms. Hoffman and Ms. Lang felt that public outreach would be a major function of the committee, if formed. Ms. Lang offered to organize some meetings to raise citizen awareness. The Board expressed support for an independent committee to explore the matter and suggested that the town’s website could be used to publicize the matter. The sense of the Board was that after the independent committee has conducted their research and garnered citizen support, the Board would be happy to reconsider whether a formal committee should be established. The Board granted permission for the independent committee to promote their cause (disseminate materials or post signage) regarding recycling at the Transfer Station. At 5:30 p.m. Robert DeFelice, Michael Cornelio, Trustees of the Trust Funds, met with the Board to discuss administrative matters. Mr. Cornelio discussed renaming the capital reserves for continuity purposes. Mr. Cornelio wanted to rename the accounts to show the year that it was established, a description of the fund, and whether it was expendable. Mr. DeFelice asked if a new account would need to be established to facilitate this effort, and if so, would the history on the accounts be lost? Mr. Cornelio will follow up on the matter with NHPDIP. The intricacies of forming new accounts, expendable accounts and cemetery accounting and disbursements were discussed at length. Mr. Cornelio discussed internal controls concerns for electronic transactions. Mr. Cornelio has had preliminary discussions with Bar Harbor regarding establishing a subaccount for capital reserve transactions. There was a general discussion regarding setting up a transfer account with NHPDIP. TA Grinsell will follow up with the Bar Harbor Bank to implement a solution with appropriate internal controls. The Board agreed to review the matter at their next regularly scheduled meeting. TA Grinsell will follow up with the Trustees of the Trust Funds. At 6:19 p.m. Glenn Pogust, Planning Board Chair met with the Board regarding the Peacock Hill preliminary hearing on a motion for an injunction which has been scheduled for June 28. Selectman Headley agreed to attend the hearing on behalf of the Board. Mr. Pogust and Mr. Stanley will also be attending the hearing. CONSENT AGENDA: Selectman McManus moved to approve the minutes from June 19, 2023, as revised. Selectman Headley seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. MANIFESTS: The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Vendor: $46,282.62 Vendor: $ 950.00 Payroll: $24,550.95 BUILDING PERMITS: The Board reviewed and approved the following building permits: Brandon Battis, 02-732-432, Route 114, for a single-family home. Peter Mueller, 01-106-163, Eaton Grange Road, for an air conditioning unit. Heidi Thoma and Dave Gardner, 07-933-325, Route 114, for interior renovations to cottage. NEW BUSINESS: Selectman Baker discussed paving the Grist Mill Parking Area. Adam Hurst, Road Agent, was present for the discussion. Selectman Baker advised that paving would cost about $8,000 and would greatly reduce the need for annual maintenance. Selectman Baker said that he and Mr. Grinsell recently attended a seminar regarding paving projects and that parking lots were identified as a potential major liability for towns. Selectman Baker was interested in obtaining estimates from the Road Agent for the annual cost to maintain the gravel parking area. Selectman Baker indicated that paving would facilitate snow removal. Selectman Baker discussed drainage issues on the lot and noted that the Board was following up with the design engineer on July 10 to determine the cause of the drainage issue and to explore solutions. Peter Stanley, Planning and Zoning Administrator, will be invited to attend the meeting as he has expertise in this area. The Board also discussed financing of the bridge project. Budgeting constraints were discussed. It was noted that cost increases are anticipated for 2024 and acquiring materials for the project in 2023 is an option that should be explored provided that the overall operating budget can cover the costs. The Board issued a repurchase deed: Ray/Nelson for a 1/17th interest in Map/Lot 08-110-363 The Board issued a repurchase deed for Debra Rayno, 07-804-025 per the taxpayer agreement. The Board considered a request from Wadleigh State Park for a Transfer Station Sticker. It was noted that Sutton citizens can park at Wadleigh for free if they have a transfer station sticker which would alleviate some of the parking problems with walkers around the lake. Selectman McManus moved to issue a Transfer Station Sticker to Wadleigh State Park under the premise that Wadleigh allows Sutton residents to park there. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The Board issued an abatement for the Androphy Trust, Map 05-885-563. The cause of the abatement was that the tax bill was generated in error. The property was merged with 05-898-463. Selectman Headley moved to terminate Mission Square Retirement Plan 304686 as the assets were merged into Plan 302530. This created a single plan for Town employees eliminating the administration for two identical plans. Selectman McManus seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. The Board executed DRA Form MS-535 – Financial Report of the Budget. The Board briefly discussed Vacation Accrual/Part-time benefits. TA Grinsell advised that currently there is a liability of $44,000. One individual has exceeded the 240-hour accrued vacation cap creating the potential for the excess hours to be forfeited. The Board deferred action on the matter until a future meeting. OLD BUSINESS: The Board discussed projects at the Sutton Free Library. The library front door has been repaired and is in great shape now and should last more than a couple of seasons. Selectman Baker reported that Wet Basement Solutions will require an outlet for the sump pump. The cost for the dehumidifier is $3,200.00. Irish Electric will install the outlet. The Board authorized installation of the dehumidifier. After the dehumidifier has been in operation for 30 days, the Board will revisit the project to see if additional work is required. TA Grinsell will follow up on the project and keep the library informed. TA Grinsell is following up with Counsel on the Old Store Museum Contract with Lance Carter. Selectman Baker agreed to follow up on the project with Mr. Carter. The Board received $678 from the North Sutton Improvement Society in payment for a portion of engineering services to review parking issues at Horse Beach. TA Grinsell issued the formal acknowledgement/letter of understanding on behalf of the Board. TA Grinsell reported that he is following up with the DES regarding Septage Lagoon Closure and with Chippers regarding trimming the maple tree at the Grist Mill Parking area and is also following up with Eversource regarding the maple tree on the Pillsbury Memorial Hall site. Mr. DeFelice thanked TA Grinsell for the updated budget report. The Board discussed software issues with the current and will review fund accounting options and acquiring different software. Mr. DeFelice asked to be included in the discussion regarding benefits accrual. REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE: The Board noted the following items of correspondence: Public Notice Town of Boscawen Site Plan Review for a Wireless Telecommunications Facility Public Notice City of Concord, regarding deployment of Personal Wireless Service Facility. SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS: Selectman Headley noted that he will work with the executive bookkeeper, Lorri Himes, to order 2 chairs with arms and 5 additional chairs and a rack to store them in. Selectman Headley recommended seeking an experienced recording secretary for the Select Board meeting. Selectman McManus asked that everyone put together a job description for a building and grounds position. He asked TA Grinsell to reach out to other towns, specifically, Hopkinton, to ask for a job description and pay rate for the position. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Recording Secretary.