August 30, 2021 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board August 30, 2021 @ 4:30 p.m. Selectman William I. Curless, Chair, opened the meeting at 5:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were William Curless, Chair; Dane Headley, Selectman; Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; Jonathan Korbet, Police Chief; Carol Merullo, Town Clerk/Tax Collector; Robert DeFelice, Budget Chair and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator. APPOINTMENTS: At 4:30 p.m. Carol Merullo, Town Clerk/Tax Collector, met with the Board to advise that she was submitting her resignation. Ms. Merullo’s last day will be September 8, 2021. Yvonne Howard, Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector, has been approached to see if she will accept appointment as Town Clerk/Tax Collector. Selectman Curless asked Ms. Merullo her reasons for leaving. Ms. Merullo advised that she has accepted a job offer with better pay. Ms. Merullo stated that she had a good rapport with the people she worked with. However, the position was very thankless. The whole issue of compensation was very disheartening. It was suggested that a Warrant Article be proposed in 2022 so that the Select Board could determine the compensation and benefits for the position. It was noted that the Select Board could not change the compensation for the Town Clerk/Tax Collector because by Statute compensation for this elected position is determined by a Town Meeting vote. It was noted that the Town Clerk position is an elected position. The Taxpayer position can be appointed. A combined Town Clerk/Tax Collector is also an elected position. Ms. Merullo offered that she might be able to assist the Town on an interim basis perhaps on Saturdays. Ms. Merullo noted the vulnerability in employment associated with an elected position, adding that even if you do your job perfectly, you can be voted out. Ms. Merullo said that it was disheartening in 2018 when the salary was reduced by $8,000 at Town Meeting in 2016. Ms. Merullo did not feel that she got support from the Select Board and the Budget Committee when she had to do a petitioned warrant article to get the salary level restored. Ms. Merullo expressed appreciation for the support she received from the town hall staff. The Select Board accepted Ms. Merullo’s resignation noting that she will be sorely missed. Ms. Merullo agreed to assist with drafting the 2022 proposed budget and will try to make herself available for the budget committee’s presentation. At 5:00 p.m. Police Chief Jonathan Korbet met with the Board to provide a departmental update. Chief Korbet informed the Board that one of the cruiser radios is broken. The radio is approximately 20 years old and is beyond repair. Chief Korbet requested disbursement of $2,700.00 from the special duty account to repair the radio with remaining amount to come from the operating budget. The total cost for the replacement radio is $3,103.68. Chief Korbet advised that there is currently $2,736.50 in the Special Duty account. Next year the Department will need to budget for replacement of another radio that is also obsolete. In the meantime, the retired radio can be used for replacement parts that are no longer available. Selectman Headley made a motion to approve the expenditure of $2,700 from the Special Duty Account for the purchase of a cruiser radio with the remainder to come out of the Police Department Operating Budget. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. Chief Korbet discussed revenues for the special duty rates. At this time, there will be no change to the recently adopted rates. Cruiser fees will be allocated to the special duty account in their entirety. The proceeds from the administrative fee will be evaluated. Chief Korbet asked the Board to consider establishing an expendable capital reserves for the purpose of replacing equipment such as radios and building maintenance. Chief Korbet discussed unforeseen repairs to the police facility that put a strain on the department’s operating budget. Budget Chair DeFelice advised that those repairs could come out of the town building expendable capital reserve. The Board discussed the need to do a facilities audit to determine the budgetary thresholds for that reserves. Selectman Curless recommended that the building inventory be reviewed and that 1-2% of the total value of the buildings and multiply that amount by 5. Mr. DeFelice said that this formula could be applied to other infrastructure items. At 5:09 p.m. Selectman Curless made a motion to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3,II(a) in order to perform a performance evaluation for Police Chief Jonathan Korbet. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The Board was polled with Selectmen Curless, Baker and Headley voting in the affirmative. Public session resumed at 6:27 p.m. The minutes from the non-public session were not sealed. The Board approved the minutes from August 23, 2021, as corrected. The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Vendor Manifest: $ 6,406.94 Payroll Manifest: $10,983.74 BUILDING PERMITS: The Board approved a building permit for David and Julie Caterino, Map 05-981-338, for a new home and demolition of the existing camp. The Board approved the applicant’s request to perform the demolition after the new home is constructed, further stipulating that demolition must be completed prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. OLD BUSINESS: Phillips reported that Lori Mather, P.E, Dam Safety Engineer for the Department of Environmental Services visited the library dam site earlier in the day. The library dam is classified as a non-menace dam. A determination has been made that a failure of the structure would neither damage the roadway/bridge located downstream, nor the private residence further downstream. DES has determined that no properties or lives are at risk Ms. Mather noted remnants of the dam’s previous cap and suggested that the Town remove vegetation within a 15-foot area around the dam and the abutments. Woody vegetation is discouraged. Ms. Mather recommended that the town engage an engineer to assess the structural integrity of the dam when there is no flow over the spillway so that the downstream face can be thoroughly inspected, and any proposed design can include addressing observed leak or seepage issues. After the dam is assessed, the Board will need to consider the budgetary impact in view of the fact that this is a non-menace dam. NEW BUSINESS: The Board approved the 2021 MS-1, Property Valuation Report for the Department of Revenue Administration. The Board considered a request to change Solid Waste hours due to staffing constraints. The Board approved Mr. Solimine’s recommendation to post the following hours of operation effective September 21, 2021: Tuesdays 7AM – 12PM; Thursdays 12PM – 5PM; Saturdays 8AM – 4PM. Phillips will follow up on the Permit-By-Notification. REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE: The Board noted correspondence from the DES regarding the Blaisdell Lake Dam There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Town Administrator