January 30, 2023 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board January 30, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m. Dane Headley opened the meeting at 5:04 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Dane Headley, Chair; Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; Michael McManus, Selectman; Jennifer Call, Treasurer; Robert DeFelice, Budget Chair; Thomas Schamberg, State Representative; Sondra and Ernie Brake; Betsy Forsham; and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator. APPOINTMENTS: Jennifer Call, Treasurer, met with the Board to discuss establishing a separate account for credit card deposits which will be deposited to the general account on a gross basis based on daily transactions. Paul Mercier, CPA, recommended establishing this account for reconciliation purposes which is a standard municipal practice. Select Baker moved to open a separate account for credit card transactions. Selectman McManus seconded the motion which passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. Ms. Call also advised that this practice provides for better internal controls. Betsy Forsham, met with the Board to express a citizen concern regarding transfer station closing times. Ms. Forsham said that she normally gets to the transfer station early on Tuesdays. However, her routine was delayed last Tuesday due to fact that she was clearing heavy wet snow from the storm on the 23rd. When she arrived at the Transfer Station prior to noon the gate was half closed, and she was advised that facility closes at 11:45 and the hours are posted on the gate. She noted that both the website and the annual report post the hours until noon on Tuesdays. Ms. Forsham felt that the facility should stay open until noon and that the attendants should stay and be paid any extra time spent over the posted hours. It was noted that there were others that had arrived at that time who voice similar complaints. Ms. Forsham said that Mr. Solimine did allow her to dispose of her trash in the construction dumpster which is not as efficient as it is not compacted for disposal. Ms. Forsham felt that staff should be reminded that they are there for the taxpayers and some leeway should be given after a storm. Selectman Headley said that this issue has come up before. Selectman Headley felt that staff should keep their published hours. Selectman Headley said that he needed to reference previous minutes to see what the final decision was. In his opinion, he felt that staff could start preparing to close a few minutes early but keep the gates open until the advertised time. Ms. Forsham indicated that not everyone was happy with the shortened hours on weekdays and wondered how many people came in at 7:00 a.m. Selectman Headley stated that the Board would invite Mr. Solimine in to discuss the matter. Mr. DeFelice said that on the Budget side, funds are allocated for additional time in order to accommodate closure and special activities. Mr. DeFelice noted that any unused funds are returned to the Town, but it doesn’t make sense to budget hours that are just going to be returned back to the town. Mr. DeFelice felt the budgeted hours should accommodate for ½ hour after closing time to accommodate end of day activities. Selectman McManus made a motion to accept the January 16, 2023 minutes as written. Selectman Baker seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote. CONSENT AGENDA: REVIEW OF MANIFESTS: The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Vendor Manifest: $432,507.60 1/23/2023 Payroll Manifest: $15,369.17 1/23/2023 Vendor Manifest: $23,083.14 1/30/2023 Payroll Manifest: $18,669.90 1/30/2023 BUILDING PERMITS: The Board approved a building permit for Walter Partridge, 05-497-323, North Road, for a roof mounted solar array. The Board deferred action on a building permit application by America Tower Corporation, 05-678-405A, Shadow Hill Road, for a generator pending further information regarding the proposed project. OLD BUSINESS: The Board agreed to meet with and charge the Economic Development Committee at a future Select Board meeting in February to take place after completion of the Budget Hearing. The Board reviewed the proposed Budget and draft Warrant. It was noted that the Select Board was proposing a 5% increase, and the Budget Committee was following the Social Security COLA recommendation of 8.7%. The Budget Committee initiated this practice in order to provide consistency. Mr. DeFelice discussed the library budget noting that the Committee was still awaiting library year-end expenditure and revenue reports. The Budget Committee will follow up with the library in this regard. Mr. DeFelice also discussed the library public and nonpublic hours and felt that clarification of hours required would be helpful to the budget process. Mr. DeFelice felt that due to variations in the hours etc. an annual warrant article might be helpful for this function noting that the Historical Society was also being asked to submit a petitioned Warrant Article this year. The Board reviewed a request from the Kezar Lake Protective Association (KLPA) requesting a warrant article for $2,000 to help fund the Lake Host Program. Selectman McManus felt that the article should be petitioned to highlight the matter for voter consideration. Robert DeFelice, Budget Chair, agreed that this was the proper avenue for non-town entities. Selectman Baker felt that the article carries more weight when it is presented through a citizen’s petition. Mr. DeFelice felt that the article should be petitioned initially for at least a couple of years. The Budget Committee could explore various options such as whether a capital reserve should be established for this purpose. Sondra Brake spoke to the issue on behalf of the KLPA and emphasized the importance of establishing a long-term mechanism for this important function. The Board discussed a potential Warrant Article to convey Map 03-776-234. Additional research is required prior to finalizing this warrant article which hopefully will be available on or before 2/6/2022. There was a brief discussion regarding the unpaid tax amount prior to deed. The Board discussed costs associated with engineering/surveying for the Horse Beach parking area. Selectman McManus expressed concerns regarding recent expenditures for surveying and engineering. Selectman Baker advised that the costs are to be shared between the KLPA, the Town (Conservation Commission) and North Sutton Improvement Society as specified in the original deed to the North Sutton Improvement Society. Phillips was instructed to follow up regarding reimbursement to the Town. The Board responded to a question regarding Solid Waste Facility’s Policy regarding non-residential MSW. After extensive discussion, the Board agreed to look at the Facility’s by-laws and take the matter into consideration at their next regularly scheduled meeting. NEW BUSINESS: The Board reviewed and finalized the Round Room Report for the 2022 Annual Report. The Board discussed the schedule for interviewing for the Town Administrator position. The Board executed the CAI Tax Map Maintenance Agreement for 2023-2024. The Board discussed Road Conditions/Complaints on Kearsarge Valley Road/North Road. The general consensus of the Board was that road conditions would have been improved if the clearing started earlier noting that there is an element of judgement involved in clearing operations which varies from storm to storm. REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE: The Board noted correspondence from Cinde Warmington, Executive Councilor. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Town Administrator