March 8, 2024 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board Minutes February 26th, 2024, 4pm PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Selectman Michael McManus opened the meeting at 4:03pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Michael McManus, Selectman; Glenn Pogust, Selectman; Julia Jones, Town Administrator; Adam Hurst, Road Agent; Brandon Grendell, Assistant Road Agent; Bob DeFelice, Sutton Budget Committee Chair; Eugene Cote, Highway Department; Mike Bascom, Highway Department; Rick Bixby, Highway Department; Tim Greene, Highway Department; Kevin Faria, Police Department; Sue Esposito, Alison Jones, Lee Booker, Bob DeFelice, John Jones, and Lee Booker. APPOINTMENTS: At 4:00pm the Board met with Adam Hurst, Town Road Agent regarding overtime hours logged by the Highway Department for the pay period ending February 22nd. Selectman Pogust acknowledged that overtime hours logged by the Highway Department were properly accounted for according to the Section IX:D:1 of the Personnel Policy: IX: OVERTIME Overtime shall be authorized in advance by the department head. All employees who are paid on an hourly basis shall receive overtime payment for all hours worked in excess of forty hours. Overtime will be paid at one and one-half times the employee’s regular hourly rate. Overtime shall be based on the number of hours worked. The meaning of this statement is that no paid non-work time, whether paid holiday, annual leave, bereavement leave, maternity leave, or sick leave that might be taken during a given payroll week shall be included in the 40 hour base above which additional hours are paid at overtime rates. The following are exceptions to this general rule: If additional hours above the scheduled work week are authorized by the supervisor to meet an urgent and fortuitous need such as disaster relief actions, snow or ice removal, fallen tree removal after wind storms, reopening of roads after severe floods, and the like, then the 40 hour base shall include approved annual leave, bereavement leave, maternity leave, sick leave and up to eight hours of holiday time (a lesser number for workers who would normally and regularly be scheduled to work a lesser number of hours on that day if it were not a holiday). If additional hours above the scheduled work week are authorized by the supervisor in circumstances not conforming to the “urgent and fortuitous need” criterion, and approval is obtained from the Selectmen in advance, any of the various types of paid non-work time listed above may be included in the forty hour base, depending on the circumstances and on the approval granted by the Selectmen. Selectman Pogust apologized for confusion regarding the Town’s overtime policy following the February 19th Select Board meeting. He thanked the Highway Department for their work maintaining the roads and acknowledged the added challenges faced by the Department during winter and mud season. The Town Administrator echoed Selectman Pogust, emphasizing the critical services provided by the Highway Department, which make it possible for residents to commute to work and access medical care. Selectman McManus asked the Road Agent for an update on the 10-wheel plow/dump truck, which is still on order. Funds were raised and appropriated for the purpose of acquiring this truck under Article 6 at Town Meeting, March 13th, 2023. These funds were encumbered by the Board for expenditure in 2024 on December 30th, 2023. The Road Agent shared that the truck arrived at Freightliner earlier this year. Once a dump body is installed by Viking, the truck will be ready for final inspection and delivery. Selectman McManus and the Town Road Agent discussed an intent to cut 8 of 48 acres located on Music Hill Rd. 06-068-417 submitted by Barnara and Thomas Schnitzer. The Board and the Town Road Agent discussed road bonding. The Board and the Town Road Agent agreed that a policy needs to establish a comprehensive road bonding policy. CONSENT AGENDA: MINUTES: The Board reviewed and approved public minutes from February 12th, 2024 as revised. MANIFESTS: The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Payroll: $17,060.54 Vendors: $363,642.57 INTENTS: The Board reviewed and approved an intent to cut 8 of 48 acres located on Music Hill Rd. 06-068-417 submitted by Barnara and Thomas Schnitzer. BUILDING PERMITS: The Board reviewed and approved a $30,000 building permit for a 20×30’ garage on property located at 350 Baker Hill Rd. 08-84-265. NEW BUSINESS: The Town Administrator provided an update on the annual report, which was submitted to R.C. Brayshaw & Co., Inc. of Warner, NH for publishing on February 21st. The Board discussed plans to review a digital proof of the annual report. Under N.H. RSA § 41:14, the annual report must be made available to voters at least 7 days prior to the date of the annual meeting. In compliance with § 41:14, this year’s annual report will be available to voters online on March 5th. Paper pamphlets will be available to the public at Pillsbury Memorial Hall, North Sutton Post Office, South Sutton Post Office, Sutton Transfer Station, and at Town Meeting. OLD BUSINESS: The Board reviewed a Land Use Change Authorization for the Betty Paruta Land Trust. The Land Use Change Authorization was approved by the Board 7/17/2023. The Board signed the accompanying forms A-5 and A-SW. The Board discussed emergency repairs to Pillsbury Memorial Hall offices. The Board reviewed and approved a final draft of the 2023 Round Room Report. The Board agreed to table discussion of the vacation policy and updates to the personnel policy, which remain in draft form and have not been adopted yet. The Board discussed NH Department of Environmental Services Wetlands and Non-Site Specific Permit 2023-02752, which authorizes the Town to dredge and fill a total of 399 square feet of temporary impact to wetlands for replacement of an existing mortar/rubble/granite culvert with a precast concrete open bottom arch, and reconstruct a stream channel and bank along a tributary to Kezar Lake. A warrant article to see if the town will vote to authorize the withdrawal of $150,000 from the Town Bridges Capital Reserve to fund this project will not appear on this year’s warrant. Selectman McManus shared the Board’s plan to bring this warrant article forward in 2025. REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE: The Board reviewed correspondence from Douglas Uhl requesting to purchase lot 2-491-339 deeded to the Town. The Board discussed plans to develop policy and procedure for the sale of land deeded to the Town. The Board directed the Town Administrator to notify Uhl that the public will be notified when the Town is prepared to sell property deeded to the Town in a public sale. The Board reviewed and discussed the 2023 Annual Report for Sutton Septage Lagoons prepared by Knollwood Environmental Associates. PUBLIC INPUT: Sue Esposito expressed appreciation for the Highway Department and offered positive feedback on the maintenance of Baker Hill Road, a road she considers challenging to maintain. John Jones recalled a brief history of winter road maintenance on Corporation Hill Rd. and offered positive feedback on the Highway Department’s maintenance of Corporation Hill Rd. Alison Jones asked the Board to share their plans for the town hearse, which has been temporarily stored on the Pillsbury Memorial Hall stage. Jones expressed her preference to have the hearse relocated, allowing the town to regain use of the stage for community functions and events. Selectman McManus shared the possibility of relocating the hearse to the Old School Museum for public display in a weathertight addition. Selectman McManus acknowledged that such a project would require a warrant article. SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS: ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:45pm. Respectfully submitted, Julia Jones Town Administrator