September 3, 2024  |   

Town of Sutton

Pillsbury Memorial Hall

93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221

Select Board Minutes

August 26th, 2024, 6:00pm

Pledge of Allegiance:

Select Board Chair Glenn Pogust opened the meeting at 6:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Glenn Pogust, Select Board Chair; Michael McManus, Select Board Member; Nancy Glynn, Selectboard Member; and Julia Jones, Town Administrator.

Also present at the meeting were: John Bennett, Fire Chief Cory Cochran, and Hilary Grimes, Head of Sutton Rescue.

Appointments:

At 6:00pm the Board met with Fire Chief Cory Cochran and Hilary Grimes, Head of Sutton Rescue, to discuss combining Sutton Rescue with the Fire Department to form a unified Fire and Rescue Department and appoint an Emergency Medical Services Captain to oversee daily operations. Chief Cochran and Grimes discussed opportunities for cross-training. To support the Fire Department and Sutton Rescue in this merger, Pogust offered the resources of Town Counsel and recommended contacting the Charitable Trust Office of the Attorney General. Glynn recommended Sutton Rescue and the Fire Department notify the Budget Committee Chair of their plan to form a unified Fire and Rescue Department. Chief Cochran and Grimes shared their intention to submit one operating budget request for 2025 and agreed to submit numbers to the Town Administrator for the Board’s review.

Chief Cochran, Grimes, and the Board discussed a warrant article to see if the Town would expend funds from a capital reserve to purchase air packs, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training, and the replacement cycle for fire trucks. The Board directed the Town Administrator to schedule AED training for employees and interested volunteers.

Minutes:

At 6:23 pm McManus made a motion to accept the public and non-public minutes from August 19th as amended. Glynn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Manifests:

The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests:

Payroll: $ 16,704.20  
Vendor: $ 463,767.10  
Vendor: $ 20.00  

Intents:

Building Permits:

The Board reviewed and approved the following building permits:

  • $10,000 building permit for two mini splits with exterior condenser submitted by Leon Malan for parcel 02-487-182 located at 126 Camp Kemah Rd.
  • $20,000 building permit to convert heating system from oil to gas submitted by NH Public Golf Courses, Inc. for parcel 07-541-036 located at 189 Kearsarge Valley Rd.
  • $130,000 building permit for a sunroom and deck renovation submitted by Maureen Johnson for parcel 09-651-362 located at 15 Shaker Heights and 1617 Rte. 114.
  • $100,000 building permit for a 42’x48’ barn submitted by Jonathan & Jacquelyn Bennett for parcel 07-833-269 located at 12 Taylor’s Path.

The Board addressed questions raised by John Bennett regarding the processing of building permits and delays in approving his permit.

New Business:

The Board reviewed a $1,225.00 proposal for seasonal landscape maintenance at Pillsbury Memorial Hall submitted by JJ’s Misc. Home Services, LLC. The Board directed the Town Administrator to collect two additional estimates from Marathon Maintenance and Tyler Lawn Care.

The Town Administrator provided an update on the following strategic planning initiatives:

  • Exterior renovations at Pillsbury Memorial Hall.
  • Library lift.
  • Digitizing Town records.
  • Office renovations at Pillsbury Memorial Hall. (complete)
  • Sale of property deeded to the Town.
  • Grist mill bridge.
  • Town website.

The Board discussed ways to move these initiatives and directed the Town Administrator to secure estimates for digitizing Town records, share guidance from the New Hampshire Municipal Association on the sale of property deeded to the Town, and continue preparing a list of energy efficiency measures recommended in the most recent Energy Audit, and repairs recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee for Town Hall Exterior Repairs, Building Inspector Matt Grimes, and Mark Peterson.

The Board reviewed a repurchase deed that would return ownership of parcel 05-710-520 located on Shadow Hill Rd. to James Gallagher. The Board acknowledged that multiple parties had expressed interest in this property and  directed the Town Administrator to engage Town Counsel to verify the timeframe to repurchase this property.

Old Business:

The Board discussed revisions to the personnel manual proposed by Glynn. The Board agreed to adopt Juneteenth as a paid holiday in observance of the Federal holiday established in 2023 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. Pogust and Glynn discussed aligning the Town’s maternity leave policy with the Family Medical Leave Act and ensuring employees are aware of their rights. Pogust recommended the Board review the requirements of the Family Medical Leave Act and provided information for the Town Administrator to distribute to the Board. The Board discussed adjusting vacation accrual rates, including the possibility of adding an accrual tier for employees with 15 years of service. The Board debated whether to increase the number of sick days per year from seven to ten and agreed to set the number of sick days per year to ten days.

The Board agreed to reschedule the joint public hearing with the Ad Hoc Website Committee on the town website at the request of the Town Administrator.

The Board agreed to postpone discussion on the following:

  • Statute of limitations on recovering costs related to parcel 01-407-067 located at 153 Route 103.
  • NH Municipal Association Legal Services Counsel – ground marking requirements for accessible parking spots.

Review of correspondence:

The Board reviewed correspondence from Emilio Cancio-Bello notifying the Board of federal funds available to interested towns for the construction of electric vehicle charging stations. The Town Administrator shared that the Town was recently approached by Supernova regarding a proposal to install charging stations. The Board directed the Town Administrator to invite Cancio-Bello to meet with the Board on this matter.

Public Input:

None.

Select Board Comments:

At 6:27pm Glynn made a motion to enter into a nonpublic session pursuant to NH RSA 91-A:2 III. (d) consideration of the acquisition, sale, or lease of real or personal property which, if discussed in public, would likely benefit a party or parties whose interests are adverse to those of the general community.

At 7:01pm McManus made a motion to leave the nonpublic session. Once back in public session McManus made a motion to seal the nonpublic minutes. Glynn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

The Board discussed volunteer activity and insurance implications as well as the possibility of asking volunteers to sign appropriate liability waivers.

Adjournment:

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:03pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Julia Jones

Town Administrator