November 3, 2024 | Town Admin Town of Sutton Pillsbury Memorial Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Select Board Minutes October 21st, 2024, 6pm 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, Select Board Member; and Julia Jones, Town Administrator. Also present at the meeting were: Lee Booker, Greg Gill, NH State Representative Tom Schamberg, Dorothy Jeffrey, Andy Jeffrey, Deputy Treasurer and Supervisor of the Checklist Judy Parkinson, and members of the Ad Hoc Website Committee including Crispin Fletcher, Donna Catanzaro, Joseph Burns, and Kim Ortakales. Appointments: At 6:05pm the Board met with the Ad Hoc Website Committee. Committee Member Joe Burns presented research findings and recommendations to the Select Board. Burns shared the following on behalf of the Committee: The Town Administrator surveyed a random sample of 100 municipal websites in New Hampshire. Seventy-seven listed a website provider or platform on their homepage. Sixty-five percent of these websites were designed and built by CivicPlus, the market leader. WordPress demonstrated the next highest market share (8%), followed by Catalis (5%). WordPress is the same platform used by the Town of Sutton. After reviewing these websites, the Town requested proposals from CivicPlus, Revize, and Catalis, website providers that specialize in municipal websites. The Ad Hoc Website Committee reviewed these proposals, and attended demonstrations provided by CivicPlus and Revize. The Committee chose not to move forward with Catalis based on their proposal. CivicPlus and Revize are comparable in terms of functionality and services offered. Both providers accommodate minutes and agendas, calendars, newsletters, notifications (text & email), and form submission. Both providers offer websites that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Both providers will archive the Town’s existing website, with historical content accessible to the public. Revize offers a semi-custom design, while CivicPlus websites are templated. The Committee compared websites designed by Revize (Swanzey and Hancock) and CivicPlus (Sunapee, Newbury, and Atkinson). While some members of the Committee preferred the Revize aesthetic. The committee’s decision came down to cost and flexibility. Over five years, the proposal submitted by CivicPlus would save the Town an more than $12,000 when compared to Revize. While the proposal submitted by Revize includes a refresh of the website, in the fourth year, the Committee estimated the cost of a website refresh at around $5,000 during year 4, less than half of the total savings delivered by CivicPlus. The annual cost of each website proposal is presented in Table 1. TABLE 1: ANNUAL COST OF WEBSITE PROPOSALS REVIZE CIVICPLUS Year 1 $16,000 $ 3,717 Year 2 3,500 3,207 Year 3 3,500 3,303 Year 4 3,500 3,402 Year 5 3,500 3,504 5-year Total $30,000 $17,131 Based on the information presented, the Committee recommended that the Board move forward with the CivicPlus proposal. The Board thanked the Committee for their work and their ongoing commitment to the project. McManus asked if the new website would be ready by Town Meeting. While this is a possibility, the Committee agreed that it would be more reasonable to anticipate a demo website by March. The Committee shared their commitment to seeing the project through to completion and emphasized the importance of quality. After further discussion, the Board accepted the CivicPlus proposal and directed the Town Administrator to sign a one-year contract with the vendor. At 6:30pm the Board met with Andy Jeffrey for an update on his communication with Relax and Company, LLC. regarding an anonymous donor’s ongoing efforts purchase the Camp Wabasso properties, including the timeline, the donor’s intentions, the donor’s wishes, and zoning restrictions that may limit potential uses of the properties. Greg Gill noted that further discussions and planning are needed to understand the wishes and intentions of the donor, as well as the wishes of the community, local organizations, and the Town. Gill shared his proposal for a public process to understand the wishes and intentions of the donor, and gather the wishes of the community, local organizations, and the Town. Jeffrey noted that the Select Board will convene for a public meeting at Camp Wabasso at 10am for a self-guided tour of the property. Pogust shared that this meeting was noticed pursuant to NH RSA 91-A because a quorum of the Select Board would be in attendance. Jeffrey relayed that Jacqueline Hudkins, Principal Attorney of Hudkins Law & Title, wishes that the Town of Sutton remove the following statement from the front page of the Town website because it is Hudkins’ opinion that it is misleading. Dear Sutton residents, The Select Board is excited to report that an anonymous donor has submitted a proposal to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts offering to purchase all the Camp Wabasso properties and then donate them to the Town of Sutton with the understanding that the Town will pursue uses focused on protecting the Wabasso properties from future development. This generous offer includes a commitment to provide a substantial endowment to enable the Town to work with community partners to develop a range of uses for these properties, while also ensuring that most of the Wabasso properties will be conserved and protected as open space forever. It is our goal to provide educational and recreational activities and programs designed to engage residents of all ages, including camp-like experiences for school-age children. Between now and the time that you will be asked to vote at our March 2025 Town Meeting to accept this gift of real property, we will be working with the donor’s representative and PlanNH to engage residents of Sutton, and a broad range of interested non-profits, including local youth groups and land preservation organizations, to develop a plan for the use of these properties. We appreciate the community’s keen interest in the Wabasso properties, as well as the broad range of hopes and ideas that you and members of our broader community have regarding their future use. That is why we are committed to engaging the public in a thorough and transparent public process to inform the public on this incredible opportunity and establish a plan that provides the best the possible outcomes for our Town, our residents, and the region. We look forward to working with you in our efforts to make the Camp Wabasso properties a place that we can all enjoy. We hope that you will participate in those efforts by attending and providing your input when we meet to discuss our path forward. SUTTON SELECT BOARD Pogust responded that the Town would not remove the statement at this time. Pogust asked that Hudkins submit her request in writing to the Board. The Town Administrator shared that the statement is a public document subject to NH RSA 91-A, the Right to Know Law. On August 28th, the Select Board convened an emergency public meeting pursuant to NH RSA 91:A 2 II for the purpose of signing a letter of support for a proposal for a donor to purchase and then donate Camp Wabasso to the Town. The statement is representative of the letter of support signed by the Select Board and submitted by James Bruss of Relax & Co. LLC to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA). The Town Administrator emphasized that the Board does not retract public documents simply because a private party wishes for them to disappear. Pogust shared that the statement is entirely consistent with what was conveyed to GSEMA. Pogust shared that the statement will always exist as a public document. Pogust noted that the question is how long the statement remains on the front page of the website. Jeffrey and the Board discussed Zoning limitations that may impact future uses of the Wabasso properties. Pogust recommended Peter Stanley as a knowledgeable resource. Pogust encouraged Jeffrey to engage with Gill on the Wabasso project moving forward. At 7:00pm the Board suspended the public meeting for a nonmeeting with Town Counsel. At 8:11pm the Board resumed the public meeting. Minutes: At 6:00 pm Glynn made a motion to accept the public and non-public minutes from October 14th. McManus seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Manifests: The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: Payroll: $ 16,236.57 Vendor: $ 53,101.46 Intents: Building Permits: The Board reviewed and approved a $300,000 building permit for a 78X40’ garage and workshop submitted by Tavern Ledge Farms, LLC for parcel 09-300-390 located at 345 Baker Rd. New Business: The Board reviewed an $8,381 estimate for a server refresh prepared by CCI Managed Services. Joe Burns and Crispin Fletcher encouraged the Board to consider a transition to cloud storage. After brief discussion, the Board directed the Town Administrator to explore alternatives with CCI Managed Services. The Board agreed to postpone further discussion of the server estimate. At 6:24pm Glynn made a motion to approve a $390 estimate to replace exterior light fixture with a motion light at Sutton Free Library prepared by Irish Electric. McManus seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The Board received a copy of the 2025 Education Tax Warrant Summary. The Board received a copy of the School Board Agenda for October 24th. At 8:15pm Glynn made a motion to enter into a nonpublic session pursuant to NH RSA 91:A-3 II (b) The hiring of any person as a public employee. McManus seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. At 9pm Glynn made a motion to leave the nonpublic session. McManus seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Once back in public session, Glynn made a motion to seal the public minutes pursuant to NH RSA 91:A-3 II (b) The hiring of any person as a public employee. McManus seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Old Business: Michael McManus shared that Thursday evening Sutton Budget Committee meetings conflict with the School District Municipal Budget Committee meetings. For this reason, the Board agreed to seek a new temporary representative to the Kearsarge Regional School District (KRSD) Municipal Budget Committee. Review of correspondence: Public Input: Select Board Comments: Adjournment: There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9pm. Respectfully submitted, Julia Jones Town Administrator
