April 17, 2017 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Board of Selectman Meeting Minutes of April 17, 2017 The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Robert Wright, Jr., Chair. Present at the meeting was Robert Wright, Jr., Chair; William I. Curless, Selectman; Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; Ed Canane, Land Use Coordinator; Jeff Evans, Chappy Thomas, Jack Noon, Robert DeFelice and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator. The minutes from April 10, 2017 were approved as written. The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: PAYROLL MANIFEST: $ 9,480.35 VENDOR MANIFEST: $27,502.52 APPOINTMENTS: Chappy Thomas and Jeff Evans met with the Board regarding the survey done for the Chandler Reservation which used a straight line approach to depict the municipal boundary. This survey methodology resulted in a acreage discrepancy on the Warner/Sutton boundary line. Mr. Evans reported that there has been no follow up from the last meeting with the Town of Warner. Mr. Evans stressed the municipal sovereignty surrounding the town line which should be correct and should not be moved! Mr. Evans advised that there is evidence to show that the Chandler Reservation Survey showed the line on the town line and Sutton’s survey shows the town line where it has always been perambulated. Selectman Wright advised that the perambulators followed the Evans survey-line during the perambulation as it was helpful in locating the monuments. Mr. Evans wanted know if the survey was referenced in the perambulation documents. Selectman Wright responded that GPS measurements were collated at the monument sites during the perambulation. Mr. Evans requested a copy of the perambulation and wanted to know if there was a designation within the perambulation documents that referenced the apparent deviation with the Chandler survey. Mr. Evans encouraged further follow up and suggested that Town Counsel review the matter. Mr. Thomas noted that the Town of Warner maintains that they did not move the town line and that the Chandler survey just defined the boundaries of the town forest. Evans stated that the survey of the Warner Town Forest, calls the westerly line of the property the Town line. Jack Noon felt frustrated with Carriage Trail acres survey information. The Carriage Trail acre tracts were divided between Warner and Sutton and that should have been right on the Town line. Warner took their side for taxes and Sutton did not. Mr. Evans felt that the town attorney should review the information and correspond with the Town of Warner and emphasized that the town line is between monuments and not as depicted on the straight line survey. The Board agreed to have counsel review the matter and draft a letter to the Town of Warner. Mr. Evans underscored the importance of resolution to this matter, rather than letting the problem perpetuate itself. Mr. Thomas pointed out that a frustrating aspect of the matter was that trees were blazed and scribed by the forester without consulting with the Town of Sutton. The Board agreed to compensate Mr. Evans for further consultation on the matter and an agreement for services would be drafted. Mr. Noon and Mr. Evans discussed the importance of the Littlefield survey as further documentation (on the Noon side) of survey information. The perception that this was potentially a civil matter was noted. The consensus was that there were civil components resulting from the survey, but the underlying matter is a municipal concern. Mr. Evans noted that over half-of-a-mile of boundary has been relocated on the straight line survey. It was reiterated that the Board of Selectmen would not be pursuing the issue if it was simply a civil issue and that it is of municipal importance due to improper location of monuments. BUILDING PERMITS: The Board approved a building permit for Keith & Kristin Brooks, 08-119-168, for a foundation. INTENT TO CUT: The Board approved an intent to cut for John Dupre, 07-568-502, Cotton Road, 2 acres out of 24. EXEMPTIONS/CREDITS: The Board approved the following Exemptions: Veterans Exemption: Tod Ritacco, All Veterans Tax Credit Solar Exemption: Alan and Teri Gaunt t, Map 06-311-012 Sheldon and Elizabeth Boege, Map 10-463-418 John and Betsy Chadwick, Map 08-878-169 Gillian Martlew and Judith Parkinson, Map 06-446,174 Andrew and Michelle Gosnell, 01-022-518 Thomas and Elaine Duntley, 01-860-478 Christine Kahlman, 08-135-185 APPOINTMENTS: The Board made the following appointments: Deborah Lang, Planning Board Member, for a term until March 2019 Julie McCarthy, Alternate Planning Board Member, for a term until March 2020 NEW BUSINESS: The Board executed the CAI Axis GIS Contract At the recommendation of Certified Town Clerk/Tax Collector, Linda Ford, the Board approved the following abatements for tax lien costs for payment made prior to the lien date: 01-590-128 Hebert, Ray and Mary 07-925-567 Snow III, Harry The Board discussed composting at the Solid Waste Facility as a means to reduced MSW tonnage and trucking costs. The Board noted that there is no mandate to compost in the State of NH at this time. However, if the Town is going to do a PBN for composting (no meat or dairy), a public information packet needs to be compiled. The Board reviewed a complaint regarding the Solid Waste Facility. The Board will review the matter with the Solid Waste supervisor. Selectman Curless said that when he was assisting at the facility he observed non-compliance with every bag that he handled. Selectman Baker said that the public needs to become more informed and that compliance with recycling efforts saves the town money by reducing the Waste Stream. Selectman Curless added that although the Town does not want to go with a pay as you throw model or sell bags, it may have to if there is not better cooperation. Selectman Wright suggested a letter to the residents advising of recycling rules per order of the Selectmen. The letter should outline the benefits of recycling as well as the rationale for regulation of recycling and solid waste disposal. It’s done to save the Town money and the Town has to comply with the regulations of the disposal facilities. The letter would be handed out to anybody that comes to the dump. The Board will request that residents observe the rules and regulations, otherwise, the Town will have no choice but to levy fines or go to a pay as you throw. Selectman Baker added that residents need to know that violating the rules could result in containers being sent back at a cost of $1,000 per container, which will ultimately affect the tax rate. The Board executed a letter to the Cemetery Trustees asking if they were available to attend a meeting on May 8 in order to discuss repairs at the cemetery. OLD BUSINESS: The Board reviewed items that were to be followed up on as a result of their meeting with Linda Ford, Certified Town Clerk/Tax Collector on April 10, 2017. RSA 80:52-a (Pre-payment of taxes) was adopted at Town Meeting in 1988, Article 23. The DRA has updated their records. Pursuant to RSA 32:15 7 vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the budget committee. Persons appointed to fill vacancies shall serve until the next annual meeting at which time a successor shall be elected or appointed to either fill the unexpired term or start a new term, as the case may be. Therefore a one-year term for Gail Guertin’s appointment to the Budget Committee was executed. Robert DeFelice, Budget Committee Chair, will follow up with the Town Clerk. The Board executed a letter to the Town Clerk authorizing her to proceed with lien search and notification per the tax collector’s request. Regarding the matter of assessment of TIC properties, Town Counsel and Assessors confirmed that the Town was assessing TIC properties correctly. There are percent owners of one parcel The Board issued correspondence regarding a Notice of Intent to Excavate to Christopher Rowe for Map/Lot 09-437-245. The Board discussed determining the oldest resident in town and criteria for awarding the Boston Post Cane to the oldest resident. The first step will be to determine the oldest resident. Selectman Wright suggested contacting Marne Thompson and Norma Burns to ascertain their suggestions. The Board felt the minimum Town residency should be 50 years. The Board wanted to explore the cost for a replica as well as a plaque honoring the recipients. The Board discussed the following properties which have been taken for Tax Deed which abutters have expressed interest in purchasing: 04-194-375, 04-212-391 and 06-500-272. The properties on map 04 are predominantly wetland. The property on Nelson Hill is .51 acres and has some building constraints. The methods for disposing of Town owned property is by auction, sealed bid and as justice may allow. Selectman Curless felt that the Town should at least get the back taxes (at 18% interest). The Board felt that input as to value should be obtained from a local real estate agent and that offers should be sought from abutters. The Board felt that it was in the best interest of the Town to get at least the back taxes. SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS: Selectman Baker asked for follow up on the merger of Conservation land on map 4. Selectman Wright asked whether the Historical Society building could be included on the Town’s oil bid. The Board also discussed joining neighboring towns on a collective bid and agreed to follow up with Bradford. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Town Administrator