Town of Sutton Selectmen Meeting Minutes

TOWN OF SUTTON
Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall
93 Main Street
Sutton Mills, NH  03221

Board of Selectman
Meeting Minutes of July 24, 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; Jon Korbet, Police Chief and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator.

 

The minutes from July 17, 2017  were approved as written.  The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests:

PAYROLL MANIFEST: $  9,947.25

VENDOR MANIFEST: $ 40,656.35

 

APPOINTMENTS:

At 5:30 p.m., Jon Korbet, Police Chief, met with the Board to discuss various matters. Chief Korbet reported that three computer units at the Police Department were due for replacement.  Chief Korbet requested permission to utilize $2,180 from the Police Department Computer Equipment Capital Reserve established for that purpose.  Selectman Baker made a motion to withdraw $2,180 from the Police Department Computer Equipment Capital Reserve in order to replace the Chief’s computer unit.  Selectman Curless seconded the motion which passed by an affirmative vote of 3-0.

 

At 5:32 p.m. Selectman Curless made a motion to enter into nonpublic session under RSA 91-A:3,II(a) to discuss a personnel matter. Selectman Baker seconded the motion.  The Board was polled with Selectman Wright, Selectman Curless, and Selectman Baker voting in the affirmative.

 

The Board returned to public session at 6:01 p.m. Selectman Baker made a motion to seal the minutes as a personnel matter.  Selectman Curless seconded the motion.  The Roll was called with Selectman Wright, Selectman Curless and Selectman Baker voting in the affirmative to seal the minutes.

 

INTENT TO CUT:

The Board issued the following Intent to Cuts:

Caroline Waite, Map 06-608-249, Nelson Hill Road for 35 acres out of 40

Carla and Rich Krajewski, 09-100-067, Baker Road for 75 acres out of 125

 

NEW BUSINESS:

The Board completed the Shingle Mill Corner Current Conditions Report for the New Hampshire Society of Forests.

 

The Board reviewed a question from a citizen regarding Town-owned property located at 06-500-272, Nelson Hill Road regarding whether or not they could take possession of a woodstove located within a dilapidated structure on the premises. The Board agreed that the Town should:

  1. Have the structure assessed for asbestos/lead.
  2. Request that the highway department look at the property and assist with demolition and removal of the shed.
  3. Determine if any of the contents are salvageable and finally determine the disposition of salvageable material.

Phillips advised that she was meeting with the Bradford and Warner Town Administrator’s on 7/25/2017 to discuss consolidation of services. Sutton has provided information for a consolidated tri-town bid for heating oil.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

The Board reviewed a listing provided by Linda Ford, Town Clerk/Tax Collector, which identified 2014 taxes  liened in 2015 which will be subject to tax deed date if not paid as of 8/31/2017. The Board will issue correspondence to the delinquent taxpayers regarding this matter.

 

The Board discussed liens against tenants in common (TIC). There have been some discussion and differences of opinions as to whether the lien charges and costs are assessed only against the delinquent taxpayer or whether they are assessed against the whole.  It appears that different towns have handled this situation in different manners.  Town Counsel has advised that: Pursuant to RSA 80:73, in the instance of a percentage billing, only the responsible party would be assessed the lien; however, if there is not percentage billing then all parties would be assessed the lien. It appears that the Tax Collector’s Association has recently agreed to this determination as well.  At this juncture in the lien process, the lien, costs and penalties have been assessed amongst all of the owners.    In order to correct this, the Town will need to redeem the lien against the non-delinquent Tenants In Common and abate the chargers, interest and penalties against the other owners.

 

The Board discussed welfare verification of residency. If the Welfare Administrator suspects residency fraud, the matter will be referred to the Police Department for investigation.

 

The Board issued correspondence to Linda Ford, Town Clerk/Tax Collector regarding motor vehicle confidentiality

 

SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS:

Selectman Baker brought to the attention of the Board a taxpayer concern regarding the identification of their property on the tax maps. Phillips was instructed to research the matter, follow up with Counsel and report back to the Board.

 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:33 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Elly Phillips

Recording Secretary