August 21, 2017 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Town Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 Board of Selectman Meeting Minutes of August 21, 2017 The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Robert Wright, Jr., Chair. Present at the meeting was Robert Wright, Jr., Chair, William I. Curless, Selectman; Walter Baker, Jr., Selectman; Robert DeFelice, Budget Committee Chair; Martin Carrier, Ruth Guin and Elly Phillips, Town Administrator. At 4:35 p.m. Selectman Baker made a motion to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3, II (a) personnel. Selectman Curless seconded the motion. The Board was polled with Selectman Wright, Selectman Curless and Selectman Baker voting yes. Public session resumed at 4:56 p.m. Selectman Baker made a motion to seal the minutes for further review at the next regularly scheduled meeting due to personnel: hiring and setting wages. Selectman Curless seconded the motion. The Board voted 3-0 to seal the minutes. At 5:32 p.m. Selectman Wright opened a Public Hearing pursuant to RSA 31:95-b in order to accept $95,299.14 as an additional appropriation of Highway Block Grant Funds in accordance with the provisions of Senate Bill 38. The unanticipated funds are additional grants under RSA 235:23, I to be used for highway construction, reconstruction or maintenance purposes. Selectman Wright advised that the Road Agent has recommended that the funds be used for the upgrade of Roby Road from approximately 4500 feet from the intersection of Route 114 to the bridge. Stephen Bagley, Road Agent, discussed the poor condition of Roby Road advising that he has done measurements on the road but has not gotten bids yet. Mr. Bagley observed that there were large boulders along Roby Road and he suspected the large boulders were also present in the road bed. Mr. Bagley recommended full-depth reclamation for the troubled areas (remove the material, screen the material, remove rocks, add gravel and reshape). The existing road bed would be ground up and replaced. Tar is then injected into the reclaimed material. The road surface would need to set prior to repaving. Reusing the existing material with tar injected would result in a four-inch base with three-inches of paving over it. There is also a cost savings associated with the recycled material. The length of road requiring repaving is about 1 ¼ miles. Mr. Bagley added that over by Barker Road there another problem area. The boulders will need to be removed from that area and will require full-depth reclamation. Core samples will also be required to further assess the road. Mr. Bagley felt that the unanticipated funds would go a long way towards addressing the rough areas of the road. He indicated that this level of upgrade was a long-term solution as opposed to a temporary solution which would be just resurfacing the trouble spots. Mr. Bagley indicated that the temporary solution would likely be a five-year fix; whereas this major upgrade would likely be a twenty to twenty-five year fix. Selectman Curless discussed conditions associated with SB 38 which are intended to be used for highway purposes that do not already have locally budgeted and approved funds for road or bridge maintenance or construction activities. There was a general discussion regarding the timing for completing the project. Selectman Curless noted that the funding was non-lapsing. Selectman Wright added that RSA 235:25 provides that the unused balance may be carried over to the next fiscal year and expended for highway construction, reconstruction or maintenance purposes. Mr. Bagley felt that if the Town decided to accept the funds, he could schedule the work for 2018 as it was too late to coordinate a project for 2017. Robert DeFelice asked if the road agent had an estimate of what the entire project was going to cost. Mr. Bagley replied the overall cost estimate requires assessment prior to making that determination. The repair cost would be arrived at through the bid process after assessment has been done. Mr. Defelice asked whether the Road Agent had looked at doing several smaller projects throughout the Town. Selectman Wright opined that it was better to focus on one project and that Sutton’s major arteries are Hominy Pot Road to the north and Roby Road to the south. Mr. Defelice advised that Kearsarge Valley Road was also a major route and was identified as an emergency route in the Town’s Emergency Operations Plan. Selectman Baker noted that the Town gets more bang for their buck moving equipment in for a project in one area rather than moving equipment all over town. Mr. Defelice expressed concern that some areas (i.e. North Sutton, South Sutton, Sutton Mills, East Sutton etc.) might feel there is geographical favoritism. Mr. Bagley said that past practice was to put three loads of gravel in each geographic area, and the result was that none of the projects were completed. Mr. Bagley discussed previous upgrades to Roby Road and stated that he would like to use the funds on a major project adding that Kearsarge Valley Road, Newbury Road and Shaker Street could also use major upgrades. Doing all the projects at once was cost prohibitive adding that each one of those roads could cost in excess of $500,000 to grind and pave. Mr. Bagley said that the department was trying to do as much as they could while still reserving paved upgrade funds for emergency repairs. Selectman Curless discussed establishing a capital reserve fund with annual appropriations for blacktop upgrade and to appoint the Selectmen as agents to expend rather than doing individual Warrant Articles for blacktop and gravel upgrades which has been the Town’s practice. Selectman Wright summarized the criteria for expending the funds as follows: SB 38 funding can be used to do additional paving beyond what has been approved funding. SB 38 funding can be used for portions of local highways SB 38 funding can be used as the match for municipal bridge projects or phases of projects that do not have local funding already approved. SB 38 funding can be used for equipment necessary and totally dedicated to maintenance of local highways. SB 38 funding cannot be used for municipal needs other than highways. The funds are non-lapsing and cannot be used as 2017 revenue.Mr. Wright added for the record that information on SB 38 funding could be found at https:///www.nh.gov/dot/business/documents/sb-38-bga-distribution071817.pdf. The link will also be available on the Town’s website.There being no further discussion, Selectman Baker made a motion that the Town accept the SB 38 unanticipated funding of $95,299.14 and further to accept the recommendations of the Road Agent that the funds be expended on Roby Road. Selectman Curless seconded the motion. The motion passed by a unanimous affirmative vote.The public hearing was adjourned at 6:02. The minutes from August 14, 2017 public and nonpublic were approved. REVIEW OF MANIFESTS: The Board reviewed and approved the following manifests: PAYROLL MANIFEST: $10,746.94 VENDOR MANIFEST: $12,563.92 BUILDING PERMITS: The Board reviewed and approved the following building permits: Stephen Paquin, 10-120-121, Harvey Road, remove 13 X 14 attached room windows and siding Kristina Rundquist, 08-022-363, Keyser Street, Strip and replace roof with eco-star slate roofing materials. Selectman Curless recused himself from approval of the permit. Timothy Beal, 02-780-383, High Mowing Road, for roof mounted solar panels Craig Angeli and Erin Allen, 08-278-486, Kings Hill Road, for a dwelling. INTENT TO CUT: The Board approved an intent to cut for John Michael Rogers, 01-576-410, Birch Hill Road for 40 acres out of 42. NEW BUSINESS: The Board discussed the possible vacancy in the office of Emergency Management. Martin Carrier has expressed an interest in the office and the Board supported Mr. Carrier’s appointment should the vacancy occur. The Board was advised that Ed Canane, Land Use Coordinator, will cover the office on August 23, 2017, in order for accounting staff to intend a fund accounting training. The Board issued a Land Use Change Release, 01-578-450, which was disqualified 06/03/2011. The Board issued correspondence to the Wunderlich Family honoring the memory of Margaret Wunderlich. The Board issued correspondence to Ruth Howe advising her that she is now the oldest citizen of Sutton and is therefore eligible to be the next recipient of the Boston Post Cane. The Board approved P.O.’s for Linda Ford, Certified Town Clerk/Tax Collector for staples and for the Tax Collector’s Convention being held in October. The Board requested an MS-1 extension until September 11, 2017 in order to complete pickups. OLD BUSINESS: Action was deferred on the matter of appointing a LUCA for the Census Bureau. SELECTMEN’S COMMENTS: Selectman Baker reported on the library ramp project. Selectman Baker advised that the engineer had questions regarding a water standpipe (shutoff) which is no longer in use. Having resolved that question, the engineer is ready to finalized drawings. The Board discussed the Corporation Hill Bridge. Footings will be put in this week and it is anticipated that the new bridge will be placed by the end of August. Selectman Wright reported on Old Home Day services. There was a lovely ceremony and luncheon with dessert. The Board will conduct their regularly scheduled meeting on August 28, 2017 beginning at 4:30 p.m. Selectman Wright and Mr. DeFelice discussed the budget meeting that was conducted on August 21, 2017. Selectman Wright opined that budget review will be in-depth, and the Budget Committee is well prepared. The process for meetings this year will be Department Heads will review with the Board of Selectmen and then meet with the Budget Committee. The Board of Selectmen will attend Budget Meetings whenever possible. The Board requested information on regional COLA adjustment in preparation for salary review. Staff members receiving merit raises will not receive COLA’s. The budget committee is interested in population statistics. Department Heads will be required to provide preliminary budgets by September 18, 2017. Respectfully submitted, Elly Phillips Town Administrator