Littleton, New Hampshire

Approved Minutes Jun 4, 2008

TOWN OF LITTLETON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN'S MEETING
JUNE 4, 2008
4:00 PM
LITTLETON COMMUNITY HOUSE HEALD ROOM

Present: Chairman Eddy Moore, Vice Chairman Bill Latulip, Selectman Ed Boynton, Town Manager Chuck Connell, Executive Secretary Ceil Stubbings

Others Present: Robert Blechel, Don Craigie, Louise Smith, Ron Bolt, Mike Doucette, Duncan McKee, Juanita Gilpin, Dick Merrow, Sherri Latulip, Bob O'Conner, Chief Paul Smith, Mike Norman, Art Tighe, Art McGrath, Bruce Hadlock and various other citizens.

Chairman Moore called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM and moved to the first item on the agenda.

Citizen Concerns:
Ron Bolt asked if the Town has heard anything from the DOT regarding the 302 by pass Town manager Chuck Connell advised he would provide an update on the subject later in the meeting. Ron Bolt stated that he wanted to address the issue of public safety. Ron then read his concerns to the board as follows:

First let me thank each of you for being willing to take on what has to be the most thankless jobs in Littleton. You are facing many difficult and challenging issues during a time of economic uncertainty, and I wish you good luck. You are responsible for the wellbeing of 6,000 of us and must look out for the best interests of everyone in the Town. You need to be fiscally responsible but not to the detriment of public safety. My concern today is what I perceive as a steady erosion of public safety, which in my opinion has now reached an unacceptable low level.

1. The proposed budget for 2008 made deep and, in my opinion, unnecessary cuts to both the Fire and Police Departments. The department heads were neither consulted ahead of time about these cuts nor asked to offer impact statements. When these items were placed back into the budget by a proper and democratic process at the Deliberative Session, both selectmen withdrew support for the budget. In the run up to Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen asked for and received a report that placed the cost of the SRO at $106,000. Just last week I found out that the report inflated the cost by at least $6,000 to 9,000. This information was promulgated to the voters before Town Meeting and, to some degree helped defeat the proposed budget.

2. The Board of Selectmen, past and present, was operating under the erroneous assumption that the School Board did not support the School Resource Officer. What was actually the case was that the School Board w anted to place the cost of the SRO in the Town budget. This, of course, is something quite different. Better communications between boards could have averted this unfortunate outcome.

3. Last week the chairman of the Budget Committee made an unimaginable statement in response to comments about the Fire Department's responsibilities. The Town Manager stated that the department needs more manning to be in compliance with regulations. Mr. Kelley said, "That's not going to happen." The Town Manager then explained that if only two men are on a truck responding to a fire they are not allowed to enter a building until a third fire fighter arrives on the scene. Mr. Kelley responded by saying "Those buildings are insured." This statement, perhaps born out of frustration, is just flat wrong on several obvious levels. Now that you have accepted the report from the committee that studied the use of overtime by the Fire Department, I hope you will provide appropriate guidance to the Budget Committee about the need to increase manning be if full time or part time.

4. In addition to losing the top police academy graduate, and having to train the SRO for patrol duties, we now have another vacancy on the force with the departure of Officer Samson. He decided to leave because of the political climate and budget cuts that have led to low morale. This is the result of a withering attack on department manning, both management and officers, over the past few years. He said he wouldn't have applied elsewhere if he felt the police were getting support from some in the town government.

5. Finally, Mrs. Fogg put together a well thought out and comprehensive picture of the potential traffic congestion and associated dangers that will exist if you allow Mr. Trahan to access his planned commercial and residential developments via a right of way on a new town road to be established on town-owned property. She presented this to the Police Facility Construction Committee and this Board. Both the committee and this board thanked her for her input but this topic of safety was not even discussed Monday when the committee made their site recommendation. If the residential section is sued for elderly housing, we have to be concerned for their safety. I don't think I need to remind anyone of the longstanding problems with residents of River Glen and the Lane House attempting to negotiate the traffic congestion along the Veterans Memorial Bridge portion of Cottage Street.

In summary, there has been a steady diet of what, in my opinion, are irresponsible statements and actions that, at times has bordered on the cavalier. The net result is that we have lost the top police academy graduate to Hanover; the presence of an officer with specialized training in the school system; and, another officer to Whitefield; and the morale on the Police and Fire departments has plummeted. In this climate, it would not be hard to imagine further losses in personnel. Also, I think you would agree that low morale can impact performance.

There is no question in my mind that the level of service provided by our public safety departments has declined, and is now at a level that I do not accept. This needs to be clearly explained to the taxpayer as you begin the process of building the town budget for 2009. I hope you will make a concerted effort to build these departments back up or, failing that, inform the voters that you are not, why you are not, and how this will affect their lives. I don't believe this was adequately done last year. Ron then asked the board if they had any questions. The board declined to ask any questions and thanked Ron for his concerns and advised him they would take it under advisement.

Chairman Moore asked if there were any other citizen concerns. Juanita Gilpin stated that when we come to meetings and we have statements or questions, nothing ever happens will you answer Ron's questions net week or at the next meeting. Juanita told the board that she can see they never discuss. Juanita said it bothered her that people come with concerns and you listen but nothing happens. Chairman Moore told Juanita that the board is not on trial here and that he had no further comment. Juanita said she would like to find out, as she is one of his bosses.

Chairman Moore then moved onto the next item on the agenda.

Appointments:
Ron Bolt advised that he would like to discuss updating the Town's history. Ron read the following proposal to the board.

Updating the History of Littleton
I would like the Board of Selectmen to consider sponsoring an exploratory study to determine the feasibility of updating the official history of the Town of Littleton. This was last done in the book "Littleton, Crossroads of Northern New Hampshire" which was published in 1984 with the information cut off at the end of 1982. So, it's been 25 years and that seems like a good and manageable benchmark for an update.

As I understand it, in July 1980 the Board of Selectmen commissioned a volunteer committee to organize and update of the landmark "1905" History of Littleton. At Town Meeting in 1981 an article was approved calling for an appropriation from the Federal Revenue Sharing Fund. Additional funding for this project was received in the form of a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Fund.

This was no small undertaking. Countless hours were contributed by some 200 citizens who volunteered to assist in the project. Many individuals, businesses, and organizations sponsored the writing of the book. The venerable Jack Colby served as editor.

I cannot tell you today how much such an undertaking might cost either in dollars or manpower. Give the rapid pace of contemporary events, I feel it is important that we make the effort now before its too late and the task becomes too daunting. I have talked to Dan Cullen, President of the Littleton Area Historical Society and Wilber Willey, unofficial town historian, and both agree the project is worthwhile and should be attempted.

What I'm asking for today is that you consider this suggestion and report back on your decision as soon as feasible. What we need to know, however, is not a simple yes or not but

The Town of Littleton prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital or family status. The Town of Littleton is an equal opportunity employer.

Town of Littleton ®2013 all rights reserved
XHTML | CSS website ©2013 notchnet