LITTLETON BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MEETING MINUTES

LITTLETON TOWN OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM

AUGUST 10, 2005

Present: Chairman Bill Hight, Vice Chairman George Hicks, Selectman Burt Ingerson, Town Manager Jason Hoch, Executive Assistant Cheryl Sargent

Chairman Bill Hight opened the Selectmen’s Meeting at 4:00 pm.

BOARD OF ASSESSORS

Chairman Hight opened the Board of Assessors Meeting.

Carol Cullen requested that the Selectmen allow her ask DRA for an extension on the MS-1 form to October 1^st.

Selectmen Hicks moved to authorize the request of an extension on the MS_1 form to October 1, 2005. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.

Chairman Hight closed the Board of Assessors Meeting and reopened the Selectmen’s Meeting.

APPOINTMENTS

Carol Cullen and Larry Jackson presented the Selectmen with Road Standards for the Town of Littleton. These are State standards which have been adapted for Town use. Carol and Larry requested the Selectmen read these over and get back to them with any feedback they may have. Selectman Ingerson requested that a copy of this draft be forwarded to the Planning Board Members for their input in addition to the Selectmen’s feedback.

Carol Cullen stated that at the present time there is no fee charged for trench permits. She and Larry would like to establish a trench permit fee of $25.00 which could be placed into an escrow account and released when the repair work to the road is satisfactorily completed after the trench has been cut. The fee would be held for a year to make sure that the patch work to the road was done correctly. The Town would not pay interest on the fees unless a ceiling of $1500 was reached.

The Selectmen were in favor of this plan and asked to have it submitted to them in writing at which time they will vote to adopt it.

TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT

Jason stated he spent some time with Carol and Larry working with the Road Standards draft and had reviewed the final draft.

Joe and Jason and the interns were involved in the renovations to the lobby area of the Town Office.

The conversion to the new filing system for the assessment files is going smoothly. Everyone is pleased with the new filing system.

Final numbers are being accumulated for the re-val. Monica from Vision Appraisals will be contacting the Town office for a conference call on Monday morning at 10:00 am. The first of the numbers will be out next week with an explanation from Vision.

Jason is looking into replacing the phone system with a new phone system next year. This is the end of our contract with the present system. Jason believes this may be an opportunity to save some money for the Town.

The contract for uniforms is being renegotiated.

Fire Chief Mercieri is in the process of revising the Emergency Management Plan.

Carol Cullen and Jason have met with Planning Board Chairman Bob May regarding possible wording for the revision to the section of the Master Plan dealing with Exit 43. This revision has been recommended by the Exit 43 Subcommittee.

Littleton is one of two Towns in the running for an award from the rural Development Heritage Initiative which will be given by the Kellogg Foundation. Littleton has a good chance at getting this award.

Karen Noyes and Jason are in the process of accumulating information on Health Insurance in preparation for working on the budget for the coming year. It is not known at this time if there will be a change in the Insurance Company. More research is needed.

Don Jutton and Christine Walker have been working on the EDA Grant for the Tri-Town Community Industrial Park. The grant is in two parts; engineering and construction.

The Selectmen will meet with Stacy Hall, Curt Dexter and Martha Hill prior to the next Selectmen’s Meeting to discuss their interests in volunteering for vacancies on the land use Boards.

Selectman Hicks moved to approve the revised stipends for elected officials as recommended by Jason at the last Selectmen’s Meeting. The motion was seconded by Selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0. The revised stipend for the following year (2006) will be as follows: Selectmen $2500 each and an additional $500 for the Chairman; Treasurer $1200, Trustees of the Trust Funds $600 each (3); Supervisors of the Checklist $600 each; Moderator $400 and Park Commissioners which remain the same at $600 each (recently changed in 2002.

Police Chief Cam Brown told the Selectmen that traffic issues at the Littleton School campus. There is a need to improve the traffic flow in this area. High School and Daisy Bronson School are being addressed. It has been noted that “Drug Free School Zone” signs will need to be purchased and the schools are aware that they will need to purchase the signs.

Through funding of the TCSP grant, the Town has obtained a traffic trailer which will alert drivers to their speed. The trailer has been installed in a couple of locations and will continue to be set up in various locations in Town. Chief Brown stated he would be happy to set up the trailer in any location the Selectmen would like to see it.

Selectman Hight commended Chief Brown on the heightened police presence on Main Street. Chief Brown noted the extra presence on Main Street has helped the public to be more aware of jaywalking offenses as well as expired parking meters. Citations are being issued for both. Also, collection letters have gone out to those with outstanding parking tickets.

Chief Brown informed the Selectmen the Mobile Communication Unit is now ready for service. The unit has the capacity for serving as a communications center in the case of a major incident. Chief Brown stated the unit will be able to respond to nearby towns if there is ever a need for this type of emergency service. He distributed pictures of the vehicle in its before and after condition. He expressed his thanks to the Town Manager and Selectmen for their morale support in this project. Chief Brown noted that due to the generosity of many businesses and individuals as well as funding from the Homeland Security Fund ($31,000) and Drug Forfeiture Fund ($11,000) this unit has not cost the tax payers a cent. The unit was on site and the Selectmen were invited to take a closer look at it after the Selectmen’s Meeting.

Selectman Ingerson moved to approve the minutes of July 27, 2005 as amended. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hicks and carried 3-0.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Sargent

Executive Assistant

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Chairman William R. Hight

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Vice Chairman George O. Hicks

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Selectman Burton E. Ingerson