LITTLETON SELECTMEN’S MEETING

ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL PARISH HALL

AUGUST 31, 2005

MINUTES

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

Chairman Hight opened the meeting at 4:00 pm. and read a statement (copy attached). He urged those present wishing to speak to be courteous with each other and with the Board. He stated the intent of the Selectmen is to reopen the Opera House as soon as possible. He turned the meeting over to Town Manager Jason Hoch.

Jason noted that there are no surprises here. The Community has been aware of problems with the Opera House for years. An attempt to address these issues have failed several times at Town Meeting. He noted that the fire Marshall’s report does not condemn the building but restricts its use. The Police Department and the Opera House were evaluated. The Historical Society was not evaluated at the time of this report. There is a problem with paper record storage throughout the building and the Fire Marshall has prohibited the assembly of more than 50 people in the Opera House. He asked Fire Chief Mercieri to give an overview on how the inspection came about.

Fire Chief Mercieri stated that his role of fire chief is to ensure public welfare and safety and to enforce minimal code compliance. In June of 2005 the assembly permit for the Opera House expired which triggered an automatic inspection. He noted there are many code compliance issues dating as far back as l986. He and Ray Bowler had made a visual inspection of the building and noted several violations. He felt he needed to have a third unbiased party issue a report to negate any appearance of impropriety on his part. This is when he contacted the State Fire Marshall’s Office. Tom Zotti inspected the building and found many code violations. He was not able to gain access to the Historical Society at this time. An electrical inspection followed. The Town is still awaiting the results of the electrical inspection. Once this report arrives, there will be another walk-through with the State fire Marshall. It will be necessary to get a list of options from an electrical engineer.

Jason stated that as we are heading into fall we will be tackling budget issues and reviewing options we can live with. Short term action we can take now to address some of the violations involve reviewing the under 50 occupancy requirement of the Opera House. Vehicles with combustible materials have been removed from the building. The building needs shoring up in several locations. The records stored in the attic need to be relocated or disposed of where possible. Provide the Fire Marshall’s Office with a seating plan for the Opera House.

Long term action include providing fire walls with at least one hour fire separation, install sprinkler heads, an additional fire exit from the back of the building. It was noted that as a historic building, the Opera House will have some flexibility but not total exemption from code.

Perry Goodell stated that he felt this meeting was being held at the wrong time of day. He stated there are many people working who would like to take part in this meeting but couldn’t because of the time of the meeting. He suggested that the meeting be renoticed for sometime in the evening.

Chairman Hight stated that this meeting has already been noticed and will go forward. He stated that he had sought advise from Brien Ward and that Brien had come up with a plan which he would like to present. Chairman Hight stated that the Selectmen have only just received this report today and they have not had a chance to review it and are not endorsing it at this time but merely allowing Brien to make it available to the public.

Brien Ward went over his plan entitled Town Building Fire Inspection Response (see copy attached). He went over the plan item by item.

Henry Wante, master electrician, stated that at the request of Selectman Ingerson he had visited the Opera House today and inspected the wiring. He noted he had done electrical work on the building about 12 years ago. In looking over the building today he state he was appalled at the condition of the wiring in the Opera House. He stated the electrical system had deteriorated greatly since he had worked on it and he did not understand how it could have gotten to this situation. He described seeing exposed wires and unsafe extension cords.

Frank Porfido asked how the electrical system could have deteriorated so badly from the last inspection. It should have been noticed before now.

Peter Poulsen stated that some of the code violations date back to 1986. This is nothing new. The violations were severe enough to prohibit assembly immediately. He state this situation is all about risk and responsibility.

Joel Bedor asked if Police Department business should be allowed in the building as the letter from the Fire Marshall refers to “all occupancy”.

Peter Poulsen stated every building has a certain classification. In the case of the Town Building, it has various classifications due to its various uses. The Opera House portion of the building has stricter codes due to its use as a place of assembly.

Reverend Barbara Thrall asked what classification the Historical Society is and was told that although people tour the museum they also sell books and postcards to their customers. It is a place of business as well as a museum.

Brien Ward stated he found it interesting that in the case of Littleton, Police Cruisers cannot be parked under the building but in the Town of Lisbon this is allowed.

Dan Cullen, President of the Littleton Historical Society, stated that the purpose of the Society is to protect and preserve the historic value of Littleton. The Society feel the Opera House is an integral part of Littleton’s community and needs to be preserved. The Society intends to work with the Selectmen in maintaining this end. He went on to thank the many volunteers who had offered storage space for the Historical Museum. He also stated the Historical Society fully supports Joel Bedor as Community Ombudsman.

John Streeter stated he was under the assumption that the voters of the Town must vote to relocate the Police Department. If the Police Department was moved to the old hospital the Town would have to pay to lease space.

Ron Bolt stated he would like to see the Town explore other options of raising money other than expensive warrant articles on the ballot.

Jason Hoch stated one way to do this would be to establish a capital reserve fund which has not been done to date because it does not address the immediate crisis at the Town Building.

Dave McLure asked for verification that there are 80,000 rounds of ammunition stored in the Town Building. Jason replied that there are and that the Police Department must maintain a certain amount of ammunition for the officers who must be recertified. Also, the Police Department buys ammo when they can get a good price on it which saved them money in the long run.

Kohnie Poulsen stated the rent that we are getting for the Opera House should be turned back into the daily maintenance of the building. Jason replied that this money does go back into the building. The revenue earned from renting out the Opera House is usually between $5,000 and $6000 a year.

Escholl Goodell stated that the daily maintenance of the building was lacking and there is no excuse for this.

Ed Haines stated he hopes to have any information available to the Budget Committee when they are ready to start meeting on the Town Budget.

Ruth Taylor stated she will be attending a workshop in Concord next week which will focus on various ways of raising money for projects. She also wanted to urge the Selectmen to continue the Opera House Restoration Committee.

Jerry Deaner stated that the big box developers coming into Littleton should be paying the Town for the privilege of locating in Littleton. This money could offset some of the costly upkeep on our town buildings.

Max from the Citizens Police Advisory Committee stated the Committee is very concerned with the working conditions for the Police Department personnel. He urged the community to be supportive of their needs.

John Streeter stated that an independent consultant and electrical engineer should be hired by the Town to review the problem and respond to the letter of violations.

Joel Bedor asked for cool heads to prevail and for the Selectmen to support Brien Ward’s plan as presented.

Chairman Hight stated the Selectmen will take a closer look at the plan and will probably go with those portions they feel applicable to the situation.

-----------Burrington asked if the Selectmen are committed to preserving the town building.

Jason stated that it is his personal preference to preserve the building. Chairman Hight stated that the Selectmen have supported warrant article in the past to renovate the building but the voters have voted it down.

Joe Mercieri stated that the Town cannot stop here but that they must make sure all of the Town Buildings are up to code. He added he cannot enforce codes when out own house is not in order.

Barbara Hill stated she feels this situation has come about from a lack of accountability from the Town Officers.

Joe Mercieri asked for an explanation of item #2 in the plan presented by Brien Ward. Cam Brown stated he would also like an explanation of how this came about.

Brien stated he felt there was a serious lack of communication with Department Heads and the Selectmen. When the inspection took place in June both the Police Chief as well as the Fire Chief were present, but no one reported back to the Selectmen. Brien added that the Facility Manager was also included in the inspection but did not show up. The story hit the front page of the Caledonian Record when a female informant called and told the paper an inspection was taking place and that the results would be bad. The Selectmen became aware of the inspection when the story hit the front page of the newspaper. He feels the Selectmen should investigate the situation further.

John Streeter thanked the Selectmen for hosting this meeting and letting the public have some input.

Tony Ilacqua stated that the Town is in this situation because the voters of the Town have been skinflints and have not wanted to spend any money on the building.

Tom Alt stated this is not a time to point fingers. The Town does not need a trophy building but if the Town intends to use the building for instance for the Town Office, then the building should be repaired and used. He does not understand the rationale of leasing space for the Town Offices.

The Selectmen thanked everyone for coming.

Chairman Hight moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 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