Littleton Board of Selectmen-Meeting
Minutes-September 29, 2004
LITTLETON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
LITTLETON TOWN OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM
SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
Present: Chairman Burt Ingerson, Vice Chairman Bill Hight, Selectman George Hicks, Town Manager Jason Hoch, Executive Assistant Cheryl Sargent
Health Officer Dick Hill and Khonie Poulsen spoke to the Selectmen regarding the sewer damage to Ms. Poulsen’s property on Saranac Street. Health Officer Hill acknowledged that Ms. Poulsen’s trailer on Saranac Street had been hit twice by raw sewage and he cannot take the responsibility of allowing anyone to live in the trailer as it is still contaminated. He stated it was his decision that this trailer be formally condemned. He noted the other building has been cleaned up on the first floor but the basement is still in horrible shape and there are fumes escaping from the basement. Khonie Poulsen stated that lime has been spread in the basement but it is causing fumes which make it impossible to stay in the building for very long at any given time. Mr. Hill expressed his irritation and concern at not being kept informed of the ongoing events of the Saranac Street problem by the Town. He stated he should have been on top of the situation from the beginning but no one let him know what was happening. He added that correspondence had been sent to the State regarding the Saranac Street problem and he not been copied. He obtained a copy of the letter from the State
Mr. Hill noted that in the case of unforeseen emergencies, the Town can hold a Special Town Meeting to address the issue. Town Manager Hoch stated he was aware of the RSA which enables a Town to hold a Special Town Meeting.
Khonie stated she is currently working with the Town’s insurance and with Provan & Lorber on assessing the damage to the building. She thanked the Town for working with her tenants. She added she is willing to sit down with the Town Manager and Selectmen at any time to work toward a solution to her problem. She stated First Choice Restoration have not done quite as good a job on cleaning up this time as they did after the first occurrence. She noted she was aware that there may be two additional lines which are being investigated which may be causing the e-coli problem. She asked if there were any test results back yet. Jason stated he was not aware of the test results being received by the Town. He added he agreed a meeting should take place with her but he would prefer to wait until after the report from Provan & Lorber and after the Municipal Association has completed their paperwork. She stated the loss of income from the rent of her property has caused financial hardship for her and would like to know what the Town intends to do. This will be discussed further when she meets with the Selectmen.
Khonie added she was not totally happy with the Town’s insurance company as they had sent someone to evaluate the property who did not appear to be adequately trained for the job.
Jason stated as the Health Officer has condemned the trailer he will now get in touch with town Counsel and see how the Town proceeds formalizing this action. Khonie asked that Jason keep her informed even if it to say the Town has not heard back from the attorney yet.
Chairman Ingerson moved to go into a Board of Assessors Meeting. The motion was seconded by Bill Hight and carried 3-0.
Carol Cullen told the Selectmen the Town of Littleton is in receipt of a letter from ExTax accepting the proposed settlement figures for the Hitchiner Beacon Street property. Joe Lessard, MRI and Steven Poole, ExTax agreed to the assessments referenced in the letter. Mr. Lessard is recommending the following changes for the Selectmen’s consideration:
2002 – Reduce the assessment from $2,477,500 to $1,500,000 resulting in an abatement in the amount of $25, 758.40.
2003 – Reduce the assessment from $2,447,500 to $1,400,000 resulting in an abatement in the amount of $31,613.55.
2004 – Reduce the assessment from $2,477,500 to $1,100,00 resulting in an abatement amount to be determined after the tax rate is set.
These figures do not include interest due to the taxpayer at the rate of 6% from the date of payment.
After some consideration by the Board, Selectman Hicks moved to postpone decision on this request until after they have had a chance to meet with Mr. Lessard for more information. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hight and carried 3-0.
The Board came out of Board of Assessors Meeting and entered back into the Board of Selectmen’s Meeting.
Carol Cullen presented a Waiver of Municipal Liability to the Selectmen for their consideration. The waiver is for Osgood Farm Road for the property of Rodney and Sara Edwards. They intend to build on their property.
Selectman Hight moved to approve the Waiver of Municipal Liability for Rodney and Sara Edwards for Osgood Farm Road. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hicks and carried 3-0.
Cathy Conway gave a TCSP update. She noted the Master Plan draft has been completed and is awaiting a Public Hearing by the Planning Board.
VHB is still working on costs and design issues and plan on having this information ready in November. Test boring of Main Street will take place the second week in October. They are working on a traffic control plan which can be put in place while the test bores are being done. The back-in angle parking experiment has been discussed and it was determined it would not be feasible to try it on Main Street because in order to do so, the centerline would have to be moved. It was suggested the experiment take place in one of the parking lots in Town. Selectman Hight stated the problem with using a parking lot would be it would not be a true test experiment because many cars in the parking lots remain there all day. They do not come and go the way cars on Main Street do. They would like Main Street looked at again as a possible location to conduct the experiment. Cathy will advise VHB that this is the Selectmen’s preference. The Selectmen thanked Cathy for her update.
Jason stated the pre-construction meeting for the Bronson Street project went well. Morrill Construction was the low bidder. The Town has been able to work a couple of sections of maple Street into the project which means it would also be eligible for the 20% reimbursement from the State.
Dave Circle from Aquarion will be in to the next Selectmen’s Meeting to discuss WWTP issues including the ultra violet repair which needs to take place. This repair could cost approximately $50,000. The Town and Aquarion is trying to simplify the small business sewer permits. There are some instances, especially in the case of small businesses, where it is redundant to make them reapply every year. Jason is also working with Aquarion to complete the Public Works Manual.
The Town has been notified that runoff from the new parking lot at the high school is causing problems at White Mountain Mental Health. Temporary curbing may alleviate the problem.
A structural assessment of the Curran Footbridge will be conducted. This assessment is needed before money is spent on the bridge.
Applications for the Fire Chief position continue to come in. A questionnaire will be sent to each applicant. Upon the return of these questionnaires, interviews will be scheduled for those applicants who are qualified for the position.
The Town has still not received the 2004 tax rate. The DRA is awaiting information from the State Education Board before the tax rate can be set. The SAU 35 was also delayed in getting their paperwork to the DRA. There is a possibility the town may have to borrow money if the tax bills cannot go out soon. The paperwork to borrow funds will be initiated in case we have to borrow.
Budget worksheets will be given out to Department Heads next week. There will be increases in the Town’s portion of the retirement fund as well as the health insurance.
The Police Facility Committee will be taking a field trip to Middlebury next week to look at their police facility. This facility was built by Breadloaf.
One of the pumper trucks is in the process of being repaired.
Jason asked the Selectmen to once again consider how they want to handle petition warrant articles at this year’s town meeting. Bundling them together was discussed but there were concerns raised this could cause some problems if a voter has a problem with one of the agencies and could potentially vote down the whole article.
The Fire Chief and Carol Cullen responded to Bruce Hadlock's complaints last week by making a visit to his property. The Home Depot project is causing vibrations in his house. Home Depot is aware of the problem. Jason stated a re-occurrence of this type of problem can be addressed in the building permit process. Although Mr. Hadlock has proposed introducing an ordinance to address vibrations and noise, it is not felt by the Town it would be as effective as addressing the issue through the building permit process. Jason also reminded the Selectmen that any building over 25,000 square feet must meet with the Planning Board to go over site work concerns.
Selectman Hight moved to approve welfare guideline amendments as presented by Welfare Director Joan Santy for their review. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hicks and carried 3-0.
Selectman Hicks moved to approve the minutes of September 8, 2004 as presented. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hight and carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 5:35 pm..
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Sargent,
Executive Assistant
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Chairman Burton E. Ingerson Vice Chairman William R,. Hight
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Selectman George O. Hicks