Littleton Board of Selectmen-Meeting
Minutes – December 29, 2004
LITTLETON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
DECEMBER 29, 2004
LITTLETON OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: Chairman Burt Ingerson, Vice Chairman Bill Hight, Selectman George Hicks, Town Manager Jason Hoch, Executive Assistant Cheryl Sargent
MODEL COMMUNITY GRANT
Chairman Burt Ingerson opened the Public Hearing at 3:45 PM.
Nicole Lapointe stated the Town has been awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000.00 from the Jean and William Hallager Fund and the Northern New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. She stated the purpose of the grant is to promote recreational and leisure programs for children in the area and most especially those with handicaps. The fund will be used to support a full-day conference titled “Re-Creating Recreation” for families, educators, and youth program leaders and staff on including children in recreation, leisure and out of school learning opportunities in the community. The conference is planned for April 2, 2005 at the Littleton High School. By brining key people together for this conference, it is hoped to expand the capacities of existing programs and create ideas for new programs.
The Selectmen thanked Nicole for her presentation.
Selectman Hight moved to accept and expend the grant as outlined above. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hicks and carried.
Chairman Ingerson closed the Public Hearing and opened the Selectmen’s Meeting at 4:40 PM.
Jason noted the Local Government Center (formerly NHMA) has offered the Town a Multi Year Rate Guarantee Program for the Town’s participation in the Local Government Center Property-Liability Trust. The Town’s rate will be held at a 2% increase for the year beginning in July of 2005. There will be no increase in July of 2006 until June of 2008. If the standard rates for 2007 or 2008 are reduced, the rates applied to Littleton will be the lower rates. Jason asked the Selectmen to authorize him to sign the resolution on behalf of the Town.
Selectmen Hicks moved to have Jason sign the resolution on behalf of the Town of Littleton. The motion was seconded by Selectmen Hight and carried 3-0.
DES is now requiring an authorization form from the Selectmen to authorize Jason to negotiate and accept State Aid payments in connection with sewage disposal facilities in Town. Jason noted the Town of Littleton has been receiving state aid for at least 20 years at around $380,000 per year.
Selectman Hicks moved to authorize Town Manager Jason Hoch to act on behalf of the Town of Littleton in negotiation for and accepting any and all State Aid payments in connection with sewage disposal facilities in Town. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hight and carried 3-0.
Jason gave the Selectmen an update on the proposed budget. He noted there is still a time frame in which local agencies can submit warrant articles. It appears the budget will be up by approximately $550,000. The tax rate increase will be about 2 to 5 cents. There is $100,000 difference between the proposed budget and the default budget. The Police Facility Committee will have updated numbers shortly.
Jason asked the Selectmen if they had had a chance to review Section II- Financial and Section III - Statistical and Demographic Reports of the Management discussion and Analysis Report from the Finance Department.
The Selectmen stated they had read the material but did not fully understand it. Chairman Ingerson stated there are sections of the report which seem to contradict each other.
Jason will ask Karen to come in to a Selectmen’s Meeting in January to answer any questions they may have.
Dave McLure was in to ask for the Selectmen’s support in his endeavor to change the zoning on his Exist 43 property. He stated that after last years failure to get the zoning changed, his family has agreed to try again this year. He noted the Planning Board will be holding their first Public Hearing on this proposed amendment change on Tuesday evening. He added he realizes this is a controversial issue and would like to work with the abutters to resolve the problems.
The Selectmen were all in favor of Mr. McLure’s proposal and gave him their support.
Tony Ilacqua was in to give the Selectmen an update on the Transfer Station Fee Schedule regarding the disposal of tires. Oversized passenger/light truck tires over 245/75R16 will cost $3.50 each to dispose of. Standard truck tires and commercial tires from 17” to 22” will cost $11.25 to dispose of.
Selectman Ingerson asked Tony if the tire size is determined by the number of ply. Tony stated the tires are measured by the diameter because this is how the transfer station is charged. The Board was in favor of the amended fee schedule and thanked Tony for coming in.
Chairman Ingerson closed the Selectmen’s Meeting and opened the Board of Assessors.
Carol Cullen presented the Selectmen with the following items for their consideration:
William Abbott – Abatement request – sewer billing for property on 490 Union Street. Mr. Abbott had informed the Town that his large water usage was caused by vandalism when the outside faucet was left on and broken. He added most of his water consumption was used for cleaning equipment and that there are no tenants in the building currently. His 2003 sewer billing was for $382.10. His 2004 billing was $419.89.
Selectman Hicks moved to deny the abatement request. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hight and carried 3-0.
Mark Lutter – has applied to the BTLA but would like the opportunity to settle prior to the Hearing. He is requesting that the Town apply the ratio of 63% to the sale price of his property of $65,000 which would drop the value down to $39,700.
Selectman Hight moved to let the BTLA settle the issue. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hicks and carried 3-0.
Carol Cullen informed the Board that Monica Gordon from Visions would be here for a few days. She will be visiting properties which have sold over the last couple of years and will be taking digital pictures of these properties. She will be carrying identification and al letter of introduction from the town. The Police Department has also been informed in case they receive any inquiries regarding her presence.
Chairman Ingerson closed the Board of Assessors and re-opened the Selectmen’s Meeting.
Carol Cullen told the Selectmen she has received a request from Bruce Hadlock to establish an escrow account in the amount of $8000 to be used for paving Tara Lane in the Bryn Mawr Subdivision. Carol stated there are two houses on Tara Lane and it is anticipated another home will be built soon. In the event the road is taken by the Town, Bruce would like to have his money in an escrow account which would be used to pay for the paving. If the cost for paving the Road is higher, Mr. Hadlock would be responsible for the difference. The request for Town acceptance of the road would not be submitted until a final inspection was completed and any deficiencies noted by Larry Jackson were taken care of.
Selectman Hight moved to establish an escrow account ad defined above in the amount of $8,000.00. The motion was seconded by Selectmen Hicks and carried 3-0.
Jason stated he felt this was a great idea and one that he wished other developers would do.
Carol stated she had received a request to omit a streetlight at the end of Spruce Street. Notification of the request has been sent to property owners abutting the streetlight location. There has been no feedback from anyone who was contacted. Larry Jackson is also in favor of omitting the light.
Selectman Hight moved to approve the request and omit the streetlight. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hicks and carried 3-0.
Val Poulsen stated he was in on behalf of his daughter Khonie regarding the Saranac Street property. Jason stated he is still waiting for Bruce Taylor’s report. Mr. Taylor has told Joe Wiggett the report should be ready by January 3rd.
Eddy Moore stated he would make one last try to get the Selectmen’s support in doing away with the precinct. He handed out copies of RSA 49-B which outlines the procedure to doing away with a precinct. The process would require a Charter Commission to be established and would be an expensive procedure. The Selectmen were agreement they cannot at this time support Eddy’s request. Selectman Hight stated he could not justify the expense of doing away with the precinct at this time.
Representative Stephanie Eaton was in to update the Selectmen on the educational funding for the coming year. She stated that in light of the Governor elects campaign position on education funding, which is also supported by the speaker of the House, grants for Littleton could be lower than those received in 2004. She added that if funds are distributed in inverse proportion to a town’s per capita or family income, without any transition provisions, it is possible that Littleton may not receive any state adequacy aid next year. She cautioned the Town and School to be prudent in budgeting for 2005.
If significant changed are made by Legislature, the option will be given to school districts to hold special town meetings without having to petition the court to do so.
Selectman Ingerson stated this scenario is very difficult for the town to adjust to, especially the schools who renew employee contracts in the early spring. Jason added it is very difficult for the Town to plan where there is no stability coming out of Concord.
Representative Eaton advised the Selectmen to write to the Governor as well as the Speaker of the House and voice their concerns.
Khonie Poulsen requested Jason furnish her with data from 2002 regarding the video taping of the sewer as well as copies of expenses for any work done in 2002 to correct the sewer problem. Jason told Khonie that it may take several weeks to compile all of the information she is requesting. She stated she understood.
Selectman Hicks moved to approve the minutes of December 8, 2004 as presented. The motion was seconded by Selectman Hight and carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 4:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Sargent
Executive Assistant
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Chairman Burton E. Ingerson
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Vice Chairman William R. Hight
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Selectman George O. Hicks