Meeting convened at 6:30 p.m.
PRESENT: Marj Roy, Town Administrator; Vicky Mishcon, Select Board Chair; Dave Blinn and Chuck Keyser, Select Board Members; John Thompson, Road Agent; Officer Dan Mori and Police Chief Joe Mahoney.
Also Present: Bob and Rita Norander, and Tina Cotton
Mishcon opened the meeting by introducing and explaining the rule for attendance and participation in the meetings written on the whiteboard.
ROAD AGENT REPORT
• The cemeteries and beach at this point are on par for opening up for Memorial Day weekend. The beach house floor was started this morning. The three (3) floor joists were rotted out and are being replaced. After the repair and the plywood is laid down, the epoxy paint with grit in it from Belletetes will complete the project. It should be finished by tomorrow.
• Road sweeping is halfway done through town.
• Old College Road has been graded and calcium applied. Thompson will come in tomorrow to meet with Roy to work on the Request for Pricing (RFP) for the Transfer Station.
• Road signs are not all ordered. It is in the works. Roy is trying to speak with the Warner DPW to find out how much their signs were and where they were purchased.
• The Service Club spoke to Mishcon regarding landscaping around the generator. They are ready to go anytime but the Irving tanks need to be taken out. Roy will have the Administrative Assistant contact Irving.
• Roy indicated that FEMA needs to meet with Thompson to get more information for the grant. A meeting is set for Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Thompson agreed to meet with FEMA at that meeting.
• Roy received a call from Linda Barnes on Shaw Hill Road who requested that the damage on her property by the Highway Crew discussed at the previous Select Board meeting, be taken care of soon so she can mow. Thompson agreed to take care of it asap.
• Keyser indicated there is a crater at the bottom of Shaw Hill and Plains Roads that needs to be fixed. Thompson will have the highway crew fix it with hot top.
Mishcon told the Board about her attendance at the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) earlier that day. Mishcon spoke to a person from New London who does the crushing there. Richard Lee provided Mishcon a sample of the glass aggregate from recycling. The glass aggregate can successfully be used for drainage, an underlayment, as a filler, in sidewalks or under pipes instead of sand. It has been used as a topcoat on roadways, but the issue is that it freezes faster and creates more problems.
OLD BUSINESS
o Comcast Franchise Renewal – Mishcon stated that the Board met with Melissa Pierce from Comcast last year and then subsequently received an email from Tina Cotton. Mishcon is confused and wanted to clarify whether they were speaking about cable or internet. Cotton
gave a brief history of getting cable in town. At first when cable came to Andover, it was basically just television. Roger Godwin, a former Select Board member, was able to push getting cable to the outer parts of Andover. There was a major block on Route 11. Costs were approximately $13, 000. The Norander’s, are a family out in that area and only had telephone until Satellite was available. Metrocast, which is available right down from them in Franklin, gave them an estimated cost of $10, 000. Comcast is available on the Andover side near them, wanted $13, 000.
Cotton suggested increasing the franchise fee which is currently at 3% but could be increased as much as 5%. It may offset the price and get cable to those few folks where it is not available.
Norander spoke about a conference he attended regarding cable and cell towers. He noted that the term to use is not cable or internet, but “service.”
The Board will contact TDS and Comcast for their up to date map of where service is available. The Board assured that they will continue with the effort of trying to get service out to that area.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mishon made the motion to accept the minutes of April 2, 2018, April 16, 2018, and May 7, 2018 as amended. Blinn seconded the motion. All in favor. Minutes of April 2, 2018, April 16, 2018, and May 7, 2018 as amended are approved.
TRANSFER STATION
Request for Pricing (RFP) for the Transfer Station – the specs are being fine-tuned. The floor will be painted with the same epoxy paint as is being done at the beach house.
Blinn discussed with the Board his interactions with JP Pest Services at the Transfer Station. They recommended digging down about 12”-15” and putting a screen in. The screen holes should be ¼” or smaller using the heaviest gauge as possible Then a cloth, the thickest and heaviest should be placed by wrapping it 2”to 5” into the dirt.
The highway crew will dig the trench and put in the stones and the rest of the project will be done by JP Pest Services.
The office trailer will need to be moved away.
JP Pest Services is going to re-fog again depending on weather, either tomorrow or Thursday while the Transfer Station is not opened to the public. Blinn said they are making headway.
Blinn will go to look at the back stairs to make sure they are not damaged or rotted and will take photos.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES CONTRACT REVIEW
The Board was unable to fully review the contract because there were sections hi-lighted in yellow and green. It was unclear which color designation was for Franklin and Andover. Roy will send an email to clarify the yellow and green sections hi-lighted. No action needed by the Board. It will be reviewed at a later date.
NEW BUSINESS
Roy and bookkeeper, Elita Reed, had a phone conference with Danielle Schuster from Virtual Town Hall for over an hour discussing the migration of the old website to the new website. There will be Quick Find choices on the new website. Once the content development process begins, it will be editable. On June 22, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. there will be a remote training for Roy, Reed, and Moyer. The website should be live on June 25, 2018. Then others can be trained on how to use the website.
Mishcon wants to have a slide show of things going on around town to run in the background of Town Meeting 2019, a half hour prior to the meeting itself. Then during Town Meeting, a power point can be utilized. The Board agreed that Mishcon can chat with people about getting this stuff together.
Roy stated that as soon as the new website is live, the manifest will then be put in it for the public’s review instead of reading the information during the Select Board meetings.
Roy will check with Avitar to find out about having the tax maps on the website as a tax kiosk for the public to have access to as most towns have it at this point.
MAINFEST REVIEW
Is as follows for the two weeks prior and ending on May 18, 2018
$19, 309 Payroll
$ 968 (Plus two additional payroll checks of $430 and $538.)
$424, 346 Account Payable (this includes the $10, 000 to the 4th of July Committee)
$425, 314 Grand Total
RECREATION COMMITTEE
The culvert in the tunnel by the playground is very dark. The Recreation Committee would like to have lights put in there to make it a safer area.
After discussion, the Board decided that culvert tunnel is part of the Rail Trail and that the Friends of the Norther Rail Trail should be involved and work on this project. Roy will contact Tom Franz to let him know.
CORRESPONDENCE AND SIGNATURES
o Ford – Letter from Ford acknowledging the 2016 Ford Truck is paid off
o Comcast – Letter from Melissa Pierce, Comcast Representative, reviewing the meeting regarding the five (5) unserved residents on the edge of Franklin. The cost to provide service to those residents is $42, 000 per household
o Eversource and National Grid – Letters from both companies advising of working on vegetation management
o Herbie Barton – Letter from the Board signed by all three members
o Jane Hubbard – Invoice from Jane Hubbard regarding the hazard mitigation updated contract. Mishcon signed as it only required one signature.
o Tax Warrant – signed by Keyser and Blinn as Mishcon was absent from the Friday meeting.
o Hansen Construction – Morrill Hill Road Bridge requesting payment #3. The bridge will officially open in June. Mishcon signed three (3) copies as it only required on signature.
o Timber Tax Bill’s – signed by all three Select Board Members for the following properties:
o Chris Caron 4-277-037
o Dan Merzi 18-184-086
o Phelps/Smith on North Street 19-517-280
o Jerry Hersey 23-038-033; 16-048-234; 6-044-465
o Bill Zimmerman 12-868-255; 13-006-171
o Hersey 18-015-004
OTHER BUSINESS
Transfer Station redesign – The Board agreed that Deb Guinard, Transfer Station attendant, needs to come in and talk with the Board for her opinion on what containers are needed. The Board agreed they will need two work sessions. One, for a general meeting and the second, to include all involved, such as plowing, etc…
Mishcon made the motion to go into Non-Public Session at 8:10 p.m. by Roll Call Vote:
Mishcon: Yes Blinn: Yes Keyser: Yes
NON-PUBLIC SESSIONS (2)
Closed Public Meeting at 8:10 p.m. Opened Non-Public Session at 8:10 pm. Closed Non-Public Session at 8:25 p.m. Re-opened Public Meeting at 8:25 p.m.
Closed Public Meeting at 8:25 p.m. Opened Non-Public Session at 8:25 p.m. Closed Non-Public Session at 8:45 p.m. Re-opened Public Meeting at 8:45 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Mishcon made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Keyser seconded the motion. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Minutes prepared by Patricia Moyer, Select Board Secretary