Present: Chairman Coolidge, Selectman Danforth, John Thompson, Reggie Roy, Herbie Barton, Ken Tripp, Teri Page, David Sinclair.

Road Agent

Selectman Coolidge asked about the space near railroad bridge near the covered bridge.

Selectman Danforth asked about the rock supply on Hoyt Road and to possibly take the rocks from Hoyt Road to put Jersey Barriers to narrow road over the bridge on Lawrence Street. Selectman Danforth said it was suggested by the State.

Road Agent John Thompson reported the following:

John handed in a work order for the emergency repairs to Elkins Hill Road for repair to a huge hole in the road. John mentioned that a galvanized pipe had rotted which resulted in replacement of the culvert in order to bring road back to drivable state.

John handed in work orders for winter sand, screening, fall cleanup, patching, and grading.

Switch Road estimate is $17,000 from engineer, which doesn’t include wetlands engineer or final work, and this won’t happen this year. This only covers about 9/10ths of a mile, from Plains Road to Moody Road.

John proposed to ditch Switch Road to control the water issue.

Selectman Danforth wanted to know how much it is to screen sand, and John stated $385 per yard.

Selectman Danforth asked if a fire nozzle existed to flush out culverts in the past. John stated they did have one, but he hasn’t seen it for over 10 years. He said it used to be in the Selectmen’s office. Selectman Danforth asked if we should purchase one to clean out culverts. John said he would get a crew to work on getting them cleaned out.

Transfer Station

Reggie Roy said two bids came in to make changes to the Transfer Station building. One of the bidders didn’t measure anything, and the other bidder didn’t give a quote due to all the changes needed.

Reggie suggested getting a window to view people dumping. He also mentioned that single stream recycling created another position, because they need to view the dumping at all times. When they went to single stream recycling, the people thought it would create less labor, but it didn’t; it created more work.

Duncan asked Reggie why we bought the building and how much did it cost. Reggie said the Town purchased the building for $3,000, and they hoped that it would meet their needs to house the electronics, bulbs, etc. and provide cover to an employee viewing single stream.

Duncan mentioned that no one understood that shopping bags wouldn’t be allowed in single stream.

Reggie has a list of duties of all the employees at the Transfer Station.

Reggie mentioned that cardboard is 90% of what goes into the container. Reggie mentioned that Andover produces 82 bales of cardboard per year.

Ken Tripp mentioned he went to the monthly New Hampshire Resource Recovery Association meeting on Wednesday, and they are going to increase the dues based on the population. They gave an electronic update. Duncan thought they were going to discuss cardboard.

Ken said he’s interested in changing the whole dynamics of recycling. He asked if they palletize the electronics, and he mentioned that won’t need to be done and will be getting a grant. He mentioned that their equipment is messed up all the time.

Ken mentioned that they talked about a Town cost of about $90 per ton, which includes the transportation cost, and he said it cost Andover $92 per ton.

Ken said food waste is 37% of the weight that goes out, and he would like to start organic process. Herbie Barton said animal waste is a huge amount of the weight, too.

Ken suggested we make the Recycling Building look like something we are proud of. Selectman Danforth said it costs $8,ooo per year to heat. Selectman Danforth said everyone (engineer and public) thought that single stream was the way to go and the placement of the building, but it wasn’t put in the best place. We need to have a deeper plan this time around.

Ken mentioned we have three single stream operations: one at the Middle school, one at Proctor, and our Transfer Station. He would like to form a recycle committee to include a person from each place.

Selectman Danforth suggested that we do not reinvent the wheel. We should look at the towns that are already doing recycling.

Herbie Barton mentioned that he is there to save the Town money and trucking fees. He said he will do all the labor to recycle the cardboard. He said he already has made arrangements with some companies in town to pick up their cardboard.

Selectman Danforth thinks they will need to change their contract because it says we are putting everything in the single stream. He stated that what the Town legally can do is give a lease for up to two years – anything more than that needs to go to Town Meeting. Accept the balers as is, give you a contract saying you inspected them, they’re yours, and we will lease them and the space for a buck for two years. Then, at Town Meeting in 2016 you will need to write a warrant article.

Herbie said he will be bringing in cardboard from other towns to offset the trucking fees.

Reggie asked what he will be able to do with the electronics and the gaylords for space. Reggie said the gaylords are big and tall.

Herbie said he will get a trailer in to store the baled cardboard. Jim said that when Marj Roy gets back, sign the lease and have the Town insurer come and tell us what they need to write for policy.

Herbie said he would like the townspeople to throw the cardboard in the building, then he will bale it, and it will save the Town 50% or more per month on trucking with less weight in the compactor. It’s everyone’s understanding that one baler is no good.

Duncan said the goal is to form a committee to look at the process at the Transfer Station to see if we can make it more cost effective to the Town. So we can support ethics to recycle as a town to save money.

Jim told Herbie he needs to look at the building in the Transfer Station to see how much square footage he needs and talk with Reggie to see if there’s any issue. Marj will get the initial paperwork together so Herbie can get his proposal, inspect the baler. The Town will contact the insurance company.

Cemetery

Selectman Danforth said we received both resignation letters. When we have Town Meeting, we would vote in one-year, two-year, and three-year positions. Pat Cutter said she would step in to meet Town obligations. The Town voted to cut down a tree in the East Andover cemetery and one in Proctor Cemetery. Jim said we have someone going to submit a bid to cut down the trees.

Other Business

Teri Page presented on behalf of Mid-State Community Transportation. RSA 239B creates community regional transportation in rural areas, and Andover belongs to Region 3, the Lakes Region, which includes Belknap and Merrimack County. She mentioned they have a community plan which can be viewed at MidStateRCC.org.

Teri talked about the 10-year plan to help people over 60 or handicap people get transportation to appointments or other places they need to get to in the local areas. Right now there are grants available only for this group of people. Example: public bus runs. Teri delivered pamphlets to be kept in the office to hand out.

Hoyt Road

David Sinclair came to talk about the cul-de-sac at the top of Hoyt Road or turn-around due to plow issues for the past four years. David owns the property on the opposite side of the road. He would like to see if he could work with the Town to connect up to the turn-around, because he’s going to put a road in to access some of his property, then he would be able put in lots to sell.

Selectman Danforth said it would benefit both parties if we try to get the road extended and upgraded from the Class 6 road. David said that downhill, the land is in conservation easement; the stone wall is the boundary. Selectman Danforth said he needs to get in touch with John Thompson.