Text:  Meeting convened at 6:30 p.m.

Condensed from approved minutes:\

Members Present: Marj Roy, Town Administrator; Vicky Mishcon, Select Board Chair; Jim Delaney and Dave Blinn, Select Board; John Thompson, Road Agent; Arch Weathers, Ed Hiller, and Chris Norris with the Budget Committee; Larisa Djuvelek-Ruggiero of the Community Action Program, Regional Mobility Manager; and Chief Glenn Laramie

Road Agent Report:

•  Old College Road – GMI completed their portion of the project. The hot top is all ground up, and the grading and watering is completed. The highway crew will finish the project. The next step is to put down gravel and shim the road in some places. The two aprons at the end of Old College Road and Route 11 areas will be filled and lifted where appropriate. The highway crew will need flagging assistance when they are backing up the trucks across Route 11 with the gravel.
•         Town Hall – The gas tank at town hall is buried and the generator is moved. For safety reasons, something needs to be put around the fill tank. After discussing options, the Board and Thompson agreed that stones are appropriate to put around the top of the fill tank.
•         Valley Road Bridge –The structure has been re-done. The water was washing out the structure. The concrete was cut and the structure lowered. A bigger berm is there and it should be all set.
•         Other work – Some mowing has taken place last week. This week, the crew will mostly be working on Old College Road. After Old College Road is completed for this year, the Last Street Bridge will be re-decked. Then onto Sam Hill Road.

Flagging Necessity and  Course Offering:    Chief Laramie explained that when the Town of Andover highway crew is working on the job on Old College Road, that Andover is responsible for providing the safety. The Police Department is currently having staffing issues and two of our police officers are under the 32- hour rule which means they cannot work beyond 32 hours in a week. With the staff shortage, Laramie cannot justify having a police officer used for flagging when they should be patrolling.

Originally, it was set up that Officer David Hewitt would teach the certified flagging course, but subsequently found out that he can only certify police officers. Laramie found a possible solution. Laramie spoke to a law enforcement friend, Mr. Trottier.   Trottier’s brother, Mr. Moore and he own a flagging company. Trottier agreed to teach the flagging course for $100.00 for Andover people. It is a four-hour class to become certified. The certification lasts for four years. To be recertified, you need to take the same class again. Suggested people to attend were a couple of the folks from the fire department, the highway crew, and anyone else who would like to become a certified flagger. Delaney offered to attend the class and become a certified flagger.

Thompson agreed with the Board that this is a good solution for the Old College Road project that needs flaggers to assist the highway crew when they are moving gravel trucks across Route 11. Additionally, having certified flaggers in town will help with other projects when a police officer is not necessary.  

•         Highway Block Grant Fund – Thompson reviewed options for the available $86, 000. After reviewing several options, Thompson realized that any project calls for a substantial amount of gravel. Thompson indicated that they could make large volumes of gravel if some of the $86, 000 can be used. Right now, they are making small amounts of gravel at the Transfer Station. At this point it costs the same amount to make the gravel or purchase it until you add in the trucking cost which would add approximately another $30.00 to $40.00 per $100.00 spent. It would make sense to make as much large piles of gravel as they can now.
• Snow Plow Contractors:  Several of the contractors have requested an increase in their rates. The rates have been the same since 2010. Plow blades and insurance cost have risen greatly in that seven years. For example:

2010                                     2017

           Cutting edge blades             $109                                     $220-250                                          Tire Chains 8-mm            $279                                     $475                                                 Insurance                          $1200 (yr)                            $2700 (yr)

        Contractors suggested to Thompson a $5.00 per hour increase across the board. The Board took this under advisement and will act on this item at a later time. If the Board agrees with the rate increase, it will become effective on January 1, 2018.

Budget Committee

Arch Weathers stated the members of the Budget Committee are as follows:

        Members: Arch Weathers, Chairman; Ed Hiller, Vice-Chairman; and Chris Norris who are in attendance at tonight’s meeting. Nancy Teach was not available tonight as was Mary Anne Levesque, Recording Secretary. A new member is Morgan Salathe. Mark Heller is the Ex-Officio/ School Board Representative and Jim Delaney is the Ex-Officio Select Board Representative.

Meeting Schedule:  Weathers presented a schedule for meeting. Please see attached. Roy will contact each department regarding the schedule. Roy created a spreadsheet with this information for easy review.  

Unreserved funds:  The Board explained how the unreserved fund balance works. If there is money left over, the Town is allowed by law to keep a certain percentage of it and then they can decide where to best use those funds.

The Year to Date expenses were reviewed by the Board. All agreed that it looks in line at this time in the year.

Weathers would like conversations to take place between the Committee and the Board when the recommendations are conflicted. Last year, the conflicted disputed recommendations were regarding the $30, 000 for the cemetery fence and the funds for the 4th of July committee.

Community Action Program-Mid State Regional Ride:

Larisa Djuvelek-Ruggerio, presented information about a Community Action Program that is trying to improve transportation in the area. Djuvelek-Ruggerio is the Regional Mobility Manager. She encouraged the Town to join the Mid-State Regional Coordinating Council for Community Transportation. There is no fee involved to join. A Memo of Understanding will be drafted. One or two people are assigned to attend the meetings who serve as advocates for Andover residents. There are approximately six meetings a year. They meet on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 2:00 to 4 PM. The meetings alternate between Concord and the Lakes Region.

Djuvelek-Ruggerio requested linking their site directly to the Town Web-site.

The Board will review the information further. Roy will have the link put on the Town web site.

Bridge Road Residents and Bird’s Eye View Aerobotics Petition:

Several Bridge Road residents are concerned about the drones flying near their homes. Please see attached petition.

The Board will speak with Bird’s Eye View and look at the guideline that the Planning Board put into their decision. Chief Laramie suggested contacting the NH Federal Aviation Administration. The Board will review the NH FAA rules. After investigating, the Board will contact the Bridge Road residents of the petition.

Road Maintenance for Administrators and Elected Officials:

The class is at the Holiday Inn in Concord and ws scheduled scheduled for November 7, 2017 from 8:00 to 2 PM. Mishcon highly recommended this class.

Highland Lake Drawdown:

Roy spoke to Jason Dudek who told her that the drawdown needs to be down before November 1, 2017 due to the mud burrowing critters. The channel is only four to five feet high. The logistics of notifying the public in a timely manner was discussed. Roy will speak to Steve Doyon. A special Select Board meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 6:30  where the first item will be the information for the drawdown particulars.

Other Business:

Mishcon indicated that she received a confusing telephone message from either John Thompson or Jon Champagne with regards to connecting on the Bay Road water issue. Thompson said he did not leave a message for Mishcon. Mishcon agreed it must have been Champagne. The Board is considering a field trip to view the issue.

Scheduled Budget Only Work Sessions:

1.      Highway Department and Highway Department Projects – Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at 9:30 AM.
2.      Legal Expenses, Financial Administration, Gov’t Buildings, Personnel Administration, Information Technology – Wednesday October 11, 2017 after the public meeting at 6:30 PM regarding the Highland Lake drawdown.
3.      Town Clerk-Tax Collector, Welfare, Other Agencies, Zoning Enforcement – Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 1:30 to 3:30 PM.
4.      Transfer Station (including any changes to be made) – Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 9:30 AM.

Signatures and Correspondence::

•         GMI proposal previously authorized by Blinn and Delaney in Mishcon’s absence. Mishcon reviewed the proposal. Blinn and Delaney signed the proposal.
•         Letter to the Service Club signed by all three Select Board members\
•         Letter to John Guiheen signed by all three Select Board members.

Approval of Minutes:

Delaney made the motion to approve the September 18, 2017 minutes as drafted. Mishcon seconded the motion. All in favor. September 18, 2017 minutes are approved.

Adjournment:

Michson made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Delaney seconded the motion. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.

Minutes prepared by Patricia Moyer, Select Board Secretary