Meeting convened at 6;30 PM

Condensed from approved minutes:.

Members Present:   Marj Roy, Town Administrator; Vicky Mishcon, Select Board Chair; Dave Blinn and Jim Delaney, Select Board; John Thompson, Road Agent; Peter Zak, Chuck Keyser; Adam and Christine Sloan, Birds Eye View Aerobotics; Richard Croteau, Joanne Stevens, Mike Browall, Bridge Road residents; and Jared Reynolds, UNH Cooperative Extension Merrimack County

Road Agent Report:  

Last Sunday’s rain and wind storm damaged some roads and spared others around town. The few roads that did not do well, had plugged culverts. Much of those repairs are completed. Bradley Lake Road will be worked on tomorrow.

•    Elbow Pond Road – One of the two culvert structures in the vicinity of Elbow Pond Road, failed and the road is impassable. The concrete support blocks have been undermined and there is also loss of material on the approach to the bridge. After a site visit with the engineers, they recommend removal of the existing bridge and rebuilt in place. Thompson explained that ten years ago, those culverts were adequate for the amount of water for that time. However, ten years later, there is too much volume of water for the structures to adequately provide good water flow without breaching. There was a question regarding if the beaver deceivers installed were the cause of the breach. The engineers did not feel the beaver deceivers were the cause but they did not help the issue either. Thompson filed for an emergency wetland permit to repair. However, it may not qualify. Thompson is waiting for clarification from, Sean James, the engineer before moving ahead with repairs.
•    Kearsarge Mountain Road – The storm water came over the top of the bridge deck causing damage to the substructure. The bridge is still opened but the width of the travel lane has been confined. After a site visit with the engineers, they recommended placing additional orange barrels so that traffic be directed away from the downstream beam due to its load carrying capacity being compromised. This did qualify for emergency repairs.
• Maple Street – The road has been closed for over a week now. The wire is hanging low and vehicles should not go under it. One of the big initial issues was that there was no emergency contact information for the town road agent, the fire department, etc….to utilize. As of 2 PM. today, no company was awarded the job of re-stringing the wires. Thompson hopes the work will be completed by tomorrow afternoon.  
•   2nd Issue on Maple Street – Thompson received an early telephone call last Monday regarding the road being flooded near Zak’s property. After Thompson assessed the area, the road crew cleaned out the basins which were plugged by the handmade grate installed by Zak. The leaves and sticks plugged the basins. The road crew used a come-a-long and the water dropped 18” in fifteen minutes time. Thompson returned a short time later on and it was flooded again. The grate obviously is not working.  Zak voiced his concerns and said that it requires some attention. He would just like a schedule of when the repairs will be taken care of. Zak suggested a system like the one at Dyer’s Crossing might work. Zak thinks Thompson is doing a good job on this issue.
•         85 Putney Road – The road crew cleaned out the ditches. After it was set back, residents though that the road was widened. However, the ditches were grown up so much, that when cleaned out, it appears like the road is widened.
•      Winter and Summer Maintenance – Thompson reviewed the rate paperwork and it appeared to be fine with him. See attached.
•         Stop Sign – There is a missing stop sign at the corner of Boston Hill and Flaghole Roads. This is a safety issue. Several residents requested a yield sign as had been used there about ten years ago. One of the bus drivers gave her concerns to Roy.  Her concern was that when she is letting nine children off at that stop, without a stop sign, there are cars who fly past there. After discussion with the Board, Thompson will replace the stop sign in that spot.

Keyser wanted to know if there was a way to firmly secure the signs in town so that they are not being stolen. There have been numerous signs stolen continually throughout the years. Thompson and Keyser had a brief discussion regarding how to secure the signs and Keyser offered to help with this project.

•    Delineator Post – A resident at the corner of Old College Road and Elbow Pond Road would like a post put up so that people know there is a turn in the road. Otherwise, they could end up on the stone wall. Thompson will take care of this item·         Darley Fire Equipment donated a Ford cab/chassis, like the Town-owned 6-wheeler to the Town. It is currently in Cornish, NH.

Bird’s Eye View Aerobotics  

Several residents on Bridge Road voiced their concerns regarding the drone activity. Privacy, noise, amount of drone activity, and safety are some of their concerns. According to the FAA rules, the drones are allowed to fly up to 400’.  Adam Sloan explained their business is driven by weather. Good weather days, are days used for testing the drones.  Sloan explained that three different police officers came by and spoke to him about resident complaints. Sloan felt the officers did not think there was an issue. Due to the complaints, prior to the petition and this meeting, Sloan, instructed testing personnel to make sure they are not flying the drones near Croteau’s property, keeping them 200’ away, specifically.

Sloan invited the Board to come this Wednesday to Friday to observe their drone training sessions. The Board agreed they will visit this week to see for themselves.

The Board would like to work with both parties, Bird’s Eye View Aerobotics and the Bridge Road residents so that a common ground resolution can be accomplished. The Board will look for alternative sites that might be useful for the drone testing site. The present property used for testing is 37 acres.

Keyser wanted the Board to remember setting precedent especially about noise during business hours.

UNH Cooperative Extension:

Reynolds explained a broad range of the varied types of projects the extension can provide and assist the Town with. The Board offered initial contact folks in Andover to get started. See attached brochures for specifics.

Correspondence and Signatures:

•         Intent to Cut – Wood Sutton; Arone
•         Roy received an email voicing safety concerns about students crossing Main Street from Proctor. Mishcon will take this to the next Proctor Liaison Meeting to discuss.
•         Roy received an email from a former Bridge Road resident who is interested in purchasing the French property if it becomes available.
•         Plodzik and Sanderson Questionnaire – The Board filled in the questionnaire so that the Auditors can finalize the audit.  

Adjournment:  Mishcon made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Delaney seconded the motion. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

Minutes prepared by Patricia Moyer, Select Board Secretary