NOTES OF FEBRUARY 4, 2017 RYE DELIBERATIVE SESSION
Part Three
Final Revision B – Provided by the Rye Civic League
Present on the stage (left to right as viewed from the audience): Town Clerk Donna Decotis, Town Counsel Michael Donovan, Selectman Priscilla Jenness, Selectman Craig Musselman, Finance Director and Assistant Town Administrator Cyndi Gillespie, and Town Administrator Michael Magnant. Present at the podium: Bob Eaton, Town Moderator.
Additional persons present from the Town included: Police Chief Kevin Walsh, Interim Fire Chief Tom Lambert, Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy, Recreation Director Lee Arthur.
Editor’s
note: The elapsed times are relative to
start of each video segment. Segments
consist of one or more warrant articles.
To access the video for a particular warrant article, click on the
heading for the warrant article. The
video will be positioned to the beginning of the segment. You may then use the slider to position the
video to the appropriate elapsed time.
The video is available at https://vimeo.com/202797554/
Summary
Article
28: Dog poop (0:00 elapsed)
Moderator Eaton summarized the warrant article following a motion and a vote to waive the reading of the entire article.
Selectman Musselman stated that the article had grown out of the Parsons Creek Watershed Committee. A number of contamination sources were looked at. Dog waste is one of them. Committee members who conducted interviews found that dog waste was being left and some was being thrown into the wetlands. The Committee took a close look at the ordinance. It doesn’t add any responsibilities to what people have been asked to do: pick up dog waste and dispose of it properly. It is more clear than what has previously existed, he said.
There was no discussion so Moderator Eaton ordered the article to appear on the ballot as written.
Article
29: Star Fish Circle acceptance as a
Town road (2:37 elapsed)
Moderator Eaton read the warrant article.
Selectman Jenness said that the work is not quite complete yet. If approved, it would not have to wait a whole year to come back again, she said.
There was no discussion so Moderator Eaton ordered the article to appear on the ballot as written.
Article
31: Rescission of Selectmen’s authority
to buy and sell land (4:22 elapsed)
Peter Crawford addressed. He referred to $75,000 having been spent for Transfer Station land that everyone thought we already owned. He said that the parcel in question is 1.06 acres, less than the approximately 1.5 acre minimum lot size in that area. The parcel, which is at the southeast corner of the Transfer Station, is quite low and accumulates water during the rainy season. For those reasons it is unbuildable, which raises the issue of whether the Town overpaid. Editor’s note: The various documents relating to this land purchase are available at http://www.ryecivicleague.org/?p=3448.
Mr. Crawford referred to the words “town meeting appropriation of settlement amount on March 14, 2017,” having been scratched out on the agreement to transfer the land.
He also referred to other proposals, within the past two years, to sell the Parsonage Apartments for one dollar, and to purchase the house northeast of the Public Safety Building, as a possible Town Hall site, for $460,000.
Mr. Crawford said that the Conservation Commission has $1.7 million in its fund, and these funds can be used to purchase land when quick action is needed. Thus, he said, there is no need for the Selectmen to still have the authority to purchase and sell land without voter approval.
Shawn Crapo proposed an amendment to make the warrant article apply only to purchases over $750,000. Mr. Murphy seconded.
Selectman Musselman said that he had a separate amendment. He said that what Mr. Crawford had said was, in almost all aspects, revisionist history. Selectman Musselman said that he would appreciate the amendment being withdrawn. Messrs. Crapo and Murphy agreed.
Selectman Musselman offered an amendment. Mr. Crapo seconded. Moderator Eaton read the proposed warrant article, as amended: “To see if the Town will vote to reaffirm Article 12 of the 2002 Town Meeting, which gives the Board of Selectmen authority to acquire or sell land, buildings, or both, without voter approval, pursuant to RSA 41:14-c.”
Selectman Musselman referred to the three examples just given by Mr. Crawford. With regard to the first one, there was indeed a “quitclaim settlement” of a claim involving potential ownership of one acre of land at the Transfer Station site. It goes back to the 1920s or 1930s, where previous owners granted the right to the Town to take the gravel that was on the site. Then, after the gravel was depleted, it would revert to their ownership. When we did the master planning for the Transfer Station, we found, to everybody’s surprise, this long-forgotten clause that was in this “long ago agreement” was found and we needed to go through a “quitclaim process.” We found that these women became part of the New England Home for Women which was subject to fraud some 20 or 30 years ago and went out of existence. The Wentworth Home in Portsmouth found out about this right by a quitclaim process, because we figured no one would care. We wound up in a lawsuit that was settled in December, he said. Editor’s note: In fact, it was the Town of Rye that had filed the lawsuit, petitioning the Superior Court to quiet title. See the documents at the link above, and case 218-2016-CV-00612 in Rockingham Superior Court. Selectman Musselman continued, saying that the Town had since granted an easement right to the owner of the property behind, and through this piece of land, having no idea of this potential right. They had no other access to their existing home. It was settled through mediation. I don’t think the title moved. Michael Donovan can address that, he said.
With regard to the other two issues, there was never any intent on either of them for the Board of Selectman to take action without Town Meeting approval, Selectman Musselman said. For almost every issue we’ve addressed for the past eleven years, we’ve brought issues of significant to Town Meeting even when we had the ability to make decisions ourselves, he said.
What this
misguided warrant article would preclude us from doing is, in issues where
there are minor adjustments of slivers of land, amounting to a tenth of an acre
or so, where we have to adjust rights-of-way, it would require us to take that
back to Town Meeting which would be a waste of time, he said. Editor’s
note: In fact, the Selectmen are never
authorized to abandon rights-of-way belonging to the Town without a Town
Meeting vote. See N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann.
(“RSA”) 231:43, Marrone v. Town of Hampton, 123 N.H. 729, 734
(1983). In the past, Town Meeting
approval has been sought to abandon right-of-way and, at the same, authorize
the Selectmen to convey the underlying land by quitclaim deed. See Articles 11 and 12, 2013 Town Meeting,
available at http://www.town.rye.nh.us/Pages/RyeNH_Clerk/2013results.pdf.
Selectman Musselman said that his first thought was to amend the article to provide a dollar threshold. However, he thinks that we are better off amending it as he has moved, but with the understanding that anything of significance would be brought to the voters anyway. While Peter’s heart is in the right place, the rationale exists in his mind and in order to conduct the Town’s business properly we would need this original article, and therefore the proposed amendment, he said.
Shawn Crapo moved the question. Peter Crawford noted that he had his hand up. Moderator Eaton asked for a show of hands and then said that, while he thought that the two-thirds had probably been reached, he would take a manual count. He asked Randy Crapo to count the side to his right and Shawn Crapo the side to his left. Shawn Crapo reported 5 votes in favor, including himself. Randy Crapo reported 23 votes in favor, including himself. Moderator Eaton reported two votes in favor on the stage, giving a total of 30 votes. Shawn Crapo reported 8 votes against and Randy Crapo reported 10 votes against. Moderator Eaton reported that the vote was 30-18 which is not a two-thirds majority. He allowed debate to continue.
Peter Crawford said that, while this is legal, it completely guts the warrant article. Selectman Musselman was the one, a few minutes ago, perhaps in connection with the dog ordinance, who made the assertion that the matter should not be taken away from the voters, he said. Because the 2002 warrant article refers to both purchase and sale, as worded, this could also reverse what had been voted last year by a fairly significant margin prohibiting the sale of property by the Selectmen. It would go back and reaffirm what was done in 2002, arguably undoing what the voters agreed to last year. Editor’s note: See 2016 Warrant Article 24, which passed 841-588. That warrant article requires Town Meeting approval prior to the sale of Town property. Mr. Crawford asked that the amendment be voted down.
Mr. Crawford said that Selectman Musselman talked about a “quitclaim settlement.” The actual term is a “quitclaim deed.” Everyone who has ever played Monopoly knows that a deed relates to a property and its ownership. The ownership of the property was transferred. Although it was part of a legal settlement, money was paid for the property. It was an acquisition of property, he said.
(22:25 elapsed)
Steven Borne said that, when the Conservation Commission was established there was money that was earmarked for buying land. I have heard at Selectmen’s meetings that there is no account for spending and that something cannot be done. “Where did the $75,000 come from, and when these things come up, where does that money come from if there isn’t budget money allocated to it?,” he asked.
Town
Attorney Donovan said that the $75,000 came out of the Town’s “litigation
reserve.” The Town carries on its books,
an amount of money that is used for settling litigation, if necessary. The amount was established on the books by
the auditors in consultation with me, as legal counsel, as to what the cases
may be. That’s where the money came
from. Editor’s note: The creation of a
reserve on the books of the Town is an accounting entry that bears no
relationship to, and is not a substitute for, an appropriation by the
voters. With certain exceptions, none of
which appear to be applicable here, no Board of Selectmen or other officer,
employee or agency may lawfully pay, or agree to pay, an amount in excess of
that appropriated for a particular purpose, or for which no appropriation has
been made. See N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. (“RSA”)
32:8.
But, in
terms of the confusion that Mr. Crawford is trying to create with regard to the
settlement, Attorney Donovan said, the town discovered a cloud on the title
with respect to the 1904 deed that had a “reverter” clause in it. When we located the parties who had the
rights, we filed a “quiet title” action.
The town, through 20 years of adverse possession, actually owned
it. Editor’s
note: See the deed at http://ryecivicleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Deed1904.pdf
(second hand-written paragraph). For its
part, Wentworth Senior Living asserted that it could not possibly have known
that the gravel had been depleted, because it was below ground. That
was what the litigation was about, Attorney Donovan said. The quitclaim deed is a deed but it is
nothing more than a release of interest of whatever interest the grantor of the
deed may have. That could be no
interest. The Board of Selectmen got an
appraisal for the one acre of seven acres of the Transfer Station site. The appraisal was for $160,000. The Town settled the case for $75,000 taken
from the litigation reserve, all completely legal and transparent, he
said. Editor’s note: The appraisal states
that “[i]t is the appraiser’s opinion that finding a buyer at any price for the
subject as a residential house lot ‘as is’ would be very unlikely,” owing to
the collection of water on the site and other factors. The appraisal arrives at the $160,000 only
after concluding that the “highest and best” use of the parcel is as part of
the Transfer Station. Notwithstanding
the fact that the parcel is in the Single Residence District, the appraisal
proceeded to value it based on an assumed light industrial use that only the
Town would be able to take advantage of.
See Rye Zoning Ordinance section 203.2 D (municipal uses within the
Single Residence District are permitted by special exception). This is not an appraisal based on fair market
value, but rather on circular reasoning.
Ray Jarvis said that we are not dealing with history, but going forward. While in the past the Selectmen may have brought these issues to a Town vote, the power is being given to future Boards of Selectmen whose actions may not be predictable. I don’t like the idea that they can purchase and sell land. The flip side of that is the need for flexibility. I would think that lower valued purchases and sales should be allowed to allow timely facilitation of transactions. However, I do not like them having the ability with respect to significant purchases and sales, he said.
Selectman Musselman said that the statutes provide for a process. First, the concept must be offered to the Conservation Commission and the Planning Board for review and recommendation. There have to be two public hearings held at least two, but not more than fourteen, days apart, and upon the written petition of 50 voters the decision may be put off to Town Meeting. That process in place in the event that a future board of “rogue Selectmen,” as Mr. Jarvis described, wanted to go ahead and do something without Town approval. Editor’s note: The process is set forth in 41:14-a. This process was not followed with respect to the Transfer Station land.
(29:22 elapsed)
Mae Bradshaw asked how the proposed sale of the Parsonage, for one dollar would have fit into what had just been described.
Selectman Musselman said he did not believe that they proposed to do that. We never got to that point, he said.
Tom King asked about a yet-to-be-discussed article to authorize the sale of a couple of surplus trucks. He asked whether that was a legal requirement or whether it was just out of the goodness of the Selectmen’s hearts. That’s peanuts compared to land, he said.
Selectman Musselman said that the article refers only to surplus town equipment that is not traded in.
Mr. King said that we’re being asked to authorize the sale of a couple of trucks, but you don’t want us to be able to vote on buying a $1 million piece of property.
Selectman Musselman said that there are not asking to buy $1 million of land without Town Meeting approval. We have land deals that are insignificant. The sale of the Parsonage for one dollar would be significant. The judgment should be with the Board of Selectmen with the proviso that the processes are in place if the Selectmen decided to spend $1 million. That would require an appropriation, he said.
Selectman Jenness asked for clarification on the reference to Article 36 on the sale of equipment.
Mr. King asked again whether it was a legal requirement to obtain Town Meeting approval to sell the surplus trucks.
Selectman Jenness responded that it was a legal requirement.
Alan Gould said that Selectman Musselman had described the rather significant process that is involved when the Town buys or sells real property. That is not in effect for trucks. There are lots of checks and balances when town real property is involved and I do not know why we would want to hinder the Selectmen, he said.
(34:05 elapsed)
Sam Winebaum asked about small purchases, rights-of-way, and lot line adjustments. He asked how much money is involved with those.
Selectman Musselman said that the only two instances that he can recall. There was a land swap at the roundabout. There was also an adjustment of Old Ferry Landing Road. A road from the 1600s was moved. Editor’s note: See 2013 Articles 11 and 12. Both of those went through a very public process, he said. Selectman Jenness said that she did not think that there was any money involved. Town Attorney Donovan agreed. He referred to a situation 20 years ago where property was transferred for the Town Museum. I do not believe any money changed hands, he said.
(36:52 elapsed)
Mr. Gould called the question. The motion passed.
The amendment passed.
Hearing no further discussion on Article 31, Moderator Eaton ordered it to appear on the ballot as amended.
The motion by Mr. Gould to restrict reconsideration, seconded by Randy Crapo, carried.
Article
33: Younger Family Housing Committee
(38:35 elapsed)
Moderator Eaton read the warrant article.
Paula Tsetsilas addressed the warrant article. She said that she and her husband have a seventh grader, a fifth grader and a Kindergartener. We moved here six years ago from Portsmouth, she said. They decided that the most important thing for their family was the gift of education. After a lot of research, we ended up in Rye because of the excellence of the schools, she said. Like many who have moved here we made sacrifices in the size of our home, she said.
I am now a seasoned parent, but I am concerned about what I have seen, which is the declining enrollment and its effect on the Town and the schools. I have done research and looked at the 2008 housing assessment and identified at least 30 available lots with 20 acres or more in Rye. These are lots that are not set aside for conservation or owned by the Town. There is land in Rye and we have to dig a little deeper, she said. She spoke about the book “Community and Consequences” by Peter Francese. He is very concerned about our Town. Along the way, I learned about a conceptual proposal for Work Force Housing on Route 1. That could potentially bring in 15 students. That is not enough, but it is a start, she said.
Ms. Tsetsilas showed a graph indicating a projected loss, over nine years, of 156 students at the two schools. That is 30 percent of the 2011 population. By 2026, the enrollment at the Junior High will be down 54 percent. However, Greenland is projected to increase 22 percent. The reason is housing prices. The average price for a house in Rye in 2016 was over $800,000. In Greenland, prices are almost $300,000 less. The demographics are not helping. According to Peter Francese, New Hampshire is the second oldest state in the nation, tied with Vermont. Maine is the first. New Hampshire is the most rapidly aging. Forty three percent of Rye’s population is 55 and older. Only one in four households has children under eighteen. The average age of women is 50, and only one in five women is of child bearing age.
Ms. Tsetsilas showed a graph of the cost per student that is rising. It is difficult to sustain a cost that is high, so I am worried that we will not be able to sustain the level of education that we have been able to in the past, she said.
Ms. Tsetsilas said that she is proposing to form a committee to find a way to bring younger families into Rye, including identifying new lots for housing with prices that are competitive with surrounding towns. Developer incentives, zoning alterations (including possibly minimum lot sizes of less than an acre and a half) may be appropriate. There is no money involved. We are talking about intellectual capital. We owe it to our children. I am afraid that we are becoming a town that is great to retire in, great to vacation in, but not to raise families in, she said. She asked the Selectmen to reconsider their recommendation as it will appear on the ballot.
(49:25 elapsed)
Ms. Tsetsilas said that she had a motion to change the language. She said that the changes tighten up the language so that there are not as many loose ends. It refers to the Selectmen, rather than the town, authorizing the Committee. It clarifies that the 54 percent decline applies to the Junior High. It makes the membership more specific, including one realtor, one member of the Conservation Commission or other land preserving organization, one elementary school parent, one junior high parent, the Selectmen and one member of each of the School Board, Planning Committee (sic) and Budget Committee, each appointed by the Chairman. Interested applicants should submit a resume to the Selectmen no later than March 22 for selection by March 31. The first meeting would be April 14, with a report by October 16.
(51:10 elapsed)
Moderator Eaton read the proposed amendment. It also referred to membership of no fewer than four, and no greater than eight, members.
Peter Crawford said that he understood that the members of the various boards would be appointed by their boards, but asked who would appoint the other members.
Ms. Tsetsilas clarified that the Selectmen would make these choices.
Ray Jarvis referred to large efforts at great cost being undertaken, but often these are based on subtle premises that are not even recognized. First, why is fewer children in the schools a negative? There are private schools with a fraction of the number of kids at Rye Junior High and they do fine. The numbers, by themselves, are not the critical factor. Secondly, if the number of students drops the costs stay the same, except for reductions in staff or material costs. The premise is that the cost increases or the quality of the education must decline. I see no proof for that premise, he said.
Ms. Tsetsilas stated that, in our view, a healthy number of students is needed. It is becoming more and more difficult to field sports teams in Rye. Parents either send their children to Portsmouth to play or pay for them to play in competitive clubs which fragments the community. She stated that she has heard it stated in meetings that, if the number of students declines, the school budget should decline as well. That would hurt our education because we have a set of fixed costs and there are children with special needs so the core curriculum is being sacrificed. We are starting to see some of those changes.
(59:10 elapsed)
Jaci Grote said that she supports the warrant article because it is important that we have a diverse community. This is the first time in a long time that someone young has come to talk to the Town about an article that they put together. It is not a commitment, we are just asking them to look into something.
Moderator Eaton reminded everyone that the amendment was what was under consideration.
Sam Winebaum suggested a future friendly amendment adding citizens at large who are not parents or members of committees. The energy here is good and this is an essential task. A dramatically aging community is not healthy. Housing prices are the big problem, he said.
Ms. Tsetsilas said that she would entertain the friendly amendment.
Moderator Eaton asked Mr. Winebaum to be more specific.
Mr. Winebaum offered an amendment to increase the maximum members to 12 and to include four citizens at large as well.
Moderator Eaton read the proposed amendment. Mr. Marion agreed
Randy Crapo said that there may not be anyone from the Budget Committee or any of the other “factors” who want to serve. The Committee may also suggest that the school population not be increased. You run that risk, he said.
Mr. Murphy called the question. The motion carried.
Moderator Eaton then called for a vote. The motion to amend passed.
(66:40 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman said that they had been asked to change their non-recommendation. I was shocked when I first saw this. We have spent more than $10 million to conserve land and retain our rural character. Behind all that is the understanding that residential development increases the tax rate. Every home with children in it costs far more to educate the children than it raises in taxes. It is not close. I am not sure that this basic assumption is shared by the voters. The citizens committee may be premature. In the first instance it should be debated by the School Board. They are relatively early on in addressing this decline. The School Board needs to assess how quality education can be maintained with the declining enrollment. If it relates to land use decisions, this committee is the wrong forum. That needs to be before the Planning Board, not before this diverse committee, he said.
Selectman Jenness said that it’s wonderful to have the discussion, but ultimately it’s in the wrong forum. The Selectmen don’t deal with developer incentives, zoning changes or modification of the Master Plan. It needs to start with Long Range Planning and the Planning Board.
Jeanne Low said that she taught at Portsmouth Middle School for over twenty years. She had Craig Musselman’s son, who was an excellent student, but that is beside the point, she said. She stated that she lived through the departure of Pease Air Force Base. That represented about a third of the school population. That left the haves and the have nots in Portsmouth. The entire middle class left. We lost some teachers. Some had been there fifteen years. We also lost programs. Portsmouth High School is not as good as it once was, she said. She said that she applauds Ms. Tsetsilas. If nothing else comes of it, it will get us to look at the crux of the problem, which is the high cost of living in Rye. It might be in the form of Work Force Housing or some other incentive, she said. There was applause.
(74:05 elapsed)
Shawn Crapo said that he agrees that something needs to be done. From a Budget Committee standpoint there are costs whether there are two students or more. There is a certain number where resources need to be added, so there is a balance there. We have also seen quite a trend of people pulling their kids and sending them to private schools. There are varying reasons. Some disagree with the core curriculum. I don’t think that it hurts to start the process. We know that people tend to move to Rye because of the schools. With regard to the aging, we will all meet our demise at some point and someone will buy our properties, so the demographics may change. Before the schools are combined some sort of process needs to be gone through. There was applause.
Scott
Marion said that he is also Chairman of the School Board. The schools are good. There aren’t any that are in need of
improvement. “People aren’t leaving now
to go to private school in any bigger numbers than they have over the
years. They have just shifted from
Berwick to Heronfield for the most part.
It has stayed pretty stable.” Editor’s note: That is incorrect. The ratio of Junior High (grades 6-8)
enrollments compared to Elementary School enrollments in grades 3-5 three years
earlier (i.e. the same cohort) has been dropping steadily since 2012, declining
from over 100 percent to approximately 80 percent this year. See page 31 of the RCL budget presentation
available at http://ryecivicleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RCL-2017-Budget-Analysis-pre-Town-Meeting-Final.pdf
Mr. Marion said that they have been looking into this issue. The enrollment projections that we use tend to be conservative, suggesting that the enrollment declines could be bigger than we are projecting. It has increased the urgency with which we are looking at this. We need work force housing not just to bring more kids into the schools but so people who work for the town can live in the town. Many of us don’t want to just live in a retirement community. I agree that whatever comes out of this must end up at the feet of the Planning Board. You can have good schools with smaller numbers of kids. They would look different than the schools that we have now. Towns die without schools, he said. There was applause.
Steven Borne said that the Selectmen are not being asked to run the committee but to exercise leadership by changing their votes. In terms of passing this to the Planning Board, Mr. Borne said we should look at how they are doing with the Master Plan. They have a lot on their plate. For many people, that is not a best in class process. As Paula said, it is not so much about increasing the numbers but getting to a healthy state. A lot of effort is being spent on reductions. There may be step reductions, but there will be multiple years to plan. The planning would allow more time to be spent on improving the education. I’ve been coaching for six or seven years. It’s harder and harder to get enough kids. There are great one room school houses, but that is not what keeps the prices high and keeps people wanting to live in Rye, he said. There was applause.
(81:41 elapsed)
The question was called. There was a show of cards. Moderator Eaton said that the motion had carried. Peter Crawford raised a point of order, saying that the vote was close to two-thirds, but he was not sure that it was over that. He asked for a hand count. Moderator Eaton asked for Shawn Crapo and Randy Crapo to count the cards. There were 33 in favor and 15 opposed. Moderator Eaton declared that that was a two-thirds majority and ended debate. Editor’s note: The percentage was 68.75 percent, only slightly over the 66.7 percent that is required to end debate. Moderator Eaton ordered Article 33 to appear on the ballot as amended.
Article
35: Trail Access Feasibility Committee
(83:50 elapsed)
Moderator Eaton read the warrant article.
Brian Murphy presented. He offered an amendment to include the Conservation Commission in the second paragraph identifying members. Burt Dibble seconded. Mr. Murphy explained that the trails fall under the auspices of the Conservation Commission. It was an oversight not to include them and this amendment takes care of that.
Mike Garvan of the Conservation Commission offered a friendly amendment. He explained that he had come before the Conservation Commission. They want to see this through with the petitioners. The Town Forest is owned by the Town and overseen by the Conservation Commission, however the Rockingham County Conservation District also holds an easement that is restrictive and specifies which uses are allowed and which are not. I don’t think that a standing Committee is needed, but we’d be happy to have Mr. Murphy appear before the Conservation Commission. A formal committee is probably overreach as we are prepared to work with him, he said. Mr. Garvan offered a friendly amendment to change the language to “to see if the Board of Selectmen will consider…” the establishment of the Trail Access Feasibility Committee. Mr. Murphy accepted the friendly amendment as did Dr. Dibble.
Mel Low said that Parsons Park goes back into the 1970s. The Town Forest is a jewel and there are already plenty of trails. Only a few of us from the Parsons Park Corporation are still around. One of them is Priscilla Jenness. Probably 100 people a day use it. I use it twice a day. I can walk my dog without a leash. I don’t want to see any more trails, he said.
The question was called and the motion to call the question carried.
The amendment passed.
Mr. Murphy said that it is a warrant article to increase access and establish a direct and more commonly used path. This will link students, athletes and families to the Recreation Area. The trails are already protected by the easement. This Committee would not change that. Legally they could not. It would need to operate within the restrictions of the easement. He asked the fellow citizens to support the warrant article and noted that there was no expenditure required.
Ray Jarvis said that the committee referred to by Mr. Low consisted of Dane Crook, who moved out of town, Jim Raines, him, and a representative of Rye Rec. It took three years and was very stressful. Prior to those three years, the Town Forest had been considered as a location for the Police Department and the Fire Department. Rec. wanted to cut the forest in half. That went on from 1999-2002. I can walk that trail anytime. Why are we widening it? There might be something to be done with two points. The whole thing would take about a day. It needs a little work and some signs, he said.
Jane Holway said that she was one of the four surviving members of the Parsons Park Committee. It was saved for what it is. Leave it alone, she said.
Peter Crawford said that the language “to see if the Selectmen will consider the establishment…” means to him that they could consider it and decide that it doesn’t need to be established. He wondered if that was what Mr. Murphy intended by agreeing to the amendment. Mr. Murphy confirmed.
Selectman Musselman moved to change “Board of Selectmen” to “Conservation Commission.” He argued that the Selectmen have nothing to do with the Town Forest.
The question on the amendment was called. The motion to call the question carried.
The motion to amend carried.
Debra Holloway said that she opposed the formation of the committee. The trails are clear and marked with color coded signs. I don’t think anyone gets lost. There is a clear trail from Parsons Field to Rye Rec. There is parking at both places. We have what we need, she said.
Jaci Grote called the question. The motion to call the question carried.
Moderator Eaton ordered Article 35 to appear on the ballot as amended.
Article
36: Sale of surplus equipment (104:58
elapsed)
Moderator Eaton read the article.
Selectman Jenness said that she did not remember how long it had been since there was anything to put into an auction. They are usually odds and ends that can’t be used. It is there if we need it, she said.
There was no discussion so Moderator Eaton ordered Article 36 to appear on the ballot as written.
Article 37: Other business (106:05 elapsed)
Moderator Eaton read the article.
Someone said “Go Pats.” Moderator Eaton made a motion to that effect, which carried.
Moderator Eaton called the meeting adjourned until the Town Election on March 14. He said that he would have to check, but believed that a record may have been set.