NOTES OF JULY 28, 2014 RYE BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
Provided by the Rye Civic League
Present: Selectmen Mills. Musselman and Jenness. Also present: Town Administrator Michael Magnant, Town Finance Director Cyndi Gillespie, Fire Chief Skip Sullivan, Police Chief Kevin Walsh, Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy, Town Clerk Beth Yeaton (left after swearing in of new firefighter/paramedic), Assessor David Hynes (left after Philbrick easement discussion).
Persons present from the public included: Peter Crawford, Joe Cummins, Larry Rocha.
Editor’s
note: For ease in finding particular
sections using the archived video and audio on the Town website, the elapsed
time is indicated. Use the slider and
the elapsed time indicated at the bottom of the video window to fast forward to
the desired section.
Videos on the Town website may currently be
accessed at www.town.rye.nh.us by
clicking on “Town Hall Streaming” at the bottom left of the screen. Follow the link for “Town Hall Live
Streaming,” then find the meeting by date under “Previous.”
The video starts
at 6:42:44 (0:00 elapsed)
Summary
1.
Site walk scheduled to review
discretionary easement for James Philbrick.
5.
Oldest resident apparently found. Boston Post Cane to be awarded.
Announcement of Town Hall Committee Public Session (0:29 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman announced the public meeting on August 5 to review
where the planning is so far. He
referred to a “separate, smaller office building in the back.”
Consent Agenda, Saunders and Multiple Sclerosis Event Permits (1:36
elapsed)
The two event permits
were unanimously approved without discussion.
Minutes (2:01 elapsed)
The minutes of the July
14, 2014 meeting were approved with changes, including changing the distance of
the crosswalk requested at the Dunes from 10 feet as stated at the prior
meeting to 100 feet. It was noted that
the agenda incorrectly referred to June 14.
The minutes of the
first non-public session of July 14, 2014 were approved with a change from
“position” to “permanent position.” It was noted that the
Selectmen were taking action on an interim position. Editor’s
note: See later in these notes. It was announced that an interim Fire Chief
was being appointed. The minutes of
the second non-public session on July 14 were approved without changes.
Discretionary easement for James Philbrick (5:24 elapsed)
James Philbrick indicated that an application for a conservation
easement had been submitted in April and that a discretionary easement from the
Town of Rye with a 10 year term had been put together. Selectman Jenness
noted a need for a larger map that would show the relationship with the
conservation land and the wellhead. Mr. Philbrick responded that the wellhead was on the other side
of Grove Rd.
There was further
discussion from Mr. Philbrick’s attorney, “Chris” and
a reference to the land having been owned by Charles Rand.
Selectman Musselman asked where the access was, which led to a
discussion of the value to the public value of such access. Chris stated that Alden Philbrick
was willing to grant a conservation easement.
Selectman Musselman asked about parking for
the public.
There was also discussion regarding whether
or not hunting would be allowed.
Selectman Musselman referred to a need to have
the Conservation Commission review the proposed easement.
(15:00 elapsed)
Selectman Mills quipped that Assessor Hynes
would need a bulletproof vest after stirring up this issue. Editor’s
note: See the notes of the April 14,
2014 meeting. Mr. Hynes had noted at
that meeting that Mr. Philbrick’s property did not
qualify for assessment at current use rates due to a gap between parcels and
suggested a discretionary easement as a way to achieve the same effect.
A site walk was
tentatively scheduled for August 11.
Jessica Downing appointed as new
Firefighter/Paramedic (17:43 elapsed)
Skip Sullivan noted
that David Kornechuk was retiring effective August
1. Jessica Downing will replace him and
they will now have firefighter/paramedic coverage on all four shifts. If all of these persons are available, this
will mean coverage 24/7. Ms. Downing has
been working in Manchester as a paramedic, and resides there. This will be a provisional appointment as the
CPAT (physical agility test) has not yet been taken by Ms. Downing.
Town Clerk Beth Yeaton noted that Ms. Downing had not yet signed all of the
required forms. Editor’s note: In particular
2012 Warrant Article 26 requires that each Town employee sign a form relating
to conflicts of interest. Ms. Yeaton asked the Selectmen whether she should proceed with
the swearing in, which Selectman Musselman agreed
to. Ms. Yeaton
then proceeded to swear in Ms. Downing to the provisional position.
The Selectmen then
voted unanimously to enter into the employment agreement, on a provisional
basis, with Ms. Downing.
Selectman Mills then
asked Ms. Downing, who had left immediately after taking the oath with Chief
Sullivan, to come back in. He asked
whether she had any questions for the Selectmen after being “rudely
interrupted” by the Fire Chief. He told
Ms. Downing to be thankful that she only had a month to go with the current
Fire Chief. Pointing to someone in the
audience, Fire Chief Sullivan asked Selectman Mills whether he had met
Jessica’s father, the Sheriff. He stated
that, if not, he probably would, one of these days. Editor’s
note: Mike Downing is the Rockingham
County Sheriff. There was then a
discussion between Selectman Mills and the Sheriff regarding bags in Selectman
Mills’ truck. Following that, a person
appearing to be Sheriff Downing is observed leaving the courtroom on the video.
Award of paving contract to Bourassa
Construction (24:15 elapsed)
Public Works Director
McCarthy announced that Bourassa was the low bidder, and later in the
conversation, that Pike was the runner up.
No motion to award the contract was needed as Bourassa was the low
bidder.
This led to discussion
regarding which areas would be paved.
Mr. McCarthy referred to paving needed at the Parsonage Apartments at a
cost of $6000 to $10,000.
Mr. McCarthy stated that, this year, the
rest of Washington Rd. would be paved from where they had left off at Central
Rd. to the Washington/Wallis split.
Central Rd. from Causeway to, they hope, Perkins, would also be
paved. This led to a question from
Selectman Mills about drainage in the area.
Selectman Musselman noted that there was a
proposal at one time to run a drain pipe from the water tank on Central Rd. to
Love Ln. He assumes that that is not
part of the drainage plan any more. He
also noted that, in a bad flood, there are 4-5 houses along Huntervale
that are only accessible by boat.
Mr. McCarthy stated that the section of
Brackett Rd. from Washington to Geremia would also be
paved. He also stated that the
Congregational Church’s front driveway needs paving. It is their driveway, but Town property. That led to a discussion regarding who was
responsible for the paving.
Mr. McCarthy stated that the budget is very
tight this year with all of the paving being planned.
Firefighter’s Association Boot Drive (35:27 elapsed)
This benefit was
unanimously approved.
Appointment of Beverly Giblin as an alternate
on Heritage Commission (37:01 elapsed)
The matter was tabled
as Selectman Mills had not met the person.
Resignation of Police Officer Scott Sullivan (37:49 elapsed)
Police Chief Kevin
Walsh reported that Officer Sullivan had joined the Sheriff’s Department. The primary reason for the resignation had to
do with the hours, Chief Walsh stated.
With the Sheriff’s Department, weekend work is only required every eight
weeks, while the Rye Police Department is on a “four and three” rotating
schedule. He had been with the
department for six years. The motion to
accept the resignation with regret carried unanimously.
Freddy Millett motorcycle accident and new person to do mowing (39:07
elapsed)
Mr. McCarthy reported
that Mr. Millett had been injured in a motorcyle
accident and is not expected to be back this year. He had been mowing the Town’s fields. He would like to hire another retired person
to replace Mr. Millett. The person is
Erik Jones’ stepfather, he said.
Mr. McCarthy reported
that Mr. Millett had sustained injuries to his ribs and sternum and had a lot
of bruises and abrasions. He is at
home. He is having some breathing
problems.
Replacement of fence adjacent to Old Police Station (41:10 elapsed)
Mr. McCarthy reported
that Pete Scofield, who lives next to the Old Police Station had asked whether the town planned to replace the
fence, which had rotted. Mr. McCarthy
had told him no, whereupon Mr. Scofield offered to
pay for a new fence. Mr. McCarthy stated
that he is not sure where the property line is.
Selectman Musselman reported that the consensus of the Town Hall
Committee in the spring had been that the Old Police Station should be
demolished. That will probably be a
warrant article in a future year, not this coming one, he said. Mr. McCarthy indicated that, given the items
stored there, and plans for the Town Hall, he does not believe that this is
feasible without another place being provided for storage.
That led to discussion
as to whether a survey was needed. The
conclusion appeared to be that the letter authorizing the replacement would
indicate that the Town was not acknowledging that the fence constituted the
property line.
Selectman Mills
indicated that the septic system runs onto Mr. Scofield’s
land. It was agreed that the system is
no longer functional.
Town Hall sign (46:36 elapsed)
Selectman Mills
indicated that the sign saying “Town Offices” had faded. He suggested that Norman repaint the sign.
Little League sign (47:31 elapsed)
The matter was tabled.
“The Shack” Event Permit suspended (47:36 elapsed)
Police Chief Walsh
noted a problem with the business’ insurance and the way that the Town was
named as an additional insured. “Wes”
and another individual identified as the owner of “The Shack” were
present. The owner reported that getting
the Town named as an additional insured would only require one day to complete. Chief
Walsh requested that the Shack’s permit be suspended until that had been
done.
Chief Walsh also stated that he had
discovered that an additional event had been scheduled for the prior
weekend. Editor’s note: “The Shack” is
located at the intersection of Wallis Rd. and Ocean Blvd., across from Wallis
Rd. Extension, also known as Pirates Cove beach.
There was then discussion
about whether all of the businesses conducted by “The Shack” had been disclosed
to the insurer, and whether “The Shack” was covered for lessons. The owner indicated that, if insurance for
that was not available, they may decide not to offer lessons.
There was then
discussion about a large event the prior weekend and the fact that “The Shack”
had been acting to coordinate it as a “hub.”
Chief Walsh indicated that a liquor company had been proposing to be
present and there was the question of whether free samples would have been
passed out at “The Shack.” There was
also discussion about the limit of 50 persons on the original permit and
whether the planned event would have exceeded that. There had also been a person organizing Yoga
as part of the event that was positioning the charge as a “donation.” There was then discussion appearing to
indicate that the event had been downsized from what had originally been
planned.
Larry Rocha of the
Beach Committee interjected that Wes had been very helpful and everyone had
been cooperative.
The motion to suspend
the permit until the Chief determines that the insurance is in place carried
unanimously.
Thomas Lambert, former North Hampton Fire Chief to be interim Chief
(58:01 elapsed)
It was announced that
Mr. Lambert would be named as part-time interim Chief. He is the retired Fire Chief of North
Hampton. He will be present in August
and will overlap with Chief Sullivan.
There is no end date specified for Mr. Lambert’s service. The motion to authorize entering into an
employment agreement with Mr. Lambert carried unanimously.
Town disability policy
Town Finance Director
Cyndi Gillespie reported a problem with the Town’s disability policy from
2004. Among other problems, it permitted
sick leave to be drawn down to offset long term disability, which is
illegal. The motion to adopt a
replacement policy carried unanimously.
Gathering for retiring Firefighter David Kornechuk
Chief Sullivan made an
announcement regarding this. This led to
a question by Selectman Mills relating to a week-long class that Mr. Kornechuk had been sent to regarding proper use of the
exercise equipment at the Public Safety Building.
Boston Post Cane to be awarded to 104 year old
resident (63:46 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness related that the old Boston Post newspaper had
presented similar canes to 700 towns. It
was meant to be provided to the oldest living resident. It has become increasingly difficult to
figure out who that person is. Beth is
unable to provide this information and HIPAA prevents the Webster from
disclosing it. A replica of the cane has
been made so that the old one may be placed in the vault. The town policy has been to award the cane to
the oldest resident who has lived in Rye more than 10 years. Return of the cane is required upon death or
removal from town.
Kathy at the Webster
had reported to Selectman Jenness an upcoming 104th
birthday celebration for Robert Mitchell, who lived on Brackett Rd. before
moving to the Webster. She proposed
awarding the cane to him at that time.
Given the age, she does not think that there will be a lot of
competition. She said that the
presentation was to be a surprise.
Selectman Musselman suggested that they vote to award the cane to Mr.
Mitchell. In the event that an older
resident steps forward, another replica can be made, he said.
The motion to award the
cane carried unanimously.
Town flag (69:51 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness reported that she had met with Mike Mittelman regarding this.
There are minor tweaks as to the design (different shade of blue) and
the question of the size and whether there would be grommets installed.
Captain John Smith ceremony
There was discussion about this ceremony and
who would speak. The governor and
Senator Stiles will be present.
Selectman Mills stated that, since Mae Bradshaw would be in charge, it
would be best that he not attend. Editor’s note: Ms. Bradshaw was his opponent in the 2014
election.
Adjournment (72:36 elapsed)
Whereupon
the meeting adjourned.