NOTES OF DECEMBER 28, 2015 RYE BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
Final Revision B – Provided by the Rye Civic League
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 6:33:56 p.m. (0:00 elapsed).
Present (clockwise around table): Town Administrator Michael Magnant, Selectmen Musselman, Jenness and Mills (arrived late, at 6:44 p.m.), Town Finance Director Cyndi Gillespie.
Also present and sitting in the audience: Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy, Police Chief Kevin Walsh.
Persons present from the public included: Steven Borne, Mae Bradshaw, Joe Cummins, Burt Dibble, Paul Goldman, Mel Low.
Summary
Announcements (0:00 elapsed)
It was announced that
the Town Offices would be closed on January 1, 2016.
Correspondence relating to Trustees of Trust Funds
There were three
letters relating to this: The
resignation letter of Andy Mahoney, the request for appointment by Chris Nee,
and the letter of Chairman of the Trustees, recommending Mr. Nee. The appointment of Mr. Nee was approved on an
interim basis through the March 2016 election was unanimously approved. It was ascertained that Mr. Nee was desirous
of running in that election.
Consent Agenda (4:33 elapsed)
The three Consent
Agenda items relating to the expenditure of funds received by the Heritage
Commission in the amount of $300, the approval of an assessing contract with
MRI, and increase of the mileage rate to 54 cents per mile to conform with the
IRS increase, effective January 1, 2016, were unanimously approved.
Minutes (5:14 elapsed)
The
minutes of the December 14, 2015 were unanimously approved with a change. The minutes of the non-public session of the
same day were unanimously approved without changes.
Abatement, Michael Brown, 1134 Ocean Blvd. (5:52 elapsed)
This abatement request,
for map 194 lot 64, reducing the assessment from $84,300 to $38,300, was
unanimously approved. Selectman
Musselman stated that the property included an uninsulated two car garage
without electricity that had been assessed as a dwelling.
Mosquito Control Commission, 2016 RFP (7:10 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman stated that the RFP
incorporated comments made during budget discussions. There had been problems getting the vendor to
file reports. The RFP suggests that the
vendor would not be paid unless the reports are filed. No motion was needed, he said.
Letter from Heritage Commission, regarding
Town Hall warrant article (8:39 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness read
the letter from Mae Bradshaw, Chairman of the Commission, into the record. The letter urged the Selectmen not to advance
any option that included demolition of Town Hall. The letter asserts that if demolition is an
option no grants can be applied for. A
copy of an article relating to a $100,000 grant for the Oceanic Hotel was sent
under separate cover, according to the letter.
Editor’s note: The Oceanic Hotel is on Star Island, in
Rye. Both the Rye Town Hall and the
Oceanic Hotel were selected for the Seven to Save program this year. The letter asserted that a warrant article
including demolition as an option would undermine the Seven to Save designation
and set back grant possibilities for a minimum of two years due to the timing
of application cycles. The letter stated
that it was within the power of the Selectmen to prevent this loss of time by
excluding the pursuit of an option that the citizens had already indicated was
not acceptable.
Ms. Bradshaw spoke to
add details, mentioning the possibility of grants for needed structural
improvements to Town Hall. She stated
that the State is anxious to help the Town and the survey clearly indicated
that demolition would not pass. If one
of the options in the warrant article involves demolition, grant applications
would be useless, as the State would allocate funds to projects that don’t face
the risk of demolition. The focus should
be at looking at paying for things that need to be done to the building, she
said.
Selectman Jenness
stated that she had looked at the figures from the survey earlier in the
day. Only 21 percent are in favor of
demolition. That is the lowest figure in
the survey, she said.
Ms. Bradshaw added that
the 21 percent would need to be increased to 60 percent. Editor’s
note: If bond financing is a part of a
Town Hall warrant article, it would need approval by 60 percent of voters. Ms. Bradshaw added that a warrant article
including demolition was an unnecessary obstacle. Checks totaling $1800 from the community had
been received the day of the meeting to support preserving the Town Hall
building.
Selectman Musselman
acknowledged that a clear majority in the survey did not favor demolition. Selectman Jenness stated that the number was
57 percent.
Selectman Musselman
stated that he believes that there was a misunderstanding. The warrant article presented is not
advancing any of the options and is not asking the people to support any of
them. The concept is to get to 60
percent, which would be difficult on all fronts. There is a need to get more information on
the costs of the various alternatives.
There are disagreements within the Town.
Some think that it would be far less expensive to demolish the Town Hall
and build new. He does not agree with
them. The difference is not large and it
could go either way. After sitting on
the Town Hall Committee, he does not believe that a decision on a direction can
be made until that input is available.
There is a misconception that this is being advanced so that Town Hall
can be demolished. He does not believe
that demolition will be chosen. He
believes that Concord could grant conditional approval. The suggestion that demolition not be
included in the warrant article is destructive of the process that has been
pursued for the past year.
(17:22 elapsed)
Paul Goldman, Chairman
of the Town Hall Committee stated that there was no predisposition towards any
particular solution. He acknowledged
that there is a lot of opposition to tearing down Town Hall, but there is the
opposing tension of cost. He is in favor
of continuing the process as it is proceeding.
If the process is good, the “right” answer will be arrived at. If the chosen alternative is to renovate and
use the Town Hall, people are very interested in what might otherwise be
done. Last time, the warrant article
failed in part due to the cost.
Steven Borne asked how
the wording could be changed so that it was clear that one of the options was
not tearing down the Town Hall.
Selectman Musselman
stated that the misconception was in Concord, not with Rye voters. He stated that the option of a tear down of
the building needed to be included.
Selectman Jenness
stated that the heart of the matter was the fear of some that, if tear down is
a lot less expensive, it may become a foregone conclusion. However, not enabling the people to know the
costs will hang up this process “for eternity.”
Ms. Bradshaw cautioned
that grant money was likely to go to support projects where those requesting
the money are diligently seeking to restore buildings.
Selectman Musselman
stated that Rye would not be at that point during 2016 in terms of its
deliberative process.
Ms. Bradshaw asked why
the cost of demolition was being studied when the citizens have already said
that they do not want this.
Selectman Musselman
stated that it was because citizens had said that they wanted a $2 million to
$2.5 million solution, not a $4 million one.
Selectman Mills asked
whether the letter had been approved by the entire Heritage Commission. There was further discussion by Ms. Bradshaw
and Selectman Jenness indicating that the letter had not been prepared prior to
the Heritage Commission meeting, but that the Commission had indicated that it
wanted Ms. Bradshaw to support opposition to the demolition.
Resignation of Mark Parr from Rye Police Department (24:34 elapsed)
It was revealed that
Mr. Parr was resigning to accept a position in Wakefield, MA, his home
town. All were in favor.
There was further
discussion about Mr. Parr. Police Chief
Kevin Walsh indicated that the Police Department was only short one
officer. Selectman Mills called it a
revolving door there.
Chief Walsh stated that there was an
employee who had been out for 15 months on injury leave. It was decided that there would be a
non-public session at the end of the meeting to discuss that further. Chief Walsh indicated that the employee had
been with the Department 12-13 years.
Funding related to Parsons Creek watershed
pollution issues (27:04 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman stated
that they would not be proceeding with an $80,000 warrant article on an as yet
unfocused study on the Parsons Creek watershed.
Selectman Musselman asked whether there were sufficient funds in the
budget to do focused forensic work on beach seeps at Pirates Cove Beach and the
wetland near Marsh Rd. These are the two
hot spots, he said.
Town Finance Director
Cyndi Gillespie stated that there would be $15,000 to $20,000 available in an
environmental fund. Providing further
details, she indicated that $30,000 was available in the Beach Cleaning Fund
which is separate from match funds needed for FB Environmental. Selectman Musselman indicated that that would
be a good start.
Steven Borne suggested
that a lot more be put in the budget. A
lot of what has been spent has been grant money. There has been 16 years of pollution. He stated that a significant pot of money was
needed to really get going after the January 13, 2016 meeting. He argued that a lot of State money had gone
to just writing reports, and that the lack of Town investment could blow up on
the BOS very quickly.
Selectman Musselman
disagreed, stating that it would not blow up quickly. He stated that the suggestion is that they go
after what is known to be a problem very aggressively. What had been suggested was spending a lot of
money for zero water quality improvement.
Editor’s note: This is an apparent reference to the proposal
at the October 26, 2015 meeting that approximately $80,000 be spent to bring in
a consultant from Rhode Island to look at community septic systems.
Selectman Musselman stated that he had been
doing this for 40 years. He stated that
he believes that what they have is adequate and argued that Mr. Borne had not
been present when the difficulty of isolating problems when sewage flows
through sand was discussed.
Mr. Borne stated that he had listened to all
of the meetings and had spent time with Mr. Philbrick to educate himself. A section of the Rye Civic News has been
devoted to the subject, he said.
Following a comment by Selectman Mills, Mr.
Borne explained that the Civic News goes out to more than 1000 persons by
e-mail. Over half of those open it, and
sometimes more than half of those click on something to obtain more
information. Typical opens for other
newsletters are more like 8-12 percent.
The Civic News is delivering much desired information and providing
insights into what people are interested in.
A lot of those people tend to vote.
With Parsons Creek there is a lot of frustration involved in going
through the Town website to obtain information.
The RCL is organizing the scattered postings. The School budget is a 141 page document with
phenomenal information that needed summarization and segmented links to make it
useful.
Ms. Gillespie suggested that there could be
a separate capital outlay line item to track expenditures on the issue. She stated that she was not suggesting an
additional appropriation.
Burt Dibble stated that in the past two
weeks, Selectman Musselman had suggested that the Civic News might be useful.
Selectman Musselman laughed and said that he
had never thought that, because the information was presented after going through
Mr. Borne’s filter. Mr. Borne corrected
Dr. Dibble, stating that is was the Chairman of the Planning Board and a
Conservation Commission member who had indicated the usefulness of the Civic
News.
Selectman Mills stated that the Civic League
was going to go up in flames as it had 20 years earlier.
Septic tank pump out ordinance (40:32 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness read
the proposed warrant article. Selectman
Musselman suggested that the words “septic tank” be added to clarify the
ordinance. He also suggested that it
refer to the Parsons Creek watershed and to adoption by the Health Officer and
the Selectmen.
Town Administrator
Michael Magnant indicated that the process was that there would be a public
hearing at the next meeting. Health
Officer Gail Snow would sign the ordinance prior to then. Mr. Magnant stated that the public hearing
had already been noticed for January 8.
All were in favor of the warrant article as approved.
Town-wide assessment reserve (46:14 elapsed)
Selectman
Jenness read the proposed warrant article, which provided a $30,000 reserve for
town-wide reassessment and appointed the Selectmen as agents to expend the
funds. Mr. Magnant stated that it would
be good to revisit the warrant article as the Budget Committee had
questions. The average citizen might be
inclined to vote against it. He
suggested that it would be better to put the amount in the budget in a
revaluation year. In 2012, $65,000 was
paid for the reassessment.
Selectman Musselman
agreed that he did not think that this warrant article was needed. It appeared that the matter was dropped.
Sale of Parsonage Apartments to the Housing
Partnership for one dollar (47:44 elapsed)
Selectman Jeenness
stated that there would probably be objections to the sale from neighbors and
from the Heritage and Historic District Commissions. She suggested that a committee should be
formed to look further into the options.
In order to do that they would need to decide that the matter would not
be on the ballot this year. Options to
be investigated would be those for the property as well as other options for
senior housing. She stated that she has
a personal concern that adding 6-8 additional units where there is now only a
single unit would create problems with parking.
Mr. Magnant stated that
a lease option had been discussed when the Board of Selectmen had met with
Marty Chapman. Editor’s note: Mr. Chapman is head
of the Housing Partnership, which also controls White Birch, a housing
development near the Rye Airfield on Route 1.
Selectman Jenness stated that she knows that
they want to protect senior residences.
Selectman Musselman
stated that, in the past month, he has looked at the issue more as the possible
use of the Parsonage Apartments property had come up in Town Hall Committee
discussions. Editor’s note: The apartments
are owned by the Town and leased to the Housing Partnership. The lease expires in 2019. This land was acquired in connection with the
Library expansion and the apartments are on the same parcel as is used by the
Library.
Selectman Musselman stated that a member of
the public had suggested that the building be demolished and the Town Hall
built there. However, the building has a
sign on it indicated that the building was constructed in 1810. At the last meeting, Mae Bradshaw had
suggested that the folks in Concord might be even more interested in that
building than the Town Hall. Editor’s note: The reference at the December 14, 2015
meeting was to the Seven to Save program, apparently this is what was meant by
the folks in Concord.
Selectman Musselman continued, stating that
he has concluded that Town Hall would not fit there. Demolition is not an option. There has been no study yet of the option of
utilizing the existing Town Hall as senior housing. He said that the highest and best use of the
Parsonage Apartments is probably its current use. However, the building needs renovation. He is not convinced that the expansion that
Mr. Chapman says is needed would fit on the lot. A slight expansion along with repurposing of
the building needs to be considered. A
committee of approximately five people is needed to look into this. Mel Low, who is sitting in the audience,
should be on that committee, he said.
(54:04 elapsed)
Mel Low stated that he had been on the
original committee. When they had
inspected the building they were horrified at its condition. Their idea was to sell it. He had run for Selectman based on that. He won, but lost the idea as the Town
rejected the sale. The Library convinced
the Town that the land was valuable. It
is probably less than a quarter of an acre.
A grant was obtained to fix it up.
Mr. Low stated that he
had come to the meeting as he understood that a lot of people were bad mouthing
the Housing Partnership. The town is not
organized to manage housing. The job was
given to the Housing Partnership. There
were a few residents who were hard to deal with. The septic system is under the parking lot
and handles the Library, the 1924 Historic Society building and the Parsonage
Apartments. He does not believe that Mr.
Chapman’s expansion idea is feasible. It
might be possible to tear down the garage and put up two units. He has read the report on the condition. It is not that bad, he said.
Selectman Jenness
agreed that the report was very complete.
There was only one person bad mouthing the Housing Partnership, she said.
Mae Bradshaw stated
that, as a taxpayer, she was struggling with the possibility of sale to the
Housing Partnership. According to their
tax returns, they have $4 million in assets.
She asked why the citizens would want to give them the building.
Mr. Low stated that,
when the lease was set up, the payment was set to be close to the taxes that
would otherwise be owed.
Selectman Jenness
stated that a deal would guarantee senior housing and put the building back on
the tax rolls.
Ms. Bradshaw asked why
a particular entity would be picked, instead of an arms length transaction
being arranged. She stated that she had
been told that the Housing Partnership had contributed to the deterioration.
Selectman Musselman
stated that this was not fair. Ms.
Bradshaw stated that this is being talked about.
Mr. Low pointed out
that Mr. Chapman had said that a deal would permit them to apply for
grants. The same grants would probably
also be the case if the lease is extended.
There is also the idea of selling the building but retaining ownership
of the land and leasing the land. That
idea had been dropped.
Selectmen Jenness and
Musselman appeared to agree that a committee would be a good idea.
Mr. Low stated that
there is a 1725 house down the street.
The Historic District is really important.
Selectman Musselman said
that it appeared that they were about to “ditch” another warrant article.
Selectman Jenness
stated that misinformation travels pretty fast.
It can create a bad taste and poison something good, she said.
Mae Bradshaw asked
whether the report on the condition of the building was on the Town
website. Steven Borne stated that he had
not seen it.
Selectman Mills made a
comment about the possibility of it appearing among the Portsmouth files.
Cyndi Gillespie pointed
out that the Housing Partnership’s lease is up in a couple of years and they
are not so crazy about renewing it unless there is funding to remodel the
building.
(62:17 elapsed)
Steven Borne and Selectman Musselman had a
discussion about what exactly Mr. Chapman had said about the willingness of the
Housing Partnership to continue managing the apartments. Mr. Borne stated that he believed that Mr.
Chapman had implied that the Housing Partnership would not want to continue
managing the property unless additional units were added.
Selectman Musselman
made a motion to set up a Parsonage Senior Housing Study Committee with a
charge to be determined, to be formed in March.
Selectman Jenness seconded. Mae
Bradshaw asked whether it would be possible to include someone from the
Historic District Commission. Selectman
Musselman agreed that it should.
Selectman Mills stated that he believes that he is on the Historic
District Commission and would fill that void.
All were in favor of the motion.
Acquisition of parcel north of Public Safety
Building (64:48 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness read
the proposed warrant article, which referred to acquisition of this 1.4 acre
parcel at 541 Washington Rd., to be placed in a land bank for future use. The warrant article included no cost figure,
however it indicated that the cost would include demolition costs. Editor’s
note: One of the five options to be
studied by the architect (a separate warrant article) refers to this parcel.
Selectman Musselman
suggested that the reference to demolition be removed. This would make it an easier sell. It is possible that the Town might hold the
land for 2-3 years and then sell it as is.
He stated that the amount would be filled in prior to the Budget
Committee meeting. That would be voted
on at the Board of Selectmen meeting on the eighth. Editor’s
note: That is a Friday. According to the Town website, the next Board
of Selectmen meeting is on Monday, January 11, 2016. All were in favor of approving the
warrant article without the sentence referring to demolition.
Mae Bradshaw asked
whether the property had been appraised and whether the appraisal was
available.
Selectman Musselman
stated that the appraisal was done by the owner, but paid for by the Town. The owner selected the appraiser and the Town
agreed to the selection. It is not
appropriate to discuss the appraisal amount at this time, he said.
Steven Borne asked how
the acquisition of this property would tie in with the Master Plan, including its
goal of a semi-rural town. Selectman
Mills stated that, when the Master Plan was drafted, it was not realized that
the owner of this parcel would die.
Selectman Jenness stated that the Master Plan is just a guide.
Burt Dibble stated that
he did not understand how the Town could have paid for the appraisal and it is
not being made available to the public.
Selectman Mills
responded that there was an agreement between the owner and the Town, which was
pushing the idea.
Selectman Musselman
stated that the appraisal would be made public.
The matter is currently in discussion, he said. They have not been in direct contact with the
estate to discuss making the appraisal public, but they would make such
contact. Editor’s note: It appears that
Selectman Musselman was not committing to an immediate release of the appraisal,
but conditioning it on the completion of negotiations or the agreement of the
owner. Selectman Musselman stated
that they would have a number on January 8.
The assessed value is approximately $450,000 and the appraisal is in
that ballpark, he said.
Burt Dibble stated
that, like the Parsonage, this looks like the opportunity of a lifetime. At the very least the property could be
purchased and rented out, with approximately a break even achieved. This has all kinds of impact on the town
center. He cannot imagine selling the
Parsonage, much less selling it for a dollar.
Selectman Jenness
stated that the Parsonage is no longer being sold for a dollar.
Town Hall architect retention for option
exploration, $60,000 (72:29 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness read
the warrant article, which referred to the retention of an architect and listed
five options to be explored, with cost data:
1. Renovate the
existing Town Hall preserving the historical features, but utilizing the Great
Hall for office space, constructing an addition as necessary to meet space
needs.
2. Renovate the
existing Town Hall without regard to preserving the historical features,
utilizing the Great Hall for office space and constructing an addition as
necessary to meet space needs.
3. Tear down the
existing Town Hall and construct a new building of 2-3 stories.
4. Leave the
existing Town Hall in place for use by others at no cost to the Town. Construct a new structure of 2-3 stories on
the existing site. Consider the building
mass, traffic flow and septic issues, and the possibility of adjusting property
lines with adjacent Town-owned parcels.
5. Leave the
existing Town Hall in place for use by others at no cost to the Town. Construct a new Town Hall adjacent to the
Public Safety Building.
Selectman Musselman suggested that the fifth
alternative be made contingent on the warrant article to purchase the parcel
adjacent to the Public Safety Building.
Selectman Mills asked whether the proposed
warrant article should be sent to the Town Hall Committee for approval. Selectman Musselman stated that it is not the
Town Hall Committee’s warrant article.
Paul Goldman stated that the Committee had not been charged with
delivering a warrant article. Selectman
Musselman stated that the warrant article captures the essence of what the
Committee concluded.
Burt Dibble asked
whether voters would be asked to choose among the options. Selectman Musselman responded in the
negative, indicating that the $60,000 was for a study. Selectman Jenness stated that it was
primarily to provide cost estimates.
Paul Goldman agreed that the Town was not being asked to select any of
the options. Selectman Musselman stated
that the warrant article needs to make this more clear. He suggested that the portion about selecting
an architectural firm be made bold. The
warrant article was unanimously approved as modified.
(83:03 elapsed)
Burt Dibble stated that
he had heard that a figure of $100,000 was being contemplated for the
study. While he had been concerned
whether $100,000 would be palatable enough, he is now concerned that $60,000
may not be enough to attract a good architect.
He added that some functions had left the Town Hall and they are functioning
fine. He suggested the possibility of
doing something much more economically using the Old Police Station site. He stated that he does not know how studying
the options in the manner proposed by the warrant article, limiting town
functions to the Town Hall building, helps to understand some of these other options.
Selectman Mills asked
where Mr. Dibble had heard the figure and whether he had heard it from the Rye
Oracle Steven Borne. Mr. Dibble
responded that he did not recall where he had heard the figure.
Selectman Musselman
stated that the Parsonage alternative had arisen late in the process and would
require demolition of an 1810 building.
The Town Hall Committee did not believe that that was viable. The Committee also looked at the previous
$10,000 report on the Old Police Station and concluded that that was not a
reasonable alternative. There are five
alternatives left. He does not believe
that adding other alternatives is a good idea at this point.
Selectman Mills stated
that the Public Safety Building suggested by Mr. Borne and others had been
ruled out. Three persons with expertise
had measured the building and concluded that its use was not feasible.
Paul Goldman added that
input from the Police and Fire Chiefs had been sought out regarding logistical
and operational aspects. There are
several reasons why this option was eliminated.
The same is true of the Old Police Station.
Steven Borne stated
that, with the Public Safety Building the discussion had focused on locating
all of the departments in that building.
The survey results had revealed that quite a few people thought that the
options had not been investigated thoroughly.
The vote by the Town Hall Committee to require that all departments be
located together led to an inadequate assessment of the functions which might
be located elsewhere. These include land
use and the large conference room at the Public Safety Building.
(89:59 elapsed)
Paul Goldman stated
that he would like to be able to put this idea to bed. People with backgrounds in building and a lot
of other expertise had been involved.
The due diligence had been done.
The location of all functions in a single facility had been one of the
operational assumptions and bedrock tenets of several Town Hall Committees. The Town employees had been personally
interviewed and concluded this.
Selectman Musselman
stated that the matter had been openly investigated for four years. The Public Safety Building option had been
determined to be more expensive. Editor’s note: The option evaluated involved use of the
space above the apparatus bay for Town offices, which would have required the
addition of a tower with stairs and an elevator to provide access without going
through a secured area. The cost of
moving the firefighters’ quarters above the apparatus bay, freeing up space
within the adjacent attached building, and probably eliminating the need for an
expensive access tower, has never been determined.
Although there is a large meeting room there
and a shortage of such space in Town, meetings are not held there because it is
a secure facility, Selectman Musselman said.
The issue keeps coming up. Every
time it has been looked at openly and dismissed. Yet, here it is again. Editor’s
note: This is not correct. The 2012 Space Needs Committee recommended
that the large meeting room at the Public Safety Building be opened up for Town
meetings.
Operating budget (93:18 elapsed)
Town Finance Director
Cyndi Gillespie suggested that the matter be addressed at the next meeting as
the number might change.
Dump permits for contractors ($150 annually)
Selectman Jenness read
the proposed amendment to the ordinance which provided for permits for
contractors doing business with residents “of and in” the Town for a $150 annual
fee. The permits would be effective from
January 1 to December 31 of each year.
The motion to approve placement of this warrant article carried
unanimously.
Encumbrances (95:59 elapsed)
Editor’s
note: Under State law applicable to Town
budgets, appropriations for one year cannot normally be spent in any subsequent
year, although there are exceptions. One
such exception occurs when a contract has been entered into during the year of
the appropriation, but funds have not yet been disbursed, often because the
work has not yet been completed. In such
a case, the Town may elect to encumber the appropriated funds, making it
possible legally to disburse them in a subsequent year.
Ms. Gillespie stated that there are
$109,616.14 in items in the General Fund contracted for but which will not be
finished this year.
Selectman Musselman asked about the parking
study. Mr. Magnant stated that there are
still some issues and that those funds will need to be encumbered. Ms. Gillespie stated that this would be coming
out of the Parking Enforcement fund.
There is also a $2500 facilities study with Tighe and Bond for the Sewer
Department that will need to be addressed.
The motion to approve the encumbrance list
carried unanimously.
Islander Magazine (69:48 elapsed)
Mr. Magnant reported that Randy Bamberger of
the Islander Magazine had contacted him again and wanted to meet with the
Selectmen again. Although the Selectmen
had previously stated that they had no problem with the Islander having an
edition for Rye, they were not willing to devote any Town resources to
that. Mr. Bamberger would like to return
and pitch a proposal including the involvement of Town employees.
There was further discussion. The Selectmen did not appear to be willing to
change their minds, however they indicated that Mr. Bamberger could return at a
future meeting.
Other business (104:57 elapsed)
Steven Borne asked when
the Recreation Space Needs Committee would have its first meeting. It was determined that they were waiting for the
Board of Selectmen to arrange for the Committee’s first meeting as this is a
Selectmen’s committee. It appeared that
this would occur soon.
Mr. Borne asked whether
there was funding to allow the Recreation Community Center to proceed without
losing a year once the needs assessment has been completed. Selectman Musselman stated that the results
would not be available until the middle or end of 2016, and that a year would
not be lost.
Mr. Borne pointed out
the declining school enrollments and the possibility of space in the schools
opening up. Selectman Jenness stated
that she had gone to meeting on the issue of reorganizing the schools. Mr. Borne pointed out that three children
would be leaving Rye Junior High School in the middle of the year to attend private schools.
Mr. Borne indicated
that the Town’s history, proximity to the ocean and the land are what make Rye
what it is. He suggested that the Town
hire a professional planner so that it would not be forced to leverage Attorney
Donovan to do the work. Selectman
Jenness stated that the Rockingham Planning Commission has such planners and
they are utilized when necessary. She
does not hear the Planning Board of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
complaining.
Joe Cummins made a
comment about someone at a Town Hall Committee meeting having stated that he
has never known Town Hall and Police functions to be in the same
locations. The Selectmen appeared to
agree that this was not always the case.
Mr. Cummins made a
comment about Peter Crawford having benefited the Town by calling attention to
a $1 million error in the default budget.
That had been civic minded and kind, he said. Selectman Mills stated that that was Mr. Cummins’
opinion. He objected to Mr. Crawford
having video recorded him and stated that he better not do it again.
Non-public session (115:08 elapsed)
Whereupon the public
portion of the meeting ended after the Selectmen voted to go into non-public
session at about 8:29 p.m. on the issue of personnel.