NOTES OF OCTOBER 12, 2016 RYE BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
Final Revision B – Provided by the Rye Civic League
Present (clockwise around table): Town Administrator Michael Magnant, Selectmen Musselman and Jenness, Town Finance Director Cyndi Gillespie. Not present: Selectman Mills.
Also present and sitting in the audience: Police Chief Kevin Walsh, Interim Fire Chief Tom Lambert.
Persons present from the public included: Victor Azzi, Mae Bradshaw, Peter Crawford, Joe Cummins, Burt Dibble, Frances Erlebacher, Ray Jarvis, Mel Low, Joe Tucker, Phil Winslow.
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 6:37:18 p.m. (0:00 elapsed). The audio is off until 6:38:14 p.m.
Summary
Non-public meeting (1:34 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness moved
to seal the minutes of the non-public meeting just concluded. All were in favor.
Announcement regarding Selectman Mills and Board
functioning (1:48 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
announced that Selectman Mills was again absent. He is in the hospital. He asked that he be in everyone’s thoughts
and prayers as he gets better. He hopes
to be back soon. He and Selectman
Jenness are functioning as a two member Board of Selectmen. There are no provisions in New Hampshire for
a temporary third member. Town
Administrator Magnant visits Selectman Mills periodically and brings him his
packet and talks to him about what is going on.
Mr. Magnant obtains input from Selectman Mills. As long as neither he nor Selectman Jenness
is run over by a bus or some other calamity they are able to function as long
as they can agree, he said.
Public comment (Town Hall and Parsonage)
(3:16 elapsed)
Peter Crawford stated
that he had written a letter to the Board of Selectmen regarding the Town
Hall. He stated that the design/build
RFP is a positive step, but that he has come concerns
about the details, particularly the extension to the building. At the last meeting an extension of 31 feet
was mentioned, however there is a math error in the calculation which would
indicate that another three feet would be required. It would actually be a 34 foot extension if
all of the other numbers are correct, he said.
Mr. Crawford said that,
back in 2012, and confirmed again last Thursday, the Heritage Commission
determined that any extension should be limited to 20 feet. The survey indicates that the biggest
concerns are the cost and the amount of space.
In 2012, people were also concerned about the brick and glass extension
off the back. Voters want a building
that looks architecturally “right.”
Thirty-one or thirty-four feet is too long. The letter provides some examples of
adjustments that could be made that should allow everything to fit. These are some fairly minor adjustments,
including shrinking the size of the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, eliminating some
bathrooms and deleting Sewer, as there is already space in the Planning area
for another person. Editor’s note: Although Sewer
has moved out, the proposed RFP revealed by Selectman Musselman at the last
meeting was to retain that space to provide for expansion of the Building
Inspector’s office. Those are
examples, Mr. Crawford said. There are
other possibilities, including reduction of the mechanical space,
that could reduce the extension to 20 feet. A bump out could be justified and sold to
voters based on an elevator being needed for ADA. He said that following a process with a 31 or
34 foot extension would be a waste of time.
(6:35 elapsed)
Mae Bradshaw referred
to the Heritage Commission’s vote the prior week proposing and reiterating that
the extension be limited to twenty feet. The reason for that is economic. If grants are to be sought to help preserve
some of the historic features, the addition needs to be kept subservient. That is based on the architectural standards
of the Secretary of Interior. That was
also the guideline obtained from the State.
Ms. Bradshaw also
stated that it would be far less confusing to the citizens if the renovation
only was offered as a cost. The survey
is clear that 68-80 percent wants the building to remain here and be renovated.
(8:22 elapsed)
John Loftus disagreed
that the survey showed that. He argued
that the people in the Town had not been informed about what it is going to
take to renovate the Town Hall. He
stated that, as far as he knows, the stairs cannot be made to meet code. Selectman Musselman stated that they can be
used and were usable in the previous design.
There is special dispensation for a historic feature of that sort, he
said.
Mr. Loftus referred to
an environmental report indicating that there are quite a few carcinogens in
the building. He stated that there has
been no inspection for mold and asked whether the possible presence of mold
spores could create a liability for the Town.
(9:54 elapsed)
Burt Dibble agreed with
Mr. Loftus about the lack of information provided to townspeople, and stated
that more information needs to be provided.
He disagreed with the conclusion that the voters had not expressed
themselves adequately. There has not
just been one survey, there have been several warrant articles, he said. It’s pretty clear that the voters will not
spend $4 million, they do not want their Town Hall anywhere else but here, and
they do want to preserve the existing building to the extent possible. They also said, very clearly, that they do
not want to purchase more property. Editor’s note: Earlier this year, Article 4 failed 320-1261,
gaining only approximately 20 percent “yes” votes. Dr. Dibble referred to the 2012
evaluation of the Trolley Barn. Editor’s note: That is also known as the Old Police Station,
and is located across Central Rd., and down a few hundred feet, from Town Hall. For around $400,000, Dr. Dibble said, that
building could be rehabilitated for administrative use. If a twenty foot, two story extension is added to Town Hall, that would provide
approximately 1200 sq. ft. At $200 per
sq. ft., and perhaps a bit more to deal with the foundation, the cost would be
about $360,000. There would also be
costs associated with temporarily moving staff out of the building. It would be just as economical to renovate
the Trolley Barn and not add on to the Town Hall. He also mentioned the possibility of funding
the Trolley Barn renovation out of current revenues, which would provide more
wiggle room to do a first class job with the Town Hall.
(11:48 elapsed)
Mel Low stated that he had gone to see
Selectman Mills and asked him about his concerns. He had referred to the Parsonage
Apartments. Mr. Low stated that he had
told Selectman Mills that he would like their report. They are here tonight to present that.
John Loftus stated that
the last Town Hall Committee had considered the Fire Safety Building (sic) and
Old Police Station. They were all vetted
out for one reason or another. He
referred to mold and keeping the offices in one place. An additional building of two stories would
require an elevator and there would need to be another elevator in the existing
Town Hall. That one item would be
$170,000, he said.
Burt Dibble agreed with
Mr. Loftus regarding the vetting having been done, however he disagreed with
regard to the Old Police Station. If the
consultant said that it could be renovated for that amount, then he believes
that it could be. If two options are
offered to voters, it guarantees that neither would get 60 percent. He proposed that there be a single option
presented.
Peter Crawford stated
that, with regard to the Parsonage, he agrees with the need for a Charette and
agrees with the point that the Town not be locked into having the Parsonage as
Senior Housing forever. There may be
other uses for that building and Senior Housing could be moved elsewhere at
some point. All of the town buildings,
and not just one piece at a time, need to be considered. That applies to both the Parsonage and the
Town Hall, he said.
(16:07 elapsed)
John Loftus stated that
he had submitted a letter this week regarding Town Hall. There needs to be a committee of
professionals (builders, architects and professional engineers) in order to get
the correct information to voters. A
renovation would not provide the best working space for the people. The Town Hall is not a museum, it is a
working building. The drawings are
complicated and detailed, and renovation would be “onerous” construction. It would be a Pandora’s Box once opened
up. Eighty percent of the building would
probably be gone. A lot of people don’t
realize that, he said.
Consent Agenda (17:47 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
stated that Item B has been pulled as a public hearing needs
to be noticed. The other items were
unanimously approved.
Minutes (18:26 elapsed)
The minutes of the
September 26, 2016 meeting were unanimously approved with changes. The minutes of the non-public session of the
same day were unanimously approved without changes.
Rye Energy Committee presentation on Solar Energy (19:39 elapsed)
Howard Kalet of the
Energy Committee presented. He referred
to approval being sought to install photovoltaic systems at the Public Safety
Building, Rye Junior High School and Rye Elementary School. Possible installations over landfills had
been investigated, but found to be more expensive. In addition, the Town does not own the
Breakfast Hill landfill site. No funding
by the Town would be required, he said.
Selectman Musselman
referred to the Historic District Commission requiring that solar panels not be
visible from the street.
Tom Pfau of the Energy
Committee referred to the auditorium at Rye Junior High having a flat roof and
panels installed there not being visible from the street. He reiterated that there would not be an
up-front payment required from the Town, but there would be a twenty year
commitment to buy electricity at slightly less than the prevailing price.
Selectman Musselman
stated that Town Meeting approval might be needed. These sorts of plans are not a panacea. Long-term, there is some benefit, he said.
Joe Cummins asked who
would absorb the risk if the utility terminates the net metering program. Editor’s
note: Net metering permits a customer to
pay for the net amount of electricity used.
When more electricity is generated on the customer’s site than the
customer can use, it flows back into the power grid and his meter runs
backwards, effectively allowing the customer to “sell” power to the utility at
the same price that he pays when he consumes electricity. This provides a substantial benefit to
customers in that the avoided cost to the utility of not having to supply this
amount of electricity is typically much lower than what it must credit the
customer. Other customers of the utility
must make up the difference. Mr.
Pfau explained how the
power grid essentially works like a battery when net metering is used. He did not answer Mr. Cummins’ question.
Victor Azzi stated that
there is an architectural issue of the panels detracting from the character of
the Historic District. He also referred
to needing to determine whether roofs can bear the load of the panels. He hopes that the HDC does their job, he
said.
Parsonage Apartments Committee report (37:35
elapsed)
Committee Chairman Mel
Low presented on behalf of the Committee.
He read the charge, and stated that the Committee had had eleven
meetings, each timed to last for an hour.
They had spoken with several residents, met with the Housing
Partnership, and reviewed the lease. Editor’s note: The Town owns the Parsonage Apartments, which
were acquired in connection with a Library expansion a number of years
ago. It leases them to the Housing
Partnership, which in turn leases them to individual tenants. The lease payment that the Town receives is nominal
and is intended to approximate the amount that the Housing Partnership would
pay in taxes if it owned the apartments.
In 2015, Warrant Article 15 passed 1058-375. That provides for the Town’s lease revenues
to go into an expendable trust to be used for maintenance of, and repairs to,
the Apartments.
Mr. Low stated that the Committee had
received information from Victor Azzi and Sandra Pagel, who is a resident of
White Birch and a Director of the Housing Partnership. Editor’s
note: White Birch is located in Rye, off
of Lafayette Rd., near the Rye Airfield.
It is also managed by the Housing Partnership.
Mr. Low summarized the Committee’s
recommendations:
1.
No sale or long-term (i.e. 99 year) lease of the
Parsonage Apartments to the Housing Partnership or any other entity.
2.
No increase in the number of units on the site due to
limited parking and the importance of the site to the Town.
3.
Hire Plan New Hampshire to develop a plan for the
center of Rye, which is an important part of the Historic District.
4.
Any lease should be as short a term as possible and in
any event twenty years or less.
Mr. Low stated that Marty Chapman of the Housing Partnership had
suggested that the lease with the Housing Partnership be renewed. Mr. Chapman estimated that $35,000 would need
to be invested in each of the eight units, a total of $280,000 that the Housing
Partnership would need to borrow. Of
that, $120,000 to $150,000 could be obtained from donations, with the rest to
be borrowed with as short a term as possible.
The borrowing by the Housing Partnership would be secured by future
rents. An increase in the rental rate
from the current $650 monthly would be needed.
The apartments would still be considered affordable even with a 25
percent increase.
Selectman Jenness
stated that they needed to spend more time with the report. Selectman Musselman stated that he likes the
report. He complimented the Committee
for having done a great job.
Ray Jarvis reported
that Plan New Hampshire had done Charettes for more than 70 towns. If this keeps the Town on the right path it
would pay off many times over.
Selectman Musselman
stated that they would take the matter under advisement and wait for Selectman
Mills to return.
Selectman
Musselman stated that changes had been made in response to input received. An arrangement with SMP has been reached for
use of the previous design. They have
prepared a schematic design of that, which will serve as the standard of
quality. Editor’s note: SMP is the
architect who was retained by the town from 2013-2015 in connection with the
Town Hall design that would have been constructed had 2015 Warrant Article 5
for $4.1 million passed. It failed
575-887. The plans and
specifications will be available for review by proposers, Selectman Musselman
said.
Input was received that
the Sewer Commission, once improvements have been made, may want to move back
from Rye Beach. No space is being added
for them, however the reference to them being gone permanently is being
removed, Selectman Musselman said.
Selectman Musselman
said that a paragraph is being added partially in response to Peter Crawford’s
comments, which he thought were good. It
referred to Appendix A being meaningless. Editor’s
note: That Appendix calculated the need
for a thirty-one foot extension based on adjustments to the approximately
12,500 sq. ft. design rejected in 2015.
Selectman Musselman stated that the RFP would include the language“This [i.e. Appendix A] was solely
prepared and used to focus the Town’s project objectives. The design/build proposer and its architect
are asked to provide a schematic design that provides the functional space
needs outlined in the 2014 SMP Design less the Recreation and Great Hall, et
al., functions, with as limited a building extension to the rear as reasonably
practicable.” He explained that they are
putting the internal layout on them. He
said that he believes that they can shrink some of the spaces. The gross to net can be reduced, he
said. Editor’s note: Gross square
footage includes the net square footage plus the thicknesses of exterior and
internal walls and the “circulation” space, including corridors, lobbies and
stairs, needed to get from one area to another.
The net square footage is what remains that can be used for offices and
other areas. The same functions can
be provided in a truncated space and they are looking for their design
creativity to be able to do that, Selectman Musselman said.
Selectman Musselman
said that, in the section on historic renovations, a number of changes are
being made in response to comments, one of which relates to the length of the
addition in the back:
“The new extension to the rear of the existing
building shall be limited to twenty feet to the rear of the property, as long
as the building design is sufficient to efficiently accommodate the Town space
needs. The Rye Heritage Commission is
resolute that the extension may be no greater than twenty feet. If the architectural design presented by the
design/builder extends more than twenty feet in order to accommodate the Town space
needs, the proposal shall be accompanied by an explanation by the architect as
to why such an additional extension does not detract from the historic
architectural design.”
“An extension with a length of twenty feet with
manageable space compromises, may be preferable.” The design quandary is put on them.
The bullet item describing existing proscenium arch at the stage has the
reference to the floor elevation of the stage being changed, Selectman
Musselman said. It is being changed to
say that the former stage may be maintained at its current level as a
conference room or other usable space.
The reference to the use of the front doors has been removed, he
said.
With respect to the
public meeting room, Selectman Musselman said that there is an addition stating
that it is to provide for a board of up to eight members and 50 members of the
public. This is a twenty percent
reduction from the 65 persons in the 2014 SMP design. This room holds 24 people with three people
per row and 32 with four people per row “scrunched in.” The proposed room is a little bigger than
this by 18. Larger meetings go to the
Junior High or other spaces. We’re
looking at that as a way to massage the design to get it into as small a space
as they can, he said.
A requirement was added
requiring New Hampshire licensure of architects and those of other requisite
disciplines, he said.
There is also a
provision that neither the Town nor SMP would be held liable for reuse of the
2014 SMP design. That’s been the subject
of interesting discussions with SMP, he said.
Selectman Musselman
said that a section on selection was added in response to a comment from Victor
Azzi. A new Committee will not be formed
prior to December. The proposals will be
made publicly available and people will be given time to provide input. Selection will be made based on (1) the
proposed design, including satisfaction of the space needs in a functional and
efficient fashion; (2) the design details and materials of construction; (3)
the proposed schedule; and (4) the price.
There was discussion
last time about obtaining a separate design, Selectman Musselman said. There is not time to do that, he said. They are getting proposals for renovation as well
as demolition and new construction. That
information is needed for the community to make a decision. We have not been able to reach a consensus
thus far, he said. He said that he is
hoping for one or two good proposals.
There is no preconceived notion of what to do with respect to a warrant
article proposed by the Board of Selectmen.
The proposals need to be reviewed first.
If we are going to proceed in January there will be a month to review
the proposals and obtain comment. If a
decision is made to proceed with a warrant article there will be a public
hearing. Two contractors of the four
have expressed interest. One of the four
will probably not bid. The remaining one
they do not know about. The deadline for
proposals is still December 8 at 4:00 p.m.
There will be no meeting or communication with the proposers by the
Board of Selectmen between now and then, he said.
Mae Bradshaw asked how
the Town Hall should appear in the CIP Plan.
There is an upcoming public hearing and they will prioritize the
projects then, she said. Town Administrator
stated that the amount should be $2.9 million.
Ray Jarvis asked
whether there was a provision about any addition being complementary. He spoke about going from wood to glass to
brick to bamboo. Selectman Musselman
clarified that the addition would be wood and would be compatible.
Selectman Musselman
referred to comments earlier about asbestos and lead paint. He said that he does not know how renovation
will compare costwise, but if the building is demolished those materials would
need to be dealt with. However, in the
case of renovation, some of those materials might be covered up and
remain. He agreed that, with new
construction, the Town would get a better building.
Burt Dibble asked
whether they had the notion that there would be at least one proposal for each
of the options. Selectman Musselman
confirmed.
Selectman Jenness moved
that the RFP be issued as described.
Selectman Musselman seconded. All
were in favor.
Standing water ordinance (72:22 elapsed)
Town Administrator
Magnant introduced the issue. He stated
that the Mosquito Commission had proposed an ordinance to deal with standing
water. He stated that the Town Attorney
is of the opinion that the prospective ordinance could be enforced in the
intertidal zone. With regard to the
skiffs with which there were issues earlier, no mosquito larvae were found in
them. The ordinance would be promulgated
by the Health Officer after a duly noticed public hearing, he said.
Selectman Musselman
referred to giving the Building Inspector the ability to take enforcement
action when there is standing water in tires or trash cans. He stated that he does not know how much of a
problem standing water is.
Selectman Jenness
stated that there are a lot of bird baths in Rye.
Selectman Jenness
stated that it does not seem that the ordinance is needed, but she hears about
abandoned pools. She moved to allow the
Town Administrator to proceed. All were
in favor.
Resignation of Michele Sopher from the Energy Committee (76:51 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
said “say it ain’t so.” He stated that
her letter said that the Energy Committee is in great hands but is short
handed. Town Administrator Magnant said
that they would advertise openings on the Town website. Burt Dibble said that every Town Newsletter
should have an open positions list.
Event permit, Seacoast Half Marathon (80:17 elapsed)
Police
Chief Kevin Walsh addressed. He said
that the Marathon is scheduled for November 13.
They are back to the old route as bridges and roads have now been
completed. There was discussion about a
proposal to use a drone. The biggest
challenge is ensuring single file on Pioneer Rd., he said.
Language on approval of Heritage Commission acceptance of money (82:41
elapsed)
Mae Bradshaw expressed
concern about Consent Agenda item D. She
said that the Heritage Commission had never sent a pamphlet with the language
that appears in that item. Appeals were
always general. The approval should
state that the money could be used in support of the preservation of Town Hall,
she said. Selectman Jenness moved to
change the approval language. The motion
carried unanimously.
Adjournment (84:51 elapsed)
Whereupon
the meeting adjourned at approximately 8:03 p.m.