NOTES OF FEBRUARY 13, 2017 RYE BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
Final Revision B – Provided by the Rye Civic League
Present (clockwise around table): Town Administrator Michael Magnant, Selectmen Craig Musselman and Priscilla Jenness, Not present: Finance Director Cyndi Gillespie, Selectman Joseph Mills.
Also present and sitting in the audience: Interim Fire Chief Tom Lambert, Police Chief Kevin Walsh.
Persons present from the public included: Victor Azzi, Greg Bauer, Lori Carbajal, Peter Crawford, Steve Hillman, Howard Kalet, 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 6:32:08 p.m. (0:00 elapsed).
Summary
Announcements
There were no
announcements other than voting. Editor’s note: The Town Election is always the second
Tuesday in March: this year March 14,
2017.
Public comment: misleading statement at Deliberative Session
re Selectmen’s independent authority to discontinue roads (1:20 elapsed)
Peter Crawford said
that, after the discussion regarding Article 31 at the Deliberative Session, he
had done some research and discovered that some of the information provided had
not been quite complete. Whenever the
Town discontinues a road, it must be voted on by Town Meeting. It cannot be done by just the Selectmen. There is an RSA on that, he said. Mr. Crawford passed out a number of sheets of
paper to the Selectmen.
Selectman Jenness asked
about the reference to Article 31.
Mr. Crawford explained
that that article was to discontinue the Selectmen’s authority to buy and sell
land. It was reversed to reaffirm the
article that was passed in 2002, he said.
Selectman Jenness asked
about one of the sheets that Mr. Crawford had passed out.
Mr. Crawford referred
to Articles 11 and 12 from 2013, which discontinued two roads. They also authorized the Selectmen to
transfer certain land by quitclaim deed.
That is in accordance with the statutory procedure if you look at RSA
23:43. Editor’s note: He meant RSA
231:43. Mr. Crawford also referred to Marrone v. Town of Hampton,
123 N.H. 729 (1983). The case
specifically says that the Selectmen cannot discontinue a public road without
getting Town Meeting approval, he said.
Selectman Musselman
asked when they had discontinued a town road.
Mr. Crawford said that
this was what Article 11 and 12 did, back in 2013, following the required
procedure. At the Deliberative Session,
one of the reasons for Selectman Musselman’s amendment was that the Selectmen
needed the ability to buy and sell small pieces of land. Editor’s
note: See the video of the Deliberative
Session, part three at https://vimeo.com/202797554/, 4:22
elapsed, and the notes of the Deliberative Session.
Selectman Musselman
interjected “at times,” and acknowledged that he had used those as examples.
Mr. Crawford said that
he was making the point that this had been misleading. He asked that the Selectmen change their
recommendation back to “not recommended,” as it was under false pretenses that
Selectman Musselman had gotten the people at the meeting to neuter the
article. Editor’s note: Originally,
Article 31 had proposed that Article 12 of the 2002 Town Meeting, which gives
the Selectmen the authority to buy and sell land or buildings without voter
approval, be rescinded. Prior to the
Deliberative Session, the Selectmen had voted 2-0 not to recommend the
article. However, after the article was
amended at the Deliberative Session such that it would reaffirm Article 12 of
the 2002 Town Meeting, the Selectmen voted 2-0 to recommend the amended warrant
article.
Sealing of minutes (4:14 elapsed)
The motion of Selectman
Jenness to seal the minutes of the non-public session just concluded carried
unanimously.
Consent Agenda (4:24 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
said that he wanted to pull item (a), the Investment Policy adoption off of the
Consent Agenda. He referred to the other
items, which are an e-mail from Jim Splaine relating to a work session, a
letter from John Sherman relating to threatening behavior towards his wife Katy
for expressing her thoughts on beach issues in town, which he said he
understands that the Police Chief has been looking into, and an e-mail from
Shawn Joyce regarding consideration for appointment to the Conservation
Commission. I think he has been referred
to the Chairman of the Conservation Commission, he said.
Selectman Jenness moved
to place items (b), (c) and (d) of the Consent Agenda on record.
Victor Azzi asked
whether those would be discussed.
The Selectmen indicated
that they would not be.
Mr. Azzi said that he
would then like to make a public comment.
Selectman Musselman
reopened the public comment period for Mr. Azzi.
Public comment on Coakley Landfill options and remedies (16:35 elapsed)
Mr. Azzi said that he
continues to follow, with increasing interest, the oddessy of the Coakley
Landfill and related things. It seems
that this is just growing in the degree of possible concern and increasing
radius surrounding the Landfill. He
asked where the focus of concern with regard to the leadership of the Town of
Rye is to provide for the health, well-being and safety of the residents of Rye
as we read about the Coakley Landfill and the migrating plume flowing
northeasterly from the unlined landfill site and the related, or maybe
unrelated, landfill at the corner of Washington, Breakfast Hill, and Lafayette
Roads. That is another unlined landfill
that is probably contributing to the plume, he said. It is endangering lands that are subject to
development and those that are being developed as well as fresh and salt water
bodies and water supplies, including wells and aquifers. He asked who representing the Town of Rye was
putting all of this together.
Selectman Musselman
thanked Mr. Azzi, but did not respond until the end of the meeting.
Mr. Azzi said that he
had a question.
Selectman Musselman
said that that was not the purpose of the public comment period.
Mr. Azzi asked the
Selectmen to look into the issue and come back to this meeting in the very near
future.
Consent agenda vote (10:10 elapsed)
All were in favor of
the motion to place items (b), (c) and (d) on record.
Investment policy adoption (10:30 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
said that he had pulled this off as he could not tell what had been changed.
Town Administrator
Magnant said that Town Finance Director Cyndi Gillespie had worked on the
policy with Town Treasurer Jane Ireland.
He said that Ms. Gillespie was ill and was thus not in attendance.
It was agreed that the
matter would be tabled.
Minutes (11:07 elapsed)
The minutes of the
January 5, 2017 meeting were unanimously approved with changes.
The minutes of January
17, 2017 were tabled after Selectman Musselman noted that page two was
missing. Certain corrections were noted
beforehand.
The minutes of the
January 23, 2017 meeting were unanimously approved with changes
The minutes of the
non-public session of the same day were unanimously approved without changes.
The minutes of the
February 4, 2017 meeting were unanimously approved without changes.
Grading of beach in front of 19 “F” Street (18:30 elapsed)
Greg Bauer addressed. He said that Eben Lewis of the State had
granted a wetlands permit. The owner is
complaining of a foot of sand in his yard in the spring. The work to remove the sand will take half a
day, he said.
The motion to approve
use of the town’s access to the beach carried unanimously.
Steve Hillman asked
whether input could be provided. Editor’s note: Mr. Hillman is a member of the Beach
Committee.
Selectman Musselman said that it was not a
public hearing. He added that the
Selectmen’s only role is allowing access to the beach.
Mr. Hillman said that
“F” Street is a bastion of craziness, with potted plants and cones positioned
to deny access. He referred to uneven
sand being used to further deny access to the beach.
Selectman Musselman
asked Town Administrator Magnant to ensure that there is a smooth transition in
the level of the sand.
Victor Azzi asked about
the depth of the sand.
Selectman Musselman
referred to it being due to natural accretion.
The impact is 1650 sq. ft., of which 212 sq. ft. is permanent. There is 53 feet of frontage, he said.
Town Administrator
Magnant read language from the permit relating to grading.
Energy Committee “Button Up” program (24:23 elapsed)
Howard Kalet of the
Energy Committee addressed. He said that
he wanted to be sure that the Selectmen were aware of the program and could
comment. He spoke about solar energy
programs. Systems should be sized to
meet 80-90 percent of the need to be economical. Solar cell lives are similar to those of roofs: 25-30 years.
It is not a good idea to put solar panels on an old roof. The roof under the panels does not age much,
but there is aging around the edges. Mr.
Kalet provided statistics for average New Hampshire houses. Electric bills average $115 monthly, or 621
kw (sic). Editor’s note: He probably meant
kwh. Mr. Kalet said that the Town is
not committed in any way.
Selectman Musselman referred to the fine
print in the contracts. He said that the
homeowner would pay a high cost if the roof is re-shingled. The structural analysis of the roof’s ability
to handle the load is often done by tradesmen and not structural engineers, he
said.
Mr. Kalet referred to
two ways to do solar. The first is to
write a check. The second is like
leasing a car.
Selectman Musselman
said that it is fine for the Energy Committee to provide information.
RFP for solar system installation (36:23 elapsed)
Howard Kalet again
addressed. A number of locations in town
are being considered. The Elementary
School is a possibility. There is
concern with the flat roof.
Selectman Musselman
said that there is no question that a New Hampshire licensed structural
engineer would be needed.
Mr. Kalet referred to
the possibility of the Junior High School.
It is in the Historic District, so the only possibility is putting the
panels on the gym roof so they cannot be seen from the street.
With regard to the
Public Safety Building, Mr. Kalet said that he had walked around the building
with Chief Walsh to find locations that cannot be seen from the street.
There was discussion
about locating the panels behind the Public Safety Building, but that is used
for snow storage. Mr. Kalet said that
Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy had told him that that this area had only
been used twice in seven years for that purpose. It might not be cost effective due to the
cost of steel to elevate the panels above the water level, he said.
Selectman Musselman
spoke of the need to conduct scarification every 5-10 years to get rid of the fines. That would not be possible with solar panels
installed there, he said.
Selectman Jenness
expressed concern about the size of the panels needed, as the Public Safety
Building is so large.
Mr. Kalet responded
that the Public Safety Building uses oil heat, and this would be only for
electric use.
There was discussion
about using other town land, however it was determined that there would need to
be a building present for the most economical application. Savings are 18 cents per kwh if the panels
connect behind the electric meter, but only half of that if they connect on the
outside of the meter, Mr. Kalet said.
Mr. Kalet said that he
had also spoken with Public Works and Ken Aspen of the Rye Water District. The Water District believes that there would
be opportunities as they use a lot of power, he said. Selectman Musselman said that they also have
a lot of land available.
There was further
discussion of the process leading to an RFP.
Selectman Musselman said that all buildings should be evaluated by a
professional engineer. The proposals for
the schools should not go to us as we cannot act on them, Selectmen Musselman
said. Selectman Jenness added that that
would also apply to the Rye Water District.
Selectman Musselman said that Town Attorney Donovan should review the
RFP.
Selectman Musselman
noted that he had been on the phone earlier that day with someone whose roof
with solar panels had collapsed due to the snow.
Mr. Kalet said that, in
theory, lag bolts connect the panels to the joists.
Selectman Musselman
referred to some buildings from the 1980s and 1990s not being designed to
handle adequate snow loads for the area.
Eversource 2017 work (54:42 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness said
that they had been working and working.
Selectman Musselman
said that he had received a letter the prior week that they are doing his
road. There is a flyer to respond with
to approve or to request a call. He said
that it was unclear whether Eversource could be asked to do nothing.
Peter Crawford said
that there was a statement in the flyer that, if you didn’t respond within a
particular period of time it would be assumed that everything was OK. People should know that they need to respond,
he said.
Selectman Musselman
said that it would be in the residents’ piles of mail somewhere. He said that they would do a similar letter
to what had been done before. He asked
whether one had not been sent out for Washington Rd. Town Administrator Magnant confirmed. Selectman Musselman said that they needed to
find out what was planned.
Howard Kalet asked if
anyone knew about the work that remained to be done on Washington Rd.
Selectman Musselman
said that he did not know, but Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy had been
working with them, and should know. He
is not here, he said.
Larry Rocha referred to
one of the poles on Perkins Rd. having snapped in half the prior night. There were Eversource and FairPoint trucks
there. All new lines were needed for the
entire road. A new pole was installed at
about 4:00 a.m., he said.
Selectman Musselman
said that there would likely not be a meeting on February 26 (sic) and that
Eversource would need to reschedule to the second Monday in March. Editor’s
note: He apparently meant February 27 as
the 26th is a Sunday.
FEMA flood plain maps appeal resolution (57:36 elapsed)
Town Administrator
Magnant said that this was “just an FYI.”
The one appeal of the maps from Rye was denied after the scientific
panel looked at it, he said. That should
open the door for the new maps, he said.
Selectman Musselman
said that he had read in their response only “no,” whereas the homeowner had
put together thick reports.
Selectman Jenness asked
what would happen to the homeowner now.
Mr. Magnant said that
he understood that there was no more appeal possible. They are working with FEMA on the mitigation
aspect of what needs to be done to bring the home into compliance.
Selectman Musselman
said that they had cooperated with the resident who wanted to spend money and
appeal.
Part-time Animal Control Officer (59:10 elapsed)
Police Chief Kevin
Walsh addressed. He said that Greg
Kendall wants to step back from his responsibilities but still wants to be part
of the team. Chief Walsh said that he
still sees a benefit from having him help with dog licensing and other
administrative functions, as well as helping with the handing out of
educational flyers at the beginning of the season. He could still handle the dog waste bag
dispensers, he said.
The hours of the ACO
and Mr. Kendall will fit into the same budget plan. There would be two people doing the
tasks. Chief Walsh said that he would be
looking for the new Animal Control Officer to be more active with beach issues
and ongoing issues. In 2016 there were
ten dog bites, he said. They were not
all down at the beach. The dogs need to
be checked to make sure they were vaccinated.
A follow-up with the owners needs to be done with respect to
quarantining of the dogs. Medical issues
need to be double checked. Sometimes,
people want the police to be involved due to hospital bills. That’s not our role, that’s a civil process,
he said. This would allow dog issues to
be put off on the Animal Control Officer, leaving quality of life issues to be
addressed by the other officers, he said.
There was discussion
about posting the job and possible sources of applicants.
Larry Rocha said that
there are dog walking businesses setting up operation in Rye. One is moving to our street, he said. He asked whether these needed to be
registered.
Chief Walsh responded
“no.” Selectman Musselman said that
there is no ordinance with regard to that.
Editor’s note: See the notes of
the 2017 Deliberative Session, Part Two.
There was vigorous discussion of a leash law for town beaches proposed
by Chief Walsh (Article 27). Ultimately,
the proposed tightening of the ordinance was nullified when the provision
requiring a leash was applied only after dogs were found to not be under control.
Beach Committee Annual Report (61:47 elapsed)
Larry
Rocha, Beach Committee Chairman, addressed.
He said that the Committee consisted of him, Lori Carbajal, Keper
Connell and Steve Hillman. He reported
that Interim Fire Chief Tom Lambert had attended only one of the two meetings,
but Police Chief Walsh attended both of them.
One of the biggest issues is parking, he said. People are parking all over the place. They recommend an increase in fines. He also referred to the possibility of
satellite parking. They also recommend
bike racks at certain locations and kiosks along Route 1A with the funds to be
used for beach management, he said.
The Beach Committee was
asked to count and document cars, Mr. Rocha said. Most of the urination issues are occurring
with the big RVs and mini vans parked on the side of the road. I personally saw this happen three times, he
said. Mr. Rocha provided a count of cars
on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 8:30 a.m.
It was sunny with winds of 6 m.p.h.
The temperature was 65 degrees.
There were a total of 72 cars in the parking lot at Jenness Beach. They were from:
New
Hampshire 25
Quebec
(unclear) 23
(including several large vans and trucks)
Massachusetts 19
Vermont 4
Virginia 1
Total 72
Along Perkins Rd., the totals were:
New
Hampshire 3
Quebec 5
Massachusetts 8
Connecticut 2
Rhode
Island 1
Total 19
At Sawyers Beach at that time there were only three cars parked
there.
By 3:30, along Sawyers Beach the cars were:
New
Hampshire (with stickers) 12
New
Hampshire (without stickers) 3
Out-of-state
(without stickers) 2
Along Route 1A, going north from Jenness Beach:
New
Hampshire 4
Quebec 24 (of which
20 were huge RV vans)
Massachusetts 5
Mr. Rocha said that they would like to see no parking west of Route 1A
where residents live. Parking on Route
1A would only be allowed on the beach side.
The number of large RVs that can park there would be limited, he
said.
As you go down Route 1A
south towards Hampton, there is no parking on either side of the road, he
said. The availability of parking on
both sides of the road is what is drawing cars to Rye, he said. He said that he did not know why they do not
allow parking on either side, but Rye allows it on both sides.
Selectman Musselman
said that it is political.
Mr. Rocha said that the
other issue is littering, although there are already fines. Increased fines may be needed, he said.
They are also
recommending a $100 permit application fee.
Three of the four Committee members believe that there should be a fee
if the permit is issued. They are
suggesting $500 as a profit is being made from the beach with the use of the
permits, Mr. Rocha said.
There are
recommendations regarding flag placement and lifeguard training, he said.
Selectman Jenness said
that Chief Walsh has generally suggested a particular fine based on juggling.
Chief Walsh said that
they had done surveys. The last may have
been 2015 or 2016. Comparing Rye with
other beach communities, Rye is at the medium or medium to high level. As far as collecting, that is still ongoing
for 2015 and 2016. Three “hate mails”
are sent out. I’ve stopped people that
have fines owed and I write a ticket with a “must appear” court date, he
said.
Selectman Musselman
asked whether the boot was being used after three.
Chief Walsh responded
that the court summons was issued.
Selectman Musselman
said that the boot could be used.
Chief Walsh agreed, but
added that they had only found use for that once.
(71:36 elapsed)
Selectman
Musselman said that they had still not heard back from the State of New
Hampshire regarding parking meters at Jenness Beach. We have been awaiting a letter from the DOT
Commissioner since last Spring. We were
in a hurry as we were going to have a warrant article for a capital
appropriation. We never heard from
her. We have written to Governor
Sununu. We need approval from DOT to
install parking meters. We need to
induce an answer somehow, he said. Editor’s note: 2016 Article 21, which provided for the
Selectmen to proceed with considering the installation of parking meters along
sections of Ocean Blvd., near both Jenness and Wallis Sands Beaches, passed
1054-395. See also N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann.
(“RSA”) 231:130 which specifically gives towns the authority to install parking
meters “on any street.”
Selectman Musselman also said that he has
come to agree with the Beach Committee that parking should be prohibited on
Perkins Rd. It is not wide enough, he
said. The behavior on that stretch has
been terrible and their data show that the vehicles are from out-of-state and
out of country. People are flocking to
fill that up before they use the space on Ocean Blvd., he said. Dirty diapers are being left in mailboxes,
people are urinating and things are being thrown into people’s yards, he
said.
There is a new
Selectmen coming on in March, Selectman Musselman said. If Perkins is to be done, Cable and Locke
Roads may also need to be done. It’s
stupid, we’re taxing Rye residents with people from out-of-state and out of
country who are abusing the properties and they have parking readily available
nearby.
Steve Hillman said that
this is the cycle of the never ending problem.
There are places to pay to park, but people choose not to use them as
they do not want to pay. Putting kiosks
up will do the same thing. Prohibiting
parking on certain roads will spread the problem to someone else’s road and then
those people will complain until there will be no parking signs along every
road leading to the beach. Because the
State encourages people to come, we get left with a lot of the work, he
said. The kiosks will not solve the
problem. The problem will move and there always be this issue, he said.
Selectman Musselman
agreed that the kiosks provide only income, but do not solve the problem. He said that, initially, he had thought that
remote parking might be the answer. But,
the economics of that are highly suspect.
That is similarly not a solution.
The same cost is paid when its raining to run the buses, he said.
Steve Hillman suggested
contracting that out to Coast Bus.
Selectman Musselman
said that they would not touch something that they cannot make money on.
Mr. Hillman said that
he agreed with the problem with RVs. He
suggested that the State be petitioned to limit the parking of RVs. If those could be eliminated, a lot of
people’s issues would also be eliminated, he said.
Chief Walsh said that
they are trying to do something in terms of a draft. They have looked at Seabrook and other
towns. Everything has unintended
consequences, he said.
Selectman Jenness
suggested the need for a work session on beach, or beach parking issues. People are asking why the kiosks have not
been installed. The residents are saying
that they said that we wanted them and Nancy Stiles said we could have them,
she said. That is not what she said
exactly, Selectman Jenness argued. What
she said was that we have to get the proper authority, she said. Editor’s
note: That is not correct. At the September 24, 2013 work session with
the Board of Selectmen, Senator Stiles announced that the decision would be in
the hands of the Selectmen. See the
notes of that meeting. The official
minutes state that Senator Stiles “explained that there is a State statute that
allows communities to do this. This
would fall back into the hands of the Selectmen to make the determination of
where they would like to locate the meters and if the meters would be seasonal
or not.” Selectman Jenness said that,
if we got DOT to approve it, we still don’t know if we can keep any funds. Editor’s
note: This question was answered in
2013. See the minutes of the September
24, 2013 meeting. Senator Stiles
specifically said that the maintenance and installation of the meters would be
at the cost of the town, but the revenues would go to the town. See also RSA 231:130 which provides that
towns may establish reasonable charges to be paid through the meters.
Selectman Musselman said that the State
knows that. If they thought that we
would pay for the kiosks and they could keep the money, we would have heard
from them already, he said.
Peter Crawford referred
to the second study that was done following the Tighe & Bond study. He said that their representative had
reported that pay by cell phone could be done. Editor’s
note: See the notes of the February 22,
2016 meeting. The representative was
John Burke. Mr. Crawford said that
the side streets could be done as pay by cell phone or with resident parking as
an alternative.
Selectman Musselman
said that there is not enough shoulder on the side streets.
Mr. Crawford said that
while some of them need to be “no parking.”
The ones that are not should be paid for up to a certain distance from
the beach, whether it is a quarter mile or a half mile, he said.
Mr. Crawford referred
to the Governor now being from a different party and the assumption that the
DOT Director is out, with a Republican coming in.
Selectman Musselman
said that he did not know. She may have
a contract, he said. Mr. Magnant said
that usually they serve a term.
Lori Carbajal referred
to questions from people about having a Porta Potty at Sawyers. The beautiful bathroom proposed is not
accessible at low tide, she said.
She referred to the
lack of enforcement as indicated by the photos passed out by Mr. Rocha. There are not supposed to be campers in the
lot at Jenness Beach, but they are parked there all of the time, she said. There’s nobody there to monitor it, she
said. She suggested 5-7 spots with
permit parking on Perkins Rd. for the disabled and others who cannot get over
the shale pile at Sawyers Beach. The
chances of finding a nearby spot on a nice Saturday are slim to none.
Ms. Carbajal suggested
“up to” signs for littering fines. She
referred to a lot of garbage being strewn on Love Ln.
Steve Hillman suggested
a firm date for permit applications.
Someone said that it was already established for March 1. Chief Walsh said that the letters had already
been sent out.
Mr. Hillman suggested
that dog walking businesses should have a beach permit.
Chief Walsh said that
the dog walking businesses are most common in the Town Forest.
Selectman Jenness
referred to advertisements in New York City encouraging vacations for dogs on
New Hampshire beaches.
Chief Walsh said that
Rye has a nine mile long coast. It is
hard to chase down the dog walking businesses.
He said that, with all of the issues, he is going to be asking for more
people. If the State finds out that we
are making even $.01 on parking, it will be gone quickly, he said. He referred to the State taking money from
the penalty assessments, he said. That
is because the motor vehicle tickets are making money and the other governing
bodies are tapping into it. Now, the
Board of Selectmen has total say on what happens on Ocean Blvd. We have to go through the State for
permission, but every time we do, the Board has gotten their way. That will not happen if we charge for spaces,
he said.
AB10 Insurance Option (93:22 elapsed)
Town Administrator
Magnant said that Ms. Gillespie is working on this and explained the need to
act quickly. Selectman Musselman moved
to offer the same benefits to town employees as is offered to the three unions. Selectman Jenness seconded. Mr. Maganant suggested that the motion be
contingent on an affirmative vote on the union agreements at March Town
Meeting. Selectman Musselman agreed. All were in favor.
COLA 2.5% for non-union employees (94:56 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
suggested that this should be put off until after the Town Meeting vote and put
on the agenda for the meeting after that.
At that point, there will be a third selectman, he said.
Other business: sampling at Town wells (95:17 elapsed)
There being no new or
old business, Selectman Musselman said that he had other business. He said that they had had contact from NHDES
in the past week regarding the sampling of wells at the town’s landfills for
PFCs. That is a group of contaminants
that many of you have been reading about in the paper, he said. DES would like us to add PFC analysis, which
is costly, to the May 2017 testing which is being conducted at the Breakfast
Hill and Grove Rd. landfills. They are
particularly interested in the former as it is adjacent to the Coakley
site. I’m not sure what their interest
is, he said, because it flows in an easterly direction away from the Coakley
Landfill. Also, the Breakfast Hill
Landfill is higher than the Coakley Landfill, so some physical laws would need
to be broken for Coakley to have any impact on Breakfast Hill, he said. Editor’s
note: The Grove Rd. Landfill is across
from the Transfer Center in Rye. The
Breakfast Hill Landfill is on the southwest corner of the intersection between
Ocean Blvd. and Breakfast Hill Rd., in Rye, but on the border with
Greenland. The Coakley Landfill is
southwest of that, and not in Rye.
Selectman Musselman said that they planned
to do as much sampling as could be done, both down gradient and up gradient,
from both landfill sites. I kind of
suspected that they would have more interest in the Grove Rd. Landfill due to
proximity to the Rye Water District well which has low levels of PFCs in
it. They are doing this for every
unlined landfill in New Hampshire in 2017 and 2018. They are also trying to get surface water
samples at each site. I explained that
there is no surface water at either of these sites. Berry’s Brook is three-quarters of a mile
away and not a discharge point for the contaminants from the Breakfast Hill
Landfill. Both landfills have been
monitored for a long time now, he said.
The former has shown some manganese contamination down gradient, he
said. Editor’s note: Selectman
Musselman’s firm, CMA Engineers, does the sample collection and data interpretation
related to these landfills for no charge to the Town of Rye. The analysis of the samples is done by an
outside laboratory. CMA was involved in the closing of the Grove
Road Landfill and is also believed to have had involvement with the Breakfast
Hill Landfill. Selectman Musselman
said that there is a valid question as to whether the manganese is released
from the soil or whether it is existing manganese concentrations that are in
other wells. There is a question as to
whether the manganese has anything to do with the Breakfast Hill Landfill, he
said.
The Grove Road Landfill
has been monitored for years and there are no indicators of contamination in
the ground water, not even elevated specific conductance. We will have some data in May, he said. We will take a look at what that data shows
and determine whether additional sampling and analysis is merited for 2018,
under a separate budget, he said.
Selectman Jenness asked
about PFOs. Selectman Musselman said
that the term PFCs is used for a broad variety of contaminants. The specific analyses have been
enumerated. We will get a quote from the
Town’s laboratory, he said.
Frankly, I don’t expect
to see, from landfill sources, those contaminants from either, Selectman
Musselman said. I would note that there
is clear history in New Hampshire for the deposition of PFCs from atmospheric
sources. The fact that something shows
up a half a mile, a thousand yards, or three miles away from the Coakley Landfill
does not provide evidence to support that it may be from the Coakley
Landfill. It may well be from other
sources, he said.
We will be one of the
first communities to go through this process, Selectman Musselman said. DES is getting together with other towns in
April. I explained to the gentlemen from
DES that Rye will do what is required.
If there is a public health issue we need to do it correctly and in
accordance with their requirements and funding availability, he said.
Victor Azzi asked what
the Board of Selectmen’s response would be to item B of the Consent
Agenda. Editor’s note: That is the
letter from Jim Splaine, Assistant Mayor of Portsmouth, regarding the Coakley
Landfill. Mr. Azzi had attempted to
obtain a response from the Selectmen regarding that earlier in the meeting.
Selectman Musselman said that that was a
request from one of nine members of the Portsmouth City Council. We haven’t heard from Portsmouth. We will respond when we hear from Portsmouth,
he said.
Peter Crawford said
that, although he does not recall the exact numbers, he had heard at the last
Rye Water District Meeting about a current New Hampshire limit of 70 parts per
trillion for PFCs. The blending of two
of their wells is at a 10-15 level.
There is speculation that the limit may be reduced to the Vermont level
which may be 8 or 10. The Water District
is concerned that they may need to put in a water treatment plant to deal with
this issue, he said.
Selectman Musselman
said that there are some activists that are talking about lowering it to 8 to
10. I haven’t heard that, at all, from
DES. I expect DES to go through a
process to gather data and figure out what this issue is. That is going to take some time. I think it’s very unlikely that there are
going to be new, low, standards in 2017.
The data is not available to support that, he said. Getting data from all over the State is one
of the things that they are doing. I’m
sure that there are other activities that we are unaware of at DES regarding
the setting of health standards, he said.
It is not something that you do by fiat, but something that you do based
on detailed science and health-related analyses, he said. The desires of individual citizens are not a
basis to lower or raise the standards, he said.
They are at the beginning of a process to figure that out, he said.
Lori Carbajal said that
she knows that Coakley is behind North Hill Nursery in North Hampton. A recent aerial shows a junkyard in the area
that could be contributing contamination, she said.
Selectman Musselman
said that Coakley has lots of monitoring locations around it. There is a lot of technical information that
they, DES and EPA (since it is a Super Fund site) are looking at
carefully.
Selectman Jenness noted
that Rye never participated in Coakley.
Selectman Musselman
said that that is why the Breakfast Hill Landfill exists. When Grove Road shut down the waste did not
need to go to Coakley. I understand that
one of our Selectman’s husband insisted on that. It was in retrospect a wise move, he
said. Editor’s note: This is an
apparent reference to Bill Jenness, the husband of Selectman Jenness.
Victor Azzi asked whether Breakfast Hill had
been opened because of the Coakley closing.
Selectman Musselman
said no, that Coakley and Breakfast Hill were both open at the same time.
Victor Azzi asked
whether Breakfast Hill was a municipal operation.
Selectman Musselman
asserted that it was a Town of Rye operation accepting only waste from
Rye. It was lined in a fashion with
trenches with layers of clay in the bottom.
It was eventually capped. While
it was operating rain could infiltrate through the trash and hit the clay. It could eventually get into the groundwater,
but it had a more circuitous path than if the clay was not underneath, he
said. That probably reduced the
contamination reaching the ground water to some extent, he said. It is not a modern day liner, he
acknowledged.
Victor Azzi asked
whether it was only waste generated in Rye that was deposited there. Selectman Musselman confirmed. Both that and the Grove Road Landfill were
local trash only, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, he said. Grove Road was a burning dump, he said. There was something in the paper saying that
ash from the Pease incinerator may have been deposited in the Grove Rd.
Landfill. I can tell you categorically
that that is not true, he said.
Selectman Jenness said
that it smelled terribly as it was frequently set off with garbage.
Selectman Musselman
said that the Pease ash, after Coakley closed, went to the Jones Ave. site in
Portsmouth.
Victor Azzi asked how
many landfills there were in Rye at the time.
The response was either one or two.
Selectman Musselman
said that, with respect to the Grove Rd. Landfill, a conscious decision was
made 15-20 years ago not to cap that.
The judgment was that capping it would likely release more contaminants
into the groundwater near the Rye Water District well than leaving it
alone. It has been monitored for 15
years with little, if any, discernable water quality impact, which is what
you’d expect from a very small, old, open burning dump. Ten years ago New Hampshire stopped
monitoring those sites and requiring that they be closed, he said.
Victor Azzi asked about
continued Town ownership of the sites.
Selectman Musselman
said that the Town owns the Grove Road Landfill, but not the Breakfast Hill
Landfill. It was, and still is, owned by
the Ciborowski family. Selectman
Musselman looked at Town Administrator Magnant and asked him whether there was
still an active lease.
Mr. Magnant said that
he is not aware of a lease of one.
Selectman Jenness said
that the site had been offered by Carolyn Beaulieu as a swap relating to the
development of a site down the road. It
was offered for low cost housing on top of the landfill. That would not have worked, she said.
Victor Azzi said that
that was north of Breakfast Hill Rd.
Selectman Musselman
said that he does not know what the relationship is between the Ciborowskis and
the Town with regard to the landfill at this time. I have never investigated that, he said. There may not be anything. They know that there was an old town landfill
there because there was a lease at the time, he said.
Victor Azzi asked about
the Carpenter property having been damaged by a migrating plume. There was discussion about the location of
that.
Selectman Musselman
said that there is no longer an outstanding issue on that. He said that the only issue that he recalls,
in his tenure here, is that the State asked us, with regard to manganese, which
may be natural or may be from the landfill, to do an overlay zone in the down
gradient direction from the Breakfast Hill Landfill indicating that none of
those parcels would be used for potable water supply purposes. Two or three years ago, that one of the
Planning Board modifications voted up at Town Meeting, he said.
Selectman Jenness said
that the question was related to the big field on the corner across from the
Carpenter’s home at the end of Washington Rd.
Selectman Musselman
said that they have access to Rye Water District lines on three sides. If they developed the site they wouldn’t put
in a well anyway, he said.
Selectman Jenness
referred to a desire to place a gas station there at one point.
Selectman Musselman said
that they didn’t hear from anyone when the overlay zone was put in place. All abutters had to notified, he said.
We are not ignoring
things and there is nothing to hide, Selectman Musselman said. All of the information is a matter of public
record as is all of the information from Coakley Landfill. With two or three days notice, they will roll
out all of the carts with all of the information from day one. It is a complex situation. The down gradient direction heads towards
surface water in both North Hampton and Rye.
It does not head towards ground water in Rye in an easterly direction,
we’ve been apprised. I have not
personally reviewed all of the data, he said.
Adjournment (117:06 elapsed)
Whereupon the meeting
adjourned at approximately 8:29 p.m.