NOTES OF MARCH 27, 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, Priscilla Jenness and Phil Winslow, Finance Director Cyndi Gillespie.
Also present and sitting in the audience or the lobby outside: Interim Fire Chief Tom Lambert, Police Chief Kevin Walsh, Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy.
Persons present from the public included: Victor Azzi, Mae Bradshaw, Lori Carbajal, Peter Crawford, Dave Cropper, Burt Dibble, Steve Hillman, Tyler McGill, 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 6:46:24 p.m. (0:00 elapsed).
Summary
4.
The process of hiring a full-time
Fire Chief will be started.
Introduction of new Selectman (0:51 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
introduced those at the table, including new Selectman Phil Winslow. He said that there were again three
Selectmen. There was applause.
Sealing of minutes (1:30 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness moved
to seal the minutes of the non-public session just concluded, which motion
carried unanimously.
Announcements and Public Comment about Town Hall (1:47 elapsed)
There were no
announcements.
David Choate of the New
Hampshire Preservation Alliance (also a Rye resident) spoke about plans for
them to explore funding, using sources other than taxpayers, for the
stabilization of Town Hall. Editor’s note: Of the five Town Hall-related articles in the
recent Town Election, only one passed, and that did not provide any funding.
Peter Crawford spoke
about the messages to be taken from the vote counts on the Town Hall articles
in the recent election.
Mae Bradshaw also spoke
about Town Hall issues and talked about the effect of school consolidation
efforts.
Frances Erlebacher
shared what she had heard regarding Town Hall and public views regarding it
during her campaign for the State Legislature and otherwise.
Phil Winslow thanked
former Selectmen Joe Mills for his service as Selectman and Paul Goldman for
his service on the Budget Committee and Zoning Board of Adjustment, and both
Mr. Goldman and Richard Moynahan for great campaigns.
Consent Agenda (10:19 elapsed)
Item D, a raffle for
Learning Skills, was added. Item A, a
letter from Dominique Winebaum expressing a need for a wellhead/aquifer
protection ordinance relating to the Aquarion well on Central Rd. in the
Southern part of Rye, was referred to the Planning Board. Items B through D were unanimously approved.
Organization of Board of Selectmen (12:04 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman was
elected Chairman and Selectman Jenness Vice Chairman, in accordance with the
rotation process customarily used in recent years. Selectman Jenness will continue as
representative to the Planning Board.
Selectman Winslow will replace Selectman Musselman as representative to
the Budget Committee. Selectman
Musselman was appointed as the alternate, and he said
that he would work with Selectman Winslow on Budget Committee issues. Selectman Musselman will continue as the
representative to the Historic District Commission, although he noted that
Selectman Winslow had been Chairman of the HDC.
Selectman Musselman replaced Selectman Jenness as the representative to
the Heritage Commission.
There was discussion
about School Warrant Article 3 and the possible need for a Selectman’s
representative to fill a role on a committee to look at school consolidation
and other possible solutions for declining enrollments, but no appointment was
made. The Selectmen will await a request
once the committee gets started.
Minutes (18:00 elapsed)
The minutes of the
March 16, 2017 meeting were unanimously approved with changes, Selectman
Winslow abstaining. The minutes of the
non-public session of the same day were similarly approved without changes.
Appointment of Carissa Preneveau as a full-time police officer (20:16
elapsed)
Officer Preneveau was
unanimously approved. Her facility with
French and previous experience as a lifeguard were noted, as was her
willingness to work on the beach.
Following the appointment, Ms. Preneveau was sworn in by Town Clerk
Donna Decotis.
Investment policy (25:40 elapsed)
A representative from TD
Bank was present to explain proposed changes to the policy. It was decided that these were not
necessary. It was revealed that this was
a policy that had been taken from the City of Concord. The motion to approve the policy, as it
existed previously, carried unanimously.
Abatements (35:49 elapsed)
The three abatements on
the agenda were unanimously approved, for properties at 80 West Rd., 808
Central Rd., and 140 Harbor Rd. The
property at 140 Harbor Rd. was referred to the Building Inspector after it was
revealed that an outhouse constitutes the toilet facilities.
Beach use permits (43:12 elapsed)
It was revealed that a
number of businesses that had been issued permits in prior years had not
reapplied by the deadline, including the Surf Shack near the beach at Wallis
Rd. Extension, a.k.a. Pirates Cove.
The Portsmouth Paddle
Co. application was unanimously approved conditioned upon proof of insurance
being provided. The applicant, Wes
(formerly associated with the Surf Shack) was not present.
The Cinnamon Rainbows
application was unanimously approved.
The applicant, Dave Cropper, was present.
The Summer Sessions
application, which was for the same level of activity as the prior year, was
unanimously approved. There was
discussion about their business being down last year from the prior year
despite the good weather. Tyler McGill,
the applicant, was present.
The Gyrotonic Seacoast
application was unanimously approved.
The MAKN, LLC and
Namate NH Yoga applications were tabled.
Police Chief Kevin Walsh noted that he is not in favor of the former and
the latter is missing some information.
Neither applicant was present.
Pay grade increase for Police Lieutenant (58:52
elapsed)
During the discussion
of this issue, it was revealed that the Sergeant’s pay grade had been increased
so that the Sergeant and the Lieutenant are now at the same pay grade. Police Chief Kevin Walsh pointed out that the
Lieutenant is a key guy for dealing with the courts, victims, addictions and
quality of life issues. His pay and the
Sergeant’s pay were a bit low compared to towns of approximately 5000 persons
and similar Police Department sizes, Chief Walsh said.
There was discussion
about the increase sending ripples elsewhere and the prior salary study having
been done in 2001 or 2002. Town
Administrator Magnant said that such a study could be looked at for the
upcoming budget year. He also said that
the paramedic pay grades had been bumped up a few years ago. He also spoke about the possibility of “red
circling” certain employees, leaving their pay where it is for a period of
time. Editor’s note: This apparently
occurs when raises have increased compensation to the point where an employee’s
compensation is at the range limit for the position. However, the ranges are increased along with
compensation increases so this would be rare, unless it is determined that a
range needs to be lowered due to compensation being higher than market.
Chief Walsh pointed out that, when he came
to Rye, there were three Sergeants. Then
there were two. Now there is one
Sergeant and one Lieutenant. That is
working well, he said.
It was estimated by
Selectman Musselman that the cost of the change in grade would be $5000 to
$10000 annually.
The motion to approved the grade increase carried unanimously.
Street sweeping and lawn care bid results (69:08 elapsed)
Granite State, which
bid $100 per hour for an estimated 80 hours of work in a normal year (but
perhaps 40 due to less snow this year) was unanimously
awarded the contract for street sweeping.
With regard to lawn
care, Public Works Director Dennis McCarthy explained how work was being
offloaded from his department by contracting out 13 of the 20 areas that they
now mow. The bids ranged from $7150 to
$80,000. Mr. McCarthy said that the due
diligence is being done now, but it appears that the award will go to the low
bidder. He explained how the average
tenure of his employees is 20 years and they are entitled to a lot of time off,
which cannot be taken during the winter due to the fact that these persons
double as plow operators.
The Selectmen appeared
not to be opposed to the award of the lawn care contract to the low bidder.
Shoals View Dr. repaving (73:54 elapsed)
Mr. McCarthy pointed
out that the warrant article related to this had passed. There was then discussion about the various
options for completing the engineering.
There is a budget of $10,000 for that, he said. Issues with ledge needing to be removed were
discussed. Mr. McCarthy said that
drilling and blasting will likely be needed.
Only the middle part of the right-of-way, approximately 20-22 feet, will
need to have ledge removed.
Selectman Winslow
mentioned a call that he had received regarding the paving of the portion of
Shoals View on the other side of Parsons Rd., away from the beach. Mr. McCarthy indicated that that is not a
town road.
Selectman Musselman
stressed the importance of distinguishing Shoals View and not creating a
precedent. Mr. McCarthy said that, if
this project goes well, others living on non-paved roads will likely request
paving.
The Selectmen appeared
to favor the design/build approach to having the road designed. Editor’s
note: With design/build, a single bid is
made by competing contractors, including both the design and the construction
costs, eliminating the need to retain an engineering firm or architect
separately. However, there may be a loss
of control with this approach and the winning bidder may have limited patience
if there is difficulty in getting the Town to approve the design.
Six wheel dump truck (89:26 elapsed)
Public Works Director
Dennis McCarthy pointed out that the low bidder this year is Freightliner, but
he is recommending that the contract be awarded to International, which has
agreed to keep the price the same as that of the truck obtained last year. This is the last truck to be replaced for
some time and the others are all International.
It is not a good idea to have a different type of truck, he asserted.
Mr. McCarthy also
recommended that a laptop-based diagnostic tool be obtained. However, that would bring the total bid to
$171,003, of which $81,800 is for the truck itself, $82,903 for the dump body
and $6300 for the “EZ Tech” laptop. Editor’s note: $170,000 was voted at the recent Town
Meeting. That had to be reduced from
$175,000 at the Deliberative Session as there was not enough money in the
Highway Equipment capital reserve to pay the higher amount. There was then discussion about whether
the Town could legally overspend the warrant article amount and take the
difference out of the maintenance budget.
It was agreed that this would be researched. The expenditure was unanimously authorized
with the money to be taken from the appropriate place.
Red Mill Ln. culvert (98:36 elapsed)
Editor’s note: The budget, which
included money to complete one of two Red Mill Ln. culverts
was approved at Town Meeting.
Originally, $150,000 was voted as a separate warrant article (2016
Article 7) to replace one or both culverts.
However, after it was determined that wider culverts were needed to
avoid narrowing of the stream bed, the cost for both culverts, with
engineering, rose to approximately $500,000.
The plan now is to complete only one of the two culverts in 2017, using
almost all of the $150,000 voted in 2016, but not spent, plus additional funds
in the 2017 budget. Voters were not
asked to again approve the culvert replacement as a separate warrant article
despite a tripling in the cost (if Article 7 is construed to provide for both culverts).
The Selectmen
unanimously approved entering into a contract with Wright-Pierce to complete
the culvert design for $19,800. The
culvert closest to Eel Pond will be replaced first, Mr. McCarthy said.
Beach Committee charge, parking meters and parking issues (100:08
elapsed)
Selectman Jenness
pointed out that members Lori Carbajal, Larry Rocha and Steve Hillman were
present, but member Keper Connell was not.
Selectman Musselman had
two suggested changes. He first
suggested that the language about involvement of the Beach Committee with the
lifeguards be removed. Beach Committee
Chairman Larry Rocha agreed, pointing out that the
Fire Department seems to like the way things are being done now. The second suggested change was to extend the
area under their purview northward as there are problems with congestion near
Wallis Sands that are just as bad as those at Jenness Beach, although they do
not extend as far inland. Also, the
North part of Rye does not have the problems with RVs and he believes there are
fewer people from Massachusetts and Quebec in that location.
Selectman Musselman
pointed out that there had still not been a response from the State regarding
parking meters despite a commitment from the Governor to have a response within
three days some time ago.
Lori Carbajal pointed
out that there was almost no parking along the beach in North Hampton.
Selectman
Musselman’s motion to amend the charge to extend the Beach Committee’s purview
from Wallis Sands to Bass Beach, remove the reference to involvement with the
lifeguards, and extend the term through March 31, 2018, carried unanimously.
Larry Rocha spoke about
wanting to add a fifth member named Brad.
Recycling Education Committee (114:09 elapsed)
Selectman Jenness
pointed out that there were now only three members. Selectman Winslow mentioned that two were
from the same family. Public Works
Director Dennis McCarthy said that the Committee should continue.
The discussion then
turned to the recycling revenues. Mr.
McCarthy said that the statistics are in the Town’s Annual report. There was then discussion about whether
prices are firming up and the cost of disposing of green glass.
Cost of living increase of 2.5 percent for
employees (119:02 elapsed)
It was revealed that
the total cost of these increases would be $6900, or $280 per employee. Selectman Musselman asserted that not many
Rye employees are overpaid. He also said
that that Police Lieutenant would be receiving a 7% increase due to the
increase in his pay grade approved earlier in the meeting. He would also get the 2.5% increase, which,
Town Administrator Magnant said, applies to all pay grades. All were in favor of approving this increase. Editor’s
note: The Police, Fire and Public Works
employees are covered by union contracts that were approved by the recent Town
Meeting. The increase of 2.5% just
approved by the Selectmen gives the same percentage increase to non-union town
employees, as has been the customary policy.
Click here to see earlier discussion regarding the
Lieutenant’s pay grade.
Rockingham Planning Commission representative (122 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman pointed out that he had
run into Art Ditto who is the current Transportation Planning Representative to
the Rockingham Planning Commission. Art
had led all of the representatives in attendance. At the one meeting that he had missed due to
surgery, they had elected him Chairman, he said.
Editor’s note: At a previous
meeting it had been revealed that Mr. Ditto was no longer willing to
serve.
Selectman Musselman suggested that Gregg
Mikolaities be appointed to serve in this role.
There are 6-8 meetings per year, he said. It appeared to be agreed that Town Administrator
Magnant would contact him.
“Roast” for former Selectman Mills (125:16 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman pointed out that former
Selectman Mills is “eminently roastable,” and suggested this as a way to
recognize his service when he is feeling better.
Beach Committee appointments (126:31 elapsed)
Larry Rocha, Keper
Connell, Lori Carbajal and Steve Hillman were unanimously reappointed to one
year terms.
Conservation Commission appointments (126:52 elapsed)
It was revealed that
Jim Raynes is seeking appointment as an alternate rather than as a regular
member. Editor’s note: Mr. Raynes had
been Chairman up until about three years ago, when he was replaced by Sally
King. He had then continued as a regular
member. Mike Garvan was noted as a
very good and active member of the Conservation Commission by Selectman
Musselman. Mr. Raynes was unanimously appointed as
an alternate, and Mr. Garvan was unanimously appointed as a regular
member.
Heritage Commission appointments (127:54 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
said that the Heritage Commission members were probably crestfallen that they
had inherited him. Editor’s note: See earlier in
these notes, here. He
replaced Selectman Jenness as the representative to that Commission. Mae Winslow and James Tegeder were unanimously
reappointed. Selectman Winslow noted
that Mr. Tegeder would be stepping down as Chairman.
Mosquito Control Commission reappointment (129:13 elapsed)
Tom Aspinwall was
unanimously reappointed.
New business: Other Committees
and Assistant Building Inspector job description
Selectman Winslow noted
that the Recreation Commission has terms that are up and that the Recycling
Education Committee has no end dates to their terms. Selectman Musselman said that he would follow
up with regard to the Recreation Commission.
Mae Bradshaw, Chairman
of the CIP Committee noted that now-Selectman Winslow had been serving on the
CIP Committee. She suggested that he
continue in that role to provide Selectmen’s representation on that Committee. Selectman Musselman said that this would be
taken up at another meeting.
There was then
discussion about the job description for this position. Selectman Musselman said that there was not
enough in there about monitoring the Parsons Creek Watershed Pump Out Ordinance compliance.
It appeared agreed that both this new job description and the existing
one for the Building Inspector would be updated. There was also discussion about their roles
in interpreting the zoning ordinance and determining when requests need to go
to the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Planning Board.
Selectman Jenness
pointed out that new developments have lists of things
that need to be followed up on “for eternity.”
Selectman Winslow pointed out that there are perhaps seven such developments.
Selectman Musselman
said that the job description could be fixed and that it would not need to be
raised with them again.
New full-time Fire Chief (121:18 elapsed)
Selectman Musselman
said that a process needed to be developed for retaining a Fire Chief. Editor’s
note: The budget just approved includes
funds for a full-time Fire Chief, not a part-time Fire Chief, as has been the
case in recent years. Town
Administrator said that there was no proposal yet, but that he would work on
one and bring it back to the Board.
Non-public session
The Selectmen then
voted, at the request of Town Administrator Magnant, to go into non-public
session.