I would like to thank the Selectbaord and the Staff for meeting and sharing this information.  I am a firm believer that too much coommunication  is much better than too little. – Lil

TOWN OF WALPOLE

STAFF MEETING

AUGUST 20, 2015

Selectboard Present:     Steven Dalessio (Chair); Peggy Pschirrer; (Absent: Whitney Aldrich)

Staff Attending:    Police Chief Michael Paquette, Jim Terrell (Highway Department); Justin Cassarino (Recreation Department); Sandra Smith (Town Clerk/Tax Collector); Justine Rogers (Library Director); Rich Kreissle (Bookkeeper); Linda Edkins (Office)

Excused:   Paul Colburn (Recycling Facility); Eloise Clark (Hooper Institute); Mark Houghton (Water / Wastewater Department); Janet Clough (Administrative Assistant)

CALL TO ORDER:  Mr. Dalessio called this Staff Meeting to order at 5:00 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.

Welcome New Team Member:

Mr. Dalessio welcomed Miss Justine Rogers as the new Director at the Library.  He explained that, at this monthly meeting, they talk about things that are beneficial plus they bring new items to the table.  She can then report back to the folks that work for her.  Each department does a brief report that is submitted to the office, in writing, in advance of the meeting to allow time for copies to be made for distribution.

Department Reports:

Highway Department:  Mr. Jim Terrell reported that paving took up a lot of their time but they are finished for the year.  Trucks and equipment were cleaned after the paving.  They have also been doing the following jobs:

• Lawn and Roadside Mowing;
• Finished work on the Salt Shed;
• Installed basketball hoops at the Recreation Park;
• Picked up downed trees;
• Cold patching;
• Hauled in winter sand;
• Fixed fallen headwall.

This year they did 6.379 miles of road paving and 1,458 feet of sidewalk was replaced.

He has been talking with Mr. Warren Stevens who has been working on the red-listed bridges.  Because of the wetlands he has been trying to get permits.  They hoped to get this project done this year however it might not happen without the permits.  He talked to Mr. Randy Rhoades, who has taken over for Mr. Stevens, about doing some drilling for ledge close to the Sheldon Sawyer property.  Mill Pond is red-listed but not a major issue.  March Hill will require a lot of work so they are not looking to get anything fixed this year.  They are not quick fixes.  Mr. Terrell will budget for engineering work.  The salt shed work done this year totaled $29,739.00 which is well under the $50,900.00 budgeted amount.  Mr. Dalessio suggested getting a price to do the second side and if it can be done for the balance of the money budgeted to get it done this year.  If not, get a price for next year.  Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned that they ordered a lot of new signs this year.  Mr. Terrell said the signs are in and they will be installed next week.  Mr. Dalessio advised that the Town got a donation for curbing in front of the Town Hall to the Boas property line.  It is a small job but they want to cover it in the next budget.

Police Department:  Police Chief Paquette reported that arrests have increased.  In July there were: Arrests – 61; Traffic Crashes – 35; Incidents – 102; Calls for Service – 2,121; and Motor Vehicle Stops – 680.  Over-all Old Home Days went well but there were a few Open Container, Disorderly Conduct and Disobeying orders arrests.  The fireworks bring a lot of people to both sides of the river but it is getting better than past years.  They always have to hire more people.  Officers are using their vacation time.  Ms. Katrina Lee has helped him set up a juvenile diversion program for minor offenses vs putting them right in the court system.  They want the County Attorney to approve it; it is looking good.  There are a number of different organizations that will participate.  Waivers will need to be signed by both the youth and parents to participate.  They had the NH State Police Bomb Squad and the US Navy in yesterday to remove some old items from the river.  Periodically divers find items under the bridge.  The items are taken away and the Bomb Squad / US Navy do a mass detonation.  A lot of it is WW II miscellaneous items.  They submitted an application for a grant from Walmart as they need additional equipment for the new cruiser.  Department members completed a Tactical Medical course.  They learned how to treat serious medical issues that they might encounter.  The department has almost completed the Special DUI Details and radar enforcement through the grant.

Walpole False Alarm Policy:  Chief Paquette recommended that after the third alarm the Town increase the fee from $25.00 to $75.00.  The officers quite often get called out in the middle of the night so they need to cover their expenses.  After the sixth time they should increase the fee to $150.00.  After the first alarm the owner gets a courtesy letter.  He would like the Police Department to be able to use discretion when companies put in new alarm systems until the problems are fixed.  Mr. Dalessio referenced the last paragraph.  It would be nice to have a master list of all businesses and residents with alarms.  Mrs. Pschirrer recommended sending a letter to state that they must register and give the Police Department the critical information.  A notice will be sent to the Clarion.

Mr. Dalessio advised that the Selectboard is in the process of reviewing all the ordinances and policies.  Some will be reaffirmed as is, some are outdated and will either be rescinded or re-written.

The Westminster Bridge project will not go out for bid until November.  They were notified of the delay.  Mr. Terrell heard they backed up the paving on Church Street in North Walpole by about two months.

Town Clerk/Tax Collector:  Mr. Dalessio reported that they are in the middle of a major computer network change.  It is a hectic time for Mrs. Smith.  The old equipment is being finicky so this office is not fully up and running with two computers to handle all the vehicle registrations.  He has been busy trying to get all the details in place.  They hired a company called True North Network so it looks like it is now moving forward.  Mrs. Smith should be connected with Virtual Private Network soon as the State mandated they use this system before the end of September.  The State feels this will result in faster transactions.  Mrs. Smith advised that last Thursday they were down from approximately 11:30 am until 4:45 pm; she stayed until after 6:00 pm processing registrations that people had left.  Registrations are now taking a lot longer as they have to check driver’s licenses, etc.  On Tuesday she processed 37 registrations and collected $3,821.00 for the Town and $1,427.00 for the State of NH.  They processed two Marriage Licenses last Tuesday, each one takes over 45 minutes; the Town receives $7.00 and the State receives $43.00 for each license.  The Town Clerk/Tax Collector collected $459,799.87 from January 1^st to July 31^st; collected $25,995.00 from August 1^st to August 18^th and collected $5,215,578.93 from January 1^st to July 31^st.  They collected $31,019.24 during August.  The total uncollected is $673,162.12 as of August 18^th.  This is a small amount compared to most towns.  Some people make regular partial payments.

Dogs are a small part of the revenue.  Chief Paquette reported that they are doing research to hire an Animal Control Officer on a per diem basis.

Recreation Department:  Mr. Justin Cassarino reported that it was a great season at the pool.  He submitted a breakdown of the figures for daily attendance from July 16, 2015 to August 19, 2015; it does not include food.  They are continuing to grow especially this season with non-residents who say our facility / staff is so much more welcoming, the facility is clean and they enjoy their swim.  Twenty+ girls are coming from Keene for their end of the year softball get-together.  They had the State inspection with the water and the inspector said they had one of the best pools he had tested.  Three canopies are up and the public is very happy with them.  Two basketball hoops were installed.  They want to continue to monitor for security.  Mr. Dalessio feels the WiFi should be turned off when they close for the season.  Mr. Cassarino and Mr. Terrell talked about where the handicapped parking signs should go.  People want to bring back the Basketball League next year.  They averaged about 110 spectators.  He is writing an article for the Clarion.  Pool closing will be on Sunday at 5:00 pm and then they will clean and get it ready for the winter season.  The water will be shut off on September 12^th; both Mr. Cassarino and Mr. Houghton will be taking care of this.  Mr. Dalessio mentioned that they talked about starting a Capital Reserve Fund for future projects.  He thanked Mr. Cassarino for doing a great job and having a great year.

Selectboard Office:  The Selectboard reviewed the Selectboard Office Window Activity and Office Phone Activity reports for the period of July 16, 2015 to August 19, 2015.  The office phone was answered 250 times in 26 days and the window activity resulted in 168 people in a 26 day period.  Mr. Dalessio pointed out that they need to evaluate the Town Hall rental fees.  They will consider putting enough data / information on the web site, for example the tax cards, plus having a hand-out in the office to cut down on the office staff time when people are asking questions.  Based on these reports the Selectboard now has enough data to see what they can put in place to make things run smoother.  The web site is getting about 75 people a day.  He estimates making changes in approximately 20 minutes.  Within eight weeks he will turn it over to the office staff.  Department Heads will be able to enter their own information.

Mr. Kreissle will be attending several workshops in September and October.

Recycling Center:  Mr. Paul Colburn was unable to attend this meeting but did submit two reports on the “Daily Weight Report and 5 Year to Date Comparison” on recyclables and a “Summary Monthly Comparison”.

Budget Schedule:  Mr. Dalessio reported that by the second Tuesday of September Mr. Kreissle will have the department reports ready on the spending.  By the third Tuesday of September he would like everybody to have a first shot at the budget.  By the middle of October they would like a first glance on the proposed 2016 budget for the tax rate.  He is more concerned about the expense side rather than salaries, etc.  They want to get an early start and then refine the numbers.  About mid October the Selectboard will start to meet with individual departments.  Warrant Articles should be submitted by the beginning of November.

Safety or Joint Loss Committee:  Mr. Colburn has agreed to head-up this committee.  They will be asking non-advisory folks to be on the committee.  They will probably meet once a month.

The Town will be switching insurance companies next year.  They will want to inspect buildings / equipment to see what they are insuring.  Primex is geared toward preventing accidents.  The Town has to address any problem areas.

Mr. Dalessio thanked everyone for coming to this meeting.  If any questions or concerns come up do not hesitate to contact one of the Selectboard members.

Adjournment:  

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to adjourn this Staff Meeting.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With all in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary