Selectboard Present: Cheryl Mayberry, Chair; Steven Dalessio and Carolyn Vose

Staff Present: Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration

CALL TO ORDER: Ms. Mayberry called the Selectboard meeting to order at 6:30 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She introduced herself, Cheryl Mayberry, Selectboard Chair, Steve Dalessio and Carolyn Vose and Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Vose moved to approve Accounts Payable totaling $134,067.43 dated 4/05/24. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Vose, Mr. Dalessio, and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved. This included a $42,776.94 payment to HealthTrust and a $41,179.00 payment to Eastern Minerals for road salt.

Mr. Dalessio mentioned that a new monthly payment amount to Fall Mountain Regional School District (FMRSD) was being confirmed. A letter is to be sent by FMRSD to explain the large decrease of over $200,000 per month. Ms. Mayberry explained that normally adjustments are made in January, at the beginning of the calendar year. 

PAYROLL:

Ms. Vose moved to approve the Payroll Register totaling $31,310.63 dated 4/05/24 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $6,480.31.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Vose, Mr. Dalessio, and Ms. Mayberryin favor, the motion was approved. 

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – March 28, 2024:   Ms. Vose moved to approve the Minutes of the Selectboard meeting of March 28, 2024. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Vose, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

VETERANS’ TAX CREDIT

Map and Lot# 015-023-000: Ms. Vose moved to approve the Veterans’ Property Tax Credit for Map and Lot# 015-023-000. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Vose, Mr. Dalessio, and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

OLD BUSINESS: 

High Street Bridge/Culvert: Mr. Dalessio reported the drawing would be released so that the project could go out to bid. Ms. Mayberry asked if the design plans could be shared. Mr. Dalessio responded they could be, and he will send them to Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose. Mr. Dalessio added that there is currently no money assigned to the School Street Drainage and the High Street Bridge Project. Mr. Dalessio believes that mitigation grant funds may be available.

Houghton Brook Bridge:  Mr. Dalessio stated that the project is closer to the design stage for a single lane wooden bridge. A temporary bridge will need to be installed, which influenced the cost of the project. The DES told Mr. Dalessio that the original grant award was still active.

Reservoir Dam: Mr. Dalessio said that the kick-off for the final design implementation plan was yesterday. There are now 12 people assigned to the project. Borings, survey work and wetland delineations will be occurring. Reimbursements from the ARPA grant for work billed to date have been received and are being tracked.

Discontinuance of Water Service Letter from the NH Dept. of Energy: Ms. Mayberry stated that this is a confirmation letter related to an earlier verbal notification. The North Walpole and Walpole Water and/or Sewer Utilities are not public utilities and do not need to follow the Public Utility Commission (PUC) rules. Mr. Dalessio commented that Walpole Water and Sewer does follow the PUC rules, although not obligated to do so.

NEW BUSINESS:

Cemetery Deed: Ms. Vose moved to accept the Cemetery Deed for lot E947. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Vose, Mr. Dalessio, and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

Purchase Order and Proposal for Town Hall Kitchen Exhaust System: Ms. Vose moved to approve Purchase Order #630697 for the Town Hall Kitchen Exhaust System in the amount of $3,800. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Vose, Mr. Dalessio, and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved. Mr. Dalessio asked what the funding source was for the added dampeners. Mrs. Downing confirmed the expense would be posted against the municipal budget.

Request to the Trustees of Trust Funds: Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the reimbursement request to the Trustees of Trust Funds in the amount of $800 for survey work of the cemetery. Seconded by Ms. Vose. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Vose and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

NH DOT Ten Year Plan: Ms. Mayberry reviewed the status of the Vilas Bridge Project on the Ten Year Plan (TYP) list. Ms. Mayberry has been a member of the Transportation Committee of SWRPC for over 12 years and is very familiar with TYP requests. A project can reside on the TYP list for many years before the project begins. There was a consensus amongst the Board not to make any new requests.

Recycling Truck Repairs: Ms. Vose had learned from Mr. Hoy that the Recycling Center’s truck was at the repair shop due to structural issues. The cost to repair the truck with welding and potentially a new truck bed was high. The Selectboard discussed ideas that could be shared with Mr. Hoy who would decide upon the best course of action. 

Recycling Center Closure Due to Poor Weather: Ms. Vose had a request from Mr. Hoy to close the Recycling Center on Thursday, 4/4/23 because of expected bad weather. Ms. Mayberry recommended that Mr. Hoy speak with Mr. Symonds, the Road Agent, in the morning to give his thoughts on road conditions before deciding to close the facility. Suggestions on how to communicate the closure were also discussed.

Free Little Libraries: There was a request from Alice Cable of FMRSD to place Free Little Libraries at locations such as Abenaki Springs, the Drewsville Common, etc. The Selectboard was in consensus to forward the inquiry to Jane Malmberg, the Walpole Library Director.

North Walpole Village Annual Meeting: Ms. Mayberry gave a recap of the questions asked and answers given to those attending the North Walpole Village’s Annual Meeting. There were several questions related to road signage. Additionally, there were inquiries about the future of the current Police Station and comments about graffiti.

HOOPER TRUSTEES:  

Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into the Hooper Trustees meeting at 7:58 PM. Mr. Dalessio seconded. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio, and Ms. Vose in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting was reconvened at 8:02 PM.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry declared the meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah Downing, Recording Secretary Pro Tempore

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