The Walpolean

Selectboard Present:      Cheryl Mayberry (Chair); Steven Dalessio; Peggy L. Pschirrer

CALL TO ORDER:  Ms. Mayberry called this Selectboard meeting to order at 8:30 AM in the Walpole Town Hall.  This meeting was being recorded.  Also present was Mrs. Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, and Mrs. Regina Borden, Recording Secretary.  There was one member of the public in attendance:  Mr. Ray Boas.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

There was no Accounts Payable Check Register due to the short week. 

PAYROLL:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Payroll Check Register for the week ending November 20, 2021, in the amount of $28,483.10 for checks dated November 26, 2021, and for the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer in the amount of $5,588.34.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved. 

PHONE CALL With Executive Counselor Cinde Warmington:  This call is to discuss the Vilas Bridge and the Ten-Year Transportation Plan. Mrs. Warmington advised they conducted a hearing in Keene, heard feedback about the Vilas Bridge and the desire to have that bridge rehabilitated.  That item is currently in the Ten-Year Plan #41720. It was entered with a total cost of $17,786,000.  The problem is the assumption that New Hampshire (NH) would fund 50% of the bridge replacement and the other 50% would come from other sources presumably Vermont (VT).  She proceeded to have discussions with the Department of Transportation (DOT) about whether VT had agreed to fund this bridge at 50% and the response she got was “No, they had not”.  They believe that VT would be willing to fund the bridge at 7% based on where the state line is on their side of the River.  There is a significant gap between 50% and 93%; her question was how is this bridge ever going to be built if they do not increase the funding?  She thinks everyone she was talking to at the VT DOT felt like that was a legitimate question to ask. It did not seem like that 50% was forthcoming. Therefore, while this project was in the Ten-Year Plan, it was not going to get built.  She then asked for the historic documents documenting the original agreement for NH to maintain that bridge and also asked for the justification that the department is using for the 50% funding number.  She reviewed that information and then sat down with the department last week to say she really does not think there is any legitimate reason why NH is not funding this bridge at 93%.  There is no justification for the 50% number.  The department does understand.  They take the position that VT and Bellows Falls in particular, benefit from this bridge and has vigorously advocated for the bridge repairs. However, there is no legal reason why VT would be responsible for 50% of the funding for the bridge.  She asked why not now, while we have some additional funding in the budget, increase the allocation for funding the Vilas Bridge to 93%? They said they would be willing to put that in as a proposed change to the draft of the Ten-Year Plan. The way the process works is the department meets with the Executive Counselors who take into consideration all of the projects they want done.  There is a list with the changes that comes back to the counselors, and they are voted on.  If there is enough money to fund all the changes, there is a greater likelihood that the council will approve all changes, but not necessarily.  The council can opt to approve the changes all together or take them line-by-line.  Historically, Councilor Wheeler, who is Chair, has wanted to take them line-by-line.  If we ask for and are allocated additional money in the Ten-Year Plan, it will bring attention to this item and the Council will have the opportunity to vote on it; that result could be the item is taken out all together from the Ten-Year Plan.  That is the risk with proceeding to ask for full funding and it would be deleted all together from plan by a vote of the council.  That is likely if there is not enough funding to cover all of the projects that are proposed by all the Executive Counselors.  At the time she met with the DOT, she was the second counselor to meet with them.  They still did not know what the total cost would be of all the counselors’ preferred projects.  Her response was would they put it in there at least for the sake of calculating whether there is enough money or not and once they have met with all the Counselors would they contact her to let her know so she can make a final decision; it would give her the opportunity to discuss it with the Town of Walpole Selectboard to see what they want to do.  Her sense is it is good to have the Vilas Bridge in the Ten-Year Plan. However, if only funded at 50% it would likely never be built.  She thinks with the infrastructure money they have coming this is the best chance they have of getting 93% funding for this project. It is up to the Selectboard to decide whether or not they want to take the risk that it may get deleted all together from the plan.  It is much different than having it on the plan at 50% but she understands that people are glad to have it at least recognized in the plan.  It is up to the Selectboard to decide if they wish to move forward.  She wants their input on this question.  Would they like her to request that the full funding be in the Plan?  She does not yet know what the numbers are.  She would like to keep the sewer line separate for the moment. 

Mr. Dalessio advised that whether it is in at 93%, 50% or even 10%, he believes that Walpole should continue to look at the options of putting in a bypass sewer line or maybe even a permanent fix for that.  This is the biggest impact on that bridge.  If the sewer line fails, they would have a regional environmental catastrophe.  It would be an enormous burden for the people all of a sudden.  Ms. Mayberry noted the question Mrs. Warmington is asking is if they are okay with her putting it in at the 93% with the risk that it might come off the plan all together. 

Mrs. Pschirrer is in favor of Mrs. Worthington trying to put it in at 93% but, like Mr. Dalessio, if it goes in at 93% or if it gets dropped, their mission is to get those sewer pipes out from underneath that bridge.  The 93% demonstrates to Bellows Falls that they have made an honest effort to try to do something to restore that bridge.  As good neighbors they understand their desperate need to have this bridge repaired/replaced.  She knows at 50% it will never be done; at 93% NH might never repair that bridge. 

Mrs. Warmington stated there is infrastructure money now.  The NH DOT does not prioritize this bridge because they feel this bridge is redundant as there is another bridge a short distance up the road.  From a transportation perspective, they feel this bridge would not rise to the priority in competition with the many transportation needs in the state.  She agrees this would not be considered a priority bridge.  With the extra funding now available this may be the best time to try to get it funded.  Mr. Dalessio, Mrs. Pschirrer and Ms. Mayberry all agreed with this statement.  Even with the risk, it may come out all-together. 

Mrs. Worthington began the discussion about the sewer line. She had some discussion with DOT, but they indicated the sewer line was not their problem.  The Town of Walpole needs to take care of that.  They said if they rebuild the bridge, the Town will have to re-route the sewer line anyway.  She asked them when they usually rebuild a bridge with utilities on it what do they do.  They said they could do a number of things including building a temporary bridge that just carries the utilities across the River while they do the bridge work and then put the utilities back on the rebuilt bridge.  Even if it gets funded it is scheduled for 2028/2029 construction at this time.  She does think there is money available for water and sewer infrastructure projects through ARPA and this new Infrastructure Bill.  It may be a good opportunity for the Town to take a look to see if there is any funding available that would allow them to reroute that sewer line a different way over to Bellows Falls. 

Mrs. Pschirrer asked for clarification.  When Mrs. Warmington said the people at NH DOT said this is not their problem but the Town’s problem, the Town will need permission from the DOT to go up Route 12 to move the line.  She does not have a problem with accepting this as the Town’s problem and finding the money to do it. Will DOT cooperate with the proper permitting?  In talking with folks, Mrs. Warmington feels it will be very difficult to reroute that line up to the next bridge.  She heard feedback about there being a lot of ledge, blasting, etc.  She asked DOT about what if it is cost prohibitive for Walpole to run that line up the road.  They asked if Walpole had done any engineering or looked at options and, if so, they would like to see that and work with them.  It is up to the Town to come up with the solution and then talk to them so it is too soon to say will they cooperate.  Mr. Dalessio replied that the Town has done survey work and is considering a bypass line.  As long as the Vilas Bridge line is capable, they would continue to use that line. Only if it should fail would they switch over to the bypass line.  There are other options to move that line in a permanent way.  That might be to move that line over to the railroad bridge that is next to the Vilas Bridge.  We are not at that phase yet, but they need to start looking for money to do the engineering phase.  They have been funding the survey work from surplus funds in the Sewer Fund.  It is not sustainable to continue doing that.  There is still a lot of engineering work to be done before they go to the DOT or whatever bureau they should go to.  Mrs. Warmington said there are funds available for the kind of engineering work he is talking about.  She does not know all the details of ARPA or the Infrastructure money.  She suggested going to Mr. Bob Scott at DOT next to ask for someone to work with the Town to look at what the options are.  Mr. Dalessio mentioned they are looking to hire someone from the Municipal Resources group (MRI) to help the Town navigate through the opportunities.  Mrs. Warmington said it is the people who are ready that will get the funds.  Do not miss this opportunity to move forward.  In her district there are some projects that people are not in agreement on and that is frustrating.  They will miss the opportunity.  Mrs. Warmington will make the call to Mr. Scott.  The Selectboard would designate Mr. Mark Houghton, Director of Water and Sewer plus the Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief /EMS Director as the Town’s contact person.  If all five counselors’ projects add up to more money than they have available, do they still want to go forward with the 93%?  Vilas Bridge could be a target to be cut.  If they have enough funding, it is clear they should go forward.  If there is not enough funding do the Selectboard members want her to keep the Vilas Bridge in at 50% or go ahead with the 93% and take our chances?  Mr. Dalessio, Mrs. Pschirrer and Ms. Mayberry stated to go ahead with the 93% and see what happens. The Selectboard thanked Mrs. Warmington for this information and wished her a happy holiday.                                                            

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (d) Acquisition, Sale or Lease of Real or Personal Property.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved at 8:53 AM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 9:16 AM.

Mrs. Pschirrer moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of November 24, 2021, will be sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

Mr. Ray Boas left the meeting.  Mr. Richard Kreissle came into the meeting.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES – November 18, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Selectboard meeting of November 18, 2021, as submitted.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION MINUTES – November 18, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of November 18, 2021, as submitted.  These Minutes will remain sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

STAFF MEETING MINUTES – November 18, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Staff Meeting of November 18, 2021, as submitted.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of the following Committee reports:

• North Walpole Village District Board of Commissioners Meeting – October 19, 2021;
• North Walpole Village District Board of Commissioners Meeting – October 26, 2021;
• North Walpole Village District Board of Commissioners Meeting – November 2, 2021;
• Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes – November 17, 2021.

OLD BUSINESS:

2021 Preliminary Tax Rate:  Mr. Kreisslehad distributed information regarding last year’s decisions to the Selectboard.  He reviewed those calculations.  North Walpole has their own tax rate.  Ms. Mayberry pointed out that the Selectboard needs to make a decision on the Overlay for the Abatement amount and the fund balances so it can be sent to the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA).  Mr. Kreissle noted the DRA will not allow spending more than what is voted on by the voters.  Mrs. Pschirrer said they are looking at the $1,832,805 figure.  She would not take any money out of the Unassigned Fund balance to reduce their tax rate because people should know what things cost.  The abatement requests come because people get their tax bills and they feel they are being taxed excessively. They sold a lot of property this year.  Mrs. Pschirrer feels the Overlay (Abatement) figure should be set at $65,000.  They over-spent the Highway Department budget because they had not included the $80,000 for paving Elm Street.  This amount will be taken out of other line balances.  Mr. Dalessio mentioned their responsibility is not to over-spend the total budget.  Mrs. Pschirrer noted that last year they put in money to paint the Town Hall, etc. but they were not able to do all the projects so they are encumbering those funds.  What would they be doing next year that they potentially would have spent out of the Unassigned Fund balance?  The Library has chimney problems that need to be taken care of, a new roof is needed on the Town Hall, the Highway Department needs a new sidewalk plow and the Police will need a new vehicle. The pool repair is a potential as they do not know where that leak is coming from.  Tennis courts were repaired temporarily this year but eventually they will need to be replaced.  Mr. Kreissle advised the DRA likes towns to maintain the Unassigned Fund balance between 7% and 17%.            

Mr. Dalessio moved to make the following changes to the preliminary tax rate:  Change the Overlay figure (Abatements) to $65,000 and move $500,000 from the Unassigned Fund Balance for Capital Projects in 2022.  Seconded by Mrs. Pschirrer.  With Mr. Dalessio, Mrs. Pschirrer and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.   

Reservoir Dam Meeting Update: Mr. Dalessio reported the Reservoir Dam has been reclassified as a High Hazard Dam.  That requires certain modifications to the dam but there are options: 1) modify the dam structure in a way that they can reduce the level of the dam and still maintain the recreational properties.  That is what they are pursuing at this point; and 2) they contacted an engineering company; Fuss & O’Neill, who will work up a proposal and cost estimate to bring the Dam into compliance but keep the recreational aspect.  It will be determined by cost and what the voters will want to see happen.

Mill Pond Dam:  Mr. Dalessio advised the Town received the Letter of Deficiencies on the Mill Pond Dam.  It will be tied into the Mill Pond Bridge.          

Pending Further Actions:

Houghton Brook Bridge, Generators, Three Phase Power for Industrial Park Drive and Bensonwood, Tree Plan for Common, Wooden Chairs in Town Hall

Bench On The Common:  Ms. Mayberry mentioned when the Selectboard was walking with Arborclimb they talked about where the bench would be placed.  A decision was made to put it on the far end of the Common near the Church in line with Middle Street; the bench will face the Common.  Following this meeting the Selectboard will meet with Mr. Brad Nash to put a stake in the ground where the bench will be placed. 

NEW BUSINESS:

Memo re: Drainage Deficiencies on South Street:  A memo was received from Mr. Chas Street regarding drainage deficiencies on South Street.  Mrs. Pschirrer pointed out that South Street is a State road.  They repaved that street so should take care of this problem.  The Town now plows that street which is the State’s responsibility.  Ms. Mayberry noted he did send a copy to the State.  Should the Town follow-up with the State to advise it is their problem? Mr. Dalessio suggested they ask Mr. Rau to take a look at the area before contacting the State.         

ADJOURNMENT:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  Ms. Mayberry asked if there was any other discussion.  There was none.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 10:02 AM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

by WalpolePlayers

Ticket sales are in full swing, so get yours now! You don’t want to miss this holiday classic, performed live right here in Walpole!

The Walpole Players are excited to be returning to the Helen Miller Theater in the Walpole Town Hall with a live holiday performance of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry. This well-loved holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, with a small ensemble of actors playing dozens of characters as the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds until one fateful Christmas Eve.

There will be two performances: Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18, both at 7:00 PM, with doors opening at 6:15. The audience will be seated in dinner theater style and should bring their own food and drink. Seating is limited, with six persons to a table and a total of ten tables each night, so make your plans now to attend! Why not get the whole family or a group of friends together and reserve an entire table just for your group?

Tickets can be purchased and table reservations made at Galloway Real Estate at 47 Main Street in Walpole. Tickets are $15 each ($10 under age 12). Please email WalpolePlayers@gmail.com or call (603) 756-2535, for more information or to make reservations over the phone.

For the safety of our audience members, actors, and our community at large, everyone in attendance will be required to wear a mask upon entering the building. Once you are seated at your table, you may remove your mask, but your mask must be worn if you leave your seat at any time for any reason. We also request that audience members be fully vaccinated. We will not be requiring proof of vaccination status, but we will be checking temperatures at the door. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4°F or higher will be asked to leave, and a full refund will be given

HOLIDAY COOKIES by PRE-ORDER

Our famous variety of homemade cookies from the folks at St. John’s Church are available this year by ordering our prepackaged boxes.

Whether to be enjoyed by you or given as a hostess gift, we hope you will partake of our holiday fundraiser. Thank you.

1. The Adult Box with a wide variety of more delicate cookies for $12 per 1 lb. box.

2. The Kids/Hefty eaters Box with a smaller variety of more “familiar” cookies for $10 per 1 lb. box.

E. Plum pudding at $12. (ONLY 4 LEFT)!!

Place your order online at orders@stjohnswalpole.org.

Order by Saturday, December 11th

Pickup on Saturday morning, December 18th from 9-12

St. John’s (Elm and Westminster St.)

Cash or Check

Selectboard Present:      Cheryl Mayberry (Chair); Steven Dalessio; Peggy L. Pschirrer

Staff Present:                Sarah Downing (Manager of Administration); Richard Kreissle (Administrator of Finance); Justin Sanctuary (Chief Police Department); Michael Rau (Road Agent/Highway Department); Ben Hoy (Recycling Director); Kraig Harlow (Recreation Director); Helen Dalbeck (Hooper Institute Executive Director); Jane Malmberg (Library Director); Meghan Hansson (Town Clerk/Tax Collector); Regina Borden (Recording Secretary)

CALL TO ORDER:  Ms. Mayberry called this Staff Meeting to order at 5:00 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.  This meeting was being recorded.

Walpole Town Library: Mrs. Malmberg, Library Director, submitted this November 2021 Report:

Outreach:

The blanket squares are coming in fast and furious – they have 58 so far.

Their North Walpole Open House was a success – they had 24 visitors, many of whom had not been in the branch since they reopened.  Many thanks to Susan Johnson, Deb Kelsey, Julie Rios and Peggy Pschirrer for their donations of time, banners, balloons and food.

They are once again a location for the Walpole Giving Tree.  Unfortunately, they are out of tags at this time, but folks can come in to leave a donation if they wish.

Programming:  Their November author talk with Bill Ranauro is this Thursday night at 6 pm.

Coming up in December is their Saturday book club, on December 11 at 9 am.  They will be reading books with a Jane Austen theme – Sense and Sensibility, as well as two modern retellings of that title by Joanne Trollope and Sonali Dev.  They will meet once a month with a different theme each time and a choice of 3-4 titles to read.

On December 10^th, they will be hosting an afternoon concert of Celtic Holiday Music with musician Jeff Snow at 4 pm.

Staff Development:  5 out of 7 of their staff have completed the online harassment training.  She anticipates that the other two will finish soon.

Building/Grounds:   They have ordered a replacement streetlamp for the front of the main library.  Tim Lester (board member) will coordinate with Houghton’s to have it installed once it arrives at the library.

They have been having issues with their front door – the spring in the handle appears not to be working making it very difficult to keep the door latched.  Brad Nash contacted Countryside who came out and took photos of the lock.  They are researching a replacement that is in keeping with the character of the current lock.  They might eventually have to replace the door with new safety requirements. 

They have been working with Barry Bellows to get an estimate for repair to their chimney which has been leaking into the office.

They were having trouble with water seeping into the book return in North Walpole.  They moved the return to the other side of the door where is it sitting on asphalt, not ground.  So far, so good.

Board of Trustees:   They currently have two open positions on the board:  Shirley Capron resigned after more than 50 years of dedicated service, and Jeanne Ramey moved out of state.  They have one candidate who is definitely interested in joining and another who is considering from North Walpole.

Friends’ Book Sale:  The book sale was a big success.  They made over $6,500 before expenses.  Many thanks to the Friends and their team of volunteers.

The Monthly Library Statistics – Bridge Memorial Library and the Monthly Library Statistics – North Walpole Library for October 2020 and October 2021 are available in the Selectboard Office.    

Hooper Institute:  Mrs. Helen Dalbeck, Executive Director, submitted this November 17, 2021, report.

School Programs and School Gardens:  They are really busy teaching in the schools and putting the gardens to bed for the winter.  The late fall harvest of carrots has been really fun at the North Walpole School and spinach, kale, arugula are sprouting and growing once again in the high tunnel.  She participated in a day-long event with the 6^th grade when they hosted “Natures Classroom” at the Middle School.

Outreach and Marketing:  November Clarion plus many Facebook posts, school newsletter, wreath making posters.

Facility and Land:  The building interior was inspected on 10/28.  She is thinking ahead to closing the building mid-December.  It takes some planning on her part as the Hooper Institute is her office and workspace.

Administration:  They are looking for new board members.  The HI Board has approved the budget for 2022 and the next step is to meet with the Hooper Trustees in December.

Special Events, Programs, Friends:  Wreath-making Dec 3 and Dec 4.  This year she could have as many as 20 wreath makers!  Twelve signed up.  Sign up soon if you wish to make one.

Development/Fundraising:  They have begun to plan for “The Year of the Hooper Institute” in 2022.

Police Department:  Police Chief Justin Sanctuary had submitted their Police Stats from October 16, 2021 through November 15, 2021.  At this meeting he handed out a new graph.  From their regular monthly stats report they took one piece of it and broke out the “Crimes Against A Person”.  Total number is 54.  This gives people a better understanding of the types of calls they receive.  The format is also different.  A question was on Welfare Checks.  Chief Sanctuary replied it is usually someone calling as they are concerned with the welfare of someone else.  They will go out to check on the house, apartment or car.  A lot are home checks when a neighbor might see mail piling up, etc.  They took back about 40 pounds of narcotics recently; usually they take back about 100 pounds a year.  They could end up doing a graph like this for each of the lines.  Mr. Dalessio asked if there is anything they could do pro-actively to reduce these numbers.  Chief Sanctuary noted this is all reactionary.  They cannot reduce this sort of thing.  Mr. Hoy mentioned getting reports of dumping in various parts of the town.  Mrs. Pschirrer had a complaint through the Conservation Commission about the dumping of trash near French Road.  They probably know where it is coming from but now some trash is going over to forest land that is under Conservation Commission observation.  She will send Chief Sanctuary some pictures.  Chief Sanctuary said they can try following-up on who is responsible.  Ms. Mayberry pointed out that they can put up a few signs about not dumping trash.   

Finance Office:  Mr. Richard Kreissle, Administrator of Finance, provided the following report dated November 18, 2021.

Tax Rate:  He has been working very intensely with their auditors to assist them in completing the audit so they can upload one remaining form to the Department of Revenue’s (DRA) portal.  In the seven years he has worked for the Town it never was this late.  Once accomplished, a preliminary rate is established and submitted to the board.  The board decides how much to allow for abatements in the coming year and how much of the unassigned fund balance to use.  These decisions are passed along to the DRA who finalizes the rate.  When they receive the final rate, the tax warrant can be executed and bills sent out.

Tax Anticipation Note (TAN):  Because of the lateness of the tax rate and the effects on their cash reserves resulting from repairs due to this summer’s flooding, the taking out of a tax anticipation note (TAN) is a possibility.  A TAN is a short-term note.  If they need to take out a TAN, they should be able to pay it back no later than January 31, 2022.  Ms. Mayberry noted it has taken six-plus months for the Town to get their audit.

Budget:  The meeting with department managers is set for Friday, December 10^th.  In addition to discussing their operating budget, discussion will be had about any individual warrant articles they wish to have.

Walpole Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Office:  Mrs. Meghan Hansson submitted the following report dated November 16, 2021.

• Since the September meeting, Town Clerk collected about $77,042, out of which Walpole receives $57,154.  This involved 333 vehicle registrations.
• Over $10,000 worth of tax payments have arrived against a tax warrant that doesn’t exist.  Normally, this would have been deposited and applied to the property owner’s balance once the warrant came out.  Due to questions regarding pre-payment of taxes, the money (checks) is sitting in her office.
• Renovation began last week (attached were pictures) with removal of everything in the back half of the office.  The old carpets were ripped up in a day, and the first coat of paint was applied.  New flooring was applied, and the heavy safe was moved to a new location.  Also, the new window countertop was inserted on Saturday.  Due to a delay in the arrival of the cabinets that go under the countertops, the front of the office will not be completed until probably a couple of weeks from now.
• They are prepared to import the warrant as soon as it becomes available, print bills, and then mail them out to the property owners.

Walpole Recycling Center:  Mr. Ben Hoy, Recycling Director, submitted their November 2021 report.

Mr. Hoy was voted into the NRRA Northeast Resource Recovery Association Board of Trustees at the annual meeting for members last week.

The NRRA helps communities throughout New England find the best possible recycling solutions for each town, and brings communities together to get the best possible return on their town’s investment in recyclables.

The Walpole trash bag order is in progress from Boxes and Bags Unlimited in Lewiston, Maine.  They are hoping to receive the shipment in early December.  They shipped $10,000 in Walpole bags to Shaws this week, and have just enough bags remaining to get them through the next bag order.

They are digging out the boxes of bags that have been sitting for a long time in their overseas storage trailer, and finding that the boxes are getting some moisture damage from the temperature changes and poor ventilation within the trailer.

They are considering storing the Town of Walpole yellow bags across the street in their locked storage shed to free up room for more recyclable product on site at Walpole recycling, and prevent damage to their bag boxes going forward.

Tom Donovan has completed training in welding course through Keene Community Education at Filtrine, and is excited to begin needed welding projects at the recycling center.

He has been alerted to several major trash deposits around Walpole, from couches dumped on Old Drewsville Road to tires and trash rolled down the hill on Halls Crossing Road.  He is conducting a cleanup of Whitcomb Road on Wednesday, November 24^th at 8am starting at the recycling center.

Walpole Highway Department:  Mr. Mike Rau, Road Agent/Highway Department, submitted their November 2021 report.

• Elm Street:  Finally paved, and shouldering is scheduled to be complete this week.  The road will not be lined this year. 
• Summer Floods:  Repairs and the new culvert on Cold River Road that washed out is close to completion.  Crews have been working on paving in washouts on several roads before the asphalt plant closes for the season.  All other flood damage from this past summer will need to be put on hold until spring.  They have submitted all paperwork for the next step in receiving funding from FEMA and are still waiting to hear back from them to continue the lengthy process.
• Leaf Clean Up:  With most of the leaves down now, they will be out doing leaf clean up on town properties.
• Grading:  Dirt roads in town will be graded one last time for the year.
• Equipment:  Trucks and equipment have been getting prepped for winter use.  This includes winter tire change over, on spots, plow hook-ups, etc.  They want to be ready to go when winter does arrive.

Walpole Recreation:  Mr. Kraig Harlow, Recreation Director, submitted the following November 18, 2021, report.

Pool:

• Walpole Recreation just purchased a 10 ft. by 20 ft. shed from LaValley’s for $6,094 from the revolving fund to store recreation equipment.

Winter Basketball:

• They have roughly 50 children signed up for basketball from grades PK-6^th grade.
• The program generated about $1,350 through registration and signups.
• They currently have a one PK team, two 1^st grade teams, two 2^nd grade teams, two girls ¾ teams, two boys ¾ teams, and one girls 5/6 team.
• Games will be held on Saturday mornings at Walpole Elementary School from 10 am – 3 pm and at North Walpole School from 10 am – 3 pm.

• Practices will be held at North Walpole School for one hour between 5–6 pm and 6-7 pm.
• They have Diamond Pizza, McGill Woodworking, Houghton, and Craig Vickers Insurance sponsoring teams this season.

Hockey Rink:

• Walpole Recreation just purchased an EZ Ice Rink for Westminster St. Field for $4,311 from the revolving fund.  The rink is 30 ft x 60 ft and they can purchase additional rink walls to increase its size if it becomes heavily used.  Ms. Mayberry suggested he consider having broom hockey.

Mrs. Pschirrer reported that members of St. John’s Church discussed that they would like to participate in some way.  The church will be open so the bathrooms can be used.  They could have hot chocolate and other snacks providing they are kept informed of the open hours for the Ice Rink.    

Community Events:

• Currently, they do not have any community events scheduled until after January 2022.

Selectboard Office:  Mrs. Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, submitted their November 18, 2021, report.

Human Resources:

Many departments are working with their staff to complete the online Harassment Awareness Training module.  The deadline for completing the training is December 31, 2021.  Primex training certificates are to be sent to the Selectboard Office after the training module is completed.  For employees that do not have work or personal email addresses, there is a workaround to allow an employee to register using a faux email address.

Yearly Open Enrollment and coverage notice forms from Health Trust have been distributed.  If an employee wishes to change their coverage due to family changes or to move insurance to a spouse’s plan, a new enrollment form needs to be completed and sent to the Selectboard Office by December 17, 2021.

Health Insurance costs to the Town will be decreasing by 8.1% for 2022.  Rich Kreissle is working on the cost breakouts which will be announced in year-end benefit info packet to employees.  The packet will be distributed in December.  The Town is also expecting a Return of Surplus check which will also help lower healthcare costs for the Town and employees.

BCBS Anti-Trust Settlement:  A class action suit was brought against Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS).  The Town has completed an application to be part of the settlement.  Employees received a mailing from BCBS to apply.  To receive a payment, one must have filed a claim by November 5, 2021.  Per the settlement website, “The Final Approval Hearing has been held.  The Settlement is pending Court order.” 

Year-end Holidays:  The upcoming holidays or paid days off for benefitted employees include Thanksgiving, the Friday after Thanksgiving, December 24 (Christmas) and December 31^st (New Year’s Day).  When a holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday then moves to either the prior Friday or the following Monday.

Assessing:

Fall Tax Warrant:  Once the final tax rate is set, the fall tax warrant will be created and signed by the Selectboard as soon as possible.  The Tax Collector sets the final payment date based on when the tax bills can be posted in the mail.

Abatement, Veterans’ Tax Credit, Elderly Tax Credit and Solar System Exemption application forms can be accepted after the fall tax bills have posted in the mail.

Selectboard Meeting:  Mrs. Pschirrer announced that the Selectboard will be meeting next Wednesday, November 24^th at 8:30 AM because Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday.  They will be meeting a day early.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry reminded the Department Managers that the Selectboard will be meeting with each of them individually on December 10^th, 2021.  This is to go over their proposed 2022 Budget and go over their “Wish List” for items for the Warrant.  She wished everybody has a “Happy Thanksgiving Day”.  This meeting was adjourned at 5:52 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Selectboard Present:      Cheryl Mayberry (Chair); Steven Dalessio; Peggy L. Pschirrer

CALL TO ORDER:  Ms. Mayberry called this Selectboard meeting to order at 6:34 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.  Also present was Mrs. Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, and Mrs. Regina Borden, Recording Secretary.  There were seven members of the public in attendance.  Ms. Celeste Aumand, a Commissioner of the Village of North Walpole; two members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Mrs. Jan Leclerc and Mrs. Myra Mansouri and two members of the Old Home Days Committee, Mrs. Sable Westover and Ms. Kelley Hicks.  This meeting was being recorded.

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

North Walpole Village Commissioner, Celeste Aumand:  Ms. Aumand took a walk around the North Walpole upper development as there were drainage problems around Hillcrest Road after they had the rain last Friday.  On Mountain View one yard was completely flooded.  On the other side of Hillcrest, it was full of water.  She suggested putting in a culvert to try to solve that problem.  There is no drainage at all up on the hill.  Ms. Mayberry asked if she was suggesting a dry well.  The other problem is that Mrs. Sophie Aumand who lives on Kilburn Street had called the Highway Department to tell them the culvert the Town had put in about fifteen years ago was collapsing.  They did a drive by but never stopped and said anything to her. Now she thinks they do not care; this is a concern of Ms. Celeste Aumand.  There are drainage problems on both sides of Hillcrest, and she would like to have that taken care of.  Ms. Mayberry noted it is all on the hill.  The Selectboard has talked about storm-water drainage issues, but they need some professional consultation.  On the southern side of Hillcrest, it runs down by Gary McCormick’s and onto Main Street.  The drainage there has been going on for a long time.  She is not that familiar with the other side of Hillcrest.  They can ask the Highway Department to look at the area.  They are still trying to find someone who is qualified and will help the Town address other drainage issues to make good decisions and improvements. If Ms. Celeste Aumand can identify the date Mrs. Sophie Aumand called the Highway Department that would be helpful so they could do a follow-up.  Mr. Dalessio advised that they need to bring in a consultant/engineering firm to look at that whole area.  Drainage should have been taken care of when the development started on the hill. Having the Highway Department put in another culvert or dry well is not going to solve the problem.  He does not know how much money or time it will take.  Ms. Aumand would not like to see it go on for two-to-three years.  Mr. Dalessio said unfortunately it might take at least that long; maybe a Warrant in 2023.  Ms. Mayberry felt they should at least look at the problem on Kilburn Street. 

Ms. Aumand said there is a serious problem with speeding vehicles especially from the School to Taylor Street.  As soon as she gets the plate numbers it will go to the police.  There are a lot of little kids in the neighborhood.  People walk the hill.  Ms. Mayberry said they can ask the police to check into that and increase patrols.  Mr. Dalessio felt if she could identify a specific time, it would be helpful for the police.           

Maplewood Circle Complaint:  Mrs. Leclerc was looking at their meeting minutes from 2008 when the Day Care application was being heard.  In looking at that she discovered a typographical error in the ordinance that has to do with parking in the commercial area.  She explained the discrepancy.  Parking is supposed to have a section of its own in the ordinance.  It became “Number 3” in the special exceptions in the current ordinance.  It applies to everyone, not only special exceptions.  Mrs. Leclerc displayed the error.  At the time it did not require a special exception or variance.  Mr. Dalessio pointed out that when they were establishing the day care that is the ordinance that should have been used.  He would never consider what she is referring to as a typo.  Mrs. Leclerc said it is wrong and was put there by mistake.

Mrs. Pschirrer quoted the meeting minutes, Mrs.  Robinson stated that six cars would fit in the driveway. The people stated there would not be a parking issue.  When this became an issue about two years ago during the winter there was land adjacent to the day care center that was supposed to be a parking area for all employees.  The only time she inspected it the lot was plowed and there were cars in that lot.  Mr. Dalessio drove by and there were three cars in the lot and another three cars were parked off the road.  It looks like they have enough room for their employees. He had Police Chief Sanctuary look at the area and he also felt the parking looked fine.  The school bus also goes down that road.  The neighbor across the road has concerns because she has problems backing out of her driveway especially when children are being dropped off and picked-up.  There was a consensus of the Selectboard to write a letter to the owner of the day care inviting her to attend a meeting either on Wednesday, November 24^th at 8:30 AM or Thursday, December 2^nd, at 6:30 PM.  Mr. Dalessio mentioned there are now two dumpsters on the property.  All dumpsters in the Town are supposed to be enclosed.          

Old Home Days Committee:  Mrs. Sable Westover and Ms. Kelley Hicks are members of the Old Home Days Committee and are present seeking to confirm dates and funding.  They handed in a notice advising that the dates of the event are June 22^nd to June 26^th, 2022.  1) Heather Ferland is sending a letter to Mr. Rich Kreissle requesting that the appropriate funds in the amount of $2,500 be distributed to the Old Home Day Committee for the purpose of paying expenses related to the festivities for the year 2022.  Mrs. Pschirrer advised there is $2,500 in the current 2021 budget.  An additional $2,500 will be put in the proposed 2022 Budget.  They will receive this payment after the Budget is approved by the voters in March 2022.  They also submitted a list as follows:  2) to lift the open alcohol container law on Friday, June 24^th from 5pm-11pm in the area of the parking lot of the Savings Bank of Walpole and along Westminster Street from Jakes to the Phone Building.  Mrs. Pschirrer noted they should request that this area be closed during this specified time on Friday, June 24^th.  3) The Town Highway Department provide and service daily trash cans along the Common and Westminster Street from Friday 6/24 until the end of Sunday 6/26.  4) Requesting the help of the Walpole Police Department/Fire Department with parade control and no parking signs for around the Common, Middle Street and part of Main in front of Burdick’s for Saturday, June 25^th.  5) Heather Ferland and Vicki Hurlburt have an upcoming site meeting with the Walpole Fire Department and Atlas Fireworks to discuss possible new location of Fireworks Display on Friday, June 24^th.  Ms. Mayberry asked that they have good communications with the Selectboard and Town Departments on what they need and their arrangements.  She will talk to Mr. Hoy about the trash bags, etc.   

Mrs. Pschirrer moved that the Selectboard approve the list of requests to include the lifting of the open alcohol container law on Friday, June 24, 2022, from 5pm-11pm and the closing of the streets from the parking lot of the Savings Bank of Walpole and along Westminster Street from Jakes to the Phone Building on Friday, June 24^th, 2022.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.   

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Accounts Payable Check Register in the total amount of $843,775.36 for checks issued November 19, 2021.  This includes a monthly payment of $607,559.42 to the Fall Mountain Regional School District.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

Mrs. Pschirrer advised the Selectboard had previously signed Purchase Orders for the following:  1) Pelow & Sons Paving in the amount of $84,852.35 for Elm Street Paving; 2) Fuzzy Brothers, LLC in the amount of $19,300.00 for Elm Street Construction; 3) Fuzzy Brothers in the amount of $79,540.00 for the Cold River Road Wash-out; and 4) Ferguson Waterworks in the amount of $16,430.00 for the Cold River Road Culvert.

PAYROLL:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Payroll Check Register for the week ending November 13, 2021, in the amount of $29,899.26 for checks dated November 19, 2021, and for the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer in the amount of $5,868.10, Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES – November 10, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Public Hearing of November 10, 2021, as submitted.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES – November 10, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Selectboard meeting of November 10, 2021, as submitted.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes was approved.

NON-PUBLIC SESSION SELECTBOARD MINUTES – November 10, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Session Selectboard Minutes of November 10, 2021, as submitted.  These Minutes will remain sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of the following Committee reports:

• Planning Board Meeting – November 9, 2021;
• Library Trustees Meeting – November 9, 2021;
• Cemetery Trustees Meeting – November 10, 2021.

OLD BUSINESS:

Bureau of Trails Letter Re: Snowmobile Use of Class VI Roads:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to approve the letter to the Bureau of Trails regarding their approval to allow all licensed snowmobiles the use of Class VI roads within the Town of Walpole.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

Public Hearing to Accept ARPA Funds:  The Town received $55,000-plus of ARPA Funds coming from the County.  It went into the General Fund.  Mr. Dalessio advised it can only be used for the same items as the previous funds.  Mrs. Pschirrer asked that this money be put into PDIP.  A Public Hearing was scheduled for Thursday, December 2^nd, 2021, to accept the funds.

Pending Further Actions:

Vilas Bridge, Generators, Three Phase Power for Industrial Park Drive and Bensonwood, Tree Plan for Common

Houghton Brook Bridge:  Mr. Dalessio reported they are waiting for a permit package from Fuss & O’Neill.

Reservoir Dam:  Mr. Dalessio advised there will be a meeting on Monday, November 22^nd, 2021,

at 6:00 PM.

School Street and Union Street:  Mr. Dalessio reported Fuss & O’Neill are working on a quote to do School Street and Union Street.  They are still working on trying to find somebody to come in and help us on the pending projects.  Municipal Resources might have someone, but it was not confirmed.

Tree Plan for Common:  This will be kept on the Pending Further Actions list. However, it does not appear it will be done until next year. 

NEW BUSINESS:

2021 Tax Rate Status:  Mr.  Kreissle is waiting for the MS-535 to be received from the auditors, Vachon and Clukay, as it needs to be forwarded to the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) before a tax rate will be set.  Jennifer of Vachon and Clukay was going to expedite it.  Since it was not received today Ms. Mayberry will call Vachon and Clukay tomorrow to stress the urgency of receiving this form.

Wooden Chairs in Town Hall:  Mrs. Downing mentioned that a few sets of the wooden chairs are across from the Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s Office.  There might be ten (10) sets in the Town Hall basement.  They are classic chairs.  She asked if the Selectboard would like to dispose of them and, if so, how would they like to proceed.  Pastor Malmberg indicated to Mr. Brad Nash that he would like a few for the parsonage.  Mr. Nash will take those over to the parsonage.  The Selectboard discussed selling the rest of them.  Ms. Mayberry will do some research for a price.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel, (c) Reputations, and (d) Acquisition, Sale or Lease of Real or Personal Property.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved at 7:45 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 8:17 PM.

Mrs. Pschirrer moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of November 18, 2021, will be sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  Ms. Mayberry asked if there was any additional discussion.  There was none.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:18 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Starting at 8:30 AM in the Town Halls

PHONE CALL WITH EXECUTIVE COUNSELOR CINDE WARMINGTON

NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS: RSA 91-A:3 II (d)

PAYROLL• Payroll Register totaling $28,483.10 dated 11/26/21 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $5,588.34

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES• Selectboard Meeting Minutes – November 18, 2021• Non-Public Session Selectboard Minutes – November 18, 2021• Staff Meeting Minutes – November 18, 2021

COMMITTEE REPORTS• North Walpole Village District Commissioners’ Meeting – October 19, 2021• North Walpole Village District Commissioners’ Meeting – October 26, 2021• North Walpole Village District Commissioners’ Meeting – November 2, 2021• Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes – November 17, 2021

OLD BUSINESS• 2021 Preliminary Tax Rate• Reservoir Dam Meeting Update

Pending Further Actions

Vilas Bridge, Houghton Brook Bridge, Generators, Three Phase Power for Industrial Park Drive and Bensonwood, Tree Plan for Common, Wooden Chairs in Town Hall

NEW BUSINESS• Memo re: Drainage Deficiencies on South Street

**Any recording, audio or visual, and/or other devices must be declared at the beginning of the meeting**

There have a been a couple of requests for the address again so here it is:

Fall Mountain Food Shelf

122 NH Rte 12A

PO BOX 191

Alstead, NH 03602

Where does your power come from?

Walpole committee explores Community Power option.

The Walpole Community Power Committee (WCPC) looks to explore the opportunity provided by a NH state law that allows municipalities to become electricity suppliers, negotiating lower electricity rates and clean, sustainable energy on behalf of their communities.

A member of a similar committee in Lebanon NH, Meghan Butts, described the approach in this way – “Think of it as a buying club for electricity.” And in its simplest form, that’s all it is, though it will also offer other opportunities to those wishing to take advantage of them. In addition to providing electricity rates that are lower or competitive with the default rate offered by Liberty Utilities, it will also:

• Provide an energy portfolio that can, at your choosing, prioritize the use of renewable resources, eventually emphasize locally-generated power to the maximum extent technically and economically feasible.
• Create a Reserve Fund to finance projects and programs that, long term, assist residents and businesses in becoming carbon-free and animate local economic activity concerning energy production and conservation.
• Provide training education, guidance, and support to residents and businesses regarding means of generating sustainable forms of energy and methods of conservation of energy such as weatherization and insulation

Our committee will be holding a 2^nd informational town meeting about this in mid-December. Stay tuned for this event, and join us in Town Hall to learn more.

By year-end, the Walpole committee will prepare a Warrant Article for a town meeting to vote on adopting a ‘Community Power Aggregation Plan. This plan will be presented to the Select Board for approval and on the ballot at Town Meeting.

Some background:

Throughout our region, the electric utility industry was restructured in the 1990s to separate the business of generating electric power from the regulated monopoly functions of transmitting and distributing electricity. It’s now a competitive market, and household electric customers can select competitive suppliers that purchase electricity generation from the wholesale market to match the customer’s need. Typically, the larger the need, the lower the rates that become available.

NH law (RSA-53E) was passed in October of 2019. It enabled towns to ‘aggregate retail electric customers, as necessary, to provide such customers access to competitive markets for supplies of electricity and related energy services.’ This law is the basis for Walpole and other NH towns moving forward to explore these opportunities.

Dennis Marcom, for the Walpole Community Power Committee

Present: Board Members Chair Jan Galloway-Leclerc, Vice-Chair Myra Mansouri, Clerk Tom Murray came in about two minutes after Ms. Leclerc called the meeting to order, Ernie Vose, Pauline Barnes. Alternates Don Sellarole, Judy Trow and Dave Edkins. 

Recording: Marilou Blaine. These minutes were recorded. They are unapproved and will be reviewed at the December 2021 meeting for corrections, additions and/or omissions.

Roll Call: Ms. Leclerc called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Board member Mr. Murray was absent so she asked Alternate Trow to take his place on the board. While members were reading the minutes Mr. Murray arrived and Ms. Trow stepped down.

Minutes: Corrections and additions of the October 2021 minutes: Ms. Barnes asked that it be noted in the minutes on page 3 that her statement “Mr. Graves had a whole pile of asphalt near the pit” was an observation, not a critique. On page 4 Ms. Barnes said that the word attended should be attend and the word followed should be follow and on page 3 she suggested deleting the word “This”, which started a sentence in the third paragraph from the bottom. On the same page, paragraph 5, Mr. Murray said the beginning of the sentence should read “This is a concern of the state if…”. On page one, Ms. Leclerc asked that the ages of the two boys be changed to 10. Mr. Murray made a motion to accept the amended October 2021 minutes. Ms. Mansouri seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Signage for storage units owned by Red Barn Lane LLC, Map 12, Lot 13-3, commercial district.

A site plan for the 5 buildings of storage units totaling 37,450 square feet was recently approved by the Walpole Planning Board. Mr. Jim Phippard represented John Pappas of Swanzey, the owner of Walpole Store-It. Mr. Phippard brought along a picture of a 25-square-foot sign, slightly below the 32 square feet permitted in the sign ordinance in a commercial district, that would be placed on the western boundary. It is free-standing sign with lighting from below. It would be placed 60 feet from Red Barn Lane. Mr. Phippard said additional signage will be placed on the building such as identifying its letter and noting such things as the entrance to the buildings or keeping the door closed. These signs are 18-inches-by-24-inches.

Mr. Vose asked how far the sign would be from Route 12. Mr. Phippard said several hundred feet. Ms. Mansouri asked when the storage units would be open. Mr. Phippard pointed out on the site plan a place where there would be a key pad at the entrance to the units and said it would be open 24 hours a day. Mr. Vose said that that was typical of this type of business. Mr. Murray asked if there would be a “coming soon” temporary sign. Mr. Phippard didn’t think so but if it was decided later that a “coming soon” sign was a good idea, he would come back to the zoning board because it would be a temporary sign. Mr. Phippard said there would be a construction sign, which is allowed. Mr. Vose made a motion to approve the sign as presented. Mr. Murray seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

Update on article on ZBA for the Clarion.

 Ms. Barnes and Ms. Mansouri volunteered to write an article or articles describing what the zoning board does and why. Ms. Barnes said there was a delay in their meeting because of a health issue. Their first meeting was on Tuesday. Ms. Mansouri said they decided to start with how and when the zoning ordinances came to be written, in other words, zoning ordinances history. Ms. Mansouri remembered that there were two or three years in a row that the idea of having zoning ordinances was presented on the warrant and it took that long to get a “yes” vote. The year it passed was 1968. She also said that since the holidays were coming up, the article wouldn’t be ready until after the new year so it would be early next year, maybe January. Ms. Barnes said they would take it in small sections, probably explaining a variance, a special exception and signage since those are the three most frequent items that come before the board.

Mr. Edkins recommended that it was important to include the word “adjustment” because that is the proper terminology and the word adjustment explains what the board does. He said it is sometimes called Zoning Board of Appeals.

Ms. Leclerc also wanted the article to include that the Walpole Zoning Ordinances are permissive, meaning that if something is not mentioned in the ordinances it’s not permitted.

Ms. Barnes suggested that board members think of a catchy title for the articles and let Myra or her know about it.

Changes and addition to variance application.

Ms. Barnes noted at the October meeting that Sue Fillion in the September minutes made her realize that the language in our variance application is different than the language in the RSA. In the criteria section, No. 2 in the RSA says a variance “will not be contrary to the public interest.” But the Walpole variance application says “granting the variance would be of benefit to the public interest.” Since this has a different meaning, shouldn’t the application be changed to conform to the RSA? Ms. Barnes asked. Ms. Leclerc said our paper work should be the same as the state’s and the rest of the board agreed.

So on page 1, it was agreed that the board could change “Granting the variance would be of benefit to the public interest” to “Granting the variance will not be contrary to the public interest” on the application. Also on page 4, second paragraph from the bottom “Deliver three completed applications” was added to the paragraph. The secretary needs one application to put with the applicant’s permanent file and the Town Offices also need to keep a copy of the application. The secretary will make the changes to the variance application.

Gravel pit inspection form.

 Ms. Trow submitted the inspection form for the Graves gravel pit. Ms. Barnes and Ms. Trow inspected the pit on October 14, 2021. There were no concerns at the Graves gravel pit, Ms. Trow said. The secretary will write a letter to Mr. Graves confirming that the Graves gravel pit has had its yearly inspection according to RSA  55:E and include a copy of the inspection form.

Discussion of minutes of February 20, 2008 and parking at 11 Maplewood Circle Day Care Facility.

Chair Jan Leclerc was contacted by the Manager of Administration, Sarah Downing, about a complaint from a homeowner who lives next to a day care facility in Maplewood Circle. The homeowner complained that parents who had children at the day care facility were parking in her driveway and blocking her driveway. Ms. Leclerc wanted the board to look back at the original minutes to see what had happened at the meeting that discussed having a day care facility at that location. Ms. Leclerc wasn’t sure why the owners of the day care facility were at the meeting in 2008 since they didn’t require any appeals.

The meeting was not a public hearing, it was an informational meeting, said Ms. Mansouri, who was chair of the zoning board at that time. It was determined that the day care facility was in the commercial district. All the land along Main Street and 250 feet back from that road is considered to be in the commercial district. While the day care facility is on Maplewood Circle, a residential B neighborhood, the property for the day care facility is 175 feet from Main Street, so technically it’s in the commercial district. Day care facilities are a permitted use in commercial districts so it didn’t need a variance or special exception.

Mr. Murray disagreed about the zoning district. He said he had checked the town zoning maps and the tax card said that the day care facility was actually in the Residential B zoning District. In fact he went out to the front hall, retrieved the folder for the property and brought it into the meeting to show the rest of the board. The tax card did say Residential B, but the rest of the board said it was a mistake made by Avitar. The day care facility is in the commercial district.

After considerable discussion it was determined that the zoning board did not have the authority to deal with this matter and it was the Select Board that should deal with this complaint. Ms. Leclerc will attend the next Select Board meeting to discuss the matter.

Adjournment:

Mr. Vose made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Mansouri seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

cc: ZBA, WPB, Town Offices, The Walpolean

Posted: Inside the Town Offices, on the bulletin board outside the Post Office, www.walpolenh.us

Next meeting is Wednesday, December 15, 2021.