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Town of Walpole Staff Meeting – 9/21/17

SELECTBOARD 09/29/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

STAFF MEETING

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

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

Also Present: Sarah Downing (Manager of Administration); Rich Kreissle (Manager of Finance); Police Chief Michael Paquette (Police Department), Michael Rau (Highway Department), Paul Colburn (Recycling Center), Sandra Smith (Town Clerk / Tax Collector), Rebecca Whippie (Hooper Institute)

Call to Order: Mrs. Pschirrer called this Staff meeting to order at 5:00 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She advised this meeting is being recorded. Justine Fafara and Justin Cassarino were not present.

Mrs. Pschirrer thanked Mrs. Downing for organizing the picnic for employees, volunteers and their families. It was terrific. She thanked everybody for the desserts and thanked those who stayed to help clean-up.

Mrs. Pschirrer thanked the Department Heads for turning in their budgets. The Selectboard will contact the Department Heads to arrange a date and time for them to meet. The Department Heads received a reminder that no matter how small or insignificant an injury is it must be reported immediately otherwise the Town could get a fine for late reporting. Even if the injury never goes anywhere report it to Mrs. Downing so she can give the State first notice. If something develops later on we made the report. It is a safety issue.

Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned any time they are filling out a time sheet; make sure the employee initials any corrections. The Town also had a fine for that. Mr. Dalessio said to be sure to put AM or PM on the time shifts. This is very important. Mrs. Pschirrer said when any of the above issues leads to fines, the Selectboard brings it to the Department Head’s attention.

Town Clerk/Tax Collector: Mrs. Smith reported they collected $76,659.37 in property taxes. They received lots of calls regarding the reassessment and referred some to Mrs. Downing.

Mrs. Smith attended the annual Town and City Clerks Association meeting held in North Conway. They always learn something new and net working with the other clerks is always interesting.

The Motor Vehicle department will be closed October 6^th and plan to be up and running on Wednesday, October 11^th. They will be installing a new version of their software called VISION. During this period no one in the State will be able to register their vehicles. The Town Clerk/Town Collector’s office will be open normal hours as they can collect taxes and process vital records and answer questions. They will also be working on their files.

They collected $65,376.50 in town clerk receipts. Of this amount, dogs accounted for $240.50. Meghan is still sending letters and telephoning and bringing in results!

They will go to the One check system on October 2^nd. Customers will write one check instead of two checks. In a few weeks they should be able to accept credit cards. The customer will be paying the convenience fee of 2.95% if they use their credit card. There will be no cost to the Town. Mr. Kreissle and she have spent hours working on this project.

They collected $445.00 in Marriage license fees—of this amount the Town gets to keep $84.00. This takes lots of time with little income.

Highway Department: Mr. Rau advised that eleven (11) miles of roads were paved. They still have some money left over so he hopes to do some shimming on the roads to help get them through the winter. They tried to do some work on low shoulders/dips alongside the roads. Chesterfield and Alstead helped them with paving. It is good to work with other towns. Mrs. Pschirrer said the cooperation is good. They just have a few more roads to do and they will have been around the entire town once doing roadside mowing. The department has also done the following:

Cold patching;
Serviced the trucks and equipment;
Took care of trash cans;
Road sweeping
Picked up ash at the Recycling Center;
Helped with trucking for Chesterfield, paving;
Helped Alstead with trucking, gravel;
The pool cover is on the pool;
Trees in the roads;
Truck inspections;
Fixed Truck #4 – Hydraulic hose;
Fixed mower – hydraulic hose and brackets;
Set up and took away tables and chairs for the cookout;
Put up school bus signs.

Mr. Rau mentioned the department is moving along. It was a busy summer. They got the majority of projects done. Mrs. Pschirrer said the fall season is arriving quickly. Mr. Rau said they will be ready by October 15^th.

Hooper Institute: Ms. Rebecca Whippie reported they got off to a great start with the new school year. It was a rainy summer; the gardens are growing well.

Mrs. Eloise Clark is working with:

Fifth Grade – Insects;

Sixth Grade – Botany and planting.

Ms. Rebecca Whippie is working with:

Pre-K – Getting to know the young students; they should be ready to go outside next week.

Kindergarten to the Fourth Grade – Working in the garden and doing outside observations;

Water and tasks in the garden;

First Grade – Planting seeds, saving seeds and doing apple exploration;

Second Grade – Soils;

Third Grade – Photosynthesis – Trees;

Fourth Grade – Conservation programs for protected wildflowers, squash plants and drawing w/labels; Kale seed saving and apples. The students keep eating the kale.

Different classes have tasted: blueberries, mint, chives, green beans, kale, rhubarb cake, orange-cherry tomatoes. There are more things to harvest but things are still growing.

Community Gardens – produce has regularly been delivered to the local food shelf and/or Keene Community Kitchen.

Manager of Finance: Mr. Kreissle is still working on the budget. He will start training Mrs. Jodi Daigle on payroll work next week. Mrs. Pschirrer talked to Mr. Kreissle about the fact that not much was spent out of Warrant Article for municipal buildings. It seems like a lot of it is for the Library. Chief Paquette will be using about $4,000 to finish some work. Mrs. Pschirrer hopes the Department Heads will think of future repairs so they can put together another Warrant Article for repairs to their buildings. Mr. Dalessio mentioned the Selectboard might consider encumbering some money left over; it might be $20,000.

Walpole Library: Mrs. Justine Fafara was unable to attend this meeting but submitted the following report dated September 20th:

August 2016 Stats: August 2017 Stats:

25 Days Open 25 Days Open

1789 People 1614 People

2420 Circ 2248 Circ

34 Programs 26 Programs

186 Kids 129 Kids

2 Teens 11 Teens

159 Adults 132 Adults

April 2016 Avg: 72 ppl & 97 circ per day April 2017 Avg: 65 ppl & 90 circ per day

10 People per program 10 people per program

The new lighting is in and looks great! That was the last of their warrant article projects.

Michael from Quality Computer Services in Alstead came and did some re-wiring and troubleshooting for them. Everything is working wonderfully now and all the wires and routers are organized in a cabinet under her desk.

Fafara went to the Children’s Book Preview at the State Library on the 11^th.
She is going to New England Library Association Conference on October 22^nd-24^th.
Friends are collecting books for the book sale until October 12^th. The sale is the 27^th-29^th.
The Stuffed Animal Slumber Party is this weekend, the 22^nd and 23^rd. The children bring in their favorite stuffed animals and leave them overnight. Pictures are taken. The children come back the next day to pick up their animals.

North Walpole Stats:

July 2016 July 2017

194 circ 273 circ

3 computer use 7 computer use

62 patrons 84 patrons

29 hours 31 hours

August 2016 August 2017

198 circ 250 circ

3 computer use 7 computer use

64 patrons 62 patrons

32 hours open 32 hours open.

Recycling Center: Mr. Paul Colburn explained the figures in his “3 Year Comparison to Recyclables” and “Daily Weight Report and 3 Year to Date Comparison” reports. The Recycling Center is right on track with Revenues; the markets are up at this point. There was a good showing on recyclables for August; 122-123 tons over the year than forecast. The big items are cardboard and mixed paper. C and D is unpredictable month-to-month. Their budgeted figure for the year is $166,350.00 and as of September 20^th the actual figure is $126,263.75. Two loads of wood were brought in. Fall Mountain Region School District came in with four loads of paper and other miscellaneous items. They are changing over for the season. A new volunteer, Mr. Paul Happ, is helping out with the web-site and volunteer program. The wood program is going well. Last Wednesday Mr. Colburn spoke to the Walpole Seniors and they gave him a check for $25.00 that will be in next month’s receipts. He enjoyed visiting with them.

Police Department: Police Chief Michael Paquette provided the following report from August 16, 2017 through September 15, 2017. The total number of calls for service was 354.

Public Safety Calls:

Emergency Calls -37 Administration – 52 Citizen Assists – 63

Motor Vehicle Calls:

Accidents – 17 MV Stops – 75 Traffic Safety – 19

Criminal Investigations:

Drugs/Alcohol – 25 Crimes Against a Person – 49 Crimes Against Property -22

The Motor Vehicle grants will be up at the end of this month for DUI, Distracted Driver and radar enforcement. They are working to finish these up. They hope to get more grants. He will know in November if the department received a 50-50 match for equipment. Detective Bromley and Officer Gosetti went to a training class for acquiring evidence at the scene. He has some employment ads in the Upper Valley News, Keene Sentinel and on-line. They anticipate having a test at the end of October. In October the Child Advocacy Center, through the State, is having a fundraiser. Law enforcement officers will grow beards and put in $30-to-$40 to bring awareness of the Center. Sgt. Justin Sanctuary was promoted to Lieutenant in September. He is very qualified and well deserving of this. The Police Department purchased 200 Halloween bags with some treats and wrist bands that glow in the dark for the children. These bags will be given out on Drug Take Back day, October 28^th at both the Police Department and Fire Department. The bags not given out on Drug Take Back Day will be brought to the Village to be given out to the children. Drug Take Back Day has been advertised in the Clarion and put on their Facebook page. There were car break-ins in North Walpole; some property was recovered. This is the time of the year the officers have to finish up their training as mandated by the State. Chief Paquette does not yet know if a Halloween Pumpkin Fest event will occur in Keene. Most Walpole officers were trained in riot control.

Selectboard Office: Mrs. Downing submitted the following report dated September 21, 2017.

Assessing Update:

Notice of Preliminary Assessment letters were mailed to property owners by Avitar Associates on August 28, 2017. The letters included an online address to view and download draft property cards. The Selectboard Office printed cards for those property owners who had difficulties accessing property card information.
Included in the notice was a phone number and a date range for making an appointment to meet with the Avitar assessors. These meetings were held at the Town Hall on Sept. 13^th and 14^th. Avitar had multiple assessors present. There was high interest from property owners to meet with or submit written letters to Avitar regarding their property assessments. Most land values went up.
Department of Revenue (DRA) appraisers were present on Sept. 14^th to conduct exit interviews after property owners met with an Avitar assessor. DRA appraisers have been also involved in field work involving recent property sales and random sample appraisals to compare their findings with assessments completed by Avitar.
The MS-1 report which sets the total valuation for the Town of Walpole will be submitted on or before Sept. 29^th. The Selectboard will sign this report next week.

Water and Sewer:

Demand of Payment Notices for accounts that are over 90 days overdue were mailed on 8/14/17.
Increased collections have been occurring due to consistent and frequent communication with users. Continual follow-up is planned so that delinquent accounts will become current.
Prep for October meter reads is occurring. Meter reading are planned to start during the first week of October. Billing is to follow for the middle to latter portion of October with bills being due before the end of November.
The October dated water and sewer invoice will cover a 4-month interval (June, July, August and September). The next billing will be for a 3-month and will be the first quarterly bill for 2018. The hope is because the quarterly bill will be a smaller bill that people will pay quicker.

Town Hall Facilities and Technology Updates:

The Town Hall entrance steps continue to be cleaned, spot repaired and sealed.
Exterior signs are to be installed next week. This will be helpful for upcoming October weddings. Visitors may not know where the Town Hall is located.
The cleaning out of basement continues with several no-longer-needed items being moved out over the past month. The first shipment of paper documents to the commercial shredding company will start next week. More sorting and cleaning out of documents is planned for several storage areas in the basement.
New laptops for the Selectboard Recording Secretary and the Highway department have been purchased. A new laptop for the Recycling Department is being ordered. A new desktop for Selectboard Office has been delivered and installed. All new machines will be using Office365 which will maintain the most current version of the software and to reduce the risk of cyberattacks.

Save the Dates:

Friday, October 20^th will be a Health Trust Benefits presentation from 1-2pm to all full-time Town employees. Mandatory attendance is required for this employee group.
Friday, November 3^rd from 1-2pm is the annual Harassment Awareness Training for all Town of Walpole employees. Attendance is mandatory. If an employee cannot attend this training a certificate of attendance for an online course or training with another group can be submitted.

Recreation Department: Mr. Justin Cassarino was unable to attend this meeting but submitted the following report dated September 21, 2017.

Pool:

Highway Department will be putting the cover on (Thanks Mike);
Trash was picked up (Thank you Paul).

Soccer:

115 participants;
Purchased all new equipment for the program;
Games started this week;
Entering four teams into the Walpole Elementary School tournament on September 30^th.

Other:

Their Smoke Free signs still need to be put up at the pool house, Stone Church field, and North Walpole Park.
Informed the North Walpole Park committee that their request is on-hold and Cheryl Mayberry will meet with them.

Adjournment: Mrs. Pschirrer closed this Staff Meeting at 6:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 9/14/17

SELECTBOARD 09/22/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

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

CALL TO ORDER: Mrs. Pschirrer called this Selectboard meeting to order at 6:30 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She advised that this meeting is being recorded and asked anyone wishing to speak to identify themselves for the record. There were three members of the public in attendance.

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

TAXATION OF SOLAR PANELS and ARRAYS: Mr. Bob Anderson and Mr. Ernie Vose were present to discuss the new Taxation of Solar Panels and Arrays assessment. Mr. Anderson was surprised to see this new assessment on his new property tax bill. When both he and Mr. Vose started their solar arrays in 2015 they were told there would be no charge. Mr. Vose mentioned most towns in the State have no tax on solar systems. Mr. Anderson talked with an Avitar representative today who explained they have now figured out to assess them. The assessment is based on the number of panels. Mrs. Pschirrer pointed out in 2008 there was Article 20 and Article 21 on the Warrant by Petition relative to “exemption from taxation for the full value of Solar Powered Energy System Improvements”; it was amended on the floor by Jill Robinson to $10,000.00 but both Articles were defeated by the voters. That was almost ten years ago, so voters may have changed their minds. Mr. Vose said solar panels can be moved by truck; they can be sold and/or moved to another property. Avitar had said they would not assess the solar arrays but now they are. Mr. Dalessio suggested they submit their request for the exemption by a petition. They can pay their property tax bills and file for an abatement. Mr. Anderson explained a solar array has a long pay-back; he described his financial investment and how long it takes to recover their costs. He distributed copies a “Solar Panel Assessment Methodology” and explained the some real/some fictitious figures on the document. The panels lose their efficiency over time. Mrs. Pschirrer summarized that the Selectboard will talk to Avitar Associates about this as well as other matters that have been brought to their attention. However, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Vose should consider either submitting a petition or warrant article.

NICHOLAS POLSELLI: Mr. Polselli lives in the log home on the river side of Route 12 in North Walpole. He provided some history on bank erosion that includes his property going back to 1996. When he received his recent property tax bill, the assessment increased by $11,900.00 and he feels this is excessive given the bank erosion of his property and up-coming road construction project on Route 12. Mrs. Pschirrer advised his assessment on the dwelling went down but the land value went up. She recommended he should pay his property tax bill but apply for an abatement between January and March 2018. The Selectboard will discuss this parcel assessment with Avitar Associates.

PETER GRAVES: Mr. Graves asked about the process to change a name on a property tax bill. Mrs. Downing will look at the Cheshire County records and then contact Mr. Graves with the existing name on the Deed.

The Selectboard and Mr. Graves, County Commissioner, talked about the next county bill. Mr. Graves noted the Town of Walpole pays more per person than some other towns. The County Commissioners have not yet set the budget for next year but are trying not to increase the taxation because of the bond issue for Maplewood. The county has about 480 employees. The Selectboard expressed concern with their taxes. Mr. Dalessio asked if Mr. Graves had talked to the County Sheriff about having them transport juveniles back-and-forth to court. Mr. Graves replied the Sheriff said they do it when they are available. However they do not work after hours or week-ends. Mr. Dalessio advised the police have to meet the court time lines. Mr. Graves mentioned that County business is running smooth.

There was discussion relative to paving the roads in Walpole. Mr. Graves mentioned Cold River Materials is located in Walpole and pays property taxes yet the Town chose to go with a company outside the Town. Mrs. Pschirrer pointed out the Town looks at paving product and prices every year. A representative from Cold River Materials attended a meeting when this was discussed. The Town tries to do ten miles each year. They do not want to re-pave the roads too often so they look for the best product at the best price.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Accounts Payable check register in the amount of $80,625.55 for checks dated September 15, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

PAYROLL:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Payroll Register for the week ending September 9, 2017 in the amount of $36,005.18 for checks dated September 15, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the electronic fund transfer for the 941 Employer Taxes for Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $10.609.96 for the week ending September 9, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – September 7, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of September 7, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – September 7, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of September 7, 2017, as submitted. These Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard received and reviewed Minutes of the following meeting:

Walpole Conservation Commission – August 7, 2017:

OLD BUSINESS:

State of New Hampshire Department of Labor – Inspector Report, Youth Only: Mrs. Pschirrer reported the Town was cited by the Labor Department for record keeping for youth this summer.

Mr. Dalessio moved to pay the $250.00 penalty and not appeal the NH Department of Labor decision. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Mr. Dalessio moved that this penalty in the amount of $250.00 be taken out of the Hooper Trust. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Recreation Revolving Fund Request – Volley Ball Net: Ms. Mayberry requested this be carried over until the next Selectboard meeting as she has not yet had an opportunity to talk to the North Walpole Commissioners.

NEW BUSINESS:

Cemetery Deed – Sale of Lot D453: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the Cemetery Deed for Lot #D453 to Patricia Lawlor. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Laptop Computer: Ms. Mayberry moved to sign the purchase order for the laptop from TrueNorth for the Recycling Center. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests – Map 6, Lot 24 Land Question: Mrs. Pschirrer acknowledged receipt of a letter from the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests as they are working with the owner of this property to evaluate conservation options.

Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests request that the Town does not have any knowledge of this property having solid or hazardous materials on it. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION: Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel and (e) Pending Claims or Litigation. Mr. Dalessio seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 7:48 PM.

Ms. Mayberry moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of September 14, 2017, be sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:

Mr. Dalessio moved to recess this Selectboard meeting. The Selectboard will enter into a meeting as the Hooper Trustees. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 8:06 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 8:09 PM

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry moved to adjourn this meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 9/7/17

SELECTBOARD 09/16/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017

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

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

WESTBERG PROPERTY: Mr. Mike McCluskey, Process Coordinator with the Department of Environmental Services Brownfields Program, and Mr. J.B. Mack, Southwest Region Planning Commission, were present to provide a progress report on the Westberg property. Many towns have come to similar circumstances whereby if the town does not do anything to clean-up a property no one else will do it. The Town of Walpole would like to use the Westberg property for additional parking in the Village. Ransom Consulting has been doing a lot of testing. Mr. McCluskey wants to be sure all the data is being communicated to the Town. He gave a synopsis of where we are now and what information they think is needed. A brief history of the property and its usage was provided. He distributed copies and provided an explanation of a site plan as prepared by Ransom Consulting Engineers and Scientists (Legend and Notes). Initially they focused on metals in connection with the plating operation but did not find elevated levels in their report. In New Hampshire, beginning in March of 2016, testing began for PFAS (Per-Poly-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances). They have records that show Central Plating used these chemicals so it is appropriate to sample for them. Mr. Mack mentioned New Hampshire has PFAS standards for groundwater but not soils. Mr. McCluskey said they need to determine the extent of this contamination. The good news is residents in the Village do not have private wells but are on the Town water system. They feel the chemicals are pretty well confined and know where they came from. They will be sampling for 23-or-24 compounds. Mr. McCluskey talked to the attorney for the property owner to get permission to test for PFAS and to get permission for DES to go onto the property. There was discussion relative to extending testing beyond the property line. There would be a need to find a funding source to test on abutting Lot #63 plus they would need to work out an agreement with the property owner. DES works with a different consulting firm than SWRPC; DES is waiting for a scope of work from their consulting firm. Right now Mr. McCluskey needs to execute agreements with the attorney of the property owner. Deadlines for grant applications were mentioned. November 17^th is the deadline for getting the application in for the grants. If the Town wanted to make application for the grants they would need to take ownership prior to November 17^th. Relative to liability, the Town would be looking at both the federal and state side. Phase I needs to be finalized prior to the acquisition of the property. Mr. Dalessio agrees with moving forward but does not want to rush the process. If they miss this deadline there will be other opportunities to apply for the grants. After Phase I is completed, the Town would have six months to purchase the property. The Selectboard thanked Mr. McCluskey and Mr. Mack for attending this informational meeting.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Accounts Payable check register in the amount of $223,585.26 for checks dated September 8, 2017. Of this total $181,838.38 was for paving material. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

PAYROLL:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Payroll Register for the week ending September 2, 2017 in the amount of $22,822.01 for checks dated September 8, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the electronic fund transfer for the 941 Employer Taxes for Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $4,913.34 for the week ending September 2, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – August 31, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of August 31, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – August 31, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 31, 2017, as submitted. These Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

SPECIAL PUBLIC HEARING – August 31, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Special Public Hearing of August 31, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard received and reviewed Minutes of the following meeting:

Zoning Board of Adjustment – August 21, 2017

BUILDING PERMIT:

CRAIG and JENNIFER VICKERS, 85 Wentworth Road, Map and Lot #017-008-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-29 for Craig and Jennifer Vickers to “Construct a 62’ x 27’ kitchen and master bedroom addition”” at 85 Wentworth Road. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

JOHN J. McGUIRK and CONSTANCE M. ADAMS, 202 Upper Walpole Road, Map and Lot #012-035-000: Ms.Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-30 for John J. McGuirk and Constance M. Adams to “Construct an 18’ x 11’ carport” at 202 Upper Walpole Road. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

GARY and SUSAN LITTLEPAGE, 26 Old Keene Road, Map and Lot #019-002-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-31 for Gary and Susan Littlepage to “Construct a 24’ x 24’ garage with basement” at 26 Old Keene Road. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

STEVEN and MEGAN COREY, JR., 23 Maplewood Circle, Map and Lot #024-016-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-32 for Steven and Megan Corey, Jr. to “Construct a 22’ by 12’ +/- deck per attached sketch” at 23 Maplewood Circle. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT WITH REFUND:

MAP and LOT #030-074-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the Property Tax Abatement for Map and Lot #030-074-000 in the amount of $929.03. This home was demolished just prior to April 1, 2017 cut-off date for building on a property. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

CURRENT USE LAND CHANGE:

MAP and LOT #001-016-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the Current Use Land Change for Map and Lot #001-016-000. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Commonwealth Construction: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve and sign the letter to Commonwealth Construction as discussed at the last meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Corrective Deed for Map and Lot #026-010-000: Mrs. Pschirrer explained they are dealing with a piece of property that was mistakenly taken and changed from the New England Power Company by a Tax Collector’s Deed recorded June 6, 2010. This was an error. The Selectboard now have a deed that is correcting that and removing the tax deed. The land goes back to the New England Power Company. This was already approved. Therefore, the Selectboard signed the deed. It will be recorded. A warrant will be issued shortly as New England Power Company will pay the property taxes back to the spring of 2017. This decision was made quite some time ago.

Recreation Revolving Fund Request – Volley Ball Net: Ms. Mayberry requested that this agenda item be continued. She talked to Mr. Justin Cassarino and now will talk to Mr. Bill Gallagher and the North Walpole Village Commissioners as they all share the same concerns about vandalism.

Water & Sewer Receipts to Date: The Selectboard reviewed the weekly report from Mrs. Jodi Daigle. Collections are going well.

NEW BUSINESS:

Savings Bank of Walpole Account Forms: The Town has opened an account at the Savings Bank of Walpole for the Town Clerk’s use of credit cards.

Ms. Mayberry moved that the Selectboard approve and sign the forms for the Savings Bank of Walpole for the Town Clerk for her credit card account. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Letter from Peter Powers: The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of a copy of the letter Mr. Peter Powers sent to the Army Corp of Engineers in Concord regarding the improvements to Route 12 between North Walpole and Charlestown. He objects as he does not feel they are going to solve bank stabilization issues along the Connecticut River.

HealthTrust Training in Keene: Mrs. Sarah Downing asked to attend a HealthTrust Training Workshop in Keene on October 5^th from 9:15 am to 12:30 pm. It is free. The Selectboard approved this request.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION:

Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel and (e) Pending Claims or Litigation. Mr. Dalessio seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 8:00 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 8:10 PM.

Ms. Mayberry moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of September 7, 2017, be sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer the motion was approved.

RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:

Ms. Mayberry moved to recess this Selectboard meeting. The Selectboard will enter into a meeting as the Hooper Trustees. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 8:12 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 8:24 PM.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mr. Dalessio moved to adjourn this meeting. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Selectbaord Meeting Minutes – 8/31/17

SELECTBOARD 09/12/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

AUGUST 31, 2017

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

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Accounts Payable check register in the amount of $54,576.75 for checks dated September 1, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

PAYROLL:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Payroll Register for the week ending August 26, 2017 in the amount of $26,817.78 for checks dated September 1, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the electronic fund transfer for the 941 Employer Taxes for Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $5,691.46 for the week ending August 26, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – August 24, 2917: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of August 24, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – August 24, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 24, 2017, as submitted. These Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the minutes were approved.

BUILDING PERMIT:

GRIFFIN and ANDREA VICKERS-SIVRET, 56 Old Keene Road, Map and Lot #018-018-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve Building Permit No. 2017-27 for Griffin and Andrea Vickers-Sivret to “Renovate and Construct 20’ x 20’ kitchen addition” at 56 Old Keene Road, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

EDWARD POTTER, 164 Old Keene Road, Map and Lot #007-022-001: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve Building Permit No 2017-28 for Edward Potter to “Construct 66’ x 36’ home with attached garage” at 164 Old Keene Road, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SEWER ABATEMENT:

MAP and LOT #028-079-000: Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the Sewer Abatement in the amount of $287.68 for 39 Church Street in North Walpole. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Mr. Dalessio recommended they have a procedure generated to deal with unusual sewer usage cases.

OLD BUSINESS:

Letter to Selectboard Office in Charlestown, NH: Mrs. Pschirrer explained this letter is an answer to Mr. Edkins letter asking the Walpole Selectboard to participate in a meeting relative to the Fall Mountain Regional School District budget process.

Ms. Mayberry moved to approve and sign the letter to Mr. David Edkins, Administrator to the Selectboard in Charlestown. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Letter to Water/Sewer Users With Active Liens: The Selectboard approved the letter that will be sent to all Water/Sewer Users With Active Liens that are on the list.

Lien Discharge for Map and Lot #019-057-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the Lien Discharge for Water and Sewer Usage at 22-24 School Street in Walpole. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Lien Process: The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of a memo from Mr. Rich Kreissle regarding the water and sewer lien process, dated August 25, 2017.

NEW BUSINESS:

Commonwealth Construction: Mr. Dalessio feels the original Site Plan they submitted is now invalid. Ms. Mayberry explained the owner was asked to re-submit the plan with all the changes that were different than the original plan. Len-Tex requested they put a “Cease-and-Desist” on the construction. Mr. Dalessio noted this would be “after-the-fact”. This property owner will go back to the Planning Board at their next meeting. He suggested writing a letter to the owner requesting they “halt their construction” until they have a formal approval from the Planning Board. He will draft the letter.

Inspector’s Report – Youth Only: Mrs. Pschirrer met the inspector today. This inspection involves the youth payrolls. Mr. Dalessio would like to see an audit by using the last few weeks of payroll sheets to be sure the hours have been completed properly and they have been initialed.

Capital Purchase of Desktop for Selectboard Office: Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the quote in the amount of $1,452.27 from TrueNorth for the replacement of Mrs. Downing’s computer in the Selectboard office. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Cemetery Deed for Lot D535: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Cemetery Deed for the sale of Lot #D535. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Recreation Revolving Fund Request – Soccer Equipment: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the request from Mr. Justin Cassarino and the Recreation Committee to purchase all new equipment for the soccer program. The total cost is $1,881.00 and will be taken from their Revolving Fund. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Recreation Revolving Fund Request – Volley Ball Net: A request was received from Mr. Justin Cassarino and the Recreation Committee to purchase a Volley Ball Net for the North Walpole Park. The cost would be $1,238.10 and would be taken from their Revolving Fund. Mr. Dalessio is not opposed to this purchase however he discussed this with Police Chief Paquette who recommended the net be put up only when it is in use to avoid any vandalism. Ms. Mayberry will talk to Mr. Cassarino about having the ability to put it up and take it down. This was put on-hold until next week’s meeting.

DOT 10 Year Planning Meeting: A letter was received from the Department of Transportation (DOT) encouraging the Selectboard to participate in their Ten-Year (2019-2028) Plan meeting. This meeting will be held in Keene on September 20^th at 12:30 pm at the Keene Parks and Recreation Center.

Primex – Human Resources Workshop: Mrs. Downing has been accepted to attend the Primex Training Workshop for the “HR for the Non-HR Professionals” on October 19, 2017, in Concord. The Selectboard approved having Mrs. Downing attend.

Highway Department: A request was received from Mr. Mike Rau to purchase a Bobcat Skid-Steer Loader for the amount of $30,021.00. This would come out of the additional Highway Funds recently received. The dealer is willing to bring the loader here for Mr. Rau and the employees to look at it and try it out. Mr. Dalessio recommended this Bobcat not be purchased until after the Alstead Center Road project is finished so they know what the final cost will be.

2019 Proposed Budgets: Mr. Kreissle received some budgets but is still waiting for a few others. The Selectboard discussed possibly having a lengthy meeting the second or third week in September to go over the proposed budgets to-date. Following that meeting they will set a date to begin meeting with the Department Heads.

Primex: A representative from Primex was here this morning just to check on how everything was going. She encouraged the Selectboard and Office Staff to contact them when information is needed. Mrs. Pschirrer advised they are pleased with the company and the services they provide.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION: Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel, (c) Reputations and (e) Pending Claims or Litigation. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 7:12 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:42 PM.

Ms. Mayberry moved that the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 31, 2017 be sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:50 PM.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Westberg Property: Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned that Mr. McCluskey, Chair of the Brownfields Program, will be here next Thursday to talk about the Westberg property. She will also ask Mr. J.B. Mack from the Southwest Region Planning Commission to attend.

Walpole Landfill: Mrs. Pschirrer reported that the prices for monitoring the closed Walpole Landfill will be going up due to testing for PSAs. Mr. Brackett, who has done the monitoring for many years, is retiring. Mrs. Downing has been contacting consulting companies to obtain information and prices. The Town has a permit from the DES until 2021. The next testing needs to be done in November. Testing for PSAs is not mandatory until 2018. Mr. Dalessio would like to know how much longer the Town will be required to continue testing. Another question will be whether or not a solar array could be installed on top of the landfill cap.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Public Hearing – 8/31/17

SELECTBOARD 09/12/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

PUBLIC HEARING

AUGUST 31, 2017

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

CALL TO ORDER: Mrs. Pschirrer called this Special Meeting of the Selectboard to order at 6:15 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She advised that this meeting is being recorded and asked anyone wishing to speak to identify themselves for the record.

PUBLIC HEARING:

Mrs. Pschirrer opened this Public Hearing and read the notice of Public Hearing as follows:

“Notice is hereby given that the Selectboard of the Town of Walpole, NH will hold a public hearing on Thursday, August 31, 2017, at 6:15 pm in the Selectboard Office of the Walpole Town Hall.

The purpose of the public hearing is in accordance with RSA 31:95-b for accepting unanticipated monies in the amount of $10,000 from the Bridge Wilson American Legion Post #77 to be used for assistance to Walpole veterans who have financial need.

These funds are non-lapsing and will be placed in a separate account that will be in the custody of the Town’s Welfare Office.

Interested citizens are invited to attend and comment on the above. Written comments may be submitted to the Selectboard, PO Box 729, Walpole, NH 03608. Those with special needs or a disability are to call the Selectboard Office at 603-756-3672 to request assistance.”

Mrs. Pschirrer advised that Mr. Whitney Aldrich, on behalf of the Bridge Wilson American Legion Post #77, presented the above gift of $10,000 to be used as assistance to Walpole veterans and their families who have financial need and the Selectboard accepted their check.

Mr. Whitney Aldrich was the only member of the public in attendance and was the representative from the Bridge Wilson American Legion Post #77. There were no other comments received from the public in writing or by phone. Mrs. Pschirrer declared this Public Hearing closed at 6:19 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 6:19 PM.

Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the gift of $10,000 from the Bridge Wilson American Legion Post #77 to be used for assistance to Walpole veterans who have financial need. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Mr. Dalessio moved to adjourn this Special meeting of the Selectboard. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Good News Regarding Road Paving

SELECTBOARD 09/12/2017 Leave a comment

The Selectboard office wanted to pass o this advice: The paving of South Street, Prospect Hill Road and a section of County Road will be occurring during the week of Sept. 25^th. Expect travel delays during this time period.

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 8/24/17

SELECTBOARD 09/06/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

AUGUST 24, 2017

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

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Accounts Payable check register in the amount of $40,563.94 for checks dated August 25, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

PAYROLL:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Payroll Register for the week ending August 19, 2017, in the amount of $26,439.02 for checks dated August 25, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the electronic fund transfer for the 941 Employer Taxes for Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $5,623.34 for the week ending August 19, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – August 17, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of August 17, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – August 17, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 17, 2017, as submitted. These Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD, PUBLIC HEARING – August 17, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Selectboard, Public Hearing of August 17, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

STAFF MEETING – August 17, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Staff Meeting of August 17, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard received and reviewed Minutes of the following meeting:

Walpole Recreation Committee – August 16, 2017.

AMERICAN LEGION: Mr. Whitney Aldrich advised the American Legion had a Veterans’ Relief Fund. The members recently voted to set up a Veterans’ Relief Fund through the Walpole Welfare Office. The $10,000.00 is to be used to assist veterans and their families, when needed. Mrs. Pschirrer pointed out this could be gone over a few years. The Selectboard accepted the check but it will be a separate account that will be given to Mrs. Janet Clough, Walpole Welfare Office, to administer as requested by the American Legion for veterans and/or their families when they are in need.

Mr. Dalessio and Mr. Aldrich had previously talked about cleaning the veterans’ monument but Mrs. Downing said it was cleaned recently. They discussed the historic sycamore tree that was dedicated for Guy Bemis. This tree is causing sap to fall on the monument. Mr. Aldrich recommended if, in the future, another tree is put in that it is planted further away from the monument.

There was a consensus of the Selectboard to schedule a Public Hearing at the next meeting on Thursday, August 31, 2017, at 6:15 PM to accept the $10,000.00 from the American Legion to set up a separate Veterans’ Relief Fund through the Walpole Welfare Office.

Mr. Aldrich had heard there was consideration being given to making Elm Street one way. He mentioned about 15 years ago a group of residents living around the Common asked about making Elm Street one-way. They tried it for about a month. Then those people came in and asked for it to go back to the way it was. They tried it but it did not work. There was discussion about the traffic flow on Elm Street and Washington Street. Mrs. Pschirrer had people tell her they do not want Elm Street changed but she would like to find a way to stop big trucks from using Elm Street.

North Walpole: Ms. Mayberry spoke to Mr. Dalessio about there being a crosswalk sign by the North Walpole Fire Department building on the north side of the driveway but there is no crosswalk. The sign is blocking the Police Station sign coming the other way.

BUILDING PERMIT:

Linda Labeau, 756 Valley Road, Map and Lot #011-040-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve Building Permit No. 2017-25 for Linda Labeau to “Construct a 30’ x 26’, 1.5 story garage” at 756 Valley Road. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

DEMOLITION PERMIT:

MELTC, LLC: 529 Main Street, Map and Lot #012-015-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve Demolition Permit No. 2017-26 for MELTC, LLC to “Remove a 12’ x 64’ Mobile Home” from 529 Main Street. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Westberg Property: Mrs. Pschirrer had the documents on the Westberg property that were presented during the Southwest Region Planning Commission (SWRPC) meeting last Tuesday. A vote was taken to approve the next phase of this program. Mr. Steve Rickerich, engineer from Ransom Consulting Engineers and Scientists, presented a slide presentation of the Supplemental Phase II Investigation and Analyses of Brownfields Clean-up Alternatives / Remedial Action Plan, dated August 22, 2017. The slides included the Site Location, Site Plan, Chromium in Soil, Inferred Groundwater Flow, Chromium (and PFAS) in Groundwater, and Nickel in Groundwater. Mrs. Pschirrer provided a detailed explanation of the project to-date. More testing will be done. Mr. Rickerich talked to Mr. Mark Houghton about the old Fire Station area and the type of foam used about 30 years ago, if any. Drinking water has not been contaminated but there are chemicals in the soil. Mr. Mike McCluskey from the Department of Environmental Services (DES) was also at the last SWRPC meeting. The State has not yet set standards for how they will deal with PFAS. Mr. McCluskey would like to talk to the Selectboard. He is supportive of this project as well as the staff of SWRPC. Estimated detailed costs for the project were put together by Mr. Rickerich. There will be on-going costs because the area will have to be monitored periodically as required by the DES. The question is do they clean it up or leave it as is in the middle of Town surrounded by houses. The Selectboard have until September 21^st to let the SWRPC know if they will continue to pursue this clean-up. Mrs. Pschirrer will ask Mr. McCluskey if he can come to the meeting next week or the first Thursday in September. Mr. J.B. Mack would also be available to attend a meeting. Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry approved having Mrs. Pschirrer contact Mr. Peter Adams, Executor of the Westberg estate, to provide an up-date on the project.

Landfill Monitoring: The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of a letter from Mr. Brackett who has been monitoring the Walpole Landfill for many years. He will be retiring soon therefore a new person/ company will need to be hired. They will now have to test for PFAS in addition to the usual testing. The State’s Permit will not expire until November 27, 2021. Mrs. Downing was asked to contact some NH companies and get cost estimates as the information will be needed for the budget.

Water and Sewer Receipts to Date: Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned collections are going well. As of August 24, 2017 the total Water and Sewer Receipts left to collect is $19,963.18. The total left to collect for 90+day accounts is $44,856.94.

Notice of Impending Lien – Water and Sewer: Mrs. Pschirrer and Ms. Mayberry approved the letter Mr. Dalessio had drafted. He is now waiting for the exact timing from Mrs. Smith. They want to be sure everything is accurate.

90 day+ Reports: The 90+ Reports were reviewed by the Selectboard. There is a “grey” area for North Walpole as the owners receive two bills; one bill for sewer from Walpole and a second bill for water from North Walpole. Mr. Dalessio has been talking with the NH Municipal Association.

Outstanding and Discharge Lien Reports: The Outstanding and Discharge Lien reports were reviewed by the Selectboard. There was discussion about the process. Mrs. Daigle was asked to work with Mr. Kreissle to continue the research on liens and payments. Mr. Dalessio agreed a letter should be written to the people on the list to advise there is still an active lien on their property in the amount of (dollars and cents) for water and sewer and ask them to make an immediate payment. If they feel this letter is an error contact the Selectboard office. Mrs. Pschirrer said to include a copy of the lien in the letter.

Thank You Note: Mrs. Pschirrer read a note received from Mrs. Carole Cramer thanking the Selectboard for their consideration in amending the guidelines for Town Hall rentals.

NEW BUSINESS:

Municipal Work Zone Agreement: Ms. Mayberry moved that the Selectboard sign the Municipal Work Zone Agreement for the Route 12 project. This is State Project No. 14747 and Federal Project No. X-A000(487). Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Letter from Selectboard Office in Charlestown, NH: Acknowledgement was made of receipt of a letter from the Town of Charlestown Selectboard. They would like to meet with the Selectboards from the other four towns in the Fall Mountain Region School District to talk about the FMRSD next budget early in the process. Mr. Dalessio would like to meet with the other Selectboards. They are welcome to use the Walpole Town Hall for the meeting. Mrs. Pschirrer will draft the response letter for next week.

Open Container Request: A request was received from the Manager of Administration that the Selectboard allow open containers at the Town BBQ on Sunday, September 10^th.

Mr. Dalessio moved to waive the Open Container Policy on September 10, 2017, from Noon to no later than 6:00 PM for the Town BBQ for employees, families and volunteers at the Town Pool. Rain location is the Town Hall. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Police Department: Mr. Dalessio advised the Police Department has a grant for patrolling of DUI and traffic on Route 12. Originally the State had a requirement for patrolling during specific dates but it has now been changed to strongly suggested dates. Mr. Dalessio had previously signed the agreement as Chairman. To send a prompt reply to the State, he initialed the change form.

NON-PUBLIC SESSION:

Mr. Dalessio moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 81-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel and (c) Reputations. Ms. Mayberry seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 7:44 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:55 PM.

Mr. Dalessio moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 24, 2017, be sealed. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 8:00 PM.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Water Issues: Mrs. Pschirrer has been talking to Mr. Mark Houghton about the water issues and who is going to pay for removal of the trees and brush around the dam to get it ready so it can be properly inspected by DES. She will ask the Walpole Conservation Commission to pay for the work at the dam.

School Street: Mr. Mark Houghton and Mr. Mike Rau met to talk about School Street. They have some ideas about how they will handle those water problems. They are working on cost estimates. Mrs. Pschirrer will pursue the ARMS Fund for the Butternut Brook.

Burdick Project: Mrs. Pschirrer talked to Mr. Mark Houghton about the major Burdick Project for both electrical and sewer work. A small portion of Westminster Street will be torn up. Bazin Bros. will do the paving that will include Westminster Street. The project will begin early in September.

Road Paving: Mr. Rau reported they are basically finished paving the roads for this year. They will now move onto other projects including trees.

Legal Items: Mrs. Pschirrer has been talking with Attorney Jeremy Hockensmith relative to some pending issues. He will have them finalized soon.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 8/17/17

SELECTBOARD 08/29/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

AUGUST 17, 2017

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

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

George Ramsey III – Town Hall Rental Request: Mr. Ramsey explained that their son who grew up in Walpole is retiring from the Air Force after 22 years and they would like to rent the Town Hall for a retirement party. Mr. Ramsey wondered if the Selectboard would consider allowing a military discount. It would be for a half-day rental. Mr. Dalessio mentioned a military discount has not come before them in the past. The regular rental fee would be $175.00 for a half-day. He suggested reducing that to $100.00. There was a consensus of the three Selectboard members that the rent will be $100.00. Mrs. Pschirrer asked if they will have alcohol because, if so, an event insurance policy is required. Mr. Ramsey will check with his sons but does not believe there will be alcoholic beverages. No date has been set.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Accounts Payable check register in the amount of $728,879.68 for checks dated August 18, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

The above amount includes a monthly check in the amount of $535,300.00 to the Fall Mountain Regional School District. It also includes a payment in the amount of $93,472.07 for paving.

PAYROLL:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Payroll Register for the week ending August 12, 2017, in the amount of $28,914.74 for checks dated August 18, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the electronic fund transfer for the 941 Employer Taxes for Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $6,010.78 for the week ending August 12, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – August 10, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of August 10, 2017, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – August 10, 2017: Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 10, 2017, as submitted. These Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard received and reviewed Minutes of the following meetings:

North Walpole Village District Board of Commissioners – August 1, 2017;
North Walpole Village District Board of Commissioners – August 8, 2017.

TIMBER TAX WARRANT:

MAP and LOT # 010-019-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the Original Warrant, Yield Tax Levy, and the Certification of Yield Taxes Assessed in the amount of $131.18 for Map and Lot # 010-019-000. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

MAP and LOT # 010-022-001: Ms. Mayberry moved to approve the Original Warrant, Yield Tax Levy, and the Certification of Yield Taxes Assessed in the amount of $307.35 for Map and Lot # 010-022-001. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO CUT WOOD OR TIMBER:

MAP and LOT # 013-031-000: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant the Notice of Intent to Cut Wood or Timber for Map and Lot # 013-011-000. This lot is located off Hayes Road from Valley Road. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

BUILDING PERMITS:

Michael and Andrea Daley, 322 Main Street, Map and Lot # 012-059-001: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-22 for Michael and Andrea Daley to “Add a 12’ x 24’ bay onto garage” at 322 Main Street. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Michael and Andrea Daley, 322 Main Street, Map and Lot # 012-059-001: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-23 for Michael and Andrea Daley to “Add a 8’ x 26’ front porch” at 322 Main Street. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Wayne Miller and Margaret Kupiec, 1479 County Road, Map and Lot # 003-034-009: Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit No. 2017-24 for Wayne R. Miller and Margaret E. Kupiec to “Construct a 10’ x 27’ basement addition” at 1479 County Road. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

TransCanada Abatement Form: Mrs. Pschirrer advised that last week the Selectboard approved the Abatement for TransCanada however they did not sign all the documents. The Selectboard members now have to sign the forms they missed last week.

Police Dept. Revolving Fund: Last week the Selectboard approve the Police Department’s request to purchase Laptop cradles, mounting hardware and antennas for Walpole Fleet cruisers. They are now signing the approval letter to withdraw these funds from the Walpole Police Revolving Fund.

Notice of Impending Lien – Water and Sewer: Mr. Dalessio will draft the letters and email them to Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer to review. Mrs. Sandy Smith is doing some research. They need to find out when some of the liens were placed on the properties. There is a need to confirm the figures and the other details are accurate. This will be on the agenda for next week.

NEW BUSINESS:

Workers’ Compensation Poster: Mr. Dalessio moved to authorize the Chair, Mrs. Pschirrer, to sign the Workers’ Compensation Notice of Compliance poster. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio,

Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Recreation Revolving Fund Request: A request was received from Mr. Justin Cassarino and the Recreation Committee to use Recreation Department Revolving Funds for an event on the last day the pool will be open. The event will cost $799.00. They would like to do laser tag and have an inflatable obstacle course for the kids.

Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the Recreation Committee’s request to use their Revolving Fund for $799.00 to fund the end of summer event. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Computer Software Purchase. Mr. Dalessio explained that as they upgrade their equipment and buy new computers we need licenses. It is much cheaper to go to Microsoft MS-365 rather than purchasing individual licenses. It will also keep everything updated automatically. It will cost $156.00 per computer; we are looking at five computers for a total cost of $780.00. It will give us more flexibility than we have now. He feels each department will have this amount in their budget. There was a consensus of the Selectboard to move forward with this.

Westminster Street: Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned the only thing that applies to the Town on this project is Westminster Street itself. She will be meeting with Mr. Mark Houghton next Tuesday at 9:00 am to discuss several items. This is a project between Burdick’s and Mr. Houghton.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION:

Ms. Mayberry 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. Mr. Dalessio seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved at 7:08 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:28 PM.

Ms. Mayberry moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 17, 2017, will be sealed. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:

OTHER BUSINESS:

Rally: Mrs. Downing reported there will be a Rally on the Common on Sunday, August 20^th at 6:00 PM on Peace vs Violence.

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Selectboard Special Meeting – 8/17/17

SELECTBOARD 08/29/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

PUBLIC HEARING

AUGUST 17, 2017

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

Call To Order: Mrs. Pschirrer called this Selectboard Meeting to order at 6:15 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She advised that this meeting is being recorded and asked anyone wishing to speak to identify themselves for the record.

Public Hearing:

Mrs. Pschirrer opened this Public Hearing and read the Notice of Public Hearing as follows: “The purpose of the hearing is in accordance with RSA 31:95-b for accepting unanticipated monies in the amount of $119,999.51 from the State of NH Highway Grant Aid to be used for road or bridge maintenance or construction.

These funds are non-lapsing and will be placed in a separate account that will be in the custody of the Town Treasurer.”

Mrs. Pschirrer advised this meeting is to give the public an opportunity to ask questions and receive an answer. The Selectboard has some plans for a portion of these funds. There is a problem on the Alstead Center Road as it has the potential to collapse. They authorized an engineer from CDL to draw plans for this project that has the potential to cost as much as $70,000.00. This is not a firm figure until they see the engineering plans. Plus they are also considering using some of these funds to repair the storm drains on School Street. These unanticipated funds allow the Selectboard to use them for roads, bridges and equipment; anything for roads and bridge maintenance. The funds will be put to good use. They will be put into the Town’s PDIP (savings) account. It can be carried over into next year although they expect to do the School Street project this year. There are many projects this money could be spent on.

Ms. Mayberry pointed out that they will have future discussion on other projects with the presumption that the Alstead Center Road and School Street projects will not use all the funding.

There was no public comment. There was one member of the public in attendance.

Mrs. Pschirrer declared this Public Hearing closed at 6:22 PM.

Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the non-lapsing funds in the amount of $119,999.51 from the State of NH Highway Grant program. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Adjournment:

Mr. Dalessio moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 6:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Walpole Staff Meeting – 8/17/17

SELECTBOARD 08/29/2017 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

STAFF MEETING

AUGUST 17, 2017

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

Also Present: Sarah Downing (Manager of Administration); Rich Kreissle (Manager of Finance), Police Chief Michael Paquette (Police Department); Paul Colburn (Recycling Center), Justine Fafara (Librarian), Justin Cassarino (Director Recreation Department), Sandra Smith (Town Clerk / Tax Collector)

Call to Order: Mrs. Pschirrer called this Staff meeting to order at 5:15 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She advised this meeting is being recorded. Michael Rau and Eloise Clark were not present. Mr. Rau and the Highway Department crew are doing paving. Chief Paquette mentioned Valley Road and Cheshire Turnpike are beautiful.

Selectboard Office: Mrs. Downing provided the following report dated August 17, 2017:

Assessing Update:

Avitar Associates conducted site visits as part of the field review process from 8/10/17 through 8/16/17. The field review process is a final check of data previously collected. Avitar is comparing all homes to the sale properties and adjusting to ensure consistency and equity. This is the final step before creating draft property cards.
The Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) is in Walpole doing field work on qualified sales through 8/18/17.
Letters will be sent in late August to property owners with the online address to view and download draft property cards. A phone number will be included with a date range for making appointments to meet with the Avitar assessors at the Town Hall to discuss the updated property cards.

Water and Sewer:

Demand of Payment Notices for accounts that are over 60 days overdue were mailed on 8/14/17.
Water and/or Sewer Lien and Water Disconnect Notices have been created and revised. The Selectboard is working with Mrs. Jodi Daigle and Mrs. Downing on this. Final approval of the notices’ text and process are pending.

Town Hall Facilities:

The Town Hall foundation has been sealed. The south side entrance ramp had damage areas filled. It also is being sealed to help reduce weather and salt damage.
Landscaping clean-up and spot painting occurred over the month.
The Town Hall exterior signs are being recreated. They are looking very weathered.

Save the Dates:

Sunday, September 10^th will be the Appreciation BBQ for Town of Walpole employees and volunteers. Families are invited. Invitations will be sent out. You can bring a dessert to share. Pit Stop BBQ will cater again. At noon there will be appetizers; lunch will be at 1:00 pm. It will be BYOB. It will be held at Whitcomb Park. Rain location: Town Hall.
Friday, October 20^th will be a HealthTrust Benefits presentation to all full-time Town employees. There will be a new presenter this year. Mandatory attendance is required for this employee group. It will be in the afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm.
Friday, November 3^rd is the annual Harassment Awareness Training for all Town of Walpole employees. There will be more inter-active activity. It will be in the afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. Attendance is mandatory. If an employee cannot attend this training, a certificate of attendance for an online course or training with another group can be submitted.
In December there may be a Wellness event that might include a healthy lunch. It may include stress reduction or healthy eating presentation.

Recreation Department: Mr. Justin Cassarino submitted the following report dated August 17, 2017.

Pool:

Gave them some problems in the middle of July where they had to close for a few days. He did not feel like the filters were circulating/turning the water enough, which was causing some of the cloudiness. The manufacturer of the filters is being contacted. He is now doing business with a local person, Aqua Blue, and it is working great.
State came for the inspection and was very happy with everything. The only new requirement is that they mark the pipes with arrows to show the flow of the water.
Held an hour training with two workers from Cheshire Medical about smoking and how to approach patrons about it if they are smoking on park grounds. The kids got t-shirts and had their pictures taken. An article was written on this.
Spoke with Mike Rau about putting three of the signs up when he gets a break from paving. They currently have three up at the school parks that they use for recreation as well.
The pool will be closing on either the 25^th or 26^th. He is waiting to hear back from two lifeguards about their availability. A lot are leaving for college and starting athletics at the high school. They also have to return the AED to the school before the 29^th. Pschirrer asked if it would be easier for them to have their own AED; they should have their own. Mr. Cassarino talked to Mr. Mark Houghton about this. Mr. Dalessio thought they could buy two or three.

Basketball:

Season went very well and Championship Night was a huge success. Close to 100 people were at the pool and game that night.
Diamond Pizza donated 18 pizzas to the event. They will develop a thank you note and ask the Selectboard to sign it.
Candy Bar Bingo was a lot of fun. They had between 40 to 50 people participated in the event. Kids asked if they could do it again. This will be a new family night that they will do throughout the year.
They would like to have one last event on the last day that the pool will be open. They will be doing laser tag and an inflatable obstacle course. The request is being presented tonight with an additional insurance coverage through the company. Thought that this would be a fun way to end the summer.

Soccer:

Had a soccer meeting with the other three coordinators to discuss rule changes, set-up, and expectations for this upcoming season.
Sign-ups will be held at the beginning of September.

Finance Office:

Mr. Kreissle had passed out all the budget worksheets. Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned if the Department Heads have questions when working on their budget talk to Mr. Kreissle. She also asked them to think about Warrant Articles. The Selectboard would like to start the budget process early.

Police Department: Police Chief Michael Paquette submitted a report for the period of July 16, 2017 to August 15, 2017. They went through some construction in the building but are waiting for a door and there are still a few other things to do. This past year they purchased equipment and guns; they are like a high-end paint ball gun that hurts when you are hit. They do training on this. He got a letter requesting more police presence in the Village of Walpole for traffic enforcement. He set it up with dispatch so they will know when they are doing this so they can accurately keep a record of time on Main Street. They have some unmarked cars but he has decided to have them marked. He goes through the Village multiple times during the day. He has talked about getting one of the radar signs; they have the potential to record the speed, take a photo of the car, etc. They can make a decision about whether to give a ticket or a warning. Mrs. Pschirrer is concerned about increased traffic when Mascoma Bank opens their drive-thru. Emergency vehicles go around that corner. They made a few arrests the night of the Rockingham Old Home Days fireworks. Bellows Falls praised them for keeping the traffic flow moving after the fireworks. From the stats they are down on many issues. It varies month-to-month but it cannot be predicted. There were 325 calls for Service.

Public Safety Calls:

Emergency Calls – 47 Administration – 47 Citizen Assists – 67

Motor Vehicle Calls:

Accidents – 9 MV Stops – 57 Traffic Safety – 24

Criminal Investigations:

Drugs/Alcohol – 14 Crimes Against a Person – 47 Crimes Against Property -13

They have some applicants so are hoping to run another test at the end of next month. They are actively trying to find another full-time officer.

Town Clerk / Tax Collector: Mrs. Sandy Smith submitted the following report dated August 17, 2017.

They collected $103,993.77 in taxes and interest since the last staff meeting.

Money is coming in slowly as they only have $643,669.94 uncollected. This includes timber tax warrants, their 2016 and older liens. Taxes are never all paid in full. They are doing great! Looking forward to the next billing.

Town Clerk has collected $59,569.64 total for this same time period. She has had Meghan telephoning delinquent dog owners and they are getting some results. They collected $467.50 in dog license fees since the last staff meeting. This includes late fees of $1.00 per month. Most people thank them for the calls and then they have “those” that will never license their dogs!

They collected $1,890.00 in Municipal Agent fees; this is money the town receives because they completely register your vehicle. The customer pays $3.00 per vehicle to avoid driving to Keene DMV to complete the process. They issue the decals and the plates.

She has spent hours researching the One Check System and speaking with people at the state—and they are moving forward. Their tentative date is Oct 1^st. The customer will write only one check to pay for their registration. This should save some time. They will collect the State money and Rich will transfer that directly to the State account. If a check does not clear, they will have to collect the check and the fees. The state said they do not have to accept any checks that they have had a problem with in the past.

After just a few weeks with the One Check System, they will start accepting credit cards for Motor Vehicles, Vital Records and dogs. People are really looking forward to using cards. They will have a system that accepts cards with the “chip”.

Meghan is on vacation this week and she will be out beginning the 21^st and then she will have the Town Clerks conference in September.

At 5:50 p.m. she just issued a Marriage License to a wonderful young couple that will be married Saturday here in Walpole! They are always doing something different.

Walpole Town Library – August 16, 2017. Mrs. Justine Fafara provided the following report.

July 2016 Stats: July 2017 Stats:

23 Days Open 24 Days Open

1663 People 1753 People

2484 Circ 2536 Circ

38 Programs 41 Programs

228 Kids 228 Kids

172 Adults 215 Adults

445 website visitors 403 website visitors

July 2016 Avg. 72 ppl & 108 circ per day July 2017 Avg: 73 ppl & 106 circ per day

11 people per program 11 people per program

Two of three of their warrant article projects are done. Houghton’s is coming August 31^st to install new lighting in three rooms.

They are starting some new programs in September. Our Maker Play program on Wednesday after school has grown, and the kids are older so they will be splitting it into two programs. Younger kids on Mondays after school and older kids on Wednesdays after school. They will be starting game nights on Tuesdays. Teen coloring will continue on Fridays.

They have a 3D printer on loan from the state library through the end of September so they are planning to do a few programs with it for both kids and adults. She has to go to trainings on the software and will be the keeper of the Coops’ 3D printer and the coordinator. It is booked in other libraries through the end of the year and then will be back in Walpole.

Mrs. Fafara mentioned if anyone asks if the library has glasses for the eclipse they no longer have any. The kids at the Library made eclipse viewers out of cereal boxes but you have to stand with your back toward the sun. It was a great project.

Recycling Center: Mr. Paul Colburn reported some needed repairs were made to the glass crusher. The spring broke on the big roll up door a few weeks ago so they needed to get a new one; it was an added expense. The buildings were painted and they got two new doors. The two Hooper youth will be leaving soon; they worked out very well. Tom and he went to an electronics class in Swanzey. They talked about breaking down some of the components, capture some of the revenue from them, etc. It was good to go to that. Quite a bit of cardboard was shipped out; the price is good. Recently they took in quite a bit of metal and prices are pretty good. The Highway Department is very busy so they have been using their equipment to do a few projects This month they had 60 volunteer positions and 18 were vacant. The WRAP Committee is shrinking; it has been quite a while since they had a quorum at a meeting. He is actively seeking a new baler. The cost is about $80,000+ but the old one will generate some revenue even though it is about 30 years old with some issues. It is an essential piece of equipment for their work.

Mr. Colburn distributed the “3 Year Comparison to Recyclables” and the “Daily Weight Report and 3 Year to Date Comparison” worksheets. He explained the figures on the Revenues sheet. They have been getting in “other stuff” such as propane tanks that does not fit into the regular categories. The C & D was unusually big this month and will be shipped out soon. The revenues have been doing well. Recyclables vary months-to-month.

Mr. Kreissle generated a Monthly Report on Recycling Revenues as of August 16, 2017. The budget figure is $166,350.00; the Actual to-date is $103,663.76.

Highway Department: Mr. Rau was unable to attend due to the paving work but submitted the following report for the period of July 19, 2017 to August 16, 2017:

Cold patched;
Serviced trucks and equipment;
Pulled out and picked-up trash cans on Common;
Road side mowing;
Road sweeping;
Truck #4 and Truck #7 went to Reed’s for repairs;
Picked up ash from the Recycling Center;
Met with USDA engineer in regards to Butternut Brook;
Engineers are prepared to start with plans regarding the Alstead Center road culvert;
Paving –
- County Road
- Old Stage Road
- Thompson Road
- Colonial Drive
- Valley Road
- Cheshire Turnpike.

Adjournment: Mrs. Pschirrer closed this Staff Meeting at 6:05 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

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Category Archives: SELECTBOARD

Town of Walpole Staff Meeting – 9/21/17

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 9/14/17

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 9/7/17

Selectbaord Meeting Minutes – 8/31/17

Public Hearing – 8/31/17

Good News Regarding Road Paving

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 8/24/17

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 8/17/17

Selectboard Special Meeting – 8/17/17

Walpole Staff Meeting – 8/17/17

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