The Walpolean

Present:  Diana Watson Petrie, Stan Hutchings, Jean Kobeski, Chas Street, Steve Varone, Jo Cowgill

Absent:  Tom Ronning

Meeting Commenced at 6:35.

It was announced that Greg Lent has stepped off the committee.

The group again discussed the word district:

● Entity that runs one or more schools.

● Has its own school board

● Functions like a corporate entity with a tax ID number

● Puts together the local budget like FM puts together our district budget

There was a discussion about the three buildings in Walpole.  All three belong to the Fall Mountain School District.  If Walpole once again gained ownership, would changes need to be made to bring buildings to code? How could usage of one or more of these buildings change?

Charts were made with headings of areas the committee needs to explore. Stickies were added to the charts as the group brainstormed topics within each heading. Headings included:

● Buildings

● Transportation

● Personnel

● Programs

● Culture

● Demographic Trends

● Budget 

Action Items – Committee members volunteered to research the topics:

● Stan –  Will ask Mistee Bushee for the Walpole Budget and all 6 Method budgets  

Walpole share of the $25 million is for Walpole

Walpole share of the remaining $11 million

● Jo –  Buildings

● Jean and Diana –  Personnel and Programs

● Transportation –  Steve

● Culture –  Chas

Members Present:  Stan Hutchings, Jean Kobeski, Tom Ronning, Steve Varone,, Diana Watson Petrie, Carolyn Vose (Selectboard Liaison)

Members Absent:  Greg Lent, Chas Street

Leadership:  Diana chosen as Chair, Tom as Vice Chair, Jean as Note-taker

The committee can recommend one of three choices:

1. Remain part of SAU 60

2. Attach to another SAU (29)

3. Form our own SAU

If we form a new SAU, we could have a part-time superintendent and Walpole would have its own school board (3-5 members). If the town votes to separate and form our own SAU, the Walpole School Board would be the decision-makers, not this committee.

If you have schools to run, you need to have an SAU.  If you don’t have schools to run, you pay tuition.

A lengthy discussion ensued about the difference between an SAU and a district. Steve explained how the budget is apportioned, and he explained the history of the Fall Mountain School District and Marlow School District. 

The group reviewed our charge from the selectboard:

1. Pros and Cons of local control (Walpole K-8) but staying in SAU 60.

2. Pros and Cons of forming a new SAU

3. Pros and cons for joining an existing SAU

A recommendation was made to listen to the schoolboard presentation at the past deliberative session.  Go to sau60.org. Click on Business and Finance, then Budget Presentations. 

Questions arose about the number of students in Walpole being homeschooled or attending charter schools. Why and what would bring them back to the public school?

It was stressed that the recommendation this committee makes will address not only financial ramifications, but will also consider curriculum: what’s being taught, resources, teacher autonomy, student preparedness for high school.  What happens beyond eighth grade? Will students tuition into FMRHS or, if we pull out of the SAU, what choices are available?

The committee decided to continue meeting on Wednesdays at 6:30 in Town Hall. It was agreed that the meeting can extend to 90 minutes.  

It was recommended that, before we have actual research assignments, we hear from school board members from Westmoreland and Chesterfield. Tom said he would invite Nick Belsky and the middle school guidance counselor, who serve on the Chesterfield School Board, to our next meeting.

In the meantime, Diana asked that we list on Google Docs all the elements we want to research (finances, curriculum, transportation, etc.)

Next meeting is Wednesday, May 15, 6:30, upstairs in Town Hall.

I regret that I missed this addition when I copied the minutes. This should have been included. – Lil

The April minutes should now say Mr. O’Keefe nominated Mr. Edkins for Chair of the Board. This motion was not seconded. Ms. Barnes made a motion that Tom Murray be Chair of the Board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Edkins. The vote was two yeas, Ms. Barnes and Mr. Murray and 2 nays Mr. Edkins and Mr. O’Keefe and 1 abstention by Don Sellarole who was an alternate filling in for the absent board member. A few minutes later Mr. Sellarole said he wanted to change his vote to a yea for Mr. Murray. He did so and then the motion passed unanimously. Mr. O’Keefe then nominated Mr. Edkins for Vice-Chair and the motion was seconded by Mr. Sellarole and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Murray nominated Ms. Barnes as Clerk. Mr. Edkins seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

Regarding the vote on the Minutes of 2024. It should read 3 yeas, 1 nay and 1 abstention.

Roll Call: Present board members: Chair Tom Murray, Vice-Chair Dave Edkins, Clerk Pauline Barnes, Tom Winmill and alternates Myra Mansouri and Don Sellarole. Absent: Board member Shane O’Keefe,

Call to Order: Mr. Murray called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. He asked alternate Mansouri to sit in for the absent board member. She agreed.

Minutes of April 2024: Ms. Barnes made typo corrections. On page 1 final two paragraphs she placed a comma  between “position” and “this” and changed changed the “T” in This to lower case “t”. She added a “d” to the word “encourage” in the last paragraph of page 2 and on page 3 she removed the word “the” from the second to last paragraph about the joint workshop.

Mr Edkins moved to approve the amended minutes. The motion was seconded by Ms. Mansouri and the motion carried.

Mr. Winmill made several motions. Regarding the May minutes under Election of Officers he made the motion “Resolved that section of the minutes be revised to comply with RSA 91-A:2, Right to Know law.“

The April minutes say “Three motions for a candidate for Chair of the Zoning Board were made before someone was finally chosen. The first motion for a candidate was not seconded. The second motion had a vote of two yeas, two nays with one person abstaining. So the necessary threshold of three votes for approval was not met. In a third vote Mr. Murray received a unanimous vote for Chair. That followed with a unanimous vote for Mr. Edkins for Vice-chair and a unanimous vote for Pauline Barnes as Clerk.”

Mr. Winmill’s motion was “specifically that the substance of each motion and the names of the members who made or seconded each motion be recorded in the minutes.” The Board agreed that the secretary should do this. The reader will find this at the end of these minutes.

The total vote in the section of the Minutes of March 2024 is incorrect. It should add up to being five votes not six. This too will be revised at the end of these minutes.

The topic of Indemnity was on the agenda. Mr. Winmill said in light of the situation in Swanzey where a developer is suing the Zoning Board as a group as well as suing individual members on its zoning board, the Walpole Zoning Board should seek counsel from the town attorney about what happens if this board were to be sued or if individual members of the board were to be sued. 

He made the following motion. “Resolved, that the Chair request that legal counsel to the Zoning Board make himself or herself available by phone or in person to discuss (1) the role of the zoning board in order to address the uncertainty and confusion of Zoning Board members reflected in the minutes of April 17,  2024 and (2) the extent to which Zoning Board members, whether sued in their official or individual capacities, are entitled to indemnity and advancement of expenses for all claims of the type made in the complaint filed on 4/16/24 entitled Avanru Development Group, LTD. v. Town of Swanzey, NH Zoning Board, Town of Swanzey, NH Planning Board; Ann Karasinski, Adam Mulhearn, Bryan Rudgers; Robert Mitchell; Richard Lane; Jane Johnson; Steve Malone; Sylvester Karasinski; and Matthew Bachler. Case 1: 24-cv-00103-AJ.” Mr. Edkins seconded he motion.  

Ms. Mansouri said that the Chair had to go to the Select Board and request that the town attorney address this question with the Zoning Board. Mr. Murray and Mr. Edkins agreed to go to the next Select Board meeting. The Board voted unanimously that Mr. Murray and Mr. Edkins should do this.

Mr. Winmill’s next motion was: “Resolved that the minutes preceded by the title “Riggins Rules” be deleted and further that the Zoning Board limit its discussion to matters under its legal authority, namely interpreting zoning ordinances and granting relief under the ordinance, and further that in the future the minutes not record a discussion of an absent member of the Walpole community unless the discussion is undertaken in connection with a matter noted in the publicly disseminated agenda for the meeting, advance notice given to the member of the Walpole community under discussion, and is accompanied by a reference to applicable law.”

This motion was not seconded.

Mr. Winwill’s next motion was “Resolved, that the section of the minutes stating ‘The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 4 yeas, 1 nay and 1 abstention’ is incorrect. Mr. Edkins seconded the motion. The Board agreed that the secretary should check her notes and record the correct vote in these minutes. The correction will be found at the end of these minutes.

Mr. Winmill’s next motion was “Resolved, that the secretary to the Zoning Board make audio recordings of meetings, commencing with the next meeting of the Board, to benefit the Walpole community and all members of the Walpole Zoning Board, the secretary of the Zoning Board shall make and preserve for 1 year an audio recording of each Zoning Board meeting open to the public and make such recording available to any member of the public and members of the Zoning Board within 48 hours of a request.” Mr. Edkins seconded the motion.

The secretary replied she has a choice of taking minutes by audio recordings or by hand. A couple of years ago the Board voted that if there was an audio recording of a meeting, it may be deleted after approval of those minutes at a subsequent meeting. 

The Board voted 3 nays and 2 yeas. In this motion and the following motions the nay votes are by Tom Murray, Pauline Barnes and Myra Mansouri. The yea votes are Dave Edkins and Tom Winmill.

Mr. Winmill’s next motion was “Resolved, to benefit the Walpole community and all members of the Walpole Zoning Board, all publicly emailed disseminated Board agenda noting for a public hearing a written application for consideration by the Board have attached to the agenda the written application.” 

This motion did not get a second.

It was established by several of the Board members that the secretary already does this. The Board already gets copies of the application, abutter list and any other pertinent information about the application, including all drawings, prior to a public hearing.

Mr. Winmilll’s next motion was “Resolved, to benefit all members of the Walpole Zoning Board, all legal advice provided by legal counsel to the Zoning Board and received by any member of the Zoning Board be shared by such Board member with all other Zoning Board members within 48 hours after receipt.” Mr. Edkins seconded the motion.

Ms. Barnes remembered that Town Counsel Jeremy Hockensmith said he wanted to be contacted only by the Chair of the Board. It has been the practice of the Board to not share legal counsel via email. Ms. Mansouri said that the practice has always been that the Chair, who has the legal information, shares the legal information with the rest of the Board at the regular meeting.

The Board voted 4 nays and 1 yea.

Mr. Winmill’s next motion was “Resolved that the draft minutes of April 17, 2024 be discarded and a draft reissued in accordance with the foregoing resolutions for further Board reviews.” 

The Board voted 3 nays and 2 yeas.

Joint meeting

The entire Board attended the Joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board with Southwest Region Planning Commission executive director Todd Horner and planner Carol Ogilvie. All agreed it went well and are looking forward to an update in a couple of months. 

Cell tower

The Board received a letter from the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment that informed the Walpole Zoning Board of Adjustment that the Stoddard Board will hold a public hearing for a Special Exception on May 9, 2024 at the Stoddard Town Hall beginning at 7:30 pm for an application by Vertex Towers, LLC for locating a new telecommunications facility on property located at 1325 NH Route 123 North in Stoddard. Towns within a 20 miles radius must be included in this notification.

Alternates

Mr. Sellarole said someone inquired about being and an alternate and he was wondering if the board was still interested. Mr. Murray said yes that the board was interested and suggested the person come to a meeting to see what it was like. 

Adjournment

Mr. Edkins made a motion to adjourn at 8:25 pm. Ms. Mansouri seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the ZBA’s May 15 meeting for corrections.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

ZBA Recording Secretary

 Join me, Sharyn Tullar, this Thursday May 16th to walk and share in our common love, curiosity and wonder of birds!

Time again to send along your submissions for the next issue of the CLARION – now for JUNE 2024 – Please have your inputs to me by 5 pm Walpole time, Wednesday, May 22.  Submission guidelines, and contact email are on the CLARION website.

Your early submissions help in the process of including all important material in a pleasing manner on each page. Often when completing an issue there will be some extra space to fill (you may know publications work in four page segments). I like to have on-hand material of interest that is not time-sensitive to fill that space and also round out a pleasing issue. So, if you would “like to be in print” and have something to write and share (images as well), send along for possible inclusion space permitting. Please remember, it is the advertisers in each issue that make this community publication possible, so please support and thank them. If you are interested in “joining in,” do contact me.

If you have any questions, or interest in placing an advertisement, reaching over 1900 Walpole, North Walpole and Drewsville addresses, I welcome your inquiries, so please do get in touch with me. Advertising information and contact information is on the CLARION website.

Thank you, RAY BOAS, Publisher

Join me, Sharyn Tullar, this Saturday May 11th to walk and share in our common love, curiosity and wonder of birds! Expertise not needed, just a love of the outdoors and learning about our connection to the world around us.

Meet me at 128 Reservoir Road at 8am. Dress for a walk in the woods and use tick/bug spray. Bring your own binoculars.

I will cancel if raining.

For more info and to RSVP:  sstullar@comcast.net