On Saturday, November 13th from 11-2 the First Congregational Church will be having a drive up and drop off food drive.  Items collected will go to the Fall Mountain Food Shelf to fill Thanksgiving baskets.

Starting at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall

SELECTBOARD MEETING

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

• Accounts Payable Check Register in the total amount of $38,226.65 for checks issued 11/05/21

PAYROLL

• Payroll Register totaling $27,654.19 dated 11/05/21 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $5,288.84

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES

• Non- Selectboard Meeting Minutes – October 28, 2021
• Public Session Selectboard Minutes – October 28, 2021

COMMITTEE REPORTS

• Planning Board Workshop Minutes – October 26, 2021

BUILDING PERMITS

OLD BUSINESS

• Walpole Players Holiday Production

Pending Further Actions

Vilas Bridge, Houghton Brook Bridge, Generators, Three Phase Power for Industrial Park Drive and Bensonwood, Arborclimb

NEW BUSINESS

• Tax Anticipation Note (TAN)
• Groundwater Management Permit
• Girl Scout Sponsorship Agreement
• E & W Salvage

HOOPER TRUSTEES MEETING

HOOPER TRUSTEES MINUTES

• Hooper Trustees Meeting – October 21, 2021
• Non-Public Hooper Trustees Session – October 21, 2021

HOOPER BUSINESS

HOOPER NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS: RSA 91-A:3 II

SELECTBOARD MEETING – continued

NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS: RSA 91-A:3 II

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

CALL TO ORDER:  Ms. Mayberry called this Selectboard meeting to order at 6:30 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.  This meeting was being recorded.  Also present was Mrs. Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, and Mrs. Regina Borden, Recording Secretary.  There were two members of the public in attendance:  Jody Spivey and Barbara Spivey.

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

Jody Spivey:  Mr. Spivey asked if anything was said last week about Whipple Hill.  They could not make the meeting; he requested a copy of the recording but had not yet received it.  Ms. Mayberry replied that the Selectboard will have a public hearing on advice of their attorney.  The attorney suggested they have a public hearing to address access to the road and if it was impeded by the gates or not.  They will have a second public hearing to talk about snowmobile access to the road; class VI roads in general not specific to Whipple Hill.  Mr. O’Keefe had asked for an update, and they are in the process of trying to schedule the public hearing.  They will see if they can do the two public hearings on the same date.  Mr. Spivey asked if the Selectboard would be interested in having an “off-the-record” conversation.  Mrs. Pschirrer advised that they would not without legal counsel being present.  Mr. Dalessio agreed in that they are following advice of their legal counsel right now.  Mr. Spivey stated what they wanted to talk about was voluntarily removing the gates.  They are not the first ones to put up a gate.  It never was locked.  He does not know what this means for a conversation with their attorney but the Selectboard knows where to find them.  Ms. Mayberry stated they will be happy to discuss this with their attorney.  Mr. and Mrs. Spivey left the meeting.      

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Accounts Payable Check Register in the total amount of $113,622.03 for checks issued October 22, 2021.  This includes a payment in the amount of $74,313.25 to the Village of Bellows Falls for wastewater usage and the sewer bond.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

PAYROLL:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Payroll Check Register for the week ending October 16, 2021, in the amount of $25,957.30 for checks dated October 22, 2021, and for the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer in the amount of $4,982.93.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MINUTES – October 14, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Selectboard meeting of October 14, 2021, as submitted.  Seconded by Mr.Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION MINUTES – October 14, 2021:  Mrs. Pschirrer moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of October 14, 2021, as submitted.  These Minutes will remain sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the Minutes were approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of the following Committee reports:

North Walpole Village Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes – September 28, 2021

Library Trustees Minutes – October 12, 2021

Planning Board Minutes – October 12, 2021.

OLD BUSINESS:

Avitar Amended Assessor’s Agreement and Revaluation/Update Agreement:  Mrs. Downing reported that Mrs. Loren Martin of Avitar had a Board meeting yesterday and the Board made a decision to honor the old rates. Avitar will send revised contracts.      

Selectboard Meeting Dates:  Ms. Mayberry advised that Wednesday, November 10^th, 2021, is the date for the Whipple Hill Public Hearing.  It will begin at 6:00 PM.  Attorney Hockensmith will attend.  The Selectboard meeting will following with the time to be determined.  On Thursday November 18^th, 2021, the Hooper Trustees will meet with the Trustees of Trust Funds.  

5-Town Meeting:  Ms. Mayberry announced that the 5-Town Meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 29, 2021, at 4:30 PM.  They are seeking agenda items to share with the Town of Charlestown.  The primary focus of this meeting is the Walpole Recycling Center.  Mr. Ben Hoy will attend.  At the last meeting they talked about recreation and coaching between town teams.  They will also discuss the Route 12 closure.  It will be open discussion as things come up.       

Utility Tree Pruning of Town Properties:  The Program Manager and Arborist of Liberty Utilities will attend the next Selectboard meeting on October 28^th.  They will talk about their tree trimming list and answer questions.  They have a free donor tree program.   Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned they sent a second list for an area to be worked on.    

Health Trust Return of Surplus:  The Town is expecting a total return amount of $43,428.52.  Ms. Mayberry reported they are waiting for the spreadsheet from Mr. Kreissle to see how it breaks out the figures.  The surplus is higher than last year.

Pre-Payments of Taxes:   Ms. Mayberry spoke to Mrs. Hansson after the last Selectboard meeting about the decision that was made; they were not in favor of people using credit cards to pay their property taxes.  Ms. Mayberry told her they needed to see some data if Mrs. Hansson wanted them to revisit using credit cards.  She wanted to know when they could meet with the Selectboard.  Ms. Mayberry said Mr. Dalessio would get back to her with a date.  There was discussion about pre-payments of taxes.  They have accepted pre-payments for the current tax year.  Mrs. Hansson felt rather than emails it would be beneficial if they sat down at the table for a conversation.  Ms. Mayberry thought that was a great idea.  Mrs. Pschirrer did not think that Mrs. Smith took pre-payments but did make payment plans that the Selectboard approved.  Ms. Mayberry asked Mrs. Hansson for some data.  Mr. Dalessio will talk to Mrs. Hansson and Mrs. Gohl on Tuesday.      

Pending Further Actions:

Vilas Bridge, Houghton Brook Bridge, Generators, Three Phase Power for Industrial Park Drive and Bensonwood, Arborclimb.

Houghton Brook Bridge:  Mr. Dalessio reported that the Department of Environmental Services (DES) has once again changed their staffing.  They will have to review everything.  Mrs. Pschirrer said that is not alright; it increases the cost.  We have the ARP Grant and the Executive Council approved it.  Mr. Dalessio was thinking about writing to Representative Lucy Weber and Senator Jay Kahn because this is costing us more money as we will need another meeting.  Three people from Fuss & O’Neill were at the last meeting for a cost of about $1,000.  Ms. Mayberry noted it is causing an economic hardship.  This will be continued.      

Vilas Bridge:  Ms. Mayberry advised that the Vilas Bridge came up during the GACIT and SWRPC Fall meeting.  The article in the newspaper could be helpful as it made more people aware of it.     

NEW BUSINESS:

NH Association of Assessing Officials 2022 Election Ballot: Ms. Mayberry mentioned this is an annual election.

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to authorize the Chair of the Selectboard, Cheryl Mayberry, to sign the NH Association of Assessing Officials 2022 Election Ballot.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.    

TrueNorth Agreement and IT Budget Plan:  Mr. Dalessio advised that they should put about $10,000 or $15,000 in the 2022 budget as they will need to start replacing some of the equipment they have.  A lot of it is about eight (8) years old.  Do they want to put one-half in 2022 and one-half in 2023?  Mrs. Pschirrer suggested putting it all in 2022 initially but after they put other things together they might have to go back and split it in half.  Ms. Mayberry noted they will let Mr. Kreissle know about this budget addition.

HSEM Meeting Feedback:  This meeting was scheduled for last Friday.  Mrs. Pschirrer did not get that email until Mrs. Downing forwarded it to her today.    

Greater Keene & Peterborough Chamber Focus Group for Regional Branding:  The Selectboard members do not plan to attend this meeting on Thursday morning.

SWRPC Road Safety Audit:  This application is due December 1^st, 2021.  Ms. Mayberry mentioned having conversations with Mr. Jim Tyrrell about the Upper Valley Road (the triangle).  All the Town would have to do is authorize them to come and they would do their data.  Mr. Dalessio felt they should do this Road Safety Audit.  Mrs. Pschirrer is more concerned with Route 123 past Whitcomb’s just past the Recycling Center.  There have been accidents.  There is also concern about South Street intersection with Route 12 and the Westminster Bridge onto Route 12.  She does not know if there have been fatalities but there were personal injuries.  Ms. Mayberry noted they have discussed the Shaw’s intersection to Route 12.  Ms. Mayberry will contact SWRPC about doing the Road Safety Audit.    

RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to recess this Selectboard meeting.  The Selectboard will enter into a meeting as the Hooper Trustees.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved at 7:21 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:28 PM.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to enter into a Non-Public Selectboard Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel and (c) Reputations.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:38 PM.

Mrs. Pschirrer moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of October 21, 2021, will be sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the motion was approved.  

ADJOURNMENT:

Mrs. Pschirrer moved to adjourn this Selectboard meeting.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  Ms. Mayberry asked if there was any discussion.  There was none.  With Mrs. Pschirrer, Mr.Dalessio and Ms. Mayberry in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 7:39 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

TOWN OF WALPOLE, NH
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
November 10, 2021 at 6:00 PM

To Request Comment Regarding Snowmobile Use of All Class VI Roads

You are hereby notified that the Walpole Selectboard will hold a public hearing Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 6:00 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.  The public hearing is to discuss whether all licensed snowmobiles may use of all Class VI roads within the Town of Walpole.

The Selectboard Meeting will follow the public hearing.

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

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

Staff Excused:​​Kraig Harlow (Recreation Director)

CALL TO ORDER:  Ms. Mayberry called this Staff Meeting to order in the Walpole Town Hall at 5:02 PM.  This meeting was being recorded by the Town.  Ms. Mayberry welcomed everyone who is attending this meeting.

Police Department:  Police Chief Justin Sanctuary submitted the Police Stats from September 16, 2021 to October 15, 2021.  Total calls was 389; Criminal investigations – 95; Public Safety – 171; and Motor Vehicle – 123.  He explained a change to the Police Department graph; under Criminal Investigation Comparison, it is now broken down into Drugs/Alcohol, Crimes Against People, Motor Vehicle Arrests and Crimes Against Property.  They had the first problem with one of the hybrid cruisers.  There were electrical issues but now it is the engine.  They will be rethinking their fleet management. They are trying to get caught up with training before the end of the year; a lot of recertifications.  They have had some interesting calls lately.  There have been overdoses; one was at the Recreation Center.  The officers stopped carrying Narcan for a while as the ambulances had it but they are now revisiting that issue.  They were called to a party with a lot of underaged youth drinking alcohol and doing drugs.  One cruiser got a dented door when somebody kicked it.  It went well as far as getting people home safely.  It started as a local party, but it attracted people from other communities.  A lot of cars were towed.  Mr. Kreissle asked how many officers responded.  Chief Sanctuary said 10-to-12 officers.  The next day there were youth looking around the area for their wallets and cell phones.             

Finance Office:  Mr. Rich Kreissle, Administrator of Finance, submitted the following report dated October 21, 2021:

Why Budget

Much talk and discussion during the year involves the budget, either the operating budget as a whole or your individual departmental budget.  But why budget; why is the budget so significant?  Rather than just accept this budget “thing” as a part of our normal working lives it might be informative to take a deeper look into budget and budgeting.

Economics:

Resources are finite.  There’s only so much money to go around.  A budget illustrates how the town allocates their financial resources to maximize the benefit to citizens in the use of those resources.  Keep in mind, the source of the money the town uses comes from citizens either directly (i.e. property taxes) or indirectly (state aid for example).

Story Telling:

Accounting is known as the language of business.  The story of an entity’s life is told through financial statements and budgets.  A budget can communicate to others, to a degree, the values of an entity.  Each time you allocate a certain sum to a particular item, it leaves that much less for other items.  It’s the old guns and butter argument.

Control:

Budgets define the parameters of spending under which each department operates.  There are limits to how much you can spend for any given line item.  It allows managers to monitor how they’re controlling their spending throughout the year.

Contract:

A budget is an agreement between the citizens of the town and the governing body.  Once citizens approve the budget it’s in essence an agreement between them and governing body (i.e. Select Board) that the board will only spend on the items voted on in the amounts agreed to in the budget.

Ms. Mayberry feels a budget is a plan for expenses.  It allows you to plan ahead and use your best guess as to what you will need.  Sometimes things go up and sometimes things go down; it is harder when prices go up to re-allocate funds but it is a plan for the coming year.  Mrs. Pschirrer noted that this year the Town had unplanned expenses. Therefore, they had to go back to the State for permission to over-spend their budget.  The State has given the Town that permission.  They will have to borrow that money. The damage they had on July 29^th and 30^th exceeded anything the Town could afford in their budget.     

Highway Department:  Mr. Michael Rau, Road Agent/Highway Department, presented the following report dated October 2021:

As the Elm Street project is close to completion and as we head into colder weather months, highway has a full schedule with efforts to complete before snow arrives such as flood damage repairs.  They hope the pavers will be here on Monday.  They will be responsible for doing driveways because they are fixing them to the road level.  All the catch basins will be where they are supposed to be.  Some residents have said everything is looking good.  They will have a good road that will last for many years.  There are many roads that will require pavement to be repaired. This will need to be done prior to the plant, where we receive asphalt, closes during the week of Thanksgiving.

When time allows, they will begin preparation of their winter fleet.  This includes preventive maintenance.  Plows, winter tires, and chains will be added to the trucks.  They will continue with stormwater damage until the snow takes over.  They are still waiting for FEMA to contact them; all the paperwork is in.  They are still within budget except for the Elm Street project.  Mrs. Pschirrer noticed the Town Hall area of the sidewalk where it leads into the road.  Mr. Rau explained the sidewalk was quite high.  They will make repairs so the sidewalk will have a gradual slope to meet the road.

In anticipation of material cost increases, road salt has been ordered and was received early this year.  This has proven to be beneficial as the price for salt has significantly risen since purchasing, about $20/ton; saving $16,000.  Mr. Rau mentioned some culverts went up $20/foot and they are waiting quite a while to get them.  Ms. Mayberry said it is good to plan ahead if he is able to but stay within budget.      

Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Office:  Mrs. Meghan Hansson, Town Clerk/Tax Collector, submitted the following report dated October 21, 2021:

 Since the September meeting, Town Clerk collected about $74,413, out of which Walpole receives $56,858.  This involved 365 vehicle registrations. 

Tax payments continued to come in ($11,150).  Of this $5,150 was either a credit or prepayment.

Most towns in NH accept credit card payments for property taxes, and they would like to do so.  They will need a separate bank account for this.  Their access to the NH Tax Kiosk can be expanded to allow online tax payments and the ability for people to print a copy of their bill, which is a popular request, especially around income tax time.

Mrs. Hansson’s Deputy and she attended NHTCA Tax Collector training October 13-15 in North Conway, NH.  Training covered the liening and deeding process, of course, but we also had a presentation on Public Auditors.  What we took away from this last presentation was that any area in a public building that is not meant to be open to the public should be posted by, for example, “authorized personnel only”.  This legally allows them to keep areas with sensitive information, etc. free from citizens that want to explore their access to public buildings and work areas.  They also saw vendor displays and were able to network with others.

They have made business cards for their office.  They contain changes to their office hours that will begin on November 1^st.  The changes most notably extend their hours later in the day.  They will be open to the public 34 hours a week, although both of them will be working at least 40 hours per week.

Parts have been ordered and some have come in for the office renovation.  They are still looking for the major installations to occur the week of Veteran’s Day.  Work will begin on Monday, the 8^th, but they expect to still be able to meet the public needs on Monday and Tuesday.  The office will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday (Veteran’s Day).  Barring unforeseen difficulties, they expect to be back up and open for business on Monday, the 15^th.• Mrs. Vicki Gohl has her notary public stamp now!

Ms. Mayberry noted they do not want people wandering around because it puts the Town at risk.  We have file cabinets with personal information in them.  There was discussion relative to postings for “No Trespassing” and “Authorized Personnel Only”.  This is important for all departments to think about and post signs as necessary.

Walpole Town Library:  Mrs. Jane Malmberg, Library Director, presented their October 2021 Report.

This Monday they hit their highest number for library visits in one day since before the pandemic – 85 people!

Outreach:

The library is participating in a community blanket square drive.  They are collecting 7” x 9” blanket squares for Warm Up America.  Warm up America is a charity that collects knitted or crocheted blanket squares from across the country.  The squares are joined into blankets and distributed to homeless shelters, children’s hospitals, veterans’ homes, women’s shelters, nursing homes and more.  They have knitting needles and yarn.  

They are having an Open House to celebrate the reopening of the North Walpole Library.  It will take place on Saturday, November 6, from 10 am-1 pm.  Refreshments will be served.

Programming:

They have moved their Wiggle Time and Story Time indoors due to the chilly weather.  All participants over the age of two will be masked when in the library and practice social distancing during the program as much as possible.  They had their first Code Club session with 8 participants in Walpole and 1 participant in North Walpole.  Our author talk with Anders Morley went very well with 8 people in attendance.  Their pumpkin decorating contest is in full swing and they have some wonderfully creative pumpkins on display at the library.

Coming up are two Walpole author talks – one with Alice Fogel who will read from her new book of poetry and one with Bill Ranauro, who has penned a biography of Asher Benjamin, an architect with ties to Walpole.

Staff Development:

Julie has been taking a self-care workshop offered by the State Library and sharing the handouts/videos with the rest of the staff.  She has also completed three Universal Class courses – Vocabulary Building, ABC’s of English Grammar and Excel 2019.

Jane has been busy with conferences and workshops, including virtual sessions of the New England Library Association Conference on the topics of Advocacy, Diversity and Leadership and an in-person “Unconference” session on Monday, October 18^th, at Holy Cross in Worcester.  She also attended a workshop for new library directors at the New Hampshire State Library in Concord on last Friday.

There will be a Book Sale at the Walpole Elementary School on October 30^th and 31^st.  There are lots and lots of books to choose from.

The Bridge Memorial Library Monthly Library Statistics for Library Visits & Hours Open in September 2021; September 2020; and % Change are available in the Selectboard Office.  Also available are the Monthly Library Statistics for the North Walpole Library.

Hooper Institute:  Mrs. Helen Dalbeck, Executive Director, submitted the following report for Autumn 2021.

School Programs and School Gardens:  The largest harvest day at Elementary School was delivering 72 lbs. of winter squash to Mrs. O’Brian in the school kitchen.  Harvest and gardening lessons abound in pre-K – 4, 5^th grade’s focus is on migration, especially raptors.  7^th grade “Ecosystem Series” is all about adaptation.  There is concern about hunters at the Walpole School so they have not been going out into the woods for the last month. 

Outreach and Marketing:  October (November) Clarion plus many Facebook posts, school newsletter, Fall Festival and garden presentation posters.  Marketing distribution lists have expanded to include the greater Cheshire County and across the river, especially Bellows Falls.

Facility and Land:  The fields are now mostly brush hogged.  They have discovered an invasive worm in the community garden and in the old wood chip piles on their property.  The worm is the Asian Jumping Worm.  They have started to implement best practices to minimize spread.  People were asked not to take any wood chips.  They can do a lot of damage in the forests.  More research is forthcoming.  They need to be mindful of them.  

Administration/Special Events, Programs and Friends:  It was all about the 1^st Annual FALL FESTIVAL for weeks with the help FPHI, Community Garden members, HI staff, HI board members, generous community donors, the Women of Walpole and the Firehouse cook-out crew.  240 people attended their Festival on September 25^th.  Special thanks to those that planned the day and volunteered the day of, and to the Watkins Inn and Tavern and Friends of Hooper Institute.

Her budget work for 2022 continues.  The next draft will be presented to the Hooper Institute Board on November 2.  Program planning has begun for the December wreath making workshops 12/3 and 12/4.

Development:  So many handwritten, personally delivered thank you notes to individuals and businesses in town that supported and donated to the Fall Festival and mentored our high school students this summer.  A special thank you will also be published in the November Clarion.  Mrs. Pschirrer advised that the Fall Festival was great fun.  

Walpole Community Garden:  “Garlic Planting with Fritze Till” happened on October 16.  Ten people attended and enjoyed the morning in the gardens and their time with Fritze.

Selectboard Office Report:  Mrs. Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, submitted the following report dated October 20, 2021.

Human Resources:

The Aflac Insurance representative will be contacting department managers regarding setting up meetings with each group.  The Town Hall is reserved for November 2^nd for any larger group Aflac meetings.  A new offering, the Aflac Network Vision Plan will be part of the presentation for employees to choose as an optional, employee paid coverage.

The Appreciation Lunch was held on Tuesday in the Town Hall.  The harvest themed lunch had the option of eating in or taking it to go.  Over 15 employees choose the to-go option.  Those that assisted with set-up, serving and clean-up were Jodi Daigle, Brad Nash, Peggy Pschirrer and Sarah Downing.  Thank you to Joanie Joan’s Eatery and Catering for creating and delivering a delicious meal!

Several departments are working with their staff to complete the online Harassment Awareness Training module.  The deadline for completing the training is December 31, 2021.  Primex training certificates are to be sent to the Selectboard Office after the training module is completed.  

Yearly Open Enrollment and coverage notice forms from Health Trust will be sent to employees within the next week.  If an employee wishes to change their coverage due to family changes or to move insurance to a spouse’s plan, a new enrollment form needs to be completed and sent to the Selectboard Office by mid-December.

On November 12^th at 2 PM, the Benefit and Wellness Advisors from Health Trust will be part of a hybrid presentation in the Town Hall main meeting room.  The presenters will be connected through an online meeting service to the large LED screen with benefited, full-time employees being present together in the main meeting room.  There will be a sign-in sheet.

Health insurance costs to the Town will be decreasing by 8.1% for 2022.  Additionally, a Return of Surplus Funds is to occur in November which will also lower medical insurance costs for 2022.  Rich Kreissle is working on the cost breakouts which will be announced in year-end benefit info packet to employees.

Assessing:

The Selectboard office has been assisting property owners with online scheduling of interior viewings that are occurring between October 25^th through November 2^nd.  Two extra days of appointments had to be added due to high demand.  There is no obligation for property owners to allow Avitar field assessors interior access.  However, to ensure accurate tax card information, allowing the visitation is recommended.

Budgets:  Mrs. Downing will be setting up appointments for the Department Managers to meet with the Selectboard on December 10^th to go over their proposed 2022 Budgets and Warrant Articles.

Walpole Recycling Center:  Mr. Ben Hoy, Recycling Director, presented the following report for October 2021.

Wastezero trash bag supplier cannot fulfill our Walpole trash bag order(s); The Texas deep freeze in February of this past winter shut down the majority of plastic pellet manufacturing plants.  This created a global plastic resin shortage as many plants are still not open from the damage that the cold weather caused. Wastezero of Raleigh, North Carolina, is opting to keep its biggest customers accounts going, while cutting out the smaller towns as they have many production and staffing issues. He contacted Jeff Marcotte from Boxes and Bags Unlimited in Lewiston, Maine, who is able to pull materials from 2 different suppliers and fulfill our order within 6-8 weeks.  We have had their business in the past.  They can produce the same trash bag that we were getting from Wastezero.  The minimum order is 23% higher than the current line item allocation of $14,000.  The delivered price for bags is $20,439.04 for 256 cases (enough to get through year).  Prices may go down when more plastic processing plants are up and running in the coming year.

Concrete pads and new asphalt have made Walpole recycling a better place to work/attend.

Mr. Hoy is looking at their budget.  They are running out of bags.  If he places the order now he can have the bags in 6-to-8 weeks from Boxes and Bags Unlimited.  This is important.  He needs to make the order soon.  Mrs. Pschirrer asked if he can accept black plastic garbage bags if they run out of yellow bags.  Mr. Hoy said that would be a different system; people would be lined up.  He has $89,000 left in his budget.  Ms. Mayberry said the bags can be yellow or orange as long as they state “Town of Walpole” on them.  Mrs. Pschirrer wants to be sure they are not a lesser mil; they should be comparable.  Ms. Mayberry summarized that the Selectboard will officially approve this at their regular meeting. Mrs. Pschirrer advised that Mr. Hoy should place the order immediately.

Recreation Department:  Mr. Kraig Harlow was unable to attend this meeting but had submitted the following report dated October 21, 2021:

Pool:

The pool cover was delivered and put on the pool. The new ADA chair has been delivered and is being installed. Eric Franklin finished repairing the pool roof which was covered by a warrant article.  The cost of repair was $18,320 and this included replacing parts of the cupola that was rotted. Houghton Co. has winterized the pool house. Walpole Recreation just purchased a 10 ft. by 20 ft. shed from LaValley’s for $6,094 from the revolving fund to store recreation equipment.

Fall Soccer: They offered travel fall soccer for grades Pre-K, K/1, 2/3, and 4/5/6. They had two Pre-K teams, three K/1 teams, three 2/3 teams, and two 4/5/6 teams. The season began September 13^th and ends October 22^nd.  The program had over 80+ participants and generated roughly $1,200. This year they provided a portable toilet at North Walpole School through Allard’s Portable Toilets in Charlestown. Teams competed versus other recreation programs from Tri-Town, Charlestown and Westmoreland. Pre-K practiced and played games on Westminster St. Field, Grades K/1 played games and practices at North Walpole School, Grades 2/3 practiced and played games at Walpole Elementary School, and grades 4/5/6 practiced and played games at North Walpole and Walpole Elementary School. Thank you to their sponsors Home Away From Home, EE Houghton Co, Salon 488, Latham Electric, Craig Vickers State Farm Insurance Agency, WW Building, Walpole Savings Bank and Servpro.

Community Events: Walpole Recreation showed Tom and Jerry on October 1^st at Whitcomb Park and we had about 20 community members attend. On October 15^th, we showed Coco at North Walpole Park and they had 50 community members attend.

Winter Season: Basketball signups are going to take place in November and the season begins December 1^st and goes until February 11^th. Walpole Recreation just purchased a EZ Ice Rink for Westminster St. Field for $4,311 from the revolving fund.  The rink is 30 ft. x 60 ft. and they can purchase additional rink walls to increase its size if it becomes heavily used.

Next Staff Meeting: The next Staff Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 18^th, 2021, at 5:00 PM.    

ADJOURNMENT:

Ms. Mayberry thanked everyone for attending this meeting.  She adjourned this meeting at 6:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

It is more than the usual season ending though. It’s the final closing time for Susan Jasse. She and her husband, Bob started the enterprise many years ago and have added so much to the community. Many have enjoyed family time picking apples, peaches and/or blueberries. Even none pickers like me have made purchases at the store or attended some of the many events they sponsored. I’ve seen family photo shoots that were done there because of the glorious views. And, of course, many happy couples chose the venue for their special wedding day.

Thank you Bob and Susan Jasse, Max and Fran Imhoff, and Homer Dunn for all you gave us. We can only hope the new management will do as well when it opens next year. – Lil

SAVE THESE DATES
         
CUB SCOUT PACK 299 & BOY SCOUT TROOP 299               

SCOUTING FOR FOOD DRIVE          

November 6th, 2021 from 8 am to 12 pm we will be handing out information tags at the following locations:

Walpole Post Office

Walpole Recycling Center

Tractor Supply

Shaw’s

November 13th, 2021 from 8 am to 12 pm we will be at the above locations collecting non-perishable food items (NO            GLASS PLEASE) and monetary donations. Pet food is also greatly appreciated.          

All food and monetary donations go directly to the Fall Mountain Food Shelf . 

Town Hall

7 pm

Present: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Board Member Joanna Andros, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Facilitator was Southwest Regional Planning Commission senior planner Lisa Murphy.

The purpose of the workshop was to continue updating the Master Plan and the topic of the night was the section titled Land Use Analysis and Plan. The process was to find things in the current document that were no longer applicable and add new items that were. Also, Ms Murphy highlighted some sections she wanted to discuss at the meeting.

Ms. Murphy brought along with her three colored maps and the text of the Land Use Analysis and Plan section of the Walpole Master Plan. It was a draft of what the 2022 section may look like when voted on by the Planning Board next year. The three maps were created using assessor’s information.

The maps were titled Development Constraints Map, Land Use Map and Zoning Map. These maps are new to this section of the Master Plan and will be sprinkled through the text where applicable. The Development Constraints included places where building would not be allowed or be hard to build on. This map included areas of one percent chance of flooding, conservation land, national wetland inventory, stratified drift aquifer, etc. The Land Use Map included various types of residential areas from one-family residential to four-family residential units, and also Exempt (Municipal), Exempt (State), Farm Land, Current Use, etc. The farm land examples showed land that was cultivated for growing crops, but did not include dairy farms or farms that raised other types of animals besides cows so it was asked that those types of farms be included on the map.

On page 1 there was a section that Ms. Murphy suggested be deleted. It was a general statement about implementing and administering land use regulations because, she wrote, it was discussed in the population and housing section of the Master Plan.

On page 3 was a new map illustrating land features: open water, open space, deciduous forests and evergreen forests, pasture/hay fields, cultivated land, etc. Attending board members liked the addition of the maps and also liked the graphs that showed comparisons between decade-plus years of 2010 and 2022. Mr. Perron suggested putting a date on the maps so future changes would be more noticeable when they happened.

Ms. Murphy said that commission has already received census information on population and housing and expect further information to be released in spring 2022.

Land Use Determinants include soils, rivers, transportation systems and topography. Mr. Perron asked about the sentence that Walpole has “some of the best agricultural soils, perhaps in the entire country.” Is that true? Mr. Perron asked. Ms. Andros said she was talking to John Yanizan, owner of Pete’s Stand, and he said the soil is almost black in farmland along the river and has a mixture of good soil and a high water table. You never have to irrigate it, Ms. Andros said.

Mr. Marcom asked about methodology of determining the accuracy of the facts in the document. In the previous document the methodology says “This information was developed by calculating acreages according to the following guidelines: residential uses are allocated one acre for each single family home and one-half acre for each multi-family structure, except in the Village area and in North Walpole, where a single-family home represents only half an acre, due to the density of development and the prevalence of smaller lot sizes; for home occupations, one acre is allotted for the residence (except, again, in the Village or North Walpole) and one-half acre for business; and in other cases, primarily the commercial and industrial uses estimates were developed as to how much of a parcel in question was devoted to certain uses. The acreage accounted for by roads is calculated using the mileage of the roads and the right-of-way width allocated to each class of road, based upon standards of the NH Department of Transportation.” Ms. Murphy said it was the same as methodology that was used in the previous document and that’s kind of a standard usage.

In the chart on page 9, someone suggested using the word valuation in the last box of the graph instead of total taxable areas.

Ms. Murphy liked the inclusion of broadband in the document and Mr. Dalessio commented that the town had already addressed and completed that project. She also liked the comments on home-based businesses, which are becoming more popular and necessary in this time of Covid.

A couple of suggestions were to:

          Make sure North Walpole is mentioned in the Industrial Development section.

           Delete the statement that a commercial indoor batting cage existed.

          Add a pickleball court to the list of recreation sports items at the recreation park.

          Ms. Murphy suggested that the section on Goals and Objectives be added to the new Implementation Plan section. Mr. Miller agreed and said he would bring it up to the board at its regular November meeting.

Mr. Miller and Ms. Murphy agreed on January 25, 2022 for another workshop meeting. Ms. Murphy will have incorporated the changes and deletions talked about at the meeting and have a new draft. The Planning Board will have incorporated the goals and objectives to the Implementation Plan.  These were only a few of the things the participants discussed. Everyone participated and it was a very productive meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

cc: WPB, ZBA, Town Offices, The Walpolean.

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

                                                             

**NOTICE**

Friday, October 29th, 2021 at 4:30 PM

The Walpole Selectboard will be meeting with Selectboard members from towns that are part of the Fall Mt. Regional School District (FMRSD) at the Walpole Town Hall, 1st Floor, Main Meeting Room.

THIS IS A PUBLIC MEETING

Have questions? Contact the Selectboard Office at 603-756-3672 or e-mail jdaigle@walpolenh.us for assistance.

On the draft agenda are these items: the Walpole Recycling Center, rec sports games between town teams and Rt. 12 closure in Charlestown.

Present: Board Members Chair Jan Galloway-Leclerc, Vice-Chair Myra Mansouri, Clerk Tom Murray, Ernie Vose. Alternate Don Sellarole.  Board member Pauline Barnes was at home on Zoom. Absent: Alternates Judy Trow and Dave Edkins. Jeremiah Phaneuf was present to facilitate a hybrid meeting.

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

Roll Call: Ms. Leclerc called the meeting to order two minutes to 7pm. Ms. Leclerc asked Mr. Sellarole to fill in at the Public Hearing for her since she would recuse herself because the applicant is her daughter. He agreed.

Minutes: Minutes of September 2021: Ms. Leclerc asked that it be recorded that she recused herself prior to the presentation of her daughter’s application for an addition to her home on Ford Avenue for the public hearing on Oct. 20. Other corrections by Ms. Barnes: the to they, hope to hopes, delete two words. Mr. Vose made a motion to approve the corrected minutes. Mr. Murray seconded the motion and the motion carried.

October 5, 2021 Workshop meeting: Corrections: Ms. Barnes corrected the spelling of the word rigid, has to have, now to know, sign to signs, seconded to second. Mr. Vose made a motion to approve the corrected minutes. Mr. Murray seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Old Business:

Public Hearing: Expansion of a Non-Conforming Use.

Jennifer Jones, 15 Ford Ave., 14-foot-by-24-foot two-story addition to the west side of the house for a dining room and a bedroom upstairs with a dormer. Tax Map 19, Lot 9, Residential B. The house was built in 1962 before zoning.

As noted above Ms. Leclerc recused herself and Mr. Sellarole took her place on the Board for the public hearing. Ms. Jones said she was at the meeting because her home was not the required 65 feet from the center of the road. The house dates to 1962 before there were zoning ordinances

Ms. Jones went to the easel, which displayed a drawing of her house and showed, in red, a 14-foot-by 24-foot addition. The home is two stories so the addition would be two stories. The downstairs addition will be used for a new dining room. Currently, the downstairs dining area was in the kitchen and the table was just large enough for six chairs. Ms. Jones said she and her partner have five children together. There are two 2-year-old boys, two 7-year-old girls and a 13-year-old girl. Right now there is enough room for the children to sit and eat and she and her partner eat standing up. This will solve that problem, as well as give her additional space. On the second story there will be a large dormer off the back and a bedroom will be built for the two youngest children. The downstairs addition will use part of the existing deck.

Vice-chair Ms. Mansouri, who was now in charge of the public hearing, asked if the application was complete. Had the abutters been notified, the fees paid and a legal notice printed in the paper? The secretary replied in the affirmative.

Ms. Jones said all the neighbors knew what they were doing and were supportive of the project and some were even willing to help.

Mr. Sellarole asked is everything else about the home okay? The only problem is the distance from the middle of the road? The answer was that was correct.

 Ms. Mansouri asked if there were any other questions. There being none she asked for a motion. Mr. Murray made a motion that an Expansion of a Non-conforming Use be approved for Ms. Jones at 15 Ford Avenue for a 14-foot-by-24-foot addition to their home as presented and that they get a building permit. Mr. Vose seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Ms. Jones said they had a builder, who would start next April and she said the builder thought it would take four weeks to complete construction. She has already picked up an application for a building permit. The secretary will send her a letter saying that the Zoning Board of Adjustment has approved the Expansion of a Non-conforming use for the addition to her home.

New Business:

Signage: Dr. Rhea Waite, Wild Heart Medicine, Map 21, Lot 12, Commercial District, 42 Main St., double sided, 45-inch-by-25-inch sign underneath an LPL Financial sign. The signs are between two posts in front of the building. Ms. Waite’s husband, Joseph Waite, attended the meeting as Dr. Waite was at a conference.

Mr. Waite showed a picture of the sign, which had been sent to all board members. He explained that it would go below a LPL Financial Sign and he brought along a picture and showed it to the board.  The photograph showed that the building where the sign would go is next to the library. The sign was between two posts and Dr. Waite’s sign would go below the sign that was visible. Several board members pointed out that there had been signs there before, the last one being the lawyer Pam Little.

Ms. Mansouri asked what kind of doctor Dr. Waite was and was she affiliated with a local hospital? Mr. Waite said his wife followed naturopathic care and was an independent provider.

Ms. Leclerc said a multiple use sign in the commercial district can be 32 square feet. This sign conforms to our ordinances so it can be put up. Mr. Waite had already filled out the sign application form and gave it to the secretary. He was asked to take a picture of the sign after it was up and send it to the secretary so the photo could be put in the files.

Report on how Planning Board public hearing went regarding recommending two amendments to the ordinances and then to be placed on the warrant next March.

Ms. Leclerc said she went to the Planning Board meeting and explained the two new minor changes that the Zoning Board had made to the amendments that were presented at the previous meeting. The Planning Board approved a motion to recommend the amendments with six (6) yea votes and (1) one abstention. Ms. Barnes asked who abstained. Ms. Leclerc said Mr. Steve Dalessio. Ms. Barnes asked why and Ms. Leclerc said she didn’t know, maybe because he represented the Select Board. Mr. Murray said maybe he thought his suggestion for the wording of the amendments should have been used.

Gravel Pit Inspections:

Ms. Mansouri pointed out that there were a couple of misspellings in the gravel pit inspection form. It is the same form that has been used for the last several years. Ms. Leclerc gave the secretary the form she had downloaded from the Internet so that the misspellings would be correct on future gravel pit inspection forms.

Cold River Materials: Jan Leclerc and Myra Mansouri, inspected October, 8, 2021.

Ms. Mansouri said there were no problems.

Ms. Mansouri said it has been a couple of years since she had been there and she was very impressed.

Hodgkins gravel pit Old Drewsville Road: Tom Murray and Dave Edkins, inspected October 8, 2021.

Mr. Murray said the owners weren’t there but they were given permission to go through the pit with our clipboard. Mr. Edkins has a question about the tanks on the fuel island. There are two types of tanks. There’s one for off-road diesel and one for on-road diesel. On-road diesel had a secondary containment around it, but the off-road diesel did not. So Mr. Murray asked fellow board member Judy Trow about it and she said that was usually regulated by the state. 

The other thing Mr. Murray noted is something on the checklist No. 4 – Vegetation is maintained within the peripheral areas of items 2 and 3 above. “We’ve got a serious problem and it’s growing every year,” he said. “It’s called Japanese knotweed.” In the middle of the pit there is an island of loam and it’s filled with a Japanese knotweed plot. This a concern of the state gets that it gets moved around and can be transferred it to another site. So I made a memo on the checklist that said “Care urged not to transfer any material near invasive Japanese knotweed plot.”

Ms. Barnes asked if he should report that to someone. Someone recommended the Select Board, Ms. Mansouri suggested the Conservation Commission. 

Former Hodgkins gravel pit at the Industrial Parks was sold at the end of July 2020 to Cold River Bridges who is using the property to store equipment. Cold River Bridges did not file an intent to finish out last year and has not filed an Intent to Excavate this year, according to Sarah Downing.

 Tim Graves, Wentworth Road:  Pauline Barnes and Judy Trow: Ms. Trow will bring in the form at the next meeting.

Ms. Barnes said Mr. Graves had a whole pile of asphalt near the pit.

Ms. Barnes said that a comment by Sue Fillion in the September minutes made her realize that the language in our variance application is different from that in the RSA. In the criteria section, the RSA says the variance “will not be contrary to the public interest.” But the Walpole variance application says “granting the variance would be of benefit to the public interest.” This since this has a different meaning, should the application be changed to conform to the RSA? Ms. Leclerc said our paper work should be the same as the state’s.

A new appeals board called the Housing Appeals Board hears appeals from local land use board decisions involving “questions of housing and housing development.” Ms. Barnes attended a webinar that reviewed the jurisdiction and procedures of the HAB by detailing the key elements of the governing statutes, RSA chapter 679, and the currently applicable administrative rules. A discussion was also provided on recent decisions by the HAB involving the Town of Francestown and the Town of Pembroke. Governing statutes: RSA 679:1 – :29.

Some new legislation was discussed. They are permitting homes of less than 400 square feet. There’s an RSA that permits notice of a public meeting on the web site instead of a newspaper, although it comes with many conditions. Decisions by land boards should be based on the ordinances, not the master plan. The reasoning is that townspeople vote on ordinances but do not vote to approve the master plan. The Supreme Court addressed the hardship criterion for variances saying, We have never held… that special conditions must relate to the physical characteristics of the land.” Buildings can count, as well.

The conference lectures recommended what some call the Bible of reference books on land use legislation and court decisions. The Supreme Court uses it as a reference. It is titled “Land Use Planning and Zoning” by Peter J. Loughlin. A clip about this book says, “Make the right decisions and avoid costly errors with this veritable “bible” on land-use planning and zoning in New Hampshire. Municipal officials will benefit from four detailed sections dealing with zoning, zoning boards of adjustment, planning boards, and other controls affecting land use. This treatise covers nearly every issue public officials face on a daily basis, from zoning enforcement and subdivision control to historic district controls and wetlands protection. As an applicant’s attorney, optimize your representation by knowing how the public entities operate and how the courts have ruled.” This eBook features links to Lexis Advance for further legal research options. Ms. Barnes suggested we ask the Town Office to purchase it as a reference book.

Ms. Barnes offered to send ZBA members the materials from the conference and webinar. There is a Land Use Conference coming up in November that board members may attended either in-person or on Zoom. There is a fee for attending.

Mr. Sellarole asked where we were on short-term rentals. Ms. Leclerc said as far as she knows she’s waiting for a decision in the Conway case. That involves 500 or more short-term rentals.  Conway has a permissive zoning ordinance, just as Walpole has. If the decision goes the way Conway wants it to all current short-term rentals will be affected and have to followed a new zoning ordinance. If it doesn’t, things remain the same.  Legislation did pass regarding the rooms and meal tax applying to short-term rentals, Ms. Barnes said. Now revenue people are dealing with how it’s going to be applied.

Mr. Sellarole asked about where Dunkin’ was. Ms. Leclerc said Dunkin’ did not receive approval  based on the traffic safety, however the solar array was supposed to come to the ZBA for a special exception to have an industrial operation in a commercial district. The ball is in the applicant’s court. No one has heard anything. Do they have a time limit window in which they can come back with a new application? Someone thought there was a window and it may be a year.

There being no more business Mr. Vose made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Murray seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

ZBA Secretary

cc: ZBA, WPB, Town Offices, The Walpolean.

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

                                                                                    4.

Next meeting: November 17, 2021,