The Walpolean

Paul Happ sent an email. – Lil

Folks should know that:

The Center will be closing early, at 1:00 PM (13:00 local, 17:00 GMT) this Saturday, September 8th 2018.

Dayna Kurtz, Willa Mamet & Paul Miller in Concert

BELLOWS FALLS, VT — Stage 33 Live welcomes two headlining acts in one intimate early-evening listening event on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Doors open at 5:00, show starts at 6:00. Admission is by a suggested $10 minimum donation. See the notice of limited seating below. The event will be recorded and filmed.

Dayna Kurtz has shared stages with Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, Mavis Staples, Rufus Wainwright, B.B. King, Dr. John, Richie Havens, Chris Whitley, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Norah Jones and Bonnie Raitt are fans of her sultry blend of jazz, folk, pop, and blues. She was named Female Songwriter of the Year by the National Academy of Songwriters. She’s been an invited performer by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Lincoln Center, and other prestigious venues and festivals. She’s been on E-town, Mountain Stage, World Cafe, and NPR. Local fans will remember her steamy set at the Roots On The River festival in 2017. She also played a leg of Roots On The Rails. She’s a thinking, powerful performer and writer. See www.daynakurtz.com

Willa Mamet + Paul Miller write and perform songs of rare beauty and strength of soul that range from soaring to searing. Willa Mamet’s voice has been described as “heartbreaking, musical, contemporary and ancient” by Patti LuPone (two-time Grammy and Tony winner, and American Theater Hall of Fame inductee). Paul Miller is known for his 40 years with acts like Coco and the Lonesome Road Band, Bluebird, Andy Shapiro, Breakaway, and the Bluegrass Gospel Project. They’ve known each other since Willa was a youngster, and Paul a family friend; they discovered that magic happens when they perform music together. This is a chance to share their intimate alchemy of two voices and a guitar. See www.kitchen-table-music.com

NOTICE OF LIMITED SEATING: Stage 33 Live has seating for 40, plus standing room. For this show only, a limited number of online donations made in advance at www.stage33live.com will be accepted to guarantee both entry and a chair; find details at the website. This is the only way to reserve a chair.

Stage 33 Live invites the public to listening events of music performances and spoken word presentations that are recorded for radio, TV, and the internet. More at www.stage33live.com

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Dayna Kurtz direct press contact: daynakurtz@gmail.com

High res photo https://tinyurl.com/kurtzdayna

Official: www.daynakurtz.com

Listen: http://daynakurtz.bandcamp.com/

Watch: www.youtube.com/user/daynak83/videos

Willa Mamet direct press contact: wm@kitchen-table-music.com or 510-542-1188

High res photo https://tinyurl.com/mametmiller

Official: www.kitchen-table-music.com

Listen: http://kitchentablemusic.bandcamp.com/

Watch: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYcP6LtSWZcqBS0w4I6a9FA

Stage 33 Live contact: Mark Piepkorn, stage33@stage33live.com

CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER AT THE MUSEUM

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 15th and come to the museum gift shop for special sales.  Get a head start on your holiday shopping!  We will be outside on the lawn at streetside as well as inside from 12 noon to 4pm on this day.     Check out our beautiful stained glass sun catchers, hand made straw ornaments, wooden bowls, napkins/Christmas cards, mittens, scarves ,  candles, little windchimes-and of course books about Walpole, and so much more.  Many interesting things for the young ones- puzzles, tin whistles, books, old fashioned jacks games.    Come in and browse and tour the exhibits.  Our new exhibit has so many beautiful old hand hooked rugs and wall hangings.  Bring the kids and your friends.  Join us on Saturday September 15th inside and outside too. Take Academy Drive to park behind the building.      We are also open by appointment by calling 756-3449

Roll Call – Appointment of alternates if needed.

Minutes – Review minutes of the August 2018 meeting and Workshop minutes..

Old Business:

Two-Lot Subdivision  Mary McMahon – 58 Adams Lane of Whipple Hill Road. Ms. McMahon has withdrawn her application.

Public Hearing for Subdivision for Hooper Golf Course, Map  8, Lot 61 and 62. Walpole D and D LLC is the owner of 140.22 acres of land known as Hooper Golf Course. Exclusion Area 1 and Exclusion Area 2 are to be subdivided. Lot 61 is 8.82 acres with 601.3 feet of road frontage on Prospect Hill Rd. Lot 62 received a variance from the ZBA in August. It is .34 acres with 89.2 feet of road frontage.

Public Hearing for a Recommendation to the Planning Board for a Special Exception. Commercial business in a rural/ag district, Map 4 Lot 3-6 on Route 12 where the flea market was held. Mr. Joe Sawyer would like to lease his land to Andrew MacIntyre to store tractor trailer trucks and a couple of pickup trucks for his trucking business.

Public Hearing for a Recommendation to the Planning Board for a Special Exception to allow a commercial business for an auto repair shop in the Industrial Park. Tax Map 1 Lot 3-7: Peter Dexter, owner of DBA Dexpart, requests a Special Exception to move his auto repair business into another building in the Industrial Park. The building was previously used for production of modular home components by Bensonwood Homes and originally was where platform tennis courts were made.

Two-lot subdivision: Neil P. and Judith A. Coughlin, Ramsay Hill Rd., Map 11, Lot 11 in the rural/ag district. The Coughlins want to take land from Lot 1 and add it to adjacent Lot 2 so that Lot 2 will have 200 feet of road frontage. After the subdivision, Lot 1 will be 12.6 acres with 290 feet of road frontage. Lot 2 will be 5 acres with 200 feet of road frontage.

New Business:

Voluntary Merger – Ray Aumand, Mountain View Road, North Walpole. Define the area that is the driveway and merge it to 028-143.

Next regular meeting Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Reminder to parents of elementary/middle school students.

The after school programs held at St. John’s Church start this week.

The R.E.A.D. Program starts this Thursday, September 6th, with the book Wish .  Attendance is limited, but there is still plenty of room.

Art After School starts on Monday, September 10th.

You can register in person or online.   www.sthohnswalpole.org.  AfterSchoolPrograms.

Click on link to REGISTER.

Looking forward to a fun Fall!

Marilyn

mnwilking@gmail.com

713-410-7372

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 this meeting is being recorded and asked anyone wishing to speak to identify themselves for the record.  There was no one from the public in attendance.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:

Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Accounts Payable check register in the amount of $20,947.19 for checks issued August 24, 2018.  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 18, 2018, in the amount of $27,530.80 for checks issued August 24, 2018.  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 Witholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $5,339.84 for the week ending August 18, 2018.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – August 16, 2018:  Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of August 16, 2018, 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 16, 2018:  Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 16, 2018, 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.

STAFF MEETING – August 16, 2018:  Ms. Mayberry moved to accept the Minutes of the Staff Meeting of August 16, 2018, 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 meetings:

• Walpole Town Library Trustees Meeting – July 10, 2018;

• Planning Board Meeting – August 14, 2018;

• Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting – August 15, 2018;

• Walpole Recreation Committee Meeting – August 19, 2018.

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 (c) Reputations.  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 6:30

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 7:20 PM.

Ms. Mayberry moved that the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of August 23, 2018, be sealed.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

REGULAR SELECTBOARD MEETING:

NEW BUSINESS:

PETER DEXTER:  Mr. Dexter has been in the process of trying to purchase the Bensonwood building on Industrial Drive for his business.  He has been before the Zoning Board but did not realize he needed to go before the Planning Board as well.  The Planning Board scheduled a Public Hearing during their first meeting in September.  His business is a small auto repair shop.  At the Zoning Board one abutter attended with concerns including the number of vehicles on site.  Mrs. Mansouri recommended he attend a Selectboard meeting.  He read the RSAs regarding Junk Yards. It is not his intent to limit his business to two vehicles on the site unfit for the road.  The vehicles he has are basically brought in for repairs, although he does some restoration.  When the business is moved within the Industrial Park, he intends to cut down on the number of unregistered vehicles; probably one-half.  He was not aware of the fact that the Town had to approve the license.  Mrs. Pschirrer confirmed that the Selectboard can give him permission to carry on his business; she recommended the Selectboard do this for his move to the new property within the Industrial Park.

Ms. Mayberry moved to give Mr. Peter Dexter conditional approval for a Junk Yard Permit based on his buying property and moving across the street to the Industrial Park.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.  

MAP and LOT #013-053-001:  Mr. Ben Northcott had some questions regarding his Land Use Change Tax (LUCT).  If he chooses to appeal, the application has to be submitted to the State by September 1st.  He asked if it is still the Town’s policy to waive the LUCT if it is not processed in a timely fashion.  It was done several years ago when a family member subdivided; it changed the use and the Town did not process in a timely fashion so they waived the fee.  Last year Avitar Associates stated Mr. Northcott was in violation.  He had asked the Town to take a half acre out of current use five or six years ago when they applied for an Intent to Excavate.  If the Selectboard is willing to waive the LUCT for them, he does not need to file the appeal.  He is now dealing with two appeals.  Avitar Associates made no effort to clarify this.  If the land is disturbed it has to come out of current use but that is not the case.  A good portion of the material taken out of that gravel pit has been used on their property to up-grade roads on that property of almost 400 acres.  It has not had any commercial material taken out in 40 years.  There was discussion relative to disturbed land and material taken out of it.  The piles there are for their personal use. Mr. Dalessio clarified that Mr. Northcott is stating that the half acre should have been taken out of current use back five-or-six years ago and the other acre-and-a-half is for their personal use.  He pointed out that if Mr. Northcott appeals it will come back to the Town for arbitration.

Mrs. Pschirrer asked if the Town will be able to purchase winter sand from them this year.  Mr. Northcott replied they have been selling sand and gravel to the Town and storing it for them.  The taxes have been raised on that property $3,000/year and there is a $7,500 penalty they will have to pay.  If the penalty was waived, they are still dealing with the additional $3,000.  The Town took about $3,000 of sand and gravel out of there every year.  It balances out so it is not an incentive for them to sell it to the Town.   The assessor looked at it as a commercial sand pit, moving a large volume but it is not.  Mrs. Pschirrer felt the Selectboard could not make a decision at this meeting. Therefore Mr. Northcott should file the appeal.

Mr. Northcott mentioned their property on Cheshire Turnpike Road.   He asked if Avitar is trying to get their assessment to the Fair Market Value.   In 2017 Avitar increased the assessment.  Mrs. Pschirrer advised that all land in Walpole went up last year.  Mr. Northcott reviewed some history with Avitar on this parcel that goes back to when they purchased it.  It is three separate lots and they do get three tax bills.  Mrs. Pschirrer mentioned he will have to find comparable sales in Walpole for his appeal on this property.

BUILDING PERMIT:

HUGH and STEPHANIE MONTGOMERY, 153 Ramsay Hill Road, MAP and LOT #010-038-001:  Ms. Mayberry moved to grant Building Permit #2018-24 for Hugh and Stephanie Montgomery to add a “27’ x 28’ Master Bedroom Addition” to their home at 153 Ramsay Hill Road, Map and Lot #010-038-001.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.  

OLD BUSINESS:

Water and Sewer Receipts to Date:  The Selectboard had received copies of the Water/Sewer Receipts to Date 8/22/2018.  Total Receipts for Q2 2018 Billing were $108,443.08 or 62.7%.  The Town is doing quite well.  The due date is Monday, August 27th.

Quarterly Receipt Comparison for Water & Sewer:  Mrs. Daigle had submitted a Quarterly Receipt Comparison for the Selectboard to review.

Letter to NH DES re: Water Supply Land Protection:  Mr. Dalessio moved to approve and sign the letter to Ms. Holly Green at the NH Department of Environmental Services for the Water Supply Land Protection Grant to support the Monadnock Conservation’s acquisition of a conservation easement for the Wood property located on the Cold River in Walpole.  Seconded by Ms. Mayberry.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Letter to Rascal Baby LLC:  Ms. Mayberry moved to approve and sign the letter to Rascal Baby LLC regarding access to deeded water rights on their property.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Letter to Calvin Carr re: Map & Lot #024-005-000:  Ms. Mayberry moved to approve and sign the letter to Mr. Calvin Carr regarding his interest in reclaiming his property.  Seconded by Mr. Dalessio.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

NEW BUSINESS (Continued):

Cemetery Deed for Lot D562:    Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the sale of a Cemetery Deed for Lot D562 to Mr. Gary Whitaker and heirs.  Seconded by Ms. Mayberry.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Invite to Monadnock Conservancy’s Annual Celebration:  The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of an invitation to attend the Monadnock Conservancy’s Annual Celebration on September 15, 2018, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM in Peterborough.  The speaker will talk about Loons.  Mrs. Pschirrer will attend.

DOT 10-Year Plan Improvement Projects:  SWRPC regarding support of a local project on the list i.e. Vilas Bridge is requested:  Mrs. Pschirrer acknowledged receipt of the Department of Transportation’s 10-Year Plan Improvement Projects.  The Southwest Region Planning Commission is asking if the Selectboard supports or does not support these projects or if they want to add to this list.  At the bottom of the list is the Vilas Bridge.  Mr. J.B. Mack is requesting comments by October 19th.

Ms. Mayberry mentioned other projects previously suggested were a traffic signal by the Shaw’s Shopping Center and the intersection by the Upper Valley Road/Route 123 (this is a dangerous intersection).  Mrs. Pschirrer will ask Mr. Michael Rau if he has other highway concerns.

Vacation Carry-Over Request: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the vacation carry-over request for Mr. Paul Colburn.  Seconded by Ms. Mayberry.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Citizen’s Complaint:  An email was received from Mr. Richard O’Brien.  He reported that last Wednesday a truck was being repaired in the pole barn of the Ruggiero property within the Industrial Park. He asked the Selectboard to check into this.

Recreation Department: Mr. Justin Cassarino contacted Ms. Mayberry to ask if they have a scholarship for families who cannot afford to pay fees.  A parent approached him to advise she did not have $25.00 for her child to participate.  They want to have children be able to participate so questioned if a discount could be offered or does the Selectboard have another option.  The Selectboard agreed that every child should be able to participate.  Mrs. Pschirrer recommended it be done on a case-by-case basis.  Ms. Mayberry is okay with having Mr. Cassarino reduce or waive the fee if he feels a child is in need.  Mr. Cassarino should discuss this with the Recreation Committee.  Mr. Dalessio would like to see the Recreation Committee develop a Scholarship Fund.

OLD BUSINESS (Continued):

Colleen Canedy:  Ms. Mayberry reported that Mrs. Canedy called her.  She encouraged Mrs. Canedy to go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.  She did not require a Building Permit because of the size of her potting shed was less than 100 square feet.  Ms. Mayberry gave her email information for Mrs. Mansouri and Mrs. Blaine so she could request a hearing.

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 8:35 PM.

The regular Selectboard meeting resumed at 8:40 PM

OTHER BUSINESS:

Recycling Center:  Ms. Mayberry reported they are starting to have problems with the baler at the Recycling Center.  She will send an email to Mr. Mark Houghton as it is important to have the electrical work done soon.  If the baler should stop they will look into storing material until the new baler arrives.  She wants to be pro-active now before the baler might go down.

Southwest Region Planning Commission:  Mr. Dalessio advised that a quote was received from SWRPC to do the work on the Master Plan.  It will be $7,500 to do three sections:  Population, Housing and Transportation, plus Goals and Objectives.  This will need to be put in the 2019 budget.

Monadnock Regional Economic Meeting:  Mr. Dalessio attended this meeting.   The consultant was there on the State Economic Development Plan. It was an interesting meeting.

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 8:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

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

CALL TO ORDER:  Mrs. Pschirrer called this Hooper Trustees meeting to order at 8:35 PM.

HOOPER TRUSTEES MINUTES:

HOOPER TRUSTEES MEETING – August 16, 2018:  Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the Minutes of the Hooper Trustees meeting of August 16, 2018, as submitted.  Seconded by Ms. Mayberry.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the Minutes were approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Plaque:  The Hooper Trustees will continue to work on the “Thank You” plaque to be placed on the Hooper property.

Avitar Associates:  Mrs. Downing was asked to contact Avitar Associates again as the new owners are anxious to know what the assessed values and property taxes will be.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mr. Dalessio moved to adjourn this Hooper Trustees meeting.  Seconded by Ms. Mayberry.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

Book Sorting Behind the Hungry Diner  —  Open Weds. 9 -10 a.m.  & Thurs. 3 – 4 p.m.

—  Lots of books that have been donated & need to be sorted.

— Each box of books needs to be checked to be certain titles of the books are all in the same direction & tightly packed in the boxes.

Thank you to all that have taken time to sort books.  If you have an hour to come & sort, it is greatly appreciated.

Carol Malnati

At last night’s, 8/30/18 Selectboard Meeting, there was a discussion of the FCC Mobility Challenge. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is providing organization and logistic support for the process. The PUC has phones, data plans and testing software. There is a volunteer from the PUC who will travel into each participating town and do a drive-around — or boat-around, if the town has a large waterbody with poor road access – with volunteers who know the local geography.

The FCC has said it will make an area eligible to request money from a $4.5 billion, nationwide pot  to build out new cellphone infrastructure in underserved areas. Unfortunately, carriers in NH have told the FCC that the state south of Coos County is well covered. So the FCC requires an area to show through on the ground testing that the area has less than 4G LTE standard speed service, which is a minimum of 5 Mbps download speed. This means the area must test at least 75% of each square kilometer it wants to include in the new infrastructure coverage footprint.

The PUC has found that driving on accessible roads takes between 1 and 2 days per town. The PUC can supply maps with the FCC 1- km square gridlines and local road names ahead of time for route planning. The PUC maps are accurate with regard to presence of roads at about 90%. They found that a small per cent of mapped roads don’t exist, and a small per cent of actual roads aren’t mapped.

To get started, The Town of Walpole needs to find volunteers who will donate up to 2-days to drive around. Volunteers with off road vehicles or hikers able to cover non-road areas area also needed after the drive-around data is mapped (PUC will supply the mapping as well).

Please spread the word that volunteers are needed. Many locations in Town are “dead zones” with no or limited coverage. By finding volunteers to assist with this project, there would be an improvement for all who are seeking better cell phone service within the Town of Walpole.

Those interested in volunteering should call 756-3672 or e-mail sdowning@walpolenh.us. The Selectboard would like organize this project quickly since it’s been a few months since we initially heard that the program existed from Senator Jay Kahn.

Sarah Downing

Selectboard Office