TOWN OF WALPOLE
MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
Selectboard Present: Jamie Teague (Chair); Chas Street; Whitney Aldrich
CALL TO ORDER: Mrs. Teague called this meeting to order at 6:00 PM in the Walpole Town Hall with four people present in the audience. These are unapproved Minutes.
PUBLIC BUSINESS:
TAX COLLECTOR: Mrs. Smith, Town Clerk/Tax Collector, and the Selectboard discussed the Deeding of two tax parcels in the Town of Walpole for non-payment of property taxes. One property on Derry Hill Road is a 10-acre wood lot and the second property is at 23 French Road. Mrs. Smith and the Selectboard discussed the Town’s responsibilities following the Deeding process.
Mrs. Teague moved that the Town Deed these two properties. Seconded by Mr. Street. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:
Mr. Street moved to approve the Accounts Payable check register and manifest for checks dated September 27, 2013, in the amount of $88,944.48. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
PAYROLL:
Mr. Street moved to approve the payroll voucher for the week ending September 21, 2013, for checks dated September 27, 2013, in the amount of $19,480.95. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
Mr. Street moved to approve the electronic fund transfer for the 941 Employer Taxes for Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $4,486.57. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
PUBLIC BUSINESS (Continued):
MR. DUNCAN WATSON: Mr. Street advised that the Conservation Commission members would like Mr. Watson to remain on as a member and he has indicated that he would like to do so. However the question is his attendance record. The members feel he contributes a great deal when he is there. Mr. Watson stated that his day job has to take precedence. He tries his best to attend meetings and he will continue to do his best to get there. Mr. Watson reads the meeting minutes and has been on some of the site visits. Mrs. Teague explained that this would not have become an issue except for the fact that another person expressed an interest in serving on the commission.
SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:
SELECTBOARD MEETING – September 12, 2013: Mr. Street moved to approve the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of September 12, 2013, as submitted. Seconded by Mrs. Teague. With Mr. Street and Mrs. Teague in favor, the Minutes were approved. Mr. Aldrich abstained as he was not present at this meeting.
NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – September 12, 2013: Mr. Street moved to approve the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard session of September 12, 2013, as submitted. The Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mrs. Teague. With Mr. Street and Mrs. Teague in favor, the Minutes were approved. Mr. Aldrich abstained as he was not present at this session.
SELECTBOARD MEETING – September 19, 2013: Mr. Street moved to approve the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of September 19, 2013, as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With Mr. Street and Mr. Aldrich in favor, the Minutes were approved. Mrs. Teague abstained as she was not present at this meeting.
NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD SESSION – September 19, 2013: Mr. Street moved to approve the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of September 19, 2013, as submitted. The Minutes will remain sealed. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With Mr. Street and Mr. Aldrich in favor, the Minutes were approved. Mrs. Teague abstained as she was not present at this session.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
The Selectboard received and reviewed the following meeting minutes:
Hooper Institute Committee Meeting – September 17, 2013;
Zoning Board of Adjustment – September 18, 2013; and
Planning Board Meeting – September 10, 2013.
NEW BUSINESS:
Library Damages: Mrs. Clough reported that Lyn Cooke from the Library called to report that they had some water damage from an air conditioner on the ceiling and some books got wet. She asked Ms. Cook to fill out a report that she received on Monday. The Claims Adjuster has been in touch with the Library. Mr. Aldrich advised that the air conditioner was in the attic and whoever installed it did not put a pan underneath it. Mrs. Cook felt it had been there for about thirteen years. Mrs. Clough advised that the Library has other issues they want to discuss with the Selectboard but they felt that could wait until the budget discussions.
SWRPC Fall Meeting: A notice was received that the Southwest Region Planning Commission’s Fall Meeting will be held at The Inn at East Hill Farm in Troy, NH on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. The guest speaker will be Dr. Cameron Wake, UNH Research Associate Professor on Climate Change in Southern NH: Past, Present and Future. Mr. Aldrich and Mrs. Clough plan to attend.
NH DOT Biennial Bridge Inspections Report: The Selectboard received the NH Department of Transportation Biennial Bridge Inspections Report that was reviewed. Mr. Terrell has a copy.
Letter from DES, Mill Pond Dam: Acknowledgement was made of receipt of the letter from the NH Department of Environmental Services on the Mill Pond Dam. The letter is to notify the Town of the results of an inspection which was conducted on May 23, 2013. Mrs. Clough emailed a copy to Mark Houghton when it came in. Mr. Houghton advised that he has been working on it since 2011. He felt the Town might get a letter on the Reservoir Dam as well as they have not been able to get in there to do any work because the ground has been so wet.
Email From Steven Rudek: The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of an email from Steven Rudek regarding several issues. Attorney Tom Hanna attended the Selectboard meeting on August 8th to discuss a Route 12 access road for the Potato Barn. Mr. Rudek was going to agree to take care of the road installation and all maintenance costs. This matter was referred to Attorney Hockensmith but a legal opinion has not yet been received; therefore Mrs. Clough will check with him on this and will contact the Local Government Center for their legal opinion. The Selectboard asked Mrs. Clough to send an email to Mr. Rudek to apologize for the delay and to advise that they hope to have a decision by next Thursday. Mrs. Clough will also contact Mr. Terrell to see if he recalled doing research on a public Class 6 road that would require no Town maintenance except for maintenance done by Mr. Rudek. Mrs. Clough advised that Mr. Rudek had talked with Mark Houghton about the quality of the water at the Bellows Walpole Inn. Mr. Houghton told him that the pipes in that area of Town are very old.
Mr. Street moved that the Bellows Walpole Inn be allowed to have a Liquor License at their address and also that they will be able to have entertainment at their establishment. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
OLD BUSINESS:
Town Hall Meetings: There was a consensus of the Selectboard to leave two tables and a rack of twenty-five chairs in the meeting room for the various boards to use. If more are needed, the members will need to go downstairs or in the front hall to get what is needed. The new chairs will be used for special functions; they came with racks and are locked up. Mrs. Teague does not appreciate Board members and/or their family members accosting Town employees when they are on their own time when it has to deal with the Selectboard.
Letters from Warren Stevens; Re: Culverts: Copies of two letters to Mr. Terrell from Warren Stevens, PE, M & W Soils, regarding the Wentworth Road Culvert and the new 24” Culvert for County Road and Whipple Hill were received and reviewed.
Road Damages Follow-Up: Mrs. Clough reported that the Town received a check in the amount of $24,000 +/- from FEMA for snow damage in 2012. It will go into the Highway Department budget. Mrs. Teague, Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Terrell did site visits on September 11th to eight properties that sustained damage from the recent rain storms. She reviewed her notes on their observations. Mr. Terrell will be asked to attend the next meeting to discuss this with possible solutions as they need to respond to the property owners.
Old Drewsville Road: Mrs. Teague met with some residents who reside on the Old Drewsville Road on September 18th. They took a ride to look at some areas of concern and discussed how the road is maintained by the Highway Department. Mrs. Teague recommended that Mr. Aldrich and Mr. Street visit with the residents and take the ride with them. It will take about an hour. Mrs. Teague will ask Police Chief Paquette about posting a sign as “Local Traffic Only” and what it means for enforcement .
NON-PUBLIC SESSION:
Mr. Aldrich moved to enter into a Non-Public Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (e) Pending Claims or Litigation and (c) Reputations. Mr. Street seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with all in favor, the motion was approved. The time was 7:24 PM.
The regular meeting resumed at 7:41 PM. No announcements were made.
PUBLIC BUSINESS (Continued)
Mark Houghton: Mr. Houghton reviewed the letter received from the NH Department of Environmental Services regarding the Mill Pond Dam – Hazard Classification: Significant. He has taken care of it but will need to file the paperwork with DES.
The Reservoir Dam was also inspected so the Selectboard will receive a letter on this as well. It has been so wet that Mr. Houghton has been unable to get in there to get the work done.
Mr. Houghton reported on the project near Mad Brook where it goes under Route 12 north of the Route 123 Bridge. He had scheduled a meeting with the State engineer to look at the area where they were digging up the roadway. Mr. Houghton suggested that they look at the culvert and that is where the problem is as the whole side of the culvert was blown out causing the road to cave in. It turned out to be a State problem rather than the Town problem. The State will let him know when a decision is made on how they intend to proceed with the repairs.
Relative to Mr. Rudek’s water problems at the Inn, Mr. Houghton talked to him a few months ago. He flushed the main that day and told Mr. Rudek to call him if that did not take care of the problem however he did not call again.
Conservation Commission: Mr. Tom Beaudry, Chair of the Conservation Commission, advised that a few months ago they got a letter from Dorothy Fletcher’s daughter. They own a 3.1 acre land-locked piece of property that abuts the Fanny Mason Forest and are offering it to the Town for $4,000; it is appraised at $6,000+. The three steps they need to do are: 1) Approve it; the CC has done that; 2) Have an appraisal done; and 3) Hold a Public Hearing. Mr. Beaudry asked if the Selectboard had an appraiser they would prefer he used. After a few names were mentioned, Mr. Beaudry indicated he would contact Bill Borchers to do the appraisal. He pointed out that the Conservation Commission has the money as they did the timber harvest last year.
RECESS SELECTBOARD MEETING:
Mr. Street moved to recess the Selectboard meeting. The Selectboard will enter into a meeting as the Hooper Trustees. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With all in favor, the motion was approved. The time was 7: 53 PM.
SELECTBOARD MEETING (Continued)
Mrs. Teague called the recessed Selectboard meeting back to order at 8:09 PM.
Adjournment:
Mr. Street moved to adjourn this meeting. Seconded by Mr. Aldrich. With all in favor, the motion was approved. The time was 8:10 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Regina Borden, Recording Secretary
The Walpolean 
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