Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 3/14/24

Selectboard Present:  Peggy Pschirrer, Chair; Cheryl Mayberry and Steven Dalessio

Staff Present: Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration and Carolyn Vose

CALL TO ORDER:  Mrs. Pschirrer called this Selectboard meeting to order at 6:30 PM in the Walpole Town Hall. She introduced herself, Peggy Pschirrer, Selectboard Chair, Cheryl Mayberry, Steve Dalessio and Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration.

PAYROLL:

Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Payroll Register totaling $30,626.61dated 3/15/24 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $6,100.72.  Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved. 

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – March 6, 2024:   Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Minutes of the Selectboard meeting of March 6, 2024. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD NON-PUBLIC SESSION – March 6, 2024:  Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Minutes of the Selectboard Non-Public Session of March 6, 2024. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved. The minutes are to remain sealed. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Mr. Dalessio brought to the chair’s attention the following committee reports:

• Walpole Fire District Monthly Meeting – December 6, 2023

• Walpole Fire District Monthly Meeting – January 10, 2024

• Walpole Fire District Monthly Meeting – February 7, 2024

• Recreation Committee Meeting – November 8, 2023

• Recreation Committee Meeting – January 10, 2024

• Police Building Committee Meeting – February 20, 2024

• Conservation Committee Meeting – March 4, 2024

     Mrs. Pschirrer acknowledged these minutes. 

ABATEMENTS:

Map and Lot# 014-011-000: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the abatement of $404.00 for Map and Lot# 014-011-000. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved. This abatement is part of a prorated assessment because of house fire.

REFUNDS:

Map and Lot# 025-007-000: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the refund for Map and Lot# 025-007-000for $8.61. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Map and Lot# 028103-000: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the refund for Map and Lot# 028-103-000$19.11. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

VETERANS’ CREDIT

Map and Lot# 028048-000: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Veterans’ Credit for Map and Lot# 028-048-000. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SOLAR ENERGY EXEMPTION

Map and Lot# 008114-000: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Solar Energy Exemption for Map and Lot# 008-114-000. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

TIMBER INTENT

Map and Lot# 003-076-000Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Intent to Cut Timber for Map and Lot# 003-076-000. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved. This lot will be accessed from County Road.

OLD BUSINESS: 

Constellation Electricity Rate Quote:  Mrs. Pschirrer reviewed the Constellation quote which had various rates based on the length of the contract. The current Constellation contract will not end until November/December of 2024. There was a consensus of the Board to wait until closer to the end of the current contract to review the electricity rates at that time. Mr. Dalessio noted that the CPCNH rates are lower than the current quote.

Utility Discontinuance Agreement: Mrs. Pschirrer recounted that the PUC (Public Utility Commission) had responded to the Selectboard’s letter with feedback that the water and sewer utilities for Walpole and North Walpole were not bound by the PUC’s rules since they are not public utilities. The Selectboard was in consensus to implement the agreement immediately. Sewer users that have not paid their sewer bills could have their water shut off due to non-payment after notification. Mrs. Pschirrer stated that water would not be cut off during the wintertime.

Parking Ordinance: Mrs. Pschirrer plans to continue working on the wording of an updated ordinance that she has started.

NEW BUSINESS:

Accufund Services Quote:  Mr. Dalessio explained that the water department is switching over to new meter readers. With the change, software updates need to be completed in Accufund.  Ms. Mayberry asked if a new meter reader had been purchased for North Walpole’s water department. Mr. Dalessio replied affirmatively. It was confirmed that 4 meter readers had been purchased.

Ms. Tara Sad enters that meeting at 6:51 PM.

Mr. Dalessio moved to have the Selectboard chair sign the AccuFund Service Agreement for $800. Ms. Mayberry seconded. Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Tenco Purchase Order: Mr. Dalessio explained the Highway Department had been in ongoing discussions with Tenco, which is a company that outfits the Highway dump trucks. There was an invoice for a 2022 installation that was never paid. It was determined the bill was for a stainless-steel bed that was moved from an old truck to a new truck. Mr. Dalessio moved to sign purchase order# 630673 for $11, 858 for the Tenco Install with funds to come from the Highway Block Grant. Mr. Dalessio. Ms. Mayberry seconded. Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

Emergency Calls: Mrs. Pschirrer explained that about a week ago, she had received an email from a citizen who stated that a tree was blocking two thirds of March Hill Road. The resident had been trying to reach someone to make them aware of the situation but could not reach anyone. Eventually, Keene Dispatch assisted the resident. Mrs. Pschirrer had recommended the resident call 911 to reach a dispatcher. The Police Chief and the Fire Chief agreed that this would be the best course of action for when a tree is blocking a road. Mrs. Pschirrer wondered how this message could be communicated to the community. Mr. Dalessio added that the 911 service is a way to contact the Police Department and Fire District for any reason. Mrs. Pschirrer will include information in her Clarion article to promote the use of 911 for all types of emergencies.

FMRSD Facilities Committee: Mrs. Pschirrer read a memo from FMRSD (Fall Mountain Regional School District) that they are putting together a facilities committee to do a strategic plan. Interested parties are to send a letter of intent to the school district no later than March 22nd.

HOOPER TRUSTEES:  

Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into the Hooper Trustees meeting at 7:06 PM. Mr. Dalessio seconded. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting was reconvened at 7:15 PM. Ms. Vose and Ms. Sad departed the meeting.

NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS RSA 91-A:3 II (a) (e):  

Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into Non-Public Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II (a) (e) at 7:16 PM. Mr. Dalessio seconded. With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting was reconvened at 7:50 PM.

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

Town Meeting: The Selectboard discussed specific warrant articles that will be presented at the TownMeeting on March 16th.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mrs. Pschirrer declared the meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah Downing, Recording Secretary Pro Tempore

Library Trustees Meeting Minutes – 3/12/24

Present:  Amy Howard (Chair), Susan Johnson, Tim Lester, Sarah Mann, Erin Bowen, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary), Jane Malmberg (Library Director)

Absent:  Gail LaHaise, Bill Ranauro, Kathy Nerrie

Approval of Minutes:  Amy moved to accept the February minutes as written.  Susan seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

Treasurers Report:  Kathy emailed the report to the trustees prior to the meeting. 

Bills:  We have not yet received an invoice for the shelves.  

Amy moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills.  Sarah seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

Old Business

Building Projects:  Adam Vose will begin work on the Community Room shelves as soon as he receives the deposit from Kathy.

Shelves for the Childrens Room:  The shelves are in and everyone is very pleased.  Jane recognized Sarah’s husband Bjorn and Kai Crouse and sent our thanks for removing and moving shelves in the main library and North Walpole so the new shelves could be installed.

Substitute Librarian:  Pam Rohdenburg was hired as our new substitute.  She also plans to continue volunteering one day a week.

Antique Chairs:  Jane contacted Christi Winmill about the antique chairs in the Community Room.

New Business:  Amy announced that we will elect officers at next month’s meeting.  Those trustees who were just elected were reminded to take the oath of office in Town Hall before the April meeting, if they don’t do it at Town Meeting. 

Operations:

Tech Talks:  Due to low turnout, Jane will discontinue this service and encourage patrons with technology questions to make an appointment with her or Julie Rios.

Eclipse Program: On Saturday, March 23, at 10 a.m. there will be a program about the upcoming April 8 eclipse. Solar viewing glasses will be distributed to all.

Policies:  Jane distributed the updated library policies to the trustees prior to the meeting.  She reported the new non-resident policy is working well.

Collection:  Julie applied for and received grant funding from both the Keene Rotary and Children’s Literacy Foundation for new toddler and preschool literacy kits.

FBI Program:  29 people attended the program on March 9.  On behalf of RVSAH Jean thanked Jane and the library staff for setting up the Community Room for the program.

Buildings and Grounds: 

Grouting Work:  Jane will notify the contractor whose bid for the grouting work on the side of the library was accepted.  Work will be done this summer.  Amy suggested that we put the contractor on a rotation to repair one remaining side each year.

Other Business:  Jane stated she has a collection of old paintings stacked in her office.  Amy said we should look at and appropriately distribute them so that we can free the space in the office.

Adjournment:  With no further business to discuss, Tim made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Sarah seconded and all voted in favor.  Amy adjourned the meeting at 4:32 p.m.

The next meeting will be April 9, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. in North Walpole.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the April 9, 2024 meeting.

Closing Date for April Clarion – 3/22/24

And, “no foolin'” it is time again to start assembling and layout out another issue of THE WALPOLE CLARION – now the 151st issue. But, each issue depends upon your inputs and advertisements, and the deadline is a week away, with the closing date for the April issue – 5 pm Walpole time, Friday, March 22.  Submission guidelines, and contact email are on the CLARION website.

As always, your early submissions help in the process of including all important material in a pleasing manner on each page. 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

Maple Weekend – 3/16&17/24

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 3/6/24

Selectboard Present:  Peggy L. Pschirrer, Chair; Cheryl Mayberry and Steven Dalessio

Staff Present: Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration; Ahmad Esfahani, Recording Secretary

Others Present: David Edkins and Carolyn Vose

CALL TO ORDER:  Mrs. Pschirrer called this Selectboard meeting to order at 5:00 PM in the Town Hall. She introduced herself, Peggy Pschirrer, Selectboard Chair, Cheryl Mayberry, Steve Dalessio, Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, and Ahmad Esfahani, Recording Secretary. 

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Accounts Payable Check Register totaling $790,811.66 dated 3/08/24. This includes a $700,531.13 monthly payment to Fall Mountain Regional School District. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

PAYROLL: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Payroll Register totaling $32,395.02 dated 3/08/24 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $6,640.07. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES – February 29, 2024: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Selectboard Meeting minutes of February 29, 2024. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

SELECTBOARD NON-PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES – February 29, 2024: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Selectboard Non-Public Meeting minutes of February 29, 2024. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry.With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry, and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved. The minutes are to remain sealed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Mr. Dalessio brought the following committee reports to the chair’s attention.

   •​Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment Joint Meeting – February 27, 2024

Mrs. Pschirrer acknowledged the report.

ABATEMENTS: 

Map and Lot# 001-017-000:  Mr. Dalessio motioned to deny the abatement for Map and Lot# 001-017-000. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor the motion was approved.

REFUNDS: 

Map and Lot# 012-055-002:  Mr. Dalessio motioned to approve the refund for Map and Lot# 012-055-002 for $23.76. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor the motion was approved.

Map and Lot# 028-054-000:  Mr. Dalessio motioned to approve the refund for Map and Lot# 028-054-000 for $19.61. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor the motion was approved.

BUILDING PERMITS: 

2024-06, Map and Lot# 019-022-000:  Mr. Dalessio motioned to approve the building permit for Map and Lot# 019-022-000 to add a 903 sq. ft. roof mount solar array. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor the motion was approved.

2024-07, Map and Lot# 008-080-000:  Mr. Dalessio motioned to approve the building permit for Map and Lot# 008-080-000 to construct a 15’ x 10’ playhouse/cabin. Seconded by Ms. Mayberry. With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor the motion was approved.

NEW BUSINESS

Staff Resignation: Mrs. Pschirrer announced a letter of resignation had been received by Vicki Gohl, the deputy Town Clerk and Tax Collector.

Health Officer Reports: Two reports have been received from Dr. Gasgoyne, the Health Officer. Mrs. Pschirrer stated that the Health Officer has been busy dealing with complaints from tenants about rodent infestation, mold problems and lead paint issues.

OLD BUSINESS

Pending Further Action: Mr. Dalessio stated that they are starting to file for expense reimbursements for the Reservoir Dam work that has already been done.

HOOPER TRUSTEES MEETING:  

Mr. Dalessio moved to enter into Hooper Trustees meeting at 5:13 PM. Mrs. Pschirrer seconded. With Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting reconvened at 5:29 PM. 

NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS RSA 91-A:3 II (a) (e):  

Mr. Dalessio moved to enter into Non-Public meeting at 5:31 PM. Mrs. Pschirrer seconded. With Mr. Dalessio and Mrs. Pschirrer in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting reconvened at 6:08 PM. 

Mrs. Pschirrer declared the nonpublic minutes would be sealed. 

ADJOURNMENT:

Mrs. Pschirrer declared the meeting adjourned at 6:09 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Ahmad Esfahani, Recording Secretary

Ready, Set, Eclipse – 3/23/24

Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 3/12/24

Roll Call: Present Board Members Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternates Travis Adams and Bill Carmody. Absent Board Member Trevor MacLachlan. 

Call to order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. He asked Mr. Adams if he would sit in for Mr. MacLachlan. He agreed.

Minutes of February 2024 and Minutes of Joint Workshop meeting with Zoning Board of Adjustment: Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes and the workshop minutes as printed. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

New Business:

Solar Array on 20 acres at 239 Old Keene Road and mostly 240 Wentworth Road, Tax Map 5 in rural/agricultural district. Property owned by Sheldon Sawyer. Samantha Valone, representing Lodestar Energy based in Avon, CT and Manhattan, NY, will present a basic concepts description of the project.  

A map of the surrounding area with a blue lake-like feature that was where the solar array was to go was distributed prior to the start of the meeting. 

Ms. Valone said this was just a preliminary meeting to an eventual final request for a 5 mega watt solar installation at peak times. She is a solar development associate for Lodestar Energy. She said Lodestar has installed similar solar arrays in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York State and a few in New Hampshire communities. She mentioned Chichester as one town in New Hampshire. Currently the company is filling out the applications it needs for the project and doing surveys of storm water and the property. The surveys will provide information on what kinds of equipment Lodestar will need for this project and how to go about building this installation. Equipment will be ordered and delivered to the site. Ms. Valone said it usually takes four (4) to five (5) months to build an installation of this size. A seven-foot chain link fence would surround the installation. She thinks the company should be ready to submit a site-plan application by July. 

Work on the project will start on property on Old Keene Road where six poles will be installed. These will be for overhead interconnection lines that would eventually go underground from the poles on Old Keene Road to the solar installation. Mill Road is a connector road that goes west to east from Old Keene Road to Wentworth Road and somewhere on that road is entrance to a 15-foot wide gravel vehicle maintenance road that goes to the installation site. After the installation is up and running the only maintenance needed is mowing under the panels. Some one asked about snow on the panels and the answer was it just slides off like it would on a metal roof. Mr. Miller said you will not be able to see the installation from Old Keene Road. 

Installations usually last for 20 years or more and then are decommissioned. Lodestar will​ follow the requirements for decommissioning it, Ms. Valone said. The installation and decommissioning requirements are all spelled out in Section VIII of the Walpole Site Plan Regulations. Walpole has its own Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire organization through which townspeople can get electric power at a community rate. Its chair, Paul Looney, was at Tuesday’s meeting and said that folks in Walpole get their power from Liberty Utilities and Liberty buys from a broker. He asked Ms. Valone if she had contacted Liberty yet. She said “no” but it was one of her things on the list of things she had to do. Ms. Valone said that this project can offer the Town energy credit of any town-owned Liberty electric accounts.

This was the first meeting about the process of building the solar array on Wentworth Road. For more information on the project, look for notices of upcoming meetings beginning in June.

Old Business

Public Hearing for site plan continued from February. Alyson’s Orchard: Adam Naeck site-plan application for a post-and-beam addition to the farm store. Tax Map 4, Lot 44, 57 Alyson’s  Lane, Commercial/Industrial District.

Mr. Naeck had a picture of the exterior of the current 400 square-foot farm store. It is attached to a roughly 1,400 square-foot apartment. The store is the main operation for Alyson’s farming retail space. Regularly there is one register inside and about a half dozen shelves display homemade products such as jellies, jams and chutneys and a couple of coolers have frozen chicken pot pies and dessert pies for sale. Currently there is no space inside the store for any of the fruits and vegetables the farm grows on a yearly basis. All are displayed outside. This is not ideal, Mr. Naeck said, because it make them subject to the weather, pests and potential theft. During its peak season, two outdoor registers are used outdoors.

The proposed farm store addition is 40 feet wide and 56 feet long. It is a two-story timber frame building and will be assembled by Ward Timber in Alstead. The addition will directly abut the current farm store. The 2250 square foot layout will be mainly used for indoor sales of our crops and farm retail space. There is also a 1000 foot loft which will be used for storage, more retail space if needed and customer seating. The timeline for constructing this building will be either this summer or next summer. 

There will be two main entrances, one directly from the current store into the new store  and an outdoor main entrance facing east towards the main event center. Parking will remain as it is. There will be an emergency exit only door on the west wall as well as an emergency exit from the loft upstairs to a staircase leading out, which is already found on the current store building. Current lighting will also be used as well as entry way lights found at each entrance.

In the future the old store may be used as a bakery where items like their popular cinnamon donuts will be made as well as other baked goods.

Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the site plan. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Workshop

Mr. Miller said he called Southwest Region Planning Commission and talked to senior planner Todd Horner who agreed to meet with the joint boards in the next couple of months. However, since the initial telephone conversation was made, Mr. Horner is now going to become the executive director of the organization so he pushed the workshop meeting until June. 

Mr. Miller was also optimistic that the Conservation Commission was almost finished going over a list of conservation property in the Natural Features section of the Master Plan. So that project could be wrapped up soon. 

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. It was 7:45 pm.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the March 12, 2024 regular meeting for corrections, omission and additions.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary

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

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

Selectboard Meeting Agenda – 3/14/24

Tonight is Peggy’s last meeting. I’m confident that everyone joins me in offering thanks for all she has accomplished during her Selectboard tenure. Thanks, Peggy. – Lil

BTW, next week’s Selectboard meeting will be on Wednesday because the Selectboard plans to attend the Walpole Fire District Meeting.

Hamilton College Choir – 3/17/24

GUEST CHOIR AND FREE CONCERT AT THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF WALPOLE

This Sunday, March 17 we welcome the Hamilton College Choir. They will join us in worship and lead hymn singing as well as offering a special choral introit and anthem during the service. At noon, they will perform a free concert in the sanctuary which we want to share with the Walpole community. We are the final stop on their New England tour, which began in Boston on Tuesday.

Last month, we received the following email from the company managing the tour:

The last stop of their tour is in the Westminster/Keene,NH area and their director was hoping to do an outreach activity for a Sunday service at a local church.  I looked at the churches in the nearby cities, but also wanted to give them an option of a smaller, community church who might not otherwise get many such performing groups stopping in their area to offer something unique.  I found your church online and it looked like a lovely, place, with a tight knit congregation. The director loved the idea of visiting a place outside the more traditional churches in the city!

This is a wonderful opportunity to hear special music in our sanctuary and we want to share! Following worship, we will have coffee hour as usual, while the choir has lunch and gets ready for the concert.