The Walpolean

WALPOLE PLANNING BOARD 

PUBLIC NOTICE 

You are hereby notified of the following Public Hearing to be held on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 7 pm in the Town Hall. The following formally submitted application will be reviewed by the Board for completeness and, if complete, accepted by the Board and the Public Hearing held.

Public Hearing for Site Plan: Alyson’s Orchard: Adam Naeck proposes an addition to the farm store and seven clamping sites. Tax Map 4, Lot 44, 57 Alyson’s Lane, Commercial/Industrial district.

All abutters and interested parties are encouraged to attend. To be heard on this matter, you or a duly authorized agent must either attend the hearing in person or submit your comments in writing, prior to the hearing to the Planning Board, PO Box 729, Walpole, NH 03608. 

If final action is delayed or the hearing continued, the application will remain on the agenda for the following Planning Board meeting, or until a decision is reached, without further notice. The application and plans are available for public inspection at the Town Offices. Meeting minutes and public notices are posted inside the Town Hall, on the bulletin board outside Post Office and on the town website, www.walpole.nh.us

Marilou Blaine

WPB Secretary

And your hard copy delivered to the post offices for delivery to you. Another year is now drawing to a close with the holidays approaching. Continuing an almost 50 year tradition in Walpole, everyone is welcome to join the Live Nativity beginning at 6:30 PM on the Common following church services. And all are then invited to warm up in the Town Hall for cocoa and visiting with your neighbors – old and new. Newcomers to Town, please do join in, and enjoy the warmth of the Walpole community. To see the December CLARION – Click this Link

WALPOLE UNITARIAN CHURCH

HOLIDAY FOOD SALE

December 9th between 9 and 11:30 a.m.

In Front of Walpole Post Office

       We will have our popular boxed holiday cookies ready for gift giving. There  will also be holiday breads and desserts,  along with savory items such as  quiches, casseroles, lasagnas, etc. These items will be ready to take home and serve, or kept in the freezer until later.  All of our offerings are homemade  and there are always unexpected surprises that arrive at our table the day of the sale!  Come early to get the best choices!  

CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE

WALPOLE UNITARIAN CHURCH

5:00 p.m.

Our Community Christmas Eve Candlelight service will be held on December 24th at 5:00 p.m.at the church on the corner of Main Street and Union Streets.  This is a service of  Christmas carols and readings – both traditional and contemporary.  Come and enjoy an uplifting service of joy and love.

Giving Tree Project:  Please be sure to return unwrapped, tagged gifts no later than Nov. 30th.  Gifts may be returned to any of the following locations during their normal business hours:  The Hungry Diner, Spencer’s Place, Mascoma Bank, Savings Bank of Walpole (Westminster St), St. John’s Church, St. Peter’s Church, Walpole Congregational Church, or the Walpole Library.  Thank you so much!

Present:  Amy Howard (Chair), Kathy Nerrie (Treasurer), Gail LaHaise, Susan Johnson, Bill Ranauro, Tim Lester, Sarah Mann, Erin Bowen, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary), Jane Malmberg (Library Director), Peggy Pschirrer (Selectboard Liaison)

Amy called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. in the library Community Room.  This meeting was recorded.

Amy passed around thank you notes from Jane and Julie for the Volunteer/Staff Dinner and gifts.

Approval of Minutes:  Gail moved to approve the October minutes and Tim seconded.  All voted to approve.  Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report:  Kathy reported that the Friends of the Library covered the cost of the bookshelves for the Children’s Room.  The Board then reviewed library bank accounts and discussed  whether or not they should be adjusted. No decisions were made at this time.

Bills:  Amy moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Bills for the month. Gail seconded and all voted in favor. Motion carried. 

Old Business

Town Budget:   Amy reviewed that the stonework on the north side of the library needs to be regrouted and sealed.  It is disintegrating due to salt exposure in the winter. She also stated that, for safety reasons, the front stoop needs to be replaced. The cost of this work will be presented in a warrant article;  Jane is waiting for the estimate of the cost of the stoop work before a final amount for the warrant article can be determined. This will need to be done by December 15, when Jane will meet with the Selectboard to discuss the library budget and warrant article. 

Chimney/Repair in Director’s Office:  Jane reported that the mold inspector came yesterday and will send his report within 36 hours. She also said there has been no further leakage with the new chimney cap.

Board Positions:  Gail reminded the three board members whose terms end this year to go to Town Hall in late January to register to get their names on the ballot if they want to reup.

RVSAH Question:  Jean asked if River Valley Seniors at Home could hold a program in the library early on a Saturday afternoon after regular library hours. Jane said, as long as she is around, she can change her Saturday work hours in order to be on the premises during the program. 

Operations:  Jane would like to rework the Behavior Policy to read more positively. Susan asked what the most frequent problem they have in the library is and Jane responded it is cell and Zoom usage (though not frequent).  She said patrons should take/make calls or Zoom meetings in a private area such as the Community Room, if it is available.    

Sarah and Jane are working on a special children’s program focusing on celebrations of light from around the world.  It will take place on December 2.  More information to follow.

Friends of the Library: Jane reports that the Friends made over $6,000 from the book sale.  The Friends will meet again in March.

Adjournment:  With no further business to discuss, Gail moved to adjourn the meeting.  Erin seconded, and all voted in favor. Amy adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m.

The next meeting will be January 9, 2024 at 4:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

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

Members Present:  John Peska, Peter Palmiotto (Co-Chairs), France Menk, Lewis Shelley, Wendy Grossman  

Members Absent:  Alicia Flammia, Steven Dumont

Alternates Present:  Kara Dexter, Nicole Adams

Visitors Present:  Michael Nerrie, Jean Kobeski (Recording Secretary)

Call to Order:  Peter called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.  This meeting was recorded.

Review and Approval of Minutes:  Wendy corrected an error in the first sentence of page 3.  She asked that it read:  Peter sent a letter requesting the $5,000 for the RTP Grant from the Fanny Mason Fund.  He did not send the letter to the Trustees of the Trust Funs as stated in the October minutes.

Lew questioned the name in the sixth and seventh sentences on page 2 under Cranberry Meadow.  John stated it should read:  Mike (not Mark) Hubbard.

Peter asked that the second sentence under 2024 Budget heading on page 1 be changed to read:  He added $1500 for Rail Trail Maintenance and $1,000 to the intern budget line. Peter said the Commission has $2650 for Dam Fees and $2000 earmarked for Dam Maintenance in their budget.  He asked if fees and maintenance could be paid from the town’s General Fund rather than the WCC budget.  The answer is no. In fact, the Commission recently received an invoice for dam fees for Mill Pond, Cranberry Meadow, and Reservoir Dams.

With those corrections, Lew moved to accept the October 2, 2023 Minutes. John seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

Public Business

Report from the Chair:  Peter reported that the Property Stewardship Committee (formerly known as the Easement Monitoring Committee) met November 6 at 5:30. They discussed monitoring town-owned lands, easements and other properties for which they are responsible.  Their goal is to gather information on each of these properties so they can map them and answer questions anyone may have about the properties. Peter said they are working on this but, “We aren’t there yet”.

France asked that someone write a short, interesting article about this for the WCC website.  She said it is important to educate the public about what the Commission does. She asked that a picture accompany the article, if possible.

Michael Nerrie asked if the money for the intern would go for projects like this. Peter answered that the Commission has several projects on a priority list, such as reassessing town wetlands and rewriting the town conservation plan, that an intern could help with.  Michael asked if the Commission wants to involve Antioch students in projects like they have in the past and Peter answered they would.

Financial Report:  John said he does not have the breakdown of funds that the Commission is used to receiving monthly.  He said he would meet with Rich Kreissle to set that up.

Correspondence:  The Commission received a thank you note from Savannah Anderson, recipient of the scholarship for Barry Conservation Camp. John said he talked to Justin Cassarino about accelerating the selection of the next recipient because the name needs to be submitted by mid-December. 

The Commission received the Monadnock Conservancy Newsletter with a solicitation for a donation.

The NHACC sent a letter asking the Commission to renew their membership. The renewal amount was not included in the letter, so Lew said he would contact Barbara Richter for that information. The Commission will vote to pay next month.

Kate Buckman of the Connecticut River Conservancy will attend the December meeting to discuss the BF dam relicensing.

New Business

Dam Relicensing Fees:  John presented the invoice for dam relicensing. The fees are:

​Mill Pond Dam​​  $750

​Reservoir Dam​ $1500

​Cranberry Meadow.  ​  $400

Wendy moved to pay the $2600 for dam fees.  France seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.

LaValley Invoice:  Kara presented Steven’s $248 invoice for materials purchased at La Valley for the bridge in Fanny Mason Forest. Peter moved to reimburse Steven the $248.  John seconded and all voted in favor. Motion carried.  John said he would see Rich about paying this invoice and the dam fees.

Old Business 

Adopting Meeting Norms:  Peter reviewed the norms previously compiled by the Commission.  Peter moved to adopt the norms.  France seconded and all voted in favor.  Motion carried.  Peter said the norms should be reviewed annually.

Walpole Gateway:  Kara proposed that the gate be closed on November 15. France will contact Steven for Gateway information that she can put on the WCC website. 

WCC Website:  France is now working on the website and asked for photographs (with identification).  She also wants Commissioners to send her information about what Commission projects they have been working on. If anyone has additions or corrections to the website, these can be done via France.

Fanny Mason Clean-up:  Before anything more is done, Commissioners need to determine if the individual who was cleaning the area wishes to continue and what the payment structure was. Was it hourly, fixed price, monthly, annually?  How was the town invoiced? 

Cranberry Meadow Update:  John emailed the dam bureau with the letter of deficiencies and asked what the Commission’s requirements regarding the deficiencies are. He learned that, if machinery is used for the clean-up, a permit is needed. 

John said he contacted Mike Hubbard about the clean-up but has not heard back.  John presented a back-up plan if Hubbard is unable to do the work.

Kara asked Wendy if she had researched the deed to the land.  Wendy reported she had but stated no one has found a deed showing the Knapps gave the meadow to the town.  It is not in the Cheshire County Register of Deeds. Sarah Downing has also looked several places for it. Wendy checked the tax parcel but it was very confusing and did not provide the information she was looking for.  She said she would also look through the files that Lauren returned hoping she might find some useful information there.

Nerrie Easement:  Michael Nerrie reported that the completion of the easement of the their property has been moved to 2025. A discussion ensued about when the Commission should pay the Monadnock Conservancy the $7500.  It was decided to table further discussion until the December meeting when Ryan Owens from the Conservancy will be present to explain the process and answer questions.

Lew said he would email the most recent information on the Nerrie Easement  from Ann McBride to the Commissioners.

Prioritizing Future Projects:   Prior to the meeting Kara read the RSA for Conservation Commissions and stated that the projects the WCC has been undertaking are in line with state requirements. After a brief discussion of future projects, the Commissioners agreed that the top three areas to focus on are:   

​​​Property stewardship 

​​​Trails

​​​An updated Conservation Plan 

Wendy shared copies of the Municipal Conservation Commissions Handbook and Conserving Your Land.

Kara offered to write the annual report for the Commission once again.  She asked for ideas to include and France suggested engaging more with the community.  It was decided to table this topic until next month’s meeting to give Commissioners time to think about what they feel should be included in the report.

PFAS:  France attended the recent meeting about PFAS arranged by the Chickerings and shared the discussion.  It included PFAS research, personal experiences with PFAS, and what is being done around the country.  France has information that she can email to the Commissioners. She also offered to find out about the proposed NH PFAS regulations that were due out in November.

Recurring Business

Walpole Trails Subcommittee:    Next Tuesday will be a work day to build the Fanny Mason bridge. Trail work at Mill Pond will take place next year.  

Rail Trail:  ​1.  Wendy thanked Lew for for the work he did to complete the RTP Grant work.

​​2.  Wendy said several volunteers did a variety of jobs.

​​3.  Next step is to complete paperwork and financial reports.

​​4.  There will be a guided walk on the Rail Trail on November 19.

​​5.  Wendy will write an extensive report on the Rail Trail for the Clarion. 

​​7.  Wendy and Lew stated there is an increase in Rail Trail usage.

Lew stated he contacted the Bureau of Trails for the return of the bond money.  He then gave a report on the work he did.  

Wendy would now like to have a discussion about what the town wants from the Rail Trail long term. How do they want to develop it and how might they go about doing it? Wendy proposed that she and Will put together a presentation for early next year for the Commission and Trail Committee to discuss this.

Property Monitoring:  Wendy offered to do the Graves and Ballam Farms. She offered to help someone else with the Aldrich property.

Kara asked that Commissioners get agenda items to her by the Tuesday before the meeting. 

Kate Buckman and Ryan Owens will attend the December meeting. The next meeting will be Monday, December 4, 2023.

Adjournment:  With no further business to discuss, Peter adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jean Kobeski, Recording Secretary

** These minutes are in draft form until approved at the December 4, 2023 meeting.

​

Roll Call: Present: Board members Chair Jan Galloway-Leclerc. Vice-Chair David Edkins, Clerk Tom Murray, Pauline Barnes, Tom Winmill. Alternates: Myra Mansouri, Don Sellarole, Shane O’Keefe and Carolyn Vose.

Call to Order: Ms. Galloway-Leclerc called the meeting to order at 7 pm. A full board was present so an alternate was not needed to fill in.

Minutes: Ms. Galloway-Leclerc asked about the minutes. Mr. Tom Winmill asked the Chair if Mr. Mark Stevens had been notified of the October meeting. She said no. Mr. Winmill then made a motion that said, “RESOLVED, that in as much as Mark Stevens was not given prior written notice to appear for the meeting the Zoning Board of Adjustment minutes of October 18, 2023 be amended to delete all discussion of “Marks Stevens Watkins Hill Road, removal of parents home” and replaced by the following: “A discussion of Mark Stevens, Watkins Hill Road, removal of parents home took place:” and further that the revised version be posted to the Town website, and further that the Zoning Board issue a formal written apology to Mr. Stevens for discussing his personal matters and disseminating the discussion publicly without his knowledge or consent.” 

There being no second. Ms. Barnes made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Murray seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Mr. Edkins said regarding the Stevens matter some of what was written in the minutes was not discussed at the meeting. The secretary said she was trying to give some background about the situation. Mr. O’Keefe said that when “I” is mentioned in the minutes, the term should instead be “the secretary.”

It was agreed that the minutes be revised to exclude the background material and be reviewed at the December meeting.

Later in the meeting Ms. Galloway-Leclerc said she had been to a Select Board meeting to discuss this matter and they said they would “handle it.”

New Business: 

Application for a Variance: Walpole Foundation, 75 Westminster St. Map 20, Lot, 11, Residential B District. Mark Houghton will represent the Foundation. The Foundation will be requesting a public hearing in December

Mr. Mark Houghton was at the meeting to bring in a new application to the board.  At this point Mr. Murray recused himself and went to sit in the audience. Ms. Galloway-Leclerc asked Ms. Mansouri to sit in his place on the board while Mr. Houghton explained the application. Mr. Houghton said that the Walpole Foundation had purchased the Walpole Village School and property. The school, which is a preschool, now pays The Walpole Foundation rent for its use of the building and since they have become tenants it has eased the strains on their financial obligations, Mr. Houghton said. 

Mr. Houghton said this is a two-stage project. The first stage will be to build a new school. The second phase is to build housing for the elderly. Currently the school is on about five acres. The zoning ordinance which the Foundation must follow for its variance is titled Article IX-1 Retirement Community Overlay District. Minimum ordinance requirements for this district say:  

​“C. APPLICABILITY: The Retirement Community Overlay District shall only apply to the ​ ​     Residential B and Commercial Districts.

​“1. TRACT SIZE: A proposed site shall consist of at least ten (10)  acres of contiguous land in ​    ​      single or consolidated ownership and may include parcels separated by existing public​  roads, provided that such parcels abut. The development shall be non-sudividable. Multiple lots shall be consolidated prior to approval under this ordinance.”

Mr. Houghton said this is a perfect fit and re​quested a public hearing in December.

Foundation board member Ms. Peggy Pschirrer said communities for senior housing and preschools have been happening all over the country because the combination of these two age groups have been shown to get along very well with one another.

Mr. Edkins asked if the variance is to permit this proposed project on the current property that is less than 10 acres. Mr. Houghton said yes. When asked about a road cut from Route 12, he said there would not be one and the road system would be within the proposed acreage.

Ms. Mansouri made a motion to hold a public hearing for the variance in December. Ms. Barnes seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Application for a Special Exception: Erika Kasser, 10 Bookseller Road wants to use her property and gardens as a venue for weddings, special events. Map 4, Lot  28, Rural/Agricultural District. 

Ms. Kasser did not come to the meeting.

Old Business:

Short-Term Rentals

Latest decision of the NH Supreme Court. See attached.

A Landmark Decision on Short-Term Rentals and Zoning

Ms. Barnes sent the above report on short-term rentals to the Chair and the Chair sent it to the Board. The decision is all about Zoning Ordinances and how towns define certain terms in their ordinances. The question for the Court was to decide whether “non-owner-occupied STRs are permitted in residential districts under the Town of Conway’s zoning ordinance.” It was a divided opinion but ultimately “the NH Supreme Court ruled in favor of the property owner, finding that non-owner occupied STRs fall within the definition of a “residential/dwelling unit” and are therefore permitted in the Town Of Conway’s residential zones.”

Ms. Barnes read from the Supreme Court decision and “the court acknowledged that until the legislative body addresses short term rentals, the courts will make decisions based on the language of the ordinances in effect, even if the results vary from one municipality to another.“

Ms. Barnes thought before the board considers writing an ordinance, the board should first examine our definitions. Mr. Edkins said this is not what the Zoning Board is supposed to be doing. Mr. O’Keefe agreed. However, a couple of years ago when the discussion about STRs was discussed Ms. Galloway-Leclerc got the opinion of the NH Municipal Association. That letter, written by Stephen C. Buckley says, “I do not share the new alternate’s view that it is inappropriate for ZBA members to work on amendments to the zoning ordinance.” Later in the letter Mr. Buckley said “when a ZBA member helps draft or recommend zoning amendments she is not deciding a question in a judicial capacity, rather, she is acting in a legislative capacity to improve or revise the content of the zoning ordinance.” 

The Conway zoning ordinance defines residential/dwelling unit as “a single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons living as a household, including provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.” So the central issue was around “living as a household.” The NH Supreme Court’s decision focused on that language – “living as a household” – on the residential activities taking place on the property rather than the identity of the occupants.

Ms. Barnes pointed out that not only is there not a definition in our ordinance for the word “dwelling,” but also definitions are spread throughout the entire ordinance.  Another definition that is not in our ordinances, she said, is the word “transient.” You can’t define STRs without that word.

Ms. Mansouri said Walpole doesn’t have a problem. Yes, the town has out-of-towners come stay at local Airbnbs for three or four days for graduations, weddings, etc, but after three or four days they leave.

Ms. Barnes said that there seem to be be two kinds of Airbnbs, those that are rented by owner- occupants and those that are bought solely as an investment. The concerns that other towns have  seem to be about the latter. If the Supreme Court is so picky on a word such as “household”, we should be considering looking at all our definitions, she said.

Ms. Vose thought this was a good idea and said it would also help people who are filling out applications. It should help them make more sense of what looks, at first, like gobbledygook. 

After more discussion Ms. Galloway-Leclerc suggested that the board start by looking over the  definitions in our ordinance during the next month and coming back with some ideas of how and if we should proceed.

More motions

Mr. Winmill made several more motions for the board to consider. None of the motions received a second from a board member, so none were voted upon. The motions were:

​“RESOLVED, that all electronically publicly disseminated Board agenda noting for a public ​hearing a written application for consideration by the Board have attached to the agenda the ​written application.

​“RESOLVED, that all publicly disseminated Board agenda items indicate the Board member or ​other person responsible for requesting that the item be put on the agenda and the zoning ​ordinance or other rule anticipated to be under discussion.

​“That all written legal advice received by any member of the Zoning Board be forwarded to all ​other Board members within 24 hours after receipt by such Board member.

​“That pursuant to RS 676:3, Issuance of Decision, the Board shall issue a final written decision, using the templates of Notice of Decision and Finding of Facts on the Town website regardingthe following:

​“Approval of the Special Exception granted on August 26, 2023 for Dussault Property ​management LLC, Jessi Dussault to put three apartments in former Head Start School.

​:Approval on May 27, 2023 of Mr. and Mrs. Carmody’s application for a variance.

​“Approval of April 19, 2023 of the temporary mobile home at 186 Barnett Hill Road for a ​period ​not to exceed one year; and

   ‘‘and further that each Notice of Decision and Finding of Facts be posted on the Town ​website for Zoning, effective immediately.’’

Ms. Galloway-Leclerc told Mr. Winmill a Finding of Facts form had been completed for each of the following public hearings: Home Away From Home, Dussault Special Exception and Carmody variance. The couple needing assistance after the fire in the home did not have a public hearing.

Mr. Winmill wanted himself and the rest of the board to have copies of these documents. The secretary said they were in the files and she would get copies to the entire board in three days.  

Gravel Pit Inspection forms returned

Ms. Galloway-Leclerc and Mr. O’Keefe inspected the former Hodgkins gravel pit on Old Drewsville Road on October 31, 2023 and reported no problems.

Mr. Edkins and Ms. Mansouri inspected Tim Graves’ gravel pit on Wentworth Road on November 3, 2023. Mr. Edkins wrote on the form that “While gravel is still being excavated from the site, owner reports that this site is largely used for processing (crushing/screening) of material originating in an adjacent quarry located in the town of Westmoreland.”

The process is that the secretary now copies each inspection form and includes it in a letter to each gravel pit owner.

Adjournment

Mr. Edkins made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Murray seconded the motion and the motion carried. The time was 8:15 pm.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the December meeting for any omissions, additions or corrections.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

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

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