Town of Stoddard, NH

Selectmen’s Meeting

December 21, 2009

Those in attendance: John Halter, chair; Sandra Holland; and Arnold Stymest.

The first order of business was a motion by John Halter to do a transfer of $350,000. Sandra Holland seconded the motion. All Selectmen voted in favor of the motion.

Selectmen then reviewed the minutes of the December 7^th and 14^th Selectmen’s meetings. John Halter made a motion to accept the Dec. 7^th minutes; Sandra Holland seconded the motion; John Halter and Sandra Holland voted in favor of the Dec. 7^th minutes. Arnold Stymest made a motion to accept the Dec. 14^th minutes; John Halter seconded the motion; all three Selectmen voted in favor of accepting the Dec. 14^th minutes.

The Selectmen also agreed to send minutes of all meetings to Joan Read to post on the town’s website.

Selectmen then met with the following:

Dean Huber: Mr. Huber, an electrician, discussed the emergency light at the town hall. He said it would cost $256 to replace it and said the light is obsolete. He said they could buy a new light with a new battery for less than the cost to replace the old one. He said the new fixture would be smaller and has a gel cell battery. John Halter said he favored a new one and made a motion to replace the unit and all the light bulbs in all the lights in the town hall. Sandra Holland seconded the motion. Mr. Huber said there would be some labor to replace the unit. John Halter said PJ Lamothe, the fire chief, did a safety inspection of the town hall and said the light has to be working. Mr. Huber said he would replace all light bulbs. All three selectmen voted in favor of the motion.

Paul & Pam Dionne: Mr. Dionne said he and his wife were attending the meeting to address the complaint against them. He said they are not here to defend themselves as there is nothing to defend. Mr. Dionne said he would like to see evidence presented to the Selectmen to make them believe this complaint. John Halter said they have no evidence. He said if someone comes formally before the Selectmen with a signed complaint, they act on it. The compliance officer, currently Harry Power, then checks out the complaint. Mr. Dionne referred to a letter dated Oct. 17, 2009 and said Mr. Power’s letter was dated Nov. 12, 2009. He said everyone in town had a copy of the letter, but he did not get a copy of the letter. He also stated the letter is written very lame.

Mr. Dionne said the town has no jurisdiction of land use in Hidden Lake. They are responding to disapprove the allegation. He said the Selectmen need to tell the complainant to go to the Hidden Lake Board of Directors. He said his neighbor clear cut their property and Harry Power could have seen the Dionne property anytime. Why didn’t he? Mr. Dionne said if a flood of septic was running into Rice Brook, why didn’t Mr. Power go to her property and look at it?

He said all the toilets are pumped out and washed out at the job site. Pam Dionne said she washes the exterior sometimes in their yard to keep them clean. There is no septic, only dust, using fresh water out of their well. There is no pressure washing and she only cleans the exterior area only, not the interior. She said very few are done at home. All pressure washing is done at their business in Swanzey NH. She said it is usually mid-May to mid-June and the end of August to just after Labor Day when they might wash the exterior of some units at home.

Mr. Dionne said he wants to work with the town, but he cannot take much more of this. He provided a copy of the Hidden lake Declaration of Restrictive Covenants to the Selectmen and referred them to the section under “Uses.” He said the notion to go before the Town for Site Plan Review wouldn’t hold water. He referred the Selectmen to the section which states,” No trade, business or commercial activity of any nature shall be conducted on said land.”…He said the complainant should be before Hidden Lake, not the Town. Sandra Holland said the Selectmen sent copies of the correspondence to the town counsel who has not responded. They are waiting to hear back. Mr. Dionne said he has been in Hidden Lake for about 20 years and the Hidden Lake Board has not told him he couldn’t be there. John Halter said the Selectmen do not enforce the Hidden Lake Covenant. John Halter said the Selectmen did not distribute information throughout the town. Paul Dionne said he and the gentleman from Department of Environmental Services (DES) walked his entire property as stated in the letter.

Harry Power said subdivisions and Site Plan Review take precedence over the covenant. Mr. Dionne asked for a copy of the RSA. Mr. Power said no one is exempt from state law. Mr. Power said the Community Planning Ordinance was adopted in 1986, and the Site Plan Review Feb. 5, 1996. He said Mr. Dionne’s business does predate the Site Plan Review. Mr. Dionne said natural expansion is allowed. John Halter stated Home Occupation is allowed in all districts, but Commercial is allowed only in Rural Districts by special exception.

Other business:

Selectmen then signed two Intent to Cut permits and two pistol permits.

Selectmen then did a final review of a building permit for Mirle Cross. They could not sign it until he provided a Public Utility Commission (PUC) number.

Sandra Holland made a motion for the Selectmen to not meet on Monday night, Dec. 28, 2009. Arnold Stymest seconded the motion. All Selectmen voted in favor of the motion. John Halter said he will not be at the Jan. 4^th and 11^th Selectmen’s meetings.

Items for discussion:

Selectmen reviewed proposals by Primex and the Local Government Center (LGC) for Unemployment Compensation and Workmen‘s Compensation. LGC estimated $820.50 for Unemployment Compensation. The town has already paid $111 to Primex for Unemployment Compensation for January-December 2010. LGC is proposing $7,513 for one year for Workmen’s Compensation. Selectmen will confirm Workmen’s Comp. by Primex before making a decision on it.

Northeast Recovery Recycling - They are asking for $51.15 in membership dues to a recycling organization. Sandra Holland said she does not see where they can do the town any good. Between now and June 20, 2010, the town is under contract with Waste Management and cannot sell salvage under the current contract.

Selectmen reviewed information for a Proposed Warrant Article & Budget Workshop (to write warrant articles), sponsored by the Dept. of Revenue Administration (DRA). The nearest one will be in Concord NH on Wed., Jan. 13, 2010. No Selectmen are able to attend.

Selectmen were sent a copy of the proposed Cheshire County budget - $41,718,552, up 8.5%.

Selectmen approved and agreed to pay $1,070.71 for the town’s annual membership to the NH Municipal Association. It was put in with the bills to be paid next week.

Selectmen reviewed a letter from the DRA stating Paula Clemente is no longer our municipal administrator. Jim Coffey, Stoddard’s part-time, temporary town administrator, needs to make an appointment with the Dept. of Revenue Administration regarding this.

The Selectmen then discussed installing locked mailboxes for all town departments in the foyer of the Town Hall. Sandra Holland made a motion to do this; Arnold Stymest seconded the motion. All Selectmen voted in favor of the motion.

Selectmen said the Risk Management Loss form must be filed by Jan. 1, 2010 to the DRA. The form is filed bi-annually. The Selectmen could not find one for 2008.

Town Safety Commission - Selectmen said it was recommended by the DRA to form one. John Halter said the town needs one. He said it would minimize risk which would minimize loss.

John Halter then made a motion at 8:45 p.m. to go into non-public session to discuss public assistance. Sandra Holland seconded the motion. All Selectmen voted in favor of the motion.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol A. Clark