ELECTMEN’S MEETING

December 5, 2017

Ed Walsh began the meeting by announcing the passing of Lorraine Yeaton. On behalf of the entire Town of Acton he wished to send his condolences to the family and thank her for over 40 years of service. Lorraine's celebration of life will be on December 9, 2017.

1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Ed Walsh made a motion to approve the agenda, Kim Stacey Horn seconded that motion. Motion approved.

2. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Elise made a motion to approve the minutes of November 21 and asked to table the minutes of the November 14th as she didn't get a chance to review them. Ed Walsh seconded that motion. The motion was approved.

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3. DEPARTMENT HEAD / COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES:

A. Marijuana Committee

Richard Nass spoke on behalf of the Marijuana Committee. He started by thanking the voters for coming to vote at the special election held November 28, the moratorium passed by a few votes. He shared that the committee is just about done collecting information. The next meeting for the committee will be on December 15th, at that meeting he expects that they will be able to make a conclusion with what they found and provide a summary which they hope to present to the Board at the BOS meeting scheduled for January 9th. Mr. Nass isn't sure about whether the committee will be able to commit to an ordinance, he's hoping for some direction from the Board after they present their findings. Mr. Nass also added that he is hoping to have a public hearing on January 16th to let the public have their voices heard.

B. Fire Department

Steve Johnson discussed the idea of implementing a Paramedic Intercept Fee, which he would like to see take effect Jan 1, 2018. He explained that Acton's paramedic staff often assists other communities and that so far in 2017; Acton Fire Department has been called 26 times for intercept in surrounding towns. The fee he is proposing is $375 per call which will cover costs and increase revenue for the Town of Acton. The Board agreed that implementing a fee, as it is presented, is a good idea. Ed Walsh made a motion to approve the implementation of the Paramedic Intercept Fee, Kim Stacey Horn seconded that motion. Motion approved.

Steve Johnson also thanked the Board and residents of Acton for their support in getting a new ambulance for the Fire Department. He said that the new ambulance is now up and running and will greatly benefit the department. Steve Johnson asked the Board for permission to go out for bids on the old ambulance, the Board approved and the Town Administrator will be working on a write up for the bid. Steve also asked for permission to put out for bid the 12 ft. aluminum boat that belongs to the fire department. He said that the boat is too small and is not suitable for rescue. He would like to sell the boat and use the cash that is made from the sale to put toward a boat that can better fit the need of the department. The Board approved to put the boat out for bid.

C. Three Rivers

Carl Davis gave an update on the Goat Hill Grant. Three Rivers has received the first of three reimbursments, he plans to sit down with the Town Administrator to discuss this. He also informed the Board about a parcell of land on H. Rd. that Three Rivers is in the process of purchasing. The parcell is 351 acres and is currently owned by the Pepins. Three Rivers is purchasing with funding they recently got from NNRCP, the funding will not cover the total amount of the transaction but Mr. Davis believes that Three Rivers will be able to do enough fundraising to come up with the remaining amount. He said with the purchasing of this property, there will be no future mining, which will ensure the waters of Hanson Pond and Little Ossipee River will stay clean. He added that the land will remain in tree growth and will have Public Access in the future. The Board thanked Mr. Davis for the information.

 

4. OLD BUSINESS:

A. '18 - '19 Deadlines

The Town Administrator reviewed the timeline as created by herself and the Treasurer. The Board instructed her to forward it to the W/F to be sure they had no concerns with it. Follow-up for the next meeting.

B. August Meeting - Brendan Meehan Follow-up

The Town Administrator indicated that she watched both August meetings that Mr. Meehan spoke about at the prior BOS meeting and she found no comments or statements pertaining to his possible concern. She ended by reiterating that it was clear the only reason the auditor was coming last fall was because of the concerns Mr. Gore had.

C. Road Ordinance - Cindy Hart / Dennis Long Follow - up

Cindy Hart had made a comment in a previous meeting that she believed there was a violation in the policy, the Town Administrator asked Ms. Hart to explain to the Board the violation she was speaking about. Cindy Hart explained that in order for the town to plow a road, it would have to be a class B Rd. In the policy, it states a class B Rd. would have to have a pubic easement. The part of 13th St. that is being plowed doesn't have a public easment, due to 1 out of the 160 residents refusing to sign the easement. She explained that by eliminating that part of the ordinance and changing it, the town can go by the state law which means that if 3/4 of the people on the road sign, then the town can plow as a public easement. This would not mean that it is considered a town way, it just gives the town the ability to plow the road legally.

 

5. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Policies

The Board reviewed the personnel policy and made the change to pay staff for snow closures, assuming it was on a day that staff was scheduled to work. Motion was made and seconded, the Town Administrator will prepare for signatures next week.

B. Job Descriptions

The Board received copies of the job descriptions for the Town Clerk/Tax Collector/Registrar of Voters and Town Administrator to review before the next meeting.

 

6. PUBLIC COMMENT:

William Williams asked Chief Johnson to clarify if the interception fee will be billed to the patient or the town that the call came from. Chief Johnson stood and let him know that the town that the call came from would receive the bill for the interception fee, not the patient.

Denis Long asked if the Board knew the number of commercial marijuana grow buildings are currently in the town. Elise Miller said that the town has no commercial marijuana establishments, only medicinal marijuana establishments. Dennis Long also asked if the Town Administrator has talked to the road commissioners about Buzzell Rd. The Town Administrator said that she did speak to the road commissioner and he agrees with Mr. Lenkowski, the town would need a survey to know for sure where the road stops. Mr. Long also asked if the road association can legally plow Buzzell Rd, without knowing where it ends. The Town Administrator said that she has given every piece of paperwork they have on Buzzell Rd. and he can't make a determination. She said the Board would have to decide to ask the tax payers to vote to have a survey done to know for sure where the road legally stops.

Cindy Hart stood to add to the discussion of Buzzell Rd. She said that the road committee went down Buzzell Rd. and there were no safe places to turn around, the only option was on private property. Ed Walsh asked Ms. Hart if the Road Committee believes that Buzzell Road continues at that rocky part and Ms. Hart said yes, she does believe it continues.

Dennis Long suggested if the Board decides not to maintain the lower end of Buzzell Rd. then to move forward with a Warrent Article to discontinue that section of road to avoid any possible liabilities.

Michael Cole brought up some issues he has with the Code Enforcement and the boat that he has.

Greg Vermette thanked the board for allowing Michale Cole to talk for more than 3 minutes.

Karen McManus asked why Maintenance Zoning was not included in the agenda anymore. The town Administrator said that it was dropped from the agenda because the Board felt the Code Enforcement Officer had it under control and unless there was an issue, it would not be included in the agenda.

Carl Davis updated the upcoming conservation meetings and invited the public to show up.

Richard Nass stated that there are a number of people in the town of Acton growing marijuana medicinally. He said that it is private information and no one can find out who they are or where they are growing.

William Williams asked the Board to look back at the meetings to find out where people asked for an improvement in the agenda. He said that even though the list of the agenda may be long and there may not always be something to add, at least the public will know that it is still being worked on.

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

Town Hall and Library Closed Dec 26

Transfer Station Closed Dec 25 and Jan 1

Dog Licenses Expires Dec 31

Neighbors Helping Neighbors Christmas Tree

 

8. UPCOMING MEETINGS:

 

12/07/2017 Planning Board

12/12/2017 Board of Selectmen

12/19/2017 Board of Selectmen

 

9. MEMBERS PRESENT: Ed Walsh, Elise Miller, Kim Stacey-Horn

10. OTHERS PRESENT: Greg Vermette, Dennis Long, William Williams, Cindy Hart, Brendan Meehan, Susan Meehan, Rollin Waterhouse, Lois Michaud, Karen McManus, Steve Johnson, Paul Poyant, Carl Davis, Eric Dewalgna, Jennifer Roux