Selectboard Minutes

TOWN OF ANTRIM
Select Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, December 14, 2020
7:00 PM Town Hall (face mask required) and Zoom

Board Members Present: Michael Genest, Chairman
Board Members via Zoom: John Robertson, Selectman; Robert L. Edwards, Selectman
Staff Present: Donna Hanson, Town Administrator; Jim Plourde, Road Agent
Others Present: Jim Creighton
Others Present via Zoom: Melissa Lombard, Water & Sewer Commissioner; Peter Beblowski, Water & Sewer Commissioner; Matt Miller, Water & Sewer Superintendent; Rick Wood, John Anderson, Eric Hanson

Agenda Items:

I.  Approval of Minutes

• Mr. Edwards moved to approve the minutes of November 30, 2020. Mr. Genest seconded. Passed 2/0 Mr. Robertson had not joined the meeting yet.

II.  Warrant Articles

• Bond/Loan Warrant Article - Ms. Lombard discussed the project that they are proposing. A new well was drilled and needs to be connected to the distribution system. Install a new water main that runs under the Contoocook River. The current water main is shallowly buried in the river. It was installed in 1966. The new water main would be drilled in a small tunnel underneath the river. The project also includes building a new well house near the new well. The building would be built to allow for expansion in the future. The engineers have estimated the cost of the project to be $2,685,000. The State Drinking Water Trust Fund has awarded $537,000 in grant money for this project and the State Drinking Water Revolving Fund has will allow borrowing up to $2,468,000 at an interest rate of 1.296% if loan is in place by July 2021. 10% principal forgiveness is also available with this loan. A warrant is needed for both of these sources of funds. Loan payments will begin one year after completion of the project which is anticipated to be October 2022. 20 or 30 year loans are available. They are asking the town taxpayers to share the cost of the project 50/50. The water rates will increase 30%. Mr. Genest said the non-users are picking up 50% of the cost of the project and they aren’t using any of the water. He also said that Henniker has a $30,000,000 project which is being split with the town 60/40. Mr. Genest thinks this would have a better chance of passing if the split was 70/30 with the non-users paying 30%. Mr. Genest said the non-users that he has talked to are getting tired of funding half the infrastructure improvements at the water department. Ms. Lombard believes this will help everyone in town. Mr. Genest said he thinks the only thing it does for non-users is raise their taxes. Mr. Edwards said there is a school of thought that the ratepayers pay for the water and the non-users should share the cost of the infrastructure evenly. Mr. Robertson would like to see the different percentages for the 20 and 30 year loan. Mr. Genest said he saw in the minutes that a filtration system may be needed in the near future and that could be another million or two. Ms. Lombard said that is a potential coming down the line. Mr. Miller said it is a roll of the dice if this will be needed or not. DES would like them to have a contingency plan for this.  Mr. Genest asked if they could afford a $60,000 payment what would they do if something else happens. Mr. Edwards said they budget to meet the operating expenses and the debt service. And also have a surplus in case something happens that wasn’t anticipated. Mr. Miller said they do add to their reserves for unexpected expenses that may come up. Mr. Edwards said we don’t want to be known as the town that has dirty water but he realizes the percentage has to be worked out. Mr. Genest said we would meet again in January.
• Police IT Capital Reserve Fund – This is a warrant article that will allow the police to have funds available for IT improvements that will be required over the next few years.
• Highway Compact Roller – Mr. Plourde said this will help with dirt road maintenance. He has had a hard time renting one when needed and that poses a problem when rebuilding a road. Mr. Plourde thinks for $65,000 he would be able to get a small and a large roller.
• Capital Reserve Funds – Fire $75,000, Library $5,000, Highway $80,000, Bridge $100,000, Dam $50,000, Park & Rec $38,000, Town Buildings $55,000. Total is $403,000.
• Revaluation - $25,000
• Highway Modular – Mr. Edwards was in favor of doing an analysis not only for the Highway Department but also for the Transfer Station. He thinks this should be researched more before purchasing a modular. He is concerned that they need to go outside to access the modular. Mr. Genest said the CIP recommended that they spend $60,000 to analyze the Highway and Transfer Station. Mr. Edwards asked why it wasn’t on the CIP. Ms. Hanson said that the CIP found out that it was going to be more like $100,000 for the analysis so it was dropped at that time. Mr. Edwards said he wasn’t interested in spending that kind of money but feels more research should be done.
• Highway Exhaust for the Highway Barn – Mr. Robertson feels this must be done. Mr. Edwards agreed.
• Dam Repairs

III.  All Veterans Tax Credit Application  

• Mr. Robertson approved the application. Mr. Edwards seconded. Mr. Edwards – yes, Mr. Robertson – yes, Mr. Genest – yes. Passed 3/0

IV.  Meeting Attended

• Mr. Edwards attended the Park & Rec meeting. Minutes can be found at www.antrimnh.org.

Town Administrator Update

• Ms. Hanson reported that we received a return of surplus from HealthTrust of a little over $12,000.
• Capital Reserve money is due to the Trustees on December 15. During the State of Emergency we do have the option of not funding all the reserves if we need it for cash flow due to reduced revenues. The Select Board felt it wasn’t necessary to do that.
• Jim Creighton has resigned as Supervisor of the Checklist. Mr. Genest thanked Jim for his service and hopes that he can continue to serve the town in the future.
• Christine Morris has resigned from the Park & Recreation Commission.
• Mr. Robertson moved to appoint  Ms. Hanson to sign on behalf of the Select Board to  have Deputy Treasurer Laura Clark added to the bank accounts as a signer. Mr. Genest seconded. Roll call vote Mr. Robertson - yes, Mr. Edwards – yes, Mr. Genest -  yes. Passed 3/0

     Other Business

• The Community Board has asked to come to another Select Board meeting in January. Mr. Genest feels he doesn’t need another meeting because it is a duplication of other town departments. He feels if no other towns in twelve years have done it then he doesn’t think it is wise to do this. Mr. Robertson felt that there was absolutely no follow up on the 20/20 initiative. He would rather see a program from them that show exactly how they would do this before a warrant article is considered. Mr. Edwards said he didn’t think the services they are talking about rise to the level of a town board. As a courtesy to them he would not object to a meeting if there was new information. Ms. Hanson will talk to Diane Kendall to see if there is new information to discuss.
• Mr. Edwards said he was at the Transfer Station today and noticed Mr. Craig was managing by himself due to two of the workers calling out. He wondered if we had a contingency plan for times like this. Mr. Genest asked if we could have some of the Highway crew help out at the Transfer Station when someone called in sick or has an emergency. Mr. Plourde said that could be an option.
• Mr. Genest asked how we got to where we are with the dry hydrant issue on the Old Pound Road Clark County subdivision. He thinks the Planning Board is setting a precedence that they will base what a new developer is required to do based on how many houses are in the area. In reading the minutes he said it sounds like there was a misinterpretation of the one meeting attended by Mr. Edwards. He also wondered how they can go back on the original notice of decision. Mr. Edwards said Mr. Anderson addressed his feelings on this and they discussed in his minutes that there are deficiencies in fire protection already in that area. He said Mr. Anderson sort of led the witness when discussing and questioning these deficiency issues with Chief Gale. Mr. Genest did not like how the Planning Board interrogated Chief Gale at the meeting. He feels we should all be looking out for what is best for the town and not what is best for the developer. Until there is an ordinance in place, Mr. Edwards thinks that when a developer comes in and the Fire Chief feels a dry hydrant should be installed based on the impact of that subdivision then we have the right to assess that to the developer. Mr. Plourde asked why the Planning Board felt they have the authority to require that the Highway Department install the dry hydrant. He feels they overstepped their authority.
• Future meetings – December 29^th – non-public, January 6^th - workshop

Closing

• Mr. Robertson moved to adjourn at 8:45 pm. Mr. Edwards seconded. Passed 3/0

            Respectfully submitted, Donna Hanson, Town Administrator