MINUTES OF HAVERHILL SELECTBOARD REGULAR MEETING

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Draft Subject to Review, Correction and Approval at Following Meeting

 

Board Members Present: Roderick Ladd, David Joslin, Lynn Wheeler and Peter Heilemann (arrived at 6:40).

 

Town Manager:  Glenn English                                                                   

 

Administrative Assistant/Finance Officer:  Jo Lacaillade

 

Members of the Public Present: Joel Godston, Cliff Batchelder, Janice Scruton, Gary Scruton, Liz Shelton, Ruth Hatch and Ed Ballam from the Journal Opinion.

 

Call Meeting to Order:

 

Chairman Ladd called the meeting to order at 6:06.

 

Approval of Agenda: 

 

David Joslin made a motion to approve the agenda as presented; seconded by Lynn Wheeler and carried unanimously.

 

Approval of Consent Agenda:

 

Lynn Wheeler requested that the FBLA proclamation be moved under new business and made a motion to approve the rest of the consent agenda as presented; the amended consent agenda motion was seconded by David Joslin and carried unanimously.

 

Scheduled Public Appearance(s)

 

Ø  Interview Airport Commission Applicant: Cliff Batchelder was interviewed for appointment to the Airport Commission. Cliff stated that he is a new pilot with hopes of having a plane based at the airport sometime in the future. He is hoping to gain a lot of knowledge being a part of the Airport Commission. Lynn Wheeler made a motion to appoint Cliff Batchelder to the Airport Commission; seconded by David Joslin and carried unanimously. Joel Godston felt it was important for new blood to come onto the commission.

Town Manager’s Report: Town Manager English stated that he had delivered 2 separate grant applications for the Woodsville Armory today. One is for the lighting retrofit which would be approximately a $17,000 grant and the retrofit would save an estimated 70% over current usage and the second is for a complete energy audit of the building (heating system, etc.) which would be for $7,800. The process is going to be very competitive. A decision should be made very soon because they are hoping to sign contracts by mid March. Lynn Wheeler said that she thought this was great and going forward she hoped that they would spend some time working on more grants for that building including the Saving America’s Treasures.

 

Public Hearings:  None

 

 

 

Pending (Old) Business:

 

Ø  Annual Town Manager Review: Tabled until later in the meeting.

 

New Business: 

 

Ø  3 Rivers Business Association-Downtown Woodsville: Gary Scruton spoke for the group and they are interested in knowing what the status is of the vacant buildings in Woodsville that once were Riverview Market, the gas station and the apartment building that is boarded up. Chairman Ladd felt that the revitalization of the Downtown Woodsville area is an area that needs to be addressed but did not think it was totally a Town role. Lynn Wheeler said that in the 80’s it was suggested that the Town join the Main Street Project. When she was a member of HECC she worked with Richard Polonsky to do that but the businesses were not receptive to that project; with this new group, would there be an interest in doing this? Janice Scruton said that there is a cost involved in participating in that; Rita Hatch said it is $40,000 and then there are annual fees on top of that. TM English felt that the cost included a director if a Town chose to hire one. Lynn said that there are some assessments that can be done ahead of time. TM English said that he does not know of anything going on regarding those properties; he had received an inquiry regarding Riverview Market but that was probably one year ago and he believes that the owners are trying to sell that. The Henderson block is owned by a bank that foreclosed on it out of Florida. The gas station he has little information on that property but he had sent them a letter regarding the unlicensed vehicles and they were removed. He further stated that the Town does not usually know what is going on with any property until it is sold. He suggested that the 3 Rivers Business Association contact the owners of these properties and see if there is anything that they can do to assist them with marketing the building or getting a tenant. The Town might co-sign a letter to them if they felt it might help. Lynn Wheeler suggested a revitalization group be formed for Woodsville and perhaps that group would have better luck contacting the owners than the Town and further stated that because those buildings are privately owned, it is not for the Town to tell them what they should do with those buildings. Liz Shelton said they were not looking for that but they want to know if there are any plans for those buildings. If the supermarket is actively being marketed, why isn’t there a for sale sign? It was suggested again that the association write the owners a letter. Chairman Ladd asked if the situation was affecting their businesses to which was replied no. Liz Shelton said that The Chamber hired “Mr. Wal*Mart” and he said to make their community as attractive as possible and welcome people and make them feel like they want to come and she certainly wouldn’t want to come here when looking at her lower area of Central Street and she invests thousands of dollars in her building every year to keep it looking attractive and every day gets questions about the building across the street that is boarded up. Lynn Wheeler wondered if a Co-op might be interested in the grocery store location; the apartment building is another issue because there are some life safety issues. TM English said it was boarded up to keep vagrants out of it. A lot of the issue is the economy; but he is sure there are a lot of other factors too. He felt that the Town has done a lot with the public property in that area with the bridge project and the Railroad Park project; a lot of money has been invested and promotion has been done to help beautify the community; the Town has made quite a commitment to that area. Lynn Wheeler referred to the major revitalization that has been done in Claremont. TM English said that the Main Street Project does require a lot of time commitment from the business owners and then eventually an administrator to run it and that costs money. There is a similar program in Vermont. Lynn Wheeler said that Claremont has been successful with their revitalization. Rick Ladd referred to the revitalization of downtown Littleton. The Board agreed that they would be willing to work with the business group to see what can be done; a representative from the Board would be there. Lynn Wheeler stated that as a person who lives in Woodsville she agrees with all of them and having been a person who tried before she would be more than happy to help them in any way that she can. The ownership information for those buildings can be obtained at the Selectboard Office. TM English said that the signs marking the Connecticut River Scenic Byway will be installed this summer which will direct people into the downtown Woodsville area as well as other areas. He said he would be happy to work with them in any way that he can. There was more discussion about the Littleton revitalization; the Chamber and what they had done including bringing in Bruce Baker to talk to businesses about what they could do to improve their business; and the health of small business in general. Liz Shelton said that she had contacted the AHEAD Property Management to see if that building would be one they would be interested in converting into Senior Housing but they were not in the market for any Senior Housing at this time. It was strongly recommended again that contacting the owners of those buildings should be the first step.

 

Commission/Committee Reports:

 

Ø  Master Plan Revision:  Lynn Wheeler said that the Master Plan committee met on the 9th and reviewed what was already in the master plan and they found that Bedell Bridge was already included under the recreation and the Planning Board will review the minor change recommendations at their meeting tonight. Chairman Ladd asked if there had been any regional input on the master plan revision. Lynn stated that the group did not feel that this needed to do anything further other than what they had done because it was already addressed in the current master plan; they did not feel that they were in the same category as say Cannon Mountain and those issues. Chairman Ladd asked if there would be any merit in sending across the river to Newbury. Lynn said that when she discusses it with the Planning Board that evening if they want to do something more, then it will be done.

 

New Business:  (cont.)

 

Ø  Agriculture Commission: There was a power point presentation on what an Agricultural Commission is while Lynn Wheeler spoke of them. There was discussion as to whether there is an RSA to authorize this commission. The purpose of an agricultural commission is to protect agricultural lands, preserve rural character, provide a voice for farmers, and encourage agriculture-based businesses. A discussion ensued about who would be eligible for appointment to such a committee. An agriculture commission involves more than farming, it includes farmers markets, nurseries, farm tours and many other associated areas. TM English stated that the rural character of the Connecticut River Valley is what sells it for tourism. TM English was directed to find out how many other Towns in the area have established one of these commissions and if any of them are more effective than others. A review of the Statute to see the steps in establishing this commission will be done and the item will be placed on the March 1, 2010 agenda.

 

Ø  Annual Town Manager Review: This item was tabled until the March 1, 2010 meeting.

 

Ø  FBLA Proclamation: Chairman Ladd read a proclamation that will be given to the Woodsville High School in honor of National FBLA week.

 

Chairman Ladd said that he would like to honor John Lavoie at a meeting in the future because he was just named to the 40 under 40 List for the State of New Hampshire and is from Haverhill. No date has been set for that recognition as of this time.

 

Correspondence:  

 

Bob Maccini submitted a letter of resignation from the Selectboard because he no longer resides within the Town. David Joslin made a motion to accept the resignation with regret and personally wanted to thank Bob for the guidance and wisdom he provided. The motion was seconded by all of the Board. Chairman Ladd said that he has been a great resource for the Selectboard.

 

Comments of the Public:   None  

 

Comments of the Town Manager/Administrative Assistant-Finance Officer:   

 

AA Lacaillade stated that at the prior meeting the Selectboard had approved the 2010 TAN and at that time she had told the Board that she thought the interest rate was up slightly from last year and needed to correct that statement. In 2009 the interest rate was 2.5% and for 2010 the interest rate is 1.75% so it is down.   

 

Comments of Selectboard Members: 

 

Lynn Wheeler said that she had attended an all day meeting on Saturday regarding gaming in New Hampshire and as soon as the report is released she will provide it to the Board.

 

Chairman Ladd said that at the first Monday in March, March 1st; Sen. Lou D'Allesandro will be at the Good Ole Boys Club; he is a strong proponent of gaming in New Hampshire. David Joslin said that they should be having a candidates day on the 1st of March and it was thought that Sen. D’Allesandro would be at the April meeting.

 

Adjourn Meeting:  David Joslin made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Peter Heilemann and carried unanimously. Chairman Ladd adjourned the meeting at 7:26 pm.

 

Minutes transcribed by Jo Lacaillade