Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen                              Present:        Curtis Plante

December 18, 2008                                               Kenneth F. Troup

Stanley Wysocki

Michelle Ciccolo, Interim Town Administrator

                                                Linda L. Day, Town Secretary

The Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.

The pole hearing scheduled for this evening has been continued to January 8, 2009.  

CONSERVATION COMMISSION RESTRICTION

Present :  Carol Gumbart, Conservation Commission Administrator

On a motion made by Troup and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to accept two conservation restrictions (parcels A, and B & C) from Nancy Skinner as shown on plan dated July 25, 2007 by Ducharme & Dillis Civil Design Group, Inc.  (Plante – yes, Troup – yes, Wysocki – yes)  The two parcels total 18 acres and surround the Skinner Auction property and include wetlands, endangered species habitat and uplands.   The Selectmen expressed their gratitude to Ms. Skinner.

 

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR SEARCH

Ms. Ciccolo reported that the Town Administrator search is on hold until after the holidays and will reconvene the first week in January.  The Town Administrator Search Committee has met with a couple of candidates but they have not made any decision to forward anyone as finalists to the Board of Selectmen.

TOWN ACCOUNTANT CONTRACT

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Troup, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the Town Accountant contract.  The salary will be $53,733 for 24 hours a week from November 15, 2008 to November 14, 2009.   (Plante – yes, Troup – yes, Wysocki – yes)

PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER

Ms. Ciccolo reported that two contract amendments for the Public Safety Center have been submitted by the Maguire Group for additional costs incurred by the Maguire Group in performing the bid process. The Board authorized Ms. Ciccolo to sign these amendments.

LICENSES

Liquor Licenses:  The Board of Selectmen executed liquor licenses for The International, Inc.; Nashoba Valley Spirits, Ltd.; Bolton Roadhouse, Inc.; Bolton Country Cupboard, Inc.; Pennacook, Inc.

Common Victualer: The Board of Selectmen voted to approve the following common victualer licenses:  Classic Pizza III, The International, Inc., Bolton Orchards, Colonial Candies, Country Cupboard

Second Hand Licenses:  The Board of Selectmen voted to approve the following second hand licenses: Bamby Philbin, Dba Odd and Olde Antiques

The Board also voted to approve the licenses for the following businesses contingent on receiving the appropriate paperwork:   Bolton House of Pizza, Bolton Springs Farm, RoadHouse Restaurant, Skinner Inc.,          

The Board of Selectmen voted to defer approval of the licenses for The Salt Box Country Store and Great Brooks Farm until the appropriate paperwork was received.

STEPHENSON PROPERTY

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Troup, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize the payment for a certified appraisal, not to exceed $400, for the Stephenson property located at the corner of Wattaquadock Hill Road and Manor Road.  (Plante – yes, Troup – yes, Wysocki – yes)

PICKING UP FIREWOOD ON ROADSIDES

Mark Caisse, Tree Warden confirmed that homeowners have the right of first refusal for any wood that has fallen on their property or in front of their homes unless the homeowner gives permission to others to take it.

Mr. Plante cautioned everyone to be careful when picking up wood on the roadsides.  Mr. Caisse also encouraged the residents to pick up the wood after cleanup crews have gone through.  Chief Alfano recommended that residents wear reflector vests.

ICE STORM FEEDBACK

Present:  Chief Alfano; Mark Caisse, Tree Warden; Harold Brown, DPW Director; John Stephenson, Fire Chief; Margy Diaz, Ambulance Director; Dina Rich, EMT; and Cathy Giunta, School Committee Chairman

Department heads met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the events of the last 7 days as a result of the ice storm on December 12, 2008.  The departments were all thanked and complimented for their support and efforts along with National Grid who had crews come from as far as Arkansas and North Carolina.

There were more than 1,500 people without power in Bolton with approximately 51 people still being without power as of today.  The storm also affected cable and telephone services.  A lot of people in the community did not realize the extent of the damage unless they drove around town.  

Mr. Brown stated that his crew was called in the evening of December 11 because trees were falling and roads were blocked.  The DPW crew was eventually called back to the DPW garage because of the seriousness of the storm and went out again on Friday morning to clear Route 117 for emergency vehicles.  There were a lot of traffic problems.

They could have used more signage as they ran out of road closed signs, and traffic cones.  Barricades that were set up by the DPW crew were removed by motorists.  

Communication could have been better, Mr. Brown explained, noting that the DPW uses Nextel phones that were not in service during the storm.  The chipper was also a problem as it would work for a couple of hours and then break down.  The Selectmen suggested Mr. Brown submit a capital request for a new chipper.   It is Mr. Brown’s understanding that the first 72 hours would be reimbursed by the State and he has started the paperwork for this reimbursement.   The Selectmen agreed that the funding for the storm should come from the snow and ice budget for the fiscal year.  

Chief Alfano stated that the workload of each department was immense and complimented the departments on the level of cooperation.  The police, fire and ambulance departments had emergency generators.  Chief Alfano stated one of the biggest challenges was to keep people off the roads.   People still drove on to Bolton roadways even though there were flashing signs on Route 495 and roads in town stating that that Route 117 and other roadways were closed.  Electric crews had to stop working because of the traffic on the roadways.  Chief Alfano also recommended that a commitment be made to purchase two-way radios for the DPW.   Chief Alfano estimated that he spent approximately $2-3,000 in overtime for additional personnel.

Fire Chief Stephenson stated that call firefighters spent the weekend at the fire station.  They helped with keeping the town generators fueled and assisted with ambulance calls. EMTs were also sent to the Lancaster shelter to help out.  Chief Stephenson suggested that improvements be made to the generator located on the public safety radio tower property on West Berlin Road.  The police department used the reverse 911 to pass on storm information to town residents.  Ms. Giunta stated that the district’s phone system could also be used to communicate with residents.  Mr. Klein, a resident of Bolton,

suggested that more information be posted to the town website for those people that have satellite cards in their laptop.  Interim Town Administrator Michelle Ciccolo stated that the town could post information to the website that is hosted by Virtual Town Hall with a laptop and wireless service that would cost about $600 annually.  

Mr. Caisse, Tree Warden stated that National Grid has been doing pruning throughout town. He stated that the majority of the tree damage was outside the town easements and on private property.  There are a lot of hangers that still need to be cleaned up and maintenance is going to be very costly for the clean up in the year to come.  Mr. Klein also noted that it would be helpful if the residents took care of their own trees which would help to prevent damage.  Mr. Caisse was asked to do an assessment as soon as possible and reconvene with the Board of Selectmen and Advisory Committee to give some direction in cleaning up some of the roads.  

Ms. Giunta, Chairman of the School Committee stated that the district schools were closed both Monday and Tuesday with Bolton also being closed on Wednesday.  Mr. Spratt, District Facilities Manager will be asked to do some research and report back at the next tri-town meeting on January 7, 2009 as to what needs to be done to bring one of our schools into compliance to become a shelter.

As power started to come on throughout town, residents, were willing to offer their generator or home as shelter to other residents in town.  

To improve communications a suggestion was made to designate a resident of every road to act as the contact person to keep in touch with other residents on that road and to keep them informed of important information.  The town also has a GIS system that has the ability to store important information for each resident in town such as land line and cell phone numbers, emergency contact information and important information related to each household.    Chief Alfano stated that the new public safety center will provide for a facility where all departments can come together as a unified command post.  

 

Residents were informed that they are responsible for the electrical connection from the pole to their house and they need to have the work done by a licensed electrician and inspected by the Town’s Electrical Inspector before National Grid will reconnect the line.  They were also informed that if they had any structural damage they should contact the Town’s Building Inspector for an inspection. Residents were also reminded that it is important that they be prepared for such storms with water, batteries and food.  

Although an emergency meeting was not called by the Board of Selectmen, the three Selectmen and department heads were in contact with each other throughout the storm.  All in all what came from this is a learning experience that can be built upon to improve for future disasters.  The Town was very fortunate not to have any serious injuries.  The current emergency response plan will be reviewed by all and updated to implement some of the ideas for improvements.  

The Board of Selectmen expressed their deepest sympathy to the Beck Family in the loss of Noreen Beck, a valued friend and resident of the community.

Meeting adjourned 9:10 p.m.