November 13 Select Board Minutes

Office of the Select Board

Town of Orange, New Hampshire

 Minutes of November 13, 2013

Present: Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs (chaired the meeting), Betty Fulton, Bob Ells, and Sandi Pierson (clerical).

Others present: Pat White, Bob and Sharon Proulx, and Pat Mercer

Meeting opened at 7:00 PM. Attendance taken by the secretary.

Minutes:

The minutes of October 22, 2013 were unanimously approved as submitted.
The minutes of October 28, 2013 were unanimously approved as submitted (meeting with the DRA to set the tax rate).

Road Agent Report: Dorothy shared highlights of Scott Sanborn’s road agent report. Scott was unable to attend tonight’s meeting due to another commitment. The report in its entirety is posted on the Town House bulletin board.

• FEMA projects are complete. Much of the supplementary funds went into repaving Tuttle Hill Road. Other improvements included fixing the degraded pavement at the end of New Colony Road and raising the elevation of a portion of Williams Road. An anticipated project is resolving the water drainage issue at the side and back of the Town House. Scott will be contacting FEMA and the State to ensure that all of the follow-up paperwork is submitted; the deadline for this is March 2014.
• Fall grading of roads is complete. A few items of “summer work” remain. The town is ready for winter.
• The concise strategy to mitigate the water drainage around the Town House was outlined.

Tax Warrants: The Board approved and signed two tax warrants:

• Supplemental tax warrant: $200 for a property owner who inadvertently received the War Service Credit.
• Warrant for the collection of yield taxes: $473.65.

Abatements: The Board approved and signed three tax abatements:

• Cecile and William Williams on their 2013 property taxes per RSA 76:21 (house fire): $1379.59.
• Donna Makarewicz-Gregoire: $31.00; was inadvertently charged an inventory penalty on her property tax bill.
• Paul and Nancy Schwarz: $200.00. Veteran credit approved by Board on April 28, 2013 was not included on their property tax bill.

Building permit: The Board reviewed and signed a building permit application for a barn: Bill and Christy Sousa/137 Cross Road/Map 1, Lot 25. The application was earlier reviewed and signed by the Building Inspector.

Town Clerk’s Office: The Board reviewed an email update from Town Clerk Sophie Seace about the costs of acquiring a new computer based on the State’s minimum requirements and for improved internet service. At a previous meeting, the Board agreed that the town clerk’s office needed a better computer and internet service to interface with the State’s VPN internet connection necessary for vehicle registration. The Board gave Sophie approval for internet service that best fits her needs. Betty noted there were some line item budgets that are expected to be underspent for 2013 which will compensate for the unanticipated expense. The Board would like to get an estimate for a computer before it is purchased.

Pat White stated the heater in the town clerk’s office is not working due to a malfunctioning fan. Currently they are using a space heater. Bob will follow up.

Health Council: Dorothy shared information from the Upper Valley Public Health Advisory Council’s meeting of November 13. The Council is addressing a number of issues including health care access, transportation, mental health, obesity issues, oral health, injury prevention, and others. The Council is working on challenges that require multi-town and multi-organization solutions, shared goals that improve public health concerns, funding of health goals, and getting people to work together in new ways.

Other:

The Board received correspondence from the SAU stating that the revised monthly school payment is $48,204.03 for the next eight months.

• The October Block Grant payment was electronically deposited into the town’s account: $8,280.71.
• An electronic payment for reimbursement of the Emergency Management radio programming was deposited into the town’s account: $222.50.
• A request from the Treasurer was received to void voucher #5094. This was for an unemployment contribution that Tessa subsequently learned did not have to be paid by the town.
• The Select Board affirmed this year’s Town Christmas party is scheduled for December 8.
• The Board expressed their appreciation to Sophie Seace for painting the foyer and to Judith Lindahl for having the screen fixed in the town clerk’s office.
• Betty noted that she emailed Jeanne Minasian regarding a trust fund transfer but did not receive a response. The Board followed up with a letter requesting they transfer funds from the Town House Capital Reserve to pay for the emergency generator.

Secretary’s report:

• Cross Country Appraisals has revised their invoice for assessing work done in September from $680 to the original quote of $500.
• Sandi distributed copies of the 2014 annual municipal calendar and town meeting calendar to each Board member. This was downloaded from the NH Municipal Association’s website.

Meeting dates: Because the fourth Tuesday in December falls on Christmas Eve, the second meeting of that month will be held on Monday, December 16, 2013.