Office of the Select Board

Town of Orange, New Hampshire

Minutes of March 7, 2016

 

Present: Dorothy Heinrichs, Chair; Robert Ells, Lyell “Skip” Smith, and Sandi Pierson (clerical). Others present: Beverly Ells, Bob Proulx, Trish and Douglas Weekes, and Warren Morrill.

Meeting opened at 7:00 PM.
Minutes: The February 23, 2016 minutes were unanimously approved as submitted.

Junkyard Permit: After review, Bob motioned to sign Warren Morrill’s annual Auto Salvage Junkyard permit. Skip seconded. Motion passed unanimously in favor.

Building Permit: The Board reviewed and approved a residential building permit for Trish and Douglas Weekes/Tug Mountain Road/Map 3 Lot 21. The permit was already reviewed and signed by Building Inspector Don Pfaefflin.

Yield Tax: The Board reviewed and signed a Yield Tax Warrant to the Tax Collector for Woodlot and Grange’s timber cut in the amount of $899.52.

Tax Anticipation Note (TAN): The Board reviewed a 2016 cash flow analysis from Treasurer Tessa Michetti which included a request to go forward with the Mascoma Savings Bank TAN documentation for $435,000. After discussion, Bob motioned for Tessa to proceed with the 2016 TAN as presented. Skip seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Highway: The Board reviewed correspondence from Bob Terhune requesting the road agent temporarily close Town House Road at the cemetery terminus during mud season in order to prevent road damage. The Terhunes are the only land owners on that section of road. The Board agreed and the request was forwarded to Scott Sanborn.

Legal:

  •   The Board reviewed and approved the annual retainer agreement from Gardner, Fulton, and Waugh. The agreement runs from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 of which the cost will come from the prior agreement’s credit balance.

  •   The Board reviewed the revised legal rates from Gardner, Fulton and Waugh.

  •   It was noted that municipal legal advice is also available from the attorneys at the Local

    Government Center of which Orange is a member. 2016 dues is $980.00.

    Abatement Application: The Board was in receipt of an abatement application from New Hampshire Electric Co-op for their 2015 taxes. The application will be submitted to the town’s assessor, Avitar, for their review and recommendation.

Other:

  •   Trash report: As of February 26, 11.8 tons of trash has been picked up and 4.25 tons of recyclables.

  •   A nodal town map and officials’ data sheet was received from the NH DOT. They inquired if there were any road reclassifications during 2015 and if the data sheet was correct. A minor correction was made to the data sheet. No road reclassifications were noted.

  •   Dorothy provided motion-sensor LED lighting for the hallway going down to the Select Board’s office. Bob and Skip will install them during elections.

  •   Dorothy will check the mail at 4:30 PM the following day (March 8, voting day) for any remaining absentee ballots.

Secretary’s report: none
Reports from other Boards and Committees: none Public comment: none
Bills and vouchers were reviewed and signed.

Nonpublic session: At 7:25 PM, Dorothy motioned to go into nonpublic session per RSA 91A-3. Motion passed unanimously in favor. At 7:28 PM Dorothy motioned to come out of nonpublic session. Motion passed unanimously in favor. Dorothy stated that they have directed the secretary to draft two letters for them to sign regarding veteran exemptions.

Meeting adjourned 7:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted, Sandi Pierson

Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs

Robert Ells

Lyell Smith