Office of the Select Board

Town of Orange, New Hampshire

Minutes of May 10, 2016

 

Present: Dorothy Heinrichs, Chair; Robert Ells, Lyell ‘Skip’ Smith, and Sandi Pierson (clerical). Others present: Pauline and Nathaniel Emerson, Nancy Quilty, David Delgenio, and Beverly Ells.

Meeting opened at 7:00 PM.

Minutes: The minutes of April 26 were unanimously accepted as corrected. Skip clarified that Green Acre Woodlands’ property in Orange is not part of the Cardigan Highlands Forest Legacy Project, a 5,100-acre conservation plan.

Trustees of the Trust Funds: Pauline Emerson took the oath of office for the vacant position on the Trustees of the Trust Funds. Dorothy noted that this appointment results in every municipal position in town being filled. Dorothy also welcomed Nancy Quilty, a new Trustee who took the position in March.

Property improvement/building regulations: Dave Delgenio asked about restrictions to roadside improvements to his Tuttle Hill property in regards to it being a designated scenic road. Bob stated that there are not a lot of restrictions for property owners on a scenic road and advised that he confer with Planning Board secretary Bob Proulx before alterations are made. Dave submitted a photo of the Early American Cape he plans on constructing on his property, noting that he may make use of a crawl space instead of a full basement. He said he could not find any building regulations defining crawl spaces. Dave said that Planning Board Chair Scott Sanborn recommended a crawl space height of five feet. Bob Ells agreed and added that even four feet would be adequate.

Yield Tax Warrants:

  • The Board reviewed and signed a Yield Tax warrant for Stephanie Rose/Peaslee Road for $2,440.49.
  • A second yield tax will be tabled to the next meeting so that a clerical error can be corrected.
  • Intent to Cut: The Board reviewed and signed an Intent to Cut from Jesse Medieros/Eastman Road/Map 1, Lot 3-A.
  • Insurance: The Board was in receipt of the insurance contract from Primex for Liability and Bonding insurance (effective July 1, 2016) and Workmans’ Comp (current). Dorothy requested that Sandi make copies of the contract for each Board member to review and for Board to table signing it until the next meeting. The Board will also review a number of safety policies that they can adopt to take advantage of a $48.00 discount.

Resident inquiries:

  • The Board reviewed an email from a resident asking why Burnt Hill Road was identified on a map with a resident’s last name. A copy of the map in question was attached. Dorothy noted that Burnt Hill Road is designated as such by all municipal maps including the E-9-1-1 map. Google Earth also designates it as Burn Hill Road. Bob Ells said that many years ago someone once posted the road with the sign of a name but that the sign has been gone for 25 years. Dorothy noted there is a discrepancy of many road names and their passable conditions on GPS. Dorothy will respond to the resident.  
  • The Board reviewed an email from a resident asking why they were no longer allowed to bring their metal recycling to the Canaan Transfer Station. Dorothy affirmed that Orange has not had a recycling contract with Canaan for five years. Dorothy asked Sandi to notify the resident that Orange has no recycling contract with Canaan and that metal can be disposed of on Large Trash Pick-up Day scheduled for August 26.

Dept. of Labor (DOL) Safety Inspection: It was noted that a written response to the DOL regarding their safety inspection is due by June 6, 2016. Three new fire extinguishers for the Town House have been purchased and certified (tagged) by Hampshire Fire Protection Company. The existing kitchen fire extinguisher could not be certified due to its age and will be removed. The remaining issue is cleaning product safety. It appears that even environmentally safe and “green” cleaning products and hand soap recommend eye-flushing if eye contact occurs. Eye-flushing, according to the DOL, is an eye-washing station that allows for a minimum of 15- minute usage. Dorothy asked Sandi to check on eye-washing devices that connect directly to an existing faucet.

Highway:  

  • Skip stated that he followed up with Road Agent Scott Sanborn about the possibility of using manufactured sand for winter road maintenance as discussed at a prior meeting. He said that Scott was not receptive to the idea and felt using manufactured sand would be too costly.
  • Bob Ells stated he would follow up with getting a Yield sign posted at the northwestern terminus of Burnt Hill and a Stop sign at the end of Razor Hill Road where it intersects with Route 4.

Quarry Clean-up: Skip reported that there is a substantial amount of trash strewn about at the Standard Mine located off Tug Mountain Road. It appears a number of trash bags were disposed of at the back of the quarry and then were torn apart by animals. He asked if the Conservation Commission could host a “trash pick-up day” to collect and dispose of the trash. Sandi will send a town-wide email asking for volunteers to take part in a clean-up day at the quarry. Dave Delgenio offered to dispose of the bagged trash collected by the volunteers.

Other:

  • A letter of appreciation was received from Tri-County CAP for Orange’s 2016 contribution.

  •   Trash report: as of May 1, 2016 the town has disposed of 23.48 tons of trash and 8.46 tons of recyclables.

  •   An approval for septic construction and plan was received from NH-DES for 527 Tuttle Hill Road.

  •   A notice was received from the State that they have electronically deposited a Block Grant payment of $7,194.73 into the town’s account.

 

 A letter of appreciation was signed by the Board to George Smith for the volunteer work he has done to the Town House parking area, garden, and flagpole grounds.

Secretary’s report:

  •   The proposed 2017 budget for Grafton County is available for review.

  •   Copies of an email from Avitar were submitted to each Board member regarding the

    prospective new protocol from the DRA in conjunction with the Assessing Standards Board that deals with the assessment of utilities. Avitar is adverse to the new rules and maintains it would mean a loss of revenue for municipalities. Avitar requests that the Board allow them to represent Orange as the next meeting of the ASB.

  •   Court documents regarding Fairpoint v. Acworth were received from Gardner, Fulton and Waugh. This is a case in point that may have a state-wide effect on how telecommunication companies are taxed, and of which Orange is paying a shared part of the legal expenses.

  •   A resident wrote on his Inventory form that he has put his property into a conservation easement; but no such easement has been received by the town nor is there a recordation of one. It’s possible that the resident is confusing a greenbelt deed restriction with a conservation easement. The Board agreed the resident should be contacted for clarification. 

Reports from other Boards and Committees:

Dorothy stated that the Hazard Mitigation Plan Committee has met twice. Two more meetings are scheduled, which should wrap up the project. Jane Hubbard of Hubbard Consulting is working with the Committee to draft the plan and is funded by a Homeland Security grant.

Public comment: n/a
Bills and vouchers were reviewed and signed.

Nonpublic session: At 7:35 p.m Bob Ells motioned to go into nonpublic session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3, II (c). Motion passed unanimously in favor. Motion passed to come out of nonpublic session at 7:45.

Meeting adjourned 7:45 P.M.

Respectfully submitted, Sandi Pierson

Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs

Robert Ells

Lyell Smith