Office of the Select Board 

Town of Orange, New Hampshire 

Minutes of June 12, 2018 

Present: Dorothy Heinrichs, Chair; Robert Ells, Tamara Fairbank, and Sandi Pierson (clerical). 

Others present: Terrance McQueeney, Billie Brockhum, Bev Ells, Douglas Weekes, Anita Garland, Mildred and Nils Hansen, Daniel Wright, Skip Smith, Adam Eckhart, and Erik Pietowitcz. 

Meeting opened at 6 PM. Attendance taken by the secretary. 

Minutes: The minutes of May 22, 2018 were unanimously approved. 

Canaan Ambulance: The Board met with Canaan Ambulance personnel Adam Eckhart to discuss the 2019 (and beyond) projected substantial cost increases for coverage in Orange. He referenced a letter sent to the Board explaining the increases, but that for whatever reason, the letter was not received until after the date the ambulance service invited the Orange Select Board to meet with them. 

Adam said the ambulance department is at a six-figure deficit and if the four towns they cover do not concur with the increases, the service will go out of business. (Canaan Ambulance, a private, non-profit entity, covers Canaan and Orange 24/7, the southern half of Dorchester 24/7, and the daytime hours of Grafton.) Adam stated that although Canaan has not yet given them a formal response to their projected rate increase, they’ve indicated they are not agreeing to it. Later in the meeting he stated that Grafton already has a three-year binding contract so the rates for that town will not increase unless they re-contract for 24/7 coverage. He said that a big part of the problem for the service has been the increase in paid staff and decrease in volunteers. Adam stated he felt that their present town contracts per capita are on the lower scale in comparison to Enfield, Upper Valley Ambulance, and Golden Cross. Their goal is to charge $53 per capita in three years. 

Answering questions from Dorothy, Adam said that the actual cost of a transport is between $400 and $600, though it can go as high as $1000 if they need a paramedic intercept from Lebanon. As per the characteristic health care billing system, he said they charge insurance companies between $1,200 and $2,500 per call. Adam said that they do bill individuals for transport if they have no insurance but there is a notation on the bill for them to call if it would be a financial hardship. They try to work out a payment plan with the individual and sometimes a portion of the bill is deducted. Adam said that though there is an increase in activity due to the present opioid state of affairs, it has not been a significant factor in their number of runs. 

Fish and Game dead animal disposal: Health Officer Doug Weekes briefed the Board on the situation regarding the Fish and Game department’s disposal of significant amount of dead moose and deer carcasses at an obsolete log landing on Cardigan State Forest property located on the Class VI portion of Tug Mountain Road. He said it has attracted concentrated amounts of scavenger animals and innumerable flies. He has been talking to the District 3 Fish and Game representative, Sgt. Tom Dakai, about the situation. Doug feels that a carcass disposal of this extent is in violation of the NH Department of Environmental Services for solid waste transportation and disposal because it results in a nuisance and health hazard, including that because the carcasses are in a land depression, it may affect the water table. The disposal site is approximately one mile from the nearest resident. Doug said he will continue to monitor the situation and plans on meeting with NH Department of Natural Resources in order to establish a more appropriate protocol for the disposal of carcasses. 

Class VI road building permit protocol: Prompted by an inquiry from a property owner about the building permit application protocol for a Class VI road, the Board reviewed the policy that was approved by the Planning Board in 2005. The Board reviewed a June 5, 2005 letter from the Planning Board to the Select Board encouraging them to adopt the official policy that they drafted for issuing building permits on Class VI roads. The Board reviewed the Select Board minutes of June 8, 2005 that stated, “Selectmen received and signed “Class 6 Road Building Requirement” document from the Planning Board.” The Board reviewed the document itself titled, “Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Non-liability Regarding Permit-to-Build for Class VI Highways.” Dorothy summarized the contents for the audience. 

The Board reviewed the Select Board minutes of May 24, 2005 at which time then-Road Agent George White inquired of the Board if driveway permits were required for Class VI roads. The minutes noted that Scott Sanborn (a selectman at the time) was going to follow up with Adele Fulton, the town’s legal counsel. In an email to the present Board, Scott wrote that he did not recall the outcome of the question of 13 years ago but, as road agent, feels that although he believes the town has the right to regulate driveways on Class VI roads, his concern is that if the town were to specify the “connection” to a Class VI road, they might be taking some responsibility for it, which he does not think they should do. After discussion it was agreed that Tamara will follow up with Adele Fulton. 

Building permit: The Board reviewed and approved a building permit for an 8 x 20-foot accessory building for Erik Pietrowicz/343 Tuttle Hill Road/Map 4, Lot 14-E. The permit was already reviewed and signed by Building Inspector Don Pfaefflin. A driveway application approved by Road Agent Scott Sanborn was attached. The Board also signed a letter to Mr. Pietrowicz letting him know that because the driveway and accessory building are not in conformance with the current use criteria as defined in RSA 79-A, when construction begins, a partial release of current use land by the town will follow. The approved building permit and letter was given to Erik at the meeting. 

Minutes protocol: The Board signed a memo that will be sent to all departments requesting they submit a copy of their meeting minutes to the Select Board’s office. Dorothy stated that this will make it more convenient for public review and, additionally, Sandi can have Jay Heinrichs post them at www.orangenh.us/. The Board concurred that minutes can be posted on the bulletin board for a week upon their receipt. 

Intent to Cut Wood or Timber: The Board reviewed and signed the following Intent to Cut applications: 

  • Nancy Quilty and Christopher Lumpkin/52 Eastman Road/Map 1, Lot 4. Logger is Steve Johnston. 
  • Mildred and Nils Hansen/1611 US Route 4/Map 1, Lot 47. Logger is Daniel Wright. Attached to the Intent to Cut was a notice from the NH Department of Transportation that they have received an application for a temporary driveway permit for logging purposes. 

Unrecorded property: The Board revisited the situation of a six-acre lot located on Old Hood Road that is not presently in the town’s assessing system. Surveys indicate it was part of the many properties once owned by Ben Gunn. The Board was in receipt of an email from Ben Gunn’s daughter and heir, Susan Bromley, acknowledging that they owned the property. Sandi will have the town’s assessing company, Avitar, value the lot and put it in the system. 

Town House maintenance: Skip Smith stated that he has closed up the rodent access hole near the handicap ramp with cement. He has purchased the basement window well covers and will install them after cleaning the windows and removing any accumulated debris. 

Skip said he has access to free utility poles if the Board wanted to consider lights for the Town House grounds that were not attached to the building. This would help alleviate the dead bugs that accumulate on the building where the present lights are located. Bob Ells said he thought using poles for lighting was a good idea. Skip said there would probably be a cost for installing the poles. Terry McQueeny suggested they consider high-temperature, yellow LED lights for bug management. Dorothy said she wanted to be sure a new lighting system would not take away from the adjacent darkness of the area, of which Tamara agreed. Tamara said that because the flag is on the flagpole during the night, it should also be part of the lighting plan. After discussion, the Board concurred that they will continue their discussion on the lighting of the Town House grounds. 

Planning Board: Billie Brockhum submitted a written request to Dorothy asking the Select Board to have the Planning Board make a final decision on whether they are going to sign a waiver for their driveway permit for 123 Tug Mountain Road. Billie wrote that they are approaching two months from the initial request. Dorothy stated that Planning Board Vice Chair Judith Lindahl said they will be finishing up deliberations at the June 19 meeting and will issue a written response within five days of the decision. 

Other: 

  • The Board received an invitation from the Grafton County Commissioners to attend Farm and Forestry Day at the Grafton County Farm on Saturday, June 23. 
  • The Board received a notice from the NH Department of Revenue Administration of a public hearing regarding how telecommunications poles and conduits values shall be established. 
  • Dorothy asked Sandi to draft a letter for the Board to sign thanking the students at Canaan Elementary School for the Veteran’s Day wreath they made for the flagpole. 
  • Dorothy said that she and Sandi reviewed the inventory forms and they determined that the present population of Orange was in the order of 287. The census of 2010 lists Orange at 331. 

Secretary’s Report: 

  • The McFarlane’s need to take a bit more land out of current use due to the placement of their new home. Dorothy requested that Sandi draft a letter for the Board to sign and send to the property owners. 
  • There has been a request for the Board to consider having Scott Sanborn update the tax maps that are kept in the Select Board’s office. Dorothy requested that Sandi draft a letter for the Board to sign asking Scott if he would do so. 
  • A Planning Board member would like the Board to ask legal counsel the following: if the Planning Board votes to not waive all driveway permit regulations per the request of a petitioner, is the procedural course of action to appeal to the Orange Zoning Board of Adjustment, if the petitioners so desire? Tamara to follow up with legal counsel. 

Reports from other Boards and Committees: 

  • Dorothy (Chair of the Orange Conservation Commission) recapped that the Commission is continuing their work of updating the Natural Resources Directory and expect to have it for public in March of 2019. 
  • Anita Garland, Chair of Cemetery Trustees, stated that she had been unsuccessful in contacting the person who was supposed to do the cemetery maintenance and be sworn in as Cemetery Agent. She will follow up with Board if she continues to get no results. Dorothy requested that the matter be put on the June 26th meeting agenda. 

Public comment: n/a 

Bills and vouchers were reviewed and signed. 

Meeting adjourned 6:50 PM. 

Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs

Robert Ells

Tamara Fairbank