Office of the Select Board

Town of Orange, New Hampshire

Minutes of September 27, 2016

 

Present: Dorothy Heinrichs, Chair; Robert Ells, Lyell ‘Skip’ Smith, and Sandi Pierson (clerical). Others present: Beverly Ells

Meeting opened at 7:00 PM.

Minutes: The minutes of September 12, 2016 were unanimously approved.

Fairpoint: The Board reviewed correspondence from Avitar, the town’s assessor, regarding the recent Legislative methodology used to assess telecommunications poles and conduit real estate for property tax purposes. The letter stated that the mandated methodology resolves the Fairpoint tax abatement appeals with Orange for 2013 and 2014, totaling $70,800 which results in an abatement of $977. (Negotiations with Fairpoint by Avitar on behalf of the town will allow the $977 to be given as a tax credit instead of a refund and Fairpoint will forgive all interest.) The Board was unclear if updating the pole licensing for taxing the PRW (pubic right of way) should proceed immediately. In 2014 Avitar recommended the town amend their pole licensing for 2015 tax assessment purposes; Shawn Tanguay (Gardner, Fulton and Waugh) had responded to Avitar’s recommendation that the town should not proceed because the PRW issue was still in the courts.

After discussion the Board requested the secretary contact assessor Mark Stetson and ask if he would meet with the Board to clarify the rationale and advantages to updating the pole license at this time and to offer his thoughts on the towns attorney’s earlier response.

Forest Fire Warden: The Board reviewed and approved the reappointment of the town’s Forest Fire Warden and Deputies as recommended by the NH Division of Forest and Lands, Forest Protection Bureau. Approved were Forest Fire Warden Brent Stevens and Deputies Bill Bellion, James McAlister, and Richard Colburn.

Cemetery Lots; The Board signed a deed for the purchase of a cemetery lot in Church Cemetery.

Mascoma School District: The Board revisited an invitation to attend a round table discussion hosted by the Mascoma School Board on Tuesday, October 11 at the high school. After discussion, the Board decided to hold their next meeting on Wednesday, October 12 so that they could attend the round table discussion.

MS-1: The Board signed the 2016 MS-1 (Summary of Valuation of the Town).

Other:

  • The Board reviewed a print-out from the DRA website indicating that the town’s 2016 county tax bill will be $54,633. This is a $6,188 increase over the 2015 county tax of $48,445.

  • The Board received correspondence from the American Red Cross requesting a 2017 contribution of $152.00. (A $0.20 increase over 2016.)

  • The Board received correspondence from the Bridge House, a homeless shelter in Plymouth NH, asking if the town would consider a 2017 contribution. The Board will forward the request to the Budget Committee.

  • Information was received from the Good Neighbor Health Clinic and Red Logan Dental Clinic about their free medical and dental care services to people who are under-insured and who live in the Upper Valley. The Board asked Sandi to post the information and let people know via the town’s listserv that the information is available.

  • Skip stated that he received a concern from a Peaslee Road resident that his large trash had not been picked up on August 26 and that Casella periodically does not pick up his regular trash on Fridays. The Board asked Sandi to refer the concern to Casella by email. Skip noted that the person has disposed of his large trash privately.

Secretary’s report:
  • The $6000 Hazardous Mitigation grant money was deposited into the town’s account by the State. This was paid to Hubbard Consulting for coordinating meetings and drafting the Orange Hazard Mitigation Plan. The grant was made possible by in-kind volunteer hours by a number of townspeople. The Board thanked the following volunteers for their time and effort: Brent Stevens, Don Pfaefflin, Judith Lindahl, Jason Azze, Dorothy Heinrichs, Sandi Pierson, and Scott Sanborn.

Reports from other Boards and Committees: n/a

Public comment: n/a

Bills and vouchers were reviewed and signed.

Meeting adjourned 7:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted, Sandi Pierson

Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs

Robert Ells

Lyell Smith