by admin | Dec 4, 2019 | Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting began at 6:05pm. Present were Selectmen Eric Stohl, Donald Campbell, and Norman Cloutier.
Selectman Campbell reviewed the Northern Borders Dispatch with the other 2 Selectmen.
On a motion made by Selectman Cloutier, and seconded by Selectmen Campbell, the minutes to the October 10th meeting were approved. Mail was reviewed and the checks were signed.
Alan Coats entered the meeting at 6:30pm to discuss the Transfer Station and he also let them know there was a budget meeting for the Coos County Recycling Center on October 25th at 10am. Coats left the meeting at 7:15pm.
Jennifer Wells entered meeting at 6:54pm and presented the Town Treasurer reports to the Selectmen. Wells left at 8:10pm.
Selectman Stohl made a motion to use the municipal aid money in the amount of $12,817.30 to offset taxes. Selectman Cloutier seconded the motion. All were in favor, so approved. Treasurer Wells said the money was deposited on October 15 electronically.
The Selectmen reviewed an email sent by Donna Jordan/GNWCA on October 23.
The Selectmen signed a 5 year contract with Sansoucy which would be for 2020-2024 at $9000 per year.
Selectman Cloutier signed a driveway permit for Archambault.
The Selectmen also signed an acknowledgment with Donahue, Tucker, and Ciandella in reference to the “Special Conflict of Interest Waiver and Representation Agreement for Comprehensive Public Rights-of-Way Ordinance.”
The Selectmen were reminded that there would be a meeting on October 24 at 8:00am with Margaret for the Energy Audit.
Selectman Stohl made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:45pm, Selectman Campbell seconded it.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra DeBlois
by admin | Dec 4, 2019 | Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting began at 5:55 pm. Present were Selectmen Cloutier, Stohl and Campbell.
Daniel Lesperance entered the meeting at 6:00 pm. Mr. Lesperance expressed concern that many residents don’t have their “house numbers” displayed. He said that he had spoken to someone from No. Stratford and they had informed him that they had applied for a grant from PNGTS in the amount of $4,000.00 and used that money to purchase “house numbers” for all the residences in Town. Mr. Lesperance left the information he had been given with the Board. Mr. Lesperance left the meeting at 6:05 pm.
At 6:15 on a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Cloutier, the Board voted to enter non-public session per RSA 91-A:3(II)(e) and (l).
At 6:20 on a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Campbell the Board voted to return to public session.
On a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Cloutier, the Board voted to seal the minutes of the non-public session.
An Intent to Cut was approved for Christopher Nelson.
Mail was reviewed.
Checks and manifests were reviewed and signed.
On a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Campbell, the Board approved the minutes of the September 25, 2019 meeting.
An appointment form was signed appointing Dr. Soucy as the Town’s Health Officer.
A letter was signed nominating Selectman Cloutier as the Town’s Representative to the Nash Stream Advisory Citizens Committee.
Selectman Cloutier signed the contract with C.N. Brown to provide oil for the Town’s buildings this winter.
The Board reviewed a draft “Event Policy”. Changes were made and Marcia will have it ready for approval for the next meeting.
The Board will work on the “Enforcement Policy” at the next meeting.
An e-mail was received from George Sansoucy’s office recommending that the Town enter into a five-year contract with his firm to do the utility appraisals. Marcia was instructed to contact them to provide us with prices and a contract to be reviewed.
An Engagement Letter was signed with Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella to represent the Town in the tax abatement action by PSNH for 2018 against the Town.
Selectman Campbell reviewed for the other Board members a proposed budget for the Northern Borders Regional Dispatch Center. A meeting will be held tomorrow (October 10th) in Canaan beginning at 5:30 pm.
Marcia informed the Board that she is still waiting for back-up documents from the GNWCA regarding their tax exemption application.
Marcia told the Board members that she had found the Boston Post Cane website that Tom Wallace had spoken to Selectman Campbell about. An e-mail was sent to them updating Columbia’s information.
Meeting adjourned at 7:05 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Parkhurst, Secretary
Board of Selectmen
by admin | Dec 4, 2019 | Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting began at 6:00 pm. Present were Selectmen Cloutier, Stohl and Campbell.
Mail was reviewed.
Checks and manifests were reviewed and signed.
On a motion made by Selectman Campbell and seconded by Selectman Stohl, the Board approved the minutes of the August 14, 2019 meeting.
The tax exempt application for the Great North Woods Center for the Arts was discussed. Marcia was instructed to write to them explaining that we couldn’t act on it until we receive the rest of the requested information.
Marcia was instructed to send the letter to Charlie Jordan (GNWCA) which was signed by the Board earlier in the week.
A letter has been received from the Town of Stratford asking to perambulate the town line between Stratford and Columbia. The Board instructed Marcia to send a letter to Stratford saying that we support the idea but that we will need to appropriate funds at the 2020 Town Meeting. Also, Columbia will agree with either hiring Greg Ainsworth or putting it out for bids, whichever Stratford wants to do.
It was approved to put out for bid both the snowplowing of the town buildings and the pre-pay oil contract as in the past. Marcia will take care of this.
Selectman Campbell reviewed for the rest of the Board members changes to the Dispatch Agreement which have been proposed. Two of the agreements were approved and signed by the Board. The other agreement will need some clarification before being approved.
A letter was received from Donohue, Tucker and Ciandella regarding the Fairpoint case. They are suggesting that we wait on negotiations until the current Superior Court case is settled.
Another letter was received from Donohue, Tucker and Ciandella regarding doing a “group representation” in regards to establishing a “public rights-of-ordinance”. After reviewing the letter and discussing it, the Board felt it might be a good idea and instructed Marcia to let them know that Columbia would like to be included.
At 6:36 pm, Town Treasurer Jennifer Wells, entered the meeting and gave the Board an update on monies currently available. Mrs. Wells left the meeting at 6:45 pm.
The Board reviewed the MS-1 and the new utility assessments provided by George Sansoucy.
The Board reviewed revenue figures through June 30, 2019, and gave Marcia updated figures to use on the MS-535.
Meeting adjourned at 7:25 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Parkhurst, Secretary
Board of Selectmen
by admin | Dec 4, 2019 | Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting began at 6:00 pm. Present were Selectmen Cloutier and Campbell. Selectman Stohl arrived at 6:30 pm. Members of the public present: Bob Baker, Franco Rossi (CAI Technologies), Charles Jordan and Nancy Smith (GNWCA).
Mail was reviewed
Checks and manifests were signed.
Bob Baker came to the meeting to discuss his idea of turning the rail road bed into a walking trail. Mr. Baker shared with the Board copies of correspondence he received from Shelley Winters (Bureau of Rail & Transit), Ed Jeffrey (NH Central Railroad) and Lou Barker (Railroad Planner). From his e-mails and conversations, he feels that the State is not saying “no” to this idea and wants to deal only with the Town. Mr. Baker said he wants to look into grant opportunities to be used for surveying and engineering that might need to be done. The Board encouraged Mr. Baker to continue to work on this project and to keep them informed of his progress. Mr. Baker left the meeting.
Franco Rossi (CAI Technologies) entered the meeting at 6:31 pm at the request of the Board to explain how a change was made to one of the Town’s maps. Mr. Rossi said he had been contacted by Joe Daley from Lemington regarding the island which was previously believed to be part of Columbia (New Hampshire) but that is really part of Lemington (Vermont). Mr. Rossi did some research and came up with a 1936 Supreme Court decision which outlined the boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont specifically. This description clearly shows that the island is part of Vermont. The Board and Mr. Rossi also discussed updating the maps and assessing information on the Town’s website. It was stated that this is
the Town’s responsibility (which Marcia didn’t realize). Mr. Rossi will have one of his technicians contact Marcia and instruct her how to do this. Also, in the future if the Town wanted to save money on their map contract (approximately $300.00) CAI would no longer receive the deeds and would no longer provide the Town with a map & lot and/or owner name listing. It was decided to do that and Mr. Rossi said he would adjust our next bill. Mr. Rossi left the meeting at 7:00.
Charles Jordan and Nancy Smith from the GNWCA entered the meeting at 7:04 pm. Selectman Stohl started the discussion by reading a letter which the Town had drafted instructing the GNWCA that any changes that affect life safety need to be done through the Columbia Board of Selectmen not through the Fire Marshal’s Office. Mr. Jordan shared with the Board members pictures of work that had been done and things that were being worked on. Both parties were in complete agreement about which parts of the property can be used and by whom. Selectman Stohl offered to accompany Mr. Jordan on Thursday, August 15th, in measuring the “museum” room and seeing if removing a wall would allow the room to accommodate more than 50 people. (Selectman Campbell left the meeting at 7:40 pm.) The Board also requested that the Town be allowed to put up one of the new “Welcome to Columbia” signs on the GNWCA’s property. Mr. Jordan and Mrs. Smith said they would bring it up to their Board but they felt there shouldn’t be a problem. Mr. Jordan and Mrs. Smith left the meeting at 8:14 pm.
Town Treasurer, Jennifer Wells, entered the meeting at 8:15 pm and gave the Board members an update report on monies the Town has on hand. Mrs. Wells left the meeting at 8:25.
On a motion made by Selectman Cloutier and seconded by Selectman Stohl, the Board approved the minutes of the July 10th and July 24th meetings.
A Gravel Tax Warrant in the amount of $76.22 was signed.
Marcia informed the Board that the Sweatt family had paid the rest of the purchase price of the tax-deed property (Map 402, Lot 31.2). Marcia gave them the deed and they will have it recorded.
Marcia said that she had spoken to Mr. & Mrs. Archambault, who are interested in purchasing the former Falcucci property (tax-deed property known as Map 420, Lot 63). Mr. & Mrs. Archambault have counter-offered $17,500 for the property. On a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Cloutier the Board voted to sell the property to Mr. & Mrs. Archambault for the price of $17,500.00. The Archambaults had prepared a Purchase & Sale Agreement which Chairman Cloutier signed.
The Board discussed paving projects. Selectman Cloutier has received a quote from Central Paving in the amount of $76,414.65 for paving Fish Pond Road by Edward Poulin’s and the section that has just been re-done. On a motion made by Selectman Cloutier and seconded by Selectman Stohl, the Board approved the work being done. It was noted that $27,000 of this amount, is monies held over from 2018 for the purpose of paving.
The Board reviewed a letter form Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella regarding the Eversource suit. On a motion made by Selectman Cloutier and seconded by Selectman Stohl, the Board approved Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella to enter into settlement negotiations on Columbia’s behalf.
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Parkhurst, Secretary
Board of Selectmen
by admin | Oct 10, 2019 | Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting began at 6:00 pm. Present were Selectmen Cloutier, Stohl and Campbell. Members of the public present were Kenneth Hastings.
Kenneth Hastings arrived at the meeting at 6:02 pm. to discuss with the Board the fact that the local Teachers’ Association would like to install a plaque at Lyman Falls in memory of William Schomburg. The plaque will be mounted on a slab of granite and placed on a base. It will be placed underneath the sign that is there now. A dedication ceremony will be held on October 13th. The Board overwhelmingly gave their approval for this project. Mr. Hastings left the meeting.
At 6:09 pm, the Board members briefly left the office to go to the Wallace Farm to present Robert Young with Columbia’s Boston Post Cane for being the oldest person in Town.
The meeting resumed at 6:20 pm.
Checks and manifests were reviewed and signed.
The MS-1 was signed.
On a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Cloutier, the Board approved the minutes of the September 11th meeting. (Selectman Campbell abstained.)
On a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Cloutier, the Board approved the minutes of the special meeting held on September 20, 2019.
An approval for the Colebrook Ski-Bees to use certain town roads as part of the trail system was signed by Chairman Cloutier.
The Board opened bids for heating fuel for the upcoming season as follows:
C.N. Brown $2.249
- Bean $2,459
On a motion made by Selectman Stohl and seconded by Selectman Campbell, the Board voted to award the bid to C.N. Brown.
The Board opened bids for snowplowing at the Town Office and Town Hall as follows:
Boire Property Maintenance $50/plowing $50/sanding (office)
$35/plowing $35/sanding (hall)
Since that was the only bid received, on a motion made by Selectman Cloutier and seconded by Selectman Stohl, the Board voted to award the plowing contract to Boire Property Maintenance.
Selectman Campbell presented the other Board members with two amendments to be signed for the Northern Borders Dispatch Center. The amendments were discussed and signed.
Selectman Stohl gave each Board member a copy of an Enforcement Policy that he had gotten from the Town of Albany. The Board members will review it for changes and discuss it at the next meeting.
The Board also discussed the need for an “Event Policy” for the Town. This would be a good time to draft something up.
The Board members reviewed the Balance Sheets provided by the GNWCA in support of their tax exempt application. Marcia will contact the GNWCA and ask for the 990s that we are still waiting for. The Board will discuss this at the next meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Parkhurst, Secretary
Board of Selectmen
