Town of Dublin
Board of Selectmen’s Meeting
Monday, June 11, 2007
Present:
Anne Anable, Sterling Abram, Ed Germain, Kathy Merrick
Chairman Anable opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
The BOS Minutes for June 4, 2007 and June 5, 2007 were APPROVED with revisions.
Motion made by Ed and SECONDED by Annie.
Dublin General Store Well
Andy Freeman will be appearing before the State Water Well Board’s Public Hearing on
Friday, June 15, 2007. Annie read a Notice of the Hearing which invited comments from
the public. The BOS drafted a letter to the Board which will go out tomorrow by
certified mail in support of Andy’s claim for financial redress. Annie and Ed will attend
the Hearing.
Brian Barden/Old Marlborough Road Bridge
Brian appeared for his regular monthly meeting with the BOS; all discussion related to
the Old Marlborough Road Bridge issue.
Annie reported information she obtained from the Local Government Center regarding
the sliding scale (8 – 17%) of the minimum monies recommended to be retained in the
Undesignated Fund Balance. The scale reflects the various scopes of tax bases in towns.
Because Dublin has a wide tax base, our recommended amount would be at the bottom of
the scale. A town such as Berlin, who relies heavily on a single manufacturing entity,
needs to have a large amount of monies in their UFB. Annie’s contact at the LGC said
that the purpose of the UFB is just for this type of situation: a bridge loss.
Brian spoke with Debbie Johnston, FEMA, and reported a strong possibility that Dublin
may get more funds that expected. He did not have a definite figure to report. Ed
commented that the window for FEMA assistance is 18 months from the incident date (in
our case, April 15th). To qualify for FEMA funds, all work would have to be completed
by October 15, 2008. Ed reported that Kurt Grassett (Hancock Road Agent) and Bill
Rossignol of Holden Engineering inspected the bridge before the June 5, 2007 BOS
meeting with the Budget Committee. Kurt believes that if all permits were completed,
construction could begin as early as August/September of this year. Nancy Mayville had
made the same comment to Ed.
1
Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) Process: Letters requesting qualifications booklets
were mailed to six engineering firms on June 6, 2007 with a response deadline of
Monday, June 18, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. The six firms are all on the State-approved list.
That approval is necessary to have any chance of the work being completed this year. Ed
reported that Nancy Mayville said everything is likely to go quickly, with the exception
of the Wetlands Permit.
It was decided that the Review Committee would be the BOS, Brian, and Joe Cavanaugh.
Review will be done at BOS Meeting on June 18, 2007 at 7:15 p.m. Brian will be on
vacation but will be available by cell phone. Bill Rossignol said that face-to-face
interviews are not required; the only requirement is that costs cannot be part of the
qualification booklets. Three firms must be chosen, in order of choice. If the BOS
chooses to not go with their #1 choice and moves on to #2, choice #1 cannot be reconsidered.
Ed relayed Nancy Mayville’s opinion that a Bailey bridge is a waste of money if it is
possible to do a permanent fix in the beginning. Sterling asked, “Can we assume that if
these firms are on the State’s list that there haven’t been any problems with them?” Ed
answered in the affirmative. Ed offered to call Dawn Buker at the DES to ask: 1. How
does a town expedite a Wetlands Permit? and after a firm is chosen, 2. How does one
expedite a Wetlands Permit with this particular engineering firm?
Sterling reiterated that the BOS is in agreement to pay for the engineering study (Step 1)
from the Undesignated Fund Balance, with the intent that the possibility exists of the
work being done this year. It was posited that construction costs could come out of the
Highway Department budget. The second step can only be formulated after the
engineering study has been done. The BOS agreed that a Bailey bridge could be a
possible “fall back” option. Ed commented that when the engineering study is
completed, in a matter of weeks, we would have a dollar figure to work with and would
know the reimbursable amount.
The official position of the BudgetCom on taking funds from the Undesignated Fund
Balance is not yet known, though some members were against it at last Tuesday’s
meeting. If they are undecided or say “no,” Ed suggested applying to the DRA for a
ruling and/or holding a Public Meeting. Ed stated that he believes the purpose of the
regulation is “to allow the BOS to fix something that is broken.” From his conversation
with Nancy Mayville, there is a long-shot possibility that an 80/20 refund could come
next year, rather than in 2013. Governor Lynch is sponsoring a bill to allow this to
happen – so far the funds have stayed intact, but the bill must pass the Executive Council.
Nancy said that a large number of towns are ahead of Dublin for this; a 2008
reimbursement is possible, not probable.
Brian pointed out that we need to take a serious look at the Charcoal Road Bridge – the
steel girders are rusting. The 2001 State estimate for Charcoal Road Bridge was in the
$300,000 range and was $230,000 for Old Marlborough Road Bridge. These estimates
put us in the program for 2013 reimbursement. Brian commented that in 2001, the State
2
was more concerned about the condition of the Charcoal Road Bridge than the Old
Marlborough Road Bridge. Sterling believes that a temporary fix would be much easier
to do on the Charcoal Road Bridge.
Iorio Property
The Board reviewed the letter from the DES to Iorio and Wickson. It was noted that Paul
Waterman is not able to release Wickson without State approval. Paul, Ed, and Wickson
will inspect the property tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., and Paul will take pictures. Ed will
relay to Paul the BOS’ backing and support for him to set firm limits on this property.
ATV Track/Noise Ordinance
Ed spoke about Marlborough’s experience with a proposed ATV racetrack.
Stone Pond Septic System
The Board reviewed Paul Waterman’s memo requesting funds for a proposed septic study
of Stone Pond. A decision was tabled for further discussion until Paul’s regular meeting
with the BOS next Monday, June 18, 2007.
Berlin Noise Ordinance
David Tower assisted Rindge in writing their Noise Ordinance. Under the BOS’ Police
Powers the Select Board has the right/responsibility to draft an ordinance and have public
hearings because it is a land-use item. Ed offered to obtain ordinances from other towns,
particularly Marlborough. He relayed that Dick Olson wrote Jaffrey’s and would be
willing to assist Dublin.
Sterling mentioned Rindge’s problem with the constant noise emanating from a gravel
pit. David Tower will be asked to obtain the original Superior Court decision stating that
towns cannot regulate noise.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.
Minutes taken by Kathy Merrick
Anne. C. Anable, Chairman
Sterling Q. Abram
Edward B. Germain
3