Chairman William Hutchins called the regular session of the Selectmen’s meeting to order on Wednesday, March 27, 2002, at 3:30 p.m. The meeting was held in the Town Office, located at 34 Dunbar Hill Road, Grantham, NH.

Chairman Hutchins made the motion to nominate Michael J. Hayward, Sr. as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen for the ensuing year; motion seconded by Selectman Jones. Unanimous. Selectman Hutchins turned the meeting over to Chairman Hayward.

Chairman Michael J. Hayward, Sr.

Selectman Constance Jones

Selectman William E. Hutchins

Town Administrator Tina Stearns

• Building Permits - Approved
• Bartlett, Roy Jr. & Susan – M221 L27 – New Aldrich Road – Residence
• Field, Daniel & Laurie – M243 L7 – 83 Sanborn Hill Road – Shed
• Hunter, M. Hope – M216 L139 – 30 Robin Lane - Deck
• Lambert, George – M222 L81 – 26 Summit Drive – Garage
• Michalski, Paul & Karen – M216 L134 – 21 Robin Lane – Residence w/ Garage
• Morlan, Richard & Sarah – M216 L53 – 5 Oak Lane – Garage
• Waterman, Kathryn – M216 L183 – 11 Mill Pond Lane – Residence w/ Garage

• For Signature - Approved
• NHDRA MS-2 "Report of Appropriations Actually Voted"
• Pole Petition – Verizon & PSNH – Burpee Hill Road – 9AADRU
• Property Tax Abatements:
• 56 High Pond Road, M212 L87 - $131.00 (property annexed to 212-92)
• Chosed, Leslie – M222 L147-002 - $10.36 (accrued interest)
• Property Tax Refund:
• MacLellan, Elizabeth – M215 L60-040 - $150.89 (overpayment)
• Hull, Thomas N. III – M234 L24 - $17.08 (accrued interest)
• Motor Vehicle Refund:
• Eastman Community Association - $234.00 (incorrect list price)
• For Signature - Denied
• Current Use Application – Gosselin, Paul & Candace – M216 L6 – 96 Silo Lane
  This application was denied due to inadequate acreage to meet the criteria.

Motion by Selectman Jones to accept the minutes of the March 12, 2002 meeting as written; seconded by Selectman Hutchins. Unanimously approved.

Johnson & Dix Fuel Corp dba Grantham Mountain Mart – Tom Frawley and Kathy Kelly Stevens were present regarding a letter received from Town Administrator Stearns informing them of a zoning violation with the deli (take out).

Administrator Stearns gave an overview of the complaint received in January 2002 regarding the Mountain Mart deli being a take out establishment and that was not allowed per the zoning regulations. Research was conducted and no mention of a deli was found in any of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Planning Board minutes.

Selectman Jones stated that Johnson & Dix would have to approach the Zoning Board to request a change to the zoning regulations to allow take out establishments with a special exception or a petitioned warrant article could be brought to Town Meeting in March, 2003. Selectman Jones proposed allowing the use to continue until March, 2003 when the voters would decide on the zoning regulation change.

Tom Frawley stated that he does not feel that the deli is in violation of the zoning regulations. Johnson & Dix was given a certificate of occupancy in 1996 by April Whittaker (Town Administrator at that time) and Mr. Frawley states that the deli was identified on the plan. Documentation shows that the deli and food prep area was approved by the NH Department of Health. Mr. Frawley stated that a deli is not defined as a restaurant and that the deli was shown on the plans that were approved during the Site Plan Review by the Planning Board. A copy of the plans showing the interior with the deli were supplied. The date on these plans was March 17, 1995. Septic system approval for construction documents were also presented which stated that a take out deli was present in the building. The septic system was installed in 1998 and after failure occurred, a new system was installed in 2001.

Selectman Hutchins questioned why the need to redo the septic system after only a couple of years. Was the cause overloading the system?

Kathy Kelly Stevens answered that when the rest area closed off Interstate 89 it brought an influx of people to the Mountain Mart for the use of the restroom. Tom Frawley stated that there is no answer as to why the septic system failed after a couple of years. Administrator Stearns followed up that the Mountain Mart has the only public restroom in town.

Selectman Jones spoke of the changes that have occurred in the deli over the years and that now it seems to be a take out with pizzas, menus, etc.

Chairman Hayward entertained a motion to table this issue until the April 10^th Board of Selectmen meeting so that the Town’s legal counsel can advise. Motion by Selectman Hutchins; seconded by Selectman Jones. Tabled

Police Department Location – Bruce St. Peter was present to offer his services free of charge to the town to find an appropriate location for the construction of a new police department. Mr. St. Peter is a registered professional engineer. He intends to review the parcel that houses the Fire Department to determine is expansion is possible for the Police Department.

Chairman Hayward feels that the Police Department should be designed to allow for future expansion but not be over constructed.

Mr. St. Peter will look at the cost of construction to see what could be reduced. He will really look at the immediate needs of the department and work from there. The site at the Fire Station would eliminate the need for the major site work (septic, water, heat, electric) and currently has the radio capability.

Selectman Hutchins made the motion to accept Bruce St. Peter’s offer to research a spot for the potential construction of a police department; seconded by Selectman Jones. Unanimous.

NH/VT Solid Waste Project Representatives Appointment – Motion by Selectman Jones to re-appoint Arthur Magowan as representative and Ed Jenik as alternate representative to the NH/VT Solid Waste Project; seconded by Selectman Hutchins. Unanimous

Town Archivist Appointment – Motion by Selectman Hutchins to re-appoint Lea Frey as Town Archivist; seconded by Selectman Jones. Unanimous

Zoning Board of Adjustment Member Appointment – Motion by Selectman Jones to re-appoint Dick Mansfield and John Clayton as members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment; seconded by Selectman Hayward. Unanimous

Police Department – February 2002 Monthly Report was distributed to the Selectmen

Town Administrator – Revised Job Descriptions for the positions of Town Administrator, Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper and Part Time Secretary were presented to the Selectmen for their review and will be discussed at the next meeting. The new letterhead design was presented to the Selectmen which displays the town seal.

Trustee of Trust Funds – February Report was distributed to the Selectmen.

SBA/ATC v. Town of Grantham – Correspondence was received from Attorney Barton Mayer informing the Town that SBA/ATC Realty had withdrawn their appeal of the ZBA’s decision. Administrator Stearns to write a thank you letter to ZBA Chairman Conrad Frey for all of his efforts on this case.

Grantham Greenway Construction – Planning Board members had notified the Town Administrator that Grantham Greenway was given a building permit prior to seeking final site plan approval. A letter went to Ernie Collier on September 13^th with no response to date. Administrator Stearns will conduct a site visit and personally inform Mr. Collier what is needed from him.

Sullivan County Commissioners – A reply was received from Treasurer Peter Lovely with a detail of the last five years worth of county taxes and how much each town paid and the date that it was paid. Copies were distributed to the Selectmen.

Ball Field – A proposal was presented from Bruno Associates to proceed with re-designing the ball field into one field with parking area at an estimated cost of $21,300. Resident Chick Pillsbury questioned why the engineering was being redone when the town has already paid to have the ball field designed. Administrator Stearns responded that the drive to the ball field was positioned in an area that is no longer accessible due to the addition at the school and when the design received wetlands permitting the town would have to give up ~10 acres of upland in exchange for disturbing the wetlands. The wetlands permit also came with three pages of stipulations that the town would have to follow in order to put the designed ball field in. Mr. Pillsbury wondered why the town could not seek action against the former engineer for the work that was or wasn’t done.

Selectman Hutchins informed Administrator Stearns to contact Jesseman Associates or Jim Gove to obtain a copy of the wetland delineation, review the original contract with Jesseman Associates to determine any legal recourse and to contact Attorney Barton Mayer to determine the next step.

Selectman Hutchins made the motion to approve the proposal presented by Bruno Associates; seconded by Selectman Jones. Unanimous

The following were unanimously agreed:

                    Selectman Jones will oversee the Town Office

                    Chairman Hayward will oversee the Police Department and Buildings

Under the terms of RSA 91-A:3 II (a) Chairman Hayward requested the Board of Selectmen enter into non-public session. The members were polled: Hayward – Yes; Jones – Yes; Hutchins – Yes. The vote being unanimous, non-public session was entered at 4:30 p.m.

The Board of Selectmen returned to regular session at 5:25 p.m. with no decisions to be made from the non-public session.

There being no further business, Selectman Hutchins made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Chairman Hayward. Meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Office.

Tina M. Stearns, Town Administrator