Selectmen Meeting
March 31, 2003
Members Present: Sally S. Wentzell, Laurence Rappaport and Greg Placy
Others Present: White Mountain Cable Representatives Bill Hinton and Dennis Nolin, Timothy Stevens and Family, Sergeant Steve Cass, Chief Farrell, Dorothy Farrell, Officer Santamaria, Colebrook Chronicle Representative Susan Zizza, News & Sentinel Representative Karen Ladd and Evelyn Earley
Larry briefed Greg on the cable franchise issue. Bill Hinton told the board of the cable’s free services of providing connections at the high and elementary school, town hall, library and supervisory union office. They also furnish their equipment and one man to put up signs, flags and the Christmas wreaths with community representatives. Cable is provided to the hospital, some free and some charges, all the free cable services would add up to $365.00 per month.
Bill said the company was for sale and they had a buyer who had given them a letter of intent. He said the purchaser was not interested in a one-year franchise because no bank would provide financing unless it was for a longer period of time. He said Stewartstown and Columbia signed an eleven-year contract and the State of Vermont signed it with no stipulations. He said the contract was for a nonexclusive franchise.
Dennis told the board they did not discuss the one-year time frame when they mentioned the $1,000.00 franchise fee.
Larry asked if the town signed a longer year franchise and then fiber to the home became viable would they give up space on the poles or install fiber for make ready charges.
Bill said the prospective owner has high speed in Stowe, Vermont. Larry said the town has looked at three ventures - municipal, cooperative (like NH Electric Coop) and form a local coop with a 501C structure. He reminded Bill and Dennis that they did tell the board they were not prepared to upgrade their cable system. He asked how many subscribers the cable had and was told just under 650 in Colebrook with a total of 1300.
Dennis asked why the town did not approach the phone company.
Larry said he did not feel the board could sign a franchise for fifteen years but he could not speak for the other board members. Bill said he did not want to take a legal route and Larry said he did not see where the town had to give a franchise. Bill said a ten-year with five-year renewal might work.
Greg asked what is the HDTD federal requirement and Larry said the cost of fiber would not be yours.
The board said they would discuss it and notify the cable representatives at a later date as to their decision.
Sally Wentzell swore in Timothy Stevens as a new police officer. Everyone welcomed him on board.
Mrs. Earley told the board that her husband was disabled and she applied for the disabled exemption but did not qualify because she had not lived in Colebrook five years. She feels the legislators should change this law and also that she should not pay school tax because she has no children in school. The board told her they sympathized with her but only the legislators could change the laws.
Steve Cass told the board he was going to start attending meetings and that he was working on instituting a four-day on, four-day off work week and plans to have twenty-four hour coverage when Officer Stevens returns from the Academy. Larry said he would like to see them on the street and interacting with the kids. Steve said he met with the patrolmen two weeks ago and discussed these different issues with them. He would like to create a juvenile officer and feels Tim has the experience. He wants to have a pro-active, not reactive, presence in town this summer. He also explained how the police detail at the rest area would work and that the town would receive an hourly rate for the old police cruiser. Greg said he hopes there will be no problems with the detail situation as it is a good deal for
Colebrook taxpayers.
Donna told the board that she and Steve had a personnel issue to discuss with them. Larry made a motion to enter executive session; Sally seconded the motion and the motion carried with a unanimous decision. Larry made a motion to exit executive session and seal the minutes as no decision was made, Sally seconded it and motion carried unanimously.
A motion to nominate Sally S. Wentzell as chairman was made by Larry and seconded by Greg.
Larry told Greg that he would like to step down as the planning board’s representative and thought since Greg had prior experience in Boscawen that he would be great. Sally said she had been the representative twice already and did not want to be again. Greg said he did not really want to be on the planning board. Larry said he would attend the first meeting with him, which was the following night.
Greg said the St. DOT wants high-speed connection by July 1, 2003 but he does not think it will happen. He agreed with other board members that he would like to see an agreement to end up with fiber cable. He said Adelphia has said they could not make money with high speed. Larry said it was $20,000.00 per mile to construct with density of ten homes per mile with an eighty percent penetration rate.
The board told Donna to talk with NH Municipal about a ten-year lease and when it was transferred would it come up for review with the selectmen and would they have the opportunity to talk to the prospective new owner.
Larry discussed the First Colebrook Bank’s River Bank project with Greg explaining the bank requested the town pay $70,000.00 to riprap the river bank and that George Gould, when he was selectman told the bank the town would do it. Greg said retaining walls along the river are the owner’s responsibility not the states and he felt this was the same case.
Donna notified the board that she had signed the court lease for a one-year term with a ten percent rent increase as requested by the board.
The board signed the following documents:
Report of Appropriations Actually Voted at annual town meeting.
Payrolls 3/10, 3/24 & 3/28
Vouchers 3/14, 3/21 & 3/28
Selectmen’s request to Trustee of Trust Funds to withdraw $39,425.00 from the 2003 Property Reassessment Expendable Trust Fund.
The board discussed Max Dagesse’s request for the town to pay the total plumbing bills for his frozen water as he felt it was the town’s line that was frozen. The town agreed to pay the plumbing and welding bills.
The board was brought up to date about the following information
Main Street reception being held at the Main Street building at lunchtime on Wednesday.
Barry & Diane Graham’s septic approval for fifteen 3-way sites, 5 bedroom inn, 24 seat restaurant & 2 Machine laundry.
Plan NH received 18 proposals and selected only three, Colebrook’s was not one of them, and this was a grant to better utilize the current building.
The board approved payment of a bill from Mitchell & Bates for $724.90 and smoking litigation bill for $259.14
Larry made a motion to adjourn, Sally seconded it and Greg agreed.
Respectfully submitted by
Donna Caron
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