J. Sapia, Chairman P. Consentino, Chief – APD

P. Sullivan B. Cox, Personnel Services – LGC

F. Childs

Chairman J. Sapia offered a moment of silence to contemplate those who are putting their lives at risk so that we may conduct business freely and safely.

Chairman J. Sapia opened the Public Hearing for an expenditure of $1.500.00 from the Police Department’s Equipment Fund, on Monday, February 11, 2008, at 7:30 PM in the Atkinson Town Hall. Chief P. Consentino explained that he is proposing to award three $500.00 scholarships to three Atkinson High School Seniors who are planning to continue their education in Music, Computer Science or Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement. He further stated that each scholarship would be dedicated to a former long-term Police Officer: Larry Bibbins, Fred Bishop or Paul Caradonna.

Chairman J. Sapia asked for comments from the public. Hearing none, he closed the Public Hearing at 7:35 PM.

Chairman J. Sapia opened the Regular Meeting of the Board of Selectmen at 7:36 PM on Monday, February 11, 2008, in the Atkinson Town Hall.

February 4, 2008: P. Sullivan asked that a spelling error be corrected.

Chairman J. Sapia and P. Sullivan indicated that they needed some clarification of the Atkinson Woods’ abatement. They said the letter from Assessor Rodney Wood (attached) left some questions unanswered. F. Childs asked what additional information the Board would require. P. Sullivan replied that he would like to know if they are still selling that commodity; whether or not they are a bona fide company; were the taxes paid in full prior to the purchase of the water company by Atkinson Woods Owners’ Association on June 26, 2007; and, he would like to see Atkinson Woods’ HUD statement.

Chairman J. Sapia introduced Barry L. Cox, Personnel Services Consultant for the Local Government Center (LGC), to the Board. B. Cox reviewed the LGC Recruitment Proposal, submitted January 29, 2008 (attached), and presented LGC’s Service Agreement to Chairman J. Sapia.

P. Sullivan asked if LGC could provide the Town with a temporary Administrator. B. Cox responded that, while officially LGC does not get involved with "temps", LGC would make the initial contact with qualified people to determine interest in the position, however the terms of engagement are strictly between the Town and the individual.

F. Childs asked how much we should estimate for advertising. B. Cox said that it would depend upon the newspapers in which we wanted to advertise. LGC usually advertises in the Union Leader and other papers of the Town’s choosing. He added that they would do a lot of Internet advertising (e.g. MA, ME, NH and VT web sites, etc.) as that has proven to be more successful than print. Additionally, they would check organizations such as New Hampshire Association of Municipal Managers. Generally speaking, $500.00 ought to be adequate for advertising.

F. Childs then asked how much we should expect to spend on food and lodging. B. Cox said this cost is rarely necessary in small towns. Most candidates would at least have some roots in New England.

B. Cox explained that, since the makeup of the Board of Selectmen theoretically changes each year, it is especially important to make sure that the chosen candidate relates well to the staff, adding that in come communities, the staff conducts one of the interviews.

F. Childs then asked how accurate the proposed timeline was. B. Cox replied it would depend upon how quickly the Board could choose the right candidate and the notice that candidate would have to give his current employer.

B. Cox continued, that when the Town is prepared to make a conditional offer, LGC would handle all of the background checks, e.g. references, credit, driving record, educational background, etc.

J. Sapia asked what the Town could do on the front end. B. Cox indicated that a good deal of thought must go into the job description, and what special talents a candidate should bring to Atkinson (e.g. economic development, union negotiations, personnel issues, etc.). LGC is prepared to help with this analysis to supply a solid foundation for the process.

P. Sullivan emphasized that he was comfortable that the Town was in good shape. J. Sapia added that, with a cooperative effort, the Town would be fine while seeking the right Town Administrator.

The Board agreed to choose a proposal for filling the Town Administrator vacancy by the next meeting.

Chairman J. Sapia asked each member to select one candidate from the pool of applicants for this position for the next meeting.

P. Sullivan observed that most applicants who responded were from the Newburyport area. He suggested that this was because we advertised only in the Eagle Tribune, and added that he would like to see the Union Leader added to our list when the Town is looking for people to hire. J. Sapia and F. Childs agreed.

At the Deliberative Session on February 2, 2008, two additional Articles were introduced to provide options for both the Communications’ Tower (Articles 9, 10 & 11), and the Town Hall Expansion (Articles 24 & 25). The Board of Selectmen wished to consider their recommendations for the new articles (10 & 25).

P. Sullivan noted that the Board has already made its recommendation for the existing articles, and they therefore need not be reconsidered.

Article #10 – Communications’ Tower Capital Reserve ($100,000.00)

Chairman J. Sapia said he wished to "Not Recommend" this article since it was a life/safety issue to improve communications for the Police, Fire and Highway Departments, and that he didn’t believe this could wait seven years at the rate of $100,000 per year.

Article #11 – Town Hall Expansion Capital Reserve ($50,000.00)

P. Sullivan indicated that he was concerned about the legality of adding articles to the Warrant during the Deliberative Session. F. Childs agreed.

F. Childs said that he attended the dinner for Cpl John Lapham on Saturday, February 9, at the Atkinson Country Club. He noted that the dinner was well attended, and Cpl Latham came in and enthusiastically thanked everyone for the financial and emotional support given him and his family by the townspeople.

J. Sapia added that there was a Golf Tournament at the Country Club that was also full all day, adding that this kind of community support in a time of need was why Atkinson is one of the best places to live, and raise a family.

Chairman J. Sapia announced the following events:

P. Sullivan agreed to provide minutes of this session.

Future Agenda:

2/15/08 – meet with R. Wood RE: Atkinson Woods’ abatement

Minutes of 2/11/08 Non-Public Session

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Snicer

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Jack Sapia, Chairman

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Paul Sullivan

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Fred J. Childs, Jr.