Chairman Paul Sullivan called the Board of Selectmen to order at 7:35PM on Monday, April 21, 2008, in the Atkinson Town Hall.

Paul Sullivan, Chairman Craig Kleman, Interim Town Administrator

Fred Childs

William Friel

Fire Chief Murphy was present to answer any questions that the Board might have on a proposal he received from Comstar, Inc. to bill for ambulance services when they are done by Town vehicles when AMR is not available. At present the Town does not bill when the Atkinson Rescue vehicle is used. The Chief was asking permission from the Board to move forward and to negotiate with Comstar on a contract. The Town only transported about 8 times last year but received no reimbursement. The Chief said that Comstar only receives 10% of the amount that they collect. Comstar needs access to the Town’s accounts so that reimbursements from say Medicare can be direct deposited. Mr. Childs asked if it was 10% of what the patient incurs. Mr. Friel asked where the funds would be deposited when they are reimbursed and also asked if the amount of funds was worth the effort. The Chief said that there are no set fees and no additional fees. Mr. Friel asked if the patient could not pay how aggressively does Comstar collect. The Chief said it depends how passively or aggressively the town wants the company to collect, e.g. one dunning notice or five. The Chief added that the Town does not have a worker who can deal with the intricacies of Medicare. The Chief gave some examples of when the town transported. Selectmen felt that there should be some way to mediate with Comstar when there is a hardship and to have language in the contract to deal with such situation. Mr. Sullivan said that if the Town performs the service then they should get reimbursed for it. The Board gave their permission for the Chief to proceed.

Police Chief Consentino was next and spoke to Mr. Childs’ idea that the Boston Post Cane ceremony should be re-instituted. The Chief would like to give it to the oldest resident in town. He found canes that cost $50.00 and he would take this from the Donation account.

The next department head that spoke was Mr. Ted Stewart, Road Agent. He was before the Board to discuss the bids that were received for the Ford F550 truck that would replace the existing town truck. He recommended that the bid from Grappone Ford with the Fairfield equipment in the amount of $56,838 with an allowance of $18,000 for a trade in be accepted. The total amount would be $38,838. Mr. Childs asked if any trucks with yellow or orange cabs were available. Mr. Stewart said that colored trucks cost more and that orange (Omega) adds three months to the process and are worth less in trade in value. Mr. Friel suggested that the town go with a stock color that stands out, and Mr. Stewart said that he prefers green like the state police vehicles. Mr. Friel said that it does not stand out. Mr. Friel asked why the Donovan package did not meet specs, and Mr. Stewart said that there is no front plow hitch. He added that it is a 9’6" plow with a command plow on the Fairfield package. The wing will come out of his budget. Mr. Friel asked what has the town done in the past and Mr. Stewart said that contractors have used the town’s wings and sanders. The wing costs $6,500 out of the town budget he said. Mr. Stewart said that the front plow hitch could handle both (plow and wing). Selectmen mentioned that there have been complaints about plow trucks and Mr. Stewart said that they should call him as he has assigned plow routes.

Mr. Stewart spoke about hiring Seasonal Laborers for the department. He spoke about the $9.00 rate of pay for the workers and how it compared to local construction firms. The laborers are budgeted for 30 hours a week. Mr. Childs asked why Mr. Stewart does not stagger his crew and Mr. Stewart said that it was a part time crew, that he does not go over budget and that the part timers have other jobs. There was a discussion about call back situations and about payrolls. No motion was taken on hiring the seasonal laborers and it was taken under advisement.

Mr. Childs asked about hot topping. Mr. Stewart spoke about the outlet for the catch basin near town hall that lies between the Town hall and the school driveways. Mr. Stewart said that he would work with Mr. Dave Weymouth on this.

Mr. Stewart pointed out some problem areas:

Mr. Stewart said that contracts need to signed by the Board:

Library Trustees Eleanor Fuer and Kay Galloway and Acting Library Director Carolyn Birr came before the Board to request the use the Selectmen’s meeting room on May 13^th for a presentation by WMUR’s Josh Judge and a local Atkinson student on unique weather.

Mrs. Galloway discussed the recruitment of the Library Director and the pay range for the staff with a starting pay of $10.76 to a maximum of $15.18. She next discussed the appointment of a Teen librarian who chooses books for teenagers. She said that the library needs to grow and that the salary for this position is coming from funds available since an employee left in January.

Chairman Sullivan discussed other issues with the group such as energy costs for the new library and the position that there would be no growth at the library with regard to new positions. He added that this total picture would be looked at during the next budget season. Mr. Friel wanted to know where the funds would come from and how did the trustees determine the new range. Chair Sullivan inquired about the number of full timers and Mrs. Birr said that there are 8 part time staff and only one full time person. Mrs. Galloway addressed a number of issues regarding the new library. They were: the electricians, ductwork/ HVAC, plumbers, sprinklers, hurricane anchors, windows, siding UNITIL power and the new leach field/ septic. Mr. Friel asked about the sprinkler issue and Mrs. Galloway said that it had been resolved. She added that the project is behind schedule. A check from UNITIL in the amount of $8,000 had been deposited at Town Hall. Change Order #1 was presented to the selectmen that was for a bid alternate that after a credit was for $11,885.

The recreation department spoke next and Patti Mangini and Mr. Busby were present. They discussed the Fishing Derby that has a 7:30 AM registration and a start at 8AM on May 10th. It is for children up to 12 years old and no power baits are allowed. She mentioned the town wide cleanup. The Memorial Day Parade on May 26^th will line up at 10AM with the parade to start at 10:30. The Sun and Fun application is on the website. Mr. Phil Busby discussed the design of the East Road Recreation area and the need to go out to bid for a request for proposal (RFP) for engineering.

Daniel and Maggie Osborn came in for a building permit for 8 Valcat Lane. They were seeking the permission from the board for a building permit for a year round home on this Class VI as the Osborns need to sign a waiver against their deed. The property is owned by Malborn Realty Trust. Mr. Friel said that the form they submitted does not reference the existing deed. Mr. Childs said that the form should have the actual map and lot number on it and that it should reference the Trust, the book and page of where the deed can be found at the registry and have signatures of the Trustees of the Trust. The Osborns agreed that they would return with the changes next week.

The Oil Spill cleanup at the Kimball house was discussed and Chair Sullivan said that other agencies need to review the reimbursement form and signoff.

Mr. Kleman discussed a phone call he received from the Town of Plaistow’s assessing office looking for information from Avitar on the Town of Atkinson tax parcels. Mr. Friel said that the administrator should get a list of what they are looking for with detailed numbers.

The Board discussed the applications for the part time clerk in the Town Clerk’s office and the board suggested that members review the applications and initial those that they felt should be interviewed by the Board and the Town Clerk.

Town Administrator’s Search – Chairman Sullivan said that Barry Cox of NH Local Government Center called and said that they had received 25 resumes and that NHLGC had culled it to 14 resumes for the Board’s review.

Chair Sullivan said that there would be a hearing on a Large Groundwater Withdrawal application on May 7^th at 7PM in Dyke Auditorium at the Academy and that Mr. Dave Williams, Cable Coordinator, has been soliciting bids for a sound reinforcement system for this hearing. He has received verbal quotes and the Music Factory has come in with a bid. Mr. Williams said that Andrews AVS has not yet sent a bid but that he has talked to them. Mr. Friel said that Mr. Williams would have to sort through the bid proposals as they are bidding different equipment. Mr. Sullivan suggested that Mr. Williams tweak the two smaller vendors and give the results to the Town Administrator for action.

Mr. Williams said that he has submitted to the board a memo in December of 2007 about the "origination sites" that Comcast promised. These included Fire, Police, Congregation Church and Kimball Library. They are not live yet. The live sites are the Community Center, Town Hall and Atkinson Academy.

Chair Sullivan asked the administrator to contact Christine Bowman from DES about the posting requirements for the Groundwater Withdrawal Meeting.

The board discussed the Bookkeeper’s memo as to whether new hires have a 90 day probation period before they are eligible for benefits save for retirement which occurs immediately and the board reaffirmed this policy.

Chair Sullivan said that the Atkinson Lions Club has two college scholarships of $1,000 each that are not predicated on academic success but also community service and community awareness. If someone wants an application they should contact the Town

Hall.

Mr. Leon Artus spoke about the change in the scheduled mediation date with BTLA applicants from April 25 to May 23 and that the appropriate parties had been notified.

He next addressed the fourteen questions that he had submitted earlier and that only four had been answered. He would like the rest of the questions to be on next week’s selectmen’s agenda. Chairman Sullivan said that the Board would not get into why decisions were made and that he could be on the agenda if he presented new questions as new business. Mr. Childs said that he did not know the membership of the Committee that Mr. Artus speaks for. Mr. Friel wanted to know if the Committee is registered and Mr. Artus said that it is not.

On motion of Mr. Childs, seconded by Mr. Friel, it was voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:45PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Craig Kleman

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Paul A. Sullivan, Chairman

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Fred J. Childs, Jr

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William G. Friel