Present: Fred Childs, Chair, Jack Sapia, Paul Sullivan, and Town Administrator Russell McAllister.

The TA noted that an ad has been placed in the newspaper for the position of recording secretary and that a resume was also included in the agenda packet. At the previous meeting the Board voted to allow the TA to hire, on a temporary basis, a recording secretary at an hourly rate in the range of $10-$13 per hour. The TA outlined the rates of pay for recording secretary’s currently providing recording services. The Board discussed the issue from the longer and nearer term operational needs of the planning and zoning boards.

The TA explained that the information within the Board’s agenda packets relative to the above captioned provided a primer on how to calculate inflation. The information also provided an explanation in the difference between CPI-U (covers about 82% of US population) and CPI-W, which covers about 32% of the US population. A chart highlighting annual inflation rates from 2000 through the 2^nd quarter 2006 was also reviewed. The Board asked that the TA call surrounding communities to see what they were doing for COLA increases.

The TA noted that the agenda packet contained the advertisement for the bid associated with Town Hall expansion as well as the two submitted proposals. The Miller proposal was submitted prior to and again after the Town issued the RFP. The GSI bid was submitted prior to the Town issued RFP, but not after the RFP was issued. The results are listed below.

Miller Engineering Proposal $5,600

GSI Proposal $3,400

The TA provided the scheduled interview times for the following day. Mr. Sullivan noted that there was a pandemic flu planning session scheduled at the Atkinson Fire Department the next day at 8:00am.

Mr. Childs made several announcements including Family Mediation’s upcoming fundraiser, ‘Queen of Hearts’, and the Kimball Library’s Monster Ball.

Representatives from Vollmer Engineering were welcomed to the meeting by Board members. The TA phoned Paul Dimaggio (planning board member) to solicit his input into the selection. Mr. Dimaggio noted that it was important to the membership to have an engineer at the necessary meetings and one who lived close enough to Atkinson to be available and the personality fit with the planning board. The TA relayed this information during the discussion with Vollmer Engineering. Board members queried representatives from Vollmer with respect to expertise, availability, and proximity to Atkinson. A thoughtful dialogue ensued between Board members and representatives from Vollmer. The Board next welcomed representatives from CMA Engineering and a fruitful exchange regarding, fit, size of the firm, available resources and proximity to Atkinson ensued.

Subsequent to the departure of the CMA representatives Board members contrasted differences of style, service offerings, size of the firm, their capacity to meet the Town’s professional engineering needs, and agreed that either firm was well qualified. The Board agreed that the distinguishing difference was the overall scope of service offerings and the available resources within the firm to meet the projected needs of the Town. The impending 55 and older development, library construction, town hall expansion was considered during the Board’s deliberations. Mr. Sapia made the motion to hire Vollmer Engineering as the Town’s Engineering firm. Mr. Sullivan seconded. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

The TA was directed to contact Vollmer Engineering, inform the planning board and KNA of the decision, and arrange for both Vollmer and the Circuit Rider to provide a presentation at the 10/23 BoS meeting. Mr. Sullivan asked that the TA work with the interested parties to help with a smooth transition between engineering firms.

There being no further business to come before the Board Mr. Sapia made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Sullivan seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved. The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:15am.

Respectfully,

Russell McAllister

Town Administrator

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Fred Childs, Chair

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Jack Sapia

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Paul Sullivan