Present: Fred Childs, Chair, Phil Consentino, Jack Sapia and Town Administrator Russell McAllister.

Mr. Childs opened the public hearing at 7:30pm. Mr. Consentino stepped down from the Board and joined the audience where he addressed the Board as he Police Chief. Mr. Consentino explained that the withdrawal of funds in the amount of $2,300 was for the following expenses;

Sponsor an Atkinson Youth Baseball Team

An Academy School 5^th Grade Scholarship

Miscellaneous

Senior Food Cards

Mr. Consentino also announced an upcoming Big Band concert. Mr. Childs made the motion to close the public hearing. Mr. Sapia seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous with Mr. Consentino abstaining.

Mr. Consentino rejoined the Board. Mr. Consentino voted to approve the minutes with corrections. Mr. Sapia seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

Mr. Consentino stepped down from the Board and joined the audience where he addressed the Board as Police Chief. Mr. Consentino spoke to the issue of public safety communications. He noted that radio coverage in town was spotty and that such spotty coverage left dead spots where public safety personnel were unable to communicate with the dispatch centers in either Plaistow or Atkinson. Mr. Consentino explained that an officer recently responded to a disturbance call where he became involved in a scuffle. The officer repeatedly pressed the emergency button on his radio to request assistance, but the transmission never reached the station. First responders at an accident scene have had difficulty calling in an ambulance as well. Mr. Consentino went on to explain the he and the department had been looking at solutions to the issue for at least a year. Mr. Consentino explained the list of alternatives his department had looked into. Increasing the height of the current tower on the fire department was difficult structurally and would still require the leasing of ground lines with a monthly cost of between 4-5k.. Constructing a new tower on Town property behind the fire department was costly, between 90k-120k depending upon the height, but could be offset by the revenue derived from leasing space to wireless carriers. However, the location of the property was not zoned for that type of use. Having the Town purchase Signal Tower would entail a purchase cost and ongoing operating expenses. Mr. Consentino noted that the most viable option was to install a whip antenna on the top of the existing tower for 40 to 50 dollars per month.

Mr. Childs noted that any of those options would impact the current abutters. Brian Kaye and Sandy Carter were recognized by the Chair and joined the discussions. Both residents were abutters to the Signal Tower property. Mr. Carter acknowledged that there was a public safety issue with communications but suggested that there were alternative solutions to the problem. Mr. Carter provided a synopsis of the long history of the signal tower issue noting that Signal Tower was not complying with the court ordered stipulation agreement of 1985. Mr. Carter spoke to the issue of zoning regulations and the necessity for special exceptions for any additions added to the structure. Vigorous debated ensued with respect to the issue with Mr. Sapia noting that the topic needed to be introduced earlier than at the present meeting. Mr. Sapia expressed his desire to perform his due diligence to better understand the options available to redress the spotty coverage and poor transmission quality of the Town’s emergency communication radios. The discussion wound down with everyone agreeing to keep working towards a resolution to the issue.

Tim Dziechowski reviewed the Conservation Easement deed for the Bouturny property. Mr. Dziechowski explained that the Conservation Commission had already accepted the easement as allowed under RSA 36-A subject to the approval of the governing board. Mr. Dziechowski further explained that Town Counsel had reviewed the deed and found it acceptable. Mr. Consentino made the motion to accept the conservation easement deed for the Bouturny property. Mr. Sapia seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

The Board reviewed George Willette’s resume and found his experience acceptable for conducting a structural analysis of Signal Tower. Mr. Sapia made the motion to approve Mr. Willette conducting the structural inspection. Mr. Childs seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous with Mr. Consentino abstaining and so moved.

The Board reviewed the fire department’s grant application for portable radios for the 36 staff members in the fire department. The total grant award is for $67,636. Mr. Sapia made the motion to approve the grant application submitted by the Fire Department in the amount of $67,636. Mr. Childs seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

The Board reviewed a memo from the Planning & Zoning Administrator, Shirley Galvin< requesting an increase charged by the departments for certified mailings due to the increase in postage. The fee increase would go from $5.25 to $6.00. Mr. Consentino made the motion to approve the fee increase for certified mailings from $5.25 to $6.00. Mr. Sapia seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

The Board reviewed various abatements. Mr. Childs made the motion to approve the abatements in the amounts listed in the table below. Mr. Consentino seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

Mr. Childs made the motion to deny an abatement request for map 7, lot 73 (66 Walker Road) because property value was comparable to others. Mr. Sapia seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

Mr. Childs extended thanks to the many organizations that helped fund the costs of replacing the Town sign.

The Board discussed the review of the personnel policy but decided to schedule a workshop on Thursday to review the policy in its entirety.

Mr. Childs spoke to the recent Code of Ethics decision that found him in "conflict of interest" with respect to his participation in a vote to approve a 3% COLA for Town Employees. Mr. Childs noted that he too, was an employee. Mr. Childs noted that the same charge was lodged against him for the same action the previous year and that the Code of Ethics Committee had not found him in violation of any conflict of interest. Based upon the previous ruling Mr. Childs acted in a similar fashion this year when voting on the COLA increase for Town Employees. The composition of the membership to the Code of Ethics had changed since the previous year and a different ruling regarding the same complaint was issued in the current year. Mr. Childs admitted that the Ethics Committee seemed to be moving their standards and he would as a consequence modify his actions accordingly.

Mr. Sapia spoke to the issue as well confirming much of what Mr. Childs expressed and adding that different years yielded different standards.

There being no further business to come before the Board Mr. Consentino made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Sapia seconded. The vote was unanimous and so moved. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:10am.

Respectfully,

Russell McAllister

Town Administrator

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Fred Childs, Chair

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Phil Consentino

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Jack Sapia