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

Mr. Sapia opened the meeting by asking John Latham Lt.Cmd (UNS ret) to read from an FDR prayer given the day after D-Day in June1945.

Katie McDonough (Library Director) provided a status report of library activity for the month of August. Kaye Galloway (Trustee) asked that the Board approved John Mack as an alternate to the Library Trustees. Mr Sullivan made the motion to appoint Mr. Mack as an Alternate to the Library Trustees. Mr. Childs seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

Ron Lamarre (Architect) provided a status report relative to the outcome of the bid for the construction of the new library. The Bauen Corporation was the low bidder and was subsequently awarded the bid for construction of the new library. The bid amount was $2,326,900. Mr. Lamar next provided an overview of costs and funding sources listed in the tables below.

Bauen Corporation Bid $2,343,000

FFE/Tech $ 249,100 this amount also includes any funds for a construction contingency

Professional Fees $ 295,000 A/E Team

Clerk & Testing $ 50,000 John Turner Consulting Proposal

Bond $1,724,000

Trustee Funds $ 100,000

Library CRF $ 890,000

CRF Interest $ 80,000 interest earned between 12/06 and 7/07

CRF Interest $ 80,000 projected interest between 7/07 to 7/08

Fund Raising to date $ 42,000 Legacy Fund

Mr. Lamarre stressed that he wanted to have all of the costs and funding sources listed and upfront so that everyone knew what they were. Mr. Lamarre’s synopsis lasted several minutes. Board members noted that the approved amount for library construction listed in the warrant article was $2,724,000. The breakout of the funding sources is listed below.

Bonds or Notes $1,734,000

Library CRF $ 890,000 BoS are the named Agents for the CRF.

Board members noted that the costs presented to them totaled $2,926,000, which was $202,000 more than the approved amount of $2,724,000. Mr. Lamarre explained that the project was not spending anymore than the approved bonded amount of $1,734,000. Mr. McDonough explained that the projected interest income from the Library capital reserve fund (CRF) was $160,000 and that funding source was being utilized. Mr. Lamarre also explained that the legacy fund (501 C-3 / donations) was also being used to fund library items and design enhancements within the library. Mr. Childs asked whether or not donations were being used to offset the cost of the library. Mr. Lamarre acknowledged that they were. Mr. Childs next asked why it was that the total cost was not going down I f expenses were being offset by donations. Discussion ensued over the issue. The Board explained that the approved amount of construction was $2,724,000 and not $2,926,000. Ms. McDonough again noted that the interest in the Library CRF was for expenditures associated with the library. She asked what the Selectmen were going to do with the interest if they were not going to spend it on the library. The Board explained that they could indeed spend the additional $160,000 in interest from the Library CRF on the library because they were named Agents to the Fund, but they would not because the voters approved an expenditure of $2,724,000 and not $2,926,000. This line of argument went on for several more iterations with the Library arguing that the Board could spend above and beyond the approved amount and the Board explaining that they would not spend more than the amount approved by the voters. Mr. Sapia explained that on the floor of Town Meeting during the deliberations Mr. Lamarre had projected a square foot cost of $185/foot, with a hopeful expectation that that cost might well go down to $175/foot. The costs proposed this evening were $211/foot and the proposed total amount was already almost 10% over the approved cost. The Board expressed strong reservations about the $202,000 in additional costs when the project had not yet even started. The Board suggested that the Trustees revisit costs with Bauen Corporation. Mr. Lamarre noted that if that were the course taken then construction would begin next spring rather than this fall. The TA expressed concern given the spending timetable associated with the Library Bond. The TA noted that the spending schedule was associated with the construction schedule provided by Mr. Lamarre as part of the Bond application. Mr. Lamarre quipped that the Town had erred in bonding too soon. Tempers flared the library representatives left the meeting.

Emergency Communications – Paul Dimaggio

Mr. DiMaggio reported on the committee’s progress with respect to the bidders for the emergency communications study. He noted that two companies had submitted bids and both had been interviewed. Mr. DiMaggio recommended that CDCG be awarded the bid given their depth and previous experience. Mr. Sapia made the motion to award the bid to CDCG of Dover, NH pending a satisfactory report by the TA concerning his check of references. Mr. Sullivan seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

A citizen was allowed to address the Board relative to a threat that she had received in the mail. The Board asked whether or not that threat had been reported to the police.

Mike Morrison addressed the Board and provided a status update on the mosquito control program. Mr. Morrison explained that the mosquito traps had yet to show any mosquito pools infected with either EEE, or WNV. Given the time of year, the approaching cold weather, and the very dry conditions, Mr. Morrison felt pretty good, but cautioned people to wear long sleeves and insect repellant during the dawn and dusk times of the day.

The Library trustees returned and acknowledged that they would work out the costs so that they would be no more than the approved amount of $2,724,000. The Board thanked them for their hard work and looked forward to the revised cost sheet.

The TA reviewed the server quotes with the Board and noted the costs, listed below.

Dell $3,783.13 (includes UPS @ $536) w/out ups server is $3,247.13

IBM $3,117 (dose not include UPS)

The TA explained that he preferred the IBM because of the hot swap drives, but that the Dell had larger drives. He asked permission to consult with Mr. Jussif about the difference and go on his recommendation because the price differential was only $120. Mr. Sapia made the motion for the TA to proceed. Mr. Childs seconded. The vote was unanimous and so moved.

The TA reviewed the conservation commission request for the above and noted that he had asked Steve Jussif to address the issue in terms of hardware and labor costs associated with installation. There were two issues; bandwidth and security associated with wireless access.

Hardware cost is between $250 & $499.

Software cost is between $400 & $600.

Total cost is between $650 & $1,200.

The Board requested that the TA receive a firmer number and report back. The TA agreed noting that the additional cost meant that the planned software purchase for the mail server would be put off a year.

The TA explained that the Staples account was a commercial account where late payments and finance charges are applied to all purchase balances after 30 days much like a credit card. He noted that a problem occurred because purchase receipts were not submitted in a timely fashion, i.e., the same day the purchase was made. Ms. LaVallee noted that she received an April purchase receipt in August of this year. Because we are a municipality we are eligible for a government account and that means that we will not be charged late fees or finance charges. However, when our account becomes overdue it will be closed. While Sandra has introduced a sign out sheet for people taking the Staples card, which has helped tie the date of the card use with a specific purchase receipt, it suffers from two drawbacks. Not all employees sign the sheet when taking the card, and not everyone submits the purchase receipt the day of purchase. Converting the Town’s commercial account to a government account will save late fees and finance charges, but it will not necessarily lead to the timely submission of purchase receipts. The TA noted his recommendations of converting to government account or centralizing purchasing w/ purchase order system. The Board discussed the issue.

The TA explained that the Red Cross was looking for a member from Atkinson to join the above. Mr. Childs thought it a good idea for the veteran’s group to review and appoint an individual from their group.

The TA noted that the above captioned bids had been isuued.

The Board discussed the cable coordinator applications and agreed to get their choices to the TA for subsequent interview scheduling.

Mr. Sullivan noted that he had received some emergency preparedness brochures that he would bring to town hall for subsequent distribution.

Mr. Sapia made the motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91:3, A:2 (a) to discuss a personnel issue dealing with compensation. Mr. Childs seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and so moved at approximately 10:40pm.

The Board reconvened into public session at approximately 11:10pm. There being no further business to come before the Board Mr. Sullivan made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Childs seconded. The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:10pm

Respectfully,

Russell McAllister

Town Administrator

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Jack Sapia, Chair

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Paul Sullivan

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Fred Childs