TOWN OF BEDFORD
BUDGETARY TOWN MEETING
WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 6, 2002
MCKELVIE
SCHOOL
The
Budgetary Town Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 6, 2002 at the McKelvie
School, 108 Liberty Hill Road, Bedford.
Seated at the table were Councilors David Danielson, William Greiner,
Edward Moran, Thomas Riley, Bruce Searing, Michael Scanlon and Richard Stonner.
Also Keith Hickey, Town Manager; Crystal
Dionne, Finance Director; Wanda Jenkins, Town Clerk, and Martha Gaudes, Town
Council Secretary. Moderator
Van Loan opened the meeting at 7:05 PM.
There were approximately 400 people in the audience.
Moderator
Van Loan led the Pledge of Allegiance, introduced those seated on the stage, recognized 4 members of the Kids
Council who were present, and reviewed the rules for the meeting.
Moderator Van Loan said he had received two requests for secret written
ballots if either of 2 issues come up: 1)
an amendment to add money for road improvements; 2) an amendment to add
money for the purchase of additional land.
Article 3 – To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate such sums of money as may be necessary to defray the Town charges for the ensuing year.
General Fund
$14,094,890
Police
Special Detail
339,350
Recreation
Day Camp
79,381
Bedford
Community Television
220,000
Other
Special Revenue Funds
105,000
Sewer
Fund
2,041,499
Total
Appropriation
$16,880,120
Councilor Danielson moved
the budget in the amount of $16,880,120; motion seconded.
Councilor Danielson read
the proposed budget summary:
There is an increase in the Town portion of property taxes to support the 2002 budget of .52 cents. The Town portion of the tax rate will be $3.23 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Highlighted below are the projects and/or equipment included within departmental budgets that will continue to allow for the quality service that the residents of Bedford have come to expect. Additional costs in the budget are funded through cost savings elsewhere, new revenues or revenues created by property tax increases.
· The Town Council budget includes $331,411 for the first principal and interest payment as well as an additional principal reduction of $517,589 for the Joppa Hill Farm parcel. Of the principal reduction, $492,000 is from the sale of the Joppa Hill land located in Amherst to the Town of Amherst. This sale is contingent upon approval at Amherst’s Town Meeting.
· The Assessing budget includes $40,000 for the continued funding of a Reassessment Capital Reserve account.
· The Building Maintenance budget includes $15,000 for carpet replacement at the Town Office Building, $12,500 for conversion of the Old Fire Station to meeting space and $40,000 for the removal of buildings on town property.
· The Police Department budget includes funds to hire an additional police officer and increasing a part time clerical position to full time.
· The Fire Department includes $340,000 for the purchase of a new Engine that will replace the existing Engine 2. This purchase is offset by capital reserve withdrawals of $54,000. Also included are funds for a new firefighter.
· There is $50,000 budgeted for the continued funding of a Water Line Extension Capital Reserve. This capital reserve account would provide future funding for a water line towards the center of town while Route 101 is being reconstructed.
· The Public Works Department budget includes $2,200,000 for the reconstruction, rehabilitation, and resurfacing of town roads. This is a $1,200,000 increase from the 2001 budget, $200,000 of which is funded from developer offsite fees. The Town Council has taken a more aggressive approach in improving roads throughout town. A portion of Wallace Road is scheduled for reconstruction in 2002. Also included in the Public Works budget are funds for a new employee, the purchase of one six-wheel dump truck and $178,250 in contributions to various Capital Reserve accounts.
· The Winter Maintenance budget increased to $423,635. This amount will allow for the establishment of a winter reserve account if there is a mild winter to help offset the costs of future harsh winters.
· The Solid Waste budget includes the annual Landfill Closure principal and interest payments. Also included is an increase in tipping fees of $84,400 to offset the increased amount of trash dumped on an annual basis.
· The Recreation Department includes continued funding of the Pool Replacement Capital Reserve in the amount of $90,000 and the $25,000 for the establishment of a Pool Building Capital Reserve. Also included is $25,000 for lighting of the County Road tennis courts, $25,000 for future lighting of the Riley Field and $30,600 for new field mowing equipment.
· The Conservation Commission budget includes $80,000 towards purchase of conservation land if any becomes available. This amount is offset by revenue.
Moderator
Van Loan went over each line item in the budget.
Anne
Hoffman, 64 Cider Mill Road, asked if the $10,000 for land purchase is under the
Town Council line. Councilor
Danielson said yes. Ms.
Hoffman made a motion to increase it by $100,000 for the purchase of land for
Town use. Her
particular concern is the purchase of land for playing fields and/or
conservation land. Motion seconded.
Ms. Hoffman said her concern is that a number of leagues want and need
playing fields. She believes
there are some select properties available in the center of town for playing
fields. As green space is
subdivided and developed, we need additional land to be reserved for Town and
recreation use.
Susan
Tufts-Moore, 27 Bedford Center Road, said she brought this up at the last 2
budget hearings and feels $10,000 is such a drop in the bucket.
She feels we need to put more substantial funds in this.
She would like to see a lot more put aside every year.
Bob
Thomas, 40 Elk Drive, asked why the Council only put in $10,000.
Councilor Riley said this $10,000 will bring us over $100,000.
We have never turned down a parcel before.
Over the past 5 to 7 years we purchased additional land at the Ashbog,
eagle reserve land, Heritage Trail land, Pulpit Rock land, Sebbins Pond,
Joppa Hill land, Benedictine land, Bedford Center Common land, Beals Road land,
Cabot Preserve trails, etc. This
was all done with our current funding mechanism.
This year the Council looked at surplus parcels which could be sold and
put those funds into an acquisition fund.
Councilor
Danielson said there are 2 different accounts.
One comes out of the Conservation Commission. The one Ms. Hoffman referred to comes out of the
Council budget. This
would bring us to $30,000 or $40,000.
Councilor Riley referred to the land use money that comes in from current
use fees. We are trying to set
aside money. It is a balancing act
on what we should do first.
Henry
Veilleux, Greeley Hill Road, asked what this will add to the tax rate.
Councilor Scanlon said 5 cents per thousand.
Councilor
Greiner said he is against it. Whether
we put $50,000 or $100,000 in this line item, or in the Conservation line item,
it is not going to get us what we need. If
we need to buy land, it is going to be a bigger dollar purchase.
Being a town, we can’t take money that we have and give it to a
landowner or developer
and
put it as a down payment and then be in a position to forfeit that deposit if
the land purchase doesn’t pass.
He would rather see us go out and look for a parcel that suits a lot of
different needs for the community and sit down with the owner or developer like
we did with Joppa Hill and then bring it to the voters.
Councilor
Scanlon said at the budget meeting he proposed $100,000 and $200,000 additions
which were not supported by the Council.
The $100,000 would not buy a piece of land, but it is a good start.
He asked the people to support the motion.
Jim
Morgan, 39 Riddle Drive, moved the question.
Motion seconded. Vote on
motion passed. The meeting
then proceeded to a secret written ballot.
The polls were opened at 7:40 PM and closed at 7:55 PM.
Matt
Pearson, 33 Pheasant Run, asked if the next secret ballot comes under road
resurfacing/Public Works. Moderator
Van Loan said yes. Mr.
Pearson made a motion to move the Public Works section to be the next topic to
be debated; motion seconded. Vote
on motion passed.
Moderator
Van Loan reviewed the Public Works line items. Ms. Hoffman asked why there is a $7,000 decrease from
what was expended in 2001 in the administration line.
Councilor Searing said in 2001 part of the cost of paying for the study
by VHB, which is the road engineering construction firm we hired this past year,
the amount spent was $27,000 and the amount in the budget this year is $20,000
for engineering/architectural services.
Under
road resurfacing, Ms. Hoffman asked for a breakdown of what this will cover this
year, and the results of the VHB study.
Councilor Searing gave the breakdown:
Approximately $115,000 is for wearing course (final layer on a road) for
roads that were reconstructed, i.e. Nancy Lane, Campbell Road and Liberty Hill
Road; asphalt overlay $265,000
(overlaying roads that have not fallen into a state of complete disrepair);
$1,000,000 for total reconstruction/rehabilitation; $125,000 for
construction of a culvert on McQuade Brook Road;
$200,000 for work on County Road as far as the sewer lines that are going
to be put in; $50,000 for
ledge removal on Nashua Road; $162,000 for engineering work;
$45,000 for designs for 2003 work; contingency
$75,000; escrow development for
McAllister Road $200,000. The list
for overlays and reconstruction is not finalized.
Moderator
Van Loan announced the results of the vote on the last motion as yes 80 and no
278, so the motion failed to increase the budget by $100,000 with respect to the
purchase of additional land.
Ms.
Hoffman asked how much of Wallace Road has been engineered and designed, and how
much it would cost to do Wallace Road.
Councilor Searing said the section from 101 south to the Merrimack border
has been engineered for total reconstruction; the portion from New Boston Road north to the Goffstown
border has been engineered for total reconstruction;
the total cost of the entire portion of Wallace Road is not yet known
because those other portions have not been engineered.
The portion between 101 and North Amherst has been fixed.
The portion from North Amherst Road going north to New Boston Road has
not been engineered yet.
The $2.2 million in the budget this year, approximately half a million of
that is earmarked potentially for a portion of Wallace Road.
Ken
Greenwood, 7 Cardinal Court, said doubling the cost, he is not enthused that
throwing more money at it is going to make it better. Over the last 20 years watching the degradation of these
roads, and the condition they are in, he
gets the impression that it won’t be done right.
Doubling the cost, he isn’t sure we are going to get the bang for the
buck based on the track record of what he sees. Why haven’t we hit new developers and future
developments a little harder and let them take the cost.
Councilor
Searing said a year ago there appeared to be an indication the voters wanted the
road situation looked at more seriously. In
May the Council put out an RPF to road engineering firms to get a price on what
they would charge if we hired them to do a study and evaluate our conditions and
what alternatives we had in terms of improving those conditions.
VHB was selected and came back with their study and recommendations in
October. They indicated that
our road conditions are very poor. We
came in the low 60’s which is very low on a scale of 1 to 100.
They have made some recommendations and given some very preliminary
financial approaches that we could take to address this problem over the next 5
to 10 years. The Council decided
that increasing the road budget from $1 million to $2.2 million indicates that
amount of money stops us from going backwards. We
will be taking the next several months and evaluating the circumstances, working
with VHB and coming up with a plan that we will put in force over the next 5 to
10 years. This is a 120% increase in the road budget.
There is no question that money can be spent.
This gives us more time to study it.
The Council is hoping to have a plan in place by summer and be prepared
next year to present the financials to the voters for approval.
Mr.
Greenwood asked about the developers.
Councilor Stonner said when a developer builds a new development, they
build all their roads to town standards, and they are assessed a certain amount
of money to off-site
road improvements (i.e. $2,000 a lot).
Bedford
Budgetary Town Meeting – March 6, 2002 – Page 6
Dennis Grimes, Bracken Circle, said we are increasing the budget for roads, How much of that is coming from the developers. He feels $2,000 a lot is very small for the prices they are selling houses for. Councilor Riley said they are not contributing towards the $2.2 million. That is above the $2 million. Last year we had $872,908 in escrow for additional development work. There is money in additional escrow accounts in addition to the $2.2 million. Mr. Grimes asked how long that $2,000 has been in place. Councilor Stonner cannot give an exact answer. It has been at least the last 4 years. Mr. Grimes made a motion to increase that amount. Moderator Van Loan said that is not in order. That would be an impact fee issue which would go to the Planning Board. Mr. Grimes recommended they consider increasing/doubling it.
Elenore
Freedman, Kalmia Way, congratulated the Council because they finally have a plan
which is in the right direction. She
feels $2.2 million is an appropriate figure until we have the specific
recommendations for next season.
Phil
Bruno, Beech Street, agrees with Ms. Freedman and commended the Council for
having the foresight in having a plan.
Ms.
Hoffman said at the last Council meeting, Ed Kelly (Director of Public Works)
indicated he received the software in October, and the report
in September, which is before the budgetary process.
She said Mr. Kelly indicated he only looked at the software when it first
arrived and hasn’t looked at it since. She
asked why it is going to take another 4 months before any plans are ready. Councilor Searing said the proposal from VHB was
presented in October. When
bringing in software to address planning, that isn’t something you just turn
around in 30, 60 or 90 days and create a plan.
Mr. Kelly was in the hospital for knee surgery, so it is unfair to put
the pressure on him. Ms. Hoffman said maybe Mr. Kelly needs more staff to progress on
this plan more aggressively, and there was talk about an engineer which would be
at least $90,000. The roads are
deteriorating. What are the plans
for the engineer. Mr. Searing said
that is under discussion, and the Council will make that decision over the
coming months. If they decide
to do that, they will bring the engineer on board at the proper time of the year
that would assist for the work that would be done in 2003. Ms. Hoffman made a motion to add $100,000 to the road
budget to accelerate the road process and bring on the engineer and address some
of the roads that are in total deterioration.
There was no second to the motion.
Councilor
Moran said re the $2,000 per lot, we do not have the power to be arbitrary. The
courts have been involved with the limits of what a community can impose on a
private citizen in terms of their obligations.
These are safe numbers. It
is not an arbitrary number. We
would make it higher if we could.
Jim
Morgan thanked the Council for the preparation of the budget and commended
Councilors Moran and Stonner for their years of service.
They received a standing ovation.
Mr. Morgan said he received a piece of mail that said we had a $50
million road issue. Is that true?
Councilor Danielson said there was a plan in process, and the Council was
following a plan. There was
over $200,000 spent in 1992 to $1.1 million.
He cautioned that the level of expectation that things are going to
change overnight is not going to happen. The
causes of the things that have happened are growth.
Wallace Road north of New Boston has become deteriorated not necessarily
because of Bedford traffic but a combination of the condition of the road and
the amount of traffic, not all of which is from Bedford.
This is not an issue that is going to be solved overnight.
Mr. Morgan asked if there is anywhere on any report that indicates there
is a $50 million road problem. Councilor
Searing said no. Councilor Riley
said we have $26 million worth of total repairs, maintenance and rehabilitation.
If we bond $26 over a 20-year period, it would come between $40 million
and $50 million. Mr. Morgan asked if there is anything in any
study or any plan in any Council meeting or discussion an issue of an $87
million water problem in Bedford. Councilor
Scanlon said no. Mr. Morgan
said regarding the $2.2 million road budget, he moved the question; motion
seconded. Moderator Van Loan said
there is nothing on the floor; that is an item in the budget.
Returning
to the beginning of the budget, Moderator Van Loan continued reviewing each line
item. Paul MacEwen, DW
Highway, asked what Information Systems is about.
Councilor Danielson said there is an Information Systems Manager who is
responsible for all computers that support town services.
Under
Assessing, Mr. MacEwen said last year it was $137,000; what is the difference.
Is this for revaluation. Councilor
Greiner said last year we had $40,000 in for the revaluation, and this year
again put in $40,000 for the revaluation to be put into a capital reserve. Mr.
MacEwen asked what is the cost of a reval.
Councilor Greiner said $400,000 to $500,000.
Susan
Anderson, Constance Street, asked for a breakdown in insurance and where is the
overage. Councilor Stonner
said this covers all the town insurances.
The increases are primarily in health insurance costs. The town has been shopping around for the best plan.
Ms. Anderson asked if the Town has an agent or broker.
Councilor Stonner said the Town Manager and Finance Director have been on
top of this; we have some self
insured portions.
Under
Fire Dept., Joseph Hannaford, 36 Hickory Lane, asked where the $340,000 is for
the new fire truck, and what about the old engine. Councilor Scanlon said the $340,000 is in this budget under
operations. We are not getting rid
of old engine 2; it will be moved back to a secondary piece.
They are getting rid of engine 1 which will be sold at the state auction.
Under
water line construction, Richard Moore, 27 Bedford Center Road, asked for
elaboration. He expressed a
word of caution about extending water lines.
Water lines can promote overdevelopment. Our 1.5 acre zoning with soils and slopes
is based on a physical limitation of the land to supply water to wells and
dispose of waste water. Piping
water removes much of the physical limitation on lot size and leaves us with
zoning laws that are not based on an actual need.
He fears without this physical limitation zoning will be weakened and
overdevelopment will occur. He
doesn’t believe we should use taxpayer’s money to extend water lines without
compelling reasons. Councilor
Scanlon said there is no plan for the Town to extend water lines throughout this
town. This $50,000 is to
start setting aside money because eventually we would like to get water into the
center of town for fire protection, and some of the structures in the center of
town don’t have drinkable water. This
is money set aside to start a fund for it.
Anyone who hooks onto the water line will pay for it. In order to change zoning to less than 1.5 acres, you
would have to have sewer and water, and it is up to the voters to decide.
Under
Library, Ms. Hoffman asked why the Council recommended less than the Town
Manager. Councilor Searing
said it is $3,000 less which is $1500 for fuel and $1500 for electricity.
There was a drop in fuel prices which is the reason for the cut.
Councilor
Danielson said there is a concern with water levels in the state.
We cannot solve any problem that would occur tomorrow, but long term we
do have to have a plan. At the last Council meeting Ed Kelly was asked to give
some idea on what we could do and how we could address this issue.
During the summer and fall, Councilor Danielson received calls from
people who are losing water in different parts of town, not just in the southern
part of town.
Under
sewer, Ms. Hoffman said under road work it was mentioned that $200,000 was for
County Road for the sewer. What
does that sewer do and how this sewer fund relates to that.
Councilor Moran said the County Road sewer has $1,020,000 budgeted, and
there are some laterals on Route 3 for $25,000.
Ms. Hoffman asked what is the $200,000 for County Road.
Councilor Moran said that is for McKelvie School.
Councilor Searing said they have a failing system.
The amount in the Public Works budget is an appropriated share of the
road construction for the sewer line.
Ms. Hoffman asked if the school pays anything.
Councilor Scanlon said the school is contributing to that sewer.
It will also serve residential properties along County Road.
This is at the school’s request.
Councilor Moran said it shows up on the town side because we get money
back from the state so it has to be shown.
Councilor Scanlon said it is an enterprise fund which is self funding.
We do not raise taxes for that.
There being no further discussion on the budget, Moderator Van Loan called for a vote on the budget at $16,880,120; vote on motion passed.
Article 4: Pursuant to RSA 40:14-a, the undersigned voters respectfully request you to insert in the warrant for the next town meeting, the following article: “Since the Bedford School District has adopted the official ballot form of meeting, but the Town of Bedford has not, in order to facilitate voting for future annual meetings, to reduce costs, and to best accommodate the voters of the Town, shall we authorize coordination of future Town elections with the School District elections?”
Roy Stewart, 19 Hickory Lane, moved to adopt the article as presented; motion seconded. Mr. Stewart said when official ballot voting was passed, the legislature inadvertently neglected to consider that some communities would continue with the conventional form of town meeting. Therefore legislation was introduced specifically for Bedford. The legislature said if it is good for Bedford perhaps it should be good for the whole state. Therefore, enabling legislation was passed allowing any community that has not adopted official ballot voting to coordinate their election with the school district that has adopted official ballot voting so you don’t have to have 2 meetings. By putting the elections together, which you have done in effect, this legalizes or authorizes that action by the Town.
Councilor
Scanlon said we have an opinion from the Town Attorney which he read in part.
It is up to the Town Council to decide when to set the election.
This warrant article is defective and should not be here and it would be
non binding if we found it to be illegal.
Moderator Van Loan said it is on the warrant and should be voted on.
It was a petitioned article. It’s
legal effect will be whatever it’s legal effect is.
Councilor
Greiner said nothing needs to be legalized.
What we are doing now is perfectly legal. He recommends a no vote.
Councilor Scanlon said the Town Attorney’s advice is that it should be
ruled invalid, illegal and unenforceable.
Councilor
Danielson said he believes we are doing what the petition is asking for.
When we have a Town election the school and town elections are held
simultaneously, and it appears that what we have done is because the Council has
always set the date with the school.
You want this to be mandatory?
Mr. Stewart said that’s it. The
question is whether or not the Council has the authority as the attorney has
ruled. If that is the case, why
would this be a law allowing towns to coordinate.
At the time it was determined that Bedford could not coordinate and
that’s why legislation was introduced. You
are doing it, but some future council could say no.
He suggested it be cast in stone. He
is looking at the cost and convenience to the taxpayers.
If you believe in democracy, you would want to have the elections held
jointly and not at the option of the Council.
Wayne
Repeta, 9 Rosewell Road, suggested it be voted down. It opens us up to other litigation, other referendums, voting
for future annual meetings to reduce cost, the nebulous terms in the
article are beyond compare.
Councilor
Danielson said if it is working ok now, he does not see a reason to make it
mandatory. If in the future things
were to change, it could be addressed.
Margaret
Comiskey, 40 Maple Drive, said there is a bill in the legislature to change the
voting day for school districts that follow SB 2 to April.
If this recommendation passes, it would say that the town would also have
to change its election to April. The
town runs on a calendar year. Even
March is late for your budgetary year. If
this passes, it would mean that if the current legislation passes and the school
district goes to an April meeting, then the Town would have to go to April. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Vote on motion failed.
Ken
Hawkins, 1 Barrington Drive, said page 13 and page 16 in the annual report shows
the budget at $…….210. The only
$…….120 is on the sheet. Moderator
Van Loan said we voted $120. Moderator
Van Loan thanked Councilors Moran and Stonner for their service.
Councilor Danielson thanked everyone for coming.
A
motion was made, seconded and passed to adjourn at 9:10 PM.
Martha
P. Gaudes
Town
Council Secretary