Members Present: Robin Pelletier, Carol Merrill, Mona McCready, William Barnett, Thomas Gilligan, Robin McAfee, Jennifer Morin, Gabby Daneault, Brian Duchesne, and Ben Fontaine

Excused Absent: Tom Irzyk and Henriette Girard

Unexcused Absent: David Baker and Gene Vallee

Others Present: David Jodoin, Vivian Doan, Betty Richards and Jim Boisvert

Jennifer Morin opened the meeting at 7 p.m.

Gabby made a motion to accept the October 2, 2003 minutes, Carol seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Ben made a motion to accept the corrected September 18, 2003 minutes, someone seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Vivian Doan reviewed the Library budget.

Building Maintenance – the Library Trustees had cut this line item but the Selectmen increased the line back to last year’s level. There has been quite a bit of water damage during the last two storms. David J and Jim Boisvert came over today to check out the damage. David J. stated that the eaves are all rotted and the rain gutters have been pulled away from the building. The rain is now going down the side of the building instead of going into the gutters. The water is going down through one of the vents for the furnace system and is going into the cellar and flooding the floor.

Vivian stated that the Fire Department was in on Wednesday and pumped out at least 3 inches of water from the boiler room.

So this damage will have to be repaired. We have not used all of our Building Maintenance funds for this year, but we are expecting a bill from ServPro who came in to dry the rugs and take care of the water problem we had last time it rained. The last time, the water went from the boiler room into the reading room and wet the rugs, hallway, etc.

Vivian is hoping to give the Selectmen a revised budget for this year. Jennifer asked if the Committee should wait on the Library Budget to see if they can get bids of repairs. David J. stated that right now it does not look like it will be a big ticket expense. We are not sure what they will find once they start working on the building. Vivian stated that they think the wood is original from 1935.

Jennifer asked if they were going to try fixing the immediate problem with money from the 2003 budget? Vivian stated that she hoped they had enough money after paying ServPro to start repairs.

Ben stated that it seems that the damage is not structural. So they should be able to hire someone for a reasonable amount of money. Vivian stated that she hoped that they would not have a difficult time getting someone to work on the Library since the building season is starting to wind down.

Vivian reviewed the Selectmen’s revised budget for 2004 for the committee, which is a total of $46,534. The biggest increase was in the salaries line. The Selectmen asked the Trustees to give them a zero increase, and we did the best we could. Jennifer asked if the salary increase was based on a 2.5% increase, Vivian stated that it was.

Robin M. made a motion to accept the bottom line of $46,534, Tom G. seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Jennifer stated that the Committee did not have the Selectmen’s revised 2004 budget for the Highway Department. David J. distributed this to the Committee.

Jim Boisvert then reviewed the Highway Department budget.

Telephone/Pagers remained the same as last year. This covers one telephone, 1 cell phone and 5 pagers.

Electricity is down by $200 this is for the shop and the mobile home.

Robin P. asked why he had not increased the telephone line because they are over this year. Jim indicated that is due to long distance calls and if everything stays right, we should be all set.

Heat and Oil remains at $250, a waste oil furnace is used to heat the garage and if the department runs out of oil, we have a backup unit that burns natural gas, but this has not been used for at least 8 years.

Town Shed Repairs has been reduced by $200. These are all items that need to be used for the repair of just the garage. Next year the big thing will be that the doors need work. These are the garage doors on the loader and packer. Jim would like to encumber some money from this year’s Town Shed Repair line. There is still $842 dollars remaining in this line from this year.

General Supplies are all the supplies and parts for the shop. This line remains the same. There is only about $70 remaining in this year’s line. One thousand dollars should be sufficient for next year.

Gasoline remains at $5,000. We are keeping this the same hoping that the price of gasoline will go down further. The last time we got gasoline, the price was $1.45 per gallon. Jim stated that they were paying around $1.00 per gallon at one point this year. The price was higher at one time.

Jennifer asked what he was basing the $5,000 on. Jim stated that it was based on the amount of gas that has been used and the price. Hopefully, the price will come down.

Diesel Fuel remains at $7,000. We are currently paying $1.15 per gallon. There are two trucks using gas and the remaining trucks use diesel fuel.

Vehicle Repairs remains at $12,000. This covers everything from oil filters to plow blades. The only vehicles that have a warranty are the 2002 packer, the 2001 F550 and the 2000 Sterling. Jim stated that he had logs on all the repairs for all the equipment in 2002 and 2003. Jim stated that the Department is not computerized so they still use index cards to keep these logs.

The Department has a backhoe that is 30 years old and also a 1980 six wheeler and a 1990 six wheeler. The backhoe and the one-ton need some repairs – but another year.

Signs has been reduced to $600. The Town is currently in good shape as far as the signs are concerned. Any time a sign or pole needs to be replaced, it comes out of this line item.

Uniforms and Safety Equipment has been reduced to $2,800. Each person is given $100 a year for safety shoes and uniforms. There are uniforms and coveralls at the shop. If the money is not spent, it is returned to the Town.

Salaries – full time this has been increased by approximately $4,000. This is due to having five full time employees receiving a 2.5% salary increase.

Overtime remains at $10,000. This line item is over by $1,600 this year, it was a rough year. The year before, this line was under spent. So it all depends on the snow fall.

Part-time salaries remains at $20,000. There is 1 part-time employee that works 24 hours per week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday); 1 part-time employee that works 14 hours per week (Tuesday and Thursday – 3 hours per day, then 8 hours on Saturday); and 1 part-time employee who works 8 hours on Saturday. There are two part-time employees that work on Saturday and one full-time employee that works on Saturday. So there are three employees at the landfill on Saturday and it seems to be working really well.

Rental’s/Leases remains at $200. No money was spent this year. This is just in case the Department needs to rent a piece of equipment.

Dues and Membership remains at $400. The Department belongs to the NH Good Roads, the Road Agent Association and the NH Resource Recovery. The Good Roads and Road Agent Association are approximately $40 each and the NH Resource Recovery is based on the population of the Town. They handle all the recyclable items.

Paving Supplies remains at $100. This line is for any pools needed for paving, racks, shovels, etc.

Sand and Gravel remains at $4,000. This is primarily the winter sand line. The prices for winter sand range from $3.45 to $8.25 per ton. If the Department can haul the sand, the price will be approximately $3.45 per ton, but if it must be delivered, the price will be $8.25 per ton. Last year it cost more because we had to have the sand delivered due to the hard winter.

Cold Patch remains at $500. Currently the price for cold patch is $38 to $40 per ton.

Paving & Reconstruction has been reduced to $50,000. Last year there was $100,000 in this line. We completed all the project that needed to be done, plus two extra projects and there should be about $14,000 left that can be encumbered for next year.

This year, the Department would like to work on Hamel Ave – a new road and Ferry Street – a new sidewalk. The Department is planning to remove the old cement sidewalk (825 feet) and redo it with hot top. This will cost approximately $25,000 for Hamel Avenue and about $20,000 for Ferry Street.

The original plan was to do Library Street this year, but a Sewer project needs to be done on Library Street from Suncook Pond to Main Street, so we will wait until that project is finished. In 2005 when Library Street is redone, the price could be as high as $225,000. So we should be able to save some money this year.

Robin P. asked if the Selectmen had approved the $50,000. Ben stated that Jim did not know what the cost would be. But they knew it was going to be done, but did not know the total amount.

Tree Expense remains at $1,000. This is for any tree removal and when the chains need to be sharpened and any repairs to the equipment. We have about $700 remaining in this year’s budget. There are a couple of trees that need to be removed, hopefully, we can take care of one now.

Surface Water remains at $600, this is for all the catch basins that need to be repaired. Currently they are in good shape, but every year at least three or four need to be fixed.

Salt remains at $12,000. We will be paying $30.89 per ton, the price increase about 47 cents per ton.

Hydrants - $10,140 – This is for rental of hydrants through Pembroke Water Works. Robin P. stated that there is approximately 50% remaining in this line item. David J. stated that the invoices come in twice a year, we will receive the invoice in January for the remaining $5,070.

Street Lights - $18,100 - This is the rental fee for all the street lights in Town. Jim thought that this line may be under budget this year. Jim stated that in the past this fee was approximately $45,000. The Town decided a few years ago to change the type of lights and the rental fee has dropped significantly.

Bill asked if Jim expected an increase in the number of streetlights due to the developments going in? Jim stated that he has not seen any streetlights in the development. The other development is still in the planning stages. The Town pays a monthly fee and it should be the same.

David J. stated that two new streetlights were put up this year. The rate went from $12,019 before the new lights were installed to $12,081. The Town pays about $1,200 to $1,3000 per month.

David J. stated that it cost $300 to put up a new streetlight, but that the Town was not charged for the last few installations.

Solid Waste Maintenance - $1,000 – this is anything that pertains to the landfill, from repairing the dumpsters to anything outback. The dumpsters are in sad shape. Jim is trying to get some used ones now, but they are very hard to come by. The current dumpsters are about 20 years old.

Disposal – Penacook - $116,157 – We should know by the second week of November what the actual price will be for 2004. Jim feels that the price will be $124,000. We currently pay $37 a ton in Penacook now. Other places can charge from $70 to $90 per ton.

Jennifer asked about the trash pickup from the parks. Jim stated that this has been taken care of. There are new ordinances and all business and parks are paying for their own trash.

David J. stated that the parks were always paying for the trash, but last year there were demolishing mobile homes and taking them to the landfill and Jim would then demolish them further and then take it to Penacook, which added to the tonnage.

Jim stated that there would be revenues for the landfill; waste management and this will be more than last year. Jim stated that Waste Management of Hooksett that will be dropping off a 50-yard container and we will be trying to recycle newspaper and magazines again. It will not be mandatory, but there will be a bin. We will not be paid for the newspaper or magazines, but it will be available for the people who want to recycle it and we will not have to pay the tonnage.

Jim stated that they will be putting up signs and also have something in the Banner to let people know what is being recycled. It will be tin, aluminum, white metal and newspapers and magazines.

We will still pick up bags of leaves twice a year, or during the week if there is time, but these bags will not be put into the garbage truck.

Recycling remains at $200. Right now paper is recycled and soon tin, aluminum and white metal. There is a container for glass but there is no market. We have tried plastic and there is no market for that either.

Jim stated that they are looking to lease/purchase a backhoe. The backhoe is 30 years old and someone will be hurt if it is not replaced. It has certainly served the Town well. We are looking at a lease/purchase for five years at about $12,000 a year. We are looking to purchase from capital reserve, a new one ton. The one we have now is on its 8^th transmission and it is tired.

Jim will be discussing with the Board of Selectmen the best way to go about these purchase. A one-ton is approximately $42,000 to $45,000. Robin P. asked how much money was in the capital reserve account; David J. stated that it is over $60,000.

Jim stated that last year we voted on communication equipment and a new tower, this is being worked on. It has gone out to bid once, it is back out to bid. We should know later this month how much we will need out of capital reserve for this project. This tower should handle the highway frequency for the Fire Department, Sewer and Police Department.

Jennifer asked if this was coming from the same capital reserve fund? Jim stated that it is coming from Highway Equipment because it is where we could find the money last year.

Ben made a motion to table the Highway Department budget until the final figure comes in from Penacook, Robin P. seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

David J. informed the Board that next Monday the Selectmen will be reviewing Zoning, Planning and Parks and Recreations.

David J. informed the members that at the request of the Allenstown Board of Selectmen and the Allenstown Police Department, that the newspaper articles noting discrepancies in the Tax accounts were not discrepancies, but actual misappropriation of funds by the tax collector. The employee has resigned and the Police will be filing charges.

Gabby made a motion to recess, it was seconded.