Washington Planning Board

Working Meeting – September 21, 2011 

Working meeting to discuss CIP request forms

0.1       Members present: Lynn Cook, Jim Crandall, Tom Marshall, Nan Schwartz, Lionel Chute

0.2       Alternates present: Steve Terani, Jean Kluk 

0.3       Members and Alternates Absent: Michelle Dagesse

0.4 Visitors: Ed Thayer, Guy Eaton, Melissa Cole

1.0 Cook motioned to open the working meeting at 10AM.

2.0 Ed Thayer said the Highway Equipment fund has a very low or no balance to date. They bought a surplus 6-wheel military 5-ton truck using the fund balance and a trade in. He is requesting $20,000 for the fund with a part being used to replace the dump body on the 1997 International truck and the rest in the fund for future needs.

2.1 The Asphalt Road Reconstruction fund's balance will be used up in October. He is requesting $25,000 to be used on the asphalt roads as needed for overlay. He is planning to do a grader shimming of East Washington Road.

2.2 He talked about finishing up Lempster Mountain Road with Block Grant funds.

2.3 The Bridge Replacement fund was established last year and has an $80,000 balance to date. He is requesting another $80,000 this year. This fund is for phasing the engineering and constructions costs for replacing bridges as needed in town. He spoke about the engineering for the Dole Schoolhouse Road bridge, he has a contract for the work but it is not yet signed. If the state changes their policy we may have to cover all costs of bridge work and then get reimbursed in 2017. He said the Mill Street bridge culvert failed during the recent storms and the road is closed at this point. There may be FEMA Mitigation funds to help pay to fix it and an inspector will be in town next week. He is thinking of doing a one-lane plank bridge with block abutments as a temporary fix. If needed he can use the bridge fund if no FEMA funds come through. Smith Pond bridge is his next priority after the 2 previously mentioned bridges.

2.4 He requested that the Valley Road culvert replacement at Barden Pond outlet be put into the CIP for 2013 for $35,000.

2.5 He spoke about his request for a wood boiler to piggyback onto the present shop heating system. He would like to get away from using the oil system exclusively and supplement with a locally sourced renewable fuel. We will put $15,000 in for the next 2 years for this request.

2.6 The Faxon Hill Road culvert near the corner of Millen Pond Road has failed on the underside and needs replacement. He requests $12,000 which will cover all costs to replace with a 5 foot diameter pipe or a concrete box type culvert like he is using at the Freezeland Pond outlet.

2.7 He is requesting another roll-off container for the transfer station and it will be paid for out of the recycling fund.

2.8 He mentioned Emergency Communications and said anything needed will come out of available funds/budget.

2.9 He talked about the East Washington Mill Pond dredging project and we decided to put it in as a project item but not ask for any funding this year. He has an estimate for engineering for this project.

3.0 Guy Eaton spoke about the Selectmen's request for $30,000 to paint the front and tower side of the Town Hall before the celebration next summer. Some felt that this could be a waste of money and a bigger problem than the bid suggested for dealing with the lead paint. It was felt that if the reason for doing the painting was cosmetic, it was not a good use of taxpayers' money. The condition of the clapboards is such that scraping and painting is not a good option. It was suggested that alternately the old clapboard could be stripped off, blown-in insulation done and the clapboard replaced and stained. The work would then be a step toward the eventual rehabilitation of the Town Hall, which is already being planned for. This work wouldn't be harmed by the future jacking and foundation work that will be done. Guy will speak to the other Selectmen about this and will try to get a price for doing it.

3.1 He requested $10,000 for the Town Building Fund, at present there is a balance of $10,000.

3.2 The Selectmen are requesting $45,000 for dock replacement at Camp Morgan spread out over 4 years and not beginning until 2013. Parks and Rec have done lots of repairs and made the present docks last years beyond their expected lifespan.

3.3 He requested that we start a fund to pay for the closure of the lagoon at Camp Morgan and the installation of a leach field for the septic system at Camp Morgan. We will request $10,000 a year for 5 years, when the work is expected to be done.

4.0 Melissa Cole spoke for the Library Trustees and requested $5,900 for roof replacement and repair for the Library building. They had a roofer come in to assess the roof after some leaks were discovered during a recent storm. He found leaks in the valleys between the asphalt and slate roofs and made some emergency repairs. He gave then an estimate for the needed work to replace the asphalt shingles on the addition. She said the present asphalt roof on the addition was put on in 1981 (30 years ago) and the slate roof is in good shape. It was requested that she ask for another estimate using 50-year shingles as opposed to 30-year. We reduced the requested amount down by $400 when it was explained that they wouldn't have to pay for dumping fees for the removed asphalt shingles and construction materials at the transfer station.

We discussed that the selectmen have introduced a policy asking department heads to get several bids or estimates for any work being done. We will ask Melissa to get 2 more quotes on the roofing job.

5.0 Lynn Cook spoke about the Assessors' request for $10,000 on the Tax Revaluation CIP line. It is the same request as last year and there is a balance of $31,313 in the fund right now. This is for the five-year revaluation that is mandated by the state scheduled for 2015. She said they may have to do an interim statistical update before then if it is determined that it is needed.

6.0 The Police, Fire and Rescue department heads will be asked to come in for our regular meeting in October to go over their requests. Nan will have Michelle contact them.

7.0 Nan will update the CIP sheets with the decisions made at the meeting and she will try to get fund balances and will send out a revised version to members.

Cook closed the working meeting at 11:30AM

Respectfully submitted – Nan Schwartz