Washington Planning Board
Washington Planning Board
Meeting Minutes - DRAFT
April 5, 2016
0.0 Assembly: 6:30PM
0.1 Members present: Crandall, Kluk, Schwartz and Williams
0.2 Alternates present: Hatch and Dulac
0.3 Members and Alternates Absent: Russell and Terani
0.4 Visitors: Dennis Kelly, Bob Bachand, David Barkie, Jed Schwartz
Crandall opened the meeting and motioned to have Hatch to sit for Dagesse, Kluk seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
1.0 Minutes: March 1st meeting, No changes requested, Hatch motioned to approve the minutes as written, Crandall seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
2.0 New Business:
2.1 Election of Officers:
Kluk motioned to have Schwartz stay on as Secretary, Crandall seconded the motion, all voted in favor. Crandall motioned Kluk for Vice Chair, Schwartz seconded, all voted in favor. Schwartz motioned Crandall to stay on as Chair, Hatch seconded. A discussion ensued, Williams doesn’t feel that Crandall is best for the Chair because last year he was biased toward the Town Hall project and he feels he doesn’t want to work with the Select board and we need to work together. He feels we are making a mistake. Dulac isn’t sure why he feels that way and if Crandall is willing to work with the Select board, he supports him being Chair. Hatch asked if any of the board’s comments against Crandall are in the Select Board’s minutes. Williams said that in the MBAC meetings he showed an approach that wasn’t positive, he feels the mission statement talks about working together but it isn’t evident. Kluk said we are a five-member board and we all have equal votes and an equal ability to say things. The thought was that we should talk about the mandate from Town Meeting and the mission statement is for conversation. Schwartz asked Crandall if he could be fair and balanced. Crandall said that he has always tried to get everyone to work together and is a consensus builder. He didn’t want to talk to the Selectmen until he knew we wanted to take this on. We have to cooperate for the best interests of the town. Williams thinks the town wants a new plan. Crandall called for a vote, four voting yes and Williams against, electing Crandall as Chair.
2.2 Municipal Buildings, RSA 674.1, PB Mission Statement:
Crandall said a number of people at Town Meeting wanted the PB to take this issue on. The RSA says that we have the authority, we have to cooperate and bring the town together. Kluk wasn’t at Town Meeting and asked for a recap of the meeting. Williams said that he presented the Safety Building project and what he saw was few questions were asked, then several people spoke and generated commentary, not much was said about the Town Hall. Dulac said he didn’t remember it that way, he felt the turning point was when the fire guys stood up and didn’t support it, that impacted the people around him. People were confused as to why the Town Hall wasn’t on the warrant. Schwartz said that people didn’t want to put a large amount of money away toward ill-defined projects. Williams said people seemed willing to up the amount for the Safety building and were frustrated that they couldn’t. Kluk asked about public feedback for the Planning Board to take on the project. Dulac thought that maybe the PB could come up with a new proposal. Dennis Kelly said that the reason he came tonight was that he was involved and then he was done with the whole issue. He feels there are no projects, they have been rejected by the public, and he is supportive of the PB taking the issue on. He feels the Planning Board should develop a long-term plan and how to pay for it. He thinks there is much confusion. He doesn’t feel that bonding or borrowing is an advantage over pay-as-you-go, he likes the idea of doing things piecemeal. Kluk said that doing that way is a huge hit to taxpayers in one year. Hatch said the reality of it is that this is the way the Town Hall is getting done. Kelly was shocked that the Fire Department shot down the barn. Williams said the fire guys were speaking for themselves, not the department. Crandall thinks the town is more together now then ever. Williams said he went to the Fire Department to talk about the project, he thinks that there were so many questions that outreach is hugely important. Dulac spoke of his experience in selling school projects, you have to start early reaching out to groups, go where they are and talk to people. You should know ahead of time if it is going to pass, the Selectmen need to back the effort from the beginning. Crandall said we should do regular reports to the public. Williams said you need to make early decisions so you can start to sell the plan. We discussed a working meeting on the mission statement and then a visit to the Select Board. Hatch said he thought the mission statement as written was innocuous and doesn’t think it is inflammatory. Williams doesn’t think there is a clear mandate, he is not clear on bringing the town together, assessment of the buildings, needs versus wants is not in the statement. Hatch feels that we were put on the defensive by Williams, he feels we should set aside agendas and preconceived notions and reset the process. He would like to have the PB and Select Board work together to find a way forward. Kluk wants all town buildings included in planning. Crandall said we need to have a working meeting and do a joint mission statement. He thinks that a way to get started is to do a walk through of the 2 buildings and the school house to see the needs. Kluk and Williams want to do a working meeting on the mission statement first. We set April 12th, Tuesday at 9am for this meeting. Kluk said we need to understand how the Selectmen made their decision last year. Williams thinks it would be useful to come in on Thursday and speak with the Selectmen about a general idea of what we want to do. Dulac said we should outline a target date to create urgency. William said early fall in order to have time to sell the idea. Schwartz suggested a mid summer meeting or charrette to receive input from the public. Kluk and Schwartz will visit the Selectmen on Thursday.
2.3 David Barkie, questions on a lot-line adjustment/annexation:
Barkie shared copies of his sketch plan and explained what he is trying to do on Sandy Cove Road. He owns lot 24-108-1 and TM 24-108-2 and is selling lot 24-108-1 to Voisine. Lot 24-109 is owned by Mandriano and abuts lot 24-108-2. He plans to annex part of the middle lot to Voisine and part to Mandriano using the brook running through the middle lot as the boundary. He explained that he is building a house for Voisine and needs a variance to do so. The extra land will give the lot more side setback. He has seen the ZBA and they asked for our approval on the annexation before they will grant the variance. Williams asked if the annexation is something we do routinely. Crandall answered yes. We discussed his plan and didn’t see any issues with it. Schwartz recommended he fill out the application and get the plot plan into us quickly so we can set the date for a public hearing. Barkie advised that Meridian will have the mylars done by the 11th and will deliver all the materials to Deb as soon as possible, so we can notice for the hearing. Crandall will contact Bissonnette (ZBA Chair) and let him know we didn’t have any concerns.
2.4 Jim Crandall, annexation/subdivision issues:
Crandall wanted to have a preliminary discussion of what he might do with his lots on Faxon Hill Road. He stepped down as Chair briefly and explained that he started thinking about what to do with his land in 2009. He wanted to donate it the land to NEFF, which owns the conservation land on Oak Hill, but found out it will cost him money to do it so now he is looking at other options. Schwartz asked how many lots he is thinking of creating and Crandall said 3 lots. Schwartz asked if he would be willing to speak with the Conservation Commission chair before he moves forward. He asked what would be required for an annexation as opposed to a subdivision (in terms of plot plan details). We will continue the discussion. Crandall will have his surveyor represent him at the next meeting.
2.5 Corvus Tactical Training Facility proposed development in Bradford:
Jed Schwartz came to talk to us about a large proposed development project going on in Bradford that is of regional impact. He feels it is out of scope with what should be done in an area like this. The project spans Bradford and Hillsboro in a very rural area, close to East Washington. He feels we should be informed and the Selectmen should communicate with their counterparts in Bradford and Hillsboro. Kluk asked about what we should do if they were turned down in this location and tried to come here, we need to have a discussion. J. Schwartz said that at least we can discuss it, the other towns don’t have that chance. Kluk asked about zoning in Bradford and Hillsboro. Schwartz wasn’t sure what they have in place. Dulac said we should look at the issue in terms of our LUO this year. Williams asked J. Schwartz to send materials to him, he wants to be informed. Crandall asked if he wants us to do anything at this point, Schwartz said just get informed and he will keep the board apprised of the next steps.
3.0 Old Business:
3.1 Bob Bachand – annexation:
Bachand brought copies of the annexation plan. He explained that TM 11-69-3 is his lot and TM 11-68 belongs to Halverson. He is annexing a one-acre piece from the Halverson lot to give him 80 feet of road frontage on Faxon Hill Road. Schwartz reminded him he needs to do a driveway permit after the annexation is done. He said that Kirsten Halverson is the owner of the lot and her parents are getting a proxy so they can sign the papers for her. He said the pins are set and he will have the mylars soon. Schwartz said that Deb can help with the list of abutters if needed. He will get his paperwork in to us as soon as he can and we will set the date for a hearing.
3.2 Accessory Dwelling Units:
Schwartz said she attended the workshop on ADUs, the state law has passed and was signed recently and we have a year to come up with our own language for the LUO. Schwartz will send the link to the documents so everyone can become familiar with the issue and we will discuss it next month.
3.3 Spring NHOEP Planning Conference, Schwartz said that the annual Conference has been rescheduled to Saturday, June 4th, at the Grappone Conference Center, Concord – information at: http://www.nh.gov/oep/planning/resources/conferences/spring-2016/index.htm
3.4 Master Plan: Kluk asked if we all looked over her spreadsheet in February, that summarizes the priorities we came up with in January. Crandall said that we had the spreadsheet and decided that he, Kluk and Schwartz would concentrate on the LUO items and Dulac and Hatch would focus on economic development and related topics. Williams had not reviewed it. Kluk will send it to Williams and we will discuss it next month.
4.0 Driveway permits:
4.1 John Antoniak, TM 12-48, Mill Street (near bridge) an existing driveway upgraded from a woods road, Ed checked and no culvert is required. The lot is still owned by Borey so we decided that Borey would need to sign the application. Schwartz will write a letter explaining the situation and return the application to Antoniak so he can get Borey’s signature on it.
5.0 Mergers:
5.1 William and Gail Anderson, their application for merger was withdrawn.
6.0 Other Business:
6.1 Williams said that when we discussed the issue of building permits and the interpretation of when one is required last month with Marshall, he feels we didn’t grasp the Selectmen’s issue. They are looking for clarity on the intent of the ordinance with regard to structural change. They are hoping for guidance from us. We will look at both the LUO and building permit and see what can be done to clarify. We will discuss it next month.
6.2 Crandall said that Dagesse had resigned as of March 10th when she sent an email to him, we then sent her a thank you letter for all her years on the board and she will be missed for her knowledge and help. He said this leaves us with an opening on the board until next March. We discussed who might want to fill the seat. Crandall said that we were fortunate to have two great candidates with the only difference being that Dulac came on as an alternate in December of 2014 and Hatch in July of 2015. Crandall made a motion for Dulac to fill Dagesse’s seat until the next election, Hatch seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Dulac will visit Deb to sign the papers.
7.0 Communications:
6.1 DES, notices of expired construction approval for septic system, 1600 Valley Rd. TM 25-70, Millen Pond Rd. TM11-67, Ashuelot Dr. TM10-61, McLaughlin Rd. TM 12-52, Wild Acre DR. TM 17-38
6.2 DES notice of acceptance of Wetlands permit application for DOT project on Rt. 31 right-of-way
6.3 email letter of resignation from Michelle Dagesse
6.4 Copy of PB letter of thanks to Michelle
8.0 Meeting date for next Planning Board meeting, May 3, 2016, at 6:30PM
9.0 Adjournment: Time: 9:13 pm
Motioned by Hatch, seconded by Crandall, all voted in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Nan Schwartz