VILLAGE DISTRICT OF EIDELWEISS
Commissioners Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 29, 2020
The Board of Commissioners met at 8:30 am on Thursday, October 29th, 2020. In attendance were Commissioners Jay Buckley, Kathy Koziell, Paula Doyle, DPW Foreman Kelly Robitaille, DPW assistant Jeff DeMartino, Treasurer Dinah Reiss (by phone), and Administrator Lynne Baker taking minutes. The meeting was held at the Madison Town Hall and was filmed by Carol Dandeneau for Madison TV. Residents could call into the meeting via conference call.
At 8:33 am Commissioner Jay Buckley called the meeting to order.
Jay Buckley made a motion at 8:33 am to enter Non-Public meeting RSA 91-A:3(a). Kathy Koziell seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
Jay Buckley made a motion at 9:07 am to leave Non-Public meeting RSA 91-A:3(a) and enter back into Public Meeting. Kathy Koziell seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
Attorney Robert Carey called into the meeting at 9:08.
Discussion of 47 Eidelweiss Drive.
Attorney Robert Carey was invited to call into the meeting, representing the homeowners at 47 Eidelweiss Drive.
Atty. Carey stated the issue was the condition of the driveway at 47 Eidelweiss Drive.
Atty. Carey claimed that the damage to the driveway was done when DPW installed 2 new culverts and catch basins at 47 and 49 Eidelweiss Drive.
Atty. Carey stated that the homeowner wanted DPW to fix the driveway before winter for plowing and rental purposes.
Jay Buckley stated the VDOE was not responsible for the damage and should not be responsible for the repair.
Jay Buckley stated that the cut for both installations was done on VDOE property.
Jay stated that when the cut was done, there was no lip on the driveway at 47 Eidelweiss Drive.
Kelly Robitaille mentioned there were photographs showing where the original cut was made.
Kelly stated that the erosion under the driveway is also causing damage to the road.
Kelly reported that DPW and Sunday Paving had a plan to redirect the drainage, but that Sunday Paving was no longer involved.
Kelly Robitaille inquired if the homeowners had a property manager to maintain the property while they were away.
Atty. Carey responded that the homeowner does not have a property manager.
Atty. Carey stated that the homeowner is currently trying to get another quote from another paving contractor to do the repair as Sunday Paving is no longer interested.
Paula Doyle inquired if a patch would solve the problem.
Kelly stated that a patch would not hold for long.
Kelly stated that any kind of temporary fix would not solve the problem at all.
Atty. Carey reiterated his clients want the VDOE to do the repair as they say DPW is responsible for the damage.
Jay recommended placing gravel before the lip until winter as a temporary fix.
Atty. Carey will speak with the homeowner to see if that is acceptable.
Paula Doyle mentioned seeing vehicles at the home that were currently using the driveway.
Kathy Koziell stated the cut is off to the side and there is room to drive.
Paula stated that the DPW will not maintain the driveway all winter, this is a one-time fix.
Atty. Carey then inquired as to the process of gaining an approved driveway permit.
Paula stated that if the homeowner’s property is causing the damage, then the homeowner would be responsible for any repair.
Paula reported that the homeowner had not moved forward to provide the required contractor information for their driveway application to be approved.
Atty. Carey stated the homeowners understanding was that both driveways at 47 & 49 Eidelweiss Drive were cut for the same installation, yet there was an exception and extra pipe allowed for 47 Eidelweiss Drive.
Kelly stated that the driveway at 49 Eidelweiss Drive was not as steep as 47 Eidelweiss Drive and that 49 Eidelweiss Drive did not present the same issue.
Atty. Carey requested invoices showing the difference in cost for the additional pipe used at 47 Eidelweiss Drive, from the costs for 49 Eidelweiss Drive.
Jay Buckley made a motion to approve adding gravel to the area before the freeze as a one-time fix to transition into winter. Paula Doyle seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
Brad Jones of Jones & Beach Engineering called in to the meeting at 9:54 am.
Discussion and status of the Reinach Tank project.
Brad Jones stated that Bryant Paving will not do the paving as scheduled for October 29th, 2020, due to weather. They will do it sometime next week.
Brad reported there is an expected 14-day delivery for the pumps.
Kathy Koziell inquired as to if it was the pumps causing the delay or the back-flow valves.
Brad replied it was the pumps.
Brad stated he will coordinate with Dawson Excavating to complete the install.
Kathy inquired if the water lines on the project can be hooked up all at once to 19 properties.
Brad replies that they can only do 1 at a time.
Kathy Koziell inquired if the project will be complete by the end of November.
Jay Buckley inquired if the tank would go live by the end of fall.
Brad said he will address this with Dawson for a decision next week.
Jay Buckley requested Jake Dawson be brought in and asked about the work already done that was not approved by the BOC and without Ian Hayes’ knowledge.
Jay Buckley stated the pavement will have to be dug up to allow Ian to check for proper installation.
Jay stated he would like Jake to be at the next meeting on November 5th, 2020.
Paula Doyle inquired about the VDOE being billed for the 2 culverts installed without authorization.
Brad stated he will address this with Jake.
Brad suggested another walkthrough to determine items not included in the previous one.
Kathy Koziell suggested they wait until after next week’s meeting to discuss.
Discussion of paving Adelboden Way and Bristenstock Drive.
Jay Buckley questioned the location of the extended water main’s pressure reduction valve with vault cover at the intersection of Adelboden Way and Bristenstock Drive.
Jay Buckley stated that there had been a change in location as the vault should have been on the other side of the road and that now the door could be an issue with plowing.
Brad Jones left the meeting at 10:08 am.
1. Agenda
Jay Buckley requested a discussion on tracking the Driveway Permit Applications for Construction, and the Driveway Permit for Operation be added to the agenda
Kathy Koziell made a motion to approve the amended agenda. Paula Doyle seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
2. DPW Report
Kelly Robitaille stated Bryant Paving would not be doing the paving until next week.
Kelly reported that the DPW had been busy with clearing leaves and culverts.
Kelly will get a date from Bryant Paving as to when they will be doing the paving.
Kathy Koziell and/or Lynne Baker will post a notice on the website and send an email blast stating that Eidelweiss Drive will be closed on Wednesday, November 4th, for cutting to install new service line link.
Kelly stated that the DPW will help with traffic issues during road closure.
Discussion of Employee Health Insurance
Kelly Robitaille stated he would like to know what the new BOC is offering as far as Health Insurance Plans and he would like to know before his next review in January.
Kelly requested the BOC put something in writing as he would like to move to a family plan.
Paula Doyle will create a document stating the options to present to the DPW employees.
The BOC would like to have a signed employee option request returned within 2 weeks.
3. Administration
Approval of Minutes of October 15th, 2020.
Jay Buckley made a motion to approve the amended minutes of October 15th, 2020. Kathy Koziell seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
Approval of Minutes of October 22nd, 2020.
Jay Buckley made a motion to approve the amended minutes of October 22nd, 2020. Paula Doyle seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
Discussion of deadline for VDOE officer applications.
Donna MacKinnon had found the final date is January 29th, 2020.
Paula Doyle questioned if this is the correct date.
Discussion of a proposed Public Meeting to address changes to the Ordinances.
The BOC chose the date of December 10th, 2020 to hold such a meeting at 7:00 pm.
If the BOC decides on a conference call meeting, there is no need to secure the school gymnasium.
Discussion of concluding BOC Meeting of November 12th, 2020.
Noreen Downs of the Town of Madison had inquired if the BOC meeting of November 12th, 2020 could adjourn by 11:00.
The BOC agreed that the meeting would conclude before 11:00 am that day.
Discussion of Overdue Invoices over $1,000.00
Kathy Koziell presented status on certified letters sent, responses and payments received.
Discussion of Seasonal Water Shutoffs.
The VDOE set a deadline of November 2nd, 2020 to have all season shutoffs complete.
Jay Buckley reported that he has heard that some homeowners are having their plumbers do their seasonal shutoffs.
Jay stated that this is illegal and could result in a fine of $10,000.00.
Discussion of Tax Rates.
Jay Buckley stated the DRA is awaiting the report of estimated revenues and funds remaining.
Discussion of Adam Leiser emails.
Adam Leiser requested his recent emails be put into public record regarding reimbursements.
Discussion of RFP for Audit Services.
Paula Doyle stated that there is another firm interested in submitting a bid for services.
The firm in question inquired as to when the VDOE closes their books for the year.
Paula Doyle recommended the VDOE determine a final date of January 31st, 2021, for all vendors to submit their bills for 2020.
Discussion of TTF Funds.
Trustee had inquired as to who should be managing funds.
Discussion of Budget for 2021.
Jay Buckley requested setting a policy for bids next year be discussed at next week’s meeting.
Paula Doyle inquired if bids should be solicited as RFP’s, or RFE’s.
Discussion of paving Chocorua View Drive.
Jay Buckley referred to the recent paving of Boulder Drive had been done with chip sealing.
Jay stated that Kelly had received an estimate from All State Paving to chip seal the road at a cost of $16,000.00
Discussion of Replacing Outdated Office Equipment.
Jay Buckley stated he had spoken with Ron Sandstrom as to requirements required to update current office equipment, i.e., copier, computer, memory, etc.
Kathy Koziell reported that there was still $8,000.00 available for upgrades to office equipment.
Discussion of Cross Training Employees.
Lynne Baker inquired as to the cross training of office employees.
Paula Doyle stated that one should be able to cover all aspects of the other’s duties.
Kathy Koziell suggested that Lynne Baker learn more of QuickBooks, specifically payroll, manifests, and NH Retirement Fund.
Jay Buckley inquired if it would be helpful to have Catherine Deyoe go over the books monthly to ensure correct accounts were being used.
Kathy Koziell stated that the new budget spreadsheet she and Donna created covers that.
Discussion of Motion/Action Log.
Jay Buckley stated there is no need to have two separate documents for tracking to ensure action motions are completed.
Jay stated he would set up a method to combine these.
Discussion of BOC Meetings.
Paula Doyle relayed an opinion that the length of the BOC meetings is too long due to covering the same issues week to week.
Jay Buckley stated he used to create the current agenda from last week’s agenda to stop that.
Paula suggested there be more focus on action items and less on detail.
Jay Buckley stated that some requests and items require more detail.
Paula Doyle asked for suggestions as to how to get more homeowners involved in the BOC meetings.
Discussion of the VDOE as abutters.
Jay Buckley stated that the VDOE should be notified as abutters in issues with homeowner requests from the Town of Madison Zoning Commission.
As an example, Jay reported that at the zoning meeting he attended previously, a homeowner was requesting a waiver to put a septic tank in wetlands. That action would affect Pea Porridge Pond.
The VDOE had no knowledge of any waiver requests and will need to find out why they are not being notified of upcoming hearings.
Jay Buckley made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 12:08 pm. Paula Doyle seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynne Baker, Administrator