MEMBERS PRESENT: Carolyn Webber, Margaret Crisler, Christopher Doyle, Roger Hohenberger and Galen Stearns. David Sullivan, Town Administrator, was also present. Meeting commenced at 7:00 pm.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Barbara Coish, Chairman of the Sister City Committee, spoke regarding a recent trip to the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC at which Mrs. Coish and Rex Norman, Assessor, represented Windham. Ms Webber and Mr. Sullivan were unable to attend. This was a consortium of 35 small Russian towns and Suzdal was the only one with a Sister City. Therefore, Windham was invited to participate. Mrs. Coish was the spokeswoman for Windham at the roundtable discussion.

Mrs. Coish asked the Board members to consider a trip to Suzdal in the near future.

Mrs. Crisler announced that the Garden Club Tour will be held Saturday, June 30th. Tickets are available the day of the tour or from Garden Club members.

LIAISON REPORTS: Mrs. Crisler reported that the Technical Committee voted to have the IT Director a voting member of the Committee with the approval of the Selectmen.

Mrs. Crisler stated that the Planning Board will hear the Klemm proposal on Wednesday, June 27th. The Planning Board is carefully watching the time line on all other cases.

Ms Webber stated that the Griffin Park Committee met and they will report later in the meeting.

Ms Webber also reported that the Historic District/Heritage Commission met and discussed a new design for the Presbyterian Church. Ms Webber also announced that Windham has been approved for a $40,000 grant from the Land & Community Heritage Improvement Program for preservation of the Bartley House. This is a 50-50 matching grant. The Town had requested $80,000 but LCHIP Funds were cut so grant amounts were lowered. Ms Webber thanked Mr. Sullivan and Ms Devlin for their hard work preparing the grant. This award is subject to certain conditions that the Town must meet. Mr. Sullivan thanked Ms Devlin for her work, especially her creative presentation.

BOARD OF HEALTH PUBLIC HEARING: Mr. Stearns motioned to recess the Board of Selectmen’s meeting and convene the Board of Health Public Hearing. Mrs. Crisler seconded. Passed unanimously. Ms Webber read the following notice: "Notice is hereby given that a hearing will be held on June 25, 2001 at 7:15 pm at the Town Hall concerning a request by Wesley Aspinwall for a waiver concerning Section 106.6 of the Waste Disposal/Septic Ordinance to permit the holding tank to be one foot off the foundation and the holding tank to be one foot off the property line, on property located at 13 Rocky Ridge Rd."

A request was received from Mr. Aspinwall to postpone this hearing until the Board’s next meeting. Mr. Stearns motioned to open this hearing of Case 17-J-103. Mr. Doyle seconded. Passed unanimously. Mr. Stearns motioned and Mr. Doyle seconded to continue this hearing until the Board’s meeting on July 30th. Passed unanimously.

Mrs. Crisler motioned and Mr. Stearns seconded to reconvene the Board of Selectmen’s meeting. Passed unanimously.

CONSERVATION COMMISSION APPLICANT INTERVIEWS: The Board interviewed Diana Fallon, Theresa Lucas and Wendy Dunbrack for positions on the Conservation Commission.

MINUTES: Mr. Stearns motioned and Mr. Doyle seconded to approve the minutes of June 4th as presented. Passed unanimously.

CORRESPONDENCE: Letter of resignation received from Douglass Barker as Director of Emergency Management. Mr. Stearns motioned to accept Mr. Barker ’s resignation with deepest regret and sincere thanks. Mrs. Crisler seconded. Passed unanimously. The Board thanked Mr. Barker for his hard work in establishing an Emergency Management Plan for Windham.

Notice received from the Department of Transportation of a meeting on the issue of secondary impacts associated with the widening of I-93 from Salem to Manchester. The meeting will be held at UNH, Manchester on June 29th at 10 am.

Notice received from Adelphia regarding rate changes. Customers will receive this notice also.

OLD BUSINESS: Mr. Hohenberger asked if the plans for the proposed work on I 93 and the Route 111 By-Pass had been received from the DOT. Mr. Sullivan stated he expected them this week.

Mr. Hohenberger also asked if the appraisal for Castle Reach was received by the DOT. Mr. Sullivan stated that to his knowledge, it had not been received. He will follow up and noted that the Board is scheduled to meet with the DOT in August on this matter.

Mr. Stearns asked about the status of the plans for final repairs to Church Road. Mr. Sullivan stated that the plans are being finalized and the culvert will be ordered soon.

Mrs. Crisler asked the status of the Castle Hill bridge. Mr. Sullivan stated that the Pelham Administrator has been involved in a court case and after it is finished, he and Mr. Sullivan will share all information and meet to discuss the repairs.

Mr. Hohenberger noted that the Board had completed the annual road tour, and wanted to know when the road work would begin. Mr. Sullivan stated that the report would be ready for their next meeting. He further noted that the line striping contract would be awarded next week.

NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Sullivan told the Board that the State engineers would like to meet with the Board to discuss the proposed bike paths on Lowell Road. The Board will email their availability to Mr. Sullivan.

Mr. Sullivan told the Board that a request for use of the Town Hall meeting room had been received for the same time it is rented to AA. The interested party asked about the availability of the new meeting room in the refurbished Fire Station which will house the Planning Department. Mr. Sullivan asked the Board to think about proposed rental of this space and it would be discussed further at their next meeting.

GRIFFIN PARK UPDATE & BASEBALL FIELDS DONATION: Frank Farmer, member of the Griffin Park Committee, gave the following update on the park’s construction.

• No expenditures since the last update.
• Contractor is on site
• Contractor working through loam pile - Mr. Hohenberger expressed concern that this is taking so long. Mr. Sullivan stated that White will be done with the whole project in late August or early September. Mr. Stearns questioned the size of rocks on the field. Mr. Butterfield stated that when the final grade is done, the rocks will be swept and field will be raked.
• Dredge permit is at DES. Ms Webber asked if the ditches were complete. Mr. Sullivan stated that they are done and were draining slowly as planned. He will check them again.
• Status of Contracts.
  • Well pumps - awarded - installation underway.
  • Parking guard rail - awarded.
  • Well hook up - conduit installed - Still seeking an electrical contractor.
  • Donations - ASCW and WBSA have offered a combined total of $10,000 to put a pump in a third well and associated installation costs.

  Recommend Selectmen accept this donation.
  
  Mr. Hohenberger motioned and Mrs. Crisler seconded to accept this donation for the well pump and installation. Passed unanimously.
  
  Baseball Field/Multipurpose Building Donation - Charles McMahon, Chairman of the Windham Baseball/Softball Association (WBSA), told the Board that the WBSA voted to allocate up to ninety percent of league funds and one hundred percent of donated funds toward the completion of three baseball fields and a concession stand at Griffin Park. The Soccer Association may be also donating funds to this project. Mr. McMahon explained that the concession stand would actually be a multi-purpose building housing bathrooms, storage and concession area. He noted that presently there are no definite plans for the building, but suggested that the Selectmen look at Michelle Park in Salem. He showed the Board a plan for location of the fields and building, noting it still needed to have engineering plans. Donated funds presently total $130,000 for this project and funds are still being solicited. Mr. McMahon noted that 2 Little League fields and 1 Senior field were the plan. He also stated that the multi-purpose building was an integral part of the plan as it would allow for storage, while allowing the organizations to be self-sustaining.
  
  Mr. McMahon stated he had met with the Griffin Park Committee and wanted them to be part of the process and needed the support of the Selectmen for the field and building.
  
  Mr. McMahon also spoke to the Board about field maintenance. He stated that volunteer groups are not able to maintain the fields properly and that the Baseball Association is out of the field maintenance. He gave the Board a handout concerning proper field maintenance and a schedule for it.
  
  Ms Webber and Mrs. Crisler expressed concern about the proposed building & future maintenance, septic, food service, placement of fields, etc. Mr. Stearns and Mr. Hohenberger expressed their thanks and support with Mr. Hohenberger stating that the Selectmen are ultimately responsible for Griffin Park. Mr. Farmer stated the Griffin Park Committee have met with Mr. McMahon and make the following three recommendations.

   

  1. The BOS acknowledge and thank WBSA for bringing forth funds for improvements to Griffin Park.
  2. That the BOS authorize the construction of three baseball fields at Griffin Park, to the specifications stated in the Griffin Park plan approved October ’97. Said construction to be funded by the WBSA. Since this is a Windham Town project, oversight is to be provided by Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Turner, the Griffin Park representative Mr. Maranto and a representative from WBSA. This is the current practice and has worked well. The Project Plan and Procurement Packages will be approved by the Griffin Park Committee before award of contracts.
  3. That in accordance with established review procedures, we recommend that the concept of the proposed multi-purpose building be assigned to the Griffin Park Committee for processing. This is especially important since a concession stand has never been a part of any plan presented to, or approved by, the voters of the town in any public forum.

A lengthy discussion pursued, with the following persons expressing their comments: Board members, Frank Farmer, Charles McMahon, Chuck Tomes, Dennis Butterfield, Rick Hancock, Jonathon Coish and Eric Nickerson. Subjects included: irrigation, maintenance, process, field placement, building design, etc.

Mr. Hohenberger motioned to organize a site walk at Michelle Park for the Board, Griffin Park Committee, Baseball and Soccer Associations, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Turner within the next two weeks and to have Mr. Turner review the plan and designated site. Mrs. Crisler seconded. Mr. McMahon stated that Baseball would like to have their engineer present - agreed. Passed 4-1 with Mr. Doyle opposed. Mr. Hohenberger and Mrs. Crisler agreed to amend their motion to state - no more than two weeks for the site visit. Passed.

Mrs. Crisler motioned that the Board authorize the Griffin Park Committee to work with the WBSA and town officials to determine feasibility of 3 baseball fields instead of 2 and that they also work for the design of the multi purpose building and present a recommendation to this Board. Mr. Doyle stated that this would not work as the condition of the donation was for both the fields and building. No second for Mrs. Crisler’s motion.

Mr. Stearns motioned that the Board approve the concept of accepting the donation from WBSA of 2 Little League fields, 1 Senior field and a multi purpose building. Windham WBSA needs to consult with Mr. Turner and Mr. Sullivan on the feasibility of septic system and site placement of the building. WBSA will work with the Griffin Park Committee and present detailed conceptual plan of fields and the building at the July 30th Selectmen’s Meeting for approval. This allows the WBSA to perform engineering planning to site the fields and foot print the building. All funding for baseball fields and building will be provided by WBSA and/or Soccer Associations. Mr. Doyle seconded.

More discussion continued with the Board, members of the Griffin Park Committee and Mr. McMahon. Chairman Webber stated that discussion was ended. Mr. McMahon and others objected. Mr. Doyle motioned to allow the public discussion to continue until 10:30 pm (one half hour longer). Mr. Hohenberger seconded. Motioned passed.

After further discussion and clarification, Mr. Stearn’s motion passed unanimously.

WORKSHOP: The Board held a workshop with Police Chief Moeckel and Captain Yatsevich.

NON-PUBLIC SESSIONS: Mr. Hohenberger motioned and Mr. Stearns seconded to go into non-public session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3, IIa. Roll call vote - all members - yes. The Board and Mr. Sullivan were in attendance. Subjects were personnel.

Mr. Doyle motioned and Mr. Hohenberger seconded to grant wage increases to the beach personnel. Passed 4-1 with Mrs. Crisler opposed (felt increase should be higher).

Mr. Stearns motioned and Mr. Doyle seconded to approve the hiring of a call fire fighter pending background checks. Passed unanimously.

Mr. Doyle motioned and Mr. Stearns seconded to approve the hiring of an assistant Town Clerk pending background and medical checks. Passed unanimously.

Mr. Doyle motioned and Mr. Stearns seconded to approve the hiring of an intern for the summer for the road agent. Passed unanimously.

Mr. Doyle motioned and Mr. Stearns seconded to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at approximately 12:15 am.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Davis
Administrative Assistant

NOTE: These minutes are prepared in draft form and have not been submitted to the Board for approval.