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

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mrs. Crisler thanked all those who donated coats to the Woman's Club annual coat drive which was held last Saturday. The coats are given to local charities.

Mrs. Crisler also announced that the Town Clerk is selling the following items for the Woman's Club, which would be great Christmas gifts.

Christmas Ornament depicting the Armstrong Building with the tree that used to be decorated as the Town Christmas tree. Cost $12.00

Trivet - Town Common. Cost $19.95

Wooden Collectables - Senior Center, Presbyterian Church, Common and Searles Castle. Cost $19.95

Throw with various Town scenes. Cost $45.00

Woman's Club Cookbook. Cost $12.00

Mrs. Crisler also noted that the Town Clerk is also selling the following items for other local organizations.

Edward Francis Searles and His Castle in Windham book for the Castle Restoration. Cost $10.00

Lions Club Mints. Cost $.50

"Evening of Giving" at the Rockingham Mall to support the Windham Community Band. Cost $8.00

Mr. Sullivan announced that the tax rate for 2001 is $17.45 per thousand of assessed valuation. He stated that although the rate is lower than last year, the average tax bill will increase by about $400 as property values have been adjusted to reflect market value.

LIAISON REPORTS: Mr. Hohenberger reported that the Planning Board is meeting with the CIP Committee this Wednesday. He noted that the CIP is a work in progress.

Ms Webber reported that the Historic/Heritage Commission held a meeting with the Presbyterian Church on their proposed addition and more discussion will follow.

TURTLE ROCK ROAD: Mr. Sullivan stated that the Board met in non-public session on October 29th with attorneys and residents of Turtle Rock Road regarding a request to have the Town plow Turtle Rock Road and the residents of the road paying for the services.

A public discussion of this will be held at the Selectmen's next meeting on November 19th.

MINUTES: Mr. Doyle motioned and Mr. Stearns seconded to accept the minutes of October 29, 2001 as presented. Passed 4-0 with Mr. Hohenberger abstaining as he was not present at the meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE: Notice received from the Department of Transportation of a public information meeting on the widening of I-93 from the stateline in Salem to the I-93/I-293/NH 101 split in Manchester on November 20th at the Windham Middle School at 5:00 pm.

Letter received from Rick Hancock, Chairman of the Griffin Park Committee, stating the Committee reviewed the park and its charge and believes that it has completed the work on Phase I and therefore voted to petition the Selectmen to release the committee members from further obligation to the town. He also noted that the committee believes it would be more efficient to have the Selectmen and the construction management subcommittee members oversee the remaining details of the park construction.

Mr. Stearns motioned and Mr. Hohenberger seconded to discharge the Griffin Park Committee with sincere thanks and appreciation for the thousands of hours they gave to the construction of Phase I of Griffin Park. Passed unanimously. The Board again expressed their thanks to the Committee for their hard work and many hours of effort on behalf of the residents of Windham.

OLD BUSINESS: Mr. Sullivan stated that at last week's Selectmen's meeting, the Board had awarded the bid for the Church Road culvert with the provision that all work required in the specifications be done for the bid price. After further discussion with the bidder, this was not possible. Therefore, the culvert will not be replaced until next summer and the traffic pattern on Church Road will remain as present until that time.

Mr. Sullivan noted that construction of the new vault at the Town Hall is presently under way and should be in place by the end of December.

NEW BUSINESS: None.

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

Mr. Sullivan updated the Board on these subjects and no decisions were made.

Mr. Stearns motioned and Mr. Doyle seconded to recess the Board of Selectmen's meeting and commence the Board of Health Public Hearing. Passed unanimously.

BOARD OF HEALTH PUBLIC HEARING: The Board of Health conducted a public hearing to consider a request by Mr. Dalton and Mr. Racca for a waiver concerning Section 102.2 of the Waste Disposal/Septic Ordinance, requiring wells to be a minimum of 100' from septic systems. The request is for properties at 30 and 32 Doiron Road. The proposed system will be 42' from the well at 30 and 32 Doiron Road and 96' from the well at 28 Doiron Road.

A representative of AB Septic presented the plan to the Board. The Board expressed many concerns which included: septic so close to well, how to protect future owners, well water testing annually, procedure if system fails in the future and location of other wells in the area.

Mrs. Crisler motioned to approve the proposed plan with the following conditions noted in the easement: to correct the distance from the well from 42' to 46'; well shall be tested annually and submit a copy of test results to the Health Officer; obtain release from owner of 28 Doiron Road and to have the Health Officer verify there are no other wells within 100' of the proposed septic system. Mr. Doyle seconded. Passed 5-1 with Mr. Stearns opposed.

Mrs. Crisler motioned and Mr. Doyle seconded to adjourn the Board of Health hearing and reconvene the Selectmen's meeting. Passed unanimously.

LOWELL ROAD - PROPOSED BIKE PATHS: Mr. Sullivan reported that Mr. Hohenberger, Mr. Morris and he met with Chris Waszczuk, Project Manager from the DOT on October 16, 2001 to discuss the scope of work and projected funding for the proposed bike paths. Mr. Sullivan gave a brief history of this project.

The minutes from the October 16th meeting with the DOT reflected the following:

Scope of Work

• Reduction of the scope of work from 2.8 mile to 2.1 mile extending from NH 111 to just south of Golden Brook School - adjoining all schools.
• Estimated cost of shoulder widening - Town portion $143,000 of $715,000.
• Estimated costs for the road rehabilitation $520,000.
• Letter from Town to DOT Director of Project Development requesting consideration of the modified scope of work and project costs will be required

General Project Details

• Paved shoulders would need to be a minimum of 4' to provide safety.
• Minor alignment shifts would be considered to minimize impacts along sensitive locations and reduce overall project impacts.
• Curbing and subsurface drainage system may be considered along sensitive property frontages.
• General sensitivity will be exerted to minimize extent of tree removal.
• Coordination with utility companies will be conducted during project development to emphasize a minimal approach towards tree clearing.

Funding

• The Town's 20% share for PE and ROW costs or $23,000 will be required upon agreement execution and prior to project initiation.
• Town vote at the March Town Meeting will be required to appropriate funds for the Town's share of PE and ROW.
• The Town's full 20% share of the total project costs will be required upon receipt of the bids subsequent to project advertisement.

Project Schedule

• Presently the project's construction is programmed for fiscal year 2004 but may be pushed back until 2005.

Mr. Sullivan told the Board that they must now decide whether to move this project forward by a warrant article for town meeting or to drop the plan.

Discussion followed regarding the concerns of the Board member's: width of paths, creditability of cost estimates, if at any point in the process the Town can withdraw, impact on property owners and possible land acquisition.

The following residents expressed their concerns with the project: Nancy and Leon Berry, Paul Zins and Murdock MacKenzie. Wayne Morris stated that he did not feel the impacts would be as severe as some thought and felt the engineering study would be good to show the exact layout.

Mrs. Crisler stated numerous reasons why she felt it was important to put this item on the Town Warrant and let the people decide. Mr. Stearns, Mr. Doyle and Ms Webber stated they were against the project but also felt the people should be given the choice.

Mr. Hohenberger motioned and Mrs. Crisler seconded to bring the proposed bike path project on Lowell Road forward on the warrant for town vote. Passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen M. Davis
Administrative Assistant

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