[0:01] Good evening.

[0:01] Welcome to the Tuesday, April 7th, 2026.

[0:04] Time council meeting. Councilor. What?

[0:07] All right. I make a motion

[0:08] that we leave non-public session return

[0:11] to public session. Second that.

[0:13] Alright. Motion to leave non-public on the motion.

[0:16] Councilor Mills? Yes. Oh gosh. I have to get through.

[0:19] New group here. Councilor Healy. Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes.

[0:23] Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Foot? Yes. And chair votes?

[0:26] Yes. All right. We are out of non-public.

[0:30] Good evening everyone. Just

[0:31] before we start, just a reminder that in case

[0:35] of emergency exits are at the back of the room

[0:37] and to the side over here.

[0:39] And if you could please silence your cell phones.

[0:42] And with that councilor foot,

[0:44] will you lead us in the pledge please?

[0:47] Pledge Alle flag of the United States.

[0:50] Of the Republic Republic stands One issue.

[0:55] Indi Justice.

[1:01] Thank you. Did a little out of order.

[1:04] We'll do our roll call now. Councilor Mills.

[1:08] Good evening, Councilor Healy.

[1:10] Good evening, councilor Webb. Good

[1:11] Evening, Councilor Chase.

[1:13] Good evening, councilor Foot. Good evening.

[1:15] And Councilor Flood is unable to join us this evening

[1:19] and good evening from chair.

[1:21] Alright, is there a motion to open public forum? So

[1:24] Moved.

[1:25] Second. Alright, all those in favor?

[1:27] A, a, a Aye All public forum is now open.

[1:30] If you'd like come on up,

[1:32] please state your name and address for the record.

[1:34] And you have three minutes per individual.

[1:56] I, Sorry, my name's Crystal Morin.

[2:01] I reside at 64 English Range Road.

[2:05] And I took a moment to write this out in advance

[2:08] so I could be respectful of your time

[2:11] and make sure nothing important is missed.

[2:14] And I did pre-write it

[2:15] before Councilman, I knew

[2:18] that Councilman Flood was not going to be here.

[2:21] So as I read it, if it sounds like he is here, that is

[2:25] how I originally wrote it.

[2:29] I previously served as a ZBA member for nearly 10 years

[2:33] during which time I received no complaints

[2:37] and many compliments regarding my service.

[2:40] Given that I was surprised by the decision not

[2:43] to be reappointed, I am here

[2:45] to re respectfully request an explanation for this decision.

[2:51] Mr. Tripp was reappointed

[2:53] and during that time we served together,

[2:55] we participated in approximately 90 cases together,

[3:01] we voted differently only four times,

[3:03] meaning we were in agreement roughly 96% of the time.

[3:08] With that in mind, I find it difficult to understand

[3:11] how my voting record could be used as a basis

[3:14] for my non reappointment, while a member

[3:17] with a nearly identical voting record was reappointed.

[3:22] In the nearly 70 cases I've sat on Counselor Webb,

[3:27] you've reached out to me zero times

[3:29] and I've attended every workshop.

[3:31] I I make myself very available.

[3:34] You can't change what you do not know is broken.

[3:38] I also went back and reviewed all meeting minutes

[3:41] as I believe it's important to understand

[3:43] where I may have gone wrong in order to learn and improve.

[3:48] Additionally Town Counselor Flood.

[3:50] During your prior service starting in 2022,

[3:54] I participated in approximately 117 cases,

[3:59] including case number 22 dash 1 31 involving the

[4:04] proposed shelter in Hampstead Road.

[4:06] You emailed code enforcement in support of that project

[4:09] and that instance

[4:12] represents the only communication I've ever had

[4:14] with you Counselor Chase.

[4:17] I've sat on approximately 74 cases

[4:19] since you've been elected.

[4:21] And Counselor Mills

[4:22] and Council Haley,

[4:24] I've sat on zero since you have been elected.

[4:27] So I'm requesting clarification on the reasoning

[4:29] behind your no votes as there appears

[4:33] to be limited direct experience to base that decision on.

[4:37] I've lived in this town for nearly 40 years.

[4:39] I'm the granddaughter of a retired dairy firefighter.

[4:43] Myself and my husband were educated in dairy

[4:45] and so were our children.

[4:46] We own a dairy business.

[4:48] I volunteer for youth sports even when my kids were

[4:51] not participating.

[4:52] I gen I genuinely love the town

[4:55] and want nothing but the best sport.

[4:56] I've always made an effort to follow the Town master plan,

[5:00] align with the vision set by the council,

[5:02] and apply the five required criteria in my decisions rather

[5:07] than simply not being reappointed.

[5:09] I would have welcomed the opportunity

[5:11] to be reeducated if there were concerns with my performance.

[5:16] Thank you for your time and consideration. Sorry.

[5:20] Thank you. Should I email? So

[5:24] Yes.

[5:25] So during, during public forum, it's not practice

[5:28] for the council to engage

[5:29] and have a discussion at this time,

[5:30] but yes, I think if you wanted to reach out

[5:32] to counselors individually absolutely you can

[5:35] Do that.

[5:36] All right. And normally how long

[5:37] before you guys respond? Just so

[5:39] I'm not, I I don't, it's each of us have our own schedules

[5:42] and so we, we kind of run depends on what our schedules are,

[5:45] so I really can't answer that. Alright,

[5:47] Perfect.

[5:48] I will do that tomorrow. Thank you. Sounds

[5:50] Good.

[5:51] Thank you

[5:59] Madam Chair.

[6:00] We see none rise online. Okay, move close.

[6:03] Okay. Motion to close public forum

[6:06] Second And a second.

[6:07] All those in favor? Aye.

[6:09] Aye. Opposed to Abstentions? All right.

[6:11] Public forum is closed. Thank you.

[6:14] Next step is the consent agenda.

[6:16] Are we okay to do the whole

[6:17] consent agenda together this evening?

[6:19] We should be right. Okay.

[6:20] So on the consent agenda, excuse me, I'm gonna apologize.

[6:25] I'll probably have a, at least

[6:26] one coughing fit during this meeting.

[6:27] I apologize. Ahead of time. Consent agenda item number 26 28

[6:32] to approve the non-public minutes per March 26.

[6:34] 2026. Those minutes are sealed.

[6:37] Item 26 29 to approve the minutes from the public meeting

[6:41] for March 26th, 2026

[6:43] and item 26 30, which will be resolution 20 26 0 2 0

[6:48] to authorize the Conservation Commission

[6:50] to accept a conservation easement at 41 Ashley Drive

[6:53] and 37 Scoby Pond Road.

[6:57] You're not presenting on.

[6:58] Do you wanna present on the it has here

[7:00] presentation, but we're not doing that tonight.

[7:02] Right? This is just consent.

[7:03] So we will have, this is on the consent agenda for now

[7:06] because we have to have, we'll have to have

[7:09] that at our next meeting.

[7:11] So that'll show up then under the regular business.

[7:16] And that is it on the consent. Is there motion to approve?

[7:20] So second.

[7:22] A motion by Councilor Foote

[7:23] and second by Councilor Healy on the motion.

[7:25] Council Mills Council? Yes. Councilor Haley?

[7:30] Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes.

[7:32] Councilor Foot? Yes. And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes.

[7:36] Six zero. All right. First report.

[7:39] May, may I just ask a question?

[7:40] Is Yes, is your microphone on?

[7:41] 'cause I'm having problems hearing you over here.

[7:43] Yes. Would you like me to talk louder? Thank you.

[7:45] I can do that. Sorry, I'm trying not to talk loud

[7:48] because of my voice, but I'll talk louder.

[7:50] I apologize. Thank you.

[7:51] I'm surprised Owen hasn't yelled at me. All right.

[7:55] Chair's report. We have a few appointments this evening.

[7:59] So I would like to move

[8:03] to appoint Gordon Graham Reappoint Gordon Graham as a member

[8:07] of the Dairy Commerce Tiff Advisory Board for a term

[8:10] to expire March 31st, 2029.

[8:13] Second. Alright, on the motion. Councilor Mills. Yes.

[8:17] Councillor Healy. Yes. Councilor Webb. Yes.

[8:20] Councillor Chase? Yes. Councillor Foote. Yes.

[8:22] And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Seven zero. Alright.

[8:27] Got my little, I also would

[8:32] like next move to appoint

[8:37] or re again reappoint Jacob Coughlin as a member

[8:40] of the Highway Safety Committee for term

[8:41] to expire March 31st, 2027. Second

[8:45] That On the motion.

[8:47] Councilor Mills. Yes. Councilor Healy. Yes. Councilor Webb.

[8:51] Yes. Councillor Chase? Yes. Councillor Foote. Yes.

[8:54] And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Six zero.

[8:58] And last one is I move to appoint Anthony Henry

[9:03] as an alternate member of the zoning board of Adjustment

[9:05] for a term to expire March 31st, 2029.

[9:09] Second. Alright, on the motion. Councilor Mills. Yes.

[9:13] Councillor Healy. Yes. Councillor Webb. Yes.

[9:16] Councillor Chase? Yes. Councillor Foote. Yes.

[9:19] And chair votes? Yes. And that is all I have this evening.

[9:22] So over to Todd Administrator. Mr. Fowler.

[9:26] Okay, so this evening

[9:28] I'll be presenting the first glimpse of the

[9:32] FY 27 budget,

[9:33] but I do have a couple of other items of general

[9:38] information while Owen's putting up the presentation.

[9:42] So just wanna remind the council

[9:44] and the public, we're gonna be hosting two budget workshops

[9:47] this Thursday, April 9th at 6:00 PM We'll be doing the

[9:52] larger divisions, fire police, public works.

[9:55] On the 16th we'll be doing all of the other departments.

[9:58] Again, that's a 6:00 PM meeting.

[10:01] We will have a regularly scheduled council meeting two weeks

[10:04] from today, 7:00 PM that's a April 21st.

[10:08] And then on April 23rd, which is a Thursday,

[10:11] we will have the FY 27 budget and CIP public hearing.

[10:15] So if there's any concerns, questions from the public, all

[10:18] of this information is posted on the town's website.

[10:22] All the stuff we're going over today

[10:23] and we will be reviewing in greater detail will be done

[10:26] during the workshops

[10:28] and then the vote will be scheduled for Tuesday, May 5th.

[10:32] Couple other community information items

[10:35] with the snow finally cleared.

[10:37] We've, we're gonna be starting mosquito control around town.

[10:40] We have a new vendor, Northeast Vegetation

[10:42] and mosquito control efforts are going to basically mirror

[10:46] what we've done in the past

[10:47] with some early season larva siding

[10:49] and catch basins and wetlands.

[10:51] And then monitoring

[10:52] and sampling occur over the summer period.

[10:55] And then if we reach the fall

[10:56] and there's a need for any adult SI adulticiding

[11:00] for triple E or West Nile virus, that is done.

[11:02] It hasn't been done in dairy for many years.

[11:05] I can think it was probably back to like 2017.

[11:08] 2016 was the last time that we had done adulticiding.

[11:11] So generally speaking the,

[11:13] the process is pretty straightforward

[11:15] and I don't believe last year was a,

[11:17] a massively difficult year to manage in dairy

[11:20] and also throughout the state

[11:21] with those two mosquito mosquito-born illnesses.

[11:24] So, but we are kicking that process off.

[11:27] Again, information is available on the town's website on

[11:30] that personnel.

[11:32] It seems like we're, you know,

[11:34] every other meeting we're talking about

[11:36] somebody retiring tonight.

[11:37] I wanted just note that longtime employee Dave Blanchard,

[11:41] who's our engineering technician in Department

[11:44] of Public Works, he's indicated his intent to retire as

[11:47] of April 30th, 2026.

[11:51] I've definitely had the, the pleasure of working

[11:53] with Dave in my role as the Public works director.

[11:56] You'll never find anybody who's more polite

[11:58] and professional in dealing

[11:59] with our pavement management program.

[12:01] He really brings a lot of expertise there

[12:04] and he's a large reason why we've had such a success in

[12:07] keeping one of the highest PCIs that

[12:10] we've ever had in in the program.

[12:12] So we're gonna miss Dave and,

[12:13] and obviously he's still here for three weeks,

[12:15] but again it's just another hole

[12:18] that we're gonna need to fill.

[12:19] So I just wanted to give Dave our congratulations

[12:21] on his retirement.

[12:24] Other than that, I'll step to the main podium

[12:28] and start the presentation on Actually Owen, we'll start

[12:31] with the budget first as opposed to the CIP

[12:49] Mike, while you're getting set up, I just wanted

[12:51] to just jump back

[12:52] so I didn't clearly state back on our consent agenda,

[12:55] the resolution for the conservation easement,

[12:57] there will be public hearings for that on,

[12:59] there's two I believe so on the 21st, April 21st

[13:02] and the May 5th meeting.

[13:04] We will have public hearings for that.

[13:05] I didn't say that clearly. Thank you.

[13:09] Okay, So preparation of the FY 27 budget,

[13:14] it, it is definitely a year long process.

[13:16] Takes a lot of staff time,

[13:18] particularly in the finance department.

[13:20] But there's many other data points that we need to look at.

[13:24] You know, throughout the year we have projected valuations.

[13:27] We, we consult with the planning

[13:29] and economic development departments looking at

[13:31] what future valuations will be.

[13:34] I'm always keeping an eye on inflation data every month.

[13:38] When that comes out, that leads us

[13:40] to our CPIU Northeast value.

[13:43] That is the allowable amount in December or

[13:46] after the December figures are available.

[13:49] That determines what our maximum

[13:52] increase per the town charter is of our tax rate.

[13:55] We also coordinate pretty heavily

[13:57] with all our department heads on their staffing needs.

[14:00] We also ask all of our departments

[14:02] to get preliminary quotes on equipment

[14:04] and any repairs that they foresee in the future budgets

[14:07] and then finance these projections from the CFO

[14:11] for motor vehicle registrations

[14:13] and interest income that are part of this.

[14:15] So it's an ongoing process

[14:17] and it brings us to where we are as we break out

[14:21] where we're going for the FY 27 budget.

[14:24] So just a quick slide.

[14:26] Current tax rate for 2025 is $18 99 cents.

[14:30] The town portion of that is $5 39 cents.

[14:33] That went up 14 cents last year. So 2.66%.

[14:38] We only control what's in the yellow.

[14:40] The other three components are not voted on by this body.

[14:46] Again, looking at the total tax rate, you get a single bill

[14:50] each time in June and December,

[14:53] but we are only 28% of that total tax rate.

[14:59] So how's the tax rate calculated?

[15:01] So by charter, which has been in place for nearly 30 years,

[15:06] it indicates that you take the last year's tax rate.

[15:09] You then can increase it up to,

[15:11] but you cannot exceed the percentage

[15:14] of the trailing year's CPI.

[15:16] So in this case the inflation increase was 3.3%

[15:21] based on the CPI northeast value.

[15:23] And that's a national calculation done by the Bureau

[15:26] of Laborer Statistics.

[15:29] If you look at the value for 2025, it's $5 39 cents.

[15:34] If you factor in 3.3%, the maximum we can start

[15:37] or bring our tax rate to is $5 and 57 cents.

[15:42] Based on some of the constraints, we'll go over my,

[15:45] I am delivering a budget at that tax cap.

[15:48] Obviously as we go through this process you may feel fit

[15:52] to change and alter that,

[15:53] but obviously by charter we cannot go over that

[15:56] unless you do an override.

[15:58] And that's a whole different process

[15:59] that we don't necessarily want to get into.

[16:02] Besides that, the CIP purchases must fit in

[16:04] with the allowable increase without depleting the capital

[16:07] reserve funds for each department.

[16:09] So you can see it's a pretty daunting challenge

[16:11] with a number of different legs that we have to consider.

[16:15] So one other part of this is valuation.

[16:17] So April 1st of each year you take what was built

[16:21] and new valuation gets put onto the tax roll

[16:24] and that's what gets taxed for the 2026 tax year.

[16:27] We'd estimated for this current budget cycle FY 26 new

[16:33] building at $20 million.

[16:34] The actual valuation

[16:35] that we received this fall was $55 million

[16:38] higher than last year.

[16:39] So that was, that was a good figure.

[16:42] We went back, looked at what is actually being built,

[16:45] thinking about a couple of the projects on Rockingham Road

[16:49] and and other places in the community

[16:51] and we have a pretty solid estimate of $50 million

[16:53] of new valuation.

[16:54] So this helps you in, in the process of being able to

[16:58] expand your tax base

[16:59] and be able to afford some of the items

[17:01] that you have within your budget.

[17:04] And then also we were talking about other development

[17:07] within the TIF district.

[17:08] We have Abbott court underway

[17:09] and that's gonna support the TIF district expenditures in

[17:12] FY 28 and beyond.

[17:13] So one of the themes is we're seeing some positive growth

[17:16] throughout the community, which is, which is good

[17:19] and it's been sustainable.

[17:22] So let's just look at the tax rate history.

[17:24] On the left side you have the CPI figure.

[17:26] So what we ran a analysis

[17:28] of the last 10 years looked at the tax rate

[17:32] and again it's important to note that the tax rate

[17:35] changes when you have a revaluation.

[17:38] So for fiscal 27

[17:41] or 2026 tax year, we are see going to see a revaluation.

[17:46] So regardless of this number,

[17:47] when your tax bill gets delivered, it won't be $5

[17:50] and 57 cents.

[17:52] That will change and I'll update the council

[17:54] and the public as far as where that is heading.

[17:57] But ultimately, no matter what your tax rate cannot go up,

[18:01] it gets readjusted no more than 3.3%.

[18:04] Okay? If you look as far as some of those rates, most

[18:08] of the inflation figures were benign up

[18:11] until you reached fiscal 23 and fiscal 24.

[18:14] So those were the years coming out of COVID.

[18:17] And then obviously we've been trending it around

[18:19] or just more than 3% the last three years.

[18:22] So that's reflecting what I think you see in, you know,

[18:26] prices for gasoline, for food, many other consumable items.

[18:33] Probably a little bit too much information here,

[18:35] but this just shows you the CPI Northeast table

[18:38] that I pulled directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[18:41] And basically it's just an arithmetic average at some point.

[18:45] Back in 1967 you had a basis I think of 100

[18:49] and it just continues to go up and,

[18:51] and it's an index that you use to look at

[18:53] where you were and where you are.

[18:55] But one of the things I wanted to highlight was,

[18:57] or is looking at where we are February of 2026 versus

[19:03] July of 2017.

[19:05] That's about a 10 year span.

[19:07] And so our budget really is reflective of local, regional,

[19:10] and global economic trends that CPI northeast numbers up 32%

[19:15] over that time period.

[19:17] But some of the items that we're trying

[19:19] to cover in our budget salt, you look at the difference

[19:22] that's up 47% over the same period trash disposal,

[19:26] that's up 65% as compared to the same period.

[19:30] So we're having to absorb some

[19:32] of these major increases within the tax cap.

[19:36] Another thing that is a major driver,

[19:38] and we'll talk a lot about this throughout the budget

[19:42] workshops, the cost of health insurance, all

[19:45] of our full-time employees have access

[19:47] to a plan generally most units it's 87.5%

[19:52] town coverage, 12.5 cost of the employee share.

[19:56] And if you look at the difference between each one of those,

[19:59] one person, two person

[20:01] and a family plan, they're all up 90% over that same period.

[20:05] So think about how that impacts our budget.

[20:08] This is one of the major cost drivers,

[20:10] not only over the last 10 years,

[20:12] but also specifically in this year's budget.

[20:15] So we'll talk more as we go along with that.

[20:18] So how do we manage getting through the tax cap?

[20:20] We, we have to leverage state and federal grants.

[20:22] We talk a lot about going

[20:24] after, you know, grants through DOT grants,

[20:27] through various federal programs.

[20:28] It's really important that we keep that up because

[20:30] otherwise some of our programs we couldn't afford.

[20:32] We've done energy efficiency projects,

[20:34] we've done cooperative purchasing of materials.

[20:37] We also look at right time prioritize capital improvements.

[20:41] We have an effective use of fund balance distributed

[20:43] to different project funds and current for future needs.

[20:47] And then obviously in some instances we go without

[20:50] because it's not affordable.

[20:51] A lot of communities have curbside trash pickup.

[20:54] We don't, a lot of places have

[20:57] other layers within their departments

[20:59] that we just can't afford.

[21:00] So I think it, it's important to know that we have

[21:03] to make some measured tough choices

[21:06] and we always have year over year

[21:09] in this tax cap environment

[21:11] and you know, it's important to highlight that.

[21:14] So what does the budget support?

[21:15] So we obviously have a great emergency services department

[21:18] 24 7 365 fire police get a full service municipal center.

[21:23] We're open 45 hours a week.

[21:25] Full service transfer station

[21:27] DPW operations keeps the roads in great

[21:29] shape in building maintenance.

[21:31] You have availability of two highly regarded libraries

[21:34] and then a myriad of of recreational activities and parks

[21:38] and and cultural activities ranging from summer concerts,

[21:42] fireworks meals for seniors, things of that nature.

[21:47] Also, what else does it support?

[21:49] Access to Governmental meetings

[21:50] through dairy cam supportive social service programs.

[21:54] OneNote Water and Sewer Pro systems are not covered

[21:58] by the general fund that is covered by enterprise funds.

[22:01] So only the users of those services

[22:03] are the ones that pay for those.

[22:05] And then the tif, district revenue support activities within

[22:08] the boundaries of that TIF district

[22:10] and also the gateway TIF district

[22:12] and the capital improvement program is covered

[22:14] within our budget as well.

[22:16] So looking at the details of the budget, wanted

[22:19] to highlight some of the various levels.

[22:22] So if you notice the general fund

[22:25] adopted number was $75 million we're dropping down

[22:28] to $55 million.

[22:29] So on paper that looks like we've done a wonderful job,

[22:32] but what that's indicative of is the way that we account

[22:35] for the $20.7 million bond

[22:38] for the parking garage at Abbott Court.

[22:40] So obviously now we're just paying principal

[22:42] and interest payments through the TIF district

[22:44] and all of that flows through to the different revenues.

[22:48] The key number to look at is obviously

[22:50] as you go down the revenues are reflective of anything

[22:54] ranging from fees, grants, opportunities, we have

[22:58] to sell properties, all those various items

[23:01] of revenues interest,

[23:03] those are all reflected in in that number.

[23:06] At the very bottom of the tax rate we talked about 5.39

[23:10] to 5.57 is 3.3%.

[23:13] And on an average $500,000 valued home, that

[23:19] increase is $90 over what you are currently paying.

[23:22] So again, when you get your tax bill going into December

[23:25] of 2026, it will reflect this budget.

[23:28] In theory it should go up $90 again, irrespective of

[23:33] what you would see for revaluations.

[23:35] That's a little different calculation.

[23:36] Some will go up, some will go down as a result of that.

[23:40] Looking again, how we calculate that,

[23:43] you have gross appropriations, you have the revenues,

[23:49] veterans credits are in there at $589,000.

[23:52] At this point there's no change to that amount,

[23:55] but again that's something that the council could ask

[23:58] to look at at a future date

[23:59] and look for adjustments in the next budget.

[24:02] Fiscal 28. And then we have overlay.

[24:05] So when it's all said and done, the bottom line there

[24:07] to be raised is 31 million

[24:09] eight hundred and seventeen four hundred twenty two.

[24:12] And then you divide that by the estimated valuation

[24:15] of $5.71 billion

[24:19] and that's how you arrive at the projected tax rate of 5.57.

[24:24] So basically it's just a math formula that you come down to

[24:27] and that's what's gonna get us within the tax cap.

[24:31] Alright, looking at again some of the,

[24:33] the major cost drivers, we have full-time wages

[24:36] that is up 5.2%.

[24:38] We just voted on five collective bargaining agreements

[24:42] and that's reflect if those will be in effect.

[24:44] As of July 1st, 2026 health insurance

[24:47] that has been the one item that has crushed us this year,

[24:51] that's a $1.3 million increase that is up 27%.

[24:56] We don't have a lot of choices in in that for now.

[24:58] We are looking to see if there are other alternatives,

[25:02] but this is something that we're going to have

[25:04] to cover in our budget In

[25:06] that front workers' comp is up 9.4%.

[25:10] Retirement contributions are up 7.1%

[25:12] and that's merely a function of if you're adding wages,

[25:15] it's a mathematical formula that gets pushed down.

[25:19] IT service contracts, that's up 4.8%.

[25:22] We do have a couple of areas that we have dropped

[25:26] electricity down 13%.

[25:28] That's as a result

[25:29] of our town buildings being on the New Solar project and

[25:31] and seeing a reduced rate.

[25:34] And then roadway maintenance.

[25:35] One of the choices we had to make this year,

[25:37] at least in the budget that I'm presenting,

[25:39] is we're gonna be looking to reduce roadway maintenance from

[25:41] a traditional figure between 1.5 and 1.6 million.

[25:45] I'm gonna reduce that in a one year capacity by $250,000

[25:49] to offset some of the other costs that you see above.

[25:54] One of the things that is a factor this year,

[25:57] you've got a lot of other paving

[25:58] that is gonna be done on unido Road.

[26:01] It's gonna be done on other parts of the community

[26:03] that are in conjunction with

[26:04] other projects that we're doing.

[26:05] So we felt that it was prudent to reduce in this area here.

[26:09] Our PCI is at 88, which is one

[26:11] of the highest numbers that we've had.

[26:13] So the road network I don't think is going to suffer

[26:15] as a result of it, but obviously we want to get that back up

[26:18] to a sustainable level in the fiscal 28 budget and beyond.

[26:23] So major goals, continuance

[26:25] of favorable momentum in in our development core functions.

[26:29] We obviously want to keep our emergency

[26:31] and regular town services.

[26:33] This budget meets the tax cap at 3.3%,

[26:36] addresses some competitiveness issues

[26:38] through the CBA implementation trust.

[26:41] We continue to support TIF district economic expansion

[26:45] and it also continues to support our infrastructure growth.

[26:47] Water, sewer and exit four A.

[26:51] Again, more highlights we're going

[26:53] to retain all staffing levels.

[26:55] Capital and debt service are funded in the FY 27 budget.

[26:59] One area that we've talked about

[27:02] over the last few years is the addition

[27:04] of one full-time position to support this development,

[27:07] we really need to get a third person in the

[27:11] code enforcement department.

[27:13] So we're looking and we're proposing

[27:14] to add a building inspector into that budget,

[27:17] but we couldn't afford any of the other demands

[27:20] that had come up from other departments.

[27:22] Revenues and motor vehicle that's up 4%.

[27:24] That's simply based upon the formula

[27:27] and obviously the cost of vehicles that come to us.

[27:31] Interest income, again, we looked hard at

[27:33] what those numbers were going to be.

[27:34] Things have not dropped as precipitously as we thought.

[27:37] So that's up 4% over last year.

[27:40] And then revenues from state sources mainly rooms

[27:43] and meals taxes, that's up 2.6%.

[27:46] And then as we talked about, we are looking

[27:48] to do a one year reduction of 250 K for

[27:52] the high PCI on our roadway management.

[27:56] So some of the variances we just went

[27:58] through full-time wages, that's up 926,000 health insurance,

[28:02] workers' comp, electricity and our IT contracts.

[28:07] One of the things that that we've done I think

[28:10] ideally over the last 10 years has been use

[28:13] of dedicated funds.

[28:15] One of the areas that we talked about

[28:18] is the CBA implementation trust.

[28:21] There's been a an account

[28:22] that we've banked money over the last five years

[28:25] and looking to use $1.275 million of that

[28:30] to cover the cost of health insurance

[28:32] and our approved CBAs, which are the full-time wages.

[28:36] We're also looking to include use

[28:38] of $569,000 in fund balance.

[28:42] The budget also included a 444,000 use

[28:47] of COVID trust fund per previous

[28:48] designation by town council.

[28:51] And then as we typically do, we move $675,000

[28:55] to the compensated absence fund.

[28:57] That's a contribution that we keep

[28:59] for when employees depart.

[29:01] They often do a fairly substantial amount of

[29:06] paid time off that they hadn't used throughout their career

[29:08] and we have to have a fund to cover that.

[29:12] So as we had talked about earlier, here's the schedule.

[29:14] We will be coming back on Thursday

[29:16] for our first budget workshop

[29:18] and then the 16th will be the second workshop regular

[29:22] council meeting on the 21st.

[29:24] The 23rd will be our public hearing

[29:26] and then we'll vote on May 5th, 2026.

[29:31] So with that I can take any questions that you may have.

[29:35] Now I do also have a secondary presentation on the CIP.

[29:39] So we can either do that or save the,

[29:41] the questions for the workshop.

[29:43] Does anyone have questions right now?

[29:45] I'll save mine to the end. Okay. Okay, I'm good.

[29:50] Alright, you can go on to CIP

[29:51] In the moment.

[29:52] All right, so we'll take a look at the CIPO

[29:53] and you can put that up

[30:08] Sir. Okay.

[30:10] Alright. So I'll go through the CIP fairly quickly.

[30:14] A lot of it is, is specific to the departments,

[30:16] but just to kinda give a, a brief overview

[30:20] of the capital improvement plan.

[30:23] Typically we're looking to do replacement of

[30:26] existing units due to age

[30:28] or the repair costs have been too expensive to sustain.

[30:31] We're also looking if there's any enhanced

[30:33] service need or opportunities.

[30:35] Sometimes we have a bonded

[30:36] or grant funded project for utility expansion

[30:40] or we have ongoing maintenance for road.

[30:42] So generally those are the four categories

[30:44] that you'll see within our capital improvement plan.

[30:49] Again, talking about the process,

[30:50] this is a a year long process.

[30:53] Department heads are out getting all their

[30:55] information throughout the year.

[30:58] They usually get their information to the town administrator

[31:01] by January of 2026.

[31:03] We'll review it at the CFO

[31:05] and town administrator level in February.

[31:07] We already did a, a presentation

[31:08] to planning board on February 18th.

[31:11] We then look to see how this would be incorporated into the

[31:15] FY 27 budget.

[31:16] We'll go through our workshops

[31:18] and then you will have an opportunity to vote

[31:20] and adopt on May 5th.

[31:22] So a couple of highlights.

[31:25] $62.5 million six year plan from the general

[31:29] fund is 30.4 million.

[31:30] The water fund is 12.9 in the wastewater fund,

[31:33] it's 19.9 million.

[31:35] So it sounds pretty hefty at the onset,

[31:38] but we also have additional project funds

[31:42] that come from various grant sources.

[31:44] So we'll talk about that a little bit later. FY 27 specific.

[31:48] The general fund 7.4 million, the water fund 11.6

[31:52] and then the wastewater fund is 7.6 million.

[31:55] So total of that is 20 point 26.6 million.

[31:59] So it sounds again like a daunting number.

[32:01] But we also, for example,

[32:04] the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Project is

[32:07] furnishing a grant of $11.3 million to extend water

[32:10] through dairy and make a number of improvements.

[32:14] Also, we look at 10 million

[32:17] of the 62 million is already ingrained within the budget

[32:20] for pavement management per year policy.

[32:23] Unrestricted fund balance proceeds are distributed

[32:26] to each department's capital reserve fund along

[32:29] with current fiscal year funds to make sure

[32:31] that we have enough funds to go ahead and

[32:34] and handle those projects.

[32:37] I did skip over the fact that a lot of instances, these

[32:40] purchases are spread out over a five

[32:42] or seven year financing package, which

[32:45] that allows us to spread.

[32:46] For example, a a $150,000 truck would have five equal

[32:51] payments of $30,000 plus interest.

[32:53] So that gives us an opportunity

[32:55] to have some predictability year over year

[32:57] on some of these purchases.

[32:59] So again, here's your, here's your chart on your

[33:03] CIP projects.

[33:05] On the very bottom, we put together the slide showing the,

[33:09] the approximate net tax impact of each one of these years.

[33:12] You are just north of a dollar per thousand on

[33:17] covering the capital improvement plan.

[33:18] But it's important because you don't want to have vehicles

[33:21] that are leaving too early in terms of having issues

[33:25] and not being able to do the

[33:27] emergency response as to plowing.

[33:28] So it is important that we fund this and,

[33:30] and make sure that it's sustainable.

[33:33] Again, just this chart

[33:34] that this stuff is all available on the town's website.

[33:38] And we'll go over this a little bit more in detail when we

[33:41] get to the CIP public hearing.

[33:44] But again, looking at the sustainability

[33:46] of the police capital reserve, you can see here

[33:49] that there are infusions, inflows and outflows.

[33:52] And so when we do this,

[33:53] it's more than just a one year look ahead.

[33:55] We have to look at the sustainability of funds

[33:57] that come into the capital reserve.

[34:00] So we are, we're keeping an eye on that

[34:01] and we're trying to keep those funds sustainable without

[34:04] tapping into anything that's,

[34:05] that's deeper than where what's available.

[34:08] Same story in DPW and then obviously in the fire.

[34:12] I did want to point out we are monitoring fiscal

[34:15] 32 right now.

[34:16] We've got a slight deficit.

[34:18] Again, things change over the course of time.

[34:21] Obviously we're not gonna run the capital reserve fund

[34:25] for fire down to zero, but as it stands right now, all past

[34:28] and future obligations would trend us to be at just

[34:32] below the zero balance.

[34:34] So we'll, we'll monitor that,

[34:35] but there's no danger at this point.

[34:36] I just wanted to point that out how we project this.

[34:40] Alright, just gonna run through a couple of

[34:43] of the items in Police capital reserve.

[34:45] They're gonna be looking for six

[34:48] Ford Hybrid police intercepts $341,000 replacing

[34:53] a, you know, for example, a 2017 Ford Fusion.

[34:57] We have a motor or service contract that's just over $93,000

[35:02] and then one of the cruisers will be replaced

[35:05] and it also will have an upfit for one of our canine units

[35:11] in DPWA sidewalk machine, $200,000.

[35:15] This is an example of one of our trucks we're seeking

[35:18] to replace $165,000 is a frontline truck,

[35:22] a chipper that's just reached its age $75,000.

[35:27] We're looking to replace three plow trucks

[35:31] that are the pickup size, 65,000 times three

[35:35] code enforcement's gonna be looking for.

[35:37] If we're gonna support another person,

[35:39] we're gonna need another vehicle for that person.

[35:41] So that's a $60,000 truck

[35:44] and it's amazing for me to look at these things

[35:45] and see, you know, that truck was probably $40,000,

[35:48] $35,000 not that long ago.

[35:50] These I can assure you these are not like souped up trucks

[35:53] that, you know, we go through.

[35:55] These are very basic trucks that, that we're purchasing

[35:59] a ball field groomer, one of the items

[36:00] to cut down on on any potential for workers' comp claims

[36:03] and, and enhance our ability to do labor.

[36:06] This is a ball field groomer as opposed to some of the,

[36:09] the methods used previously,

[36:10] which were more labor intensive.

[36:11] Intensive. We're looking to replace a

[36:15] structure at the transfer station that we use to park

[36:18] our trailers and keep them out of the weather.

[36:22] And then as I had mentioned

[36:23] before, we've reduced the roadway maintenance down

[36:25] to $1.35 million.

[36:28] And lastly, fire, this is a big dollar amount.

[36:32] Engine two replacement is $1.3 million.

[36:35] So we're trying to address obviously age of, of some

[36:39] of these trucks and obviously the lead time that's also

[36:43] into this industry now.

[36:44] So we're aware of, of some

[36:46] of the lead times we're trying to address those.

[36:48] But getting ahead of the curve

[36:50] before you have a a critical breakdown is, is certainly

[36:53] important in keeping in our emergency services.

[36:57] This is a, yeah, picture

[36:58] of an ambulance re replacement $446,000, same sort of thing.

[37:03] I don't think the lead times are quite as bad

[37:05] for ambulances, but again this is just a, a regular rotation

[37:09] of stock for one of the ambulances in water.

[37:14] We've got a number of projects,

[37:15] but primarily it's the phase two and phase two A

[37:19] and B for the phase two water expansion.

[37:22] That's $11.3 million.

[37:24] Council's already voted to accept 100% grant funds

[37:28] and that occurred on March 3rd, 2026.

[37:31] So it'll show as an $11.3 million project,

[37:34] but the net cost to the town of dairy is,

[37:36] is zero in wastewater.

[37:41] Couple of projects, 1500 feet of effluent force main

[37:44] to be replaced at $1.4 million.

[37:47] We're are currently working on moving forward to with design

[37:52] for the Ryans Hill sewer

[37:54] and within the FY 27 CIP you see a cost

[37:58] of $6.1 million.

[38:00] Those costs will be refined as we get more ideas as far as

[38:04] where the the piping will go.

[38:06] But we do have an EPA grant that covers $3.2 million of that

[38:10] and we're gonna be looking at other revenue sources

[38:12] to cover the remaining of that value.

[38:14] So those are the major projects that we have in the CIP

[38:18] and those are all included within the charts

[38:20] that you have for that.

[38:22] So with that I certainly can open up any questions

[38:25] that you may have on either the FY 27 budget

[38:28] or the six year CIP.

[38:31] Thank you council Rem you had

[38:33] Questions?

[38:34] Okay, I have just some

[38:35] Questions and comments.

[38:37] Age of them unfortunately, thank you for presenting very

[38:41] what I consider a lean budget

[38:43] and just for the general public to remember that

[38:46] by appro all these CBAs

[38:48] and so forth, we've actually covered almost 90%

[38:51] of the budget because our budget really is personnel costs.

[38:57] I have, they're not really concerns

[39:00] with what's in the budget,

[39:01] they're more management concerns through the year.

[39:04] I think that there's gonna be pressures on this year

[39:07] and particularly in FY 27 that we're beginning to see

[39:11] inflationary pressures.

[39:13] You actually referred to some of it on page four 13 of the,

[39:17] the capital explanation on the increasing cost of steel

[39:22] and aluminum and so forth.

[39:25] I think these are going to have some sign significant budget

[39:28] management concerns

[39:30] and maybe budget crafting in FY 28.

[39:35] And again, you know, start thinking about 'em now

[39:37] because you know proper prior planning

[39:41] is good performance.

[39:44] Yeah, because I do believe

[39:49] that we are at risk of it of a recession in the next year

[39:52] or two and that we're gonna be looking at increased

[39:55] costs in energy.

[39:56] I mean diesel is now $6 a gallon

[39:59] and that's roughly also you have

[40:01] to consider heating oil with that.

[40:04] I have concerns that is there gonna be sufficient,

[40:07] particularly on the public works

[40:08] and fireside that use diesel is the numbers

[40:10] that are in this year's budget gonna be actually enough

[40:13] to cover, you know, diesel expenditures throughout the year.

[40:18] And again, I know this is only 10%

[40:19] because 90% is still personnel.

[40:25] So that's when the energy concerns I have.

[40:27] I think we're gonna do well with electricity

[40:29] because of the solar offset.

[40:31] But capital I think is gonna be,

[40:32] particularly when we're looking at the fire apparatus

[40:34] and other capital projects.

[40:37] Just a quick sidebar, most people don't realize that

[40:40] we think of the straight of muse as oil.

[40:43] It's also aluminum. Nine to 27%

[40:47] of the world's aluminum come through the street of Horus

[40:50] and that's fire apparatus and vehicles.

[40:53] Even though we get a lot of our aluminum from Canada,

[40:57] we talked about health insurance

[40:59] and I just want to emphasize that one of my goals

[41:02] as a council is we're gonna need to, even if it comes out to

[41:07] say at the end of the day what we have for health insurance

[41:11] is really the most cost effective option.

[41:12] I think we owe our taxpayers

[41:14] to do a serious look at health insurance options

[41:17] with our employer employees in the unions.

[41:23] We've got some time before the next collective

[41:25] bargaining units increase.

[41:28] We need to be aggressive with

[41:30] setting aside money into our fund balance

[41:32] and our CBA trust, particularly in this year.

[41:36] It again, it goes back into the management of the budget

[41:40] and your job and the department heads

[41:42] because I think there are gonna be recession stressors,

[41:45] particularly in FY 28

[41:46] and that we may need to have access to the project money

[41:50] that the unended unencumbered fund balance allows us.

[41:59] Part of that is to be aggressive

[42:01] with the regionalization projects.

[42:02] We've seen great luck

[42:04] with the Southern New Hampshire Water Project,

[42:07] but we'd like to see yourself in the department heads

[42:09] particularly look at how we can improve regionalization

[42:14] as a way to help reduce inflationary pressures

[42:18] to improve services in the next couple years.

[42:23] And the last thing I think is, again, we talk about 90%

[42:27] of our budget being personnel.

[42:29] I think it's being hampered on a couple areas through

[42:33] the vacancies and I, I do have a plan that when it comes up

[42:38] as to maybe helping to improve that a little bit.

[42:43] But we need to get serious about recruiting

[42:47] because you know, that's money

[42:51] that I think can be spent that will lower money.

[42:54] And the last thing I want wanna say is thank you

[42:56] for putting in a full-time building inspector.

[42:58] I know I've been hammering about costs here,

[43:01] but I think that again is we're spending money to save money

[43:05] with that full-time building inspector.

[43:08] So thank you. That's it

[43:10] Else.

[43:12] Maybe just to bring a little bit of bright news

[43:15] to the entire budget process as consular foot

[43:17] and I both set as representatives today in public works

[43:21] and we approved all that water money,

[43:24] the regional Southern New Hampshire water money

[43:26] that's coming through dairy

[43:28] and for that dairy doesn't have a lot of expansion,

[43:31] but the way it works is that Salem is going through

[43:34] a large expansion with Tuscan Village and everything else

[43:36] and needs a lot more water.

[43:39] So when they actually put it put together a a project

[43:42] through Manchester, it all has to flow through dairy

[43:46] and we get to piggyback on that and it's all getting paid

[43:49] and for through state grants

[43:53] and dairy's getting all the benefits of the improvements.

[43:56] So that money is there already as of today.

[44:01] Anyone else? Alright,

[44:05] we'll have lots more conversations about

[44:07] this in the coming weeks. Thank you.

[44:09] Alright.

[44:15] Excuse me. Alright, we have one public hearing tonight.

[44:19] Agenda item 26 27 is resolution 2026 dash zero four

[44:24] to authorize the acquisition of property at 17 South Ave.

[44:29] South Avenue LMG Master Agreement for Abbott Court

[44:32] and back to town administrator Mike Fowler.

[44:35] Alright, so since this is a public hearing,

[44:37] what I will do is I'll sit here

[44:39] and then that'll allow if there's any questions

[44:42] or comments to be done at the dais.

[44:45] So just to start off, this process

[44:49] involves two public hearings.

[44:51] So tonight there will be no vote.

[44:53] We're following RSA 41 14 A.

[44:58] So that'll be a public hearing tonight,

[45:01] a public hearing on the 21st,

[45:02] and then a vote would follow on May 5th.

[45:05] So no, no reading of resolutions tonight.

[45:09] So this is about the Abbott court development

[45:13] that we currently have going on.

[45:15] The town is part of the, a larger master development deal

[45:20] that was extended last meeting.

[45:24] And essentially what we have here tonight is there's a small

[45:28] parcel that is attached

[45:30] or was attached to 17 South Avenue.

[45:33] So it's a triangular parcel

[45:35] that is 4,376 feet square feet

[45:40] and it's to the south of the existing three parcels

[45:44] that the town owns.

[45:46] There was an action taken at the planning board on

[45:50] March 18th to merge the three town properties

[45:55] and then there will be a lot line adjustment with,

[45:58] once the town council's action is confirmed

[46:01] to bring those all into a single parcel.

[46:05] Eventually what would happen is there'll be a condo

[46:09] complex if you are a condo document created, that the town

[46:13] and LMG are in a single condo arrangement.

[46:17] And basically what that means is we have rights

[46:20] that we have management of the parking garage,

[46:23] they have management of the apartment complex

[46:27] and obviously as everybody's aware on this, there's going

[46:29] to be some interaction

[46:32] because obviously some of those spaces will be leased to LMG

[46:36] and some of the spaces will be retained by the town

[46:39] for general purposes for downtown parking.

[46:42] So this is all wrapped together,

[46:44] but the, the necessity of this triangular parcel is

[46:48] to provide not so much in phase one,

[46:51] but it's the potential for phase two development,

[46:54] which is some additional 20 I believe townhouses has,

[46:57] that hasn't gone to town council, I mean

[47:00] to the planning board as of yet.

[47:02] But that's a future project

[47:03] that LMG is definitely interested in, in taking.

[47:06] But at this point there were some contractual requirements

[47:09] that we had to close on this at this point.

[47:13] And so I can tell you that within this particular agreement,

[47:17] the proceeds to the seller is $270,000.

[47:22] And as such that's gonna be covered within

[47:25] the project budget, the $20.7 million bond,

[47:29] plus the other proceeds that have been brought over for the,

[47:32] the parking garage to ensue.

[47:34] So we're monitoring the progress

[47:37] of the construction as we speak.

[47:38] We feel confident that we haven't seen any substantive

[47:41] change orders that would change our ability to cover that.

[47:44] And so essentially the town council's

[47:48] vote would allow us pursuant to state law to

[47:53] accept that triangular piece.

[47:56] Then the deed can be transferred

[47:58] and then we can move forward with all

[47:59] of the other land transactions

[48:01] to make the condominium document whole.

[48:03] So with that

[48:05] I can certainly answer any questions from the public

[48:08] or the council, but just keeping in mind

[48:10] that this is the first of two public hearings.

[48:12] We'll do this again on the 21st,

[48:15] We have to open public hearings.

[48:17] Madam Chair, move to open up the public hearing. Second

[48:20] All on the motion.

[48:21] Council mills? Yes. Councilor Haley? Yes. Councilor Webb?

[48:25] Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Foot? Yes. Chair votes?

[48:28] Yes. Public hearing is open if

[48:30] you'd like to speak on this topic.

[48:31] Make your way to the mic please.

[48:37] Madam Chair. Just seeing plenty of folks online,

[48:41] I'll just take this opportunity to remind them they can,

[48:44] if they've dialed in,

[48:45] they could press star nine to raise their hand.

[48:47] Thank you. Tom Carin two Ham drive.

[48:51] I just have a question about that partial land, does

[48:56] that go up the hill or is it just right

[48:58] down there at the base?

[48:59] It it's at the lower part of the, of the hill.

[49:02] So it'd be in the south, I'm sorry, of of Barker's property.

[49:06] It would be at the northwest corner of

[49:09] that parcel. So closest to

[49:10] Adjacent to that's a little square kind

[49:12] of triangle piece like that that goes up against the wall.

[49:14] Yeah. And that's owned by Barker.

[49:16] So was that parcel subdivided so that

[49:19] Yeah, that's what the planning board action was, was

[49:22] to make a lot line adjustment so that that parcel

[49:24] that we call the triangular parcel would be incorporated

[49:27] into the Abbott Corp project.

[49:29] Okay. So it just kind of opens up that the rest

[49:32] of those pieces of the land there in the back.

[49:33] Yeah. Yep. Okay. Thank you

[49:41] Madam Chair.

[49:42] We're seeing none rise online.

[49:45] Move Second.

[49:46] We have a motion to close public hearing

[49:48] and a second on motion.

[49:49] Council Mills? Yes. Councilor Haley? Yes. Councilor Webb?

[49:53] Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Foote? Yes.

[49:55] And Chair votes? Yes. Excuse me. Motion passes.

[49:58] Six zero Councilors, do you have any questions?

[50:02] No. Alright, well thank you Mr.

[50:07] Crower and we will talk about it again next time. Okay,

[50:10] Thank you.

[50:11] Alright, last item of business this evening is

[50:15] 26 32.

[50:17] Resolution 2026 dash zero seven to authorize an agreement

[50:21] for general assistance administration, town Administrator

[50:24] and Michael Fowler presenting.

[50:26] Alright, so as many of you are aware,

[50:30] the town has an existing contract

[50:32] with community health services

[50:33] for our human services general assistance for our citizens.

[50:38] So formally this was an in-house operation,

[50:42] we had full-time staff.

[50:44] There was a decision made by prior counsel to outsource that

[50:49] and we've had a, a very successful partnership

[50:51] with CHS since July 1st, 2018.

[50:55] So tonight's action is to endorse the

[51:00] FY 2027 contract.

[51:02] I've had some conversations with their executive director

[51:06] and they're looking to increase their cost at by 5%.

[51:10] Now this is for contract administration.

[51:12] So let me just clarify for the public

[51:14] that this is their contract.

[51:16] They provide services, walk-in phone, anybody that has any

[51:21] needs, that's the place that they start.

[51:23] They're able to leverage a number

[51:24] of different service agencies.

[51:27] Then within the town's budget, we also have an allocation

[51:31] of $80,000 for general assistance.

[51:34] So if somebody has an issue with, they need rent, they need

[51:38] oil to be filled in their tank, that's the pot

[51:41] of money that it comes from.

[51:43] So there's two separate pots

[51:44] that support our human services.

[51:47] And then obviously a third leg of this is all of the other

[51:50] agencies like Upper Room, some of the other agencies

[51:54] that are within your, your budget.

[51:56] Oftentimes people are referred to those agencies

[52:00] as well for some assistance.

[52:02] But tonight's action is just

[52:03] to endorse the contract at the new rate.

[52:06] We're happy to continue with CHS

[52:09] and that would be for the next year starting July 1st, 2026

[52:12] through June 30th, 2027.

[52:17] Thank you. Any questions from the counselors?

[52:20] Seeing no questions, Madam Chair, I move the adoption

[52:24] of resolution number 2006 dash 0 1 7

[52:28] to authorize an agreement

[52:29] for general Assistance administration FY 27.

[52:33] Whereas Section 5.1

[52:36] of the Town Charter designates the Town Council

[52:39] as the governing and legislative body of the town.

[52:41] And whereas the town has retained the services

[52:44] of Community Health services CHS to manage

[52:49] and administrative administer its general assistance program

[52:54] pursuant to RSA 1 65 since

[52:56] July 1st, 2018.

[52:59] And whereas CHS provides a comprehensive safety net

[53:03] for our residents most in need by collaborating

[53:06] with area social service agency partners

[53:10] and offering case management services with the goal of

[53:13] returning all clients to self-sufficiency.

[53:17] And whereas both the town

[53:18] and its general assistance clients

[53:20] have benefited from the utilization of these services.

[53:24] Now therefore be it resolved,

[53:26] but in counsel that the town administration,

[53:30] the town administrator, excuse me, is hereby authorized

[53:33] to execute an agreement with community health

[53:36] to continue providing general assistance administration

[53:40] services until such time

[53:42] as said agreement is terminated by the town council.

[53:46] This resolution shall take effect

[53:48] immediately upon its passage.

[53:51] Is there a second? Oh, I second, but I

[53:54] I was just gonna, you're probably

[53:55] gonna say the same thing I am.

[53:56] We just need to update this resolution

[53:58] before it gets finalized.

[53:59] It says 2006 instead of 2026 at the top. Oh yeah. Yep.

[54:03] But other, other than that,

[54:05] are we all okay with the content there?

[54:06] Alright, any other discussion? Okay.

[54:11] On the motion, councilor Mills? Yes. Councillor Healy? Yes.

[54:14] Councilor Webb? Yes. Councillor Chase? Yes. Councillor Foot?

[54:18] Yes. And Chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Six zero.

[54:22] Excellent. Counselor comments

[54:23] or liaison reports this evening?

[54:26] I have nothing thus far today. Thank you.

[54:30] I'll make a call. Council Hill. So I want to thank Ms.

[54:34] Mor for coming here tonight.

[54:36] Since she did address a few counselors

[54:41] directly, I'd like to respond

[54:44] and you know, also for the record, I check my email daily.

[54:49] So if anyone sends any emails, I should be getting back

[54:51] to you within a day or two.

[54:54] You know, I, I reacted to some of the comments made here

[55:00] and I don't disagree with them.

[55:02] I think some of the votes could have been better,

[55:04] but I did some research after the fact and I see that Ms.

[55:09] Mor was appointed first, April 3rd, 2018 as an alternate

[55:14] and then as a full member, March 24th, 2020.

[55:18] And has been a member for a long time.

[55:20] And I think she, she brought up some good points that none

[55:23] of us reached out to her.

[55:25] So I do apologize for my vote

[55:28] and I

[55:33] would probably vote differently if it was brought back.

[55:38] And that's all I have.

[55:41] Thank you. Council put you had something?

[55:44] Yes. Thank you Madam Chair. So Spring is upon us,

[55:48] the Forest Hill Cemetery Veterans Project will be beginning

[55:52] this end of this month once the weather clears up

[55:54] and the ground's a little softer

[55:55] and we get rid of the snow for good.

[55:59] I know I've had some contact with the Pan

[56:02] and Academy National Honor Society students

[56:04] and they'll be coming up with a service project on

[56:07] April 23rd at 3:00 PM to come up and,

[56:10] and help us get that project kicked off for the season.

[56:12] So I'd invite anybody interested in helping

[56:15] out, please reach out to me.

[56:17] And this for clarification, it's basically

[56:22] cleaning up the veterans monuments

[56:25] and the, the foot stones up at the cemetery

[56:28] Forest Hill Cemetery.

[56:29] So this is an ongoing project,

[56:31] we'll probably doing this yearly.

[56:33] And we do this from the spring throughout the whole summer

[56:36] Memorial Day coming up in May.

[56:38] We want to get it beautified for that,

[56:39] so please reach out if you're interested.

[56:41] Thank you.

[56:43] Counsel. What, Just to respond to Ms. Morin,

[56:48] I typically answer my emails on the weekends

[56:50] either Saturday or Sunday.

[56:52] My cell phone number is also, I believe on the town website.

[56:56] So you're welcome to reach out to me that way as well.

[57:00] I usually have my phone on silent, except I forget earlier.

[57:06] But I do return all phone calls.

[57:10] I would like to say a big thank you to everybody

[57:13] that helped with our rabies clinic this year.

[57:16] We had another successful clinic this past Saturday.

[57:19] So the biggest thank you goes to our town clerk,

[57:21] Tina Guilford, who is my partner in crime on this venture

[57:26] and her whole family, they, they show up

[57:29] and are critical to that functioning.

[57:31] I'd also like to thank the teams from

[57:34] Animal Rescue Vet Services in Linden Dairy

[57:37] and Orchard Village Veterinary

[57:39] Hospital Clinic, I'm not sure which.

[57:40] It's here in Derry.

[57:42] Both of them sent teams to help with the,

[57:45] with the vaccinations.

[57:46] And we saw 67 patients,

[57:48] which was a little down from our last year.

[57:51] But we also kind of looked at who was coming in

[57:54] and we're starting to capture some of those

[57:56] that only got their one

[57:57] year, now they've got their three years.

[57:59] So out of the 67 animals we saw, I think it was either,

[58:03] it was somewhere between 10 or 15, got one year vaccinations

[58:06] and the rest all were able to get their three years.

[58:07] So the now people can kind of have

[58:09] that peace of mind for several years.

[58:10] So thank you to everybody that came out.

[58:13] It was the smoothest clinic we have had yet,

[58:17] and looking forward to next year,

[58:21] Madam Chair, seeing no other business.

[58:23] I would like to move to adjourn

[58:25] Second.

[58:26] All right. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.

[58:28] Aye. Have good evening everyone.

Town Council - 04/07/26

Agenda

Transcript