[0:03] Good evening, and welcome to the Tuesday,

[0:06] April 21st, 2026 Town Council meeting.

[0:10] Before we get going, we'll do the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:12] Councillor Chase, would you lead us, please? Yes,

[0:16] I pledge of allegiance Of the United States of America

[0:20] and to the Republic for which it stands,

[0:23] one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice.

[0:27] Justice wrong.

[0:33] Just a reminder for everyone on the audience in case

[0:36] emergency exits at the back or on the side of the room here.

[0:40] And if you could please silence your cell phones.

[0:43] We'll start with the roll call. Councilor Mills.

[0:46] Good Evening, councilor Healy.

[0:48] Good evening, Councillor Webb.

[0:49] Good evening, Councillor Chase.

[0:51] Good evening, Councillor Flood. Hello.

[0:53] And is Councilor Foot on the phone?

[0:56] I believe so. Madam Chair, we have an attendee by phone.

[1:00] We're just instructing them how to be able to speak. Now.

[1:04] Councilor Fred, are you there?

[1:07] Good evening. Good evening,

[1:10] and good evening from the chair.

[1:12] All right. Is there a motion to open public forum?

[1:17] I make the motion that we open public forum. Second that.

[1:21] All right. And this evening we do have someone virtual,

[1:23] so everything will be a roll call on the motion.

[1:25] Councilor Mills? Yes. Councilor Healy? Yes. Councilor Webb?

[1:29] Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Flood? Yes.

[1:32] Councilor Foot.

[1:37] All right. I'm gonna say yes. Oh, there he is. All right.

[1:40] Chair votes. Yes. Public Forum is now open.

[1:43] The floor is yours.

[1:44] Anyone that wants to come up and speak, just remember

[1:46] to please state your name and address for the record.

[1:49] I

[2:04] Good evening everyone.

[2:05] Tom Cardin to Cunningham Drive.

[2:07] I had some comments about the

[2:10] Bird Enterprise property at 180 7 Hampstead Road.

[2:16] I attended the meeting last June where they had applied

[2:19] for a, a variance for a 50 square foot pile on sign

[2:23] and a, I think a 19 square foot message board.

[2:28] And, you know, according to the, according

[2:32] to the ordinance 1, 1 65, 1 0 1 0.1,

[2:36] you know, it does not allow lit signs.

[2:39] It only allows a 24 by 24.

[2:43] And you know, I think there's a specific reason why

[2:48] whether the zoning is written that way and,

[2:50] and that is to keep the size

[2:51] and the scope of signs in a residential

[2:54] neighborhood the way it is.

[2:56] And, you know, superior court judge from Hillsborough County

[3:00] agreed with that and reversed the decision of the,

[3:04] of the zoning board.

[3:06] And then in, in January, code enforcement asked,

[3:10] asked them to take it down.

[3:12] It was not taken down. They followed up in February

[3:16] and still wasn't taken down.

[3:17] And then on March 30th,

[3:21] zone code enforcement sent another letter,

[3:26] informed them that they had to take the sign down

[3:28] and three days later they went to the zoning board for

[3:32] yet another variance for the same sign that was,

[3:36] was supposed to have been taken down.

[3:39] And, you know, not to, to forget

[3:43] about the, the direct abutters.

[3:45] I mean, that's, that's one of the big considerations.

[3:47] I mean, they had to put up with that sign for, I don't know,

[3:50] eight or nine months that was lit.

[3:52] And one of the stipulations that,

[3:55] that was in the variance was that they had to, that had

[3:58] to be shut off at nine o'clock and it, and it never was.

[4:01] So, I mean, I don't know, you know,

[4:03] where the zoning board goes for this.

[4:05] You know, I mean, in all honesty, the, the property

[4:08] that's there, what Bird Enterprise has,

[4:11] it's not a bad fit for that area.

[4:14] And, you know, and do they deserve a sign?

[4:17] Yes, they certainly do deserve a sign,

[4:19] but I don't think they deserve a, you know,

[4:22] a big pile on sign that, you know, that, you know,

[4:26] affects all the neighbors around.

[4:28] And thank you.

[4:30] Thank you.

[4:38] Anyone else? Is there anyone? Line Owen

[4:43] Madam Chair, seeing none rise online,

[4:46] I make a motion that we close the public.

[4:48] Second that, All right.

[4:50] Motion to close public forum on motion. Councilor Mills?

[4:53] Yes. Councillor Healy. Yes. Councillor Webb? Yes.

[4:56] Councillor Chase? Yes. Councillor Flood? Yes.

[4:58] Councillor Foote?

[5:00] Yes. And Chair books? Yes.

[5:03] Public forum is closed consent agenda.

[5:07] We have a few things here.

[5:09] We have item 26 33

[5:11] to approve the non-public minutes from April 7th, 2020

[5:14] 6, 26 34

[5:16] to approve the public minutes from April 7th, 2020 6, 26 35

[5:21] to approve the minutes from April 9th, 2020 6, 26 36,

[5:26] which is res resolution 20 26 0 2 1

[5:29] to adopt the revised user rate

[5:30] and fee schedules for dairy water customers.

[5:33] There will be a public hearing on May 5th for that

[5:36] 26 37 is resolution 20 26 0 2 2

[5:40] to adopt the revised user rate schedules

[5:42] for Dairy wastewater customers.

[5:44] There will also be a public hearing on May 5th for that.

[5:47] And 26 40 is resolution 2026 dash 0 2 5

[5:51] to accept a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant

[5:54] for incident management equipment.

[5:55] And again, there will be a public hearing on

[5:58] that item on May 5th.

[6:01] Is there a motion to approve?

[6:06] I move to approve the consent agenda.

[6:08] I'll second that. Okay.

[6:10] Motion a second to approve consent agenda on the motion.

[6:13] Councilor Mills? Yes. Councilor Healy? Yes. Councillor Webb?

[6:17] Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Flood. I state I here.

[6:21] Okay. And Councilor Foot? Yes.

[6:27] And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. 6 0 1. All right.

[6:31] On the chair's report, we have a couple of things tonight.

[6:35] The first one is an appointment to the zoning board.

[6:41] I moved to appoint Crystal Morin as a member

[6:45] of the zoning board of Adjustment for a term

[6:47] to expire March 31st, 2028.

[6:51] Second. All right, there is motion a second.

[6:55] Any further discussion? Yeah,

[6:57] I, I, yep.

[7:00] So Ms. Morgan came to our last meeting.

[7:03] She spoke during the public forum.

[7:06] As I said, at the end of that meeting,

[7:07] I think she made a lot of valid points if we're going

[7:12] to not appoint someone 'cause of the way they voted.

[7:14] We should be looking at all the members on the zoning board.

[7:18] And we did some appointments as, as she mentioned,

[7:23] another appointment

[7:24] that voted pretty much the same as as she did.

[7:27] And another point that she had made that I agree with is

[7:30] that none of the counselors have reached out to her

[7:33] after some of the votes to, to get her reasoning.

[7:37] So I think it's kind of, there's some blame on,

[7:40] on both parts if you think

[7:42] that she's voting not following the five criteria

[7:45] that we haven't reached out to give any type of notice.

[7:50] This appointment is for a two year term,

[7:52] not the original three year term that she had applied for.

[7:56] So it's basically, you know, two years.

[7:59] See how she does in this role in two years now.

[8:01] She's gotten some feedback from the council.

[8:04] So I would, I would urge I was one of the no votes.

[8:10] I'm gonna be switching my vote.

[8:11] I would urge the council to reconsider

[8:15] give Ms. Moore another two years.

[8:17] And if we have any issues with,

[8:21] we think the criteria is not being followed,

[8:22] that we reach out to Ms. Warren

[8:24] and discuss it with her directly and give that feedback.

[8:30] And that's, that's all I have for the discussion

[8:33] Else What I do.

[8:35] I'm gonna be voting no, as I did

[8:36] before, it's not directly to do

[8:39] with Ms. Warren is my belief

[8:41] that this zoning board needs to change.

[8:44] I do not support either Mr. Trip or Ms. Moore.

[8:48] And I think that the zoning board needs to take a direction

[8:51] where it needs to follow the rule of law

[8:53] and it has not been.

[8:56] And that may be a training issue.

[8:58] So no matter what the vote is here today, I think maybe

[9:02] the town administrator can help.

[9:04] But it's to schedule training

[9:06] to the New Hampshire Municipal

[9:07] Association on the rule of law.

[9:09] We don't want to be, we don't wanna have a zoning board

[9:12] that does planning by variance.

[9:14] This happened in other communities and created it,

[9:18] Has created issues.

[9:21] I do not want to see that. I want to make certain

[9:24] that they follow the rule of law,

[9:26] that they follow the hardship criteria

[9:30] and that they tighten up some

[9:31] of their policies and procedures.

[9:35] But I'm still not gonna be changing my vote on Ms. Mor.

[9:40] Okay. Anyone else? Councilor Chase,

[9:43] I agree with Councilor Webb on this.

[9:48] I won't be changing my vote either.

[9:50] The zoning board has to change

[9:52] and if the only way that we can do it is by

[9:55] changing the zoning board, I'm willing to do that.

[9:58] I made a mistake last time, I won't make that mistake again.

[10:02] I assure you all of the members are being looked at.

[10:07] And as far as going to a member

[10:10] and talking to them about the way that they're voting,

[10:13] that's very, very tricky

[10:14] because zoning is a quasi-judicial board

[10:17] and we do not want to have the appearance of malfeasance in,

[10:22] you know, trying to interfere

[10:24] with the board's vote and how they do that.

[10:27] Our only recourse is to set the board

[10:30] and hopefully if people that we do not feel are adhering

[10:35] to the rule of law and the five criteria, we vote them off

[10:39] and hopefully somebody that will, will get on the board.

[10:45] Councillor Foot, do you have any comments before we vote?

[10:50] No. Thank you. All right then on the vote.

[10:53] Councilor Mills?

[10:56] No. Councilor Healy? Yes. Councilor Webb?

[11:00] No. Councilor Chase? No. Councilor Flood? Yes.

[11:06] Councilor Foote?

[11:09] Yes. And Chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Four three.

[11:12] So Ms.

[11:14] Mor will be on the zoning board for term

[11:15] to expire March 31st, 2028.

[11:19] And then one other thing that we had on here,

[11:24] when we went through and did our committee and board

[11:28] and liaison appointments, we realized we had a lot of,

[11:31] there was some of us that had won

[11:34] and some of us that had six.

[11:35] So we kind of reset, set those out.

[11:37] So, and we didn't take a formal vote on it,

[11:39] so I'm just gonna read through the list

[11:41] and the form of a motion of what we put together

[11:43] and then we'll we'll vote on that.

[11:45] So I make a motion to make the following appointments

[11:48] to the liaison and boards and committees.

[11:51] Councilor Chase on Highway Safety Liaison,

[11:54] heritage Commission and Planning Board, councilor Flood

[11:57] to Pinkerton Academy and Taylor Library.

[12:00] Councilor Foote to the Conservation Commission

[12:02] and record Retention designee.

[12:04] Councilor Healy to the fiscal committee,

[12:06] legislative Committee and Net Zero Task Force

[12:09] Councilor Mills to Public Works TIF Advisory DCC

[12:13] and TIFF Advisory Gateway as well as see sitting

[12:16] as an alternate for if Councilor Chase

[12:19] or myself cannot make it

[12:20] to the Planning Board or school Board.

[12:23] Councilor Spencer Dairy Public Library

[12:24] Legislative Committee and School Board.

[12:26] And Councilor Webb Dairy Housing

[12:27] and Redevelopment Authority,

[12:28] legislative Committee Safety Departments

[12:31] and Southern New Hampshire Hazardous Materials.

[12:33] Mutual Aid District. They gotta shorten that.

[12:37] I second that motion. Alright, any discussion?

[12:41] Okay, on the motion Council mills? Yes. Councilor Healy?

[12:44] Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes.

[12:47] Councilor Flood? Yes. Councilor Foote?

[12:51] Yes. And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Seven zero.

[12:55] Excellent. Alright, moving right along to administrator.

[12:57] Alright, good evening.

[12:59] As everybody's aware, we've spent a good portion

[13:02] of the month of April consumed in our budget meetings.

[13:05] And so we're kind

[13:07] of ramping down here towards a public hearing

[13:10] for the budget.

[13:11] And CIP on the 23rd of April and that's a Thursday night.

[13:16] And then we'll have our final vote for the budget on

[13:19] May 5th, 2026.

[13:21] So tonight I had prepared within the councilor's

[13:25] packets a list.

[13:26] It's a very short list of questions or comments that we've

[13:31] provided or staff has provided some responses to.

[13:35] And I'd like to run through those very, very briefly.

[13:37] If there's any other questions, please reach out to me.

[13:40] But these will all be incorporated within the budget

[13:43] that you will see at the public hearing on the 23rd.

[13:47] So when we met on the seventh, the fire department,

[13:50] there's a general question about the EMS collection

[13:52] rate, more or less.

[13:54] That response is zero to 30 days, is 44% is 31

[13:59] to 60 days, 26%, 61 to 90 days 10%

[14:03] and 91 to 80 days is 11%.

[14:06] So it's an overall collection rate of 91%.

[14:09] So that's been answered

[14:10] and that is above industry trends

[14:13] in the animal control department.

[14:15] There was a discussion about the concern that $500 in

[14:19] that line item is not sufficient to support training needs.

[14:23] The chief has provided some commentary about some

[14:26] of the past, current

[14:28] and future training opportunities for the A CO officer.

[14:31] So I'd encourage you to take a look at that.

[14:33] In the highway division there was a question about the

[14:37] pavement management list

[14:38] and there were a portion

[14:40] of was notated on a couple of the roads.

[14:44] DPW director Carrier has put together a list

[14:47] that's in the counselor's packet

[14:49] that further explains the limits of where the start

[14:52] and ending points are for some of the roads

[14:54] that we're planning to pave for the FY 27 budget

[14:58] in the transfer station.

[15:00] There was a question about the c and d revenues.

[15:03] Again, DPW director carriers put together some analysis on

[15:07] that, talking about kind of that differential between

[15:10] what we pay and what we charge.

[15:12] So that might be something that the council wants

[15:14] to take a look at in a future workshop or cycle.

[15:17] As we get into fiscal 27 vehicle maintenance,

[15:22] there was a general question that had been brought up

[15:24] of all three departments about, now that we don't have

[15:27] the state mandated vehicle inspections, what is the policy

[15:31] and procedure within each one of those departments?

[15:34] You'll see some commentary within there,

[15:36] but the general sense is we do do the same level

[15:39] or more for the vehicles that we have

[15:43] because many of them are rated as commercial vehicles.

[15:46] So regardless of

[15:48] what the state mandate was on removing stickers,

[15:51] we still will be going forward with that.

[15:53] Just for simple liability purposes,

[15:56] code enforcement is a question

[15:58] or a suggestion to look into personal alert systems.

[16:03] So that has been going on as we speak.

[16:06] So we'll continue to update the council on that.

[16:08] But there looks like some, some promising

[16:11] possibilities there.

[16:13] Then we talked about on the ninth economic development,

[16:16] there was a question about marketing funds.

[16:18] There's three lines in the, the budget

[16:21] that have marketing funds.

[16:22] There's $16,000 in the economic development fund,

[16:27] 15,000 in the DCC and 5,000 in the gateway tiff.

[16:31] So we have a combined $36,000 for various marketing purposes

[16:36] for use information technology.

[16:39] It was an ask by Doug Rathburn to add two PCs for $600 total

[16:44] that has been incorporated into the budget

[16:46] and the bottom line has been adjusted.

[16:48] Tax collector question came up about the ratio

[16:52] of online versus in person transactions.

[16:56] What we did was we looked at the most recent quarter

[17:00] that we had a full quarter on, which is October

[17:04] through December of 2025.

[17:07] And that area came up to 2,700 online, so 37%

[17:12] and 4,729.

[17:14] So about 63% were in person.

[17:17] So still shading towards more in in-person as opposed

[17:20] to online registrations.

[17:23] Then we had the swap that was asked

[17:25] by Councillor Webb on the Administration and Human Services.

[17:28] There was an amount of 13,301 that was moved from

[17:33] the human services line for DHRA over to the Human

[17:38] Human Resources line for

[17:41] better recruitment opportunities.

[17:43] So those are all the items that had been flagged by council.

[17:47] So I'll go on the assumption that when we go to the public

[17:51] hearing on the 23rd we can proceed with bottom lines.

[17:55] You've already given your preliminary votes.

[17:57] So essentially this will be the last opportunity

[17:59] for any adjustments

[18:01] or any questions from the public that we can address.

[18:03] So are there any other questions

[18:06] before we move on to the rest

[18:07] of the town administrator's report?

[18:11] Any questions? Alright.

[18:13] Okay, couple of other general items.

[18:18] Community information.

[18:20] So as everybody's aware, we conduct a

[18:23] an annual household hazardous waste collection day

[18:26] and that'll be coming up on Saturday, May 9th,

[18:29] 9:00 AM to noontime.

[18:31] And that'll be over at West Running Brook School.

[18:33] So this'll be one opportunity, it's a combined opportunity

[18:36] between dairy and London Dairy and we do the spring event

[18:40] and then there's another event right around a week or two

[18:42] before Thanksgiving in London Dairy

[18:45] where dairy residents can, can dispose

[18:48] of qualifying materials.

[18:49] If there's any questions, please reach out to the DPW office

[18:52] or go on the town's website.

[18:54] It's got a pretty explicit list of what's permitted

[18:58] to be dumped there on that day.

[19:00] And then general governmental information.

[19:04] We had one of our staff members received an online petition

[19:07] from the online portal change.org

[19:10] and it was asking the town council

[19:12] and other boards to step in and,

[19:13] and protect the environment for the 41 Ashley Drive project.

[19:18] As a reminder, tonight we're gonna be talking about

[19:20] accepting the easement that had been put forward

[19:24] and this project's been approved

[19:25] by the Dairy Planning Board.

[19:26] So I confirm with the town clerk

[19:29] that a digitally submitted petition is not valid under state

[19:32] law as it would be, it would meet the criteria

[19:35] of an actionable petition as defined by the town charter

[19:39] and also under state law.

[19:41] So obviously the town council has the option

[19:43] to consider any initiative it sees fit,

[19:46] but the digital petition would certainly not meet the

[19:48] criteria for a compulsory action on that.

[19:51] So a lot of times those things have individuals who may

[19:54] or may not be from the community.

[19:56] So it's important to kind of put that into the, you know,

[19:59] into the pot there and when you evaluate that.

[20:01] But for purposes of what you're required to do, I just bring

[20:05] that up as informational purposes.

[20:07] And then lastly, within your packet we're approaching the

[20:11] summer, believe it or not, as it's 40 whatever,

[20:13] 45 degrees outside.

[20:15] Typically the council looks at reducing the July

[20:19] and August dates down to one meeting date.

[20:24] So the suggested dates, obviously it's your

[20:28] role to decide which day you want would be the first

[20:31] meeting, which would be July 7th,

[20:35] and also the first meeting in August, which would be August

[20:39] the fourth.

[20:41] So those are the two dates.

[20:43] If there'd be some discussion on that

[20:45] or confirmation, we can certainly get that scheduled

[20:49] through Sheila and whatnot.

[20:52] Are those two dates okay with everyone? Those meetings

[20:57] May not be August 4th.

[20:58] Okay. But July 7th

[21:03] So far.

[21:04] Alright, council foot, are you okay with those?

[21:06] July 7th and August 4th? Yes.

[21:11] Okay. All right. Alright,

[21:13] So we'll we'll make that official

[21:14] and I'll have Sheila book those.

[21:16] So those are the only items that I have on

[21:18] tonight's Town Administrator's report.

[21:20] Excellent. Thank you. Okay, we have a couple

[21:24] of public hearings this evening.

[21:25] The first one is item 26 27,

[21:28] which is resolution 20 26 14 to authorize the acquisition

[21:33] of property at 17 South Avenue LMG Master Agreement

[21:37] for Abbott Court Town Administrator Mike

[21:39] file presenting. Okay,

[21:40] So this is the second

[21:42] of two required public hearings under RSA

[21:46] 41 14 A.

[21:49] What is under consideration is the town's acquisition

[21:53] of a small parcel at 17 South Ave.

[21:57] The triangular parcel is 4,376 square feet

[22:03] and it's associated with the ongoing phase one development

[22:08] for the Abbott Court area.

[22:10] So those lots are being combined.

[22:11] This small triangular piece is integral in giving enough

[22:15] space for all of the parts to fit together.

[22:18] The lot Line Adjustment has gone through the planning board

[22:21] with approval and as such,

[22:24] counsel will be taking no vote this evening.

[22:27] It'll be an official vote on May 5th

[22:30] to move forward with that.

[22:32] So as a project eligible cost,

[22:36] the total cost the proceeds to the seller $270,000.

[22:40] And other than that, there's any questions, I'd be happy

[22:44] to answer those either from counsel or from the public.

[22:49] Is there a motion to open public hearing?

[22:51] I, I just have a question. 207,000 or 270,000

[22:56] 2 7 0 0 2.

[22:58] Did I say 2 0 7? I think you did.

[23:00] Oh, okay. I misspoke. Two 70.

[23:02] And having that cleared up,

[23:03] I'll make a motion open from the public hearing.

[23:06] Okay. Second. All right.

[23:07] We have a motion to second on motion. Council mills? Yes.

[23:10] Councilor Haley? Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes. Councilor Chase?

[23:14] Yes. Councilor Flood? Yes. Councilor Foot? Yes.

[23:18] And chair votes? Yes. Public hearing is now open.

[23:21] If you'd like to come up and speak on this matter,

[23:26] I'm gonna need you to form an orderly line.

[23:29] Madam Chair. Seeing none rise online. Okay.

[23:32] Seeing no eager beavers, Madam Chair, I will make a motion

[23:37] to close the public hearing.

[23:38] Second. All right. On the motion, councilor Mills? Yes.

[23:42] Councilor Healy? Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes. Councilor Chase?

[23:46] Yes. Councillor Flood? Yes. Councillor Foot? Yes.

[23:50] And chair Votes? Yes. Motion passed to seven zero

[23:53] and there's no vote on this actual resolution this evening.

[23:56] So we will move on to item 26 30. Oh, I'm sorry.

[24:00] Before we do that, are there any other questions from

[24:01] councilors on this?

[24:05] Okay, then we'll move on to item 26 30,

[24:09] resolution 2026 dash zero 20

[24:11] to authorize the Conservation Commission

[24:13] to accept a conservation easement at 41 Ashley Drive

[24:16] and 37 Scoby Pond Road at Town Administrator

[24:19] Mike Fowler present again. Alright.

[24:21] And so this I'd like to introduce a, another

[24:25] development based property transaction.

[24:29] So the property at the end of Ashley Drive, known

[24:33] as 41 Ashley Drive,

[24:34] 37 Scoby Pond Road is a fairly

[24:37] substantial piece of property.

[24:39] There's an industrial development that is, has been approved

[24:44] by the planning board, but one of the key elements

[24:47] for this particular development to move forward was in order

[24:51] to to get environmental permits through US Army Corps

[24:55] of Engineers through the New Hampshire Department

[24:59] of Environmental Services and New Hampshire Fish

[25:01] and Game, there was a requirement

[25:03] to place a protective easement on 28.7

[25:08] acres of that parcel.

[25:10] So there was a lengthy back and forth.

[25:13] The developer had brought this through,

[25:16] had hired some consultants to look at what was required,

[25:21] what would be acceptable to, to the various agencies.

[25:26] And as you can imagine, the more people

[25:27] that you get involved, the more intricate that it gets.

[25:30] But we were presented with a, an initial version of the

[25:34] stewardship easement in which the town

[25:36] would take the easement

[25:38] and be required through the Conservation committee

[25:41] to perform the full stewardship activities.

[25:44] And we brought that through to leadership

[25:47] for the Dairy Conservation Commission.

[25:49] There were some concerns

[25:50] and now we brought those back to the development team.

[25:53] They were willing to work through those concerns.

[25:56] And essentially now the stewardship agreement is,

[25:59] is much more friendly towards the town and town's needs.

[26:03] So essentially we're gonna be able to

[26:05] obtain an upfront payment and then there'll be of $7,500.

[26:09] There is a $1,000 annual payment plus a 2% escalator

[26:15] to assist with our stewardship efforts.

[26:17] But basically if there's some deficiency that's found

[26:21] by our land manager or anybody else working on behalf

[26:24] of the Dairy Conservation Commission, the re the requirement

[26:27] to fix, to amend would go back to the existing owner

[26:32] for them to deal with the issue.

[26:35] So we, the only way this would work through the state so

[26:40] that the permits could go forward, is that the town had

[26:42] to be the one who was holding the, the easement.

[26:46] So it would be something that we would

[26:48] actually accept the deed.

[26:49] You're gonna be giving me permission if you vote

[26:51] affirmatively to proceed with signing the deed

[26:56] to accept the easement.

[26:57] So one thing that I do want point out, just

[27:00] for full transparency,

[27:02] the Conservation Committee considered the full details

[27:05] of this agreement at their March 16th, 2020 16 meeting,

[27:09] and they voted five two to accept the final

[27:12] draft easement on that.

[27:14] So with an affirmative vote, then

[27:17] that puts one piece of this

[27:19] behind the permitting can move forward.

[27:21] And then I would expect that we will see further

[27:24] efforts towards finding a final suitor for this building

[27:27] and moving forward with Breaking ground,

[27:30] just again looking at the larger tax impacts.

[27:32] This building has the, the, you know, likelihood

[27:36] of producing some significant tax revenue

[27:39] is within the DCC TIF district.

[27:41] So ultimately it's supporting the proceeds

[27:45] or be supporting the funds that go into

[27:47] that particular district.

[27:48] So with that, if there's any questions,

[27:51] we can certainly have the public hearing.

[27:52] I, I'd be happy to answer.

[27:56] Is there a motion to open public hearing?

[27:58] I make the motion to open the public hearing. Second that.

[28:02] All right. On motion. Council mills? Yes. Councilor Healy?

[28:05] Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes. Councillor Chase? Yes.

[28:08] Councilor Flood? Yes. Councilor Foote?

[28:11] Yes. And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Seven zero.

[28:14] Public hearing is now open if you would like to speak.

[28:20] Madam Chair, none of the attendees online are raising

[28:23] their hand for your awares.

[28:30] David Preventer. 26 Oh, is the mic on? Okay.

[28:34] David Preventer, 26 Milmore Road.

[28:37] Just have like one like quick question about this property

[28:41] that's being developed there.

[28:42] Do you have an approximate idea of

[28:44] how many trees are gonna have to get torn up bulldozed

[28:48] to develop this warehouse?

[28:51] No, unfortunately I don't.

[28:53] A lot of the land back there is already cleared

[28:56] because it's the power line easement part of that property.

[28:59] There is a significant buffer towards the residential.

[29:04] I think it's towards the north and the east of that parcel.

[29:07] And that's the, the area that's being maintained.

[29:09] So it will provide a buffer,

[29:11] a tree buffer towards the residence on that north side.

[29:14] But the development primarily is,

[29:16] is towards the southern part

[29:18] and it also pushes over towards m

[29:20] and r wood recycling, which some of that has been, you know,

[29:23] cleared already as well.

[29:25] All right. Thank you. Thank you.

[29:27] That's all I wanted to know.

[29:35] Madam Chair. Seeing none rise,

[29:37] I make a motion that we close the public hearing.

[29:39] Second that.

[29:41] All right. On the motion

[29:42] to close public hearing Councilor Mills?

[29:44] Yes. Councillor Healy. Yes. Councillor Webb. Yes.

[29:47] Councillor Chase? Yes. Councilor Flood? Yes.

[29:50] Councillor Foote? Yes. And chair votes? Yes. Motion passes.

[29:54] Seven zero Councillors. Questions, comments?

[29:58] See no further questions. Madam Chair.

[30:01] I move re resolution number 2026 dash 20

[30:06] to authorize the town council

[30:08] to accept an easement at 41 Ashley Drive

[30:11] and 37 Scoby Pond Road

[30:13] where the Section 5.1

[30:16] of the Town Charter establishes the Town Council

[30:19] as a legislative and governing body of the town.

[30:22] And whereas the conditions for environmental permitting

[30:26] approval require town acceptance of 28.7 acres, plus

[30:30] or minus protected easement at 41 Ashley Drive

[30:34] and 37 Scoby Pond Road.

[30:37] And whereas RSA 36 dash a 41

[30:42] authorizes the receipt of gifts subject to the approval

[30:45] of the governing body

[30:47] and whereas the acceptance

[30:48] of this easement was previously reviewed

[30:51] and endorsed by the Dairy Conservation Commission.

[30:54] Now therefore be it resolved in counsel

[30:56] that the town administrator is hereby authorized

[30:59] to execute all required documents for acceptance

[31:03] of a protective easement on 28.7 plus

[31:06] or minus acres at 41 Ashley Drive

[31:09] and 37 Scoby Pond Road.

[31:12] This resolution shall take effect

[31:14] immediately upon its passage.

[31:17] Second. Alright, with a motion

[31:19] to second any further discussion Right on the motion.

[31:24] Council mills? Yes. Councilor Healy? Yes. Councilor Webb?

[31:27] Yes. Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Flood? Yes.

[31:29] Councilor Foot?

[31:32] No. Was that no, correct.

[31:37] No. Okay. Thank you. And Chair votes? Yes.

[31:40] Motion passes 6 1 0.

[31:44] And moving on to new business.

[31:47] We have in 26 38 resolution 2026 dash

[31:52] 0 2 3 to authorize an agreement

[31:54] for Broadview Farm Rental Town

[31:56] Administrator Mike Fowler presenting.

[31:58] Alright, so I had received an email from Land Manager

[32:02] Elizabeth Carver

[32:03] and she had indicated

[32:05] that the Dairy Conservation Committee was seeking to

[32:08] continue activities, agricultural activities on Broadview

[32:12] farm that they had always traditionally done

[32:14] through a handshake agreement.

[32:16] There's a new person that's gonna be taking over some

[32:19] of those agricultural activities.

[32:20] So we worked through the terms of a lease agreement that

[32:26] they were gonna be asking the town administrator to

[32:29] authorize and execute.

[32:31] And then obviously the individual

[32:32] who will be leasing the land from the town.

[32:35] So basically in the past,

[32:36] the way it always had worked was the individual would was

[32:39] out there and provided in kind services whether it was

[32:42] clearing use of machinery,

[32:44] brush hogging, things of that nature.

[32:46] We expect that to continue

[32:48] although there is a possibility of

[32:50] a straight up donation in the event that

[32:53] the individual is not able to provide

[32:56] those in kind services.

[32:58] So basically the deals, this is a three year deal

[33:01] with the Dairy Conservation Commission,

[33:04] having the management, if there are any issues

[33:06] or concerns, there are clauses to break the agreement

[33:10] with 90 days notice.

[33:12] And if there's any other items, there's insurance

[33:15] that never existed before.

[33:17] And we also have other provisions that align with other

[33:22] contracts that the town has for leases

[33:24] as you would have at say Adams Memorial

[33:26] and other facilities of that nature.

[33:28] So basically this is just a formal document to bring in

[33:33] to compliance

[33:34] or to bring in for a three year agreement

[33:37] for the use of Broadview Farm.

[33:41] Thank you. Questions Counsel.

[33:45] Motion Open up Public. Do we need a public

[33:47] Hearing? No, just new

[33:48] Business.

[33:49] No. Madame Chair.

[33:50] Seeing no further questions,

[33:51] I move resolution number 2026 dash 23

[33:56] to authorize an agricultural lease of a portion

[33:59] of Broadview farm.

[34:00] Whereas Section 5.1

[34:03] of the Town Charter designates the Town Council

[34:06] as the governing and legislative body of the town.

[34:08] And whereas RSA 41 11

[34:12] dash a authorizes the legislative body

[34:15] to enter into land leases.

[34:17] And whereas the Town

[34:18] and Dairy Conservation Committee has benefited from a

[34:22] longstanding agreement to cultivate

[34:24] and maintain the property.

[34:25] And whereas the Dairy Conservation Committee serves

[34:28] as stewards of Broadview Farm

[34:30] and seeks to continue applicable agricultural uses

[34:34] of the property and whereas a new lessee seeks to

[34:38] continue these efforts in partnership with this town.

[34:41] Now therefore be it resolved in council

[34:43] that the town administrator is hereby authorized

[34:46] to execute all necessary documents

[34:48] with Dairy Conservation Commission

[34:51] and the lessee for a three year lease for use

[34:54] of 9.5 acres plus or minus at Broadview Farm.

[34:58] This resolution shall take effect

[34:59] immediately upon its passage.

[35:03] There a second. Second. Alright, any further discussion?

[35:08] Okay. On the motion, Councillor Mills? Yes.

[35:10] Councillor Healy. Yes. Councillor Webb? Yes.

[35:13] Councillor Chase? Yes. Councillor Flood? Yes.

[35:15] Councillor Foot?

[35:17] Yes. And Chair Votes? Yes. Motion passes. Seven zero.

[35:23] Next is item 26 39,

[35:26] resolution 2026 dash 0 2 4.

[35:28] To accept wellness grant funding from Health Trust Town

[35:31] Administrator Mike Fowler again.

[35:33] Alright, this is a very minor item each year.

[35:37] Health Trust. Our carrier for health insurance

[35:41] provides grants to communities in an effort to try

[35:45] to promote employee engagement

[35:47] and employee awareness of certain programs

[35:49] that they have within their spectrum of of services.

[35:53] We've received this grant in the past

[35:56] before the 2026 version is $1,000

[35:59] and essentially that would be something

[36:02] that the Town Council needs to formally accept as a gift.

[36:06] And other than that, if there's

[36:08] any questions I can certainly answer that

[36:10] Questions.

[36:13] See no questions. Madam Chair,

[36:15] I move resolution number 2026 dash 24

[36:19] to apply for and accept wellness grant funding from Health

[36:23] Trust whereas the section 9.15

[36:27] of the Town Charter authorizes the Town Town Council

[36:30] to apply for except and expend funds received from the state

[36:35] and whereas the town has participated annually in Health

[36:38] Trust's Wellness Coordinator program to raise awareness

[36:41] of the physical activity, social

[36:43] and mental health of town employees and their families.

[36:46] And whereas these grant funds will be used to pro to promote

[36:50] and fund activities designed to maintain

[36:53] and enhance the health of the town's workforce.

[36:56] Now therefore be it resolved in council

[36:58] that the town administrator is hereby authorized to accept

[37:02] and expend $1,000 in wellness coordinator grant funds from

[37:06] Health Trust this resolution shall take effect

[37:09] immediately upon its passage.

[37:12] Second. Alright, any further discussion?

[37:15] Yeah, I just, I just find it painful

[37:19] to accept a thousand dollars grant in rebate from

[37:23] a organization that just raised our rates by 24%.

[37:27] It's pretty ironic that they deed

[37:31] to give us a thousand dollars back in the form

[37:34] of a, of a grant.

[37:37] I feel really pleased with this thousand dollars.

[37:40] So yeah, sorry for the sarcasm,

[37:42] but 24% was ridiculous.

[37:47] Duly noted. That's the point

[37:51] of being sarcastic at times. Alright,

[37:53] On that note on the motion, councilor Mills

[37:56] Was there, was there a second?

[37:57] Yeah. Yes. Although, yes.

[37:59] Councilor Healy. Yes. Councilor Webb

[38:02] Un enthusiastically. Yes.

[38:04] Councilor Chase? Yes. Councilor Flood? Yes.

[38:07] Councilor Foot?

[38:10] Yes. And Chair Votes? Yes. Motion passes. Seven zero.

[38:14] Okay. And now we have item 26 41,

[38:20] resolution 2026 dash 0 2 6

[38:22] to authorize an inter-agency agreement

[38:25] for a Justice assistance grant

[38:26] with Rockingham County Police Chief George Poli presenting.

[38:31] Thank you Madam Chair. Good evening Council members All.

[38:35] We seek authorization tonight

[38:37] to enter into an interlocal agreement

[38:39] with Rockingham County.

[38:41] You may recall from the past when we get Justice Assistance

[38:45] grants through the, the JAG programs commonly called,

[38:48] that requires us to,

[38:50] because we are disparate community has the town,

[38:53] the county has to be the applicant agency on our behalf.

[38:57] We were notified last week that we're eligible

[38:59] to receive an award of $14,407.

[39:03] The county will keep 7% for their administrative fee.

[39:07] So we have a net of $13,399

[39:11] that we have available to us

[39:13] to spend on law enforcement programs.

[39:16] I'll be back before you on the fifth

[39:18] for a public hearing on my plan to spend those funds.

[39:21] So tonight we just seek authorization to

[39:24] sign the interlocal agreement with the county.

[39:26] I'm happy to answer any questions you might have

[39:30] Questions So you know.

[39:33] Questions. Madam Chair,

[39:34] I move resolution number 2026 dash 0 2 6

[39:38] to authorize an inter-agency agreement

[39:41] with Rockingham County for a US Bureau of Justice

[39:44] Assistance grant for incident management equipment

[39:48] where Section nine point 15

[39:51] of the Town Charter authorizes the Town Council

[39:54] to accept grant funding.

[39:55] And whereas the Town Council has long recognized the need

[39:58] to keep up with technological advances

[40:01] for emergency services

[40:03] and whereas Rockingham County has received a Bureau

[40:06] of Justice Assistance grant in the federal FY

[40:10] 2025 budget,

[40:13] and whereas the town of Dairy qualifies

[40:15] for a subres receipt recipient

[40:19] by signing an inter-agency agreement.

[40:22] Now therefore be it resolved in counsel

[40:24] that the town administrator is hereby authorized

[40:27] to sign the interagency agreement with Rockingham County

[40:30] as a prerequisite to receive US Bureau

[40:33] of Justice Assistance grant funds.

[40:36] This resolution shall take effect

[40:38] immediately upon its passage.

[40:41] Second. All right. Motion a second.

[40:43] Any further discussion? All right.

[40:46] On the motion, councilor Mills? Yes. Councillor Healy. Yes.

[40:50] Councillor Webb? Yes. Councillor Chase? Yes.

[40:52] Councillor Flood? Yes. Councillor Foote? Yes.

[40:56] And Chair votes? Yes. Motion passes. Seven zero. Thank you

[40:59] Very much.

[41:00] See on the fifth. All right.

[41:02] Councilor comments and liaison reports.

[41:06] I just have one. I subbed very ablely

[41:09] and was complimented on the planning board in,

[41:12] in Counselor Chase's absence.

[41:14] He said it had never run quite so smoothly.

[41:16] I was upset though. I was upset.

[41:18] I had my flannel shirt

[41:19] and I went to a costume shop to rent a mustache like that

[41:22] because I wanted to make an entrance

[41:25] and unfortunately I couldn't find it,

[41:26] but it went well anyway.

[41:29] And thank you for the opportunity. You're welcome.

[41:32] Anybody else? I just wanna congratulate Lieutenant

[41:37] Oli on completing the Boston Marathon this week

[41:40] and everybody else who did it.

[41:42] Every, every year I watch the marathon

[41:43] and every year I think I should do that someday,

[41:46] but I will never do that, so,

[41:48] so I'm not gonna knock, gonna happen.

[41:50] I'm lucky if I can run a mile. Nevermind. 26.

[41:52] So congratulations to all those that did.

[41:55] I was watching yesterday.

[41:58] I want 26 and a half steps

[41:59] to the refrigerator twice. Good for

[42:01] You. Good for you.

[42:02] My philosophy is when I see a

[42:04] jogger smiling, I'll take it up

[42:07] On a positive though I'll brag.

[42:09] Two and a half years ago, my wife didn't know how to swim

[42:11] and last year she completed a half Ironman.

[42:13] So it's not too late for you.

[42:15] Well, don't tell me that.

[42:20] Councilor Foote, did you have something?

[42:23] No, thank you Madam Chair. Okay.

[42:25] See, don't further business.

[42:26] Madam Chair, I move to adjourn.

[42:28] Second. All right On on the motion. Councilor Mills? Yes.

[42:33] Councilor Healy? Yes. Councilor Webb? Yes. Councilor Chase?

[42:35] Yes. Councilor Flood? Yes. Councilor Foote. Chair votes.

[42:39] Yes. Have a good evening everybody. We're adjourned.

Town Council - 04/21/26

Agenda

Transcript