Board of Selectmen Meeting, August 7, 2023
Smell of Death Permeates Police Station Following Break In
A rodent managed to break into the Police Station where it became imprisoned in the ceiling. Its rotting corpse has produced a strong foul odor, but police and town officials have been unable to find the body. Three possible points of rodent entry to the building have been identified and sealed. The next step is to make exploratory incisions into the ceiling to locate the corpse.
Proposal to Rename Marston Field to Honor Former Town Administrator Charlie Brown
A former selectman proposed to the board that Marston Field should be renamed to honor Charlie Brown, who passed away in June. Charle Brown was a resident of Nottingham and long-time Town Administrator. It was through Brown’s efforts that the town was able to obtain the property and remediate the site’s serious ecological problems associated with it being used as a dumping ground.
The board agreed to obtain public input on the proposal.
Stormwater Asset Management Program
A project authorized by the voters 2.5 years ago to develop a database of all of the culverts in town has been completed. The report is on the town website.
The project identified 17,365 ft of town-owned culverts. The current replacement cost of the town’s entire culvert system is $5.2 million. The project identified about $1 million worth of culverts that are near end of life (defined as within 10 years). These must be carefully monitored.
Many residents do not understand that the culverts in their driveways are their responsibility, not the town’s
The project created a Google Map of all of the culverts, and a work order system that is being used not only for culvert work but many other types of town maintenance work as well, such as road work and vehicle maintenance. Over 1,000 work orders have already been processed on this new system.
Continued Issues with the Termination of the Fire Chief and Lieutenant
The Town Administrator informed the board that the board had received a letter asking a large number of questions about the termination of the Fire Chief and Lieutenant. The board asked the Town Administrator to draft answers for the board’s review.
A citizen gave a speech about the Board of Selectmen’s arbitrary and unjust handling of personnel issues. Key points included:
In October 2021 every long-term employee and one previous employee in the Highway Department and Recycling Center filed written complaints against the former DPW Director, who had been on the job at that point just 3 years. The complaints were about conduct, inappropriate behavior and language, illegal actions, vehicle damage, and waste of funds. The complaints were ignored.
37 residents subsequently signed a complaint in support of the workers. No substantive action was taken.
Consequently, all but one complaining employee quit. Most of these employees were town residents.
The comparison of how this was handled versus how the Vilchocks were handled is shocking. The Vilchocks are residents who combined have over 40 years of service to Nottingham, not only at the Fire Department but in many other community service roles. Meanwhile, the employees who complained about them are not residents and have not been in their jobs long.
Other Items Covered
The Recreation Department’s afterschool program is already full.
New playground equipment will be installed in October at Town Hall.
National Night Out was a huge success.
The board approved $8.5k for installing an above-ground gasoline tank for use by town vehicles. The advantages are lower gas prices and constant local availability. Currently, there can be situations where town vehicles have to make long trips out of town to get fuel.
The Trustees of the Trust Fund have a trust that has been identified as discriminatory (only protestant children qualify). The funds will be given to other organizations that match the intent of the donor.
Other News
The Nottingham Historical Society’s annual pancake breakfast will be on Sunday, August 13 from 8:00 am to 10:30 am.
Nottingham’s Got Talent will be held Sunday, August 13 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Nottingham Community Church.
Former Fire Chief Jaye Vilchock has filed for a hearing in Rockingham Superior Court, which, under the provisions of RSA 154:5, has authority to overturn or modify Vilchock’s termination based on the court’s findings.
Watch the video:
The Selectmen and TA should do the honorable thing and resign immediately. Rumor has it, there’s a petition circulating with 600+ signatures, that calls for an investigation into the ‘investigation’ and mistreatment of the Fire Chief and Lieutenant…..it’s said that the petition also calls for the Selectman and TA to resign. Nottingham desperately needs new leadership. This group has failed the town miserably. Glad to see this debacle ended up in court. Discovery should be interesting.
Re: "The Town Administrator .... received a letter..." Who was this letter from?