Board of Selectmen Meeting June 17, 2024

Closure of Town Beach continues. Disc Golf course approved.

Town Beach Remains Closed

The board disclosed that it had received a proposed draft agreement from the Town Attorney about the road access. The board reviewed this at their prior non-public session and concluded that the draft did not meet the conditions the board had discussed with the property owners, and that the agreement would be similar to existing easements for snowmobile trails. The Town Attorney has yet to prepare a new draft, due to being preoccupied with having to spend much of last week defending the board in court. It was noted that the Town Attorney was asked in February to draft this agreement and that the Town Attorney has been made aware that the board considers resolving this to be urgent.

The board received public comments and correspondence about the ongoing situation of Town Beach being closed. There was an issue with the correspondence: even though the email was sent to bospc@nottingham-nh.gov - the address given on the town’s website - the Selectmen did not receive the correspondence and were thus unprepared to discuss the suggestions provided in the correspondence. 

The public comments were about frustration that the board has had all of this time to resolve the issue and that it has yet to do so. The board was asked to identify what the crux of the problem was. In response, Selectman Dabrieo recommended that one watch the video of the May 23 meeting where these matters were discussed. 

New Disc Golf Course Approved

The Recreation Department presented a proposal for a disc golf course to be constructed at Marston Fields. Sponsors and volunteers have been lined up. The remaining costs can come from the department’s revolving fund. Approval to begin construction was granted by the board. 

Affect of Lake Water Quality on Tax Base

There was a brief discussion of the talk given at the Pawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association’s annual meeting by Nisa Marks, NHDES Watershed Coordinator. Of particular note was the finding that degraded water quality had a strong negative impact on waterfront property values, such that they could reduce property values by as much as a third. Selectman Decker emphasized the importance to the town of protecting its lakes and ponds as a way of protecting its tax base. 

Reservation Road Culvert Grant Proposal Approved

Dallas Huggins of the town’s Conservation Commission presented a proposal to replace a culvert on Reservation Road to make it safer for wildlife, particularly the endangered Blandings turtle. The spot has been identified as a high-kill location and it’s among one of the few areas with a stable population of Blandings turtles. Because of this, the town qualifies to apply for an America the Beautiful grant. The cost of the new culvert will be about $82.5k. The grant will cover 90% of this. The town will be responsible for 10%; however, most of that can come from in-kind factors, such as having our own highway department do some of the work. The cash contribution required is only 2.5%. The board agreed to commit the necessary funds to allow the Conservation Commision to apply for the grant. There was a discussion of where the funds would come from. Selectman Decker suggested that the preferred budget to use was the Conservation Trust Fund, and asked that it be determined whether this expenditure could be covered within the restrictions of the fund. 

Other News

• The Recreation Department’s free summer concert series begins July 9. Concerts are held Tuesday nights at 6:30pm at the bandstand, located next to Town Hall.

• There will be a public hearing at the July 1 Board of Selectmen meeting about the Recycling Center’s summer hours, which the staff have requested to eliminate.

• On July 8 the board will have a workshop session to discuss changes in personnel policies. 

Watch the video: v