Merrimac Board of Selectmen
April 14, 2008
APPROVED
r Appoint Kevin Hunt (veterans' agent for Newburyport and Newbury) as veterans' agent for Merrimac for the remainder of the fiscal year with a monthly stipend of $150 (replacing Ron Koontz, who resigned recently).
r Appoint Conservation Agent Jay Smith as the "go-to person" for dock and mooring permits on the Merrimack River and Lake Attitash.
r Sign additional HOME funds documents in the amount of $17,667 for a project at Emmaus House in Haverhill.
r Accept the town medical/dental insurance renewal rates.
r Sign the MassHighway Chapter 90 final report for Spring Hill Road engineering work in the amount of $1,600.
r Appoint zoning enforcement officer and Building Inspector Phil Hagopian as alternate member to the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission.
r Charge an annual entertainment license fee of $5 to the Rhythm Café.
AGREED
r Selectmen will check with the library trustees as to whether the library will host a used book recycling container (suggested by Recycling Committee member Dawn Ackerman).
r At the request of the Open Space Committee, ask the Highway Department to look into the worn footbridge on the McLaren Trail.
r Ask the Highway Department to make Birch Meadow Road more passable in anticipation of the Portuguese Festival at the Sons of the Wind equestrian school on May 25.
DISCUSSED
r Benton Smith's concerns about the zoning bylaws that restrict the businesses that are allowed at 32-34 Broad St. (the location for which he received approval for a gas station/car wash/convenience store).
r The selectmen will meet with Traffic Solutions and business owners on April 15 to discuss revised engineering plans for the Town Square/Route 110 renovation project.
r In response to a resident's question, Light and Water Department Manager Dan Folding will discuss who has the responsibility for shoveling out fire hydrants with commissioners at their next meeting.
r The snow and ice budget deficit reached $104,705.
r The town's insurance company, the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, met with town employees to discuss health plans that would provide cost savings.
r The Candidates and Issues Forum — held on April 2 at the Senior Center — will be broadcast on Channel 12 on April 16 at 7 p.m. and May 1 at 7 p.m. The April 28 Annual and Special Town Meetings will be broadcast on Channel 12 on April 29 at 7 p.m.
r Household Hazardous Waste Day will be held on June 21 at Sweetsir School. Selectmen will work with Recycling Committee member Dawn Ackerman to determine fees and what items to accept.
r The town's unemployment insurance rate increased from .01 percent to .04 percent, which raises the typical annual payment of $3,000 to $13,000; a review of the rate has been requested.
r Hagopian will speak to a Lane Ten Acres Road resident about discharging water into the road. Hagopian and Town Counsel Ashod Amirian agree that the bylaw prohibiting such discharge does not apply because the road is not accepted by the town.
r Selectman Carol Traynor and highway foreman Tom Barry met at David Grazio's home at 12 Brush Hill Road to discuss landscape damage. Traynor and Barry agree that the problem is from the slope of the lawn; Barry offered to install retaining stone.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
r Review employee contracts.
