September 2008 Archives

Notes from the MCA. The following commentary is meant to highlight areas of deficiency in the minutes provided by the school board.

The minutes themselves follow.

MCA

Union Leader    September 21st, 2008

The day a tornado tore through his town this summer, Barnstead road agent Chris Carazzo finally convinced selectmen to join a statewide public works mutual-aid network he'd been pushing.

Within days, crews and equipment from Bow, Farmington, Loudon and Seabrook were helping his own workers clear trees and debris from the 20 roads affected by the storm. "It worked flawlessly," Carazzo said.More than 100 communities have joined the Public Works Mutual Aid compact, administered through the University of New Hampshire's Technology Transfer Center. The agreement allows them to share equipment and personnel with other towns during emergencies such as flooding and other natural disasters.But such cooperation is no longer confined to emergencies. A growing number of New Hampshire communities are setting aside their traditional Yankee independence and looking to cooperative agreements to save taxpayer dollars and improve services.

Among them:

-- Three towns surrounding Lake Sunapee now share an assessor and assistant assessor.

-- Five towns in central New Hampshire recently created the Suncook Valley Regional Association; they already have saved money purchasing health insurance and are looking into other joint projects.

-- The city of Dover maintains and repairs vehicles for several surrounding communities and nonprofits, producing revenue for Dover and cost savings for the rest.

-- Four towns in the ConVal School District do cooperative purchasing for public-works contracts, equipment and fuel oil.

-- Temple and Greenville share a police department.

Unlike some regions where strong county governments provide centralized services,......

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Note from the MCA: We applaud this effort by Meredith. You may ask why not have a similar effort in Moultonboro? Well. citizens have suggested to the Selectmen to form such a committee and offered to volunteer. The answer........still waiting. We guess that only a crisis will force action.

MCA

The Meredith News  September 25th, 2008

SARAH SCHMIDT

SSCHMIDT@SALMONPRESS.COM

MEREDITH — The Town of Meredith is looking into the possibility of forming a voluntary energy committee to explore methods that would save energy and improve efficiency. Bill Bayard of the Capital Improvements Committee requested that the selectmen consider the establishment of such a committee. The Town of Meredith passed a warrant article in 2007, going on record to support actions by the federal government to

address climate change. Among the actions in the article, residents asked selectmen “to consider the appointment of a voluntary energy committee to recommend local steps to save energy and reduce emissions” in a vote of 127-96. “There is quite a bit of activity on the regional side,” said Bayard, referring to residents active in regional energy meetings. “The state is very active in updating their energy plan, and there’s a lot of overlap. I assume whoever is elected (to the Presidency) will be active in energy policy.” Bayard told the board that residents and a few members of Town staff were already involved in a number of dif-ferent ways of looking at energy use in the town. A committee could investigate energy analyses of each town facility, introduce anti-idling policies, and look at the town’s carbon footprint.,While noting that the,price of fuel had been coming down as of late, Bayard said that it was far more expensive than at this time last year. An energy committee could start looking at economies in saving fuel, he said. “There is a variety of different ways of doing things, some fairly inexpensive,” said Bayard. “I believe this will pay back pretty quickly - there are a lot of opportunities to save on energy.” Community Development Director John Edgar noted that with the Master Plan and census coming up in a few years, energy would likely be a new element in the plan itself. Edgar noted that both he and Town Planner Angela LaBreque served on about six different committees, but still believed that this would be an important one for their input. “Is this important enough for us to tag team?” asked Edgar. “The answer is clearly yes. There would be a staff component.” Bayard said that Meredith likely had a lot of varied expertise among its residents, and encouraged selectmen to begin advertising for volunteers for the committee. Selectman Bob Flanders said that the idea was a good one, but that the first action should be a charter to establish ground rules. He suggested that Edgar and Bayard come up with a draft charge to present to the selectmen. Moving along from energy conservation to energy demand, Flanders told the board that he was concerned about an increase in structure fires this year, with people looking for new and different ways to heat their homes and save money on fuel. He encouraged anyone considering a new heating source who had questions to check it out with the Meredith Fire Department. A danger also existed in the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning, with certain types of heating mechanisms. “People are almost in a panic (over fuel costs),” said Flanders. “The fear is that there will be structure fires and body bags filled.”

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The Meredith News   September 25th, 2008

LAKES REGION — A local group is working with Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat For Humanity, to field a program in the Lakes Region through which homes of elderly, poor families would be winterized in order to lower their heating costs. This might include cleaning their furnace, re-glazing windows or installing storm windows, or even insulating one or two rooms to provide a warm haven for the winter. The work would be done without cost to the families, but with the request that they give back a donation, monthly according to their ability to do so. The Fuller Center for Housing, established by Millard and Linda Fuller in 2005, has created a program called The Greater Blessings Box founded on the observation of Saint Paul and based on

the words of Jesus “In everything I did, I show you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35. An assisted family would receive the help at no cost or lien on their property. In return they will have a conversation with the Lakes Region Fuller Center about what they are able to contribute back into the fund to help others. Each family would be given a Greater Blessing Box with a limited number of monthly contribution envelopes to share the experience that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The local group seeks to establish a Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing Partnership. To test the waters and discover if there is local support, they are seeking to raise $7500. Miller Lovett and several other local citizens, at their own expense, are considering going to El Salvador from Nov. 17-21 to work with Linda and Millard Fuller to build 16 houses for the poor. Of the money raised locally, $5,500 will pay for one of the El Salvador houses. More volunteers to go to El Salvador are needed. Two thousand dollars of the $7.500 goal will start a revolving loan fund for the Lakes Region winterization project. More will be needed to finance the initial pilot

project of assisting one to six local families this year. The local co-chairs of the Provisional Lakes Region Fuller Center Partnership are Kathie Thorndike and Miller Lovett. The local effort is provisional and dependent upon raising the $7500. For more information, call Kathy Thorndike at 279-4360 or email: bluehill@metrocast.net. Contributions should be sent to Miller Lovett, PO Box 1669, Meredith, NH 03253.

Checks should be made out to the Fuller Center for Housing and are fully tax deductible.

More on the Fuller Center is found at www.fullercenter.org

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Present: Selectmen:  Karel A. Crawford, Edward J. Charest, James F. Gray; Joel R. Mudgett; Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator; Hope K. Kokas, Secretary.
 
I. CALL TO ORDER:  Karel called the meeting to Order at 7:00 P.M.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. REVIEW/APPROVE MINUTES:  Joel Made the Motion to approve the Minutes of September 11, 2008 as written.  Ed Seconded.  The Motion carried unanimously.
 
IV. NEW RESIDENTS:  Jessica L. Kirwin, Jordan M. Scampoli, Candice E. Clough, Melvin E. & Constance H. Trott, Paul R. & Nancilee Carroll.
 
V. PUBLIC MEETING:  None.

VI. NEW BUSINESS:

1. Referred from Workshop – Proposed Policy PEG Channel Access:  Karel asked Carter to proceed with his presentation on this proposed policy.  In a Power Point presentation, Carter first explained the reasoning for the Selectmen to develop the Public, Education, Government Access Channel policy.  Recurring events require a framework, providing consistency without singularism or favoritism.  The goal in developing the policy is to eliminate legal problems for the Town and its’ residents.  Carter stated that he reviewed other town’s policies and he was able to put together a policy that fit Moultonborough.  He added that Meredith and Tilton contract with Lakes Region Public Access and therefore their policies were not on line to view.  The Selectmen have worked on at least six drafts which have been reviewed by staff, Town Counsel, Time Warner and the School Board.  Carter explained the purpose of the policy, who can access it, what activities are prohibited, restrictions which includes the requirement of a disclaimer statement appearing at the beginning and end of the broadcast, the process to request access, the appeal process, scheduling, the complaint process, disciplinary action which consists of the three strikes and you are out rule.  Carter explained that the only cost to the Town is the Town Administrator’s time.  He informed the Selectmen that the School Board has expressed an interest to start a media program, which would require funds for equipment, but would be an exciting opportunity for students.  Carter provided the Selectmen with the final draft which reflected minor edits.  The Selectmen were asked....

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Note from the MCA: A citizen asked Mr. Terenzini if the town of Amherst, a town used as a model for the Moultonboro public access policy has a public access commission or it it was administered under the Twon Administrator. He replied that Amherst has a commission.

MCA

The Citizen  September 19th, 2008

Present: Bill Blackadar, Mark Borrin, Fox Smith, Laurie Whitley, Michael Lancor, Kay Peranelli,

Public Input: None.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008: Monthly School Board Meeting - 7:00 p.m. -Town Hall

Note from the MCA: We applaud this independent effort to place these important videos on the web. The MCA has been videotaping many public meetings in Moultonboro and began placed them on this website to an excellent public response.

MCA

The Meredith News September 18^th, 2008

SARAH SCHMIDT

SSCHMIDT@SALMONPRESS.COM

MEREDITH — Whether or not voters approve funds for broadcasting their meetings on television, the Inter- Lakes School Board meetings are being taped and slated for broadcast via the Internet. Lisa and Steve Merrill, parents who attend meetings, brought videotaping equipment to the last school board meeting, Lisa Merrill working the equipment. Steve Merrill wrote a letter to the board earlier this year calling for them to begin broadcasting their meetings on the Lakes Region Public Access channel. The board has been wrestling with the question for a few months, given the fact that district residents in Sandwich and parts of Center Harbor have no access to cable. The board recently voted to bring the question to the Inter-Lakes School District Meeting in March. “This is somewhat of a first,” said Chair Jack Carty, beginning the meeting. “We’re being taped. It’s the right of anyone to tape public meetings.” Lisa Merrill said that she was taping the meetings with the intention of broadcasting them in sections on the YouTube.com Web site. Merrill said she will be linking the clips on YouTube to a new Web log (blog) of her own to allow parents to communicate on concerns about the school district. Merrill said that the equipment she used to tape the meetings was on loan, and another person was helping her work on the tape to ready it for YouTube. Afterwards, Merrill said she wants to bring the DVDs of the meetings to a local library in the district. “In the interim (between now and March), this is to let people know,” said Merrill. “There are a lot of concerns, and this way,we can get frustrations out and connect on the blog. People can connect on issues they see - basically, anything you’d like to write about.” Merrill said putting these clips of the meeting on YouTube and linking to it from the blog will show that “this stuff can be done for very little money,” and can reach anyone in the district with the ability to access a computer with an Internet connection. The work is still in progress, though, and Merrill said that she was still working on getting the clips online, and hoped to have them up soon. The clips will likely be of “hot topics,” she said, such as the recent debate about dress code. The board continued its own work on effective mediums of broadcasting their meetings in different forms. They watched about five minutes of a Meredith Board of Selectmen workshop that had been broadcast earlier this summer, in order to get a sense of the facilities available at the Meredith Community Center, and to see it met with their standards for audibility and visibility. Earlier in the year, the board listened to a presentation from District Technology Director Allan Hale, on the possibility of taping the meetings to air via media streaming server, straight to the computers of anyone with an Internet connection. The difference in putting the video on the Web instead of handing a tape to the LRPC, Hale explained, was in finding a host company to supply them with a media streaming server and bandwidth. The school would create the video and send it to the host company,who would provide a link on the school district Web site with direct access to the video, a service that would cost a flat fee per

month, unless more than a set number of people tried to watch the video. Merrill’s blog is at www.interlakescitizens.blogspot.com.

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Why the opposition?

Editor, The Citizen September 15^th, 2008

 While we wait for full compliance of the Right to Know Law in seeing public meetings broadcast on cable's Public Access Channel the selectmen of Moultonborough have attempted to develop policy. In June the Moultonboro Citizens Alliance (MCA) started working with Time Warner Cable (TWC) to air the selectmen's meetings (as well as other public meetings) on the PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNEL as a public service. The selectmen had no policy regulating the Public Access Channel. The FCC offers a fact sheet that says public access channels are "usually administered by the cable operator or a third party designated by the franchising authority." Since there was no third party designee when we approached Time Warner Cable both they (TWC) and MCA assumed we were not violating the sanctity of the selectmen's authority. After all, THEY HAD NO POLICY IN PLACE AFTER MORE THAN TWO DECADES.

I will state here that MCA was willing to do this at no expense to the taxpaying public, where other towns are wrestling with a budget of $14,000 to $20,000 or more for this right. Unedited broadcast of public meetings at no expense to the taxpayer ... how sinister is that? Other broadcasts have been and continue to be aired without the accusations of abuse, misrepresentation and "lack of respect for the selectmen". And they are aired without any policy in place. But this bitter opposition towards the MCA is not new.

• The selectmen were quick to combat SB2, a voting initiative that allows ALL voters to vote on ALL town issues. They lobbied hard and duplicitously against this measure that allows voters who are out of town or otherwise unable to get to town meetings to have a say as to how their tax dollars are spent. "Anyone spending months in the winter away doesn't care what goes on in Moultonborough" was the statement from the chair. Why wouldn't they want all citizens to have a vote on the town warrant if the law is available to do that? Don't know.

• Why would they not want the average citizen to see the selectmen's meetings on TV in the comfort of their home? Don't know.

• When a citizen stands and asks to read a letter into the minutes of the meeting (because they won't) the comment coming from the chair was "If you must". Why? Don't know.

• Why would the selectmen say they were unwilling to support the building of a multimillion dollar recreation facility one day, and then 4 of the 5 flip flop to support it being on the warrant? Don't know.

• Why would a selectman accuse a citizen of spreading lies and misinformation in arguing against the multimillion dollar recreation center when he was using information directly from the Master Plan Survey? Don't know.

It has been the exercise of some selectmen to practice personal politics rather than objectively sticking with the issues that the town needs to address. Perhaps this is the reason they hesitate to allow these broadcasts to be aired.

MCA's goal of full compliance to the Right to Know Law leads to open and transparent government. We want all citizens to be able to vote on all issues (SB2). Another goal is to inform and educate the voter and property owner. We advocate sensible spending and community involvement. However, because we are not always in lock step with the selectmen, we are labelled as negative and purveyors of misinformation.

Until the selectmen allow the airing of the public meetings on the public access channel, they may be viewed on the MCA website, www.moultonborcitzensalliance.org .

Rick Heath

Moultonborough

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Meredith News     September 18th, 2008

MOULTONBORO — The Moultonboro Board of Selectmen is moving closer to forming a broadcast policy, as requested by several residents, which would allow for the television broadcast of taped selectmen’s meetings on the Time-Warner public access channel. After resident and Moultonboro Citizens Alliance member Hollis Austin read a letter questioning the town’s use of franchise fees and asking them to hurry the process, Selectman Joel Mudgett attempted to clarify things. Mudgett said that the franchise fees were used to help people in the more remote areas of Moultonboro get access to cable, and that the funds were accounted for in the town’s general fund. Selectman Betsey Patten added that the town’s 15-year contract would expire in 2016. “There’s not an actual lot of cable here, so there’s not a lot of access,” said Patten. “Now we’re trying to get the process going. We’re trying to be sure that we’re not ending up with new litigation. This is to protect us all, not just the board of selectmen.” Selectman Ed Charest said that he had brought the issue up several years ago, but cable access at the time did not garner a lot of interest.“You know how I love to be

center stage,” Charest joked. “But I didn’t know how complicated it was. Our quality had better be better than some others.” At a workshop last month, the selectmen thumbed through a draft of policy proposed for future use of the Time-Warner public access channel. The selectmen had to consider such issues as equal access, who edited the tape and how it was done,and whether or not endorsements could be used on the channel. The legality of some items had been researched and questioned by selectmen at meetings during the past few weeks, and the selectmen sent a draft to the Moultonboro School Board for their comments on the process. Town Administrator Carter Terenzini told selectmen that he had received those comments and would include them in a presentation on the policy to be,given tonight at the selectmen’s meeting at 7 p.m Resident and Moultonboro Citizens Alliance member Al Hume questioned the need for cable access policy at all, citing the towns of Meredith and Tuftonboro, two local towns that he said broadcast their meetings, but had no policy on cable access. “Any community that moves without policy is making a tragic error,” said Terenzini. “You can spend months afterward cleaning up. When the first lawsuit comes up, they’ll back up and

wish they’d put in policy.” Terenzini also said that one couldn’t compare Meredith and Moultonboro, since Meredith contracts with Lakes Region Public Access for their televised broadcasts. He also said the board and town plan to lay out their policy at tonight’s meeting for the public to comment on and ask questions. Back in July, when the issue came up, the Alliance contacted the Time Warner channel and anticipated airing taped public meetings on the channel. After finding out about the intended action, the selectmen contacted Time-Warner and asked them to pull the meetings from the channel, until they could establish their own policy for broadcasting meetings.

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Present:            Selectmen:  Karel A. Crawford, Edward J. Charest, James F. Gray; Joel R. Mudgett, Betsey L. Patten; Carter Terenzini, Town Administrator; Hope K. Kokas, Secretary.
 
I.          CALL TO ORDER:  Karel called the meeting to Order at 7:00 P.M.
 
Karel asked that everyone participate in a moment of silence in memory of the victims of September 11, 2001.
 
II.        PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
 
III.       REVIEW/APPROVE MINUTES:  Joel Made the Motion to approve the Minutes of August 28, 2008 as written.  Betsey Seconded.  The Motion carried unanimously.
 
IV.       NEW RESIDENTS:  Joshua A. Nyecki, Richard L. & Dianne L. Davis, Isabelle L. Schweich, Alexander & Bernadette MacIsaac, Eun Yeo & Sug Lan Won, Diana R. Stillberger, Matthew C. & Sheri J. Jensen, Misty L. Sanborn, Alice H. Osseiran, Arlene M. & Leo H. Wilson.
 
V.        PUBLIC MEETING:
 
1.         Dorothy Solomon, Candidate for Carroll County Commissioner:  Ms. Solomon introduced herself to the Selectmen, reminding them that she ran two years ago for the same office.  If elected, the emphasis will be to bring stability and discussion between the commissioner and the delegation.  Ms. Solomon will focus on the county’s nursing home and providing a place of dignity for the residents.  Another area of focus is on the county jail and decreasing the cost that occurs with the high rate of repeat offenders.  In order to do this when a prisoner is released, the county must ensure a place to live, employment, treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues.  Ms. Solomon concluded that if elected she will manage the county prudently.
2.         Hollis Austin presented his letter to the Selectmen, reading it into the Minutes, repeating his concern of the lack of public access to broadcast on Time Warner Cable (see attached)....

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Meredith News  September 11th 2008

LAKES REGION — Today’s Senior Centers are reflecting an empowered vision of aging. Senior Centers are a resource for wellness, lifelong learning, access to benefits and meaningful opportunities. They serve the entire community with information on aging and develop innovation approaches to addressing aging issues. The older adults who participate in Senior Centers share their diverse skills and talents through their participation and volunteerism. Monday, Sept. 15 - Friday, Sept. 19 is Senior Center Week. On Thursday, Sept. 18, eight Senior Centers of Belknap and Merrimack Counties and Horseshoe Pond Place Senior Resource Center in Concord will celebrate their accomplishments with a special program and reception to highlight their many offerings. If you have never visited your local senior center, this is a wonderful opportunity to find out about its multiple activities. If you already attend a senior center, please invite a friend to accompany you to your center for this very special event. Elder Services, of Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc. serves all of the communities in the two counties including the management

of eight Senior Centers, two Meals-on- Wheels Outreach programs, and a senior resource center at Horseshoe Pond Place in Concord. Last year, the Senior Centers offered 1640 exercise programs, 204 educational seminars, 23,160 rides on the Rural Transportation Service Senior buses, 2,599 social opportunities, and 103 health programs including screenings and information programs. Through Community Dining at the Senior Centers and community outreach programs as well as the Meals-on-Wheels program, 301,128 meals were served throughout Merrimack and Belknap counties. The public is invited to call the senior centers for more information.

Alton Senior Center - 875- 7102

Belmont Senior Center -267-9867

Horseshoe Pond Place, Concord - 228-6956

Inter-Lakes Senior Center, Meredith - 279-5631

Laconia Senior Center -524-7689

Mountain View Senior Center - 938-2104

Pittsfield Senior Center - 435-8482

Suncook Senior Center - 485-4254

Click HERE for Selectmen's Agenda 9/11/2008