What's New- August 20th, 2008

When... will the new town website go live? Can we at least get a new target date. ( It was promised for the July 2008 informational meeting).  Of course we don't want to be " discourteous" in our request.... 

Decisions.... a summary of decisions made at public meetings listed at the end of the minutes would be a great way for the public and town government  to keep track of past issues.

Did you know..... That a citizen of Moultonboro who wants to read or review public information at the town hall must stand at the counter. No sitting down it appears as ....they can't see us then? Want photo copies? Better stop at the ATM first.

Why....hasn't the Budget Committee met yet?

Public Access Debate Continues at 8/14 Selectmen Meeting  ( More to follow on this issue when we post the video on this website with rebuttal)

Despite accusations against the MCA and some of it’s members  by the Selectmen at the August 14^th Selectmen's meeting, the MCA NEVER misrepresented itself to Time Warner Cable(TWC) nor did it’s members "POSE" as  Moultonboro Town officials in requesting TWC broadcast public meetings on our ( Moultonboro's) public access channel. 

 Selectmen’s Meeting July 24^th, 2008 Part 1

  Click here for Interactive Calendar- Includes Seniors Group Events 

Upcoming Public Meetings 

Tuesday August 19th, 2008 ..................Recreation Strategic Planning Team (RSPT) "workshop" 6:30pm Rec. bldg.

Wednesday Augusty 20th, 2008............Zoning Board 7:30 pm Town Offices

Thursday August 21st, 2008.................Selectmen "worksession" 1PM Town Hall  

Thursday August 27th, 2008................Planning Board 7:30pm Town Offices AGENDA

Thursday August 28th, 2008 .............. Selectmen's Meeting 7pm Town Hall 

    Announcements- Updated August 19th , 2008

• Local school boards reject 4 day school week. Interlakes ( scroll down for articles) has instituted a number of measures to reduce energy costs that last year alone resulted in a 39% savings. They plan to reduce the thermostat from 74 to 68. It is unclear what the Moultonboro School District is planning to do other than apply a $50K surplus to energy costs for this coming school year. By contrast, the Governor Wentworth expects a $243,000 shortfall due to increased energy costs. We'll keep you posted.
• Want to see unedited video of the entire July 24th, 2008 Selectmen's meeting? The only place to see the video is right here on the MCA website.  
• Selectmen’s Meeting July 24^th, 2008 Part 1

                                                                                   

•  Selectmen’s Meeting July 24^th, 2008 Part 2

• Click  HERE to review the MCA's position paper and response to Carter Terenzini's proposal "Charting the Course". In the MCA's view, it was a very comprehensive proposal with many good ideas, some of which we agree with and some of which we do not. Carter did a fine job putting this all together and presenting it and we thank him for his effort. It now
   deserves public hearings to discuss the pro's and con's and we hope that it will occur soon so that positive changes can be implemented.

• While other towns have taken very proactive steps to help mitigate fuel cost increases, nothing seems to be in the works in Moultonboro. This  despite numerous suggestions from citizens  to volunteer time, serve on an energy commission and offer ideas to reduce cost. The MCA position is to do what is necessary to keep departments within budgets. Any ideas are welcome.
• The Moultonboro Citizens Alliance will soon be sponsoring and hosting an informal public meeting open to all (date to be determined). A major focus of this open meeting will be brainstorming measures Moultonboro can take to reduce costs due to the high price of energy. Lowering the thermostats in all public buildings, reducing police cruiser idling times, energy saving light bulbs are some simple examples. Please click HERE to enter your ideas for this important issue as well as other topics/ideas/concerns you would like to discuss at this upcoming meeting. We will keep you posted on the date and time of this event.

MOULTONBORO — With several unpleasant surprises from Mother Nature this year, several town officials urged the board of selectmen to consider instituting the National Incident Management System. As was his practice in other towns, Town Administrator Carter Terenzini reviewed the events and fallout from the July 18 storm event. But in order to be ready for whatever comes next, Terenzini recommended a more formal plan be instituted for the town to deal with it. Though fire, police, and public works departments are prepared, Terenzini said that other town officials needed to move forward in training to be able to handle such situations. “We are substantially behind where we should be on this,” said Terenzini. “We need contingencies for operating plans – if this building went down, we have no formal plan as to how to continue operations.” Building on this, Moultonboro Fire Chief Dave Bengston gave a short presentation on NIMS, and how it would give the town a standard approach to emergency management and response to crises. The plan would train local public officials, EMS, fire, public works, and police in the command system. With the need for responsible and trained officials, Bengston said that those entering the NIMS program would learn resource management and multiagency coordination for a variety of different situations. The intent, he said, is to be able to manage a crisis of any size or complication. “It’s about the chain of command,” said Terenzini. “You learn what each function is and how to flow well.” In order to get the system going, Bengston said that they would have to identify the people to be trained and the level of training they would require. Once trained, he suggested that they conduct a “table-top exercise” to evaluate the system and to correct where needed. “This summer,we’ve dealt with floods, a tornado – though it wasn’t in town, we sent resources out of town to help the affected areas,” said Bengston. “There are winter storms, and man-made disasters. Every day, gas tankers go up and down NH Rt. 25.” Terenzini said there would be some cost involved for training and staff time, and said that he and town staff would work on this and get back to the selectmen. The directive for the institution of NIMS came from President George W. Bush in 2003, to “Federal, State, and local governments to work effectively and efficiently together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity.” In preparing for such crisis events, NIMS combines “planning, training, exercises, personnel qualification and certification standards, equipment acquisition and certification standards, and publication management processes and activities.”

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Anyone who has driven to the grocery store, bought a supply of food and tried to make it stretch through a week knows how expensive that routine has become.Imagine doing the same thing for thousands of kids a day, and you get a sense of the pressures weighing on school district food directors. "It's really the perfect storm of costs, with everything that's going on," said Jeanette Kimbell, Nashua's director of food services, citing fuel and energy costs, as well as food prices that have spiked in nearly every category.Add to that the push toward offering healthier (more expensive) food options that are labor-intensive (more expensive) to prepare, and you get a witches brew not seen in decades."It's been since the mid-1970s since we've had food product costs rise across the board this quickly," said Erik Peterson, spokesman for the School Nutrition Association, a nonprofit foundation representing school food workers nationwide."We're hearing from a lot of districts trying to balance a host of challenging, costly issues," he said.From June 2007 to June 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows eggs up 23 percent, milk up 7 percent, cheese up 15 percent, fresh vegetables up 8 percent and bakery products up 10 percent.

Aiming to break even

School food budgets are crafted with a break-even goal: offset spending with income from food sales .......

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I just read the "draft" minutes of the August 14th 2008 Moultonboro selectmen's meeting. To my surprise I saw my name mentioned in the minutes (I was not in attendance) in essence accusing me of misrepresenting myself in my communications with Time Warner Cable. This was in reference to my attempts to find out the procedure to broadcast video of public Moultonboro meetings on TWC public access.
I have no way of knowing what TWC actually told Karel Crawford, but in my conversations and emails with two gentlemen at TWC over more than three months, I never once said I represented the town in any way shape or form nor was I asked if I represented the town. I find it hard to believe that the TWC representative would suggest that I did, but yet, there it is in the minutes for all to see.
All I did was ask how to get public meeting videos on a public access channel as a private citizen. If I had known the procedure or who actually controlled the public access channel, the process would have been different. TWC never told me how this works until after they were contacted by the town. So now the selectmen are offended by this perceived "discourtesy".
Believe me, there has been enough discourtesy from the selectmen (even at the last meeting) to more than make up for it. That's not what really bothers me about this though. What prompted this letter is the continued lack of leadership, fairness and foresight from some of our selectmen. What they seem to bring to the table though is a good measure of vindictiveness to those they perceive are against them. Think about it, a totally free service, at no expense to taxpayers that would allow greater access by the citizens of Moultonboro to the unedited workings of its government has been convoluted by the selectmen into a "discourtesy". Never mind that only a handful of people attend the meetings and the minutes would at best garner a D- in business school. Is it any wonder then that the selectmen themselves can't figure out what's going on or remember the decisions made? Oh yes, there is a long document being proposed and reviewed at a "work session" to discuss public access. No mention of when and where in the minutes by the way, but wait I'll look it up on the new town website ... but I can't as it is still not live! So in the meantime it will be business as usual and Moultonboro will remain behind the times. How disappointing. But let's look on the bright side. At the prior selectmen's meeting (which I did attend) a question I asked was in the minutes as a "member of the audience asked ..." No mention of my name. So to find my name in the minutes of a meeting I didn't attend (and it's even spelled correctly) is very encouraging. Keep up the good work!


Paul Punturieri
Moultonborough

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A recent article in the Concord Monitor highlighted the predicaments school districts area facing as a result of rising fuel costs and related operation expenses. Some districts are considering eliminating bus routes, consolidating bus routes, and reducing their schedule to a four-day school week in the winter

months. Also in response to these concerns, many school boards are reviewing and researching energy conservation policies. These concerns are likely shared throughout the state. With the beginning of another school year approaching, these issues offer a timely opportunity for school board members and administrators to review the pertinent state statutes and NHSBA Sample Policies relative to transportation, school building maintenance, and energy conservation.....

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By JOHN QUINN jquinn@fosters.com

WOLFEBORO — The Gov. Wentworth Regional School Board determined there wasn't enough time to resolve all the issues to make any drastic changes in the school calendar before classes begin in two weeks
District officials heard from Superintendent Jack Robertson and listened to more than 100 area residents, including parents, teachers and district staff, as board members discussed adding 45 minutes to the school day, moving to a four-day school week during the winter months and other less drastic means to save on energy costs.
"The purpose of this is not about adopting this (proposed) calendar, it's about saving energy," Robertson said.
Robertson said the average annual costs for fuel and electricity in the district — which includes the communities of Brookfield, Effingham, New Durham, Ossipee, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro — are significantly higher than last year and more than initially budgeted by officials. For the 2008-09 school year, the district budgeted $290,000 for oil, $470,000 for electricity and $292,000 for diesel fuel, but estimates the projected costs to be $368,000, $580,000 and $347,000, respectively — resulting in a total shortfall of $243,000, according to Robertson.
District officials know it is not a short-term problem since fuel and heating costs have increased 450 percent in the past decade, he said.
Robertson said the district spends more than 99 percent of its budget, leaving very little left over to pay the expected shortfall. He added the district can reduce some of the amount by 5 to 7 percent — possibly $47,000 to $66,000 —

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The idea of a four-day school week as a way to save energy costs has little support on the Inter-Lakes School Board. The issue was briefly discussed at last Tuesday's meeting of the Inter-Lakes board as a possibility discussed by other school districts. Other school districts, such as the Governor Wentworth School District and Shaker Regional School District, have previously discussed the possibility of extending the school day for extra time and having a four-day week in hopes of saving money with high fuel costs. ..

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Present:            Selectmen:  Karel A. Crawford, Edward J. Charest, James F. Gray; 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:  Jim Made the Motion to approve the Minutes of July 24, 2008 as written.  Ed Seconded.  The Motion carried unanimously.
 
IV.       NEW RESIDENTS:  Michael D. Visbeck, Andrew D. Moore, Cynthia J. Tucker, Anne M. & Raymond H. Potvin, Marvin J. Padilla, Justin T. Avery, William J. Hyner, Seth A. Young, Derek A. Duke, Henry J. Arsenault, Yannick Rousseau, Rodyan Quinonez, Richard L. & Dianne L. Davis, Judith C. & Dudley Hare, Ralph K. & Patricia A. Putnam, Victoria A. King.
 
V.        PUBLIC MEETING:
 
1.         Non-Public Session, Personnel Matters:  The Selectmen did not have a quorum for the scheduled Non-Public Session.
2.         Bob Wallace, Steamboat Rally:  Mr. Wallace informed the Selectmen that the annual Steamboat Rally will be held on Friday, September 5th through Sunday, September 14th.  They will begin to prepare on Thursday, September 4th, mowing, installing docks, etc.  There will be the annual parade and fireworks are scheduled for Tuesday, September 12th.  As in year’s past the Steamboat Rally Committee requests that the Town provide the portable toilets and electricity.  The Selectmen approved of the request by Consensus and thanked the members of the Steamboat Rally for the good work that they do.
2.         Don Muscavitz, Adopt-a-Spot:  Mr. Muscavitz requested that his sign be removed from the Library’s garden, as the month’s worth of rain has killed his flower garden.  He asked the Selectmen for their direction regarding what he should do next; i.e., remove and clean up the plants, re-plant, etc.  Karel stated that the Selectmen understood his predicament and suggested that he contact the Library Trustees to see what they want done.
3.         Al Hume, Citizen’s Petition:  Mr. Hume read the petition he presented to the Administration office regarding their request to place the question on the 2009 Town Warrant to see if the Town will vote to approve the creation, funding and construction of a Firearms Training and Certification area at the Waste Management facility.
4.         Hollis Austin, MCA & Time Warner Public Access Channel:  Mr. Austin read his letter into the Minutes regarding the Alliance’s request to Time Warner to broadcast their videos of the Selectmen’s Meetings......

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Laconia Daily Sun     August 8^th, 2008

CONCORD (AP) — Both Republican Sen. John Sununu and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen say tax incentives for developers and users of renewable energy can help bolster the nation’s economy as well as relieve the pain of high fuel prices. The Senate candidates promoted the tax breaks in response to an Associated Press survey on a range of economic issues. Though they disagree on the extent to which the United States should pursue offshore oil drilling, Shaheen and Sununu found some common ground on alternative fuels. Asked what steps Congress should take to stimulate the economy, Sununu said any long-term plan should include “a balanced approach to energy that includes conservation, incentives for clean, renewable energy and greater production of oil and gas deep offshore.” “We should encourage the use of wind, solar, biomass and other clean, renewable energy by extending tax credits to homeowners and businesses investing in these technologies,” he said in answering a question about how Congress can help stabilize energy prices. “We need to produce more energy here at home by opening up promising areas for new exploration. ... We should remove the ban on new offshore exploration and give willing states a voice in opening up new reserves.” Shaheen opposes lifting that ban, saying oil companies should be drilling on land they already lease. She said Congress needs to “stop taking advice on energy policy” from the oil industry and could immediately help bring down prices by cracking down on speculation on the price of oil, and closing loopholes that allow traders to manipulate oil markets. Longer term, she said the country should focus on investing in alternative and renewable energy sources and tax incentives for those who make buildings more energy effi cient. “I also believe that we should end the billions of dollars in tax giveaways to Big Oil and use that money to invest in the development of alternative and renewable energy sources that are going to create jobs and move us off our dependence on foreign oil,” she said. The two recently held competing conference calls on energy prices. Sununu criticized Shaheen for not supporting new offshore drilling; Shaheen faulted Sununu for voting against Senate Democratic proposals to spend more on federal home heating assistance and to further restrict oil speculators

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The Governor Wentworth Regional School District is floating the idea of cutting a day out of school week during wintertime as a way to save on fuel costs. The district, which serves six communities on the east side of Lake Winnipesaukee, including Wolfeboro, has scheduled a meeting for Aug. 18 to get the public's reaction to this idea along with another to lower the thermostat setting in schools by as much as 10 degrees.
Other school districts are having serious discussions on how they will deal with the serious challenges higher fuel prices put on their budgets. The Newfound Regional School District, for example, figures it will need to find $300,000 in savings in order pay for the higher cost of energy and still live within its budget.
The underlying message of this trial balloon is one that is worth heeding. School districts, like other arms of government, face serious challenges as energy prices continue to rise. The proposal of extending the school day one hour and going to a four-day-a-week from December through March again directs attention to the need of coming up with ways to deal with the cost of heating homes, schools and businesses this winter, and helping those who can least afford it deal with high transportation costs. The idea is that shutting schools will save on heating costs and save workers the gas used to commute on the fifth day. On the other hand, fiddling with the established weekly schedules in schools means a great number of people would have to shift their daily lives. Working parents who find their children out of school an extra day would have to deal with finding and paying for more child care. Schools would have to figure out how to meet the minimum number of school days mandated by law. It's much easier to point out the obstacles to making an idea work than to come up with a fresh approach toward dealing with a tough problem. A four-day school week might prove to be impractical for many reasons, but the idea goes beyond the usual focus on how we pay our most immediate bills. No matter the ultimate outcome of such proposals, school districts deserve credit for being willing to look at bold moves to deal with a daunting and serious issue. There is little prospect for oil prices coming down anywhere near the level that we've enjoyed in the past. That means we all need to look at how we can change the way we live to cope with the changing world of energy

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The topic “Potential Governor Wentworth Calendar Changes” will be on the Moultonborough School Board agenda for Tuesday, August 12.  Any changes made to the Governor Wentworth calendar impact Moultonborough Academy students who attend the Vocational Education Center associate with Kingswood High School.

Mike Lancor