SHERWOOD FOREST ROAD DISTRICT

Prudential Committee Meeting

June 4, 2005

Committee Members Present: Richard Tallberg, Chairman; Bill Brownhill, Vice Chairman; Robert Ronzio, David Bonney, Gerard Grondin

Staff: Maryellen Lake, Clerk/Treasurer

Chairman Tallberg called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m.

The minutes of the May 7 were read. Bob moved to accept the minutes as presented; Gerry seconded; there being no discussion on the motion, the motion passed.

TheTreasurer’s Report was read. Gerry moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report; Bob seconded; there being no discussion on the motion, the motion passed.

Superintendent’s Report: Due to illness, Chuck Andrews was absent. However, in response to Mr. Woodis’ complaint regarding road conditions on Little Robin, Bill will meet with Chuck to work out a solution. Chuck also reported to Bill that we are continuing the grading and raking.

Warrant #21 in the amount of $1,243.85 was read. Bill moved to accept the warrant as presented and to pay the bills; Bob seconded; there being no discussion on the motion, the motion passed.

OLD BUSINESS

Letter to Attorney General: Bob recommended putting off sending the letter until the Committee has had a chance to talk to the attorney.

Audit: Maryellen reported that she has still not had any success in finding an accountant to do an audit. Most of them are not interested or they don’t do municipal audits - apparently it’s a highly specialized field. Prices quoted are from $3,000 to $6,000. She spoke with the Town Accountant, who said she would check with the people she works with to see if any of them would be interested.

FEMA Report: Maryellen reported that she had a fax from FEMA. They called her to make an adjustment for $480 which had been submitted and was for the wrong day. In the course of the conversation, Mr. Martin with whom she was speaking, asked her for documentation of the work listed on the invoices from Egee which she had submitted. She informed him that she could email him a memo saying that the Road Superintendent sometimes accompanies the contractor to oversee the work and that the Prudential Committee must approve all work that was done. Mr. Martin said that would be acceptable; however, in light of this question, she stressed the importance of having the Road Superintendent and the Contractor fill out work orders to provide documentation to back up the invoices. FEMA has calculated our request to be $7,540.88 of which we will receive 75%.

Meeting with Attorney: Bob objected to the presence of Angela Hilton at the meeting of March 23 with Attorney Harris Aaronson with Bill Brownhill and Maryellen present. Maryellen explained that she was there as an observer, which was made clear to Attorney Aaronson at the time, and that the purpose of the meeting was to get information regarding Mr. Aaronson’s possible availability to help the District since he was instrumental in the writing of the Becket Woods legislation. The sole purpose of the meeting was to question him regarding fees and costs. No decision or commitment was made on behalf of the Road District.

Bill recommended that Attorney Aaronson be asked to come to a meeting with the whole Board, and expressed the feeling that he should be hired. Bill also recommended that the meeting be public. He also recommended that we appoint a legal committee to handle the situation.

Dick questioned Mr. Aaronson’s statement that “ . . . we are not prepared to represent the District in the event the activities described above result in litigation by the Neighbors Association or others.” Dick pointed out that this statement may mean that in case litigation is required, we would need to hire another attorney. Bill noted that, Mr. Aaronsom had stated that, although he, personally, is not a litigator, his partner is. A meeting with the entire Board will be arranged.

Gilles Beaudoin: Bob moved to table this item. Motion seconded; motion passed.

Bob emailed Linda Shaw - he sent her a copy of the letter he sent to the Town Selectmen, which should answer all of her questions regarding the request to the Town for a $25,000.00 matching grant.

Maryellen informed the Committee that she realized that the District equipment currently being used in her home is not insured under her homeowner’s policy. Her insurance agent has informed her that, depending upon the value of the equipment, the cost would be “$50 to $100.” She did not specify if that was per year, although it is presumed that it would be. Dick moved to purchase insurance for the equipment; Gerry seconded; there being no discussion on the motion, the motion passed.

Letter from SFNA regarding payment of insurance by the District: Dick moved that the letter be forwarded to the attorney; Bob seconded; there being no discussion on the motion, the motion passed. Bob noted that there was no sense in sending a letter back; a non-response from the District constitutes a refusal. Dick recommended that we send a letter to SFNA acknowledging receipt of their request and informing them that we have forwarded it to counsel.

Letter from Verizon: Maryellen received a letter from Verizon regarding the District’s long-distance service, to be charged to a phone number which, Verizon informs her, does not exist. Verizon will look into the matter and keep her informed. So far, there have been no changes in the billing.

Discussion: In the matter of the Woodis complaint, Bill noted that he believes Chuck talked to Mrs. Woodis when she sent the first complaint. At that time, the road was too muddy to get down there. A copy of the second email was faxed to Chuck. Bob and Bill agree that the road needs to be ditched.

Opening of Bids: The first bid was from Benton Egee. Dick noted that the bid looked to be complete, except for debris and culvert removal. The second bid was from White Wolf and Dick noted that it also appeared to be complete. The bids were presented to all Committee members to be considered.

Craig Willis of White Wolf challenged Benton Egee’s bid in that it was not complete. No certificate of insurance accompanied it.

It was pointed out that neither contractor signed and/or dated their bids. In view of these questions, the Committee agreed that the bids should be re-sealed and sent to the attorney for determination of their legality. Bob re-sealed both bids, and attested that no alterations had been made in the bids, dated and signed the re-sealed envelopes. Maryellen took custody of them and will send them Certified Mail to the attorney on Monday, June 6.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Dave Bonney asked Bob if he was visited by a contractor. Bob replied that he had spoken with Craig Willis, who stopped by at the Town election site when Bob was campaigning. They talked about the election only. Ron Boucher also questioned why all of the culverts are showing. Bill: the Conservation Commission has stated that we cannot remove, replace or install culverts without a permit. Ron pointed out that the grader is cutting too deeply; and he also questioned the ownership of the grader. Bill advised him to speak to the contractor about that.

General discussion: Tax records for the contractor, lengthy discussion of cost of stone and trucking charges, need for general improvements to all roads. Criticisms from Ron Boucher regarding the Prudential Committee’s duties and responsibilities. Bob Guervin noted that someone dumped tree trunks and left a mass of debris on the road while clearing trees from private land. David knows the property owner and will tell him to clean up the roadway.

Trees and branches obstructing Flaming Arrow and Prince Paul were also discussed. Bob noted that the branches were not on Road District property but were extending over culverts, etc. into the right of way. Discussion regarding conflict of interest, licensing and registration of all equipment used on the roads.

Bob moved to adjourn; Bill seconded; there being no further discussion, the motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 11:49 a.m.

ATTEST: Maryellen Lake, Clerk/Treasurer