Moultonboro Speaks

Moultonboro Advisory Budget Committee January 23rd, 2012

2012-01-29T09:30:00.002-05:00

This ABC meeting ( scroll down for video) was held just a few days before their report to the School Board . The following reports are available on the Town website at these links:
ABC Collective Bargaining Agreement Report ABC School District Budget Report

The School District Budget Report begins with a disclaimer of sorts: "The following report represents the independent opinions and suggestions of the majority of the Advisory Budget Committee Members. We note that selected opinions expressed in this report do not carry 100 % Committee support. "
I find that a disappointing. They are after all, an advisory committee without any authority to do anything , but recommend. Now even those recommendations are split. Perhaps the ABC could add addendum's to it's reports with dissenting opinions so that the public can better understand what the concerns were.
Some highlights:

The budget will increase $228,586 or 1.65 % more than last year for a total of $14, 057,028.
From the Collective Bargaining Agreement: "During the course of this agreement, either party can initiate a joint labor/management committee to examine options to current health insurance plans with the goal of identifying options that offer equal or better coverage at a savings to both the District and the employee." While the ABC considered this to be a positive step, I question the qualification of "equal or better coverage" and only if saves money for "the district and the employee". The teachers and staff give up nothing. No concessions.
"The Committee (ABC) is opposed with the inclusion in the 2013 budget of a full time Athletic Director". No go with the district though. "Managing 39 teams is a full-time position and is in line with other schools with a similar number of programs such as inter-lakes and Newfound." Not mentioned is that Interlakes has about 1150 students and Newfound, 1340. Little Moultonboro has just 600 and shrinking. The ABC recommends that the AD position not be filled until a new superintendent is hired and that if they do hire a new AD they also be certified to teach at least one core curriculum subject.
As to the study of town and school athletics/ recreation completed by the Town Fellow last year, the ABC does not feel either the school or town seriously considered it.
The ABC is still waiting for a detailed technology road map from the district and believes that it should be voted on by the town presumably as a warrant article.
In regards to the Course Curriculum the ABC report states "Moultonborough’s economically diverse population and high property tax base affords us a unique opportunity to provide, for all our children, a level of education that most other communities of similar size in the State find cost prohibitive. The Town will vote to spend over $14,000,000 to educate our children during the 2012-2013 school year. This Committee is concerned that the current course offering, primarily at the Academy, does not provide the most effective use of the $14,000,000 voted by the taxpayers for education." This sounds almost like the ABC is waiving the white flag. "We give up, just keep spending, but do a better job." Just because we have the benefit of a high property tax base, doesn't mean we should just continue to throw money at the schools and hope for a better result. It will take a very large paradigm shift from the School Board to get that budget in line with reality We have many long tenured board members that just won't change. I applaud new board member Gary Torresson for at least trying to get the budget under control.
Lastly, the ABC ends the report with "Our leaders should seek shared opportunities and interests that draw our school, retirement, business and summer lakefront communities together. We are One Town / and have One Tax Rate." I hear that message and many blog readers hear it, but the intended targets still don't get it. One Town, one Tax rate? Clearly not happening.

Who's running? So far one new candidate for Selectmen

2012-01-28T20:51:00.000-05:00

As many of you are aware, the filing period for local elected offices continues this week until Friday February 3rd . An early candidate, Jon Tolman, has thrown his hat into the ring and has launched a Facebook event page to garner support for his campaign for selectmen. Too early for the blog to make any endorsements, but I do like some of his stated positions. Typically, we don't get a lot of local candidates that speak to such specific topics and put their positions in black and white for all to see.
(Before I go any further, I will publish any and all candidate statements, letters, blog entries , Facebook pages etc. running for any office in Town or School. Just email me at NHGUY3@gmail.com )

From Mr. Tolman's Facebook campaign posting, here are his stated positions on some key hot button issues:

I am a strong advocate for presenting honest and accurate information to the legislative body no matter what the issue is
REPAIR the field at Playgroung(sic) Dr! We do not need another field at the Lion's Club. Playground Dr is situated at roughly the geographic center of town. It is not conducive to Recreation programming to have a stand alone field at one end of town.
I happen to concur with most of the Blue Ribbon Commission's report, which points out that we do not need another soccer field from a programming standpoint but we could use another gymnasium faciliity(sic) (Which by the way, as a youth basketball coach myself I agree with, but not in these economic times)
I support moving our fiscal year to begin in July (which by the way is how the school fiscal year runs) and moving Town Meeting. First it allows us to vote on the complete budget prior to expending any money from that budget ahead of time. Under our current system, the fiscal year begins Jan 1, but we don't vote on that budget until March. Second, if we vote to move Town Meeting to May, more people should find it easier to attend, (snowbirds, etc) and the likelyhood of dealing with inclement weather is greatly reduced. That should also increase attendance.

I applaud his taking a stand and putting his views in writing and I agree with all his statements above. He promises other statements on things such as SB2 and the Charter Commission question. Good written stuff, but I want to hear him ( and other candidates) in person. Candidates night is a good forum for an introduction to the candidates, but if there are contested races, let's have a real debate.

So, if other candidates come forward, I will offer an invitation (for a date and time to be named later) to have the first annual "Moultonboro Candidates Debate", videotaped and streamed live so that all voters can see and hear the candidates before casting their votes. It's an idea that's overdue. We typically vote on instinct and hearsay. This is chance to vote on substance. Any takers?

So when will the BoS present the charter commission information to the voters?

2012-01-28T05:00:00.004-05:00

Surely they can't be relying exclusively on this letter from Betsey Patten published in the Meredith News this week: "To the editor:
Changing our form of government needs to be well explained, well debated, well researched and finally well accepted by the majority of voters in our town. There can only be one question on the ballot at a time for changing a form of government. Therefore, I asked the Selectmen to place the question “Shall a charter commission be established for the purpose of establishing a new municipal charter?” on the ballot in March. We have had four chances to adopt SB2 as our form of government and none of those votes passed. However there are a percentage of our neighbors that would like to see a change and having an open and full discussion on the way we would like to have our town governed is the process that the commission will put forward. the process for explaining, debating, researching and accepting a charter is at least fourfold. First,the voters have to vote to establish a commission. This will be done by ballot in March; everyone will have a chance to say yes or no. Second, if a majority says yes, then a special election of nine members will be held by ballot. Third, the commission holds public hearings and makes decisions within a specific time frame set out in RSA 49-B:4. Fourth, a final proposed charter will be present to the voters on the ballot. I have been your State Representative for 18 years now and have served on the Municipal and County Government for all of that time. You have afforded me the opportunity to learn and understand how municipalities and counties work. I would like to be part of the charter commission that may take the issue to my town to have the discussion on whether to change our form of government our own way.
Rep. Betsey Patten
Moultonboro"
(Interesting that she signed the letter as Representative Patten and not Selectmen.)
So where are the details? We were told that there will be FAQ link on the Town website ( not there yet).

"Everyone will have chance to say yes or no" as she stated in her letter. Yes or no to what? This was presented as the beginning of an open an honest discussion on the future of our town government and although not required by statute, the BoS should conduct a series of public hearings, explain the process fully, show examples of other towns charters and let people know what is in store so they can make an informed vote. I know that I don't want to end up with something like Peterborough's Charter, which allows even less citizen participation than our current traditional town meeting nor do I want a Town Council.
I am in favor of open government. The more open the better. I don't think it's appropriate for the town to just put this on the ballot without a lengthy dialogue with taxpayers beforehand.
The Bos should schedule at least two public hearings exclusively on this topic a few weeks apart. That will give the town and taxpayers time to do research and ask questions before we vote on something so drastic.
Isn't changing our form of government important enough?
And I will repeat what I have stated in earlier posts. Just like Betsey Patten , if the charter commisison question is approved, I would also like to be a part of the charter commission and I look forward to getting your vote.

Moultonboro Advisory Budget Committee January 16th, 2012

2012-01-27T20:41:00.000-05:00

Moultonboro Capital Improvements Program Committee January 12th, 2012

2012-01-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

It is important that viewers note that the numbers referenced in part 3 were based on elevations for the Lions Club property from very limited information, and may have led to a major error in the calculations.
More accurate information regarding the elevations was offered after the meeting. The variation between the CIPC estimate and the KV Engineering estimate may be nowhere near as great as initially stated. Instead of the $375,000 difference, there may be only a few thousand dollars difference.
The Engineer will make his presentation at the next meeting, and perhaps the CIPC may have to wait until actual ground surveys can be done before they can be assured of accurate numbers.
The job of the CIPC is to provide in-depth analysis to the Board of Selectmen and thus, the voters. It is particularly troubling that the committee was not provided with sufficient information with which to check the estimates.

NH School Board Assocation facilitating Superintendent search for Moultonboro and Interlakes

2012-01-26T20:24:00.000-05:00

The NH School Board Association ( NHSBA), a taxpayer funded lobbying organization, is being paid by both the Moultonboro and Interlakes school districts to facilitate their respective superintendent searches.
That could be a little tricky. What would happen if multiple candidates apply for both jobs? Will they pick and choose who should go to which district? It certainly leaves open the possibility that some collusion could occur. For sure, when the final candidates are hired by both districts there will be comparisons as to which district got the better deal.
Both districts have formed search committees, and have included some members of the public, but Interlakes has taken an approach that should concern their taxpayers. They want to pick four members of the public, but only those that have children in the schools. Opinions of other taxpayers apparently don't count. Interlakes has a $20 million plus budget, by far the biggest piece of the tax pie for taxpayers in that school district and everybody pays the same tax rate, but with the process being run by an organization that really doesn't represent all the people paying the bills, it should be no surprise.

The Moultonboro soccer field rip off where "no" means "yes"

2012-01-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

This video was originally posted here about 3 months ago. I am posting it again because the Town is getting close to finalizing the warrant for 2012 and there will be a warrant article which will supposedly settle the soccer field question. According to Town Hall, the community center was not rejected by voters. Are they deaf? Listen to about 30 seconds into this video and hear the cheers of the audience as the proposed community center ( article 9) was soundly defeated. Doesn't no mean no?
Warrant article 10 clearly and without any doubt was sold as a placeholder and mechanism to collect private donations for some future community center ( if one was ever to be built) and in no way, shape or form ever talks of immediacy to spend any of it in the next few months to design and engineer a facility, especially since just minutes before we voted that down.
There is also a misconception in Town Hall that since the $100,000 was allocated for this reserve fund it was an indication that the fund was set up for more than just private donations and that there are better ways to do that. Only one word for that: bullshit.
Watch and listen. The plan as proposed by Tom Howard was precisely for private donations. The scheme was set up as explained in the video by Betsey Patten to do just that. Doesn't she remember any of that or the conversations she had with Tom Howard prior to Town meeting when she gave him advice as to how to word the article? It''s all there on the tape.
That money, ( or the $42,000) that is left of it, should be returned to the taxpayers and in fact we should petition for that at this years Town meeting. Put it back in the general fund. A strong case could be made in Superior Court that this money was improperly allocated and should never have been spent at all.
Every knows that some plotted ( and continue to plot) right after 2008 Town meeting to circumvent the will of the people.
And where is that famous classified document Carter sent to Town counsel? Still not made public. It's disgraceful and insulting to voters to ask them to vote on this issue without having that document made public. Just what were the BoS told? Step up BoS and do the right thing.
Don't be fooled again fellow taxpayers. Show up for Town meeting on March 17th and make your vote count.
And come out to vote on ballot day March 13th and vote for real change.

Salem, NH Charter Town meeting 2012 Warrant

2012-01-25T20:19:00.001-05:00

The question of whether to form a charter commission will appear on our ballot on March 13th. Many voters are probably not aware of what this may mean for our town, so it's worthwhile to take a look at other municipalities that have adopted a town charter. One such municipality is Salem, NH ( hardly a comparable town to Moultonboro with a population of nearly 30,000) but is one of the towns referenced by the BoS as an example of towns with a charter form of government. Salem's charter is very much like Peterborough's charter. They have an "open " or deliberative session where some articles can be amended ( this year only articles 15-20) then ballot session for a limited number of articles. Lastly , they have a final "open" session just like traditional Town meeting where the remainder of the articles are voted on including an operating budget if it didn't pass on ballot day. Exactly the same fail safe as the Peterborough charter provides.
Here is a link to the Salem, NH 2012 "Deliberative Session" Town warrant. Article 12 is for SB2 ( yes you can still have SB2 even after adopting a charter) which by law has to be on the ballot.
Articles 15-20 are the operating budget and five collective bargaining agreements. ( Hey, I thought SB2 caused public employees to unionize? Another SB2 myth busted).
The following types of warrant articles are the only ones that can be debated at the first "open" session and then must be placed on the official ballot.

The annual operating budget
Bond articles and issuance of debt pursuant to RSA 33
Questions on the adoption, or rescinding the adoption of provisions of general laws that are optional for towns
Factfinders reports and cost items of collective bargaining agreements

All others warrant articles, including petitioned articles that are not required by law to appear on the official ballot , are decided at the final traditional type Town meeting session.

School Board/ABC budget meeting tonight Wednesday January 25th at 7pm SAU conference room

2012-01-25T09:35:00.002-05:00

Moultonboro Selectmen Meeting January 19th, 2011

2012-01-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

At the end of this meeting during the public input session in response to a question about the charter commission article on the ballot, Betsey Patton stated that SB2 has been on the ballot four times and each time the majority of voters have said no. For the sake of clarity, and so that voters have accurate information when they go to the polls on March 13th, SB2 requires a super majority to pass or 60% of the vote. In 2008, the SB2 question did in fact receive a significant majority, 56% (YES – 748 to NO - 588) , but not the required super majority.
What Betsey did not explain was that the charter commission question does not require a super majority to pass, only a simple majority.

Response from Kim Prause

2012-01-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

January 23, 2012

Dear Mr. Punturieri,

A few days ago, following our second hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, a Moultonborough resident approached me in Heath’s, and mentioned that she was surprised that the idea of opening a bakery had created such a stir on, “the blog.” I was certainly familiar with MoultonboroSpeaks, but not a regular reader, and hadn’t realized the conversation taking place here was actually serving as a third hearing, in a sense, on our request.

Since then, I’ve taken some time to catch up on the comments and concerns about me, my husband, our finances, our decisions, and the sordid, deep-rooted conspiracy that some would believe we are carrying out! As assistant principal of Moultonborough Academy for seven years, I can tell you I’ve had probably more than my fair share of confrontations with students and their parents, in which I’ve been sworn at, called names, and accused of far-fetched scheming. I have to say, when most of these situations resolved themselves, I almost always left the table feeling continued respect for people who stand up for what they believe in, and face it personally. To be the subject of anonymous un-substantiated speculation and character judgement is a new experience.

You’ll forgive me, then a personal response to the un-named folks who don’t feel comfortable stating their names here. Our story is far less exciting, I’m afraid than the comments here would have people believe!

About a year ago, after 13 years as an employee of the Moultonborough School District (six as a teacher and, as I stated above, seven as the assistant principal of the Academy), I made the decision to take a risk, try something new, and become a small-business owner. An anonymous commenter suggests that no one would give up a job in the public sector for the uncertainty and risk of business ownership, insinuating that I have some kind of multi-faceted, secret stash of investors that must have guaranteed my success. I assure you, I really did choose to leave my job, give up the benefits, and start a new chapter in my life, without the help (influential or financial), of anyone else.

When I decided to start my own business, I thought I’d like to open a shop I would want to frequent. I have always believed that Moultonborough could use a bakery. After Donna Love sold Love Bites and that was subsequently closed, it was clear that both year-round residents and visitors would appreciate a place for fresh pastries and bread, and a shop for birthday and wedding cakes. I’d point out here also, that both of those bakeries operated out of homes, smack dab in the middle of residential districts.

Since I haven’t won the lottery or inherited millions, I certainly don’t have an unlimited budget, and real estate was the first major concern. Comments here suggest that I should have “just chosen a spot on Rt. 25,” suggesting that it’s easy to find property that doesn’t have any issues at all (consider how many businesses on Rt. 25 have tricky parking, emptying directly on to the busy road!). The reality is, unless I was willing to buy expensive land or undertake extensive renovations, it’s simply not as easy as “picking” a spot.

84 Governor Wentworth Highway had been for sale for some time, and fallen into disrepair. The building was being used as storage for a commercial water company, and was not even connected to the electrical grid or the well or septic that were already on site.

We made the choice to purchase the property given that the investment was low enough that it would leave us some room in the budget for renovations and operating costs. We have never hidden the fact that our hope was to open a bakery in that location, or that we knew that it would require zoning approval to operate a commercial enterprise in that location. We felt (and still feel) that we have a reasonable argument for a low-impact use of the site, using an existing building, and not requiring development of forested land or new construction.

As many long-time residents are aware, the structure was built in 1920 as a general store, and has operated (certainly sporadically) since then as a store or commercial venture of some kind. At no time has the building been a residence.

Many have speculated that I am receiving some sort of favorable treatment from town boards and elected officials given that I “know them” as a result of my employment in the school district. After 13 years at a 350-student high school, in a town of 3500 people, I have known over 700 of the children of this town, along with their parents and families.

The fact that I am on a first-name basis with elected officials, contractors and vendors as a result of my previous job does not constitute any kind of special treatment. In fact, if this is special treatment, I can only wonder what a “stranger” might encounter! I have made a point to operate under all current ordinances and regulations, while most residents can name at least one or two businesses operating outside of the current ordinances, yet they continue to be overlooked or ignored.

As the result of a citizen’s petition to amend the current zoning ordinance, we were required to apply for a variance for the commercial use of our property. I did so thoroughly, and objectively. My husband and I attended the hearing for this petition, but not one of the petitioners chose to attend. So when someone implies we are the only ones speaking against the petition, it ignores the simple fact that not one petitioner was there to speak to its intent (which had to be assumed, by the way, given that the petition stated an incorrect ordinance paragraph).

Last Wednesday’s hearing was certainly an interesting experience. Rather than objectively consider the evidence in front of him, the hearing began with Mr. Nolin shaking his finger at me and declaring that he didn’t “like my attitude about handicapped parking.” I was, to say the least, not prepared to defend an “attitude” at a public hearing considering a use variance for a building. At the time, I was baffled by the jump from my statement that perhaps a compromise on the parking could be reached by moving the location of our proposed handicapped space. I see now, that it’s here on the blog that people have anonymously made the unlikely assumption that, because I believe this spot would be used less frequently, I am somehow biased against handicapped people! Goodness.

The ZBA has raised several concerns about the operation of a bakery on our site, and each time we attempted to resolve the issue, be flexible about our use, or offer guidance on the expected traffic flow (industry standards, traffic count on Rte. 109, etc.). We have volunteered to pay for any “no parking” signs that might be necessary within the appropriate amount of space from the intersection.

Concern over off-site parking is a recurring theme among commenters here. I would offer the example of the “Lion’s Club” property, which, at least two or three times per week has overflow traffic parked along Old Rte. 109. Residents are able to safely maneuver around this parking, which, I should mention, remains in place for much longer than it would take someone to walk in, pick up a pie and leave.

I asked on Wednesday, if the board could offer me a basis on which they were speculating the overwhelming traffic that would result in offering pies and wedding cakes at that location. Their concerns were nebulous (“just too much going on,” vague concern over the use of a right-of-way, etc.).

I am confused about the right-of-way issue, especially given that Mr. Nolin himself operates a commercial business out of his home, within a residential-agricultural zone, and relies on the right-of-way along Rte. 171 for his customers to turn, drive on and not infrequently, park upon. I am confident that he does this appropriately, and well-within existing ordinances. His implication that I cannot do the same, that he is, as he admitted, “annoyed” by people who seek relief from those ordinances, and that he feels it is appropriate to question my “attitude,” feels subjective and personal to me, not objective and thoughtful.

We remain convinced that a bakery is an appropriate use for this site. The notion that I am able to afford a national franchise for a Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks or other such operation, is absurd. Furthermore, I believe that the ZBA is continuing to operate under the incorrect mindset that I propose some sort of fast-food operation. Custom cakes, fresh-baked bread and pastries represent a completely different business model. I simply cannot understand the concern that an overwhelming number of cars is going to descend upon our bakery.

As I stated on Wednesday night, I am a proponent of zoning ordinances that seek to maintain the character of the neighborhood. I do not think a McDonald’s or Circle K is appropriate in such close proximity to residences. I am also not a fan of the multi-national conglomerate that exploits Moultonborough’s natural resources, only to package the product in petroleum-rich packages and send them off on 18-wheelers through our small town.

Mr. Nolin suggested that Moultonborough is not happy to have its elected officials take the advice of experts they’ve hired to advise them, because CG Roxanne is the result of that type of thinking. My own recollection of the decision to hire a town planner is that Moultonborough residents sought just that type of advice AFTER the unfortunate decision to allow that project to move forward.

I said on Wednesday night that I believe that, as a result of negative public reaction to CG Roxanne and other less than ideal development projects, the pendulum has now swung too far to the other side of reasonable regulation. I live across the street from a fine-dining restaurant and busy bed and breakfast, and I assure you, business and residences can coexist peacefully. We remain confident that our building, which has served the residents of Moultonborough as a commercial site since its construction almost 100 years ago represents a sensible, balanced approach to development. We propose to utilize an existing building in a thoughtful manner, not build a new building or clear a new lot. We are also overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of community support for our idea.

I appreciate you considering publishing this letter.

Kim Prause

Moultonborough

P.S. In perusing the comments on this site, it’s clear that your readers have a proclivity for proofreading and grammar. As such, in addition to suggesting that public discourse is more productive when done in the open, objectively, and without the easy guise of anonimity, I respectfully point out the spelling of our last name! Thanks!

Obfuscation:the act or an instance of making something obscure, dark, or difficult to understand

2012-01-24T05:00:00.009-05:00

The following is the draft warrant article being proposed for 2012 Town Meeting regarding the ongoing soccer field debacle. Remember back to just a few short months ago when the Selectmen decided to follow the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission and even held two public hearings. Then just a few short weeks later did a complete flip-flop based upon a memo from Town Administrator Carter Terenzini allegedly drafted to Town Counsel ( remember also that the original intent of the request to seek an opinion from town counsel was to see if the BoS decision to rebuild Playground Drive first was legal).
It was then decided by the BoS to present to Town meeting an "apples to apples" cost comparison of the two locations, Playground Drive vs Lions Club. Sounds pretty simple right? Not so simple after all. This is what was presented last Thursday at the BoS work session:

ARTICLE 22

To see if the Town will vote to amend its action under Article 16 of the Town Meeting of 2009 to (a) designate the appropriation as non-lapsing to December 30, 2013, or whenever the project is certified as completed by the Board of Selectmen whichever shall first occur, in lieu of the current non-lapsing date of December 30, 2012; (b) raise and appropriate the sum of ????????????? with said appropriation to be met by a withdrawal from the ?????, and (c) restrict any further expenditures of funds under paragraph a. of said Article, as amended, to the Playground Drive Field,.

Not so clear anymore is it? This is a single warrant article with three parts. How do you vote on this? No wonder Betsey Patten keeps saying "anything can happen at Town meeting". Think she knows something we don't?

Moultonboro Selectmen/ABC Meeting January 19th, 2012

2012-01-23T05:00:00.002-05:00

(Scroll down for the meeting video)
Last Thursday, at the 4pm Selectmen work session the ABC presented it's budget report ( posted here). In addition, a draft 2012 warrant was presented as well as a report and recommendations to transition to an optional fiscal year ( July 1-to June 30th) and a May Town meeting.
Following is the draft executive summary and recommendations as well as the proposed warrant article.

ARTICLE 23

To see if the Town will vote to accept the report of the Board of Selectmen and Advisory Budget Committee regarding the Optional Fiscal year running July 1 to June 30 and act to:

Adopt an optional fiscal year budget through the provisions of RSA 31:94-a, July through
June commencing with the July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014 budget year; and
Adopt a May Town Meeting through the provisions of RSA 39:1 for the selection of town officers and the transaction of all other town business, commencing with the 2014 Town Meeting.

“Our student to- teacher ratio is way off. Our student population has decreased over the years, and there hasn’t been an equal adjustment downward to the budget. We have a district overloaded with personnel, and when you’re carrying the escalating health benefit costs, you’re going to have budgets that outpace the rate of inflation. "

2012-01-22T16:22:00.000-05:00

No that wasn't in reference to Moultonboro, but it could describe our School District.
It was in reference to the Newfound Area School District and their efforts to cut some $2 million from the budget. The quote appeared in today's Union Leader and was attributed to Todd Westfall of Alexandria who is a member of the Newfound Education Conference Group.
Newfound Area School District ( SAU4) is an SB2 District and at last years deliberative session of Town meeting, efforts to trim the budget by $1 million failed by just 50 votes.

2012-01-22T11:49:00.000-05:00

Annonyous said-
"Enough. I hope the Blogger closes this with 50 comments. Let's move on to something else"

Amen. Comments on this post (The school is required to treat all of its student-led non-curriculum clubs equally) are now closed.

Crunch time

2012-01-22T05:00:00.010-05:00

It's crunch time. Time to really pay attention to what's going on in the Town and School. Budgets, warrants, elections. It can be overwhelming.
I will try over the coming days and weeks to keep you as up to date as possible and as informed as possible. All the videos, documents and meeting summaries as well as a presentation on Charter Commission/Charter Government and much more.
The Town warrant will include warrant articles to change to May Town meeting, moving to a July-June fiscal year , a change in a Highway Capital Reserve fund and of course the soccer field disposition. ( Wait until you see the 4 part article the BoS are proposing. Better bring your lawyer with you to Town meeting).
Not to mention some citizen petitions. Maybe a few surprises to come before the deadline of February 7th.
School SB2?
The ballot will have the Charter Commission question as well as a citizen petition to repeal Special Exceptions .Then there are the elections for many offices this year. A few surprises there as well. We'll just have to be patient to hear who is running and for what.
Stay tuned and come back here often for more.

Special School Board Meeting Wednesday, January 25, 2012 7:00 p.m. – SAU Conference Room, Moultonborough Academy Agenda: Budget recommendations to be made by the Advisory Budget Committee

2012-01-21T20:23:00.000-05:00

ABC 2012 Town Budget Report and Comments

2012-01-21T14:36:00.001-05:00

This was presented to the BoS last Thursday, January 19th at the 4pm budget work session.

The overall budget will increase by about .8% or $74,000.

The report references once again some opportunities that exist with school athletics and town recreation. The positions are already being advertised so it is doubtful that there will be a change of heart by the BoS or School Board. The ABC also recommends a July 1st to June 30th fiscal year with a May Town meeting beginning in 2014. The ABC continues to recommend a merit pay system for town employees and that has also been put way back on the back burner by the BoS with little reason to expect it will be addressed anytime soon.
Video to follow soon.
(If you want a copy of the report in .pdf format, email me at NHguy3@gmail.com and I will send you a copy).

Zoning Board Rock Pile hearing video January 18th, 2012

2012-01-20T21:53:00.001-05:00

Fascinating stuff. It was a long meeting. After nearly three hours of discussion and deliberation and just about to the point where the ZBA was about to make a motion that seemed to be headed toward denying the variance to operate a commercial business ( bakery coffee shop) in a residential zone, the applicant withdrew the application.
Kudos to the Zoning Board and Chair Bob Stephens for keeping the hearing focused on the matter at hand and not let it become a popularity contest. The people that spoke against the application, referenced the zoning ordinances and kept it impersonal, while the supporters used personal attacks and didn't seem to have
knowledge of the zoning ordinances or the Master Plan, nor seem to care.
No kudos to Kate Lancor though. While free to express her opinions and support of this application, her letter which she read into the record ( starts at about 47 minutes into Part 1) came across as condescending and just plain angry.( How dare anyone deny me and my friends what we are entitled to? ) She also made derisive comments about another citizen who had the audacity to write a letter to the ZB asking them to not grant the variance. Not very nice Mrs. Lancor.
She actually saw no problem with using the Lions Club as a "municipal" parking lot which brought a funny comment from a ZB member that maybe patrons could use the Wallace property to park when they are out of town.
Now it's on to Town Meeting where the selling of the Town owned right of way is on the warrant... for $1, 650.

Where's the Moultonboro School District Annual report?

2012-01-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

This link on the School District website should take you to the 2011 Annual Report, but it appears that the file was moved or the link is broken. As we approach 2012 Annual Meeting, it would be helpful to have a number of years of past annual reports available on line so it would be easier for voters that can attend the annual meeting to have some historical perspective on things such as spending and school accomplishments over the years. How about placing 5 or even 10 years ( or more) on line. Not everyone saves the paper copies.

Who are the owners/investors in Rock Pile?

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

The NH Secretary of State website has public information for any business registered in NH. This is the link to the Rock Pile Real Estate, LLC public documents. One section of the document ( Part II) indicates that Rock Pile Real Estate, LLC has 10 or fewer owners.
Are there any other owners other than the Prauses? In this document, Kim Prause is listed as "Manager" but it leaves open the question as to whether there are other owners or investors.
I raise this question in light of the rather unsual confluence of attendees at the January 18th, 2012 Zoning Board meeting ( video coming soon). The Lancor's and the Coppinger's all spoke in favor of approving the variance and used the word "we" in some of the arguments.
Kim Prause was the former assistant principal at Moultonboro Academy. Andy Coppinger is the Principal at the Academy. Joanne Coppinger is the chair of the Moultonboro Planning Board. Mike Lancor is the Superintendent of the School District. Bob Stephens, the chair of the Zoning Board, is the Lancor's daughter's father in-law. Small world isn't it?
Doesn't this all strike you as very odd?
And get this. Kate Lancor wondered out loud if the overflow parking for the coffee shop/ bakery couldn't use the Lions Club to park. Seriously? Maybe she doesn't realize that the Lions Club is a Town owned property. Maybe the overflow could park in the Wallace's driveway or across 109 in the Wakefield's backyard.
Better yet, put the coffee shop on Sundorf Street where the Lancor's live.

Comment responses

2012-01-19T18:30:00.005-05:00

Ted Koppell said...

"Wow the blogger is realy stepping up. Usually this stuff would not get approved and published ! I'd like to see all the posts that aren't so lucky"

Actually " Ted" , very, very few legitimate comments are rejected. I do get a few hundred spam comments daily that are picked up in the spam filter.
MS

MA student said...

"You people enthrall me with your utmost dedication to the obviously voluntary option of homosexuality. Obviously these people who are gay are sadists because they get off on being bashed by respectable people such as yourselves. Why, I hope one day I can rise up to the positions of power that you all hold in this wonderful Christian nation we call America. Separation of church and state no more! Let us all burn the heathens! Let us praise the god who encourages us to kill people for our beliefs! Down with Moultonborough Academy! Let it become the Moultonborough Methodist School of Straight Thinking! Then the righteous people who CHOSE straightness as infants will rise above! I love this blog"

To MA- The opinions of the commenters are their own and do not necessarily reflect my opinions, which on this particular topic are fairly moderate. I allow all sides to weigh in with comments. For the record, I believe that more understanding and dialogue is better than less. I don't feel the GSA has been forced upon anyone nor should it be. My personal belief is that people are what they are and we should all just try to get along. Life's too short....
MS

What ever happened to " one town, one tax rate"?

2012-01-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

It would be laughable if it weren't so sad. Try as the ABC may, they just can't seem to get through. We have a School District, a Town and Library that combine to spend most of our tax dollars and they each march to the beat of a different drummer. At it's most simplistic level, the question that the ABC has posed for three years now is why do we have so many different ways of doing things? From payroll to bookkeeping to maintenance to athletics to office cleaning, not to mention a merit pay system. Just about every time an opportunity arises, it's shot down.
We have a rather large Department of Public Works with ( literally) tons of equipment, but the School District subcontracts out grounds maintenance. We have a Recreation Department that runs an after school program for a handful of kids which more appropriately should be run as a school program. We have declining enrollment and an opportunity to not completely replace a retiring Athletic Director. On and on it goes.
I'm not really sure what other tactics the ABC can use to have a serious impact on local taxes or even whether they should continue to spend what seems to be countless hours reviewing budgets and spreadsheets.
Remember way back when, the question at Town Meeting was whether to form a statutory Municipal Budget Committee. That's the only way we can seriously ever hope to get to " one tax, one tax rate."

Rock Pile,LLC withdraws variance application

2012-01-19T07:51:00.000-05:00

Rock Pile LLC, owners of 84 Gov. Wentrworth Highway, withdrew their request for a variance to operate
the property as a coffee shop/bakery at last nights ZB hearing.

The school is required to treat all of its student-led non-curriculum clubs equally.

2012-01-18T15:30:00.001-05:00

There have been a number of comments on the blog about the Gay/Straight Alliance Club forming at Moultonboro Academy. Regardless of your personal feelings and/or religious beliefs, MA and the School Board ultimately have no choice but to allow this and other non-curriculum clubs from forming.
The Federal Equal Access Act was passed on August 11th, 1984.
The law applies only to public secondary schools that receive Federal financial assistance and has at least one student-led, non-curriculum club that meets outside of class time. A non-curriculum club could be a bible study group, a chess club or a Gay/Straight Alliance. A curriculum club could be a German language club. These public schools are required to allow additional clubs to be organized, so long as attendance is voluntary, the group is student-initiated and not sponsored by the school itself, teachers, other school employees or the government. Teachers and employees cannot promote, lead or participate in a meeting of a non-curriculum club, but they can be assigned to a group for "custodial purposes."
In addition, the group must not be disruptive, persons from the community may not "direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend activities of student groups" but school officials have the right to monitor meetings.
The law requires that Moultonboro Academy to allow equal access to meeting spaces, and it can require all clubs to follow the same rules.The school can limit meeting times and locations, but must apply rules equally to all groups.The school may prohibit people from the community from attending student clubs. Again, however, they must apply this rule equally to all groups.
In summary, if the school receives financial support from the Federal government and already has one or more student-initiated, non-curriculum clubs, they cannot prohibited other student -initiated, non-curriculum clubs. They must allow them all or not allow any.
Assuming that Moultonboro Academy is following the law, and I have no doubt that they are aware of the Federal Equal Access Act, they have to allow just about any non-curriculum club that meets the requirements set out above.
I have no evidence that the school district or it's employees are promoting the formation of this or any other group. If they are, that would be contrary to the Federal Equal Access Act. Interestingly, this law came about due to lobbying from religious groups that wanted equal access to public school facilities.
On a personal note, I would rather spend more time and energy on other issues affecting our teen population, such as texting while driving, substance abuse and teen pregnancies to name just a few.