Board of Selectmen Regular Minutes 10-23-13

Board of Selectmen Work Session Minutes 10-22-13

Winchester principal to retire at end of school year

By KAITLIN MULHERE Sentinel Staff

Posted on November 15, 2013 

WINCHESTER — A longtime fixture at Winchester School has announced this will be her last year working with children there.
Principal Pamela Bigelow, who started as a substitute teacher at the school in 1982, will retire at the end of this school year.

When Bigelow moved to Winchester from the Seacoast with her husband and two young children, her kids started attending Winchester School. For that reason, her post was more than a job, she said. It also was her chance to do everything she could to help the school be the best it could be for the sake of her kids.

Working with the children of Winchester for the past 30 years has been rewarding, Bigelow said. But she felt it was time for someone with fresh ideas to continue bringing the school forward.

Bigelow left the classroom in 2005 to work as assistant principal. When then-principal James M. Lewis was tapped to lead the district as superintendent in 2012, Bigelow moved up to the principal’s office.

Looking back, her journey to the principal’s desk is surprising, since she never aimed to be there, she said.

Before becoming an administrator, Bigelow taught kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade and 4th grade. She spent 15 years as the music teacher for students in kindergarten through 6th grade, and she directed the elementary school band and chorus. She also served as the school’s community partnership director.

The district is creating a hiring committee of staff, board members and parents, and hopes to have a principal in place by the spring, Lewis said.

“It’s a big decision,” he said. “We want this person to stay here for a long time.”

Kaitlin Mulhere can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or kmulhere@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMulhereKS.

Route 10 bridge in Winchester to be replaced

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff

WINCHESTER — State officials expect work to replace an aging bridge near the Swanzey town line to begin by year’s end.
The roughly $4 million project will involve replacing the I-beam and concrete deck bridge that carries traffic over the Ashuelot River with a bridge made of welded steel plate girders, according to the N.H. Department of Transportation. The new bridge will be 225 feet long with three spans, the department said. It will be built about 50 feet west of the existing bridge, which was constructed in 1935, and is seventh on the state’s list of red-list bridges, according to the department.

State officials define red-list bridges as having known deficiencies, requiring weight limit postings or being in poor condition.

Shaun M. Flynn, district construction engineer for the N.H. Department of Transportation, said Tuesday the contractor, Franklin-based Beck & Bellucci Inc., plans to start work at the Route 10 site later this fall.

Besides replacing the bridge, Beck & Bellucci Inc. is also being hired by the state to reconstruct the approach of Westport Village Road to Route 10, and construct a parking area for canoe and kayak access to the river, according to project documents.

The project is estimated to be done by July 17, 2015.

Vehicles will continue to use the old bridge until the new bridge is ready, and any effects on traffic should be minimal until the 2014 construction season, Flynn said.

Some of those effects will come from moving Route 10 to connect to the new bridge and extending Westport Village Road, he said.

The project will be paid for with funds from the federal Bridge Replacement Program and Turnpike Toll Credits, according to project documents from the state agency.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

Fight over Winchester Dunkin' Donuts proposal in two courts

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff

WINCHESTER — The proposal to build a combined convenience store, gas station and Dunkin’ Donuts at the corner or Routes 10 and 78 is back in court — or more like courts.
Cases involving the project are moving forward in both N.H. Supreme Court in Concord and Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene.

The Supreme Court case is an appeal by the project’s developer, S.S. Baker’s Realty Co., of Superior Court Judge John C. Kissinger Jr.’s decision earlier this year to uphold the Winchester Planning Board’s July 2012 denial of the project.

While S.S. Baker and the town of Winchester were the main parties in the Superior Court case, Kulick’s Inc., which operates a grocery store and gas pumps at 30-80 Warwick Road (Route 78), was an intervenor in the litigation.

S.S. Baker filed the Supreme Court appeal on May 17, and the court accepted it on June 13. As of Friday afternoon, the case was still pending, with S.S Baker’s filing its brief on Oct. 10, and the town’s brief due on Nov. 27.

The Superior Court case is an appeal by Kulick’s of the planning board’s July 15 approval of the project based on a second set of plans filed by S.S. Baker’s in June. Kulick’s is also appealing the zoning board of adjustment’s Aug. 29 decision that the special exception it granted in February 2012 for a drive-through window for the Dunkin’ Donuts was still valid.

Kulick’s filed its appeal of the planning board’s decision on Aug. 8, and its appeal of the zoning board decision on Sept. 19. Both cases have since been consolidated.

Debate about the construction of a combined convenience store, gas station and Dunkin’ Donuts at 4 Warwick Road has been ongoing for over a year.

S.S. Baker’s is proposing to build a 3,500-square-foot building on the 1.19-acre site. The building would include a drive-through around back for the Dunkin’ Donuts, three fuel pumps covered by a canopy on the Route 10 side and 25 parking spaces.

The firm is managed by Teofilo Salema, who owns other Dunkin’ Donuts stores in the area.

The project first came before the Winchester Planning Board in April 2012. Board members initially rejected the project’s application because of concerns about traffic flow at the intersection, and that the project would overwhelm the site.

According to state law, a project can be refiled with the planning board as long as it’s different from the first version. S.S Baker’s did just that this year.

With the planning board approving the second version of the project, it’s unclear why the Supreme Court appeal about the first version is still pending.

In the meantime, Kulick’s, which is owned by Stanley S. Plifka Jr., is asking a Superior Court judge to declare S.S. Baker’s first site plan is the same as the second, and then reverse and remand the planning board’s approval of the second site plan.

The town is seeking to dismiss the suit, arguing the site plans are different. The town also argues that the special exception for the drive-through window is still valid because the clock stopped ticking on it when S.S. Baker’s appealed the planning board’s decision on the first application.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.

 Once again our Planning Board has erred, just like in they did when an appeal was filed in the Van Dyke matter. Once the appeal to the Supreme Court was filed and accepted, the board no longer had any jurisdiction over the matter; they should never have accepted, nor ruled on his second application. same old crap by the same old people; resulting in more lawsuits and court costs .. When will Winchester's voters wake up ?