Board of Selectmen Regular Minutes 4-10-13

Court sides with Winchester Planning Board in Dunkin' Donuts case

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff

WINCHESTER — A court has sided with Winchester’s planning board in a dispute over a planned Dunkin’ Donuts in town.
Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. ruled that the board was justified in denying an application for a combined Dunkin’ Donuts, convenience store and gas station at the intersection of Routes 10 and 78. The development was proposed by S.S. Baker Realty Co. LLC, which is managed by Teofilo Salema, who owns other Dunkin’ Donuts in the area.
Kissinger wrote that the board’s decision to reject the application based on traffic safety concerns, and that the project would overwhelm the site and didn’t adhere to certain design standards, was lawful.
The traffic safety issues discussed during the application process included the left turn onto Route 10, cars possibly parking on the highway shoulder and potential overflow from a drive-through onto Route 78.
During the application review hearings, a study done by an engineer and presented by S.S. Baker concluded that the existing traffic pattern could accommodate any increase in vehicles from the new stores. However, a peer review of that study done for the owner of nearby Kulick’s Market, Stanley S. Plifka Jr., questioned the study’s traffic counts and conclusion. Kulick’s also filed as an intervener in the court case.
Also, during the hearings, board members spoke about their concerns on the size of the lot to house the 3,265-square-foot project.
“Given the competing expert positions that were before the Board, and given the extensive debate the Board engaged in regarding the application, the Court cannot find that the Board’s stated traffic safety reasons for denying the application were unreasonable or unlawful,” Kissinger wrote in his April 9 ruling in Cheshire County Superior Court.
S.S. Baker did secure a driveway permit for the project from the N.H. Department of Transportation. But Kissinger wrote that “even if NHDOT’s issuance of driveway permits created a presumption that the driveways for the project were safe, the Board could have reasonably found that the presumption was rebutted based on the peer review study submitted by the intervener, Kulick’s, and the personal judgments and concerns of the Board.”
Planning board Chairman Dean Beaman, Vice Chairman Larry Hill, town attorney Barton L. Mayer, S.S. Baker attorney Gary J. Kinyon and Salema could not be reached for comment on the judge’s decision.
In March 2012, S.S. Baker filed an application for the project, which was rejected by the planning board in July after a series of hearings. The board rejected a motion to reconsider its vote in August.
Later that month, S.S. Baker appealed the decision in court, alleging the board’s decision was based on perceptions, rather than facts, and that some planning board members had conflicts of interest and were biased against the proposal.
Kissinger heard arguments in the case on March 25.

The Dan Cole Memorial Scholarship

                                

The Dan Cole Memorial Scholarship
Cole Bowl 2013 Fundraiser
 

 
The Dan Cole Memorial Scholarship was founded in 2010 to honor
the life of Daniel Thomas Cole (April 10, 1973-November 2q, 2007),
a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend who lived in
Winchesterfor all of his life.
The scholarship is awarded annually to one student from
Winchester who shares the same career interests and embodies the
same positive spirit and love of life as Dan.
He was an exceptional athlete and motocross racer. He attended
Colby-Sawyer College and Keene State College, but ultimately
pursued his love of mechanics.
Dan was a Harley-Davidson. Ph.D.-certified  mechanic; he and his
brother Nat opened CFR Cycles, a motorcycle repair shop in
Winchester.
Dan was a mentor and instructor to many young motocross riders
in the area,and was a valued member of the Winchester community.
The Cole Bowl 2013 fundraiser will take place on Saturday, April 20
at the E.L.M.M.Community Center in Winchester. The 64-person
single-elimination candlepin bowling tournament promises to be a fun
filled memorial event.
While bowlers are facing off in the bowling alley, volunteers will be
raising funds in the main hall with Chinese auctions.
.
The Scholarship Committee is seeking gift card donations from local
businesses for the Chinese auction table. Gift cards in any denomination
any denomination. are appreciated

If you require more information about the scholarship fund or the Cole
Bowl funraiser, please contact committee member Christy Frazier
 @ 485-4700,
staff@infinite-energy.com.

Thank you for your consideration!

Invasive Emerald ash borer found in New Hampshire

The emerald ash borer, an invasive species of beetle that attacks and kills ash trees, was spotted in New Hampshire for the first time last month, officials from the N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development said Friday.
Insect specimens were collected from “a suspect tree” found in Concord March 28 and sent to scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, all of whom confirmed the insect’s identity, state officials said in a news release.
Lorraine Merrill, the New Hampshire commissioner of agriculture, said the insect’s arrival was not unexpected.
“We have been monitoring the emerald ash borer’s eastward march and preparing for its arrival here,” she said in a news release.
The beetle’s presence has now been recorded in 19 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, state officials said.
Brad Simpkins, state forester with the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, said state agencies have implemented an action plan that’s been in place in anticipation of the insect’s arrival, with the first step being to determine how widespread its presence is.
The emerald ash borer attacks and kills North American species of true ash, with tree deaths occurring three to five years following initial infestation, state officials said.
For more information about the emerald ash borer, contact the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Forestry Information Center hotline at 1-800-444-8978, or visit www.nhbugs.org to learn the signs and symptoms associated with the ash borer or to report a suspect ash tree.

Winchester to move forward with wastewater treatment plant upgrades

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff

WINCHESTER — Town officials still plan to move forward with some upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, despite voters’ rejection of a bond last month to complete repairs.
Wastewater Superintendent Richard Meleski said last week his department is looking into using some of its capital reserve money to fund a few of the smaller projects included in the third and final phase of upgrades. Those projects include cleaning and filming the sewer collection system on the north end of town, having a comprehensive report done on that system, and possibly having a new rubber membrane roof put on the building housing the facility’s main operations center and offices, he said.
“We’re going to try to follow through with a few projects ourselves,” he said. “We’re currently looking into getting some prices, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Meanwhile the rest of the upgrades will remain on hold until next year, said Selectmen Chairman Kenneth Gardner.
“At that point, we’ll see if we still have the funding through the federal government, and we’ll make a determination then,” he said.
That federal funding, which is a low-interest loan, comes with a smaller state match, and is distributed through the N.H. Department of Environmental Services’ Clean Water State Revolving Fund to communities with eligible projects.
Work included in the third phase of the project was part of the original design to upgrade the 30-year-old plant, and it needs to be done at some point, Gardner said.
“Is it required by the state? No, but it is part of the original design, which makes the plant more efficient,” he said.
Besides the roof replacement and sewer collection system inspection, the third phase also included improvements to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, installing a station to receive sludge delivered to the plant, upgrading the well water system and laboratory equipment, and getting covers for the clarifiers that treat wastewater coming into the plant.
A warrant article seeking approval for the $1.48 million project failed to get the 60 percent majority it needed to pass on March 12. If the article was approved, selectmen would have been allowed to borrow the money, and the town would have applied for state and federal funding, which would forgive half of the loan.
Meleski said with selectmen’s approval, his department hopes to have the warrant article placed on the ballot again next year.
Many of the projects listed in the third and final phase were included in the first two upgrades, but were only to be done if funds were available, which they weren’t, Meleski said. Completing those projects would help prolong the life of the repairs already made to the plant, and help it run more efficiently, he said.
The first phase of upgrades, approved by voters in March 2009 with a $3.4 million bond, are wrapping up, he said. The second phase is expected to begin in late summer, he said. Voters approved $500,000 in March 2010 after town officials learned the $3.4 million wasn’t enough.

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