The Harrisville Planning Board held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at the town office building located on Chesham Road.

Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm.

Members present: Ned Hulbert, Ryan Stone Alternate, Jonathan Miner Selectman, Noel Greiner Alternate, Courtney Cox, Lisa Marie Anderson Alternate, Pete Thayer Alternate

Members absent: Craig Thompson Alternate

Members of the public and town officials: Harry Wolhandler, Don Scott, Kathy Scott, Lisa Stewart, Kris Stewart, Dennis McKenney, Brian Foucher, Nick Colony, Winston Sims

Attendance and voting members
Mr. Hulbert announced that the voting members present were Ryan Stone, Ned Hulbert, Jon Miner, Lisa Anderson and Pete Thayer.

Approval of Agenda
Mr. Hulbert reviewed the agenda. Noel Greiner moved to accept. Courtney Cox seconded. All voted in favor.

Election of Officers
          Mr. Hulbert announced that, given insufficient time to meet with the Select Board, the election of officers would be deferred to the May meeting.

Minutes of previous meeting 3/21/17 and 3/28/17
Courtney Cox moved to approve the minutes of 3/21. Ryan Stone seconded. All voted in favor. Subsequently, Lisa Anderson moved to approve the work session meeting minutes of 3/28. Courtney Cox seconded. All voted in favor.

Expectations for appropriate conduct
In light of challenges managing inappropriate conduct by meeting attendees, the PB has posted the procedures for dealing with such conduct on a poster to display during meetings in the public meeting room. The poster and gavel are stored in the cabinet in the meeting room.

Voluntary merger
Pamela Worden – Skatutakee Road, Map 30 Lots 51-1, 87, and 32-10.Mr. Hulbert notified board members that Ms. Worden requested her application be deferred until she contact the PB.  Mr. Hulbert will send Ms. Worden a letter confirming the board will await correspondence from her.

Hillsborough Aggregates / Fieldstone
Mr. Hulbert affirmed that, given the grandfathered status of Hillsborough Aggregates, they are permitted to continue operations. Mr. Hulbert requested a site visit for the PB which was subsequently scheduled for Wednesday, May 2, 2018, from 5:30 – 6:30 pm.
Kris Stewart then presented the reclamation plan prepared by Fieldstone Land Consultants depicting soils, existing conditions and contours, and access into the gravel pit area. Mr. Stewart noted that because of the topography of the property and the existence of boulders on the hillside, the gravel operation is located at the bottom of the hill, in a bowl, such that groundwater runoff goes into the bowl and is contained on site. He further explained that the operation is running at 3 feet above the water table for the floor of the pit, and deeper in other areas.
Mr. Stewart described the portions of the property where they aim to reclaim the excavated area and landscape the slope, plans that are included in their Alteration of Terrain permit. The work is planned for the 15-acre portion, for which Hillsborough Aggregates retains its grandfathered status. Mr. Stewart also pointed out where further landscaping and grading is proposed, where they would like their cattle to graze. Hillsborough Aggregates will email a digital file of the plans when available and, in the meantime, left the hard copies with the PB. Members should review plans prior to the site visit.  In addition, the Stewarts will provide a copy of their AOT permit to the PB when they receive it.

Ordinance revision
Lisa Anderson noted that Carol Ogilvie had submitted her proposal and an estimate for preliminary work, after which the group discussed the focus and format of the work to be done.  The board agreed they would like Ms. Ogilvie to review the existing ordinance and Mr. Maneval’s draft ordinance before the May meeting, if possible. They also noted the importance of public outreach during the process and how best to leverage Ms. Ogilvie’s expertise. The focus of changes would include technical and grammatical edits, consolidation of the Definitions section, streamlining and/or rewriting of targeted sections, identification of problem areas, alignment with the Master Plan and inclusion of planning principles.
In discussing the working group, all agreed one or two members would coordinate with the consultant. Returning to the importance of communicating with residents during the process, Courtney Cox suggested broadcasting the meetings on a YouTube channel. Ned Hulbert offered to work with Ms. Cox to help arrange that. Working group members tentatively include Lisa Anderson, Jon Miner, Charlie Sorenson, Angela Hendrickson, Mike Wilder, Don Scott, and Mary Ann Noyer. Scheduling of working group meetings will be confirmed at the May 9th PB meeting. Lisa Anderson will also confirm with members in the proposed ordinance revision working group and see that an agreement for Ms. Ogilvie’s services is signed.

Broadband committee / zoning
Brian Foucher and Nick Colony updated the PB on the study prepared by Interisle, which depicts where broadband coverage is, where wireless coverage exists, recommendations for improved service in town and the costs associated with that. Interisle also recommended language for a zoning ordinance that would accommodate the necessary infrastructure for enhanced service, as providers currently are too restricted by the town’s existing regulations.
The broadband committee hopes Carol Ogilvie and the ordinance revision working group can address this with revisions to the wireless overlay ordinance to meet the needs and desires of the town, as well as potential service providers. All agreed a Community Conversation on the subject was the best first step with Carol Ogilvie attending, if possible, given her experience with drafting of wireless ordinances. The date for this Community Conversation is Tuesday, June 19, 2018.

Harry Wolhandler and the HCC
Harry Wolhandler attended to express his hopes for continued collaboration and communication with the PB and to outline the HCC’s goals for the coming year, including balancing conservation and responsible development, funding for conservation needs and managing environmental threats.  He also invited the PB to have a representative join the HCC, as has been done in the past.

Updates
NHMA events – Ned Hulbert discussed the Spring calendar and will circulate it to PB members. He noted that there is money in the budget for member attendance.
SWRP – Mr. Hulbert will make sure all members are on the SWRP mailing list.
PB Resources – Helpful resource materials and guides are available in the upstairs office and the goal is to make these materials more readily accessible to members.

The next regular meeting of the PB is Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.