Select Board
Friday, July 10, 2026
Meeting Minutes

Select Board: Andrew Maneval, Andrea Hodson, Kathy Scott
Attendees: Emergency Management Director Jeff Cady and Police Chief Matt Perry
Recording Secretary: Mary Ann Noyer

Agenda, Minutes of 6/26 – With the addition of two brief Planning Board items, the board approved the agenda. The SB approved the minutes of June 26 as drafted.

Jeff Cady/Emergency Management – Pursuant to his resignation as the town’s Emergency Management Director, Jeff Cady discussed with the board the transition logistics, noting his coordination to date with the Fire and Police Chiefs on assumption of responsibilities.  Mr. Cady has offered to stay on until a successor is named.
– Upon Mr. Cady’s recommendation to assign Fire Department members David O’Neil, Keith Stilling and Ranae O’Neil access to Eversource’s emergency system in the event of an emergency, Mr. Maneval moved that the SB approve this selection to appoint these three persons to contact Eversource and provide necessary data. Andrea Hodson seconded. All voted in favor.
– Chief Perry will assume the 911 Liaison position with assistance from the SB office.
– Next April 2027, upon expiration of the current 3-year arrangement with the Code Red Emergency Alert notification system, the board will explore switching to the system used by the state.  The town’s Police and Fire Chiefs and the EMD are the only officials authorized to post alerts.
– Additional duties include serving as “Incident Management Head” until, if/as appropriate, a superior takes over, serving as liaison between the state and the community, drafting and/or updating of the town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan and Emergency Action Plan, and maintaining updated dam records in the SB office.
– The board will work with Mr. Cady to draft the job description. This is a stipended position.

Skatutakee Road – The board discussed the signs, recently posted on private property, denoting “authorized vehicles only” to prevent the public from parking or driving on private land.  The board noted the signage is permitted and that hikers are still welcome over the former rail bed to connect to Hancock Road, the Eastview Trail or the west end of Skatutakee Road.  The property owners are welcome to meet with the board if they have any questions.

Employee Handbook, Whistleblower Policy and Cybersecurity Policy – The SB reviewed suggested edits to the two addenda to an updated Employee Handbook. The policies will be disseminated to department heads and to board and committee chairs. Board and Committee Chairs are invited to join the Department Heads meeting on Fri 7/31 at 9 am to discuss the information.
-The SB approved the Whistleblower Policy dated 7/10/2026 with the agreed-upon edits.
– Andrea Hodson will add final comments to the Cybersecurity Policy.  Employees will be asked to view a short training video on cybersecurity and to sign the policy to confirm receipt.

Employee Medical Insurance – On the proposal to full-time employees to enroll in dental insurance through Health Trust at 100% cost to employees, the board confirmed there is no interest at this time.  Depending upon an employer/employee cost share option for 2027, there may be interest. The board will explore other dental offerings as part of the 2027 budget process.
-The SB noted that, in response to the request from an Aflac Representative to discuss individual policies that are outside the coverage offered through HealthTrust (e.g., disability or dental), the SB noted Aflac is free to reach out to employees and the SB would assist as needed.

Energy Committee – The SB confirmed that, when Community Power was initially launched, existing Eversource customers in town were enrolled in Community Power unless they opted out.  Since the Community Power default rate has increased and currently is slightly higher than Eversource’s default rate, the Energy Committee recommends to the SB that new customer enrollments under the Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH) “refresh policy” not be automatically enrolled in Community Power when the Basic Granite (default) rate is higher than Eversource’s default rate; they should only be automatically enrolled when the Basic Granite (default) rate is lower than or equivalent to Eversource’s default rate.
-Andrea Hodson moved to accept the recommendation of the Energy Committee and to have the town’s member representative instruct CPCNH accordingly. The SB unanimously agreed.

Silver Lake Boat Ramp – The board heard a request from the Silver Lake Association to repair drainage issues at the Silver Lake Boat ramp. The concern relates to silt affecting the water quality. Andrea Hodson will talk to Steve LaMears.
– Safety concerns expressed about the intersection of Breed and Eastside Roads, particularly turning onto Breed Road from Eastside, will be referred to the Transportation Committee.

Correspondence and other business
– The board signed the pay warrant for $33,532.34.
– South Road Bridge – Ms. Hodson met with the engineering firm and DOT rep and noted the town is close to filing for reimbursements for engineering updates per 2024 Warrant Article 10.
– The legal complaint, including claims for damages, filed against the Monadnock Folklore Society and several area towns is being handled by Primex’s attorney, who is not going to charge the town. He will make a motion to dismiss towns, including Harrisville, from the suit. Mr. Maneval will report further as the matter develops.
-Following a Planning Board request for the SB to address safety hazards caused by the abundance of dead trees along roadsides, the SB will consider further action as budget season approaches. In the meantime, the Conservation Commission has a program under way to combat Hemlock disease and the town has conveyed concerns to Eversource.
– The SB will add to its July 23 agenda the discussion of a mail list service (including the current Mailchimp account) and whether a process should be standardized for Community Conversations and town outreach via email.
– SB agenda items for 7/23 at 7:00 pm will include: Discussion and public input on the Conservation Commission’s Knotweed Removal program, Cybersecurity policy for town employees and officials; a list serve product; and follow up on Old Home Days.

The meeting adjourned at 10:45 am.