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ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT Town of EASTON New Hampshire Year ending December 31, 1999 1999 Easton Town Report Dedication This year's Annual Report is dedicated to the memory of Marjorie A, "Marge" Libby. Marge, a long time Town resident,was anactiveparticipant in Town Government as a Selectman and Member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. She was a friend to everyone and a quiet and tireless benefactor to less fortunate friends needing a helping hand. In the summer. Marge could be foundinherbountifulvegetablegarden, on her bike or on the tennis court. She was a lifelong skiing enthusiast who could be seen nearly every winter day on theslopes ofCannon Mountain, the mountain that she loved. She provided financial and personal support to countlessyoungskiers individually, and through her lifelong support of the Franconia Ski Club and the Roland Peabody Memorial Fund. We all miss you, Marge. Marjorie A. "Marge" Libby May 27, 1927 - October 17, 1999 Town of Easton ANNUAL REPORT of the Town Officers for the year ending December 31, 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS Town Officers 2 Town Meeting Warrant 3 Important Dates for the Town 5 Selectmen's Report 6 Budget - Revenue 8 Budget - Expenditures 9 Statement of Appropriations and Taxes Assessed 11 Summary Inventory of Assessed Valuation 12 Balance Sheet 12 Detailed Statement of Accounts Payable 13 Schedule of Town Property 13 Auditor's Report 14 Treasurer's Report 14 Yield Tax Bond Account 15 Detailed Statement of Receipts 16 Detailed Statement of Disbursements 16 Tax Collector - Summary of Warrants 18 Tax Collector - Summary of Tax Lien Accounts 19 Tax Collector - Tax Liens Due 20 Town Clerk's Report 21 Vital Statistics 22 Fire Department Report 22 Fire Department Account 23 Fire Warden 24 Cemetery Trustees' Report 25 Trust Funds 26 Conservation Commission Report 27 Upgrading Town Offices 27 Police Department Report 28 Planning Board 29 Franconia Life Squad 30 Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce 31 Franconia/Sugar Hill/Easton Recreation Committee 32 Printedatthe Harrison PublishingHouse, Littleton, NewHampshire. TOWN OFFICERS BoardofSelectmen Gregory M. Sorg-2000 Resigned 12/20/99 Thomas Rimoshytus RobertCraven-2001 Appointed01/14/00 RobertThibault- 2002 Town Clerk Treasurer Auditor BarbaraJ. Collier Jeanne Duggan Ralph Brigida Tax Collector Moderator Lafayette SchoolBoard BarbaraJ. Collier Jim Collier-2000 Stephen North-2002 Cemetery Trustees Trustee ofthe TrustFunds Joseph Duggan-2000 Mary Ann Chippendale-2001 RobertEvery -2001 Gregory Sorg- 1999 Planning Board SupervisorsofChecklist Andrew Noyes-2000 Lois Hackett-2000 AnitaCraven-2001 PatriciaEvery-2002 JeffMorgan-2002 M. Joan Laboe-2004 Jim Collier-2002 PatriciaBontempi-Alternate RobertThibault- (Ex Officio) APPOINTED OFFICIALS & BOARD MEMBERS Fire Chief ChiefofPolice Charles Casey RobertEvery ZoningBoard Robert Every -2001 Dennis Ford-2002 Joseph Exley-2000 Karl Hunninghaus -(Alt) 2000 Kathleen Thibault-2001 RobertCraven - (Ex-Officio) Health Officer Conservation Commission Recreation Committee Dr. ParkerTowle JimCollier-2000 Laurie Zeiser Michael Kenney-2001 Ryan Boissonneault Road Agent Emergency Manager RobertPeckett ArthurRainville TOWN OF EASTON TOWN MEETING WARRANT MARCH 14, 2000 Tothe inhabitants ofthe Town ofEaston in the County ofGrafton, quaUfied to vote in Town affairs: You are hereby notified to meet at the Town Hall in said Town on Tuesday, March 14, 2000. Polls will be open from 3:00 to 6:00 PM forballot voting on Articles 1, 2, 3 & 4. The Town's annual business meeting will follow at 7:00 PM. To act upon the following subjects: ARTICLE 1. To choose all necessary officers forthe ensuingyear (ballotvote). N4ARTICLE 2. To see if the Town will vote to adopt the following ordinance, pursuantto the provisions ofRSA 31:39: (ballot vote) To protect public health and welfare, surface and groundwater resources, by not allowing the stockpiling and land spreading of municipal sewage sludge and industrial papermill sludge in the Town ofEaston. This Article has been submitted by petition (The Selectmen recommend adoption ofthis Article). ~ ARTICLE3. Zoning Ordinance Change (ballot vote) Are you in favor of the adoption of the following amendment to the Zoning Ordinance, as follows: ARTICLE 3, DEFINITIONS, Section 302 (Specific), (p) Variance Change theentire wording, so that the conditions forgranting a variance follow the variance standards, as setforth in case law. This Article has been submitted by the Planning Board (The Planning Board and the Selectmen recommend adoption ofthis Article). 4 ARTICLE 4. Zoning Ordinance Change (ballotvote) Are you in favor of the adoption of the following amendment to the Zoning Ordinance, as follows: ARTICLE4, APPLICATION OFREGULATIONS, Section 402: Simplify the wording so thatthe section reads: No part of a yard or other open space or off-street parking space required to enable a building to comply with this Ordinance shall be included as part ofa yard, open space, or off-street parking space similarly required of any other building. This wording differs from the original in that the underhned words "required to enable a building to comply" have been substituted forthe words "aboutorin connection with any structure forthepurpose ofcomplying." This Article has been submitted by the Planning Board. (The Planning Board and the Selectmen recommend adoption ofthis Article.) ARTICLE 5. Town OperatingBudget To see ifthe Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of$101,219.00 for general Town operations: 4130- ^ ARTICLE7. Resurfacing/Repairing Town Roads. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $6,000.00 to continue the program ofresurfacing and repairing Town roads to include in 2000: (a) dig ^^ out surface rocks on Ruskin Road, (b) complete work on Gingerbread Road and gravel and improve the center section of Paine Road. (The Selectmen recommend adoption of this Article). ^yARTICLE 8. Capital Reserve FundforTownOffices. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) to be placed in the Capital Reserve Fund for Town Offices. (The Selectmen recommend adoption ofthis Article). \ ARTICLE 9. Discontinuance ofEaston Public Library. r.^ To see if the Town will vote to discontinue the Easton Public Library, and to authorize the Library Trustees to dispose ofall books and materials therein, except those relating to Easton's history, and any costs incurred in so doing to be paid from the Library Memorial Fund, with the remainder of the Fund then to be transferred to the General Fund. (The Selectmen recommend adoption ofthis Article). ARTICLE 10. Town Reassessment. To see ifthe Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) for a complete Town Reassessment. (The Selectmen recommend adoption ofthis Article). ARTICLE 11. To act upon any other business that may legally come before this meeting. Selectmen ofEaston Robert B. Craven, Chair RobertThibault Thomas Rimoshytus IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE TOWN TownElection Day 3:00 p.m. to 6:00p.m. Tuesday, March 14, 2000 TownMeeting 7:00p.m. Tuesday, March 14, 2000 Fireman's Field Day Usually the last Saturday inJune The following reports will be available atthe TownClerk's Office: Grafton County Commissioners Hospice ofthe Littleton Area Tri-County Community Action Report Grafton County SeniorCitizens Council, Inc. White Mountain Mental Health UNH Cooperative Extension-Grafton County SELECTMEN'S REPORT We have conducted the usual business of the Town throughout the year which includes: working with and helping to staff various Town committees and boards, issuing building and logging permits, providing guidance to landowners regarding zoning and subdivision regulations, and enforcing the Town ordinances. We shall report on several items ofspecial notebelow. Town Hall Renovation and Offices. The Capital Planning Committee was reactivated last year, and charged with developing a plan to renovate the Town Hall and to provide additional Town Offices there. We believe that centralizing Town Offices in the Town Hall might attract more people willing to serve in Town Government; we feel that many people are dissuaded from serving when they find that these offices must be located within theirown homes. Final Disposition of Strimbeck-Kerivan Suit Against Town. We are pleased to report that the Strimbeck-Kerivan suit against the Town has been disposed of. The Grafton Superior Court in its June 15, 1999 decision, ruled that: as a right permitted under the Zoning Ordinance, the petitioners may offer for sale only agricultural and horticultural products that are propagated on their land, and that the sale of any other horticultural products is notwithin the reasonable meaning ofthe term "agriculture". We believe that the Court's definitive ruling has vindicated the ZBA in its denial of the Strimbeck's claim that their business was a permitted use under the Easton Zoning Ordinance, and the Selectboard's efforts in enforcing the ZBA's ruling. We hope that both the Strimbecks and the Town will now be free to engage in more constructive activities than legal suits and counter-suits. We should note, however, that the Selectboard shall continue to vigorously enforce the Easton Zoning Ordinance, as requiredby statute. Emergency Management Plan and Identification of Residents Requiring Special Assistance in the Event of a Town-Wide Emergency: Easton Emergency Director, Arthur Rainville, has collaborated with the NH Office of Emergency Management to develop a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan for Easton. This plan defines lines ofcommunications, available resources, andresponsibilities in the eventofatown-wideemergency. A form was sent out with the December tax bills, requesting information about residents who might require special assistance in such a circumstance. This information will enable the Emergency Management Committee to provide special assistance to these special-needs residents in the event ofa town-wide emergency such as a sustained power outage orforestfire. Town Reassessment: During the yeai, several residents have requested tax abatements, and presented compelling evidence to support their cases. Easton's last town reassessment was done in 1988. We believe that now is the time to do another town reassessment, in order to ensure that all Easton property owners pay fair, equitable, and proportionateproperty taxes. Roads: We feel that general road maintenance shouldcontinue at the same funding level as last year. We plan to work with our Road Agent, Bob Peckett, and the NH DepartmentofTransportation to ensure that the Stateprovides needed maintenance to the designated "state-aid" roads: Sugar Hill Road, Loop Road, and the southern end ofPaine Road. Town Government Personnel Changes: Following Greg Sorg's unexpected resignations from the Board ofSelectmen and the Cemetery Trustees, we have appointed Tom Rimoshytus to complete Greg's term as Selectman, and Terry Rainville to complete Greg's term as Cemetery Trustee. Attorney Greg Sorg has served the Town well in several important official capacities: Boai'd of Selectmen Chair, Planning Board Chair, and Cemetery Trustee. In addition, he very ably represented the Town in the Strimbeck-Kerivan suit, which he did on apro bonobasis, atno cost, whatsoever, to the Town. We are greatly indebted to Greg for his long and valuable service to our Town, and wish him every success in his future pursuits. Lois Hackett has resigned as a Supervisor of the Checklist, after serving for six years. We thankLois forherlong-time service to ourTown, too. Tri-Town Transfer Station and PAYT Program: The new Pay-as-you-Throw (PAYT) program has been successfully implemented at the Franconia, Easton, Sugar Hill Tri-Town Transfer Station. This facility has been up-graded to support this new program, and afull-time waste professional, Joan Marshall has been hired to manage it. We believe that this new PAYT program is environmentally sound, and will lead to increased recycling at the transfer station. Moreover, this PAYT program is similar to what is being done at transfer stations in neighboring towns. Since waste can no longer be disposed ofcost-free at our transfer station, there is no longer a cost advantage for in- town commercial waste haulers to dispose of their out-of-town waste here. Thus, our taxpayers no longer have to pay for this misuse of the transfer station as they had to do when waste disposal there was free. SelectmenofEaston RobertB. Craven, Chair RobertThibault Thomas Rimoshytus BUDGET OF THE TOWN OF EASTON - REVENUE SOURCES OFREVENUE Estimated Actual Estimated 1999 1999 2000 Taxes: