MERRIMACK CHARTER
COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
November 30, 2005
Commission
members present: Chairman Tom Mahon, Vice Chairman Heather Anderson, Secretary
Fran L’Heureux, Peter Batula, Robert Kelley, Finlay Rothhaus (arrived at 6:25
PM), Tim Tenhave, David Yakuboff, and Lon Woods
Chairman
Mahon convened the meeting of the Charter Commission at 6:13 pm in the
Conference Room of the Town Hall.
Announcements
Heather Anderson noted a fundraising event for the Junior Peewee
Cardinals Cheerleaders.
Tim Tenhave noted that the Horse Hill Nature Preserve Ad-Hoc Committee
will meet at 7:00 PM on Monday with the Nashua Regional Planning Commission in
the Courthouse.
Andrew Sylvia questioned the Commission plan for the passage of the
charter in April. He questioned
when the plan will be put into force.
Chairman Mahon noted that the wording of the Charter needs to be
completed before any work can be done to help the Charter pass in April. The intent of the Commission is to put
all material on the website and in a binder at the library. A copy of the rough draft as it was
used at the Public Hearing is located at the reference desk at the Town
Library.
Chair – Chairman Mahon noted that a letter
has been received from the Commission’s attorney regarding articles 7, 10, 11,
and 12. The attorney still has
some concerns regarding the inclusion of the code of ethics in the Charter.
Vice Chair – Vice
Chairman Anderson noted an additional query regarding section 3.1.a and
3.1.b. Further clarification is
required for these sections. Ms.
Anderson noted she has begun the process of moving the adopted articles to one
document. (Finlay Rothhaus arrived
at this time.) Ms. Anderson noted
that she would remove the votes of the Commission from the finalized document.
Article 3.2(a) and 3.1(b) – Membership; Terms of Office – Nothing was changed.
Article 10 – Land Use Ordinances and Violations and
Penalties – Nothing
was changed.
Article 11 – Continuation of Government – A motion was made by Tim Tenhave and
seconded by Heather Anderson to add the following paragraph to Section 11.5:
The Administrative
Code shall remain in effect until such time as the Town Council shall adopt a
proposed Administrative Code as defined by the process in Article 6-10.
An amendment was made
by Tom Mahon and seconded by Lon Woods to add the words “in effect on the date
of the adoption of this Charter” after the words “The Administrative
Code”. The amendment and motion
passed 9-0-0.
Ex-Officio – The words “ex officio” shall mean a Town official serving as
a member of a board, committee, or commission. This member shall have all the rights of regular members of
such board, committee, or commission, except the right to hold an office
(Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, etc.) on such board, committee, or commission.
RSA – The acronym “RSA” refers to the New Hampshire Revised Statutes
Annotated.
Certified – The word ‘certified” shall mean the completing of the
Election procedure by the Town Moderator and the Town Clerk as defined, but not
limited, by RSA 669 including any provisions for recount.
The motion passed
9-0-0.
Tom Mahon
noted that the attorney feels that the terms “conflict on interest” and
“family” are too broad. These
terms may not withstand legal scrutiny.
Heather Anderson noted that the terms “conflict of interest” in this
situation is not a definition.
A motion
was made by Heather Anderson and seconded by Tim Tenhave to add the following
language to the Conduct of Officials/Code of Ethics Definitions of Terms:
A conflict of interest shall be defined as a situation or
circumstance in which an official or employee or a member of his or her family,
directly or indirectly, has a financial interest, aside from his or her salary,
greater than any other citizen or tax
payer.
Finlay
Rothhaus questioned the inclusion of “taxpayer” in this definition. Tom Mahon noted that this is to
juxtapose the position of an official and other members of the community.
Tim Tenhave
questioned the difference between a “citizen” and a “resident”. The word “citizen” should be changed to
“resident”.
Lon Woods
questioned whether this change will make a significant change in the “Code of
Ethics” ordinance that was inserted in the Charter. Finlay Rothhaus noted he feels that this is a clarification
of the original ordinance.
The motion
passed 9-0-0.
Finlay
Rothhaus questioned the need to change the definition of “resident”. Tom Mahon noted that there is a
conflict of interest code in the Administrative Code. There is a need to make sure that the Charter is preeminent
if there is a difference between the Charter and the Administrative Code.
Tim Tenhave
suggested that the attorney be invited to the last meeting before the Draft
Charter is submitted.
A motion
was made by Tom Mahon and seconded by Tim Tenhave to add the following language
in section 11.9 (Transition):
“to the extent that
there is any conflict between this Charter and any continued Code, Ordinance,
Policy, or Provision the Charter shall prevail”
The motion
passed 9-0-0.
Tom Mahon
noted that the attorney is suggesting something simpler. Lon Woods noted that the people who put
the Ethics Code together were satisfied with this definition.
A motion
was made by Lon Woods and seconded by Tim Tenhave to keep the definition of
“family” in Article 8 as it is.
Tom Mahon
noted that no motion is needed if the wording remains the same.
Some
concern was expressed regarding section 9-1 and when the Council should listen
to residents. The Commission felt
that it is important that the Council provide time for residents to speak to
the Council.
A motion
was made by Robert Kelley and seconded by Fran L’Heureux to change section 9.1
as suggested by the attorney to the following:
CITIZEN CONCERNS (9-0-0)
The Council shall establish rules for residents to address the
Council at regular and other meetings.
The Council shall provide a minimum time for individuals to address the
Council and the total time that the Council will hear concerns or proposals at
each meeting. The rules shall be
reviewed annually.
The motion passed 9-0-0.
A motion was made by Heather Anderson and seconded by Fran
L’Heureux to change the wording in the last sentence of this article to:
“Vacancy in the office of Moderator shall be filled pursuant to New Hampshire
State Law.”
The motion passed 9-0-0.
Article 3.7(d)
It was noted that not every action taken by the Council
needs to be voted on. There are
other ways to take action rather than by motions. No changes were made to this section.
Article 4.1
Tom Mahon noted that the Town Manager is the clerk of the
Town Council by this Charter.
A motion was made by Tim Tenhave and seconded by Heather
Anderson to move the following language to section 4.1 of the draft charter:
An ordinance may be introduced by
any Town Councilor at any regular or special meeting of the Town Council. Upon introduction of any ordinance, the
Town Manager shall distribute a copy to each Town Councilor, and the Town
Clerk, shall file a reasonable number of copies in the office of the Town
Manager, and shall post a copy in at least two other public venues as the Town
Council may designate.
The motion passed 9-0-0.
Article 5.1(b)
A motion was made by Fran L’Heureux and seconded by Finlay
Rothhaus to move the following language to section 5.1(b) of the draft charter:
There shall be a Conservation
Commission consisting of seven (7) members. Six (6) of these members shall be appointed by the Town
Council for terms of three (3) years, such terms to be staggered. One (1) Town Council member shall be
appointed annually to serve as an ex officio member. There shall also be three (3) alternate members appointed in
the same manner as regular appointed members, except no more than one (1)
alternate appointed member’s term shall expire in a single year.
The motion passed 8-1-0.
Article 5.2(c)
A motion was made by Robert Kelley and seconded by Finlay
Rothhaus to move the following language to section 5.1(c) of the draft charter:
There shall be a Parks and
Recreation Committee consisting of twelve (12) residents of the Town of
Merrimack. The Town Council shall
appoint seven (7) members of the Committee for three-year terms and two (2)
alternates who will serve for a period of three (3) years each. One (1) Town Council member shall be
appointed annually to serve as an ex officio member. In addition, four (4) members shall be recommended from
Merrimack organizations. There
shall be one (1) voting member from each of the following organizations: the
Merrimack Youth Association (MYA), the Senior Citizens Club, the School Board, and
a representative from the Merrimack High School student body. Such organization members shall be
recommended by their organization and, if approved by the Town Council, they
shall be appointed for a one-year term.
Vacancies of Town Council appointed members shall be filled by
appointment of the Town Council for the unexpired term. Vacancies of the other members shall be
filled by recommendation of their respective organizations and approved by the
Town Council for the unexpired term.
The Parks and Recreation Committee shall have all the powers granted to
Parks and Recreation Committees by New Hampshire State Law.
The motion passed 9-0-0.
Article 5.1(d)
A motion was made by Tim Tenhave and seconded by Peter
Batula to move the following language to section 5.1(d) of the draft charter:
There shall be a Heritage Commission
consisting of five (5) members.
Three (3) of these members shall be appointed by the Town Council for
terms of three (3) years, such terms to be staggered. One (1) Town Council member shall be appointed annually to
serve as an ex officio member. One
(1) member shall be recommended by the Planning Board and approved by the Town
Council. This member shall be
appointed annually to serve as an ex officio member. There shall also be three (3) alternate members appointed in
the same manner as regular appointed members, except no more than one (1)
alternate appointed member’s term shall expire in a single year. The Town Council shall fill any vacancy
for the period of the unexpired term seeking the recommendation of the Planning
Board if a vacancy in the Planning Board member should occur. The Heritage Commission shall have all
the power granted to Heritage Commission by New Hampshire State Law.
The motion passed 8-1-0.
Article 5.2(c)
A motion was made by Lon Woods and duly seconded to move the
following language to section 5.2(c) of the draft charter:
The Ethics Committee shall consist
of five (5) residents of the Town of Merrimack for three-year terms on a
staggered basis. A quorum of three
(3) or more Committee members shall be necessary to hear any complaint that is
filed. Should a vacancy in the
Committee arise, the remaining members of the Ethics Committee shall appoint a
Town resident to serve out the remainder of the term. Any tie shall be resolved by a vote of the Town Moderator. The members of the Ethics Committee
shall elect a Chairperson on an annual basis.
The motion passed 9-0-0.
Article 6.3
No changes were made to the wording of this article.
Article 8
A motion was made by Tim Tenhave and seconded by Fran
L’Heureux to change the definition of “recuse” to:
Recuse: means to remove yourself completely
from all further participation in the matter in question and those officials,
board members or employees shall immediately leave the room or shall seat
themselves with the other members of the public who are present.
Tom Mahon noted that the current definition defines a
process. Heather Anderson noted
that the process is spelt out earlier in the article.
The motion and second were withdrawn.
A motion was made by Heather Anderson and seconded by Peter
Batula to remove the definition of the word “recuse” from this section. The motion passed 9-0-0.
Tom Mahon noted that this is a working document and is not
for public distribution at this time.
It is in a raw and rough format.
He asked the members of the Commission to look at it, see what they like
and what they don’t like about it and what they might like to add to it. He noted he would appreciate any
thoughts from members of the Commission.
A subcommittee was formed of Tom Mahon, Lon Woods, Robert
Kelley, and Finlay Rothhaus to look at the Report and work on it to bring it
back to the Commission.
Other Business
Fran L’Heureux questioned whether there would be another
public hearing. Tom Mahon noted
that there is no time for another public hearing at this time.
Comments from the Commissioners
David Yakuboff questioned the Commission schedule for the
next few months. Tom Mahon noted
that there would be meetings on December 6, 2005 and December 13, 2005. Both of these meetings will be held at
7:00 PM. There should be another
meeting on January 3, 2006. The
state should be finished with the draft charter by the second week in
January.
Adjournment
A
motion was made by Lon Woods and seconded by David Yakuboff to adjourn the
meeting at 9:47 PM. The motion
passed 9-0-0.
Respectfully
submitted,
Rita
Carlton, Recording Secretary