The Town Council voted to approve appointments and resignations to various boards and committees at their meeting Monday.
At the recommendation of the Conservation Commission, the Council voted 4-1 to appoint Roger Fillio and reappoint Eugene Harrington to full-member positions; to reappoint Mike Speltz and appoint Julie Collins Christenson to open alternate positions; and to appoint Mike Byerly to a full-member position vacated by Commissioner Paul Nickerson, who recently resigned because he is moving out of town.
Councilor Tom Freda voted against the appointments.
Longtime commission member Mike Considine announced he would not seek reappointment due to frustration with “the Town Council (not all members) and its dealing with the unmanaged target shooting,” saying the issue “has reached a tipping point.
“Let me be clear here, I’m not talking about hunting nor the managed target shooting that takes place at the Londonderry Fish and Game Club,” he wrote in a letter to the Town. “I’m talking about the unmanaged target shooting on town-owned lands that takes place in and around the trails and in the vicinity of neighborhoods, businesses and recreation fields. I can no longer in good conscience sit on a town-appointed Commission for a town that condones the unsafe use of our town-owned recreation lands. Thus, I will not re-apply for my position on the Conservation Commission. I have also resigned from my position on the Londonderry Trailways Board of Directors. I will no longer be maintaining the Musquash Conservation Area.”
Considine also stated in his letter “there appears to be a double standard in how reappointments and vacancies are filled,” pointing to the Council’s decision at its last meeting not to act on the reappointment of Conservation Commission members, just before voting to reappoint to the International Exchange Committee a person who no longer resides in Londonderry and who did not apply for the position.
In addition to the appointments to the Conservation Commission, the Council voted 5-0 to appoint Planning Board Member Al Sypek to the position from which Lynn Wiles recently resigned; and to appoint Leitha Reilly and Marty Srugis to the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission.
The Town plans to advertise for the open alternate position on the Planning Board.
The Council interviewed applicants James Hooley and George Brooks for positions on the joint negotiation committee responsible for purchasing open space in Londonderry, but tabled a vote after Conservation Commissioner Marge Badois requested the Commission have an opportunity to interview the candidates at its next meeting.
In other business:
• The Council approved with 4-0-1 vote the expenditure of $5,158 from the Expendable Maintenance Trust Fund for the installation of LED lights at South Fire Station ($572); mechanical repairs in the garage of South Fire Station ($1,621); snow and ice removal at the Senior Center ($325); and winter maintenance at the Town Offices, Leach Library and Cable Access Center ($2,640).
Councilor Jim Butler recused himself from the vote because a family member stood to gain financially from approval of the expenditure.
• The Council voted 5-0 to approve the withdrawal of $39,092 from the Cable Equipment Capital Reserve for camera equipment and accessories for the Cable Division. The purchase was put out to bid and Rule Broadcast Systems was the successful bidder.
• The Council voted 5-0 to expend $163,700 of Capital Reserve Funds for Highway Trucks and Equipment to replace a one-ton truck as included in the Highway Department’s replacement schedule.
• The Council voted 5-0 to expend $16,965 from the Fire Equipment Capital Reserve Fund for the purchase of a recording system to be used at Central Fire Station to record incoming and outgoing calls, as well as radio transmissions.
Fire Chief Darren O’Brien said the new system will enable Fire dispatch to record incoming and outgoing calls with Hampstead as well.
• The Council voted 5-0 to waive a first reading for a revision to the Municipal Traffic Safety Code relative to stopping, standing and parking during snow removal.
The addition details an increase in penalties for violations of the Code. The proposed changes are included in the Council’s full agenda packet, available on the Town’s website at HYPERLINK “http://www.londonderrynh.org” www.londonderrynh.org.