The Monday night Town Council meeting moved right along with various new and old businesses being conducted in a timely manner. A public hearing was held for an order relative to the acceptance of unanticipated revenue.
The hearing was introduced by Doug Smith who was seeking approval from the Council of accepting grant funds on behalf of the fire department. Smith pointed out that the grant does require a 50% match by the town, but said the good news is that from an additional expenditures point of view, there will be none that will be required in FY 19. There were no questions or comments from either the Council or the public and the motion was made and passed to approve the grant funds for the fire department.
Doug Smith also followed up on the discussion from the Town Council meeting in June regarding discussions of changes to financial management policy. According to Smith, the last revision to this policy was back in 2003 and the goal of the revision was to make language more current and add updated provisions that make the most sense. The final version of this policy is expected to be delivered to the Council at their meeting in August. One of the changes to the policy includes a review of the policy for formal re-adoption every three years at a minimum. “This would be an opportunity for at least a three -year review formally by the Council.” Smith said. Chairman of Council John Farrell made the suggestion to make the re-adoption every two years, so that a councilor doesn’t sit on the Council for three years without ever hearing the policy. The policy will be re-drafted to reflect this change.
There was also a request put in to the Town Council by residents to keep the lights on in both the tennis and basketball courts at the LAFA fields for an additional hour (until midnight). Some residents have been enjoying the summer weather and playing into the late evening.
The Council agreed to keep the lights on for additional hour until their next meeting to see how it is received.
Assistant Town Manager Lisa Drabik also gave an update on the drought situation in the state of New Hampshire. Currently, Londonderry is not in a drought situation as of yet but is still in the “abnormally dry” category according to the drought monitor map that is available to the public every Thursday. The abnormally dry category is just below the drought line on the monitor. Drabik also gave an update on the parking situation of the parking area at the Kendall Pond Conservation Area. As of Monday night’s Town Council meeting, the town, neighbors of Kendall Pond, and the Conservation Commission have come to an agreement on what to do about the parking lot situation. The plan going forward is to clear an area that is 35 feet wide and 65 feet deep next to the road to the left of the current driveway for the new Kendall Pond parking area. There will also be chains added to the granite posts that are currently in the area so that the only access to the new parking area is through the driveway that already exists.