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BOS 9-03-26 Approved minutes

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TOWN OF NEW HAMPTON 
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BOARD OF SELECTMEN 
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MEETING MINUTES 
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Thursday, September 3, 2026 
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MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Drake and Mr. Harvey were present. Mr. Shaw was present via phone. 
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OTHERS PRESENT: Town Administrator Corey Davenport, Mr. Provencal, Mr. Morse, Mr. Howe, and Mr. 
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Torsey. Chief Cathy arrived at 6:01 PM. 
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CALL TO ORDER: Mr. Drake called the meeting of the Board to order at 6:00 PM and led the group in the 
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Pledge of Allegiance. 
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MINUTES: While reviewing previous minutes, Mr. Harvey brought up the renaming of Hatchery Rd. Mr. 
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Davenport clarified that only the road leading into the upper part of the hatchery would be named Trout Place. Mr. 
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Davenport recommended that the Board make a new motion naming the unnamed road leading into the upper 
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hatchery. Mr. Harvey made a motion to name the upper road that was used by the hatchery Trout Place, seconded 
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by Mr. Drake. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. Mr. Drake made a motion to approve the 8/27/26 Public 
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Minutes as corrected, seconded by Mr. Harvey. The Board voted 2-0 in favor of the motion. Mr. Drake made a 
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motion to approve the 8/13/26 Sealed Non-Public Minutes (B) as drafted, seconded by Mr. Harvey. The Board 
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voted 2-0 in favor of the motion. Mr. Harvey made a motion to approve the 8/21/26 Sealed Non-Public Minutes (A) 
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as corrected, seconded by Mr. Drake. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. 
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APPOINTMENT: 6:30 – Dana Torsey 
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The Board met with Mr. Torsey at 6:10. Mr. Torsey discussed a past school budget surplus that resulted in a total of 
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about $500,000 being returned to the towns, while current projections didn’t foresee a similar surplus this year or 
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the next. The Board was unaware of receiving any money from the school, so Mr. Davenport made plans to check 
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with Wendy Capone to confirm whether any such check was received. Mr. Torsey also reported on the middle 
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school winning a statewide commendation, discontent in Danbury regarding the closing of their elementary school, 
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and the current school lunch debt, currently totaling about $40,000. 
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Mr. Torsey voiced his approval for the district’s current interim superintendent, as well as its new business 
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manager, a returning staff member previously employed at Newfound. Mr. Shaw emphasized the importance of the 
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new business manager promptly providing the town with accurate figures and then asked if there was any 
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information about whether the charge per student was expected to change dramatically. Mr. Torsey assured the 
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Board that the new business manager was already looking ahead and working on future budgets, but confirmed that 
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he did not yet have an answer about per-student charges and was planning to ask in the immediate future. 
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WORK SESSION:  
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Purchase Orders: 
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A purchase order from the public works director was changed from $16,500 to $19,995.55 due to two 
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change orders. Mr. Drake emphasized that these totals should be determined beforehand. Mr. Drake made a 
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motion to take $19,995.55 out of the Expendable Trust Fund for building maintenance, seconded by Mr. 
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Harvey. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. 
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A purchase order for work on the 2018 green F-550 was changed from $3,480 to $3,629.15 for antifreeze 
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replacement and additional labor costs. 
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 Permits: 
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Building Permits: 
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 John Fontaine; 6 Cottage Ln; Map U9, Lot 8-A02; Lift existing building, replace foundation; 
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approved by Land Use Administrator 
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 Ron & Brenda Olson; 7 Dana Hill Rd; Map R10, Lot 1; renovate existing garage and convert 
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portion to ADU; approved by Land Use Administrator 
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(Board of Selectmen, September 3, 2026, cont.) 
 
 
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Occupancy Permits 
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 None 
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Septic Systems: 
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 Northstar Rt 132 Real Estate LLC; 74 Route 132 N; Map R11, Lot 22; approved by Land Use 
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Administrator 
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Sign Permits: 
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 Tammie Carrignan, Newfound Express Care LLC; 345 NH Route 104 Unit 4 & 5; replace existing 
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like for like; approved by Land Use Administrator 
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APPOINTMENT: 7:00 – Scott Cathy, Fire Chief 
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The Board met with Chief Cathy at 6:57. Mr. Davenport recommended that the town accept a bid from Century 
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Roofing due to its lower price and the greater degree of detail provided compared to other bids. Mr. Drake made a 
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motion to award the $95,000 contract to Century Roofing for replacement of the Public Safety Building’s roof and 
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allow it to be taken from the Building Maintenance ETF, seconded by Mr. Harvey. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of 
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the motion. 
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Chief Cathy informed the Board of updates made by Primex to their billing strategy regarding workers’ 
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compensation as it applies to part-time employees that would lead to potential increases in cost for per diem 
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members of the fire department. The Board refrained from making an interpretation of this change without further 
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information; Mr. Davenport planned to contact Primex to get an estimated per-member cost for per diem 
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employees.  
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Chief Cathy presented reports indicating an increase in revenue due to ambulance billing over the last 3 months, but 
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noted that the yearly amounts collected were less than expected due to a yearly decrease of 8% in call volume and a 
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shift in the payers towards the Medicare and/or Medicaid rates. Mr. Drake made a motion to proceed to collection 
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on the amount of $335 and write off the amount of $118.34 as outlined by the Chief’s report, seconded by Mr. 
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Harvey. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. 
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Chief Cathy presented reports on the monthly call volume and noted that the aforementioned decrease in calls was 
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primarily due to a decrease in calls for medical service and trees & wires down. Acuity of calls has increased year 
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over year, attributed to an increase in the aging population of the town. 62% of calls are made when the building is 
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staffed and response times increase by an average of 9 minutes and 47 seconds for calls made when the building is 
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not staffed. Between January and August, there were 4 incidents where two or more calls were received 
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concurrently.  
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Chief Cathy concluded his appointment by presenting a draft for the timeline of the Fire Department’s 9/11 
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ceremony. Mr. Davenport also mentioned that NHPR contacted the town regarding the sale of a fire engine; Mr. 
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Shaw voiced a desire to determine NHPR’s intent with the story prior. 
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ACTION & DISCUSSION ITEMS: 
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❖ Veterans Tax Credit: Mr. Drake made a motion to approve the veteran’s tax credit in the amount of $500 
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for Jeffrey Boislard, seconded by Mr. Harvey. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. 
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❖ TA Search Update: MRI reported that 13 candidates of various backgrounds have applied for the position. 
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MRI asked for health insurance information to provide to potential applicants. The Board will be able to 
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review resumes after the application period ends on September 14th. Mr. Davenport recommends a brief 
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meeting prior to the 17th to review the applicants and narrow down the list for interviews. 
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❖ Current Use Appeal: Based on the recommendation of our town assessors, Commerford Neider and 
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Perkins (CNP), Mr. Drake made a motion to deny the current use appeal by Kenda Corcoran at 187 
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Gordon Hill Rd, seconded by Mr. Harvey. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. 
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❖ Report of Cut: The Board approved a Report of Cut by Jeffrey Sawin at 757 Coolidge Woods Rd. 
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confirming a tax yield of $582.88. 
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❖ CIP Report Review: The Board reviewed the report prepared by the Capital Improvement Subcommittee. 
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❖ FYI – A letter was sent to Hutchinson Revocable Trust at 62 Townhouse Rd following up on unpermitted 
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demolition work 
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(Board of Selectmen, September 3, 2026, cont.) 
 
 
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❖ FYI – A Health Trust Meeting is coming up on September 24th which is usually attended by Wendy 
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Capone. 
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❖ FYI – Water issues continue at DPW. 
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❖ FYI – The New Hampshire State Primary will occur on September 8th from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. 
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NEW BUSINESS AFTER AGENDA WAS POSTED:  
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➢ Review of New Boston Cane Recipient Letter: The recipient is Leona Piper, born in 1928. The Board agreed to 
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sign the letter informing the recipient of the award. 
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➢ Request for Substitute Plow Drivers: DPW Director, Jamie Lyford was unable to attend the meeting but had 
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asked for the Board’s thoughts on putting out a request for substitute plow drivers, but is also considering 
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seasonal employment as opposed to substitutes. There are four applicants for positions at DPW; three have 
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been called. 
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PUBLIC COMMENT:  
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➢ None. 
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NON-PUBLIC SESSION: At 7:59 PM, Mr. Drake made a motion, seconded by Mr. Harvey, to go into non-public 
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session under RSA 91-A:3 II (a) Personnel. A roll call vote was held. Mr. Drake – Y, Mr. Shaw – Y, & Mr. Harvey 
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- Y. 
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PRESENT: Mr. Drake, Mr. Harvey, Mr. Shaw via phone, and Town Administrator Corey Davenport. 
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RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION: At 8:12 PM, Mr. Drake made a motion, seconded by Mr. Shaw, to come out 
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of non-public session and seal the minutes for ten years. A roll call vote was held. Mr. Drake – Y, Mr. Shaw – Y, & 
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Mr. Harvey - Y. 
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ADJOURNMENT: At 8:13 PM, Mr. Drake made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Shaw. Vote was 
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unanimous. 
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Respectfully submitted, 
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Gretchen McGowan 
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