tcmd_260716_-_draft.pdf
The Council accepted resignations from Danielle Melanson (Conservation Commission) and Rich Conescu (Zoning Board) 7-0. All seven appointed to committees, including Sarah Lumens (Conservation) and John Manuele (Planning) carried 7-0. The Council accepted a $3,385 granite bench donation for Watson Park and $4,000 for heating assistance, both 7-0. Fire Chief Guarnera’s request to buy a Stryker Xpedition Chair for $21,564.40 passed 7-0, as did purchasing two Fire Command Vehicles for an estimated $160,000. Several grants and donations were accepted 7-0: $2,500 NHDES waste oil grant; $1,004 for 250th July expenses; and $900 total for speech/essay contests. A habitual non-emergency lift assist fee proposal was not voted on; the Council directed staff to draft a policy and consult Welfare ahead of an August decision. The time capsule project was tabled 7-0. Road crack sealing occurs July 23-24. A special meeting regarding the elderly exemption is set for August 6. Source: https://www.merrimacknh.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3456/f/agendas/tcmd_260716_-_draft.pdf
Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 1 of 8 Town Council Meeting Minutes 1 Thursday, July 16, 2026, at 7:00 PM, in the Matthew Thornton Room 2 Call to Order 3 Chair Harrington called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Present at the meeting were Chair Harrington, Vice 4 Chair Jobin, Councilor Albert, Councilor Landrigan, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Rothhaus, Councilor 5 Thornton, and Town Manager Paul Micali. 6 7 Pledge of Allegiance 8 Chair Harrington led the Pledge of Allegiance. 9 Announcements 10 Upcoming Town Council Meetings: 11 • Thursday, August 20, 2026, 7:00 PM Regular meeting 12 • Thursday, September 10, 2026, 7:00 PM Regular meeting 13 • Thursday, September 24, 2026, 7:00 PM Regular meeting 14 15 Pursuant to New Hampshire state law (RSA 75:8-a) requires every municipality to conduct a full property 16 revaluation at least once every five years. This ensures all taxable real estate is equitably assessed at the 17 current market value. The Preliminary Notice of value advises Merrimack residents of their new 18 assessment. The letter includes instructions to schedule a phone hearing with the Assessor to discuss their 19 property. 20 21 National Night Out 22 Tuesday, August 4th 5:30 to 7:30 pm. 23 MHS parking lot 24 Free Ice cream and Free Entertainment 25 Fire Engine Pull between MPD and MFD 26 Various community groups 27 28 At the last Council meeting I discussed the importance of being extra careful of opening emails and that 29 fraud is everywhere. Fraud can occur anywhere and to anyone. The Town of Merrimack were victims of 30 fraud in the month of June. We are working with an IT company that specializes in digital forensic 31 examination to determine the effects of the incident. At this time we believe we have determined the source 32 of the fraud and that no information was at risk, however we cannot yet say for certain as the investigation 33 remains ongoing. We will provide further updates once the investigation concludes. 34 35 This incident is a reminder of how prevalent these issues have become. We ask that you all please be 36 extra vigilant when you receive a phone call or email from someone you do not know. 37 38 In addition, if you believe you were a victim of a cyber-crime please contact the Police Department. 39 40 The NH Department of Banking has previously published some tips available online: 41 https://www.banking.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt621/files/inline-documents/sonh/avoiding-scams- 42 brochure_1.pdf] 43 44 Comments from the Press and Public 45 None. 46 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 2 of 8 1 Recognitions, Resignations and Retirements 2 1. Recognition of Town Committee Members 3 Submitted by Town Council Chair Nancy Harrington and Vice Chair Jennifer Jobin 4 The Town Council to recognize to the following individuals for their volunteer service to the Town 5 of Merrimack: 6 Danielle Melanson – Conservation Commission 7 Rich Conescu – Zoning Board of Adjustment 8 9 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Rothhaus to accept the 10 resignations of Danielle Melanson of the Conservation Commission and Rich Conescu of the Zoning 11 Board of Adjustment. 12 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 13 14 Appointments 15 None. 16 17 Public Hearing 18 None. 19 20 Legislative Updates from State Representatives 21 None. 22 23 Town Manager’s Report 24 All States Asphalt will be in the Town of Merrimack for crack sealing for two days: 7/23 and 7/24. 25 Two Police officers with vehicles have been requested for traffic control. 26 Road list is: 27 Wilson Hill Road, Mullikin Road to Town Line 28 Naticook Road, Palmeri Drive to Dirt Rd (yes, the road is named dirt) 29 Peaslee Road, Naticook to Dena for one section, Dahl to Amherst Rd for the other. 30 31 Mr. Micali also stated that with the property revaluation coming up, they need to come to a consensus on the 32 elderly exemption. The Council agreed to review this and have a special meeting in August due to the 33 Ordinance. He will present a first read on August 6th to the Council. 34 35 Councilor Albert wanted to note that Sargeant Dennis Foley retired from the Merrimack Police Department 36 after 40 years of service. 37 38 Consent Agenda 39 None. 40 Old Business 41 1. Merrimack Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Program Analysis 42 Submitted by Town Manager Paul T. Micali 43 The Town Council to review CCA Analysis and savings for the first 3 months. 44 45 Mr. Micali shared that he spoke with the consultants from Freedom Energy, and there are mailings going out 46 to the community that should say First Point Power, Town of Merrimack, and Freedom Energy on it, and if 47 the mailings do not say these specific words, then they are not from the Town of Merrimack. First Point 48 Power is the supplier of the electric rates, and Freedom Energy is our consultant who handles the website and 49 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 3 of 8 program enrolling/unenrolling. Mr. Micali then shared that for the month of April, they had about 5.5 million 1 kilowatts in the community choice aggregation. In May, this number jumped to almost 7.5 million kilowatts. 2 Although they don’t have the numbers yet for June, he expects the numbers to increase even further due to 3 the hot weather. For enrollment status for Merrimack, there are 11,605 meters in town, with 9,611 residents 4 (82.8%) enrolled in the program, and 1,266 residents (10.9%) that have opted out. 728 residents (6.3%) have 5 dropped out of/rejected the program. From April through August 2026, the projected savings for enrolled 6 residents are estimated at $565,110. The current FPP rate is $0.09699, and the utility rate from EverSource is 7 $0.11303. The projected savings from August through November 2026 is estimated to be $1,077,500, with 8 the FPP at $0.09699 and the EverSource utility rate at $0.14009. The projected savings from November 2026 9 through February 2027 do decrease, with estimates at $117,880, and the FPP at $0.13588 and EverSource 10 utility rate at $0.14009. One of the factors for the FPP rate being at $0.13588 is that the short-term energy 11 market is very volatile right now and therefore the rates are very volatile. Mr. Micali took a few minutes to 12 share how to opt-in to the program, stating that you can either call First Point Power at (888)875-1711, or 13 visit the Opt-In/Opt-Out form online through the town website/CCA page. For more information, residents 14 can visit the Merrimack CCA Program: felpower.com/cca/nh/Merrimack, or firstpointpower.com, as well as 15 call First Point Power at (888) 875-1711 or Freedom Energy Logistics at (866)568-4725. 16 17 2. Merrimack Time Capsule Initiative Follow-up Discussion 18 Submitted by Neil Anketell & Troy Aarthun 19 The Town Council to be presented with an update and to consider authorization and approval of the 20 installation of a 250-year commemorative time capsule on Town-owned property. 21 22 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Rothhaus to table this agenda 23 item. 24 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 25 26 New Business 27 1. Committee Appointments 28 Submitted by Town Council Chair Nancy Harrington and Vice Chair Jennifer Jobin 29 The Town Council to consider appointing the following individuals to Town committees, pursuant to 30 Charter Article 4-8: 31 Sarah Lumens – Conservation Commission (Alternate member) 32 Rachel Carey – Parks & Recreation Committee (Full member) 33 John Manuele – Planning Board (Full member) 34 Ben Niles – Planning Board (Alternate member) 35 Ken Asai – Town Center Committee (Full member) 36 Rodney Buckley – Zoning Board of Adjustment (Alternate member) 37 John DeFrancisco – Zoning Board of Adjustment (Full member) 38 Wolfram von Schoen – Zoning Board of Adjustment (Alternate member) 39 40 MOTION made by Councilor Murphy and seconded by Councilor Landrigan to appoint Sarah 41 Lumens to the Conservation Commission as an Alternate member. 42 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 43 44 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Vice Chair Jobin to appoint Rachel Carey to 45 the Parks & Recreation Committee as a Full member. 46 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 47 48 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 4 of 8 MOTION made by Councilor Albert and seconded by Councilor Landrigan to appoint John Manuele 1 to the Planning Board as a Full member and Ben Niles to the Planning Board as an Alternate member. 2 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 3 4 Mr. Niles was present and sworn into his position. 5 6 MOTION made by Councilor Rothhaus and seconded by Councilor Thornton to appoint Ken Asai to 7 the Town Center Committee as a Full member. 8 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 9 10 Mr. Asai was present and sworn into his position. 11 12 MOTION made by Councilor Murphy and seconded by Councilor Albert to appoint Rodney Buckley 13 to the Zoning Board of Adjustment as an Alternate member, John DeFrancisco to the Zoning Board of 14 Adjustment as a Full member, and Wolfram von Schoen to the Zoning Board of Adjustment as an 15 Alternate member. 16 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 17 18 Mr. DeFrancisco and Mr. von Schoen were present and sworn into their positions. 19 20 2. Acceptance of Donation of Granite Benches - Watson Park 21 Submitted by Bill Wilkes 22 The Town Council to consider the acceptance of two (2) granite benches from the Rotary Club of 23 Merrimack, with a value of up to $3,000, in honor of Peter and Jackie Flood, to be placed at Watson 24 Park, pursuant to RSA 31:95-e and Charter Article 8-15. C 25 26 Bill Wilkes of the Rotary Club was present along with Rotary Club President Carl Ellis to discuss the 27 donation of two granite benches in honor of Peter and Jackie Flood. Mr. Wilkes shared that Peter and Jackie 28 made a positive impact in Merrimack, with Peter being a founder of the Rotary Club and Jackie being on the 29 Council for several years. Both were very active in the community and very involved in Watson Park, with 30 Jackie being involved in the beautification of the grounds with the Garden Club and Peter being a driving 31 force with the pavilion. Because of this, the Rotary Club would like to donate two benches around the 32 pavilion, with an inscription for Peter and Jackie, with the total cost being around $3,385 paid 100% by the 33 Rotary Club and other private donors. 34 35 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Rothhaus to accept the donation 36 of two (2) granite benches from the Rotary Club of Merrimack, with a value of up to $3,385, in honor 37 of Peter and Jackie Flood, to be placed at Watson Park, pursuant to RSA 31:95-e and Charter Article 38 8-15. C. 39 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 40 41 3. Acceptance of Heating Assistance Donation - Welfare Department 42 Submitted by Welfare Administrator Sandra DeLosa 43 The Town Council to consider the acceptance and expenditure of a donation in the amount of $4,000 44 from Merrimack Friends and Families to be used towards the Welfare Department’s Heating 45 Assistance account, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15. 46 Mr. Micali shared that Merrimack Friends and Families is donating $4,000 to the Welfare Department to use 47 towards heating assistance for this winter, and also shared that their yard sale will be September 19th at the 48 Town Hall parking lot, with all the proceeds going towards various town organizations. 49 50 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 5 of 8 MOTION made by Councilor Rothhaus and seconded by Councilor Thornton to accept and expend a 1 donation in the amount of $4,000 from Merrimack Friends and Families to be used towards the 2 Welfare Department’s Heating Assistance account, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15, 3 and authorize the Town Manager to sign any necessary documents. 4 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 5 6 The Council took a 3-minute recess and resumed at 7:39pm. 7 8 4. Ambulance Capital Reserve Fund Withdrawal Request – Stryker Xpedition Chair 9 Submitted by Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera 10 The Town Council to consider the Merrimack Fire Rescue Department’s request to withdrawal up to 11 $21,564.40 from the Ambulance Capital Reserve Fund to purchase a Stryker Xpedition Chair, 12 associated accessories and a 5-year service contract. 13 14 Fire Chief Guarnera was present with Asst. Fire Chief DiPaola to discuss the withdrawal request to purchase 15 a Stryker Xpedition Power Chair from the Ambulance CRF, which includes the battery kit, battery charger, 16 power cord, and a 5-year service contract, at a total quoted cost of $21,564.40. He shared that the power 17 chair is used for large patients, with a capacity carrying weight of up to 500lbs, and is designed for safety 18 and to minimize back injuries, in addition to being comfortable for the patient. They currently have an older 19 chair that was donated many years ago that they find very useful. The chair and accessories total $16,196.40, 20 and the 5-year service agreement totals $4,960. 21 22 MOTION made by Councilor Murphy and seconded by Councilor Thornton to authorize the 23 withdrawal of up to $21,564.40 from the Ambulance Capital Reserve Fund to purchase a Stryker 24 Xpedition Chair, associated accessories and a 5-year service contract, and authorize the Town 25 Manager to sign any necessary documents. 26 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 27 28 5. Transfer of Funds Request – Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Two Command Vehicle 29 Purchase 30 Submitted by Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera 31 The Town Council to consider a request for the purchase of two Fire Command Vehicles from the 32 Fire Equipment Capital Fund. 33 34 Fire Chief Guarnera and Asst. Fire Chief DiPaola then discussed the request to purchase three (revised from 35 two) Fire Command Vehicles from the Fire Equipment Capital Fund. Chief Guarnera shared that there is 36 currently $80,000 CIP for the next three fiscal years totaling $240,000, and the last three command car 37 replacements were 3 years ago, 7 years ago, and 12 years ago. Since the last command vehicle replacement 38 was put into the CIP many years ago, the price of vehicles has increased on average of 4% per year and will 39 continue to do so. Further, when these vehicles are purchased, they are all basic vehicles with no luxury 40 additions, and all prices for the vehicles and equipment are from the lowest state bid price. He would like to 41 buy all three vehicles now because they are having a hard time keeping them in good working conditions and 42 up to safety standards, and repairs are costly. He would also like to save money by having lettering and pick- 43 up caps done locally, and reuse some of the command modules from vehicles they already own. 44 Additionally, they already own the radios and will transfer from one vehicle to the other. He shared that he 45 would like to purchase one command vehicle, which would be the same as what they have now, one F-150 46 pick-up for A/C support services that is more conducive to missions (incident command, transporting 47 equipment, significantly more room compared to an SUV), and one F-250 pick-up for Station 1 that is more 48 conducive to the purpose (plowing, transportation to/from training, additional seating capacity, transporting, 49 towing). The Council discussed this, asking if there would be any future impact of purchasing three vehicles 50 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 6 of 8 at the same time, which Mr. Micali clarified that the replacements would be staggered and would not all be 1 due together, and went over the cost of the vehicles and the expected longevity of them and the 2 accessories/equipment. Mr. Micali is suggesting they purchase one Tahoe (or similar) and one F-150 for 3 $160,000, and then revisit once they have purchased these two vehicles. The Council overall agreed, 4 expressing that this is a reasonable compromise and more research needs to be done before they agree to the 5 purchase of the third vehicle. 6 7 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Albert to approve the transfer 8 and use of funds from the Fire Equipment Capital Reserve Fund for the purpose of purchasing one 9 SUV Command Vehicle and one F-150 requested by the Merrimack Fire Rescue Department, and 10 authorize the Town Manager to sign any necessary documents. 11 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 12 13 6. Merrimack Fire Rescue Department Proposal for Habitual Non-Emergency Lift Assist Fee 14 Submitted by Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera 15 The Town Council to consider the Merrimack Fire Rescue’s request to establish and implement a fee 16 for habitual non-emergency lift assists. 17 18 Fire Chief Guarnera began by sharing what an acceptable non-emergency lift assist is vs a non-acceptable 19 non-emergency lift assist; acceptable lift assists include an elderly or incapacitated person who fell, but is not 20 injured, and needs help up, or an elderly or incapacitated person is on the floor and needs help up, or a 21 person is just back from the hospital and needs assistance into the home. Non-acceptable lift assists include a 22 person needs to go shopping, needs to be brought down the stairs to go to a doctor appointment, needs to be 23 brought back up after a doctor’s appointment, needs to go to the casino, or needs to go to a family function. 24 He then stated that from January 2025 to June 1, 2026 there have been 277 lift assists, with 115 (41%) from 25 9 residents; all requests were between 5 to 15 requests, and 1 requested more than 39 times. Non-emergency 26 lift assists are the cause of multiple injuries on duty, which cause firefighters to be out of work for months at 27 a time and can cause long-term or even career ending injuries. They also generate thousands of dollars in 28 overtime due to shift coverage, and shift shortages if not covered, and they leave an already understaffed 29 shift unable to respond to a true emergency. Chief Guarnera then highlighted that surrounding communities, 30 such as Nashua and Hudson, do not provide assistance for non-emergency lift assists, and others such as 31 Milford, do not provide the service for convenience type calls (shopping, to the car, etc.) and only average 32 30-35 times a year. He also shared that Derry has entertained a fee, but has not implemented one as of yet. 33 He is proposing that there is a fee imposed for habitual non-emergency lift assists for convenience reasons, 34 and to limit the amount of responses to any one address to 3, at which time the fee will be imposed and no 35 response will be provided. All calls will be directed through the 911 system and not be called directly to the 36 fire department, and if such a call is made through 911, it be considered an emergency and will be dealt with 37 as such. If a 911 call is made and there is no emergency, the caller may be civilly charged for a false 38 emergency call. He stressed that this is only for habitually non-emergency requests and NOT for the 1 or 2 39 time legitimate requests. 40 41 Mr. Micali wanted to discuss this with the Council and stated that they can get this policy written and 42 approved in August if the Council is interested in moving forward. Councilor Murphy shared that this makes 43 great sense to her given the staffing issues and need to prioritize real emergencies, but she questioned if there 44 is a way to get the Welfare Administrator involved for living arraignments or other opportunities so they are 45 not relying on the fire department for non-emergency assistance, and she also inquired what agencies would 46 be hired for these non-emergencies/routine trips. Chief Guarnera shared that private ambulance companies 47 offer services that can bring people up and down their stairs or to their shopping trips, and that would be an 48 option if this moves forward. Vice Chair Jobin suggested looking up the prices of the transport service to 49 ensure the fee is equal or more that way habitual offenders are not still relying on the fire department as a 50 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 7 of 8 cheaper alternative if the fee is less than the transport service cost. The Council agreed that there should be 1 something in place for the repeat offenders, and want to get Welfare’s input to see what they can add to the 2 conversation, and they also don’t want individuals to feel homebound or afraid to call for legitimate help. 3 4 7. Acceptance of NHDES Waste Oil Grant Funds 5 Submitted by Solid Waste Foreman Patrick Davis 6 The Town Council to consider the acceptance and expenditure of grant funds in the amount of $2,500 7 from the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), for the Department of Public Works 8 Solid Waste Division to be used towards the disposal of used waste oil, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and 9 Charter Article 8-15. 10 11 Dawn Tuomala was present to share that she received an email on April 1st from NHDES stating that there is 12 a grant program for waste oil for $2,500 that can be used towards disposal. They applied and have since 13 received the grant, and just need the Council to sign off on accepting and expending the funds so they can 14 begin disposing their waste oil. 15 16 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Rothhaus to accept and expend 17 grant funds in the amount of $2,500 from the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), 18 for the Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division to be used towards the disposal of used 19 waste oil, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15, and authorize the Town Manager to sign 20 any necessary documents. 21 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 22 23 8. Donation Acceptance for the Merrimack USA 250th Anniversary Committee 24 Submitted by Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Casparius 25 The Town Council to consider the acceptance and expenditure of donations totaling $1,004 received 26 and raised through the Jail & Bail Fundraiser and the sale of commemorative t-shirts, to be used 27 towards the Merrimack USA 250th Anniversary Committee’s 4th of July expenses, pursuant to RSA 28 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15. 29 30 Mr. Micali shared that after the Jail & Bail Fundraiser, a gentleman walked in with a few more checks to put 31 towards the 4th of July expenses, as well as the sale of t-shirts that were made for the 250th anniversary that 32 were made in house. 33 34 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Murphy to accept and expend 35 donations totaling $1,004 received and raised through the Jail & Bail Fundraiser and the sale of 36 commemorative t-shirts, to be used towards the Merrimack USA 250th Anniversary Committee’s 4th of 37 July expenses, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8-15. 38 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 39 40 41 9. Donation Acceptance for the Merrimack 250th Speech & Essay Contest 42 Submitted by Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Casparius 43 The Town Council to consider the acceptance and expenditure of a donation in the amount of $400 44 from the Watkins Forest Income Fund for the Merrimack 250th Essay Contest and $500 from the 45 Gage & Lawrence Fund for the Merrimack 250th Speech Contest, to be used towards the 46 reimbursement to the Town for funds already spent, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and Charter Article 8- 47 15. 48 49 Amended Town Council Meeting Minutes – July 16, 2026 Page 8 of 8 Mr. Micali shared that these donations are to reimburse for the prize money for the winners of the essay and 1 speech contest – because the funds originally came from the Trustees of the Trust Funds, they had to write 2 the check to the 250th Committee and then the Committee gives the money to the individual because the 3 Town sponsored the event. 4 5 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Albert to accept and expend a 6 donation in the amount of $400 from the Watkins Forest Income Fund for the Merrimack 250th Essay 7 Contest and $500 from the Gage & Lawrence Fund for the Merrimack 250th Speech Contest, to be 8 used towards the reimbursement to the Town for funds already spent, pursuant to RSA 31:95-b and 9 Charter Article 8-15. 10 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 11 12 Minutes 13 Approve the minutes from the following Town Council meeting: 14 ♦ June 25, 2026 15 16 MOTION made by Vice Chair Jobin and seconded by Councilor Thornton to approve the minutes 17 from June 25, 2026 as amended. 18 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 19 20 Amendments: 21 Page 5 Line 215: change “please contact name @email” to enter in name and email address 22 23 Comments from the Press & Public 24 None. 25 26 Comments from the Council 27 None. 28 29 Adjourn 30 31 MOTION made by Councilor Thornton and seconded by Councilor Landrigan to adjourn the 32 meeting. 33 MOTION CARRIES 7-0-0 34 35 The meeting adjourned at 8:56pm. 36 37 Respectfully Submitted, 38 Jennifer Steagald 39 40 41