PBMIN 2026-09-01 DRAFT - WORK SESSION

The Planning Board discussed the 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program (CIP). The CIP Committee reviewed 21 requests and recommended 15 projects totaling $15 million, with funding split across fiscal years 2027, 2028, and 2032. The Ambulance Capital Revolving Fund currently holds $140,000. The Board consensus was to hold one public hearing on the CIP, with a draft report anticipated for the October 6, 2026, Work Session. The Board received an update on the Downtown Improvement Program, which faces a $1.4 million budget shortfall. Current construction estimates are $2.3 million for the Oval, $846,000 for Wadleigh Library parking, and $343,000 for South Street parking. Staff will request itemized cost estimates from VHB. The Select Board agreed to a joint meeting with the Planning Board and EDAC once DOT data is received. The Board approved the August 18, 2026 meeting minutes via vote. Future meetings are scheduled for September 15 and October 6, 2026. Source: https://www.milford.nh.gov/api/blob/viewBlob?i=M5aUcQM%2F0hIkgKPomxEX%252BCyPg3IKPHFd6Pab6HbiBgik1G3HpBQZV5xcp1boaSpL

Document

MILFORD PLANNING BOARD WORK SESSION MINUTES ~ DRAFT
1
September 1, 2026 - Board of Selectmen Meeting Room, 6:30 PM
2

3
Members Present:

Staff:
4
Tim Finan, Chair

Terrey Dolan, Town Planner
5
Janet Langdell, Vice Chair Blake Desmarais, Videographer
6
Justin Demontigny, Member Kyle Finnell, CommDev Director
7
Andrew Ciardelli, Member
8
Susan Robinson, Member
9
Paul Amato, Alternate
10
Chris Labonte, Selectboard Representative
11
Mike Thornton, Alternate Member
12

13
VIA Zoom:

14
Excused: Pete Basiliere, Member
15

18
1. Call to order: Chair Tim Finan called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. He introduced Planning Board
19
members that were present and staff. There will likely not be any votes taken this evening, but in case of
20
that, Paul Amato will be voting for the absence of Pete Basiliere and if S. Robinson does not show up,
21
voting for the absent S. Robinson, but there should not be any votes this evening.
22

23
2. Public Hearing: The first order of business this evening is an update on the Capital Improvements
24
Program which will be presented by Kyle Finnell the Director of Community Development.
25

26
A. Capital Improvements Program – CIP (2027-2032) Draft Report Update. The CIP Committee
27
reviewed 21 total requests from seven departments this year, going through the process of ranking and
28
scoring those projects based on the 12 criteria for eligibility and also an urgency ranking. The
29
Committee has finalized its scorecard which is provided for you today and has identified 15 projects that
30
they have recommended accepting for the 2027-2032 CIP plan. To orient all with the scorecard, all 21
31
projects are listed which also includes the total cost and all are color coded for the cost and impact; the
32
15 projects are listed in descending order, the 15 are to be funded in FY2027, 4 in FY2028 and 2 to
33
begin funding in FY2032.
34

35
To Mr. Amato’s comment, there are four items highlighted in blue, Mr. Finnell explained 3 of those are
36
for water utilities, and are expected to be paid from rate user fees, the Ambulance is set up through their
37
Capital Reserve Fund for which monies come from the revenues generated from using the Ambulance
38
Services and the billing for those services. Those ambulances are paid for out of the Capital Revolving
39
Fund where currently there is $140,000. P. Amato asked how much is taken into those accounts per
40
year? K. Finnell was told by the Finance Director that the threshold is usually met in Quarter one. C.
41
Labonte commented that the Ambulance Department brings in between $900K and $1 million per year.
42
C. Labonte indicated that over the past couple of years, the ambulance billing laws have changed, the
43
town raised its rates in order to collect the maximum amount and that should bring in more as a net
44
positive. P. Amato asked what happens if someone does not have insurance? C. Labonte said there is a
45
process to go through to get the cost lowered. There are a lot of options and then there are some charges
46
that are un-collectable. J. Langdell said the $900 - $1 million is from billing? C. Labonte said that is
47
actually collected. Actual revenue or anticipated revenue and it mostly goes into General Revenue. C.
48
Labonte did have one question on the CIP projects; the DPW Truck was originally put in as DPW4, the
49
town got a grant which was a match and I believe we are getting another truck for DPW and the truck
50
will be able to be bought out of budget money. Mr. Labonte asked if Kyle Finnell could follow up on
51
that to see if that DPW truck comes off the CIP list because DES awarded a grant that is funding 80% of
52

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

2
the truck, so that will be two trucks from DES in the last two years so that will eliminate a Warrant
53
Article for the vehicle. Kyle Finnell noted to check on that project in the CIP. This year we are trying a
54
new software called ClearGov to prepare the CIP, as you can see on the screen (he is not able to print it
55
out) and it includes three budgeting modules and the first one we brought on line was Capital Budgeting
56
so this is how we have had the Department Heads submit their requests, fill out their financials and
57
articulate how they anticipate funding it, what years are anticipated funding it for the six years of the
58
CIP or if it is further out and this is also the platform which will be used to build out the CIP. Currently
59
on the screen, is the Dashboard that the CIP Committee has committed to using and if all of the
60
presented projects were to be approved as presented it would total $15 million over the full length of the
61
CIP, that is not what the taxpayers will be on the hook for and keep in mind this is based on initial
62
estimates. This software will, Mr. Finnell believes, give the Town a more robust CIP process that will
63
follow year to year as a planning document.
64

65
T. Finan asked if all requests are in this software? K. Finnell responded all 21 requests are in the
66
program right now, based on the recommendations of the CIP Committee; K. Finnell has included the 15
67
projects to the CIP, the other projects were put into a category identified as “deferred.” This way, those
68
deferred projects stay in the system and the Department Head that created it can go in and edit it or
69
tweak the numbers or the years and come back to it in another year to resubmit to the CIP. T. Finan
70
asked if the report will be generated from this software? And will all 21 projects be included? K. Finnell
71
responded they when the report is generated, we can include all 21 projects. J. Langdell indicated the
72
dashboard can probably be adjusted to show all 21 projects too. K. Finnell responded that he knows that
73
we can, but we are all just learning the software so he cannot make that change quickly at this point. C.
74
Labonte stated that he hopes ClearGov will be a good tool for the town, and in the past he has not felt
75
that the CIP was a good tool for him since it only did one year at a time, so now with the new software,
76
it shows that nothing has been but in the years after the six year timeframe. C. Labonte feels that having
77
the longer list of projects shows what the town actually needs and the CIP has done over the past ten
78
years has really not been a strategic planning tool. J. Langdell responded by stating that in the past there
79
was a BOS member that wanted to prioritize a list for the BOS looking at one year. C. Labonte feels
80
that is a disservice to the Town. J. Langdell agrees and wants to go back to the intention of the CIP over
81
a multi-year period.
82

83
T. Finan said this is the conversation that has been happening for many years and it is a shame for
84
volunteers to put in so much time on the committee. All agreed this software may in the end be a more
85
proactive tool. P. Amato asked where is the school input? K. Finnell said he will do his best to answer
86
that stating the Superintendent and School Business Administrator have been invited to use this
87
platform, they were included at the very beginning of this process with all Department Heads, when
88
Kyle reached out to the School Board Chair and asked who would be representing the School District on
89
the CIP Committee, he was told they are already over extended and did not want to further stress the
90
Board. They have developed their own CIP process; the last Kyle has seen they met in late June and
91
have not met since then and he has not gotten any updates. K. Finnell has one informal meeting with the
92
Superintendent in mid-August and at that time she indicated they only have one project for the short
93
term moving forward and he has not received any information or numbers related to that project so he
94
cannot really speak to it but he is hopeful that numbers will be provided so that it can be included. T.
95
Finan said so there is one project that they would have on the CIP? K. Finnell clarified that there is one
96
project that they would bring to the voters in 2027. M. Thornton indicated the Town is doing its best to
97
identify the needs and until the School meets with the Town to identify all the needs in town, we will not
98
get to a clear outcome. T. Finan sees this as a disservice to the Town and he would love to see their
99
report so that we can look at both CIPs (School and Town). In the conversation with the Superintendent,
100
K. Finnell stressed that he would like to get the town and school synchronized so that we can be
101
supportive and a spreadsheet would be helpful. K. Finnell had been told that there would be a line of
102
communication but he has not heard from anyone during the summer. Because of that, we will circle
103

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

3
back now that we have a Finance Director that has been getting oriented and attending the CIP meetings
104
and she will be assisting in the cleanup of some of the financials; remembering this is a new tool and the
105
Department Heads submitted information on projects without the assistance of a Finance Director in the
106
beginning so Kyle has been learning but is not a Finance person but he is doing his best. Based on the
107
urgency scores from the CIP Committee we are trying to go back into the requests and anything that
108
scored less than a 5, which ends up being six projects that will be looked at and will try to push those out
109
to future years to try to address that concern of a really heavy hit in tax year 2027 and 2028.
110

111
J. Langdell asked if there will be a report produced in the end that goes out several years similar to what
112
the Planning Board used to get? K. Finnell responded that the historical CIP report had 3 tables attached
113
to it, Anticipated Impact to Taxpayers, in talking with ClearGov they will give the town access to new
114
functionality to test it out and allow us to go in and build out that table that we are accustomed to seeing,
115
add those categories and then run a single report for all of those projects to see the anticipated tax impact
116
year to year since the cost is not necessarily the impact year to year. The software is still very new and
117
something that Kyle and Jennifer the Finance Director will work through and because of that we may
118
not have a draft CIP to present to the Planning Board until October since it will take a couple weeks to
119
get through that. Additionally, with ClearGov the CIP report can be generated but there will still be a
120
need to provide some of the tables that ClearGov is not set up to generate. P. Amato asked if the
121
progress and status is available throughout the year with the budgeting module? K. Finnell responded
122
that there is “Budget Tracking” so that once it is approved through the CIP, those financials are
123
transferred into the Budget Tracking piece. We are not yet trained on that portion, but in year two there
124
will be training done in order to utilize that module. J. Langdell asked if that can also be used to track
125
any Government Projects? K. Finnell answered that would be very helpful and he will explore that. P.
126
Amato asked if ClearGov will be used for the Town Budget this year? C. Labonte said that was the
127
intent however, with the disruption of the computers in July 2026, K. Finnell is unsure if that will
128
happen in 2026 or 2027. Additionally, K. Finnell mentioned that another new software the Town is
129
launching this year, BS&A, is the Accounting software that goes live in December 2026.
130

131
J. Langdell asked if the two software products (ClearGov and BS&A) talk to each other? K. Finnell
132
responded that they do, when we upload the data from ClearGov to BS&A they have to essentially code
133
where the numbers are (ESR). The current system (MUNIS) does not line up with what the DRA wants
134
us to have so we are considering pausing the budgeting rollout until next year. P. Amato confirmed that
135
ClearGov is a budgeting tool? And BS&A is an Operational Tool to do the Accounting? K. Finnell
136
agreed and until we get BS&A cleaned up and recoded to match the DRA, he does not see ClearGov
137
being used for Operational or Personnel for this year but we were already underway with Capital so we
138
are pushing through with CIP and getting Department Heads used to the platform since the platform will
139
be very similar. P. Amato asked about this year’s CIP and this list shows projects for this year, were the
140
other projects for future years? The guidance that K. Finnell gave Department Heads was to provide
141
him with all past projects and projects not adopted or put to future years, knowing that ClearGov can put
142
projects into future years he felt it would be easier. C. Labonte said thank you to Kyle Finnell to taking
143
on the CIP project and understands that it is a lot to take on in one year. K. Finnell explained that he and
144
the Finance Director Jennifer need to sit down to review the projects and determine what can be pushed
145
off to another year or years. He did not have that information at the CIP Committee meetings so the
146
scorings were based on what was presented and he has left the scorings and arrangement to the Finance
147
Director and Community Development Director. T. Finan indicated that after this year, going forward
148
that should not be on those two people. K. Finnell agreed and stated that going forward that information
149
will be built into the CIP.
150

151
C. Labonte asked about Project DPW3 that has a price of $5.6 million? K. Finnell said that is the total
152
over the number of years. The Director is presenting the $5.6 million over a number of years for paving.
153
K. Finnell indicated he will show how the projects can be filtered out by year to get a better grasp on the
154

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

4
yearly cost; new users put in the total for one year, but that does not show the tax impact for taxpayers it
155
just shows the total cost; that is where Kyle and Jennifer need to go through to clean up the data that was
156
submitted to the CIP this is currently a living document that needs cleanup work. J. Langdell also would
157
like to have the Capital Reserve Funds identified for any projects that have them. A list of the projects
158
that have a Capital Reserve Fund and a list of the Capital Reserve Funds and balances; this will be
159
needed for Town Meeting as well, said J. Langdell. K. Finnell just saw that list last night and will try to
160
include it in the final report. K. Finnell said the Finance Director is hoping budget numbers will be
161
complete next week. K. Finnell is hoping to have a draft CIP by the third week of September to have a
162
look before the first public hearing. T. Finan asked if there are two public hearings needed? K. Finnell
163
answered he believes historically there have been two public hearings. T. Finan commented it sounds
164
like there is a lot on Kyle’s plate, would it be better to have the first public hearing later in October? K.
165
Finnell said if the Board is okay with having only one public hearing, that would be okay for him. K.
166
Finnell said he is anticipating having the draft CIP for the Planning Board Work Session October 6. P.
167
Amato said if there is only one meeting to review the draft CIP it needs to be ready to go. T. Finan
168
noted that there could always be a public hearing at a joint meeting with the BOS.
169

170
Paul Amato asked C. Labonte how comfortable is the BOS with the to date spent numbers versus the
171
budget? It is hard to create a budget if you don’t know the spent to date numbers. C. Labonte said that is
172
hard to answer; starting with having a lot of changes whether software changes, some different things so
173
burn rates might not have been available or distributed timely so we would look forward to seeing those
174
burn rates. One year ago, there was a burn rate each month and then that faded off, there is a burn rate
175
for every department by line item; so we have been working through new staff, new processes, new
176
software to get a more detailed, accurate report to know where we are. P. Amato that is so you can start
177
on next year’s budget. C. Labonte state that happens behind the scenes at the Town Administrator level.
178
P. Amato added that they need to know that the numbers are good enough. The tax rate will be set fairly
179
soon in October and the State needs accurate numbers (burn rates) to decide what the tax rate it. Not
180
necessarily the expenses but the revenue, we can’t exceed the numbers. But P. Amato asked how do
181
you know you are not exceeding the budgeted number if you don’t have your burn rates? C. Labonte
182
said as a municipality, you cannot exceed what is budgeted. J. Langdell said but it has happened, not in
183
Milford, but it has happened. C. Labonte said he has to trust the Finance Department for those numbers.
184
P. Amato noted that as Selectmen, that Board is fiscally responsible. The last burn rate seen by C.
185
Labonte showed that the burn rate was not out of whack.
186

187
K. Finnell wanted to show members what the CIP document from the new software generates. It would
188
give a one-year report and then it can also give the full 6-year breakdown with funding sources (which
189
needs clean up). Once all the data is cleaned up, T. Finan commented it looks like it will be great. Once
190
the data is alright, the document can be public facing so members can go into it to get comfortable with
191
the new layout. K. Finnell asked the Board if it would be okay with getting read-only access? The CIP
192
Committee was granted more interactive access. His one request would be that members not use the
193
Comment Feature as was recommended by NHMA. J. Langdell asked if the comment feature can be
194
turned off? K. Finnell said it cannot, but he will look into that to see if there is another way to keep it
195
read only. C. Labonte said in the past the town used capital reserve funds for bigger projects and now we
196
have changed to inconsistent use of them, is there a function in ClearGov that can utilize those Capital
197
Reserve Funds with the budget? K. Finnell answered that he and Jennifer are looking to find that
198
function in the system. J. Langdell said it seems like the previous Finance Director used that ability to
199
select ClearGov. M. Thornton asked if one of the functions of ClearGov was that the public could go in
200
to look at the numbers in the “Budget Book”? K. Finnell said yes that is one of the features that attracted
201
the Town to this software.
202

203

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

5
T. Finan asked if consensus of the Board is to only hold one CIP public hearing? J. Langdell said yes it
204
seems that as long as that one public hearing is a complete hearing. All concurred. There were no other
205
comments on the CIP.
206

207
B. Amended New Hampshire RSA 79-E Discussion
208
S. Robinson asked if there was someone planned to come in to talk to the Board on 79E? T. Finan
209
responded that there was a plan, but Kyle had an intern do some work for him on this. K. Finnell provided
210
the background on the 79-E which was adopted in Milford in 2017 and also some new processes that are
211
now in effect thanks to House Bill 1103 which the town may be interested in adopting. Currently the 79E
212
program allows tax relief for meeting the criteria. With the passage of HB 1103, the town is able to allow
213
additional criteria. K. Finnell read the current language in HB1103. There is an upcoming Webinar 9/17
214
at noon; speaking to this new language so we will be getting guidance on how we can implement the
215
changes. The current 79E in Milford is limited to only the downtown area. With HB1103 there is more
216
flexibility in what the town can adopt. C. Labonte said now if there is new housing built, the town needs
217
to decide how that bill can be implemented in Milford. Also if new housing is built, who ends up getting
218
the tax benefit? Is it the developer, the builder, the owner? K. Finnell offered that 79E is there and there
219
are projects that would not happen if it were not for 79E; the town needs to make sure that the program is
220
good for the town. The webinar is on September 17. K. Finnell noted that we will send out that link for
221
anyone to join. J. Langdell would like to see the ability for this bill to open up more housing availability.
222
K. Finnell pointed out that Keene has opened up a lot of the provisions of this bill to include mixed use,
223
and going to the maximum of tax relief, over time the district has built out according to the 79E regulations.
224
They area not re-zoning, they are only expanding it. J. Langdell asked how Keene defines Affordable
225
Housing? K. Finnell said he will find that out.
226

227
P. Amato asked how this will be incorporated into the schedule? T. Finan maybe we take a look at what
228
is available and take small portions? J. Langdell asked if the Board wants to take a look at the Zoning first.
229
K. Finnell suggested this is just an introduction, maybe start with looking at the maps, that includes
230
water/sewer, then a map with zones and look at housing opportunities. By using the maps to start, we can
231
identify what aligns the most to allow provisions. He understands that this is just the beginning of the
232
conversations. J. Langdell indicated there is a lot of information out there and would it be beneficial to
233
invited Conservation, EDAC, BOS, and have it upstairs. A. Ciardelli thanked Kyle for the information
234
and feels it is a great start to create our thoughts and bring that back to the next meeting to discuss. There
235
are a lot of layers to this, so everyone needs to read it over again and then schedule a Charrette to further
236
reach out. Kyle commended the Intern, Ryan, that supported Community Development and provided a
237
lot of this information for tonight’s meeting.
238

239
C. Downtown Improvement Program Update. K. Finnell summarized a memo to the Chair of the
240
status of this project. The Preliminary Engineering Phase is just being concluded. The Cost estimates are
241
being compiled and in an update provided this morning. DOT is still waiting on traffic data. The BOS
242
needs those details to make decisions. There are two sections of the Downtown, Middle Street to Putnam
243
and Nashua Street to School St. Expanding the Wadleigh Library parking is another element. And the
244
parking lot on South Street/Clinton Street is another element. The Final Prelim plans downtown oval cost
245
construction is estimated is $2.3 million, the Library Parking Lot will be $846,000 and the South/Clinton
246
Street parking lot will be $343,000. The recommendation from town staff is similar to what as presented
247
to the BOS last night, based on the estimates and including a generous contingency, the town must decide
248
whether to advance the project in full as designed and programmed or otherwise to lower certain elements
249
to remove costs and more closely align with the funding cap. Without the DOT costs, town staff cannot
250
identify items that could be removed or amended, the was clarified this morning with the DOT project
251
manager; we are not at risk of losing any of these funds as that cap is set. Unfortunately, understanding
252
inflation and the rising costs of materials, the longer this project goes out, the less that buys us. K. Finnell’s
253
understanding is that if the town were to begin to remove elements in order to find cost savings, DOT does
254

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

6
not think that the town would be at risk of losing those funds in full. That was the guidance he and town
255
staff heard today on the call that everything here is designed for pedestrian and traffic safety so if were
256
were to start to remove things we would not be at risk of losing program critical elements. K. Finnell will
257
do his best to get that in writing. A. Ciardelli asked if the elements of the project include the Wadleigh
258
parking and the South Street parking areas or is it just the oval? J. Langdell answered that the original
259
monies that Milford got were part of the original Oval and Nashua Street project to be used for the oval
260
and Nashua Street improvement but there was additional money for that too. South Street, meaning from
261
the crosswalk here at the corner of Café on the Oval down to before the railroad crossing. T. Finan asked
262
if the suggestion is that the South Street parking lot is to add to the project cause people would be walking
263
back and forth to the oval? A. Ciardelli said he is just suggesting, well they are not on this plan. J. Langdell
264
said it is not on that plan. A Ciardelli indicated that we are partly over budget because of the Wadleigh
265
parking lot and the South Street parking lot. J. Langdell said that is one of her questions she had, where
266
is the plan that shows what Milford is requesting as part of the $343,000 to do a parking lot at the corner
267
of South Street and Clinton Street? K. Finnell indicated it is on sheet 24 of the total package, the very last
268
sheet. J. Langdell found the 11x 17” sheet in the middle of the table. P. Amato does not think they can do
269
what we want to do to the Oval if you don’t add more parking; we are trying to make it safer and prettier
270
but we can do it with less parking. J. Langdell said she agrees and feels the Wadleigh parking is far more
271
important than the South/Clinton Street parking.
272

273
Janet Langdell said there are a lot of suggestions and this is the first pick of what we want to do for public
274
safety but there are many ways to provide public safety and walkability using different types of structures
275
that may be less costly to put in play. Seeing how we are $1.4million off, she thinks that VHB could come
276
back with suggestions. C. Labonte explained that the are other options, such as taking out the trip hazard
277
brick running along the sidewalk and replacing it will a colored concrete in lieu of the bricks; just that
278
change would reduce the costs significantly. Further, C. Labonte suggested having a sit down with
279
Planning Board, BOS, EDAC and VHB to flush out some of the items to save costs, but until we have
280
costs from DOT we are spinning our wheels. J. Langdell stated that these costs are causing budget
281
constraints at the town level, and Concord needs to know that. K. Finnell shared that in conversations with
282
VHB, they expressed that they are willing to provide a cost estimate for each element of the project to
283
analyze what can be put off or amended. J. Langdell asked if that is a push of a button on is that going to
284
take months? K. Finnell said they asked for some lead time on that and he will coordinate with Greg this
285
week to make it very clear what the Board is looking for so that he can provide that before the joint
286
meeting. J. Demontigny stated that he imagines it will take about a week to break out each of the items
287
with cost estimates. J. Langdell said the lack of communication with the State and that the town asked for
288
this before in July and we still do not have it, which is why we need to get back with our consultant.
289

290
Andrea Kokko, resident, said it was 2022 when she was part of the design plan and she has not followed
291
it but at that time, DOT was regularly talking to Concord and every time there was a squabble about how
292
ridiculous is a crosswalk because people could not agree, so DOT would send recommendations, the
293
consultant would say no you have to stay with these items and then the town added the Wadleigh parking
294
because so much parking was being lost and at the tail end South Street came into play due to the
295
possibility of more grant money if that was added. There were also some questions on that South Street
296
site about drainage. J. Langdell remembers that timing and was under the impression that the drainage
297
issues had been addressed. K. Finnell’s understanding of the required monitoring of the ground water
298
because of the brownfield funding that cleaned up the site, those monitoring wells have to be accessible
299
through October 2027. The plan as presented identifies at least 3 to monitor so that the environmental
300
monitoring can still be conducted. If this site is not developed until after October 2027, those wells should
301
not be adjusted, there would not longer be a need for them. J. Langdell asked if it is still considered a
302
Brownfields area? K. Finnell said yes because of the monitoring wells. J. Langdell said there may be
303
monies available through NRPC that could be explored for that. K. Finnell is not sure that a municipal lot
304

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

7
would qualify but he can explore that. We have completed the two phases of clean up and he was under
305
the impression that there were no further monies available.
306

307
Andrea Kokko, resident, asked when the town receives the cost estimates for this type of work, how does
308
the town go about getting the contractors, is the town capable to get bids on the work or do we have to use
309
a consulting firm or does the town hire the consulting firm to do the hiring? The understanding of K.
310
Finnell is that VHB is the consultant and they would not be the construction engineer. J. Langdell asked
311
if the town would be the project manager is it at the State level? K. Finnell need to clarify that. A. Kokko,
312
resident, compared what the estimate for a condominium roof as compared to the actual costs was very
313
different, so we need to be careful with any estimated numbers being put out there, when the numbers
314
may not be as bad as what is being portrayed. She believes that the first thing to go from this project will
315
be the South Street parking lot. The Wadleigh is favored with an Oval improvement.
316

317
Justin Demontigny responded to the questions from Andrea Kokko about who will get the costs from
318
contractors? C. Labonte believes that will be done by the State. J. Langdell said they usually will have the
319
local engineers review the plans and provide estimates; the process she has seen is that the local engineer
320
will review the plans and then it goes to the State who questions some of the numbers. C. Labonte asked
321
if the Oval was done with the same monies 25 years ago? Who was that project manager? J. Langdell
322
thinks the funding source at the time may have been different. P. Amato would like to see the Wadleigh
323
Parking done first before the Oval gets broken into. K. Finnell commented that the Wadleigh Parking
324
would be done first so that the new gained parking spaces will be ready to accommodate the disruptions
325
to the Oval.
326

327
Chris Labonte indicated that the Swing Bridge work will be done in 2028 and if this project goes into
328
2028, we are looking at gridlock in Milford; we should look at the time here. P. Amato offered maybe
329
looking at doing one of the parking lots in 2027, the State does not have anything to do with either parking
330
lot. K. Finnell offered that through the project, there are engineered plans for both projects, but for the
331
construction phase, DOT does not have a lot of say when it comes to the parking lots. P. Amato said he
332
just did work on a parking lot that is significantly bigger than South Street, it was taken down 12”, put
333
loam and gravel in and drainage, paved and striped it for under $200,000 in two weeks. C. Labonte asked
334
if any foundation was removed, since the South Street lot still has a foundation under the asphalt. P.
335
Amato said why would it need to be removed? It is just asphalt going over it, if something happens you
336
just dig it up. So, if one of the parking lots can be taken out of the Oval project and gets put on a Warrant,
337
said J. Langdell, that would get this much closer to the $1.4 million. J. Demontigny has been looking at
338
the estimates and said the cost of a changeable electronic sign is in the estimates for $80,000, maybe we
339
could get a better price locally, or just buy one for that money. This entire project has been reviewed, and
340
re-reviewed by the Town Engineer, Director of DPW and Community Development staff, it is not just the
341
Board sitting here tonight.
342

343
In terms of next steps, the recommendation was made to the Select Board and they seem amenable that
344
upon receipt of DOT comments they would review and look forward to collaborating with the Planning
345
Board to schedule a joint meeting; he recommended that other Boards be invited especially members of
346
EDAC with whom are property owners or business owners that would be directly impacted by the project.
347
K. Finnell has heard clearly and thinks it is important and necessary to invite VHB, Engineering
348
Consultant, to be present, he will do his part to get that next piece coordinated with them. J. Langdell
349
noted invite the Library Trustees to that meeting too and should be done in the Town Hall Auditorium. K.
350
Finnell noted to invite them as well, so we can discuss things. J. Langdell asked if this presentation could
351
be put on the Active Projects Page of the Website. K. Finnell responded that the plans are on the Planning
352
Board and Select Board pages and he will take the action to add them to the Active Projects page. C.
353
Labonte asked at what point to any business owners affected or property owners affect get notified? K.
354
Finnell said during any Right of Way hearings there will be public hearings and those owners and
355

Planning Board Work Session minutes 09.01.2026 ~ DRAFT

8
businesses would be notified, and those abutters would be identified by DOT. K. Finnell noted that his
356
predecessor Camille Pattison and Greg Bakos at the State of NH, have met multiple times and he has
357
access to those notes and distributions of abutters. J. Langdell feels it might be appropriate to send out an
358
e-mail to those to alert them of what will be coming up.
359

360
D. Other Business.
361
The town has coordinated a Site Walk with the Conservation Commission tomorrow evening for MD’s
362
Trash Removal for the Major Site Plan Application coming before the Planning Board September 15,
363
2026. This is a public site walk hosted by the Conservation Commission and there can be no discussion
364
of the plan, nor decisions made at the Site Walk.
365

366
3. Other Business:.
367
T. Dolan asked that all members please respond when asked about being present at a meeting or not, it is
368
critical that Administration know who is or is not planned for attendance. Kindly please confirm your
369
attendance, it is slipping a lot lately. Do not REPLY all just sent a quick “I will be there” or “I will not be
370
there”.
371

372
4. Meeting Minutes Approval:
373
T. Finan asked for a motion to approve the minutes from 8/18/2026. A. Ciardelli made the motion and J.
374
Demontigny seconded. All were in favor with none opposed and C. Labonte abstaining. Motion passed.
375

376
5. Future Planning Board Meeting Dates: 09/15/2026 MD’s Trash & 10/06/2026 Work Session.
377

378
6. Adjournment:
379
T. Finan asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. P. Amato made the motion to adjourn at 8:56 pm; A.
380
Ciardelli seconded. All were in favor with none opposed and no abstentions. Meeting adjourned at 8:56
381
pm.
382

383

384
Respectfully submitted by: Darlene Bouffard
385

386

387
_____________________________________________ Date: _________
388
Signature of the Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson:
389

390

391