Rindge town officials want to find a way for the town to be reimbursed for the benches destroyed by in a reckless driving incident in July of 2015.
Town Administrator Joe Bryk approached the Select Board during its Wednesday meeting, asking how he should proceed with seeking reimbursement.
“We’re not trying to make money on this, we just want the benches back,” said Select Board chair Robert Hamilton. “At this point, anything is better than anything.”
Bryk said there were two main options: trying to set up a payment plan with the person who ran over the benches, or filing a claim through the town’s insurance. The board instructed Bryk to try both approaches in the hopes that one or a combination of the two would pay for the new benches, estimated to cost $3,200.
Selectwoman Roberta Oeser said she would consult with Richard Kanoff, the attorney that represented the New Hampshire Municipal Pipeline Coalition when the Kinder Morgan pipeline was slated to come to town, to get a final invoice for the town’s portion of his services.
Finance Director Ellen Smith said she thought the town has paid less that the $12,500 sent over at the beginning of the year, which was due to cover the first half of the year.
Resident Evie Goodspeed requested the board look into adding another police officer to the town’s force in the next budget so the town could have two officers at night.
Goodspeed said there are a lot of drivers who are speeding and doing burnouts in town, especially on nights and weekends. She also referenced loitering at Honey Farms as a reason why the town needs more of a police presence.
Melinda Sines came to the board meeting to ask a question about OHRV restrictions on a property near hers, and whether restrictions previously placed on the property would remain in place, as the property is up for sale.
Bryk said the restrictions appear to be associated with the property owner and not the property. Bryk said that if the property was sold, the Select Board could enforce the same restrictions on a new owner.
The Select Board gave its blessing to Police Chief Todd Muilenberg to purchase a new SUV style police cruiser for the town to replacing one of the town’s older cruisers.
The new cruiser will cost $28,545 with an additional $8,792 to outfit the vehicle, for a total of $37,337. The cruiser will be paid for by funds from the police detail revolving fund.
Bryk said that the role of bookkeeper and executive secretary have been filled. The new bookkeeper started Monday, while the new executive secretary will begin on Sept. 22.
The town is still working on the sick leave policy discussed at the last Select Board meeting; Bryk said there are “a couple tweaks” that still have to be made before a vote takes place.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.