)W ;1fcwn ofNelson TOWN GOVERNMENT Selectmen (847-9043) Zoning Board of Adjustment (847-9082) Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. 1st Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Old Brick Schoolhouse Old Brick Schoolhouse Town Clerk/Tax Collector (847-9043) School Board Meeting Tuesdays, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon 2nd Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Nelson School Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Old Brick Schoolhouse Conservation Commission (847-9705) Meets as needed Planning Board (847-9505) Old Brick Schoolhouse 2nd Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Old Brick Schoolhouse Town Barn (847-9705) Olivia Rodham Memorial Library (847-3214) Monday 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Wednesday 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon The Library Trustees meet on the 1st Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Library For POLICE. FIRE and/or AMBULANCE, call 911 DOG LICENSING AND RABIES CLINIC A Rabies Clinic to vaccinate cats and dogs will be held in the Nelson Town Hall on a Saturday in April from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Clerks from Nelson and other area towns will also be there to license dogs. Watch for reminders about this on the bulletin boards and in the Keene Sentinel. HEALTH CLINICS The following clinics will be held this year in Nelson in the downstairs of the Congregational Church. Each clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. There will be a minimal fee requested for the screenings and flu shots to cover the cost of supplies. Wednesday, April 22nd Blood pressure check, tetanus shots Wednesday, July 22nd Blood pressure check, skin damage analysis Wednesday, October 28th Flu shots and blood pressure check NELSON OLD HOME WEEK Sunday, August 9th through Saturday, August 15th, 1998 ANNUAL REPORT of the Town Officers NELSON NEW HAMPSHIRE For Year Ending December 31, 1997 FRONT COVER The cover of this year's report is entitled "Ice Cream Social" and is the work of Sienna Giffin, a member of the Nelson Artists' Cooperative. INSIDE BACK COVER The chorus of The Hotel Nelson serenades us with yet another another original song, kindling our memories and tickling our funny bone. BACK COVER The back cover shows the roads in Nelson and some of the topographical features. These road names, and a new logical house numbering plan, will serve as the basis for our Enhanced 911 system which will ensure rapid emergency response to all Nelson residents. Map courtesy of Dave Birchenough. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Town Reports Pag e Town Officers 3 Selectmen's Report 5 Selectmen's and Auditor's Certificates 6 Town Warrant 7 Estimated Town Charges - Article 2 11 Budget & Comparative Statement 12 Expense Summary 19 Balance Sheet 21 Appropriated Taxes 22 Summary of Inventory Valuation 22 Schedule of Town Property 23 Summary of Tax Lien Accounts 23 Tax Collector' s Report . 24 Trust Funds Report 25 Town Treasurer's Report 26 Road Agent's Report 28 Highway Equipment Report . 30 Conservation Commission Report 31 Cemetery Board Report 31 Sexton's Report 31 Fire Chief's Report 32 Police Chief's Report 34 Boat Agent's Report 34 Librarian's Report 35 Olivia Rodham Memorial Library 37 Library Project Report 38 Nelson Artists' Co-op 38 The Hotel Nelson 39 1997 Granite Lake Village District Minutes 39 Town Clerk's Report 40 Vital Statistics 41 1997 Town Meeting Minutes 43 School Reports Officers, Agents & Employees 56 Compliance Statement 57 Warrant 58 Budget 60 Auditor's Report 65 District Treasurer's Report 66 School Meeting 1997 Minutes 68 Superintendent's Report 70 Nelson School Staff Report 71 Chair's Report 72 Ratable Property Inventory of Ratable Property 73 TOWN OFFICERS The following officers are elected to terms greater than one year Selectmen Jane Kirk Term expires 1998 (appointed to fulfill the unexpired term of Walter Rohr) Mike French Term expires 1999 Dave Birchenough Term expires 2000 Moderator Ethan C. Tolman Term expires 1998 Trustees of the Trust Fund (Also members of the Cemetery Board) Sylvia Wright Term expires 1998 Roberta Wingerson Term expires 1999 Theresa M. Upton Term expires 2000 Cemetery Board Winston H. French Term expires 1998 Al Struthers Term expires 2000 Trustees of the Library Dorothy M. French, Celia Wiechert, Bertha T. Gleason David Upton Term expires 1999 Lee Trudelle Term expires 2000 Zoning Board of Adjustment Michael Blaudschun Term expires 1998 Robert Germeroth Term expires 1999 Kim Rich Term expires 1999 Richard Descoteaux Term expires 2000 Denise Kearns Term expires 2000 Planning Board Tom Newcombe Term expires 1 998 Marion Raynor Term expires 1999 Russ Thomas Term expires 2000 Ethan Tolman (resigned 1 1-13-97) Term expires 2000 Terry Mednick (appointed to serve through 3-10-98) Road Equipment Committee Bob Jones Term expires 1998 Barry Tolman Term expires 1999 Kim Rich Term expires 2000 The Road Agent and Selectmen also serve on this committee Supervisors of the Checklist Rita Schillemat Term expires 1998 Beatrice Warner Term expires 2000 Joan M. Warner Term expires 2002 TOWN OFFICERS (cont'd.) The following officers are elected to a term of one year Town Clerk Kathy Blaudschun Tax Collector Kathy Blaudschun Road Agent Winston O. French Police Chief Richard Descoteaux Fire Chief Richard J. Lothrop Emergency Management Officer Richard J. Lothrop Sexton Winston H. French Auditor Richard J. Lothrop Treasurer Harold E. Gerbis The following officers are appointed by the Board of Selectmen Town Officers' Assistant Mary E. Davis Deputy Town Clerk Lee Trudelle Town Archivist Roberta Wingerson Health Officer Linda Singer Human Services Officer Jane S. Kirk Police - Second Officer Roger Turcotte Bookkeeper Donna C. Kidd Conservation Commission Bud French Roberta Wingerson Barbara Fraser James Jarvela Frankie Brackley Tolman SELECTMEN'S REPORT The Town continued it's legal opposition to unfunded maintenance of old Route 9 - the so called segment A from the Sullivan line to the Nelson road turnoff, and segment C from the new Route 9 interchange to the Stoddard town line. In May, the town went before superior court to appeal the adverse decision rendered in late 1996 and won a retrial based on the constitutional unfunded mandate issue. This trial was held in late October and the court again rendered an adverse decision in favor of the State. The Selectmen have requested Town counsel to file an appeal to the NH Supreme court. Whether we continue to pursue this matter will be decided by the voters at town meeting in March, 1998. Work progressed on the plans for a town-wide property revaluation with focus on the effort to update and correct the Town tax maps. Four mapping proposals were reviewed and the selectmen visited the three competitive firms to obtain detail pricing and performance data. In June, the Selectmen negotiated a rental agreement with the Nelson Artist's Cooperative for use of the former Library building. The agreement called for the Cooperative to renovate the interior of the building and paint the exterior in lieu of rent. Most of this work has been accomplished to the Selectmen's satisfaction. A new rental agreement will be negotiated with the Cooperative for the coming year. A report from the Cooperative is presented in this report. Selectman Walter Rohr retired after 10 years on the Board of Selectmen. Jane Kirk was appointed by the selectmen to fill the rest of Selectman Rohr's term. The Board of Selectmen and the town of Nelson owe a great debt of gratitude to Walter for his long and dedicated service to this Town. The selectmen continued to work on computer hardware and software to enhance Town operations. The new fax/printer/copier machine is in place and utilized on a regular basis. The old 286 computer was retired and replaced with a 486 PC donated by the Rohrs. This machine is now linked to the other hardware in the town offices providing two interconnected computers and two printers. A file backup accessory was procured last year to ensure security of our files. A program for handling town financial reports was procured and will be on line for 1998. The selectmen continue to work with the Tax Collector to investigate tax billing and receivables software to improve efficiency in this area. The selectmen would like to recognize the work done by Linda Singer, our new Town Health Officer, and the committee on Town Funding of Community Services led by Rick Church. Rick's team consisted of Linda Singer, Teri Upton, and Terry Mednick. We also recognize the many contributions made by so many of our citizens. Thank you to those who helped clean up after the January 1998 ice storm, to those who lead our Scouting activities and other activities for our children, and to those who supported Old Home Week and Hotel Nelson. This town is a better place to live thanks to all the volunteer efforts. Mike French Dave Birchenough Jane Kirk SELECTMEN'S CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the information contained in the following reports was taken from official records and is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief. Michael W. French David J. Birchenough Jane S. Kirk AUDITOR'S CERTIFICATE I hereby certify that I have examined and audited the accounts and records of the Town of Nelson for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1997. The records and accounts include those of the Selectmen, Treasurer, Tax Collector, Town Clerk, Trustees of the Trust Funds, Cemetery Board, Library Trustees and Boat Agent.