Select Board - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. Timothy, can you hear me?

Not yet?

Nope. We good? Stand by. Oh, there we are. Okay. All right. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Wolfboro Select Board meeting of Wednesday, August 5th, 6 p.m. Originally it was scheduled at 5. We were planning to have a a meeting with the police commissioners. There was a last minute cancellation by them. So the meeting, as currently scheduled, is kicking off tonight at 6. Before we begin, I'd like to invite anybody who'd like to join us on a Pledge of Allegiance. Could you please do that?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you very much. Before we get underway, I'd like to just read something relating to our town audit. The select board has taken two steps to ensure that the town's 2025 audit is completed and to ensure continuity with the new finance director who, by the way, joined us this past Monday, August 3rd. Audit preparation activities, account reconciliations, and trial balance work have added $20,000 to bringing the total contract value of our audit to $75,000. Additionally, The board approved extending the temporary arrangement with MRI's financial support to assist the new director. This effort will add an additional $10,000 to our arrangement with MRI. These combined efforts ensure full transparency and will speed the completion of the audit as well as helping bringing our director on board. This will go up on the website tomorrow morning. First order of business is consideration of minutes. I have July 13 minutes. Anyone have a question on those? Linda?

Yes, I made them, but I realized when I looked over that John Thurston's votes weren't in. I will correct those and send them back so they are correct.

Do you want the minutes tabled?

I would like them tabled. I'd like to provide the board with accurate minutes.

I have a motion to table the July 13 minutes. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second from John. All those in favor, aye, please.

Aye. We're good. I abstain. You weren't there. I wasn't there.

Thank you, Brian. I appreciate that. July 15 minutes, regular meeting. Board members?

Paul, I have a bunch.

Linda?

Yeah, I would first like to go to page two. It's going to be down when it says Wolfboro Public Library alternate trustees. The motion for Diane Boldak should be bolded and underlined. Then there should be a space before we go into Sandra Whittier. So I would like that correction made.

No worries.

Anybody object? No? Good. Keep going. On page three, no, page, okay. Then on page three, the first time I speak, yep, here we go, page four, the first time I speak, it says Mrs. Murray states decision should be made fair and equal treatment to all, and I would like added similar to what we're doing with Orchard Drive.

With what, Linda, I'm sorry?

Orchard Drive.

Orchard Drive.

Yep. That was the road I was referring to at that time. On page six.

Is it Orchard Drive or Orchard Road? Whatever it is.

On page six, the first motion, the total added to Peter Ford's first year agreement was $84, not 204. Okay, and page eight under other business, the paragraph in italics, it should read waste water treatment plant throughout the whole paragraph. It is not the water plant. That's all I have. Anybody else?

John? So I'm just going to make a general comment about the minutes. If you go on to the Town of Wolfboro Select Board meeting, YouTube, and then you scroll down, it will say view transcript. So the exercise that we're going through right now, we know that the person taking the minutes works really hard, but there never should be a problem because the minutes of the transcript go right across the bottom of the screen. So I would like us to look to see if we can get the person who takes the minutes to view the YouTube so that they can get them accurately without any question.

Okay. I have Linda Murray made some modifications to the minutes. Is there anybody else who wants to add modifications? With that, can I get a motion, please?

I move that we accept the amended minutes of July 15, 2026. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Aye.

We have an aye. I will abstain as I was not present. Okay, the next set of minutes is July 22nd special meeting. Comments, questions, difficulties? Can I get a motion, please?

Motion to approve.

Second.

I have a motion and a second to approve the July 22nd special meeting public minutes. All those in favor, aye.

Aye.

Unanimous. Thank you. July 23rd, special meeting. All members present. Any questions, comments, difficulties?

Motion to approve.

Thank you, sir. Any seconds?

Second.

I got a second from Mr. Soneckel. All those in favor, aye. Aye. July 27th, special meeting, public minutes. Any questions, difficulties?

Motion to approve.

Thank you, sir. Second. I got a second for Mr. Sunnacle. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Okay, next item on our agenda is public input. And for those who are new, we sit here and listen. And you get a chance to come up to the microphone. Three minutes per person please, a total of 15 for public input. And please sign up on the piece of paper.

Timothy Goodwin, Wolf Pro Community TV. Just want a quick response to the request to follow the interpretation of YouTube's what you're calling minutes. We do not guarantee the accuracy of that. The TV station is working to try to come up with a way to get funded so that we can have some kind of closed captioning available for you. However, the accuracy of what comes up on YouTube should not be relied upon. Thank you.

Thank you, Timothy. Who's next? Did Timothy steal your crayon? No, there it is.

Good evening. Good evening.

I'm Ginger Hankins, resident of Wolfboro. I want to start by talking about how much my husband and I appreciate the hardworking employees in Wolfboro. I paid our property taxes on the day that the stars and stripes were painted the night before. Then I told Pat and Amy and Barry I never mind paying our property taxes. You probably don't hear that very often, do you? No, we don't. I appear before you to present a petition signed by 75 residents of Wolfboro expressing concerns about Cary Beach. Our town owned beaches are important to families like ours. When my family goes to Cary, we sit and read for hours. We love swimming and kayaking with the loons and mergansers in the peaceful, quiet setting. That changes on afternoons and weekends when upwards of 20 boats raft right at the swim line. The crowds, alcohol use, and loud music change the character of the beach. On Friday, July 3rd, a pontoon boat drifted across the swim line into the swimming area. It turned into an ugly situation and the police and marine police had to be called. A dedicated group of volunteers cleaned the beach for six years with the blessings of Parks and Rec. Last year, they were told to stop the work. They had been removing truckloads of detritus, including construction debris, trees, and fishing lures. Ending this effort creates unsafe conditions of the beach. I've included a letter from the beach cleanup volunteer coordinators. It outlines the history of their work, as well as information on two special permits granted by NHDES for localized public beach maintenance. There is also a process available to establish vessel exclusion and no anchoring zones. These are all detailed in the attached memo. We have the following requests for the select board. One, direct Parks and Rec to apply for an NHDES wetlands permit for manual public safety debris removal so volunteers can legally clear the swim zone. Direct Parks and Rec to submit an updated annual application to Marine Patrol to push the ropes out to a safer water depth. And three, direct the town manager to petition the NH Department of Safety for a 50-foot vessel anchoring buffer zone outside the ropes. I'm handing you a packet that includes the petition with signatures, a copy of my remarks, the memo from the volunteers, and correspondence between Christine Collins, the Shannons, and Jim Pineo. We look forward to hearing back with answers to our concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, Ginger. Thank you. Why don't you just put it all in here, and we'll pass it out.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Good evening, Derrick Brown, Libby Street. Nice job, Ms. Haskins. I'm here to address July 1st meeting. I presented, for those that haven't followed in the audience, a test of E. coli and fecal coliform that private citizens performed with the same testing facility used by the town of Wolfboro on July 1st. We presented the results which showed E. coli off the charts beyond measure for the test given, as well as fecal coliform Same situation. So to remind anybody listening, a week and a half later, the Cary Beach was closed for a value almost 60% less than what we measured at the town docks parking lot. Should that concern everybody? Yes. Anybody walking barefoot with their kids through that pond puddle, that water was contaminated from the storm drains. Now, I bring that up because I presented that test report here on July 1st at this meeting and asked it be entered into the minutes. And I checked as recent as this evening to see it's still not in the minutes. And it was accepted unanimously to be put in the records. I also want to call out specifically Paul O'Brien. The morning of July 4th, I thought he was going to say hi to me. He approached me at the top of Libby Street to say that report, because of the person's personal information, was redacted. it would not be accepted and he would put a motion forward to have it removed from the record. Two weeks ago, a select board meeting, that person decided they couldn't take it any longer and they decided to have their information brought public. It's still not in the record. This board conceals too much information for public safety. It was not posted by the Board of Health person that's sitting at this table. It has not been taken care of. You are not looking after the public safety of the town of Wolfboro.

Thank you, Mr. Brown. Anybody else? Anyone else? Okay.

We got one.

Good evening.

Scott Ducham. I would just like to say, that I'm pretty appalled with what you guys are putting Mr. John Thurston through the wringer, arresting him for going up and checking to see why we're losing water out of our reservoir. And he just happens to stumble across somebody trapping with a live kill trap beavers. But he's not catching beavers. They're stacking up turtles like cordwood. So he brings it to the Fish and Games attention and apparently uncovered this accidentally. And now you people arrest him? I don't get it. I have no idea why you would even be trapping beavers in the first place up there where that pond empties out into the beach river. It's on the northern end of that reservoir, far away from the drinking water plant. Anybody knows, common sense, the water is going to go, if the beavers are at that end of the pond, anything that they drop in the water, I mean, they are beavers, you wouldn't expect them to pee behind a tree or something. Whatever they... Whatever goes out of that pond is right there where they are, is just exiting right out into the beach river headed towards Lower Beach Pond. And anybody with common sense know, why are we killing the beavers anyway? They're the ones that keep the water in the, they don't like to hear running water, they go crazy. They're damming up that end of the pond. And that would raise the water table of the pond with supposedly 13 inches below the water table, normal water table. So why wouldn't we just say, beavers, do your job? Instead of we're killing them, instead we're killing turtles. So I just find it very appalling that this is going on. And I think the people in this town ought to be pretty outraged too, what's going on. And he brings it to your attention and then you guys go after him. He ought to get a medal instead of go to jail. And I would like to know why I was almost arrested a week or so ago, two weeks ago, I get a call from Mr. Shanks, Detective Shanks, wondering why I was up there with John Thurston checking out the water supply. I had no idea what he's talking about. So I had to go clear my name because, supposedly, you, Mr. Paul O'Brien, told Mr. Shanks that I was involved and I was there. I don't know where you got that information from. Can you tell me?

I just reported what I heard.

What you heard? So you hearsay and you sick the cops on me? I just passed it along. Okay. And then apparently Steve Randall goes to you or goes to Barry. I don't know. It's what he told me, that numerous people, at least five, at least five, maybe some of these people here that I'm speaking to, went after me. Okay? So I had to go to the police station. And you know what I should have done? I should have said, no, I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe just arrest me along with him. But fortunately for me, I knew where I was that day. I was working in Alton. So I don't get why you guys did this. Why did you guys come after me? I want to know. Barry?

I have no idea. Anything to do with you, Scott? I'd just like to add, and it's probably out of my place here, nobody was arrested. The idea of throwing out arrested.

Okay, I was accused.

Nobody was arrested.

I was accused of being with John. John, do you want to say something?

We're not doing that.

Okay, all right.

We're not doing that. This is not the place.

All right, so I just want to let the townspeople know that I was wrongly accused of being with John Thurston up at the water plant, up at the drinking, at the reservoir, the day that he stumbled upon these turtles being killed.

Scott, you've said your piece.

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay. Next item on the agenda.

We've got another.

Two more. Hi, Gary. Three minutes, please. Go ahead.

My name is Gary Brockney. Excuse me. I live in Wolf World. I've been in business here for almost 30 years. I got to know John quite well. I know how he operates. I know how he works. I could watch him every day from my house. And what you guys are putting him through, putting him through... is just unbearable. And I know what it's like. I know what it's like to get convicted of something that you didn't do. And I want to put it that way. And the whole thing is double standard. Double standard. That's like, it's not right. John and I have spoken quite recently. What he does is for Wolfboro, just like I do for Wolfboro. I love Wolfboro. It's been good to me. But to put all this stuff in it, and it's insane. When he does his work, he follows through with it before he wants to put anything on paper. He reminds me of Paul Zimmerman. When Paul does some work, he's there every day making sure it gets done. And this is the way this gentleman right here works. And to put him through that, you know, I've been in business for 20, 30 years, almost 30 years. And you get to know people pretty well after that. You know, we do thousands of people a year. And to me, it's like what he comes and what he says and how he does it, John, he wants to make sure it's right for Wolfboro, not for you guys. And you guys turn on him. That's unreal. That's unreal. He was working for the best way he knows how, and that's to help Wolfboro, to help the budget, And he's got the ability to do it. I've talked to him. He's shown me how he does stuff. And he's right on. And you guys jump all over it. I think it's because you're jealous, because he knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. Thank you, Gary. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi, everyone. My name is Madeline Long. I live at 579 Beach Pond Road. And I just wanted to make note that I've lived there for three years now. I have about 440 feet of road frontage. I'm right across from Upper Beach Pond Reservoir. And for the entirety of my living there, there have not been any posted signs. There are no trespassing signs. There's nothing there. There's certainly something way up the road, but it's not clearly marked. And I just wanted to make note of that for the record. Thank you.

Thanks, Madeline. Madeline? Madeline? Madeline? Can you sign in, please?

Thank you.

Thanks, Madeline. We're a little over Bobby. How you doing?

Hi, Representative Bobbie Budman. I just wanted to quickly get up here because I did attend the select board meeting when I heard about what the bacteria was reported. I immediately called the state. I reached out to Joe Kenney, and I worked with John McDonald, let him know what I was doing. outside of the select board, had nothing to do with the town, made sure as a state rep that we were testing the water at the town docks and at Brewster Beach. On July 16th, NHDS did come out and they did four tests, two at town docks, right, outside of town docks and then also at Brewster Beach. At the time, the E. coli numbers, they have to be 88 counts per 100 milliliters. They were only at 20.1 and 21.1. And Brewster Beach was at 5.2 and 22.6. So I just want to make sure people know the water at that time was safe. It does not mean it's going to be safe tomorrow. E. coli ebbs and flows depending on. But right after that meeting, I was concerned as a state rep and other other state elected officials were also notified of this. So the water had been tested in those areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Bobby. Okay. I appreciate the input from folks. I seriously do. The next item on our agenda is in accordance with RSA 41-14A, notice was given to all residents of Wolfboro at a public hearing for the purpose of soliciting comments regarding the potential demolition of the Libby Museum that take place tonight. Actually, there will be two public hearings tonight, August 5th and August 19th at 6 p.m. A vote on the matter by the Wolfborough Select Board shall take place on September 2nd at the Great Hall. We'll figure out what we need to do. Before I open the public hearing, Suzanne, I'm going to spend a few minutes, if you wouldn't mind. I'm going to spend a few minutes here. A couple of things I'd just like to make sure we get clear, okay? So tonight is the first of two public hearings. We'll figure out what the next step is on September 2nd. We want everyone in this room who wants to speak to get a chance to speak. So please avoid coming up and doing a repetitive. Let everybody who wants to speak get their thoughts on the table. And then anybody else who has additional thoughts can do it. We really don't want to have a debate. We want to get input from you. We want to hear what you have to say. So budget your time, please, and please Do everything you can to confine your remarks to the Libby building. There's a lot of things out there, and we'll show you a couple of charts here in a minute. There's a lot of stuff about this whole Libby conversation, but please confine your remarks to the Libby building. Last fall, Jim Pineo opened up a meeting just like this and shared with us this RSA, which doesn't perfectly fit, but he also said to us, in order for anything that we do, anything that we do, underline, anything that we do, we have to get the approval in the involvement of the Charitable Trust Unit of New Hampshire's Attorney General's Office. Fact. He shared that with us. And without objection of the board, I'll continue to, or I'll add his comments to the minutes. He told us that last fall. He also laid out Two important factors that we have to keep in mind. First is this isn't easy, and it's meant to be not easy. His comment to us is this is not, and I'll quote him, a snap of the finger. It doesn't work like that. This is an important asset, and you get to weigh in as well, and I'll explain that to you in a minute. We invited the Charitable Trust Unit to the meeting tonight. We've been keeping them posted For the past three years of what's going on, our attorney speaks to them. We did invite them. I don't believe they're here tonight, but they did ask for a link so they may be watching us on TV. So there's two things that I'd like you all to take away from this meeting tonight. First, no matter what happens, if it relates to taking the building down, the charitable trust unit is going to become super involved in that conversation. Period. No backroom deals. Second, if there is going to be a discussion to take the building down, or even to retain the building, you, the voters, are going to have to approve an appropriation. There'll be a warrant article. You'll have to vote on it. So it doesn't come across as easy as some people would like us to believe. I'd like to just a minute, just take a minute, and tell you how we got here and why we got here. Barry, could you? Any objection? I just want to take a minute to take us through this. Thank you, Suzanne, for having us here. I'm going to be looking backwards because I don't have the slides in front of me, okay? So follow along with me. Bring the mic with you. Bring the mic with you. Follow along with me. Next chart. 2019, $40,000 ask of the voters for an appropriation to do, and this is actually the ballot, feasibility and final design. Voters said nine to two passed. Next chart. 2020, $300,000 ask of the voters to put aside some money in a capital reserve fund to expand, repair, renovate the Libby Museum, passed. Seven to five. Barry, you're going ahead of me. 2023, if you all remember, this was the Biber Foundation, the Friends of the Libby, $2.2 million of donor money that was put on the table with the Friends of the Libby support, a business plan that was put together, MOUs were flying back and forth. There was a lot of stuff going on. We put a $4 million bid in front of the voters. We had to do it because we had to bond it. The board of selectmen voted four yes and one abstention. The budget committee voted five to three to not recommend. Because it had to have a 60% majority, the article failed. And it failed by, I think, 89 votes.

So to explain the 60%, it's because it had to be a bonded project. Municipal bonds. So you have to have 60% of the citizens agree to take that debt on because that's going to be tied to your tax rate for years.

It failed. All right. Be that as it may, it failed. All right. Next. The following year, 2025... Aaron Sturgis, there was a, you know, people wanted to come in and try to fix up the Libby, there was a need to stabilize the building, a Warren article went to the voters, and it failed. The summary chart on this, come on Barry, forget that one, there you go. The summary chart on this is, since 2020, $4.69 million has been asked of the voters, $340,000 has been appropriated. That's our side of the story. That's what you voted for. Of that $340,000, today, and I didn't take the time to go into the files, we roughly have about 125,000, maybe 140,000 left. Because we had to brace up the building. We had to do a bunch of things. So we've got about 125,000 left. The headline on all of this is, since 2020, the voters have not appropriated money for the Libby. We can't spend money that we don't have. One of two things is possible here. The voters have either gotten tired of us, and you've reminded us many times of that, or the voters have said maybe there's other priorities that they should engage in. The challenge before us tonight, and I would like to ask that we do this as a community, I really do, is we have to have kind of a really sober conversation about what do we want to do with the building. That's the next big decision that we have to make. I'll end by saying anybody who thinks that we have not engaged the charitable trust has got it wrong. Back in December of 2024, and even prior to that, we had the Charitable Trust here in 2021. Every presentation we've ever given to you has said the Attorney General's Office has to get involved. We've kept them apprised of what we're doing. The hard question before us tonight is what do we do about the building? And please, this is not a solicitation of one group versus another. We want you to tell us what should take place. Any comments from any board members before we start? John, Linda, anybody? No, I'm here to listen. You're good. Me too. So with that, I'm going to open up the public hearing.

I do have one question.

Hang on, Suzanne. John had a question.

Should we be representing this as the Libby Trust or as Selectmen?

Right now, we're representing it as the members of the board of Selectmen. If we need to represent it as Libby Trust, we'll be glad to do that, which we probably should at some point. My personal opinion is indiscernible, and I think Nathan is not giving us any heartburn about it. Okay? Nathan is our attorney. Please.

Suzanne Ryan, chairman of the new established 501c3 Libby Preservation Foundation. Society Incorporated, LMPS. For the record, LMPS formally submits to the select board notice of 4114A violation specifically explicitly states exemptions select board notice of 4114A violation from the provisions of that chapter 4114A And this chapter shall not apply to demolition or disposal. And you have no authority to demolish or dispose of, except as provided under RSA 498.4 or 547.3. And because the Libby estate is in fact a trust, the select board's legal notice, and this meeting held under such is a violation. The Libby estate is not like any other property in town, such as Dockside or Town Hall held by the town. The Libya estate is in a trust specific to New Hampshire trust laws, and as such, must be adhered to. I'd like to acknowledge also, as the board newly formed, Sebastian Toronado, Vice Chair, Madeline Long, Secretary, Howard Low, Treasurer, Ann Borgert, member, and Cindy Hinnendale is an incorporator. I'll give you copies of this after. Part two. This is also from our board. And this is to the trustees. The first half duly so noted to the select board. You're the ones that put the ad on. But now I'm going to address the trustees. The Libby Museum Warren article, which you failed to mention, number 25, demonstrated that there are many residents who share in our goals. 1,739 people voted yes. 490 voted no. Of protecting and preserving the Libby Museum, reinstating it to its former iconic status as a premier national history museum and a destination for citizens and visitors alike. And a reminder, Warren, Article 25 was to remove you as trustees and to establish a new organization and for that new organization to raise the funds to do what's necessary to either repair or build a replica. Please consider this the formal expression of the willingness and readiness of the Libby Museum Preservation Society Incorporated to serve as successor trustees of the Libby Museum Charitable Trust and of our intention to petition the Carroll County Probate Court, Circuit Court Probate Division for such appointment. The new organization will be dedicated to reimagining and carrying forward the legacy of the Libby Museum by raising enough money to restore the building or rebuild it as a replica and continue its rich history by opening the museum in the future for the benefit of the community. The Libby Museum Preservation Society Incorporated will operate the museum under the brand name the Libby Museum Discovery Center. We recognize that the appointment of any successor trustees rests with the Carroll County Probate Court. Upon petition, with the participation of the Director of the Charitable Trust of New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, We intend to seek the appointment through the court while working to cooperatively with the current trustees and the town.

Suzanne, thank you for that, but I want to ask you just a real direct question. What are your thoughts about the building?

You know, sometimes you just have to sit and listen, all right? So... Thank you. And may I add, as a reminder, and you very well should know or should have known, that the Libby Museum is a trust. And there are trustees' duties and obligations set out by the state of New Hampshire. The town holds the Libby Museum as a trustee under the will of Henry Libby, not as owner. Its duties run to the public as the trust beneficiaries and fixed by the will and the New Hampshire Trust Code RSA 564B. Those duties do not disappear when money gets tight. What the trustees are obligated to do, carry out the charitable purpose, operate the museum for the public and keep it open at all reasonable times in perpetuity. See the paragraph. The second paragraph of RSA-564B-8801. Administer in good faith per the trust and the purposes. Two, administer... Prudently, manage and invest trust assets with care, skill, and caution, and keep the trust resources productive and steward over time. Again, RSA, the same as I just quoted with the exception of 804. Prudent investor rules, RSA 564B901901. Three, I've only got two more to read. Use the trust... own funding tools. The will expressly authorized the trustees to charge admission fees for the museum's repair, maintenance, and work. The trust was designated to sustain itself, not to depend on the town tax dollars. Four, protect the trust property. Take reasonable steps to maintain and safeguard the building and the collection, RSA564B8809. Five, account and report. File the annual trustees accountings and register with the Charitable Trust of the State of New Hampshire, Charitable Trust, 564. 813-728. You've been negligent in your duties and we'll be watching.

Thank you.

And Suzanne, I appreciate the little... that you gave me, that was appropriate. You know, the little smack on the side of the head.

That's all right. I meant to introduce Sebastian. He is the point person for building discussion.

The question, though, if I take away from what you're saying, if I read your letter correctly, it is rebuild as a replica or restore. Ryan, you had a question. That's how I read it.

Yes, and the vice chairman is going to address that.

So I'm not going to refute anything you said. I'm not going to argue. That's not what I'm here for. I will say that we have gotten information from the CTU and from our attorney, and we've made that all, when we can, publicly available. The CTU and the town attorney were both asked can the select board have these public hearings to raise the building as the first step for the citizens to decide what happens with the building. They told us yes. So if you think that the RSAs you have show different, we need to address that with our attorney and with the CTU, because they've told us it's okay to do that. The other thing that, there's also a gray area with the ownership of the building. You say the town doesn't own it, but again, I've gotten a different answer. When we went to do that Warren article with the bond, I actually called the New Hampshire Bond Bank and talked to the only bond attorney in the state. And I also talked to the CTU. We talked as a board to the CTU and to the charitable trust. And we talked to our town attorney because I was concerned. I said, how can we take a bond on a property if we don't own it? That would be like somebody taking a mortgage on a house that they don't own. And the attorneys and the bond bank and the CTU said, no, effectively, you own it. And I'm like, really? It's a trust. And they said, yes. And they gave us the blessing to put that Warren article out to get a bond on a building that if we didn't own it we couldn't do it so i'm i'm very it's it was a very very gray area and i'm still wondering where we are so it's not cut and dried that there's an rsa that says this an rsa that says that this is right that's wrong we are in a very very gray area with regards to how we funded it before because we took bonds on it before

Brian, thanks. Linda, go ahead.

Do you have copies? Can you put all the copies of what you read in that basket for us? Because I want it accurate in the minutes.

I will say simply to a short answer to a long diatribe is that the answer is always in the question.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Sebastian.

Sebastian .

I'm the vice chairman of the Libby Museum Preservation Society. And I was asked to talk about the building because that's what this is supposed to be about. But I heard a lot of stuff going on here. And I just need to address a couple of points. Paul, you said something about if the people here decide they're against demolishing the building, you're going to go back and ask the citizens for money and continue on. But Warren Article 25 was to replace the current trustees with a new set of trustees that were going to come about, which is us. which is the Preservation Society. So I don't know how you're going to square the fact that we had a warrant article to make us the new trustees if we came along, or someone else that came along, but yet you still want to remain trustees of the living. That's kind of a thorny question, and I guess we'll leave that for a more appropriate time. That's number one.

I'll just try to answer that from my opinion. We don't get to tell you whether you are or are not a trustee. The court gets to do that.

Yeah. And we're bringing ourselves forward.

So while you're prosecuting that question, which you should.

You're still the trustees.

I understand. Until further notice, we're still doing what we're doing. So I don't see the conundrum here.

Well, here's the conundrum. So we're now 501 . We raise funds. We have enough money to take over as the trustees. we go before the CTU and at the same time you're asking the citizens of Wolfboro, do you want us to rebuild the building? That's sort of a problem in my eyes. So we come forward and you still, you know, obviously you remain the trustees until we become the trustees, but do you want to be asking the taxpayers for money while we're raising money to rebuild the building? take over the building. So kind of we're working across purposes. Maybe the best thing to do is try to work together. But again, that's for another point in time.

Questions? Any questions? Linda?

Yeah, I just want to point in, it said it was the first step in you becoming The trustees, that's what they voted on. I don't want to get people to understand, didn't say they are going to become, it's the first step. And I think we are working down that process. If you come forward with the money and you get it, I'm more than willing to give you the building. And I think that's the best.

You can have them.

You can have the whole works. You can have the whole works because I think it's pretty clear from the vote that the citizens of Wolfboro don't want to spend the money. And if you can raise it and do it, I'm all for it.

Linda, it is definitely our intention that we will raise it, and we will become the successor trustees.

Good, good, great. It's perfect.

So since I got on the board, my goal was to rebuild the building, because that's what the Warren article was about, and get successor trustees. That was in the original plan from the Friends of the Libby, that they would eventually work towards becoming successor trustees. Correct. That didn't work. We desperately want to get out of the museum business. I had a gentleman come online from us from the Yale Peabody Museum, and he said the town should not be running a museum. How did you guys get in this predicament?

I couldn't agree with you more.

And let me finish. And he said you need to find qualified people to do it. The CTU did bind our hands. They said you need to have somebody who has the cash plus an endowment plus the ability to run a museum in order for us to approve it. That's what they've told us. Now we've gone through four different people who have run that CTU.

Brian, you should tell it was Tom Donovan who came to the Libby and we met. And there were some of you there with us. And we asked the question whether we could just give it back. So Brian is absolutely right. That was the question we asked.

So if somebody comes to us with the ability to do it and the CTU says, not us. It's not ours. We are.

Okay. All right. Great. Great. Let's talk about the building.

So, Sebastian, If the concern is timing, which I think you're saying is... Yeah, that's what I'm trying to get at, the timing. We'll gladly sit with you in a couple of weeks, sit in a room, and we'll thrash that out and figure it out. The dilemma we have is... We have to take a decision as to whether we appropriate money to maintain the building.

It's tough to raise that kind of money when you guys are talking about a September deadline, whether it's going to stand or it's going to be demolished.

We have to make a decision as to whether the building stands or not because, as you know, it's the time in which we have to start planning about warrant articles. So it's all kind of like coming around us. And what we probably don't want to do, and I think you're saying this, is Let's get in a room, lay out what you want to do, when you think you're going to get it done, and we'll do the same thing. I'm okay with that. And I think the board's okay with that.

All right. The building. I agree. We'll talk later. The building. So our tagline is save the living. And some people have interpreted that as saving the building. Actually, we want to save the museum. We want to look at a bigger picture. We want to save the trust, the museum, the whole bit. So the building. The question keeps coming up, are you going to try to save the building? Are you going to try to rebuild the building? The answer to that is it's under consideration. We're trying to figure out what needs to be done. The building has had some work done on it. As a matter of fact, it's been done by Aaron Sturgis. And he's here tonight at our request to discuss the current shape of that building. We've also talked to other people about replacing it with structural insulated panels, build a replica out of structural insulated panels, and also how to build, how much it would cost to build a steel replica of the building. Yes, replica, an exact replica. So we are working that, but it takes a little time. And we've got some preliminary estimates. Do I feel that the estimates are accurate? No, at this point they're not. You know, we've got ballpark numbers. The insulated panels seem to be less, the restoration seems to be in the middle, and the steel building seems to be at the high end. We have certain criteria. Whatever we do with the building, whether we restore it or whether we build a replica, we are going to put a full foundation on the building. We're going to put a basement on it. And if the area is full of ledge and we can't excavate it all, we will pin the foundation to the ledge and try to get as much storage space, workspace in the basement. We intend, our vision is to have full mechanical systems, heating, AC, have it be available for 365 days a year. Now, are we going to be open for 365 days? Not certain right now, but we want to be open for part of the school season in the beginning and at the end of the school year to allow children that are in town here to come up and visit the museum, have kids programs. I mean, that's what this museum was all about. You know, it had kids programs. outreach program that had wild animal exhibits. I mean, that's what we are going to try to do is to restore and reimagine Dr. Libby's vision for this museum. Okay, thank you. That's what we have to say. What else you got? Just want to introduce Aaron Sturgis if you want to talk about that.

Hang on, any questions for Sebastian before we go? No? Mr. Sturgis.

Thank you for having this hearing tonight. I appreciate all your time and patience. My role here tonight is to clarify a couple of things about the Libby Museum as it stands right now. We all know it's damaged. We all know that it's in some trouble. And I wrote a report to that effect. You all have it. It's a photo report and a written report describing the damage that we found during the last stabilization in November and December of 2025. I want to be very clear to the board that this is not the nail for the coffin that destroys Libby Museum. This was to raise awareness about some of the issues that exist there. And if I were doing a full assessment for this building, I would also be talking about all of the positive things that we find. And I want to speak to that a little bit to you and to the citizens of Volpar. It is a viable building still. We know that the back wall has 11 out of the 14 posts that were damaged. We know that there is a roof rafter that is broken on one of the hips. That is only a small portion of the structural capacity of this building. 80% of the roof is in very good condition. We locked it together in 2015 for 150,000. That's why you only have 150 left. So I've been working on this building since 2015.

Thank you.

thank you for doing the math for me i appreciate that and we locked that roof system together it's very strong very viable and can be restored so i will stand before you tonight advocating for the restoration of this building but i also want to address the economic issue because i know it's a huge issue that came up in 2023 And I want to address that briefly as well. If you all have had a chance to look at this report, I know most of the board has, it is easy to say, oh my god, this place is wrecked and we can't keep it. It's not in good shape. And that's all true, but it's not the whole picture. So think about how many posts are in the back wall. There are 14 of them. So that means the front wall is 14. It means the side walls, which aren't as long, they probably have 10 in them. So out of like 40 some odd posts, 11 are bad. That's 25%. So I'm going to just say this right up front. In order to restore the Libby Museum structurally, you get 25% of the building you must restore. And that's in-kind replacement. That means 75% of it is still viable. I have always advocated to this town from the moment I ever saw a Libby that it needed a foundation. When he built that building, it was a one-of-a-kind artifact. It is a very unique and unusual building with a ventilation system that is state-of-the-art for 1931. It doesn't necessarily suit the purpose today, but it was a unique building designed as a museum, and I've heard tonight that it might have been the first natural history museum in New Hampshire. That is an artifact worth preserving. I am a preservationist. I'm preaching to the choir for other preservationists. For this board, you must understand that this building is viable and it can be repaired. So I am not an advocate for a replica of this building. The financial burden of destroying what should be restored is also very high. So I'm going to say that it's safe to say that 80% of the roof system is good. I'm going to say safely that 75% of the structure of the walls remains sound. It must have a foundation. So let's talk economics for a minute. And I'll keep my comments brief and I'll take questions. The Warren article from 2023, $4,860,000. I'm so glad the citizens of Wolfboro voted that down because it was a pie in the sky number. And when you get that high number and you do all the, what could we possibly add to it? I mean, there was a massive addition added onto this building. You must reject that. You must get your museum, you must take care of your house before you expand your museum to do everything that the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston does. That is not what Libby ever intended. It is not what this building needs. You need to spend a couple of million bucks getting this building back in place. okay the first million is just going to fix the north wall and put a foundation under it and i know how to do it and i have a person sitting here that'll lift that building up who by the way went to libya as an eight-year-old all the way up through high school is he loves libya museum you're going to get somebody that's gone there forever just like half the town

Mr. Sturgis, we had a conversation for a couple hours one time, didn't we? We did. And you told me the exact same thing that I've heard tonight. Yes, I did. $2 million is something that building could be fixed. I had that conversation with Suzanne Ryan, told her the same thing. I had that conversation with this board and said the same thing. And I said the same thing you're saying, that the $4 million expansion was an overdue. It was. When that $4 million expansion failed, the very next morning, I called the chair of the Friends of the Libby, and I said, let's just rebuild the damn building. We have enough money. And I was told, nope. We're not doing it. I think that's changed now.

I think that's changed. It's good, but respectfully... So the building can be saved. We can't go forward looking out of the rearview mirror. So, Aaron, what do you think?

One other point I needed to make to the board and to the citizens. The issue of mold is real at the Libby Museum.

Issue of what, Aaron? Mold.

Mold is a real issue at the Libby Museum, but it is not the fault of the design of the building. It is not the fault of the artifacts in the building. It is not the fault of the lack of foundation. It is the result of that system, which was designed for ventilation, that was closed. It was internally closed. and therefore mold bloomed. It also is a result of the damage that we see on the back wall where water penetrated the exterior trim and rotted those posts. That is sill rot that happens on every building that's 100 years old. So I've been under that building. I've been in the roof system of that building. I know it's a viable building. I know that I have the expertise in the state of New Hampshire to fix it. I would love the opportunity to do so, but I wanted this board and the citizens tonight to understand that it remains a viable building. It needs some work, and it needs some proper planning, and it can't be looking like the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston when we're done.

Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Good input. I think I remember meeting Mr. Sturgis when he was about to climb underneath the building that day. But thank you for that input. Sir.

So my question would be- Your name, please. Troy Lidden, taxpayer. Where's the collection that was in the Libby?

Brian, you want to just briefly update that?

As briefly as I can. The museum has the collection inside of it right now. We just hired the New Hampshire Antique Co-op, which is an organization that has expertise in appraising our artifacts. They're going to spend three months going through all of the artifacts and putting a number on everything we have. Then we have our... Our town manager's assistant, Amy Capomuccio, is in communications with Huff Moving and Storage, who knows how to store artifacts from museums, and we're looking at having all the artifacts taken out, because they will have to be taken out when we do renovations on the building, if that's what the town does, or if that's what new group does it's all the same process we're not trying to get in the way we want the same things to happen and then once those are taken out we might have to make a determination with help from any of the new groups and in order to have things cleaned and repaired. I've talked to a gentleman, Ed Simmons, who used to do repair and cleaning work in the museum. He said that he can help with that process. And then if we get a new building built, the collection will come right back to where it should be.

Sir, that was your question? That was it? Oh, gee. What do you want to do with the building? Jeff.

My spelling is unique, just want to make sure. Thank you. I blew the spelling of his name last night. And I currently am the acting chair of the Friends of the Libby. You went through some history, and I'm glad to hear that you understand that this must go to the CTU. I would say that your effort and focus on demolishing the building is very much misdirected. You should be focused on working with successor trustees. They are the ones that should have the decision as to what to do with the building, not you guys. One thing I would also say, you put up some history of money spent, money voted on, et cetera. That big $4 million wasn't just a boondoggle. There was a North American collection, a full collection that was to be housed in that addition. So it wasn't just blank space. It wasn't a boondoggle. It was for purpose and for one of the best collections in the United States. And we lost out on that, not because The vote of the townspeople, which was in favor, it missed the 60% mark because the budget committee was never convinced it was worthwhile. They did not understand the role of a trustee. They did not understand the obligation that the trustees have to maintain that place, and it failed by a handful of votes because there was a lack of support on several members of the Board of Trustees at the time. Had there been a little more enthusiastic support, it would have passed. We wouldn't be here today. So given the Friends mission, which in part is to protect and preserve the Libby Museum according to the terms of the Libby Trust, the Friends are absolutely in opposition to the demolition of the museum building.

Thank you for the clarity.

Wanted to be clear.

Thank you for the clarity.

For over a year, the trustees have repeated, made public statements that you wish to abdicate your trusteeship and find a worthy successor trustee. And in March, as referenced earlier, Warren Article 25 passed supporting the same thing. And fortunately, there are entities out there who are willing to step up and accept that trusteeship and to take the Libby into a new era. The trustees should energetically engage with these folks, not destroy the building. A rush to destroy that building, and you've heard from the architect and the builder as to what's available to us by protecting it, To unilaterally demolish that building, even if you could sell it to the CTU, which I doubt, it's preemptive and premature in the extreme. We went through, and I think you noted that you do not own the building. You do not have the right under RSA 4114 to go ahead and do this unilaterally. It absolutely must go to the CTU. I guess in summary, because so much of this has already been covered, to be at a rush to get rid of this building is misplaced. Your focus should be on finding a successor trustee. Actually, first of all, moving that collection. It has been over 18 months that we've been talking about this, and it's only finally coming. And that collection spent another winter in place with the back of the building open. You should be accelerating this move to a new trustee. Let that new trustee who's got the wherewithal and the interest. One of the things, believe it or not, that's in the way of fundraising, no matter who the successor trustee is, is that the town are the designated trustees. The town must get out of that business, hand it off to a successor trustee for them to be successful. The sooner the torch is passed, the better. Either of the current folks who have expressed interest have plans far more in line with what Dr. Libby would intend, this sea prey idea, than relegating the property to a parking lot for a commercial dock. I would urge you, with all haste, find a successor trustee and make that your priority. Thank you.

Questions? I have questions for you.

I have a couple questions. I just had one question, because I never knew. What happened to that North American animal collection?

It went elsewhere.

It went to another museum?

Yes. Parts of it were bought by individual collectors, and the bulk of it went elsewhere.

And it was a huge missed opportunity. Plus, not to mention, Just to pile on the comment, not to mention there was $2.2 million of donor money that I think the friends brought to the table. Let me clarify that. Here it is, right?

Yes. Let me also, if I could, clarify that point of when the town voted it down, we were obliged to return that money.

You had to give it back.

It wasn't the friends saying no. it was the donor intent that was restricted funding that was specific for the rebuild and reconstruction and was contingent on the town voting for the warrant when the town did not vote the warrant with the 60 percent that money had to go back It was not our choice. We would have loved to have kept it.

Well, I got a thing from the friend saying that I could sign off and I could let them keep it. So there was the option for if the people didn't want to take it, they could have done it, and that's what we did is left it there. So I want to make sure that we're clear on what we're saying here.

Let me be clear about the process. For every single donor that sent in a donation for that restoration... There was language in there that was contingent on the vote. Yes, each donor had the option. Correct.

I want to know that option was there. So, I mean, it's important that you say that because that was the whole thing when I got my letter. That was there for me. So I don't want to say I don't want people to believe that everything had to go back. People had the right to keep it. So that's only my concern.

You chose one way. Other folks said, give me my money back because it didn't pass. We aren't getting the thing that we were going to support.

Any questions for Jeff? I just want to thank you for the clarity. All right. Thank you. Thank you for the clarity. I do have a comment.

Tom Goodwin, a 14-year resident of Wolfboro. I also was on the board of the Friends of the Libby for six years and served as its chair for a couple of those years. I am not a board member of the Friends at the moment. I am not a board member of the Libby Museum Preservation Society, but I am a supporter of their efforts. A couple questions come to mind here. We heard from a structural analysis of the building that it's no longer in imminent danger of collapse. So my question is, what is the urgency to put this warrant article for the demolition of the building on the ballot this coming year? Given all the efforts that have come forward, doesn't it make sense to delay this? That it doesn't have to go before the voters this March? That maybe we should be here again next year and see where these fundraising efforts go? Doesn't that make sense?

So you're saying pause?

Yes. Okay, pause. Pause, give these efforts time to mature and come to the table.

Thanks for the clarity. Appreciate it.

I would also like to say that in unraveling the pledges and donations that came into the Friends, a lot of these donors said, we still support the Libby, but talk to us when the town is out of the picture. So... formal declaration that the town is out of the picture is an important and integral part of the fundraising efforts that are going to go forward.

So one thing I will just comment, Tom, you're consistent because you said the same thing last December. Exactly the same thing. You guys got to get out of the way. And I think you've said the same thing. You guys got to get out of the way. And I think I've heard Jeff say, you guys got to get out of the way. Message received. We have to figure out who gets in the way. And so you're saying pause.

Okay, right.

So, and I'm not trying to repeat myself, but we did ask Mr. Donovan, I was new to the board, we were at the museum, and I said to Mr. Donovan, the family at one time shuttered the doors and just walked away. And gave it to someone else. I said, can the select board do the same thing? Can we just shutter the doors, put a padlock on it, and just walk away? And the CTU told us, no, you are not allowed to do that. You have to facilitate somebody else taking the building away. And they will do it through us and through the courts. So we want to get out of the way. We just need the right mechanism.

Brian, Linda?

I totally support what Brian said. I was at the same meeting.

And all I would say is that in Dr. Libby's will, for those of us who have read it, it said when the family was unable, it should be offered under trusteeship to the town of Wolfborough through the select board. Then the town voted to accept that trusteeship in 1956. So the obligation stays there until it can be legally removed. Correct. So that's where Tom Donovan was coming from in those statements.

So it's hard for us to just get out of the way. We want to get out of the way. We want a good group to take it over. It's going to be the CTUs and the court's decision. And we will get out of the way

it's lickety split as soon as somebody can take over the reins so i would i would i would hope that this group would go to the ctu and and and tell them we want it time for time to continue one question having to do with that analysis of who owns the property and how the bonding could be done because it was town owned and everything does this raise the question, you cannot relinquish trusteeship and retain any ownership interests in these properties, right?

I have no idea. We've had three different rulings from three CTU attorneys. We've had rulings from two town attorneys. And we've had ruling from... We don't know where we are because we are the only ones in the country Do this. People come to us and say, what the hell are you doing? And it's just the way it is.

Tom, here's how I would process your question. I don't have a clue. The question about ownership, succession, and all of that, we are going to take that at the right time to the court. And people much smarter than me are going to tell us what the right thing is to do. And I'm not being disrespectful to my friend Suzanne. I'm not. Okay? I want, personally, I want us to solve the frickin' problem as to how we can get ourselves extracted and you guys in the game. All right? I don't want to spend a bunch of time diddling around with legal stuff. In my world, if somebody comes and wants me to invest in their business, and the first thing they do is they give me a contract, I kind of back away. So I want us to solve the problem, and I think Sebastian has said, let's get in a room, let's figure it out, we can do that. I've heard Jeff and I've heard Aaron say, pause. I haven't heard anybody say, take it down. And in fact, I was going to ask you, Jeff, wherever you went to, I was going to ask you, you wrote something in your Friends of the Libby, I think you wrote it, it's over there. And you made a statement in there which I thought was prescient. Something about don't take a short-term decision that has a long-term consequence. So I'm going to give you an at-a-person for that one. I looked at that and I said, that makes sense. So that's where I go. Tom, you got another question?

No, I just want to thank the board for... Actually bringing this to the table, I think you're raising awareness of this, and it's going to help the successor trustees.

We'll do what we got to do. Thank you. Mr. Hodder. It's two bites on the apple. You're out of order.

Just your point, you know, pause. The friends are not saying don't do anything. We're saying don't do anything to the building. pursue aggressively, actively, with energy, finding a successor trustee. And it's not that big a deal. You find folks who are building a board of directors that has the right skill set, that have promise of good fundraising, who are committed to the place. Those are the kinds of things that the CTU is going to want to see. And so don't abandon that. Don't abandon the Libby. You want to Hand it off. Get moving. Because that's going to solve the fundraising question as well.

You and your organization and we and our organization share the same or similar letters that go back and forth between the charitable trusts. Your lawyer and our lawyer share the same thing. We see them. Thank you. Thanks. Mr. Hodder.

You had Brian get done. Michael Hodder, Wolf Brow, Brian, you had a question? Sign in, please.

Well, I just wanted to... Let Mike speak, please. Yes, he said I should speak. So I just wanted to say briefly, I went to the Yale Museum, to Dartmouth, to Harvard, to the Woodward Museum. I went to a lot of places to ask for anybody who would take over this museum, and we didn't get any takers. But we need a taker. We need anybody who will take this off of our plate.

What do you mean by a pause, Paul? You're talking about... I think what I'm hearing people say is... A pause in the process of doing what?

Yeah, a pause in the process. I'm hearing people say, don't take a vote to recommend demolition to the CTU.

Well, you guys can't take that vote because you're not the trustees. You're simply the select board. You're meeting tonight as a select board, not as the trustees of the Libby. So anything that happens here tonight is advisory only, which you will then take back to yourselves as trustees to say this is what we heard last night.

That's correct. You are correct.

Okay. Next point. Is the pause a pause in a vote to demolish? Is that what you're saying? That's what I'm hearing. That's what you're hearing. So demolition was an actual possibility in your minds, in the board's minds? How can you demolish something you don't own?

Well, we would have to petition the court.

No, you can't petition the court to demolish.

If you're going to ask me a question, I'll give you an answer.

Okay, I'll hope for a short one then.

We would petition the court, and the court could come back and say, you don't own it. Done. Or we would petition the court, and the court would say, proceed. Or they would have to proceed through the probing process.

Petition the court for what? For demolition of the building.

For demolition of the building.

We'll leave the legal arguments aside for the time being. Good.

I lost my train of thought. I'm getting older. It's all right, Mike. It'll come back.

Hopefully it will come back.

More coffee.

You got into this problem legally. As the gentleman before me said, 1956, probate court says to the Board of Selectmen, the heirs can't run it. You're in the will. Do you want it? And your predecessors say, sure, it's going to be great. So you take it on. But in order to do that, you have to get a vote of the town to say, OK, do it. that's what you should be putting on the march ballot a vote of the town do you want to direct the select board to surrender the trust of the libby museum to the probate court carroll county with that behind you you can then go to the court and say either let us out and by the way, we have one or two standbys right here, or let us out, sea prey, this model doesn't work, but their model might.

That's good advice.

So rather than putting on the warrant, if this is what you ever hoped to do, a suggestion to the town, please demolish, what do you think, yes or no? Why don't you put on the warrant a suggestion to the town, do you want us to give up the trusteeship, yes or no? Let us know.

So your notion is more of a referendum as opposed to a... No, you didn't already do that. We're going to try to keep it so that we talk.

You're more of a referendum, Mike. In the essentially a repetition of the 1956 vote, you could even use the same wording. Yeah. Do you want the trusteeship in our hands anymore, yes or no? Not, we want you to surrender it in the hands of someone else. You haven't got the authority to do that under Article 25.

The court does that. And not to get too legal with you, we would discuss, I think, we would discuss the concept that says, but the voters already voted, what was the vote for the Article 25? In a big number.

That was in something.

It was a big number, right? 78%, right? Roughly speaking, of course. That's a big nut. So I understand your point.

That simply suggests the will of the town in that particular issue. You're now changing the issue from give it up in favor of to we would like to simply surrender it back to the court from once we got it.

We hear your suggestion.

Thank you for that. Yep, got it. Thank you. Appreciate that, Michael. Good evening. Good evening. Please sign in when you get a chance.

My name is Tricia Griffin. This is my brother, Peter Griffin.

A little louder, please.

A little closer to the mic. We are direct descendants of Dr. Libby. I'm the great-great-granddaughter. He is the great-great-grandson. We've been involved with the Libby for all our lives. Madeline Libby, granddaughter, and Priscilla Griffin, who was the founder of the Friends of the Libby, are... We're very, very involved. We know nothing other than what Dr. Libby wanted. And we, as a family, do not want this building to be demolished. We want the legacy of Dr. Libby to continue. We want the programs to continue. We want the LMPS to be successors. and we would encourage you to look at them and remove you from your duties. So that's what we have to say.

I am Peter Libby Griffin. And our family is in full support of the new trustees and what they can do. If we're gonna talk about the building, let's talk about the building. You've seen evidence here tonight of people that can restore the building. That is the goal of, at least in our family, to see that done. My grandmother, my mother, Tricia and I are in full support of the preservation of this trusteeship. And you do say you want to get out of the way. I'm very confident that the money will be able to be raised as it was before. to take care of the problems that exist with the building and get it back into Dr. Libby's vision. My mom was a very, very, Priscilla Griffin was a very, very staunch advocate of education, particularly children's education in the building. So although you wanna talk just about the building, there's more than that. So again, our family would like to see this go forward and we are in full support of this going forward to a new trusteeship.

Thank you for your clarity. Thank you for being clear.

Good evening. My name is Val Zantruck. I'm a resident of Wolfboro. This evening, I am speaking as the vice president of the Mural Lake Protective Association and would just like to convey our thoughts as the nearby residents of the Libby Museum. We strongly oppose the demolition of the museum building and support the revitalization and continuation of the Libby Museum through the appointment of a new board of trustees.

Thank you for your clarity. Appreciate that. Anybody else?

Mr. Chairman, members of the select board, appreciate your time. I really appreciate the background that you provided for us, Mr. O'Brien. It was well done.

Will you please introduce yourself?

My name is Lee Arnold. For the past 60 years, I've had the privilege of spending summers on Poplar Island on Lake Wentworth here in Wolfboro. To me, cultural attractions have always been a sign of a vibrant community. Wolfboro has the Wright Museum, the Clark House Museum Complex, the Village Players. Kingswood Arts Center used to host the Great Waters Music Festival. Now that festival is at Castle on the Clouds, but some performances still offer downtown. Center Street was the location of the New Hampshire Boat Museum. That is now in Moultonboro. We used to bring our grandchildren to Calicutty Clack Railroad. That's now closed. While a dedicated group of people continue to work on the Lakes Region Model Railroad Museum, that has yet to open. Finally, there is the Libby Museum. Once a unique center for learning about the area's history, geology, plant, marine, and animal life, the Libby was a source of great delight for us, for our children, for our grandchildren. The Friends of Bolivia were a strong advocate and fundraiser for the preservation and continuance of this treasure left to the town in good faith for future generations. Now his future is in your hands, and we pray that this will once again be a source of pride for Wolcro. I will tell you, I wrote this well before this meeting happened, and I appreciate all of the education, the comments that everybody has made. I feel that collectively there is a heart for the Libyan Museum in this room. I applaud everyone's effort to find a solution to let this go forward. So it's beyond about the building. It's beyond who serves as the trustees, who shepherds the progress going forward, and who makes sure that this precious item that we call the Lincoln Museum can remain the source of pride for future generations. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir.

Mr. Deshaies?

No, Madam can go first.

Go ahead. Hi, Madeline.

Hi, I won't forget to sign it again. All right. My name is Madeline Long, and I'm here tonight as a Wolfboro resident, a local business owner, and a proud member of the newly formed Libby Museum Preservation Society. I'm asking that every effort be made to preserve the Libby Museum. The Libby Museum is an irreplaceable part of our state and town's heritage. It draws visitors to Wolfboro, strengthening our local economy. It is a place where generations of children have discovered and connected with the natural world. Today's children, Wolfboro's local children, deserve the same opportunity. The Libby Museum Preservation Society is committed to preserving the Libby Museum in accordance with Dr. Libby's will. The town's proposal to demolish the property is legally impermissible under New Hampshire's charitable trust law. We demand that the town's trustees honor their fiduciary duties and step back from this course. We are prepared to present a viable alternative and work with the town to become successor trustee. The select board must suspend any demolition action pending resolution. Preserving the Libby Museum means preserving both our history and a vital educational resource for the future. Demolition cannot be the legacy we leave. Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr. Deshaies? Yeah, just quick. So I've been asking for direction from the CTU. I've been told that the CTU might not want to do that for us. I would ask any successor who wants to be trustees to go to the CTU and ask for direction from them to make sure that they know exactly what they need to do in order for us to pass the keys to them. That's something that I think can happen. We have put our arms open to any successor, whether it be this successor or another, who has the wherewithal financially and the ability to take over the museum and operate it as it should be operated. But I'm not getting direction from the CTU. They're not giving it to me. If these groups can go out and get it, please help us.

Thank you, Mr. Duchesne. Mr. Lowe.

Howard Lowe, Wolfboro.

Did you sign in? Did you sign in? I did sign in. Thank you.

Howard Lowe, Wolfboro resident. I'm also a member of the board of the Libby Museum Preservation Society. My reason for coming to the microphone is a simple one. I don't wish to repeat any of the fine words that precede me, but simply to make sure that our viewers see this flyer, which was placed on everyone's seat as they entered the hall, and which WCTV is going to put on the broadcast for the benefit of our television viewers. Thank you very much.

Thanks Howard. Anybody else? Two more. Please, no please. Good evening.

Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Rebecca Arnold, better known as Becky, third generation seasonal resident of Lake Wentworth. And today I speak for my five grandchildren. And as my husband just noted, we did write, I wrote this a few days ago. So there's a little different bent on what I'm about to say. Instead of for the building, I want to just speak for my grandchildren. And they asked me to do this, actually. For 20 years, my husband and I have done special time with each grandchild annually. When each child spends a few days alone with us for sleepovers, their favorite foods, play games, they always want to go to the Libby. They want to go to special places, and the Libby is absolutely every year on their list. It was an annual request by each of the five, and today I want to share some thoughts from letters written by four of the five grandchildren about why the Libby was so special to them. My oldest grandson Ethan, age 19. Libby had something for everyone. It gave me an opportunity to learn about nature in a way that I never would have been able otherwise. To close the museum down would be a disservice to the community and disrespectful to Dr. Libby's original vision and generosity. My granddaughter Brooke, age 17. The Libby Museum is where countless memories have been made, like the scavenger hunt, the moose that seemed giant, the fish that are so detailed. the never-ending list of animals in history. The thought of the Libby closing is upsetting. It's a piece of greatness that is growing up in Wolfboro. I hope the people will recognize this significance and honor the Libby. My 12-year-old granddaughter, Annie, the Libby Museum is such an amazing place for all ages to learn new, interesting facts and have fun while learning them. The displays are amazing. Kid-friendly environment. Scavenger hunts and prizes. The Libby taught me and many others about animals and their environment. And the Libby showed us how much fun a museum can actually be. And from 10-year-old Isla, the Libby is one of my favorite places to visit with my family. I always have a fun time. The staff were always helpful and kind. And my favorite exhibits to visit include the raccoon and the rocks. There you go. So I ask and implore each of you to honor the gift of Dr. Libby to the community and be responsible caretakers, whomever that may be. and retain this priceless treasure known as the Libby Museum. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Good evening, Jody. Sign in, please.

Jody Person. So as a lot of people know, I have used that Libby launch and the parking out back for almost 20 years now. I campaigned against the $4 million project like huge because I was against a private public partnership for the Libby Museum. And that was because I just came off of a bad taste in my mouth from the pop whaling thing that, you know, debacle that went down. But if this is gonna, if they're gonna become the trustees, that's gonna eliminate, basically the town's not gonna be, taxpayers aren't gonna be linked to any more, right? Okay, so I would say I support this project. I wish you all the luck. I still would like to be able to use the launch. I might donate. He's trying to negotiate here.

Don't let him negotiate with you. Keep going. Right here. Talk to us.

Yeah, I think this is the way to go on this. I really do. And that's all I get to say. Thanks, Joe. Anybody else?

Anybody? Good evening.

I'm Sandra Wentworth, a lifelong resident here. I want to see the Libby Museum stay. I've been disappointed in the way the town has been run for quite a few years. And I say that because The town and some of these boards that were talking of us doing away with Carpenter School, selling it. It might become a motel at the time and build a new school. Then that was built by people that had been here for several generations. And then we have the town hall. We had to fight to keep this because you wanted to give it back to Brewster and build a new town hall. The police department didn't care one way or the other. That was a new building built in the 70s. But people started saying, oh, it's in bad shape. We need to tear it down and build new. Well, no, we were able to renovate that and keep it. But the town's fighting it. Then the old fire station, the Wolfsburg community, you wanted to raise that building. People get together, and I'm not sure of the status, but they've done work and saved it. The living museum has been here, the people for generations. I know four generations. I know my parents would have known the fifth generation if they're still alive, were still alive. And the thing that's happening in this town, we're losing our protection of identity tradition in a particular rhythm of life, because everyone wants to tear everything down and change everything. And I'm not going to read all of it, but sociologists have called it an island mentality. This town... where every family has known each other for six generations in that environment. You know, we all went to school together, grew up. I have so many families in this town that I can go back five and six generations. And it's like it's all being obliterated. The Libby Museum has been here for many generations. The Libby's have, the museum has done fine. I don't care if the selectmen run it as long as you're going to do your job or get the new friends of the Libby, which I will probably join, to take care of it. But the selectmen, since, what did they say, it's been 70 years, the selectmen have been in charge and it's been very successful until the last few years and it's falling apart. I'd like to know, I don't want to know right now, but I do want to know what other buildings have we got that are falling apart you're not paying attention to? Because every time a building comes up like this, it's like, oh, we're going to tear it down. Well, what else is there that you haven't checked on? Who checks these buildings? Is it the building inspector's job? Somebody should. Is Libby with a problem with the wall? Someone should have been there to have it repaired and done something with it years ago. And as the lady before me was saying with her grandchildren, there were so many people that can go through that with the children that go there. And as adults, you can go there and you will see something new that you didn't take the time to read, especially if you were a kid. Because as kids, we're looking at the animals. So I think it should be supported.

Thank you. Mike, is there anybody else who wants to get up for the first time? Anybody else who wants to get up for the first time? Kathy? Can you let Kathy go first? Thanks, Michael. Appreciate it.

I'm Catherine Dragonfly, and I just want to say I would like to see this group, the Libby Museum Preservation Society, be successful, and I'm going to put my money where my mouth is.

Kathy, did you sign in? Sign in, please. Sign your name.

My name's John Hardenberg, and Sandy said a lot of what I was thinking. My understanding is we got town hall for a buck from Brewster Academy. The maintenance of the Libby Museum was supposed to be taken care of based on the trust. Don't know all the details. Heard some of them tonight. My concern is, for whatever reason, we don't maintain a damn thing in this town. We let it sit there. It goes to rack and roll. Tear down the Libby. Tear down the community center. We'll build a new one. Town will pay for it. What the heck's going on? Then we get a warrant article for $75,000 to repair the sidewalks. I've seen the sidewalks being in crummy condition for 10 years. Why aren't we maintaining anything in town? You have to come back and let it get destroyed or it's illegal, and then you put out a warrant article to make us pay for it. What the hell are you guys doing?

Thank you, sir.

Diane Bolduc, resident voter in Wolfboro. I've signed in. I want to say something that may be a little unpopular in this room tonight, but... I want to thank you all for all the work you've been trying to do to maintain, repair, restore, salvage, fix the problem. You can't do it without money, and the voters have consistently turned you down. And that's unfortunate, and it makes your job harder, but you still are trying to do the job. Having said that, I also want to say that I would love to join the Libby Museum Preservation Society, but I keep hearing them say, restore or rebuild steel building. I want to see the Libby Museum repaired, restored as the beautiful treasure that it actually is and can continue to be with the right kind of work. That to me is important and I will join your organization as soon as you take or build a new one out of the mission. Otherwise, my money will stay where it is until the goal is renovation. I appreciate the efforts to hear people's concerns and thoughts and I support the idea of putting a pause on it to come up with the correct successor trustees who will do the job of restoring the Libby and then running it effectively as a children and adult education center. Thank you.

Thank you, Diane. Mr. Michael.

Thank you, Mr. Paul.

Michael Hodder, Wolfboro. I'd like to point out that when John Thurston and I ran the 2019 master plan community facilities chapter, we recommended, as did the rest of the members, Linda was one of them, that there be a building manager appointed by the town to maintain with the department the buildings that the town owns. That was seven years ago.

Didn't happen, did it?

This has been a good meeting. I would imagine that you all feel the same thing. It's been a very good meeting. As a result of this, we have heard that you have two successor trustees hoping to stand in the wings. You even have the family, the heirs of the Libby, who made the original will. hoping to support one or perhaps the other of the trustees in favor of continuing it and in favor of your surrendering the trust to another successor. It seems to me that all you need to do now is to approach not the CTU but the court and say, look, we've got our ducks in a row. We have two potentials. We have a family behind us, and we don't want in anymore. Get a vote at the town, and off you go.

Thanks, Michael. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Hello. I'm signing in, Paul.

Thank you.

My name is Martha Cummings. I am a citizen of Wolfboro, but I'm actually here to represent the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance tonight. I am the Community Preservation Services Manager there. The Libby Museum has been listed on the Preservation Alliance's Seven to Save endangered properties list, and that was in 2024. When we heard about the possibility of demolition, we wrote a letter to you and Jim in January. And so I just want to reconfirm our strong support to not demolish the Libby Museum building. It's a highly visible landmark, as you know, as we've all heard tonight. And it is admired and patronized by people in this community, again, as we've heard tonight, and summer visitors. And it is also a listed property on the National Register of Historic Places. You've also heard from a fellow Preservation Alliance board member, Aaron Sturgis, who has talked very specifically about what can be done to save this building and restore it. So not to repeat what has already been said, just I wanted to again reconfirm from the Preservation Alliance's perspective and standpoint that we urge you not to demolish this building and to take this time to work with the groups that have presented tonight to become new trustees.

Thank you. Thank you, Martha. Appreciate it. We have other business to do. I don't see anybody running up to the microphone, unless Suzanne wants to run up to the microphone. Do you want to run up to the microphone?

In closing, Oh, good. I'd like the permission of the chairman to do a raise of hands. How many people want to keep the Libby Museum as we know it?

It's not a permission that I can give. Board members, do you have any objection to that?

She wants to find that out for me. Any objection? That's fine.

So what's the question you want to ask, Suzanne?

How many would like to keep the Libby Museum as we know it in its location restored?

Restored. Restored. Restored.

Looks like you got more than, I see a couple people put up two hands. Looks like it's overwhelming.

The second part of the question, or another question, is how many would like to hear about this other organization that might be interested? How many would like to see this other organization that would tear the building down and not build on the same footprint? be there instead? How many want to see something else like that?

So I think the only way I could respond to that, Suzanne, is we have received a, my words, a letter of interest. That's all we've received. And the letter of interest is you're interested. We've heard nothing else. And it's really up to them to flesh out what they want to accomplish, and then they can come visit. That's about it. And there's the letter up there. Barry, thank you for doing that. It's a letter of interest. And in the world I live in, you have interest, intent, and terms. And that's way up front in a letter of interest.

I have spoken or been in the company of the gentleman who wrote that letter and asked the specific question, what would you do with the building? They're interested in not putting it on the same footprint. That was clear. And removing the building as we know it.

I can't represent to you what their interests are right now.

Did they represent what?

I can't represent personally what their interests are. That's all we have. That's all we can talk about.

I think I brought it out because I think it needs to be known. Thank you.

Thank you, Suzanne. Okay, everybody, we're going to do this again. Hold on, I have one more thing, Paul. As painful as it might be, we're going to do it again.

So I want to say that I thank the citizens. I thank everybody for being here. I thank the citizens, and I was one of them, who wanted the high school rebuilt, wanted the town hall rebuilt, wanted the library rebuilt. The skating rink had to be replaced. uh... the community center i've been behind rebuilding the community center also i do want to say that the ct u does have a big peace in what we do with the building they will be in court recommending who is this assessor trustee and if this assessor trustee has the ability to take over the trust so we we can go to side pray with a group But the group has got to have all their ducks in a row because the CTU is going to look at where they are and determine whether or not they have the capability. And the court will weigh heavily on what the CTU says.

With respect, that was good clarity, but we're not here to discuss terms. What we're here to do is get your input. We got it. I got it. John, you had something you wanted to say?

So I've waited all night to listen to you folks, and now is my chance to speak.

Mm-hmm.

This town has been dilly-dallying with the Libby Museum. We should have been working harder to protect the collectibles and the artifacts. There's no doubt about it. I mentioned it last year. I said, we've got to get that stuff out of there. We dragged our feet. A whole year's gone by now, and where are we? We're just getting it appraised. The trustees of the past have failed to protect, maintain, and preserve the Libby Museum. No question about it. The taxpayers don't have faith in the trustees to be financial stewards and have not shown a track record of taking care of any of its buildings, Mr. Hardenberg. I do believe we should work with the LMPS as successors as a priority immediately. We should leave this building knowing we have somebody in front of us ready to act. We shouldn't be dragging our feet anymore. The Libby Museum is a package with land and building and should be advocated a clean process to hand over 100% of all of Dr. Libby's bequeathed trust to a successor. We should get out of the way and hand it over. My comments. Thank you.

Yeah. The Board of Selectmen have been trying to work on this for years. 2017, we had a report talking about how to handle moisture in an unheated building. And we waited for the Friends of the Libby Museum to put a proposal together. They had a great proposal. We met with the charitable unit, with the friends. I think, Suzanne, you came as an individual to that meeting. I supported that. I gave to Maggie Steer the book that I had for that. We've been trying to solve this. Have we always done it the right way? No, nobody always does it the right way. But I voted for that Warren article. I think we need to turn this over to the other organization if they can come up with what the charitable unit needs and the court can support. We tried to get money. They can raise money. We win if this is done privately and it's out of the hands of the taxpayers. That is a way for us to move, and I will work with them as a select board, but I'm still in my role as a select board going through what the court and what our lawyer tells us the CTU wants us to do. And this was one of the things that we needed to follow through with. So I'm comfortable on moving forward and supporting that, But we've worked on this. We haven't sat on our hands. Yeah, we may not have gotten the collection out, but we have worked. I've worked on it since 2017. So that's mine.

I'm going to close the public hearing. One of these last comments you hear, my opinion, is a lot of people feel uneasy, hurt, not comfortable. I'm not done, Brian. Not comfortable with where we are. We're not. Okay? We're not. Piling on as to how we got here, and I'm not commenting to you, John, but piling on in the past doesn't help. We have, you know, we tried hard together to get a $4 million bid on the table for the voters. Whether Aaron thought that was a bad idea or not, that's your point of view, and we're looking back at that. Couple of things before I leave this. We still live in a town where everybody knows your name. Sandra, that was what Sandra told us. We know everybody just about by first name. Sometimes we preface it with another word. The stories we've told about the Libby, about how fondly we remember the Libby, ended around 2023. They stopped. That's my observation. We were just at each other's throats. How did we get here? It's your fault. Those stories run away. My story of the Libby had nothing to do with playing with the animals, but my first exposure to the Libby was I went to an art exhibit in 2010 of a great artist that taught me that there were such things as the Seven Farms and the Brewster Building. And she did the work at the boathouse. Those murals are hers. We're going to do this again in a couple of weeks. Your input has been helpful. And I'll park it there. Brian, last one, but quickly, please.

I'd like to make a motion. And my motion would be that we put the next public hearing on hold. that we don't have a vote in March, and we put a pause on the museum for 12 months for the friends of the new group of the Libby or the Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance to come to us with some kind of concrete plan that will be accepted by the CTU.

I have a long motion by Mr. Deshaies that effectively says stop everything, wait until we get something from clarity. Do I have a second?

Paul? Paul? My only concern is I would like us to have an opinion by town council from what he's talked about with the CTU that we could make such a motion and do that at this point. I'm just uncomfortable without having that kind of information.

Brian, we have a motion. Other than that. I don't have a second on it. I'll give it another couple of seconds. You don't have a second. However, we need to get a little more advice, and we'll do that between now and the next meeting. It's scheduled.

Okay?

So thank you very much for your attention to this. This is good. Well-mannered. You didn't throw anything at us, which is nice. If you want to leave something, please put it in here. All right. We have some more business to attend to. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. Okay. Let's give it a minute or two so we can get everybody out of here.

I got it. Yes, sir.

Nice to meet you.

Thank you. Thank you. They're all professionals. I get all of that. Thank you Jeff Everybody could you please? Please clear the hall we have other business to do I Sebastian? Please clear the hall. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Bye-bye. I'm doing fine. Hi, Becky. All right, everybody.

Get out.

Get out. Okay, folks. Just open up the second.

Just open up the next public hearing. Just open it up and go.

I'm going to open the public hearing right now, folks. The town of Wolf Row is to hold a public hearing on Wednesday, August 5th at 6 p.m. for the acceptance of unanticipated funds in the amount of more than $10,000 in accordance with RSA 31,95B3A. for the New Hampshire OHS Traffic Enforcement Patrol grant for the Wolfboro Police Department not to exceed $11,000 for additional enforcement patrols. Do we have somebody here to speak to that? Chief Warren, where are you? There he is. Come on up, please, if you could speak to it. It was noted on the agenda Captain Livy was going to speak to it, but I think he's in another country.

No, he's back. Oh, he's back.

Okay. Chief.

And rubbing it in as much as possible. This item is what you see every year. This is the federal money that goes to the state as blocks for different towns and cities to apply for. It is paid for by the state through that grant. And our focus is whatever the state wants the focus to be since they're paying for it. We understand that focus to be a series of three different enforcement capabilities, one of which is drunk and drug driving. One is speed enforcement, and the final one is pedestrian safety, which is very appropriate. I would ask the board accept that.

Any questions of the chief from the board, please? Anyone? Can I get a motion? Are you going to ask whether anybody in the public can speak? Oh, that's right. It's a public hearing. I'm going to open the public hearing if anybody wants to speak to this. Hearing none, I'm going to close the public hearing. Oh, you want to speak to the chief? No, no, you're going to open. Okay, the public hearing is now closed. Board members, discussion. Board members, how about a motion?

So I'll move to approve the acceptance of unanticipated funds in the amount of more than $10,000 in accordance with RSA 31-95B-3A for NHOHS Traffic Enforcement Patrols Grant for the Wolfboro Police Department not to exceed $11,000 for additional enforcement patrols.

I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second from Ms. Murray. Any conversations? You good? You guys good? All those in favor, aye please. Aye. We're unanimous on that one, thank you. The next public hearing is the Wolfboro Select Board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, August 5th, 2026, 6 PM at the Great Hall, 84 South Main Street, Wolfboro. For the acceptance of unanticipated funds for an amount donated that is over 10,000 in accordance with RSA 3195B3A relative to the donation valued at $39,210, for the Greater Wolfboro NEMBA for the purpose of maintenance work along the Abenaki bike trails. I'm going to open the public hearing on that. Good evening, sir. Did you sign in?

Absolutely. I'm here to represent Greater Wolfboro New England Mountain Bike Association. We did some maintenance work at Abenaki, which we had approved. Yeah, a little louder.

Steve Clark.

There you go.

There you go. Thank you.

We had approved. We did that in the process of working through our communication issues last time. The money was donated anonymously, and the work is done. We're donating that in kind, and we managed and maintained trails at Abenaki.

That's all we got.

Any question?

I'm going to open a public hearing. Anybody want to comment on this? I'm going to close the public hearing. Board members, questions?

Question. Steve, how do you do such a great job?

Keep a good attitude and communicate properly with everybody the way they like to be communicated with.

That was a loaded question. Thank you for all you've done. The trails are looking great. Everything seems to be lining up, and I'm happy as can be.

We have a responsibility to maintain them. We'll be at Winnipesaukee Day signing up volunteers for people who want to help with the trails, including the granite stone dust.

Don't get him going on Winnipesaukee Day. We'll be talking about that later.

Very excited.

Anybody else, any questions about this?

Would you like a motion? I sure would. I move to accept the unanticipated funds for an amount donated that is over $10,000 in accordance with RSA 31-95-B3A relative to a donated value of $39,210 from the Greater Wolfboro NEMBA for the purpose of maintenance work along the Abenaki Trails.

Second. I have a motion and a second by Mr. Senegal. Any conversation? You all good? All those in favor, aye, please. Aye. Thank you very much. We have no temporary event permits. Mr. Muccio, could you do me a favor and put up the bulk vote slide? We're going to try something different tonight. If there's any objection to this, I'll read all of this into the record, but I have been getting coaching from people that they don't like listening to me reading the bulk vote into the record. So at the risk of... There it is. That's our bulk vote. That document has been published in the minutes. That document is now up on the board for the public to see. Any questions, board members, about the bulk vote? Is item D in there, Barry? I'm missing item D. Item D is tax exemptions and credits, tax map 63, lot 19. Any objection to board members? Could I get a motion to accept our bulk vote as presented on the screen?

Motion to approve bulk vote A through D. Second.

Hang on, we've got a motion to second.

No, he said D because you said D wasn't on the screen.

Whammo. We've just got a lot of time out of the meeting. Whammo. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, aye please. Aye. All right, good news. Board and committee appointments. Lakes Region Planning Commission Transportation Advisory Committee. There's a nomination for Mr. Randall, whose term would expire 9-4-2028. Board members?

I'll make a motion to appoint Steve Randall to the Lakes Region Planning Commission Transportation Advisory Commission, and I'll make a statement that Dave Ford was part of that, and it was very important for us getting grants.

Second. A motion and a second. Any conversation, folks? All those in favor, aye, please. Aye.

Abstain.

We have an abstention. 4-0-1. Okay. Economic Development Committee, Dr. Brian Goss. Brian's term would expire on March of 2028. Is Mr. Goss here? Mr. Goss is not here. Brian Deshaies or Linda, since you're on this team, do you want to speak to this gentleman? This gentleman?

No, I couldn't make the last economic development committee.

Neither of us did.

Yeah, because we had the... A recruitment meeting?

Yeah.

So I will trust Lucy Van Cleave as the chair that she always appoints capable individuals to assist us in the Economic Development Committee. So I would give it my move to appoint.

And then I will second that. Any more conversation? All those in favor, aye, please. Aye. Unanimous, 5-0. Good business. This is the Thomas Dambo troll on town property follow-up. Kathy and team, the two of you are going to visit, okay? Mr. Deshaies, would you like to kick us off here?

So, when Kathy Dragonfly came to the EDC with the idea of the troll, it was a very unusual idea. And I had a little bit of a time wrapping my head around it in the beginning. I attended the meeting when Thomas Dambo came from Denmark. because I thought it was important because he had managed to come all the way here to Wolfboro to want to use his art in our community. I met him, I talked to him, I listened to the room. The room was very, very passionate. The latest thing I've done is I've called, and so I believe has Peg, called a Louise... Bishop. Yeah, I knew it was a chess name, a chess piece. Louise Bishop in Rhode Island and Peg and I I think asked different questions of her. And I found out some things that there are challenges that they've had with their trolls. There is a parking. They say that there needs to be lots of parking close by, either at the site or in a walking distance. They said that there is a Euro conversion, and they had to pay another $7,000 apiece for their trolls because of a Euro conversion that they ran into. They said finding volunteers was great, easy, easy, easy. They said that the ones that are in a remote area for them are better because ones that are closer to town or that people have to drive through neighborhoods cause angst in the neighbors. She did say that Mr. Dambo was very adamant about where he wanted the trolls, and that she had to push back a little bit in order to get the trolls where she thought would work best for Rhode Island. Now, she's in charge of economic development for the whole state of Rhode Island, so she has some weight behind her, and she was instrumental in getting five of them in Rhode Island. She said one of their locations, she put a geolocator on, and when they opened it May 1st, in the first week there was 6,000 visitors, and by the end of August they had had 70,000 visitors. But the difference is that the towns that she's talking about have citizen counts of 25,000 and up. So they do have a larger population than we have. She said that she would recommend that it be in a, that they use one location where they thought that the visitation and it would be beautification with public art, but they do, she did recommend in remote locations for the trolls?

So the question that was before the board a while ago, last time we visited, was let's put the troll up alongside of, my words, alongside of the entrance to the 390 line, that parking area up there, and let's plant the troll on a rock. That was kind of what you wanted to do. Okay? Where are we on that discussion? No, I'm asking this way. What do you want to know?

We're here to answer your question. You've got to come up to the microphone, Kathy. Come on up to the microphone, Kathy. So we hear it, so it gets recorded.

Where are we on the discussion?

Can we say a few things in response?

You recorded your name?

We did, both of us right here. Perfect. We appreciate that. No problem. We learned last time. Most of what you've said, Brian, we said in our initial meeting, which is why we have come forward asking for this land. In terms of Wolfboro, it's a remote location. How many of you have ever been there? 90% of the people in this town have never been there, unless they've got a good Hugh Hawkins boat that they have to go up and check on. It's way beyond anybody's realm of where they travel in town. And of the available town land that we looked at, this was the best. We looked to look. We looked to find a place that would not impact neighborhoods. I've been to all five of the ones in Rhode Island. That's why I talked with Louise twice. I've also talked to eight other people. I'm leaving on September 10, and I have appointments with 14 out of 20 trolls I'm going to go see, with the people who manage it. So we continue to learn what we can from other places that have already built it. In all cases, they have all said that Thomas Dambo is an opinionated man. He does have a reason for his art. He has a message he wants to say. And he likes it being in nature.

It's not a rock. It's a granite boulder. I'm sorry. We happen to be the granite state. So he picked that purposely because it is a granite rock.

It's a gorgeous granite rock, if you're into granite rocks, which I'm not, but it's gorgeous. He also wanted it, and I'm glad the guy with the bike place is still here, but he loved the fact that people might ski past it, they might ride their bike past it, they might hike past it, or they could drive up to it, especially people with young children. No way, a lot of places can you get strollers to. So in terms of all of that, Also what Louise said to me and many of the other places is that a load of the people that come to see it Our residents, we have 35,000 in the summer. So those are going to be 35,000 of whatever number you come up with. Add their grandchildren, add their friends, add their neighbors, and they won't go once. They'll go numerous times when anybody comes to visit. I have a friend in North Carolina who says she's been to the one in her town 17 times because every time anybody comes, they want to go see it. The other big thing that I've gotten from every place I've talked to, it has had an increasingly positive impact on the economy of that town. I talked with Louise about this as well. There in Rhode Island, you'll see the five trolls, maybe come to Wolfboro and stay overnight. See our troll, go on to Maine and see their six. So we are creating a path that is going to bring us economic influence in terms of people coming, hopefully to stay overnight, hopefully to eat food, hopefully to shop in our stores, and enjoy the element that we're adding to Wolfboro. I think his name was Mr. Clifford who was here, and he said the thing about everything leaving Wolfboro gone.

What was his name? Mr. Goss.

Mr. Goss? Yeah. I tried to catch it, and I couldn't find my pen. But he had said, you know, the Great Waters is up at Castle in the Clouds. that other things have left the town. We're trying very, very hard to bring something to Wolfboro to increase its beauty, to increase its adventure, its fun, its unusual qualities. We're trying to bring the first troll in Rhode Island to the oldest vacation spot in the country.

Like I told you, after my son's wedding, I went to the... Went to the place up in Maine.

It was awesome.

You asked earlier, just to get us back up to date here, you said you needed to have a decision from the town by when?

Well, we would have liked it by July 1, but we didn't get it. Thomas Dambo is in an unbelievable demand right now. We had initially been on his schedule for this year, late this year. Now we've been pushed with him up to 2027. We've asked for the end, middle to the end of September, because we don't want to open it in the summer.

Let me make sure, just because I'm trying to handicap what the drop off the planet date is. So now you're saying July 1st?

That was our first. We were hoping by coming to you in June.

What is the date that you think you need a firm and final decision from the town?

If we don't get him soon, we will lose him for probably two more years.

Okay. So July 1 is still a hard day.

We passed it, so we're going to another new day. Can I say something?

Yeah, please. You're invited up.

We've lost a lot of things in this town. The Catholic Church, the Citizens Bank, the boat museum, the music festival, and we're trying to bring magic back. We're bringing no financial burden to the town whatsoever, and Like Peg said, she's already been to 38 as far as Australia. People travel all over the world to follow these trails. She's going to see another 20. She's going all the way across the northern tier of the United States troll hunting. This is a big thing. I've already been working three years to get us to this point. Like Rhode Island, the state of Rhode Island bought five of them. Maine Botanical Garden bought six of them. Atlanta Arboretum. This is a huge opportunity for us to embrace. And I don't think that we're going to have that massive number of people because we only have one. And we're not going to have that massive number of cars because people are going to come multiples in cars. They're not going to be single dribble of people that come by.

So apologize for being a little persnickety, but July 1st has come and gone.

Right.

There is no deadline, but we have... Let me just get my question out. So is there another deadline or is this now gone open-ended?

The issue, Paul, is that we have three other private property owners in Wolf Borough and two other towns, Moulton Borough and Tufton Borough, that have stepped forward and won it.

I'm sorry, Kathy.

There are three private property owners in Wolfborough and there are two other towns that have already approached us to get this. We can't keep stalling because we lose things. We're slow walking the Libby, we're slow walking, slow walking, slow walking. The deadline was a year ago when I went before the EDC and we had our first Zoom calls.

we gotta make decisions we can't just keep slow walking everything so you have and one second we also cannot inform the public and go into our fundraising mode when we don't know if we're going to get permission or where it's going to be so we need the horse in front of the cart tonight

So you have other prospects. Barry? Barry?

But we wanted to be in Wolfboro. We wanted to be a public art institution in Wolfboro. Okay, hang on. Barry?

So I was just going to give you an update on things that we feel are open-ended on this project. Steve Randall has looked at the project. I don't think the wastewater expansion is going to be an issue. He has concerns about the dirt road area that would lead up to it. I think you've all seen his prior comments of maybe some of the signage blocking off gates, so we're limiting access to one side of it. I did also send this off... I had a conversation with town council about some of his concerns as well as Primex, our insurance company. I think Primex weighed in in your packet with some of their concerns because it's not a town owned, the Troll's not owned by the town.

It would be licensed to the town.

So there would have to be an MOU agreement between the town your 501 , but also another MOU between the town and the owner of the troll.

What is an MOU for clarification?

A memo of understanding. So it would be an agreement of some sort between... A licensing agreement. Basically a licensing agreement. And the insurance would be very similar with Primex because it's going to be on town property, although it's owned by a third party, so to speak, ensuring that there would have to be an insurance policy have basically indemnified both parties, the 501c3, the town. Yes.

Could they donate it to us? No.

I don't think that's what the intent is. No.

It's licensed to Thomas. Okay. So we can't. Okay.

Yeah. I'm just going to pause here.

So those are sort of the technical obstacles that I think you folks need to decide if you want to enter into that arrangement and probably the next step.

Okay, so Barry, you've offered a couple of things here. Board members, is there anything that is in your minds that you believe needs to get sorted out before we can take the next step, which is, I think what you're looking for is a piece of paper from us that says we want to do this. That's kind of what you're looking for.

On the rock.

We want it on the glacial boulder. How's that? Granite. So you're looking for a piece of paper from this town that says, what issues do we need to satisfy here in order to move that forward? Or not? Linda.

Well, I went through and read all your stuff again to make sure I had everything. The one thing I keep on having problems about is the design of that parking lot. You have it. Where is it is? Where are the public going to be watching and looking? Where are the cars going to go? We had a section of it that we are laying aside for our staging area for our projects downtown. We've got coming up in 2000 and, well, it's going to start this fall, is the Mill Street Pump Station. We have the downtown Pickering Corner to Mill Street sewer projects. We're hoping to get a vote on that in 2027. The Mill Street Pump Station should probably be done in 2028. The road upgrade for Mill Street is 2031. The DOT project on South Main Street is 2020. And the drainage is in 2032. So the number of major projects we have in this downtown area that we're going to need to use a part of that for a stationary area. So I would like... some kind of a concept if we're going to give permission on exactly how all of that fits in such a small area and the cost of it, because you'd need it, we'd need it. So that's where I'm trying to get my hands around where you go. I agree with Barry. You're going to have a license agreement with him. We're going to have to have an MOU. None of that, I haven't seen any of that. I don't know how that will go together. So those are my concerns.

John wants to get up next. John wants to get up next. Linda's concerned about staging. I am as well, because we've got a lot of things going on. So we need to have a discussion somehow that says, how much volume are we going to put into that parking lot? John Thurston.

So we talked last time about logistics, neighbors in the area, traffic, roads. We talked about the plant that's there right now. I have a real problem with our immediate vision to say we're not going to use that area for anything in the future. We've Cut that area down. It was Dave Ford that did that. He was specking out a prospective sewer treatment plant that was there. I go to that spot every day in October to March.

So, John, you're saying that you think there's more. I'm just trying to understand what you're saying. There's more to this, right?

What I'm saying is it is a nice spot. And it's a nice preserved spot, to tell you the truth. It's kind of nice over there where people can get out of town. The trails on the Bridge Falls path are all muddy. People get to go out, walk out there. It's its own little sanctuary. I asked last time for other locations. I know you came to us and said, you gave your synopsis of that spot. I'm not sold on that spot, and I won't burden the residents in that area knowing how many people are going to be going to that area and for the fact that that's our infrastructure location for prospective future build-out.

Mr. Deshaies. All right. So do you want to say something first? I can hold.

My question to you then would be what other spots can you offer us? Because we came to a number of people to get ideas. And we checked them all out. And all of them would cause much more issues with the town, with neighborhoods. I mean, that is a very sparse neighborhood. Anything else is a heavy neighborhood.

I don't know if I can say by myself any spot. I have to confer with my board and say, you know what, maybe we should ramble things around. Unfortunately, when you take such a large item that has impact, yeah, it may draw people in, And that might be the problem in itself because you're impacting residents that live in our town and create stuff that maybe they don't want to see.

So then they do not have to go there, but you are creating a lot of revenue for the business owners and the people of the town.

Okay. So we have a I need to know more. I'm not comfortable. Brian.

Okay. So let's not... Let's swim out of the weeds into clearer water. It's a wooden structure. that can be moved if there were a huge disaster and something happened and all of a sudden we needed to build a new treatment plant there. This is not like putting the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty in some place that you can't move it. It can be moved. It's big, but it's not that big. We are gonna need a public hearing though. But I could still get behind picking it saying okay, contingent upon a public hearing and hope in that time that we find a contingent location just in case something happens. What if we get to a point where we do need to use that land for a wastewater treatment plant? An expansion or something. We can move it to another place. So I would be happy giving a pre-approval for that location based on the result of our public hearing, and to see if you would have a contingent location in case the public hearing, the people tell us, we don't want it there. If 50 people or 100 people come here and say, we don't want it there, we'll have to think of a contingent location.

OK. So any other comments? Dave, please.

These are the locations that we have in our packet here. which are Foss Field, Bridge Falls, and Nick with Watershed Association. I'm not sure what that is. That's a Heath. Bruce to Heath Preserve. I know where that is. I know where all these others are. Have you contacted some of these people, like Conservation Commission and so forth?

Extensive conversations with each of them.

Okay. And? I'm sorry, to the microphone, please.

They present some of the issues you're talking about in terms of neighborhoods, much denser neighborhoods, including schools. So we've got that issue. You've got the NIC, which has a lot of issues, especially on Thursdays. So, yes, we've talked with all of those, and they all... did not meet what we were trying to do. We were trying to have the least impact on the people in Wolfboro moving around and the most impact on the town in terms of its financial ability as well as the most enjoyment for all, young and old.

I guess in terms of what Brian in a public hearing, but we would also have to add to that that we could come together with an MOU. That's a big piece to me and that we can agree on costs. Because I don't know what a redesign of the parking lot. I think there needs to be. I'm not comfortable with people and cars without something planned. I would look to see for a maintenance plan, a monitoring plan. I would want contingencies and I would want all money received before any construction. And that all would be in that MOU. And so I would need some kind of draft, and so that would have to be part of anything that I could even think about agreeing to, and I'm not saying I am. How do you want to proceed?

Why would we need public hearings?

Because you're going to go through neighborhood.

You're going to have a structure on town-owned property. I think that triggers a public hearing, ultimately.

There's plenty of space in the parking lot. I have discussed this with Steve Randall at length.

I don't care. I want to see a design. I want something on paper.

Steve Randall has designed it, Linda. That's what I'm leaning to.

I don't have a design. Nothing in this packet gave me a design. planning board the planning board has nothing to do with it that has to do with zoning you can fit in the neighborhood there's no issue with the zoning regulations this is us as the board of selectmen looking at it and saying these are the things that we feel or I feel I need to make sure that the public is well did you get the aerial view I've looked at it all

So I have a question for the board. When we approved the Revolutionary War monument, did we have to have a public hearing for that?

Or when you approved the statue of the ice cream cone, did you have a public hearing for that? This is an art institution.

No, I'm just wondering. I'm going to step here just for a second and see. Let me tell you something. You're getting a little pushback here. We know. You know. You can feel it. You've told us, at least you told me, because the last time I heard you guys, it was, it's going to be here. It ain't going to be any other place. I remember that vividly. You know, here or nowhere. Now, that parking area. I may have gotten it wrong. You got a letter from the planner that said it could fit in a zone. I find it unusual that not asking the public to weigh in on what's going to happen in their neighborhood is something you want to push back on. I think that could be a non-starter, at least for me. For me, it could be a big non-starter. Because people are going to say, wait a minute, is this one of these things you guys do? You just decide to do something? So that could be a non-starter. I hear that there's an MOU needed. I hear that there's a license needed. I hear there needs to be some clarity about the parking lot. So, board, what do you want to do? If we move to not approve this, it goes away. I don't think we want to, I don't know. What do you want to do? I'm not comfortable with where we are right now. It is, my words, amorphous. It's fuzzy. And we need to get clarity, and we need to figure out what we're going to do. So how do you want to do it? Board members. Linda.

Yeah. I do think one other thing I'd like to add is we did send a request to you for any questions or any other clarity that you needed from us. We did not receive that. So we are coming with all the clarity we have at this point, having talked to the people that we've been able to talk to. And the parking lot does not seem to be a problem to someone who knows the town and his job is to understand zoning. It does not seem to be a problem to we invited the whole town to come to Abernacky when Thomas came and we had over 50 people come and it was a 100% approval of those people that they definitely wanted the troll and since then many many people have contacted us and we have to keep saying we are getting nowhere with the town. So that's where we're at right now.

What do you want to do, guys, folks?

I'd like to make a motion to conditionally approve the Thomas Danbo troll location on the ledge rock on the filter bed road property, contingent upon approval of an infrastructure plan. So we will conditionally approve it. An infrastructure plan, an MOU, a licensing agreement, and a secondary location. Following the recommendations of Primex, our insurance company.

Would you be willing to put a date as to when all that has to be done?

It has to all be done prior to the installation of the troll.

I have a motion by Mr. Deshaies. Do I have a second? There's no second. Your motion fails. Is there any other conversation we want to have about this? Linda?

Yeah, I would like to have two members of the Board of Selectmen sit down with this group and see if we can get some of our questions answered. When I read the answers that I've asked Steve Randall, I do not see an approval here. He says, I recommend that we have an area designed for development like any other place, survey, engineering, and build property. So I'm going on, and these were questions I had sent to him, and we all have answers. You know, I think what we need to sit in a small group, have a conversation to see where MOU would be, get a better understanding of all the ins and outs as a possible way to see if we can move forward on this.

I'm not going to take that as a motion. That's a suggestion by members of this board. Does anybody on this board have any objection to carving out two of us to go try to sort this out? John?

I don't have a problem, but I can't support that spot. That's all there is to it.

Got it. Okay. Does anybody have a problem with a couple of members of this board going off on the side and trying to carve this out? You good with that?

Yeah.

You in? I'm in, and I'll meet with them.

I'm willing to work to see what we can come up, see if we can get it before we say done.

20, 30 days, a month, 20, 30?

Let's try to get it done in 15 days.

A couple of weeks. You said 18 days?

19.

Couple of weeks. That's a couple of weeks. We'll see what we can do. I think it's our best shot at it. We owe you a get-together meeting.

John, I just have one question for you.

Thank you.

Help me understand what your problem is with that location so I can try to have a better answer for you.

I think I laid it out there. Again, it's logistics. It's the neighborhood. It's the roads. It's the... the perspective possibility that something else will go there, but it's a major impact to the residents in that core downtown. You are saying you want to bring it to that location. I'm saying, in my mind, knowing that that steep hill, if cars are coming down that steep hill or going up that steep hill and trying to get out on North Main Street, you can barely get out that road right now. And then if that doesn't happen, then they're all coming down Mill Street. I don't think that that spot is a good spot for that reason.

One other question. When was the last time that area was used for staging?

Excuse me?

I think the staging, I think we built it out. From what I got from Steve, he built it. It was built out by Public Works to be an area for staging for the major projects downtown. That was in his answer to my questions.

Has it been used in the last 10 years?

Linda laid out the schedule of when it's going to get used. So I get a lot of unanswered questions about it. And I understand what John's saying. I think the best thing to do is get it off this table, because trying to problem solve in public is a very ugly thing we tend to do, and we look really bad at it. So Linda and Brian are going to go off on a corner with you guys and figure it out. Two weeks.

So can I ask you one question? So if it was built in another town, wouldn't those people still come here to shop or buy food? Because in those other towns, they don't have all that other stuff. I mean, they would come to Wolfboro to not? No, they wouldn't?

We don't know. We're speculating. But you're probably right. You're probably right. We're probably both right on that one.

Can I just say one final thing?

Last one, please. Come on.

I really appreciate you finally working with us and coming back and sitting down and let's get this done. I appreciate that. Thank you, Kathy. We've made great progress tonight.

Well, it ain't done until it's done, right? But at least we're starting to get it done. That's right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next item on our agenda is permission to hang a fundraising banner on the community center. Is Barry or somebody going to speak to that? Look at that. It's right up there. There's a sample.

It's a 4x8 banner. Jody couldn't be here this evening, but this is what they are proposing to hang on the community center front.

We don't need public input on this one, do we? No.

What do you think? I think that says it all.

I'll make a motion that we allow the hanging of this banner in front of the community center. Second.

I have a motion and a second to hang a banner in front of the community center up there as noted. Any conversation? Call to question. All those in favor, aye please. Aye. We have eyes from everybody? Yep. Yep. Okay, me too. It's in. All right, next is an approval to, I'm sorry, right to know. Amy has provided in your packet an illustration of the Right to Know formula process that's been used by others. She asked for any input from all of us. We have provided her none. The principle of this is to put the Right to Know requests on the website so that everybody knows what's being asked. There's a cost associated with pages. I think, John, you asked a question about that earlier. We've had no input. I'd like to get either a move to table or a move to approve.

Move to approve. I'll second it.

I have a move to approve the right-to-know request policy procedure adoption. Any further comments or questions? All those in favor, aye, please.

Aye. And the public needs to know we've seen it at least twice before.

Yeah. This is not just word. And if we hit a hiccup, we'll fix it. Correct. The good news is we want to lay out the rules as to how you do this. Everybody knows what the rules are. Makes sense. It's clarity. A new word of the week. The next is the lease to license agreement for the Cape Park propane tanks. I think you folks talked about this at the 15th meeting. It's back for you to either decide to do something about it or ask more questions.

So with this, Paul, we had a lease agreement. Now it's a license agreement. Also, the money's changed a bit at the meeting to include a consumer price index increase. So that's the only two things.

What did you do? Peg it to the rate of inflation or something like that? Yes, I did. I was looking at him.

I know, but we trusted Brian on that one. Sorry.

All right. So this is the lease. Do we have any more conversation or questions about it? Can I get a motion, please?

Move to approve the lease to license for the Cape Park. That's another thing. It went from a lease to a license. Agreement for Cape Park propane tanks with an increase this year of $84.

I'll second that. And didn't it have a percentage for the next year?

Yeah.

With the percentage of the cost of living increase. And I believe you have that document to sign this evening.

Beautiful.

It's in the box.

Perfect. That'd be great.

I have a motion and a second. Anybody have anything they want to say? Call the question on this? Yes?

Yes.

All those in favor, aye. Aye. Okay, last thing, my favorite, and I know it's yours. At the suggestion of John, we did a survey monkey, not really. We prioritized what we thought were our Priorities for our work plan. We've been shopping this one to each other several times, cleaning it up. A couple of months. Seems like forever. It's been a couple of months. We got 10, all right? You heard this tonight from people, actually. One of our thoughtful folks said, when are you going to get your you-know-what in gear and start working on maintaining your buildings? That's one of the priorities in here. So you're going to hold us to this if we adopt it. So unless people want to table this, I'd like to get a motion to adopt.

I will make that motion when I have someone who will join me in the town hall parking lot template for public hearing. He's holding up. Until then...

What are you asking for? I need to understand, do you want to hold a public hearing on it, or do you want a member of the board to go around and talk to you about the parking lot? I'm not quite sure.

I've asked for two years now that we decide what's going to happen with these parking spaces in the town hall. John wanted to have 15 of them go to town employees. We have one out in front for Pat Waterman that is supposed to be hers that's out back based on ordinance. I just want to clean up the ordinance.

The long and short of this, Linda, is Brian is asking for somebody to help him.

And Paul just volunteered.

Sure.

Okay.

That's going to get you to vote for the damn thing. Sure. There you go. Me and Paul.

No, that's okay. You can do it. No, I don't.

No, you don't. All right.

If it meant we could get it passed, I would have, but you stepped up first.

He's a good man. Well, that's a debatable question. So I have the final work plan that will include my name on Town Hall parking lot template public hearing along with the lovely and talented, well, Mr. Deshaies.

I'll make a motion to approve the Slack Board's work plan for 2026 as presented tonight with the addition of Paul working on the town hall parking lot.

I have a motion. Can I get a second, please?

Second.

I have a couple of seconds. Mr. Senecal, seconded any conversation? All those in favor, aye, please. Aye. It's unanimous. This is now our work plan for 2026, albeit a little late, but it'll go through 2027. So you can check up on us to make sure we're actually following the work plan. Any old business board members? Any other business board members?

I have other business. Lake Winnipesaukee 2026 will be held at the Wolfboro Town Docks on August 14th from 5 till 10 o'clock. We have face painting. We have glitter tattoos. We have character artists there. We have three blow-up carnival games, which are, and don't worry, they're not dangerous, axe throwing, one of them. Oh, the kids love those. But it blows up, so it's soft. And we have football toss and a ring toss, plus we have... The Kingswood Youth Center is going to have a basketball hoop shoot where kids will be able to win a prize We have food trucks. We have the Mount Washington and guess what's coming back the Winnie Belle all Polished up in its glory is coming to the town docks so people can come on see it get something to eat and have a libation and We have the One Wheel Wonder Unicycle group will be coming to do their performance for us, along with Dance Expressions, our local dance group, the Dance Expression Academy. And we have a flash mob coming called, I believe they're the Witches of Winnipesaukee, I think is their name. So they're going to be coming to the event. And the last one that just happened today, drum roll, Paul. The governor's coming to kick off the event. She's coming to the town docks at 5.30 to six o'clock and she will be giving Wolf Borough a rousing thank you and coming to the event to thank us for taking care or doing the best we can to bring awareness for the ecology of the lake.

Mr. Giusez, thank you for the low-energy report on what we're about to see for Lake Winnipesaukee Day. It should be a blast.

Oh, and the last hour is the one-hour laser light show.

There you go. All right. Any other business? Town manager's report, please. Thank you, Brian, for that.

Brian, I have a house full of teenage girls that evening. I'm really looking forward to that, so I'm going to be having... I'll be here at a late night myself. Auditors next week, I believe it's Tuesday, will be up. Paul, they're going to want to have a brief meeting with you as the chair. Yeah. So we'll be busy digging stuff out and working with them next week. Okay, for the bad news. The compressor up at the POP had a catastrophic failure. One of the two compressors We discovered this when we do an initial startup for the season. Obviously, this is an unbudgeted, unplanned event. We were able to find a rebuilt compressor out in Oregon that is in route. So there will be a little bit of delay in the season. And with that, I will say there'll be some budgeting discussions in the future for you folks to have to address, but that will be coming at a later date. Ms. Murray?

Yes, I would like to suggest that the Board of Selectmen meet on August 12th at 4.30 to have a discussion about the funding and how to address the chiller problem at Popwell, and I think it's something the board needs to talk about. What's the date, Linda? It's the next Wednesday, the 12th. I did it at 4.30. That means that Barry, you know, doesn't have another real light, but he would go any time, but I thought 4.30, if we could do that, it would be the best time, unless somebody can't do that.

Well, that would be great, but I'm being charged with criminal trespass for going into the water reservoir supply, so I won't be able to do it that day.

All right.

Well, then let's look at another day.

That was a good one, John.

I'm not available either.

I'm not available either. He's not available. So, Linda, that's a bad day for two board members.

So let's find another date.

What works?

How does the 11th?

11th works for me.

11th at 430? 11th. One of the things I'm going to be waiting for is some response from DRA for that meeting, so... Do you want to go to the 13th instead? I hope to have it, but I feel better if maybe by the 13th... How does the 13th work?

How about the following Monday?

Well, I think we've got to move on this relatively quick.

I have Lake Winnie Day on the 14th. I'm going to be all hands on deck.

I'll be available whenever you guys want to meet.

All right, let's shoot for the 11th. We'll do what we've got to do to get an answer.

Okay. So the challenge is going to be we've got to find the money. How many people, teams, groups have been pushed off to the side because of this delay? Okay.

So as of right now, there's been one Pee Wee team, I believe, displaced for the early open. I think it's Back Bay Hockey. I think they're going to lose a week there.

All right.

John. So do we have a number, did I hear, $250,000 for the chiller? Is that right? No. No? Okay. No.

And I hate to throw this out there without having a... I'm looking at probably 60 grand, John, but the problem is there were other items at the rink that were already requiring some expenditures. And so this is just going to compound on top of that. We had the chiller tube, one of the chiller tubes had to be replaced.

So... So what was the email that you sent to us that had the $1.3 million number?

So that's to replace the whole... That's all new refrigeration system. That's all new. That's the whole deal. And that'll be a CIP down the pike because what's there is original equipment. This is just one of the two compressors. One's a 12-cylinder, one's an 8, so... The eight-cylinder was pumping air on three cylinders.

Linda? The 262,000 that you saw was to bring in a temporary chiller on a trailer, and that was the first, and they've been working on it, and that's why I would like us to meet so we all hear all the issues and we don't get pieces from different units.

I got you. That was another option to bring a temp unit, re-pipe everything. It's a standalone unit.

Okay, guys, so right now the 11th at 4.30 looks like a workable date. Barry, if you wouldn't mind getting an agenda together as to what the options are and where we're going to find the money, because that's really the question, is where are we going to find the money?

That is the question. That's the question.

Committee reports, please.

Let's start down with Mr. Senecal.