Selectboard Minutes
Town of Greenfield
7 Sawmill Road, Greenfield, NH 03047
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, May 13, 2021 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairman Robert Marshall, Selectman Michael Borden, Selectman Mason Parker
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; David Martin, Emergency Management Director
Public: Sheldon Pennoyer, Jesseca Timmons, Ray Cilley
5:30 PM: Selectboard Business Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. Chairman Marshall welcomed everyone to the Selectboard meeting.
The Chair noted that the meeting is the first public meeting since March 14th, 2020. The Chair requested a brief orientation on the Consent Agenda from the Town Administrator for the new members. At the conclusion of the orientation, Chairman Marshall stated that he would like to see the Selectboard bring back the public forum for 15 minutes at the beginning of every meeting. The Board agreed to the public forum.
The Selectboard reviewed the Consent Agenda items. The Chair read a letter from Cheltsin LLC’s, Jonathan Wheeler regarding a property in the village district. The letter states that the building is not occupied and no longer has a grandfathered status and as such should not receive a wastewater bill. The Selectboard held a discussion. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board determined that they would review Planning Board and Zoning Board minutes for guidance at their next meeting. No decision on the request will be made until a review of relevant documents and decisions by other Boards has been completed.
6:00PM: Friends of the Greenfield Meeting House
At 6:05pm, the Chair welcomed Sheldon Pennoyer, Jesseca Timmons, and Ray Cilley of the Friends of the Greenfield Meeting House. The leadership team of the Friends has come before the Board to discuss the restoration of the Greenfield Meeting House. The Chair provided opening remarks to a discussion. A brief conversation about how to facilitate outreach to the community was held. Selectman Parker has circulated survey questions to the group that he would like to have sent out as a town-wide mailer. Mr. Pennoyer stated that the Friends were in support of the survey. A letter to residents for publication in the Greenfield Spirit is also in the works. The two outreach documents will include a response date in June for the survey. Published results will be included in the following Spirit (August/September). The results will provide a snapshot of how educated the residents are about the project, which will help the group provide relevant information about the project’s scope, tax impact, grants and fund raising, overall cost, and timeline to completion.
The Chair outlined a calendar schedule and stated that the next step is to facilitate concrete numbers for the project, which will help with fund raising and capital planning. He suggested that a target time frame for a bond would be the 2023 Town Meeting. The Downtown Improvements bond will be paid off in 2022 and this will help provide room for a bond starting in 2023, which would minimize the impact on taxes. Mr. Pennoyer agreed with the approach and stated that the Friends would look to the Selectboard to determine the bond calendar. He stated that the Friends can provide support by coordinating the assembly of a design team. This will require the two groups (the Friends and the town) to pay for a team of professionals, with areas of expertise such as Architecture, Plumbing, Electrical, and Civil Engineering to develop bid documents for the project. Mr. Pennoyer stated that design teams have a cost that is in the neighborhood of 7-8% of the total project. Of that total cost, in order to develop bid documents, the initial design phase would likely be around $70,000. The Friends can donate $30,000 and the town would pay the remainder.
The Chair provided some background on the available capital reserve funds, and stated that at the LCHIP webinar the town learned that expenses to develop a bidding package could be used as part of the match in the LCHIP application. He stated that based on the bond calendar, the town could apply to LCHIP next year (2022) once the design team establishes the bid numbers. Selectman Parker stated that he is in favor of continuing the diligent savings plan to Capital Reserve Funds that the town has come to trust. He stated that “it seems like voters like saving for a project” and he would like to see this continue. Selectman Borden agreed. There followed a discussion on specific capital reserve funds and how they might be applied in the future to the project.
Selectman Parker asked some questions about the project’s process. Mr. Pennoyer explained that the Friends can make recommendations on potential design teams and then plans will be drawn up for the mechanical systems, plumbing system, electrical system and for significant structural items such as connecting to the Wastewater plant and installing an elevator. Each company in the design team will have an area of expertise and responsibility. He explained that the plumbing engineer might be responsible for the new plumbing in the building and then to 5’ outside the building envelope, a civil engineering company would take over to connect to the wastewater plant, which is on the other side of Rt. 136. Mr. Pennoyer stated that in this way there will be a list of decisions that will be part of the overall plan.
Selectman Parker asked what the Friends’ long-term strategy is for their role in the Meeting House, including after the building is fully restored. He stated that there will be new expenses for the structure once an elevator is installed. He asked “what is the scope of the Friends” for the future? Ms. Timmons explained that the group is committed to the long term and that the Friends’ mission statement includes ongoing support for the Meeting House into the future. She stated that there is a void where the Women’s’ Group and the Congregational Church used to provide support for the facility. The Friends intend to fill that void.
A conversation about fund raising was held. A number of potential ideas were included such as ‘naming rights’ to plaques and certain portions of the project. Ms. Timmons stated that the Friends would like to host an outdoor birthday party for the Meeting House this year. A discussion followed on events, including the Oktoberfest, which the Friends hope to host at the Meeting House on October 2nd.
The meeting with the Friends of the Greenfield Meeting House ended at 6:55pm. The Selectboard thanked the Friends for their support.
7:00PM: Selectboard Business Meeting (Contd).
At 6:57pm, Emergency Management Director, David Martin updated the Selectboard on a recent meeting of the Emergency Management Response Team. The EMRT team met and held a discussion on the EMRT response to the pandemic. EMD Martin stated that the EMRT would like to meet with the Board and have a discussion about the town’s overall COVID response. He stated that one area of interest for the discussion is to hammer out the varying areas of responsibility and authority during a pandemic. The Selectboard discussed and agreed that Thursday, June 1st would be the first opportunity to hold such a meeting.
A brief discussion on CDC guidance was held. The consensus of the Selectboard was that they recently adopted and voted on new guidance for all town buildings and that this guidance, including capacity limits, encouraging face coverings and hand sanitizer, and social distancing inside buildings, would continue. The Board suggested that they may revisit the vote at some point, but for the foreseeable future the current guidelines and limitations will remain.
The Chair noted that the Selectboard has not yet voted on the Consent Agenda. Selectman Borden made a motion to accept and approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Selectman Parker. The Chair called the vote and the result was 3-0 in favor of the motion.
The Chair requested an update on progress with the water level at Zephyr Lake. It was noted by Selectman Borden that Mr. Vincent had called the Town Office to express his appreciation. The water levels are down. The DPW has been successful in addressing the beaver dams for the near term. Selectman Borden explained that the beavers are already starting to show activity in response. Ultimately the beaver activity will need to be addressed as part of an ongoing management program. Selectman Borden outlined his conversation with the DPW acting foreman about a wildlife control officer with the appropriate licensing to address beaver activity. At the conclusion of the discussion, Selectman Borden made a motion to hire the wildlife control expert and to pay for the service from the DPW budget. The motion was seconded by Selectman Parker. The Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion. The Chair noted that the culvert between the road and Zephyr Lake, near the parking area, may be plugged. The wetland across the street is holding a lot of water. He requested that DPW check the culvert and address as appropriate.
The Selectboard discussed their calendar and it was noted that the Administrator will be on vacation the week of the 27th. The Board decided to cancel their meeting that week.
The Selectboard took up a discussion about the Broadband bond and contract negotiations with Consolidated Communications. At the conclusion of the conversation, the Administrator was tasked with coordinating with Tom Bascom in order to look at how best to coordinate with the Broadband group now that the bond has been voted by Town Meeting.
The Selectboard took up a discussion on water testing at Sunset Lake and Zephyr Lake. Chemserve has quoted $45.00 for bacteria tests but can provide a bulk rate. The bulk rate is pending further discussion.
The Selectboard approved an interview schedule with initial applicants for the DPW Director position.
The Selectboard reviewed and approved the interview questions. A discussion on the job description followed. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board agreed that the job description posted on the website was sufficient for the time being. Once a new director is hired, the Selectboard will look at the job description with the director and determine if any changes are needed.
There followed a discussion about job descriptions and evaluations. The discussion included the Selectboard’s role as an appellate body and their goal of employee development and retention. The Selectboard agreed to set aside time in a future meeting to go over their goals in this area in more detail.
There being no further business the Board voted to adjourn.
Adjournment
At8:48 pm, Selectman Parker made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by the Selectman Borden. The motion carried 3-0 in a roll-call vote: Selectman Borden, Aye; Selectman Parker, Aye; Chairman Marshall, Aye.