Selectboard Minutes
Town of Greenfield
7 Sawmill Road, Greenfield, NH 03047
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, March 2, 2023 – 5:00 PM
Selectboard: Chairman Mason Parker, Selectman Michael Borden, Selectman Bascom
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Brian Giammarino, Police Chief; Jeff LaCourse, Fire Chief; Eugene Hennesy, Forest Fire Warden
Public:
Documents for Discussion/Signature
- Payroll Check Register dated 3/03/2023 in the amount of $34,157.30
- Solar Exemption Application – R8-3
- Purchase Order – Schoolhouse Bridge Engineering Study
- Welfare Voucher
- Minutes of 2/23/2023
Other letters/ items for Discussion/Signature:
- Updated Capital Reserve Funds report – Fire Rescue Apparatus
- False Alarm Ordinance - Update
5:00 PM: Brian Giammarino, Police Chief & Jeff LaCourse, Fire Chief
The Chair opened the meeting at 5:00 pm noting that due to a meeting at ConVal, the Board would need to close the meeting at 6:45pm. There will be no public forum, as outlined on the posted agenda. The Selectboard reviewed the Consent Agenda items and signed documents.
The Chair welcomed Police Chief Brian Giammarino and Fire Chief Jeff LaCourse. The Chair noted that 2022 was a busy year for the Police and Fire Departments. The Selectboard would like to discuss the impact of the non-profit organizations on the two departments. The Chair noted that Greenfield has a number of non-profit entities in its footprint including Barbara C. Harris Center, Brantwood Camp, Plowshare Farm, Seven Hills (Crotched Mountain School – formerly Legacy by Gersh), and Southern New Hampshire Services. These are the largest of the organizations, and represent the most activity in Greenfield.
Chief Giammarino stated that while the Police Department has responded to calls at all of the facilities at some point, the largest impact on police services is from Crotched Mountain. A print-out from the Hillsborough sheriff’s department for calls to that facility includes 178 calls for service in 2022, which does not include the walk-in traffic, telephone calls for service to the office or to the Chief’s cell. 27% of investigations last year involved Crotched Mountain. Altogether this represents more than a third of department resources.
Chief LaCourse stated that 2022 represented a “huge number of calls”. In previous years the department would average about 250 calls. Last year the call volume was closer to 400 (387). Of the Fire calls, 173 of 248 or 69.8% of fire calls went to Crotched Mountain and were almost entirely false alarms. In 2022 the department instituted charges for false alarms. The other non-profits have a small number of calls, most of those are medical for legitimate issues such as bee stings, burns, falls and other life events. When Crotched Mountain Foundation was at its peak, the number of EMS calls exceeded the fire service calls. Now with a much smaller number of people at the facility, the numbers have shifted and they are having a lot of fire service calls.
Chief Giammarino stated that Seven Hills is actively looking to bring the Crotched Mountain facility back to full occupancy.
The Chair stated that the call volume to Seven Hills appears to be continuing in part due to the facility, but noted that the expansion of the service will continue to increase as they grow. The issue that the Selectboard has for discussion, is that both departments are not fully staffed compared to when Crotched Mountain was at its peak. The Police department cannot fill its part-time openings and the number of volunteers on the fire department is low and supplemented by bunk-ins. Chief LaCourse stated that when he started with the department there were thirty members. Today there is less than twenty, with several that continue to work with the department but live out of town. He was just notified of a resignation from a member that has moved away.
The Chair stated that the difficulties with staffing are part of nationwide trends, but the Board is concerned about the two departments managing the workload with the resources that they have. If Crotched Mountain reaches full capacity with 800-900 people a day in town, if the call volume continues on its current trajectory, the capacity to service the organizations and the residents in town is at risk. The Chair spoke to the issue of the police department triaging for coverage using the three people on staff, while the Fire Department has the same recruitement issues that affect all volunteer departments nationwide. Recruitement is almost at a standstill; volunteerism is at a low point historically everywhere.
The Chair discussed expanding the fire department false alarm ordinance to include notice to disconnect automatic alarms. A discussion followed. Gene Hennessy stated that the town’s policies should be examined to ensure that they don’t conflict with other codes that Crotched Mountain is required to follow, and to ensure that the department’s policies support the Selectboard’s suggestion. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair thanked everyone for joining in the discussion.
5:45 PM: Police Chief Evaluation
The Chair stated that the Police Chief is scheduled for an evaluation, which was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. The Chair asked if the Chief would like a non-public session. Chief Giammarino stated he did not feel the need for a non-public session. The Selectboard and Chief discussed the department’s challenges in 2022. The Chair noted that the Board had requested that the Chief take vacation time and that was accomplished. The Selectboard and the Chief discussed the recruitment efforts that have been underway. Chief Giamminro state that NH Police Standards and Training shut down the Part-Time police academy during the pandemic. The Chief stated that he believes that the organization does not have a plan to bring it back anytime soon. He is concerned that there are rumors that they may not bring it back at all. Unfortunately that reduces the prospect of hiring part-time officers. Even full-time officers are difficult to find. Many departments have openings. Winchester advertised a $20,000 bonus to sign on a full-time officer. He stated that as another example, the State Police are short 81 positions. So it’s a very difficult time. In this kind of environment, he said its very difficult to attract people to work part-time. It was noted by the Board that Hancock abandoned the pursuit of part-time officers and went with a fourth full-time officer. Chief Giammarino stated that the position is empty again. It was filled but it didn’t work out. The Selectboard and Chief discussed coverage, morale in the department, and the Vehicle Capital Reserve. The Board wanted to know if the Chief felt that the town should look at a fourth officer. Chief Giammarino stated he was not willing to look at a 4th full-time officer at this time. He stated he is focused on getting ready to move the station to the Old Town Office building and then he would be able to look at that question. The Board stated that they are interested in bringing the real costs of service in today’s environment to the residents at Town Meeting and that they felt it was important to get in front of the question. At the conclusion of the meeting the Board thanked Chief Giammarino for his service.
6:40 PM: Selectboard Work Session
Selectman Borden explained that the Fire Department has a question about a possible donation. There is a company that is willing to donate a Ford F150 to the department. The value is in excess of $10,000, which requires that the Selectboard hold a public hearing to accept the donation. The Board agreed to schedule a public hearing.
The Chair requested a motion on the Consent Agenda. Selectman Borden motioned to accept and approve the Consent Agenda. Selectman Bascom seconded the motion. The Board voted 3-0 to approve the Consent Agenda.
There being no further business, the Board voted to adjourn.
Adjournment
At 6:50 pm, The Chair made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by the Selectman Borden. The motion carried 3-0.