Selectboard Meeting
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, February 13, 2020 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;
Public: Gary Russell, Karen Russell, Mike Merzi, Heath Mitchell, George Rainier, Robert Wachenfeld
Documents for Review/Approval:
Documents List:
- A/P Check Registers– 2/10/2020
- A/P “ACH” Register – NH Retirement
- Selectboard Minutes 1/30/2019, 2/05/2020, 2/06/2020
- Transmittal Letter - Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund
- Transmittal Letter – Town Buildings Maintenance Capital Reserve Fund
Items for Discussion/Signature in the Public Session:
1. NH Economic Development Association -membership renewal
2. Draft Town Warrant & Draft MS 636
5:30 PM: Public Forum
The meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. The Board voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day, 3-0 in favor of the Consent Agenda. The Chair recognized Gary Russell, President of the Sportsmen’s Club. Mr. Russell is revisiting the request to have a logger clear a portion of the George Proctor Recreation area property, in conjunction with the logging of the George Proctor Town Forest. He stated that the town Forest Committee has received a viable bid for thinning and logging of the Town Forest, and he would like to approach the logger for the Sportsmen’s Club project. The Board discussed the project. The Chair noted that this was a follow-on request to a presentation made by Mr. Russell last year. Mr. Russell stated that at that time the Forest Committee had received a bid, but it was too low to cover the cost of the forester or provide any revenue. He noted that there is no cost to the town for the work that is being requested. After some additional discussion, the Board noted that the Selectboard has the authority over the George Proctor Recreation area according to the original language of the agreement regarding that town property. Thus satisfied that the request was proper, Selectman Marshall made a motion to enable the Sportsmen’s Club to clear a building area for a club house. Selectwoman Day seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0 in favor.
At 5:43, Mike Merzi joined the Selectboard and requested a few minutes as part of the public forum. He stated that he had some thoughts to share about the DPW department, which is a small crew with a lot of responsibility. Mr. Merzi expressed a concern about the backhoe and the question of whether the issue was a maintenance issue. He provided a copy of a daily log sheet that his company uses for each piece of equipment. The daily sheets are filled out at the end of the shift by the operator of the machine because the equipment is not dedicated to one operator, which is similar to the town’s department. In this way a paper trail is built on a daily basis so that maintenance issues are caught before they turn into bigger problems. A discussion followed with the Selectboard. It was noted that DPW Manager Mason reviewed the maintenance logs and discussed the issue with Caterpillar’s technician and reported that the part that failed was not due to a maintenance issue. Selectman Marshall stated that he appreciated the input from Mr. Merzi as the Board is always looking to tighten up on its processes. Mr. Merzi stated that the town’s DPW is faced with making a small crew as productive as possible. This requires that the department keep a tight maintenance schedule as well as look for other ways to maximize productivity. A discussion on purchasing and outsourcing followed. Mr. Merzi suggested that a frequent comment about the town’s grader is that it’s too small and struggles with some of the grader maintenance tasks. Mr. Merzi suggested that since the town is outsourcing to outside vendors then outsourcing to someone with a heavier grader would allow the town to use its grader for maintenance. A discussion on drainage and ditching followed with Selectwoman Day. A discussion of the use of excavators instead of a backhoe for ditching and to set culverts was held. It was noted that some equipment rental could be leveraged on a regular basis for ditching roads. It was noted that when the department had four employees, ditching involved the use of the grader, the backhoe and two men running dump trucks to act as flaggers and haul away waste dirt. With three men, the job goes slower. The department has had to adjust how it handles some of the tasks. Mr. Merzi stated that when applying a small workforce the focus has to be on maintaining productivity in order to get all the jobs done, especially as equipment ages. He suggested sending out oil samples on the older equipment for testing. A number of suggestions on contract services were discussed. Selectman Marshall suggested that the town could have two graders running if they could find a company to run a heavy grader. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board thanked Mr. Merzi for his insights.
5:45 PM: Selectboard Work Session
At 6:05pm, the Selectboard opened a discussion relative to an invitation to a joint meeting in Wilton, at the request of the town of Temple, to discuss the Ambulance program fee with the other participating towns. At the conclusion of the discussion the Board requested that a letter be drafted covering the Board’s commitment to the Inter-Municipal agreement as well as noting steps in the budget process that culminated in the annual cost provided by the Wilton Budget Committee. Selectman Marshall stated that it’s important that the other towns know that Greenfield intends to be a team player under the agreement, and, has put a lot of time into the Ambulance Advisory Committee meetings in order to ensure that the Board understands the issues and has been a strong partner in the process of creating budget and defining the service.
6:30 PM: Public Hearing – RSA 79-E Application for Community Revitalization Tax Incentive
At 6:30pm, the Chair stated that it was time to open a public hearing to review an application under RSA 79-E for community revitalization tax incentive. The Chair made opening remarks about the intent of the RSA and provided background to the application for the public in attendance. At the conclusion of the opening remarks, the Chair asked that Mr. Cilley, the applicant, provide background to the application for the benefit of the public. Mr. Cilley thanked the Chair and explained that the village garage was on the market for many years and wasn’t moving. Mr. Cilley purchased the building and has since worked with the Department of Environmental Services for Level 1 and Level 2 environmental testing. He stated that the building is 200 years old and needed a lot of work. The foundations have been shored up and new walls built to protect the structure. The building was once a blacksmith shop and there is an interest in having a blacksmith work and provide classes in the building. Mr. Cilley stated that he will be working with the Planning Board when it is time for a site plan review. In the meantime, given the cost associated with the environmental reviews, and the fact that the building does not have water or septic service yet; the 79-E application is to freeze the tax assessment for 5 years in order to allow for the restoration and enhancement of the building.
Selectman Marshall stated that there is a unique opportunity for the government of the town to show its willingness and support of investment into the downtown village area. This kind of application is really a kind of public/private endeavor that should be supported. Selectwoman Day thanked Mr. Cilley for his willingness to invest in the downtown.
Members of the public provided comments: Heath Mitchell stated that he was in support of the investment into the property. George Rainier stated he is in support of the project. Robert Wachenfeld provided additional supportive comments.
At 6:50pm, the Chair closed the public portion of the meeting. After some discussion, Selectman Marshall made a motion to conditionally approve the application subject to a covenant as outlined in the RSA, and any other conditions that the RSA mandates. The Chair seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 3-0 in favor.
7:45 PM: Selectboard Work Session
The Selectboard reviewed a draft Town Report. The Board finalized the dedication page language. The Board made some additional suggestions. The Selectboard discussed having a presentation for Town Meeting to go over the financial impacts of the budget.
It was noted by the Chair that the following meeting would overlap with the Selectman’s Advisory Committee meeting at 7:00pm. It was decided that the meeting on the 20th would be posted for 3pm.
Adjournment
At 8:45 pm Selectman Marshall made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion carried 3-0.