Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectman Robert Marshall, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr.
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Fire Chief David Hall
Public: John and Emily Quigley
Documents for Review/Approval
- A/P Check Register (2)
- Waste Water Check Register
- Real Estate Tax Liens – 4 Copies
- Minutes of Selectboard Meeting – 6/13/2017
- New Hire Worksheet – WSI Instructor
- Oak Park Rental
- Welfare Vouchers (2)
5:30 PM: Public Forum
At 5:30 pm Chairwoman Charig Bliss opened the meeting. John and Emily Quigley came before the Board during the public forum to discuss Greenfield Baseball and the ConVal Cal Ripken Program. It was noted during the discussion that the baseball equipment had been returned to Greenfield by Cal Ripken and was now stored and locked in the new baseball shed at Oak Park. Emily Quigley outlined that the Greenfield Rookies were able to host their own team, and there should be a refund to the parents of the rookies, who were unable to get baseball uniforms in time for the season.
The Selectboard began working through the Consent Agenda.
The Chair motioned to accept the Consent Agenda. Selectman Marshall seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously 2-0.
5:45 PM: Fire Chief, David Hall
At 5: 05 pm, Chief Hall met with the Selectboard to discuss a plan to attract members to the Greenfield Fire Department, which includes a revision to the plan for a burn building, and partnering with outside educational organizations. Chief Hall outlined that in the 1980s and 1990s it was fairly common to attend live burn sessions, which were extremely helpful for firefighter training. He cited a recent article in an industry journal in which the author attested to attending over 100 live burns in the first three years of his fire service. Chief Hall said that today firefighters have very few options for live burn training. He outlined the type of training that occurs in the modern burn buildings, which are typically large concrete bunkers. The training is based around controllable propane based simulations with little to no smoke, and which are controlled by operators in safe conditions. After a long discussion on the need to create live burn training opportunities as a way of attracting new members to the fire department, Chief Hall outlined a revised plan for a burn building training facility located in Greenfield. The Chief said that as a result of recent conversations regarding the use of concrete buildings and the cost to outfit this type of buildings with monitoring systems, he was proposing to build instead a large pad out of concrete and steel, on which a structure could be built for minimal outlay and then used to provide many controlled live burns during the year, culminating in the burning down of the structure at the end of the year. This plan has the advantage of providing real world training and sidesteps the disadvantage of costly monitoring system installations, and the possibility of a condemned building at the end of the building’s useable lifespan.
A discussion followed in which the Selectboard discussed several thoughts: including the possibility of local businesses providing donations of building materials; the role of the Greenfield Firefighter’s Association in the fund raising; the effect of the training as a motivator for members of the department as well as the members of surrounding area fire departments; and the location where the burn building could be installed. The far end of the recycling center was discussed as a likely spot for the installation of the building, however, it was acknowledged that the design and reconfiguration of the center has stalled and it was not likely that the training building would be installed this year. The Chair raised a concern that a burn building is not addressing the EMS calls, which are the majority of calls today. Chief Hall explained that the difficulty nationwide with volunteer service is that the number of volunteers is down by a third everywhere. The EMS calls and EMS training are ongoing however, whereas live burns are very infrequent. The boost that live burns would bring to recruitment and retention is much higher than EMS related trainings or calls. The Board provided a conditional approval based on cost to build, and then discussed the need to contact the town’s insurance pool.
7:10 PM: Selectboard Work Session
The Board reviewed the agenda then held a discussion on the Greenfield Police Chief search. The Town Administrator provided an outline of the requirements for hiring a new police chief, including background check, physical, and potentially a polygraph, and psychiatric report. There are at least two organizations that can help the town navigate the complexity of the police chief hiring process, the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Chief’s Association. The Selectboard has been in the process of working on a job description. A discussion on the job description was followed by a discussion about the committee. The Board noted that there are three law enforcement committee members ready to go, and there are two other slots to fill. It was agreed to reach out to Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center to see if John Parisi would act as a representative of CMRC on the committee. The Selectboard drew up a list of other member potentials and asked the Town Administrator to follow-up with them.
The Board discussed scheduling an employee staff meeting on July 25th.
Adjournment
The time being 10:05 pm, Selectman Marshall moved to adjourn. The Chair seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried 2-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:05 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.