Selectboard Minutes

Minutes

Town of Greenfield

Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH

Selectboard’s Minutes

Tuesday, February 20, 2018 – 5:30 PM

Selectboard: Chair Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectman Stephen Atherton, Selectman Robert Marshall

Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;

Public:

Documents for Review/Approval

1. A/P Check Register
2. Payroll Check Register
3. Selectboard Minutes
4. Welfare

5:30 PM: Public Forum

At 5:30 pm, Chairwoman Charig Bliss opened the meeting. It was noted that Gary and Karen Russell were in attendance for the public forum portion of the meeting. Gary Russell said that the Sportsmen’s Club is interested in running the Roadside Round-up this year after learning that the Conservation Commission is taking a year off from providing the program. Mr. Russell is the current president of the club. The Sportsmen’s Club is interested in having the event on the third Saturday of April, with an evening cook-out to follow at Oak Park. A discussion followed with the Selectboard. The Selectboard asked the Town Administrator to determine if and how an outside organization could host the event.

At 5:40 the Selectboard began working through the Consent Agenda.

At 5:45 Selectman Atherton joined the meeting

5:45 PM: Selectboard Work Session

At 5:45 pm the Chair noted that the Selectboard had a scheduled work session in advance of a public hearing. Richard “Rick” McQuade, Buildings & Grounds Manager was present and requested to speak with the Board. Mr. McQuade explained that he had cancelled last week’s meeting due to a scheduling issue. He stated that he had recently concluded two fact finding projects that he would like to share with the Board. The first was to gather quotes for the replacement of the sill on the back side of the Town Office. The second was to locate suitable netting for the pavilion at Oak Park to keep the birds out of the structure. The Selectboard agreed to hear the results.

Mr. McQuade explained that he had received several quotes from companies on the Town Office sill. Two of the quotes provided were verbal, and one written quote had come in from Ironwood Restoration. Ironwood Restoration renovated the Meeting House steeple. The Selectboard discussed the need to maintain the historic integrity of the Town Office in order to ensure that the town can apply for future grant monies. After some discussion it was agreed by the Selectboard that Ironwood Restoration was an ideal contractor as the town has experience working with the principal and the company has a focus on historic preservation. The quote from Ironwood is a range from $3900-$5500. This range requires three written quotes according to the purchasing policy. After further discussion, it was noted by Mr. McQuade that the companies that provided verbal quotes had received ample time to respond in writing but had neglected to do so despite several requests. These were general contractors that do not have a focus on historic preservation. At the conclusion of the comments, the Selectboard agreed by consensus that they would waive the purchase order requirements in favor of working with Ironwood Restoration, a known vendor with a significant track record with Greenfield. Mr. McQuade noted that Ironwood’s written quote was lower than the verbal quotes he received.

At the conclusion of the discussion, Selectman Atherton made a motion to award the sill replacement work to Ironwood Restoration. The motion was seconded by Selectman Marshall. On a vote of 3-0 the Selectboard awarded the work to Ironwood Restoration.

Mr. McQuade explained that after a lengthy investigation of the market he had located bird netting produced by a company named Plantar. This company had been recommended as their netting is used in commercial agricultural settings where deterrence of birds is critical. In full sunlight the netting is warranted to last 10 years. After speaking with the company, Mr. McQuade noted that the netting has a high tensile strength that resists stretching. This will provide for the ability to suspend the netting from the underside of the pavilion in a fashion that will keep the birds from nesting and roosting on the steel girders. Mr. McQuade explained that during the summer, he needs to pressure wash the pavilion floor and the picnic tables weekly in order to make the place usable for families that frequent the park. After some discussion, Mr. McQuade explained that the reason for bringing this forward was that funds were left in the Recreation Revolving Fund from the 225^th Committee’s fund raising. The Selectboard agreed to allow these funds from the Recreation Revolving Fund be used for the purpose of placing netting on the underside of the pavilion.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Selectboard continued their review of the Consent Agenda. The Chair noted that the upcoming public hearing is required by  RSA 33:8-a and read paragraph 1, “There shall be at least one public hearing concerning any proposed municipal bond or note issue in excess of $100,000 held before the governing body of any municipality”. The Chair asked if the selectboard members had any questions about the requirement for a public hearing, or the content of the public hearing. No questions were raised.

The Chair turned to the Draft Minutes of 2/13 and requested that a change be made to better explain Town Counsel’s recommendation on a change to the Town Warrant. The Board was of a consensus that this edit would provide a better explanation. On a motion by the Chair the Board voted 3-0 to accept the draft minutes of 2/13 with corrections.

6:30 PM: Public Hearing per RSA 33:8-a

At 6:30 pm it was noted that the following people had arrived for the public hearing: Pat Lapree, Karen Day, Diane Boilard, Katherine Heck, Carele Mayer, Ken Paulsen, George Rainier, Robert Wachenfeld, Neal and Agneta Brown.

The Chair welcomed the public to the hearing. After brief remarks regarding the necessity of holding a public hearing under RSA 33:8-a, the Chair opened the public hearing for public comment and questions.

-Diane Boilard from Icehouse Lane asked the Chair why the Selectboard is not recommending the warrant article for a new tanker.

The Chair explained that the Selectboard “debated long and hard” and all agree that the town needs a tanker, but, she said “not necessarily a new tanker”. The Chair explained her vote against recommending the tanker was partly based on her own internet search result, which showed a range of tankers costing from $20,000 to $129,000 for a 2015 model tanker. Her feeling is that the town cannot afford a new vehicle.

Selectman Atherton, also voting against recommendation, stated that he had a feeling that the way the warrant article was written...“if it came with the recommendation of the Board”, that the residents might just “rubber stamp the warrant article instead of” having a thorough conversation about the question of whether the acquisition of a used vehicle would be better suited for the town’s financial situation.

- George Rainier from Old Bennington Road asked if funds would still be placed in the Capital Reserve Funds if the warrant article for the tanker passes.

- Carele Mayer asked “who spends capital reserve funds?”

The Chair explained that the Selectboard was voted by Town Meeting to be the agents to expend capital reserve funds.

Selectman Marshall provided clarifying remarks regarding the question from Mr. Rainier. Selectman Marshall explained that the Planning Board had provided Capital Improvement Recommendations (CIP) that included significant increases in the capital reserve fund savings. Selectman Marshall explained that the Selectboard had decided to maintain the savings rate from previous years, but that he was open to a motion from the floor of Town Meeting to increase or decrease the amount of savings.

The Chair stated that the Selectboard cannot predict what a future Selectboard is going to do regarding the budget.

Selectman Atherton stated that the town needs water during a fire. He stated that he thought that the current Board, and past boards, have been supportive of the Fire Department. He stated that the town needs to discuss this article and if the town votes to have a tanker then let it happen.

Selectman Marshall provided remarks regarding his vote, which was a recommendation for the warrant article. Selectman Marshall said that the town had benefited from its disciplined savings and the results of this savings has started to bear fruit. He said that the Capital Improvement Plan has shown that Greenfield, with its modest savings, is unable to purchase ‘big ticket’ items outright from its savings. But the town can use the Capital Reserve fund savings to start the purchase and bridge the gap using a lease-purchase arrangement. Selectman Marshall explained that according to testimony from fire department members, a tanker carries 3000-3500 gallons of water. While the town has several vehicles that can carry a total of 3250 gallons, there are only three people that are in town during the day. As a result there are not enough people to drive the water to a fire. In addition, while every town relies on mutual aid to some degree, according to the testimony of the fire department, the response time from mutual aid can be 30 minutes or longer. As a result, the best case scenario is that the fire department delivers as much water as possible to the scene of a fire. He said that the fire department has submitted grant applications two years in a row, but its increasingly clear that this is not a viable path for Greenfield. He stated that the fire department had looked at tanker trucks that cost up to $400,000, but the vehicle in the warrant article is $240,000. The used market is small and competitive because tanker trucks are primarily a rural fire fighting tool. Urban areas have fire hydrant systems and are unlikely to turn over tankers. He stated that as this is a critical component in rural firefighting, it makes sense to purchase the vehicle new. Selectman Marshall said “we should make that investment”. He went on to say that there will not be a tax impact in 2018 and that the capital reserve fund will replenish over the five year period in time for the next CIP item.

- Katherine Heck from Slip Road asked a question regarding the nature of the Lease/Purchase agreement; “why didn’t the warrant article have an escape clause”.

Selectman Atherton responded that this type of lease/purchase cannot have a municipal escape clause as outlined in RSA 33:8-a.

- Karen Day asked if the Selectboard intended to split the Capital Reserve payment next year.

Selectman Marshall explained that the Planning Board CIP was recommending $70,000. The question of the payment in 2019 would be addressed by the Selectboard and would depend on the overall budget.

- Diane Boilard asked if the recommendation from the Planning Board of $70,000 was predicated on purchasing a tanker for $400,000.

Ken Paulsen, Planning Board and coordinator of the Planning Board CIP committee, said that the $70,000 was not based on the value of any one piece of equipment. Rather it was based on looking at all of the vehicles in the fleet, and noting the 25-30 year point for some of the individual vehicles. He stated that Greenfield “will always be in crisis mode at the $40,000 savings” level. He further stated that $70,000 won’t enable Greenfield to purchase new vehicles outright, but it will “take the pinch out of it, in the future”. He said that the goal is based on having the best tax rate in the future (instead of a tax rate that spikes). He said that from the Planning Board’s point of view, the $70,000 figure recommendation for the Fire/Rescue Apparatus Capital Reserve, is made in a vacuum and does not take into consideration all of the things that the governing body has to weigh. He said from that standpoint the Planning Board’s recommendation is different from the governing body’s recommendation, which has to consider a lot more moving parts.

Selectman Marshall added that the town now has some conscientious planning in place due to the Planning Board’s efforts. This was not the case in previous years when he was the Planning Board Chair. Selectman Marshall pointed out that the Treasurer has said in the past that the budget of the town has to be based on what people can afford.

The Chair stated that the governing body’s responsibility is to take into account what people can afford, including the “poorest among us”.

Selectman Atherton stated that compared to what we have saved, as a town, “we cannot afford the equipment we need”. The total for all of the future costs outlined in the CIP is in the millions of dollars. He stated that the town cannot afford all of its needs so the decision on how best to move forward has to be up to the people because it’s the people that are paying the bill.

-Robert Wachenfeld from Old Bennington Road asked if the Selectboard could cap the expenditure from the capital reserve fund to $100,000 and leave $60,000 in the reserve account.

The Chair agreed that the goal of Selectboard is to receive input from the town. The Chair explained to Mr. Wachenfeld that the Selectboard has jurisdiction over the CRF funds and could look at purchasing a used vehicle if the warrant article fails.

-Carele Mayer asked a question about the brush truck.

Ken Paulsen, Planning Board, answered that the brush truck is used infrequently and as a result that CIP recommendation comes next at a point that is ten years out.

-Pat LaPree asked if the fire department has three tankers.

Selectman Marshall explained that each of the vehicles in the fire department fleet carries water, including the brush truck. But the trucks in the fleet are all engines, which provide the pumps. The tanker is the vehicle that provides a copious supply of water. He explained how in mutual aid calls, tankers are used in rotation to provide large quantities of water to a fire.

Ken Paulsen, Planning Board explained that in the Planning Board’s conversation with Chief Hall, the tanker that is contemplated by the warrant article has a pump and is considered an ‘attack tanker’. The attack tanker can dump its water but is also capable of pumping the water directly on the fire.

- Karen Day and Diane Boilard asked how much the cost of the annual payment would be on the tax rate in future years. The answer was 19.5 cents per thousand.

-Pat LaPree asked if the town’s new tanker will be called on more often by mutual aid and therefore end up out of town more often.

Selectman Marshall provided an example of a brush fire in Temple. He stated that everyone is dependent on mutual aid. Keene Mutual Aid dispatch provides the dispatch calls and this is based on proximity. In effect Greenfield would not be singled out because it has a new piece of equipment.

The Chair surveyed the room and called for any last questions.

-Robert Wachenfeld stated that his suggestion would be for the town to consider a used option and cap the purchase at $100,000.

Selectman Atherton stated that he hoped that there would be a robust conversation at Town Meeting.

-Karen Day stated that a lot of work goes in to locating and purchasing a used truck. She cited the amount of travel required if a suitable tanker were found in another part of the country.

Selectman Atherton stated that if the town were to purchase the new tanker that he would personally drive the vehicle from the mid-west to New Hampshire for a nominal fee. Several people stated that his statement should be recorded in the minutes.

The Chair, noting that there were no further comments, closed the public hearing. The public hearing was closed at 7:27 PM.

Pat LaPree commented on closing that the Spirit Article regarding the proposed 2018 budget and the capital reserve fund recommendations was very comprehensive.

The Chair took a poll of the Selectboard members. The consensus of the board members is that the wording of article #2 would stand and advance to Town Meeting.

7:35 PM: Selectboard Work Session Contd.

The Selectboard received a report from the Town Administrator that the NH 911 Bureau had disallowed the road name changes voted by the Board for Dodge and Gulf Roads. This was the vote to change the roads to Dodge Road North and Dodge Road South, and , Gulf Road East and Gulf Road West. Per RSA 231:133, the 911 Bureau found these names violated the statute. In their communication with the town the 911 Bureau indicated that they would not enter the proposed names into the MSAG database, because the bureau could not aid the town in an unlawful act. The Selectboard discussed this development and reached a consensus that the Board should hold another public hearing and notice the abutters in a letter of the 911 Bureau’s decision, and the need to address the road names in a different manner.

Next the Selectboard, on a suggestion by the Chair, reviewed the wage program that they had worked on earlier in the year. At the end of a discussion the Chair noted that the Board should re-title the document the Wage/Salary Schedule. The Board was in agreement with the name change and reached a consensus to accept the program as finalized.

Next the Selectboard discussed raising the waste water user fees. Selectman Marshall stated he is in favor of establishing a committee made up of current users and charging them with the task of making recommendations about how the Town and users could manage costs and promote savings. After some discussion the Chair made a motion to increase the user fees by 5% each year for five years. Selectman Atherton seconded the motion. Selectman Marshall suggested that the motion be amended to 5% this year and to have a committee formed. This amendment was seconded by Selectman Atherton. After a short discussion, the Chair agreed to include this amendment as the original motion. The motion was to increase the user fees by 5% next year and to create a committee to explore ways to manage costs and promote savings for the community septic system. The motion passed on a vote of 3-0 in favor.

Next the Selectboard took up a discussion of a mileage policy based on several conversations with Treasurer Katherine Heck and the Town Administrator. The Chair provided a copy of a draft mileage policy based on several examples compiled and sent out by the Treasurer. The Selectboard discussed several aspects of the policy. The policy is based on the IRS mileage guidelines for the accountable program, which is separate from a taxable reimbursement policy. The Selectboard discussed the issue of mileage as it relates to employees, appointed and elected officials, and volunteers. The Selectboard discussed the question of stipends and the issue of benefit discrimination; the Selectboard concluded that the mileage policy draft was sufficiently complete to send to Treasurer Heck for comments.

Adjournment

The time being 9:20 pm, Selectman Marshall moved to adjourn. Selectman Atherton seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.

The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.