Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, June 07, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Robert Marshall, Selectwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;
Public: Adele Hale
Documents for Review/Approval:
- A/P Check Register – June 6, 2018
- A/P “ACH” Register – NH Retirement
- New Hire Worksheet (2) – Lifeguards
- Elderly Deferral Application
- Minutes of Selectboard Meeting – 5/31/18
- Meeting House Rental
- Welfare (3)
5:30 PM: Public Forum
At 5:30 pm, Chairman Robert Marshall opened the meeting. Chairman Marshall, noting Dave Martin and Diane Boilard’s presence for the Public Forum, asked if there were any issues that the Board could address. Mr. Martin, Greenfield Emergency Management Director had questions and recommendations for the website. Mr. Martin requested that the website homepage be changed so that the News & Notices tab is showing rather than the Welcome message tab. Mr. Martin stated that he felt that the majority of people using the website were from Greenfield or the surrounding area and would benefit from having immediate access to upcoming events and notices rather than having to click to another tab to find that information. Mr. Martin discussed the use of an emergency notification banner for the website with the Selectboard. There is an emergency banner that can be activated and will run on every page. The Administrator explained that the banner can be updated remotely. After some additional discussion the Selectboard requested that the website permissions be researched to see if the EMD or his deputy could update the website banner in an emergency situation.
5:55 PM: Ann Setaro, Resident
The Selectboard welcomed resident Ann Setaro. The Selectboard explained that the Town Clerk continues to be out with illness and that the town has had difficulty providing Town Clerk services to the public. The Selectboard is interested in having municipal agents available to provide supplemental services to the Town Clerk’s office in order to provide DMV services (registrations, renewals, etc.). After a discussion regarding the training, Ms. Setaro affirmed her interest in supporting the Town Clerk’s office and said she would be willing to train as a municipal agent. The Board thanked Ms. Setaro for her willingness to help and support the town. The Board discussed next steps for Ms. Setaro and were of a consensus to request training for Ms. Setaro from the temporary municipal agent working for the Clerk’s office. Ms Setaro agreed to begin the observation training as soon as her schedule permitted.
6:30 PM: Selectboard Work Session
The Selectboard discussed a request for elderly real estate tax deferral application. The application was deemed incomplete and the Administrator was asked to correspond with the homeowner and provide instructions on how to bring the application into compliance for the Board to review.
The Board approved a request from residents in Francestown to place Town Wide Yard Sale signs in Greenfield.
Selectwoman Day advised the Selectboard that the Fire Department is ready to start with the burn building. There followed a discussion on liability that included an outline of meetings with Primex, the town’s risk management pool (insurance provider). The Selectboard discussed asking a Primex Risk Management consultant to a meeting to go over the fire standards and to better understand the town’s responsibilities and liabilities prior to signing off the installation of a burn building.
Chairman Marshall stated that there is growing evidence that the Board should address whether or not there is a conflict of interest in Selectwoman Day being a member of the Fire Department as well as a member of the Selectboard. The Chair stated that he was aware that a conflict could be happening considering the fact that the fire department business is being handled by Selectwoman Day, in conjunction with a noticeable absence of the Fire Chief at Selectboard Meetings. A discussion followed and the Board agreed to hold a non-public meeting with the Fire Chief on Monday June 11th at 10:00am, and to request that the Fire Chief be present for a business meeting during the Selectboard meeting on June 14th.
The Selectboard discussed an upcoming visit from the Architects that are conducting the LCHIP Preservation Assessment of the Meeting House. The Board asked that the firm include recommendations for an elevator at the Meeting House as part of the firms ADA compliance review.
There followed a brief discussion on the following topics:
- Oak Park – grant documents that were formulated for improvement of the facility at the time of the downtown beautification grant project
- The cross-road at Oak Park and whether the town can close the cut across from Forest Road to Route 136
- An update on tree removal from the vicinity of the GCCC church building. The tree was taken down by DPW as it was on the town’s wastewater property and was leaning over on the GCCC building
- The Selectboard would like to conduct the Town Administrator’s evaluation in August
- A question regarding the blue trailer owned by the Monadnock Mountaineers was raised. The Monadnock Mountaineers are dissolved and the trailer should be removed from the park. Selectman Marshall is working on the issue with a representative of the Mountaineers.
Lastly, Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion was called and passed 3-0 in favor.
Adjournment
The time being 8:45 Selectwoman Charig Bliss motioned to adjourn; Chairman Marshall seconded and the vote was unanimous 3-0.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.