Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, June 21, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Robert Marshall, Selectwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator
Public: Gary & Karen Russell
Documents for Review/Approval:
- A/P Check Register – June 20, 2018
- Land Use Change Tax Abatement – Avitar Letter
- Timber Tax Levy – R10-7
- Abatement –Correction of dupl. entry
- Minutes of Selectboard Meeting – 6/14/18
- Meeting House Rental
- Welfare (3)
5:30 PM: Public Forum
At 5:30 pm Chairman Marshall opened the meeting and welcomed members of the public to speak to the Board. Gary Russell asked about a request from the ConComm regarding the brook at the Savage Property. Then Mr. Russell asked about the fire department burn building. He expressed concerns about the water protection area around the recycling center property. He said that there is a brook on each side of the property and the brook (s) could be affected by run-off if the fire department were to discharge hundreds of gallons of water on the property. Mr. Russell asked if the Selectboard had any information on the status of the landfill and if there were landfill materials under that area of the recycle center land. Mr. Russell asked the Board if the possible fire risk to the material under the area had been considered. The Chair thanked Mr. Russell for his comments.
5:40 PM: Police Chief Giammarino
Chief Giammarino asked to make a brief announcement to the Board. The Chief detailed a recent law enforcement operation in town that took place with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the State Police, and the Greenfield Police. DEA took two people into custody and they were processed in Peterborough.
The Selectboard asked about the open patrolman position. After a brief discussion The Selectboard voted to post the position. On a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss the Selectboard 3-0 in favor of posting the open position in the police department.
5:45 PM: DPW Road Manager, Todd Mason
At 5:45pm the Selectboard welcomed Todd Mason. Mr. Mason provided three quotes for the first 1/3 portion of East Road, starting at Forest Road. The quotes are from Mitchell Sand & Gravel, Brox Industries, and Advanced Paving. Mitchell Sand and Gravel quoted 1650 tons of machine paving of 3/8” material with a total cost of $114,625; Brox quoted 1650 tons at 1.5-2” material with a total cost of $118,140; Advanced Paving quoted 1290 tons of material at 1.5” at $113,268. Mr. Mason explained that he needs a certain amount of the warrant article for the gravel shoulder alongside the portion of paved road to prevent vehicles from cracking the edges of the road. Mr. Mason walked the Selectboard through the quotes provided. The Selectboard deliberated and made a determination that the strength of the road would be greater with the amount of paving material and the thickness of the paving that the Brox quote provides. After discussion, the Chair made a motion to award the paving job to Brox Industries and, in recognition of the due diligence from the DPW Manager, to have a purchasing policy waiver attached to the award rather than go out to formal bid. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Charig Bliss and the motion passed 3-0 in favor.
Next Mr. Mason outlined that DH Hardwick is discontinuing the production of gray crushed stone product that has been used to good effect on Cornwell Road and other areas in town. The Board agreed that DPW should stockpile the product at the DPW shed so that it could be used as shoulder material on East Road.
Mr. Mason went through his budget and reported that DPW is at 45% of the overall budget. Recent repairs to the Freightliner 6-wheel dump truck were expensive but otherwise the fleet is running well. There followed a conversation with the Board about tree trimming and the ditching schedule for 2018.
6:45 PM: Welfare Director, Leah Fiascanaro Conway
The Selectboard discussed the 2018 Welfare budget. It was noted that payments for rent are 150% of budget on that line item. The Chair asked Ms. Conway if there were any concerns about the budget through the remainder of the year. Ms. Conway said that the department cannot deny aid regardless of the amount of funds in the budget. As such she is always vigilant, but she noted that she hasn’t gone over budget in the last several years, since she started the position. A discussion followed on the 2018 budget. The Selectboard noted that depending on the weather this year could be difficult for the budget. Then Ms. Conway and the Selectboard discussed some of the issues with the office layout. The Selectboard requested that when the budget reaches the 75% expenditure point, Ms. Conway should meet with the Selectboard to provide an update.
7:15 PM: Selectboard Work Session
The Selectboard began the work session with a discussion of items on the Consent Agenda. The Selectboard noted that there was a need for a sign for the Police Station. The sign would be helpful in directing people to the lower level of the parking lot instead of to the Town Offices.
Next the Selectboard discussed the public safety allowance for the Fire Department. After some discussion it was agreed that the Selectboard had finalized the mileage policy. On a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss, the Board voted 3-0 to provide a public safety allowance to the Fire Chief in the amount of $50.00 per month. It was noted that the Selectboard is awarding the Fire Department allowance to the Chief and does not intend to provide an allowance to other firefighters. There is only one allowance provided to the Fire Department.
Next the Selectboard discussed a Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) abatement request. The town’s assessing contractor provided a letter of explanation of the original LUCT assessment. The contractor advises the Selectboard to deny the abatement application. On review of the materials, the Selectboard discussed the use and improvements to the property and concluded that they would uphold the assessing contractor’s recommendation. On a motion by Selectwoman Charig Bliss and a second by Selectwoman Day, the Board voted 3-0 in favor of denying the abatement.
Selectwoman Charig Bliss noted that this was the end of the open items on Consent Agenda; on a motion by Selectwoman Charig Bliss and a second by the Chair, the Selectboard voted 3-0 to approve the Consent Agenda.
Next the Selectboard discussed issues related to Sunset Lake Beach. The Department of Labor has flagged Greenfield for an audit of youth employment records going back to June 15th of 2017. The Selectboard discussed the audit and requested that the head lifeguard meet with the Board to discuss staffing at the beach.
8:40 PM: Selectboard Non-Public
Next the Chair asked if there were any additional items for discussion. There being none, the Chair stated that he had an item for non-public discussion and asked for a motion. Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion under RSA 91-A:II, a and c, to enter into non-public discussion to discuss a personnel matter. The motion was seconded by the Chair. On a roll-call vote the Board voted 3-0 to enter into non-public session.
At 9:27 the Board voted 3-0 to enter into public session. While in the public session, Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion under RSA 91-A: III to seal the minutes in order to preserve the integrity of the Selectboard’s decisions and to protect the reputation of individuals other than members of the public body itself. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion was called by the Chair and passed 3-0 in favor of sealing the minutes.
The Selectboard discussed their meeting schedule. The Chair suggested that the Selectboard meet again prior to their regularly scheduled meeting. After discussion the Board agreed to post a meeting for Wednesday, June 27th at 10:00 am.
Adjournment
At 9:33 pm Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to adjourn the meeting; seconded by the Chair, the motion carried 3-0.