Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, August 23, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Robert Marshall, Selectwoman Karen Day
Absent: Selectwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss,
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Todd Mason, DPW Road Manager
Public:
Documents for Review/Approval:
- Payroll Check Register(s) dated August 10 & August 24, 2018
- A/P Check Register dated August 8, 2018
- Gravel Tax Levy
- Sewer Tax Levy -3rd Quarter
- Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant – Grant Agreement
- Selectboard Minutes – 7/26/2018
- Meeting House Rental (3)
- Oak Park Rental
- Welfare Letter (4)
5:30 PM: Public Forum
At 5:30 pm Chairman Marshall opened the meeting and noted that there were no members of the public in attendance for the public forum. The Selectboard began working on the Consent Agenda items.
5:45 PM: Todd Mason, DPW Road Manager
Chairman Marshall recognized Todd Mason, DPW Road Manager. Mr. Mason had two items for discussion. Mr. Mason introduced Steve Jones from S.R. Jones and explained that S.R. Jones has bid on the New Boston culvert work and will work with the town to complete the project. By working with a contractor that is hired to complete the culvert replacement the town will benefit from cost savings and the job will go faster, said Mr. Mason. Mr. Jones provided background on similar work performed by S.R. Jones. Pictures were provided as part of the background explanation showing work in Antrim and Hancock.
Mr. Mason outlined the project requirements, the budget for the project, and explained the permits from the Department of Environmental Services (DES) and the U.S. Army for work that abuts wetlands and land owned by the United States. The permits are good through 2022, however Mr. Mason cautioned against waiting to get the work done. The rain this year has contributed to the urgency to replace culverts, especially those with significant engineering requirements. The Selectboard discussed the project and referred to the town’s purchasing policy noting that significant projects have historically had at least three bids. Mr. Mason explained that he has received two bids and a third company declined to bid. The quote from S.R. Jones came in at $25,000 due to their interest in working alongside the town’s DPW. A quote from Leighton White came in at $54,000 and that company was quoting the entire project without utilizing the help of the town. Mr. Mason explained that his preference is to work with S.R. Jones and pay for the work out of his budget rather than raise a warrant article for more money next year. The Selectboard discussed waiving the purchasing policy due to the rain and the cost. The Board agreed that the proposal had merit, however, with one Board member absent the Selectboard members would prefer to wait on awarding the job until the third selectboard member is present. Mr. Jones thanked the Selectboard for their time.
Mr. Mason stated that the second item for discussion was the culvert on Dunklee Hill Road. The Chair outlined several issues with the culvert for the benefit of Selectwoman Day. An engineering plan has been drawn up and is in the process of being submitted to the Department of Environmental services. A discussion followed and the Board asked several questions about the timeline for the plan approval. Mr. Mason outlined emergency measures for Dunklee Hill Road, including the possibility of putting a steel plate over the culvert for local traffic. Mr. Mason explained that he has had a complaint from a resident that lives on the road that the culvert area has become very difficult despite DPW adding gravel over the top of the culvert. The Board requested that Mr. Mason contact DES to find out how long the plan would take before it was approved.
6:30 PM: Selectboard Work Session
Chairman Marshall outlined a recent letter from the Selectboard Advisory Committee (SAC) to the legislature. He explained that SAC had requested that the Board vote on whether or not it would support the letter and then advise them of the outcome of the vote. The Chair explained that the letter is an advisory letter to the legislature regarding the cost of education at the local level. The Board read the letter and then on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day, voted 2-0 in favor of signing the letter. The Board requested that the Town Administrator notify SAC of the vote outcome. An email was sent to ConVal outlining the vote outcome.
Next the Board discussed the need to schedule a non-public meeting to review the Town Administrator yearly evaluation. The Chair will post a non-public meeting for Weds. August 29th at 9:30 AM. The Board discussed the possibility of having DPW Road Manager Mason attend the public portion of the meeting for a brief update.
Next the Selectboard reviewed an Emergency Management Grant to update the pre-disaster mitigation grant through the New Hampshire Department of Safety. The town has been awarded this grant for the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. It was noted that the town of Greenfield Selectboard, in a majority vote, accepted the terms of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Program as presented in the amount of $7,500 for the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. Furthermore, the Board acknowledges that the total cost of this project will be $10,000, and the Town will be responsible for a 25% soft match ($2,500). Further, the Board authorizes the Town Administrator to sign all documents related to the grant. Motion made by the Chair, seconded by Selectwoman Day and passed on a vote of 2-0.
7:00 PM: Police Chief Brian Giammarino
The Selectboard welcomed Police Chief Brian Giammarino to the meeting. Chief Giammarino discussed his interest in filling the open position for a third officer. He outlined his needs for part-time help. Chief Giammarino introduced Frank Shea to the Board. Mr. Shea is a part-time officer with Greenfield and works full-time in Hancock. A conversation with the Selectboard followed about Greenfield’s needs and the pay scale for full and part-time officers in the region. Chief Giammarino followed up on his previous conversation with the Board in August and explained how much other local agencies are paying part-time officers. A discussion followed about the role of the third full-time officer and the rate of pay for police officers in surrounding towns. The Selectboard asked several questions regarding the size of the other towns and whether the activity levels were comparable to Greenfield. Both Chief Giammarino and Officer Shea acknowledged that Greenfield has higher activity levels than towns of similar size but having pay commensurate with other agencies prevents turn-over. The Board indicated that budget season is approaching and pay consideration would be a topic during the budget season. Chief Giammarino thanked the Board for their time.
7:30 PM: Selectboard Work Session Contd.
Next the Selectboard discussed a culvert between the Long Block and Greenfield Meeting Place. An easement has been found in the files at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation from 1964, in which the former owners of the Greenfield Meeting Place provided an easement to the Town in order that the town install and maintain a culvert. Unfortunately there are no records that show that a previous selectboard accepted the easement and completed the work. Without this knowledge the Selectboard is unwilling to provide DPW maintenance on private property. A discussion followed regarding how to solve for the uncertainty surrounding the culvert, which is failing. It was suggested that Peter Hopkins, former Building Inspector for Greenfield be contacted as he was active in town when the easement was drawn up. Selectwoman Day volunteered to contact Mr. Hopkins as the Town Administrator would be on vacation the following week. It was requested that Mr. Grunbeck, the current owner of the Meeting Place, be advised of the Town’s stance on the culvert.
Adjournment
At 9:10 pm Selectwoman Day made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Chairman Marshall, the motion carried 2-0.