Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, September 27, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Robert Marshall; Selectwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss; Selectwoman Karen Day
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Doug Batty, GFD Grant Coordinator
Public: Robert Wachenfeld
Documents for Review/Approval:
- A/P Check Register dated 9/25/2018
- Change of Employment Worksheet – P-T to F-T Police Department
- Appointment to Conservation Commission
- Employee Vacation Request – Police Department
- Greenfield Cemetery Deed
- Selectboard Minutes – 9/20/2018
- Welfare Letter
Items for Discussion:
1) NH School Safety Preparedness Task Force publication
2) Greenfield Spirit October/November Edition
3) Resident Complaint
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. The Selectboard reviewed the October/November draft edition of the Greenfield Spirit. There were several suggestions made regarding the front page. The Selectboard was of a consensus that the presentation to the Greenfield community on the progress with the LCHIP Historic Building Assessment for the Meeting House by Misiaszek Turpin PLLC, the architects working on the assessment, and Mae Williams the Architectural Historian should be the front page article.
5:45 PM: Tim Lord, Political Candidate
At 5:45 pm, Tim Lord, political candidate from Hancock, stopped in as a courtesy to the Greenfield Selectboard. Mr. Lord explained that he would be campaigning in town leading up to the elections. There followed a discussion of pressing issues for Greenfield. Mr. Lord outlined that he was part of the preservation effort with the Hancock Meeting House. A conversation followed about the effects of the State downshifting expenses to local property taxpayers, the issues with school funding in New Hampshire, and a general discussion about taxes. Chairman Marshall stated that there appears to be a institutionalized attitude at the State Legislature to pass expenses down to the towns. At the conclusion of the discussion Mr. Lord thanked the Board for their time.
6:00 PM – Selectboard Work Session
Chairman Marshall provided an update to the Selectboard members on the recent efforts by the Planning Board to create a score card report that will help various community boards/ officials track their annual progress on completion of Master Plan objectives, as outlined in the recently completed Master Plan.
6:30 PM – Public Hearing to Accept FEMA Grant
At 6:30 pm, the Chairman Marshall noted that Rob Wachenfeld and Doug Batty were in attendance. The Chair opened the public hearing at 6:30 pm. The Chair then read the public hearing notice that was published in the Ledger Transcript according to RSA31:95-b for funds in an amount exceeding $10,000.
The Greenfield Selectboard will hold a public hearing pursuant to the provisions of RSA 31:95-b, as authorized by a vote on Article 5 of the 1994 Town Meeting; to accept $71,429.00 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant fund for an exhaust removal system at the Greenfield Fire Department.
The meeting will be held at the Town Office Meeting Room - Thursday, September 27, 2018, 6:30 pm. The public is invited to attend this meeting.
The Chair then made a motion to accept the FEMA / Assistance to Firefighters grant in the amount of $71,429 for the purpose of installing an exhaust system at the Fire Station. Selectwoman Day seconded the motion. Chairman Marshall opened the discussion to members of the public in attendance. Mr. Wachenfeld asked if the Selectboard would provide an explanation of what the funds would accomplish. Chairman Marshall asked if GFD grant coordinator, Doug Batty would describe the exhaust system for Mr. Wachenfeld. Mr. Batty explained how the exhaust system will draw CO2 emissions and carbon monoxide out of the fire department garage bays, reducing harmful emissions from circulating in the building. At the conclusion of the explanation, Mr. Wachenfeld stated that he was satisfied with the description and the grant was a clear benefit to the Fire Department. Chairman Marshall seeing no further questions called the vote and it passed 3-0 in favor of accepting the funding. The Chair then asked for a motion to close the public hearing. Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to close the public hearing. Selectwoman Day seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0 in favor and the Selectboard returned to the public meeting.
7:00 PM – Selectboard Work Session
The Selectboard reviewed a letter from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) regarding an inquiry from Fire Chief David Hall about the possibility of building a fire department training facility on the DPW-Recycling Center property. The letter from DES cited several items that the town would need to consider, along with a detailed list of findings from the Waste Management Division, the Water Division, and the Air Resource Division of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. These findings include the advice that the town utilizes qualified professional(s) to evaluate the risk associated with the project and the proposed location. The Selectboard discussed the letter and noted the requirement to register the sight as a “pre-1981” landfill. The Selectboard heard from the Town Administrator that research into old Town Reports from 1977, 1978, and 1979 shows the progress that the town made to cover the landfill, and enter into an agreement with the Town of Wilton for incineration of the town’s waste. The Selectboard noted that the town has been requested to register the landfill formally with NHDES as a “pre-1981” landfill. The Board discussed the information found in the Town Reports. Chairman Marshall asked the Selectboard members if they were satisfied that the information provided was sufficient for the Board to move forward with the registration. The Selectboard discussed this question and Selectwoman Day asked who was still alive that might remember the closure. The Selectboard suggested two individuals and asked the Town Administrator to contact them for their recollections.
Next the Selectboard discussed the Fire Chief Search process. The Board reviewed the parameters associated with volunteer, part-time, and full-time classifications. The Board discussed the classifications and noted that the most flexible positions were the volunteer and F-T exempt positions. The volunteer position is governed by the “20 Percent Rule” as outlined in the International Fire Chief’s Association FLSA Guidelines document. As such the compensation for a Volunteer Fire Chief has a ceiling based on the amount defined as ‘nominal’ by the Department of Labor. F-T exempt positions are governed by the Employee Personnel Policy. There are significant differences between a volunteer position, even with a substantial stipend, and a full-time employee. Part-time employees are limited in the number of hours that the employee can work in any given week, which can be problematic for emergency responders.
At the conclusion of the discussion, Chairman Marshall asked the Selectboard members if the Board wanted to recommend a full-time salaried fire chief in a warrant article to Town Meeting in 2019. Selectwoman Day stated. “It’s where we need to go, I can’t think of anything else [that would provide the same level of flexibility and be attractive to a candidate]”. Selectwoman Charig Bliss stated she was not ready to sign on to a full-time position. She stated that the total cost will be around $100,000, with all the benefits, and Greenfield still won’t have a department. Selectwoman Day added that this was true “especially on top of what’s coming [projected increase in taxes] from the School District this year”. After additional discussion, the Chair stated that he would need a vote from Town Meeting to make a significant change (to a full-time position).
A discussion followed about regionalization. It was noted by the Board that many feel that volunteerism is dying. Selectwoman Charig Bliss stated that Greenfield has the infrastructure in place to have a regional emergency response program. A discussion of mutual aid concluded that regionalization has some hurdles, but it was noted that Greenfield has been on the forefront of the regionalization discussions in the past. The Board concluded that the regionalization conversation is a longer term strategy, and was not going to solve the immediate issue of Chief Hall’s retirement at the end of the year. Selectwoman Charig Bliss said that there are a number of months between now and Town Meeting and the question is how to bridge that time.
It was a consensus of the Selectboard to ask Chief Hall to attend the meeting on October 11, or another day, in order to discuss some of these issues. The Board agreed that they are interested in posting a position by the end of October. The conversation with the Chief will go over the issues that the department and the Town face together.
After a brief discussion, it was noted by the Chair that he would be out of the country on the 4th. On review of the upcoming calendar, the October 4th meeting was cancelled.
There followed a discussion of a resident complaint regarding a political flyer that was circulated to homes in the Monadnock region. The complaint states that it is very disappointing that “our neighbor’s hard times are used for political gain”. The flyer features a photo and caption from Selectwoman Day on behalf of candidate Mark Fernald. The caption reads:
“There are people who come to Select Board meetings, and some break down and cry, because they can’t pay their property taxes and are afraid of losing their homes. This isn’t right.”
-Karen Day, Greenfield Selectwoman
Chairman Marshall stated that there is a difference between personal beliefs and those espoused by the Board. He noted that the flyer makes reference to the Selectboard’s meetings, and, references Ms. Day as a ‘Greenfield Selectwoman. The Chair stated that these references could make it appear that Selectwoman Day is speaking for, or on behalf of, the Selectboard. The Chair stated that everyone has the right to speak freely about what they believe individually, but that his expectation is that such a communication, which references the Selectboard, would be brought before the Board as a courtesy, for discussion and a vote. The Chair stated that Selectboard members have to be continually aware of the need for care when making public statements as individuals. Chairman Marshall referenced the content of the flyer and stated that some might construe that information from non-public sessions was being shared that had been sealed by vote of the Board, which does a significant disservice to the Selectboard’s meetings and the public trust. The Chair noted that the complaint was dropped off at a town official’s residence, which was stressful for the official and not the kind of message that the Town intends for its appointed officials and employees.
There followed a discussion about the complaint and how the Board should address the complainant. It was noted that the complainant did not provide a last name, or an address for follow-up. As such the Board was not able to respond to the resident directly, but the discussion would be in the minutes for their review.
The Board voted on a motion by Selectwoman Charig Bliss and a second by Selectwoman Day to end the meeting at 9:20pm.
Adjournment
At 9:25 pm Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day, the motion carried 3-0.