Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Thursday, November 1, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Robert Marshall, Selectwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Jack Moran, Budget Advisory Committee; Keith Hickey, Budget Advisory Committee; Beverly Pietlicki, Library Director; Bruce Dodge, Library Trustee, Neal Brown, Library Trustee
Public:
Documents for Review/Approval:
- Payroll Check Register – 11/02/2018
- Hillsborough County Tax Letter
- Selectboard Minutes – 10/25/2018
- Welfare Letters (2)
5:30 PM: Public Forum
At 5:30 pm Chairman Marshall opened the meeting. There being no public present for the public forum, the Selectboard began working on the Consent Agenda items. Chairman Marshall opened a discussion regarding the Bells of Peace, a commemorative 100th anniversary bell-tolling on November 11th in memory of the end of World War 1: “The World War One Centennial Commission – along with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, the Society of the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the National Cathedral, The American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars – has announced a nationwide bell-tolling on Nov. 11 as a solemn reminder of the sacrifice and service of veterans of the Great War, and all veterans.” The Chair advised the selectboard members that George Rainer has reached out to say he will be ringing the bells for Greenfield. He will be on-site at the Meeting House on Nov. 11th at 11AM. Sylvia Shea also forwarded information from the Foreign Legion regarding the Bells of Peace. The Selectboard agreed to request that the notice regarding the event be placed on the Meeting House sign. The Board also agreed to order a wreath for the Library steps.
5:45 PM: Selectboard Work Session
A discussion about the ambulance presentation from Wilton was held. The Selectboard discussed the ambulance contract and requested that the Town Administrator send the inter-municipal agreement from Wilton to Town Counsel for review. After some additional discussion the Board voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day to advance Wilton’s inter-municipal agreement to Town Counsel, and to authorize the Town Administrator to pursue next steps for Wilton to provide emergency response services in Greenfield. The motion passed 3-0 in favor.
Next the Chair reported that the Selectboard had finalized the Town Administrator’s annual review documents. The Board requested that a non-public be posted for 11/15/2018 to administer the review.
Lastly, Selectwoman Charig Bliss noted that the postmaster is retiring from the Post Office. The Selectboard voted 3-0 on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss to accept the Consent Agenda.
7:00 PM: Library Budget; Library Trustees and Library Director
The Selectboard welcomed Library Trustee Chairman Bruce Dodge, Library Trustee Neal Brown, and Library Director Beverly Pietlicki to the meeting. Trustee Chair Dodge made some opening remarks and turned the presentation of the Library’s 2019 budget over to Director Pietlicki. Director Pietlicki provided hand-outs of the 2019 budget, which is up 2.9% over 2018 to $115,542. The areas of increase are for a new computer in the Computer Technology line item, and a slight increase in the Part-Time wages line item. Director Pietlicki explained that the library has had persistent turn-over, which she ascribed to the wider labor market. The wages at the Library are not competitive in the larger labor pool, she said, nor are they competitive to other libraries in the area. In order to bring the Stephenson Memorial Library wages in line with other libraries, the Trustees’ budget includes part-time wage increases that are greater than the 2.8% budgeted by the Selectboard for town employees -as part of the town’s wage study completed in 2017. Trustee Chair Dodge informed the Selectboard that the trustees are not finished with their annual review of their director and any salary adjustment is still pending as a result. There followed a discussion on Part-Time Wages, Overtime, and daily patron levels. Jack Moran, Budget Advisory Committee member asked for background on the Overtime line item, which has been under-spent year to year since 2017. Following a discussion on Overtime, patron levels were discussed and Trustee Chair Dodge explained that the Library also has people accessing the library’s online catalogue.
A discussion on internet access at the library was held, and it was explained that the Library’s DSL is not sufficient for streaming services as broadband is not available. Trustee Chair Dodge said that the DSL from Consolidated Communications is much better than the alternatives for many homes in Greenfield. Notwithstanding the limited bandwidth, Director Pietlicki stated that she is interested in establishing a baseline of staff to support and expand technology programs. She suggested that she would like to see the Library spearhead the digitization of materials at the Historical Society. Other goals are to strengthen children’s programming and to offer geo-location programming. Trustee Chair Dodge explained that the Library is not just a warehouse of books, but is changing to a central access point of the community, especially in terms of its technology.
Mr. Moran asked a question about the Heating line item. A discussion about the Electricity line followed. The Trustees are reluctant to reduce the Heating line item as prices fluctuate. Town Administrator Patt suggested that the Electricity line item be re-visited in case some money could be saved in that line item. There followed a discussion on several line items, including Programs/ Entertainment, Office Equipment, and Dues & Professional Expenses.
The meeting with the Library Trustees concluded at 8pm. The Selectboard then held a general discussion with the Budget Advisory Committee members about 2019 budget matters. Mr. Hickey asked about the Wilton Ambulance presentation. The Selectboard replied that they are considering the proposal and have initiated a review by Town Counsel on the current agreement with Peterborough, as well as the inter-municipal agreement that was put together by the towns of Wilton, Lyndeborough, and Temple.
8:25 PM: Work Session Contd.
The Selectboard and Town Administrator Patt discussed the LCHIP Meeting House preservation presentation by the architects, Misiaszek Turpin PLLC. The feedback from community members was reviewed. Comments from community members included that the bathrooms and kitchens need attention. The accessibility of the upstairs and basement were a topic with some community members requesting that an elevator be looked at for the future. A discussion with Reverend Dan Osgood and Mae Williams was outlined. There are some items owned by the church. The Selectboard asked the Town Administrator to follow up with Reverend Osgood and report back to the Board. This includes having a discussion about the stained glass windows.
At 9:00 the Chair made a motion to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:II a personnel. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Charig Bliss. On a roll call vote the Board voted 3-0 to enter non-public session. At 9:22 pm the Selectboard voted 3-0 to exit non-public session and enter the public meeting.
While in the public session, Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to seal the minutes according to RSA 91-A:III in order to maintain the effectiveness of the non-public session and any discussions held in the non-public session. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day and passed 3-0 in favor.
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.