Selectboard Minutes

Minutes

Town of Greenfield

Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH

Selectboard’s Minutes

Thursday, November 08, 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; Doug Batty, Budget Advisory Committee; David Martin, Emergency Management Director

Public:

Documents for Review/Approval:

• A/P Check Register dated 11/7/2018
• A/P Check Register dated 11/8/2018
• A/P “ACH” Register dated 11/15/2018 to NH Retirement
• Appointment – Planning Board
• 2018 Capital Reserve Fund transmittal letters (8) – per Town Meeting
• 2018 Expendable Trust Fund transmittal letter (1) – per Town Meeting
• Town Buildings Maintenance Capital Reserve Fund payment – Ironwood Restoration
• Selectboard Minutes – 11/01/2018
• Meeting House Rental – (3)
• Welfare Letter – (4)

5:30 PM: Public Forum

At 5:30 pm Chairman Marshall opened the meeting. David Martin, Emergency Management Director asked to speak to the Board during the public forum. The Chair noted that there were no public present and then gave Mr. Martin the floor. Mr. Martin stated that there are certain sections in Greenfield where radio reception is weak or non-existent. There are problems with reception for fire fighters. The Fire Department has discussed this issue and Mr. Martin reported that the consensus was that the town should look at a repeater for the signal. Mr. Martin stated that he did not know what would be required but wanted to check in with the Selectboard before researching this project. He stated that there may be grant monies available from the State. Mr. Martin does not have a cost estimate yet. After some discussion the Chair asked if the department had made contact with Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center as they may have a tower for their reception. After additional discussion the Board agreed that they would be interested to know what Mr. Martin finds when he concludes his research into a radio repeater. Mr. Martin thanked the Board for their time.

The Chair provided an update on the crosslink effort at the Library. He provided an update on a video being produced by members of the community. Selectwoman Charig Bliss suggested that Plowshare Farms be contacted regarding a video that they produced of their facility and its interaction with Greenfield.

5:45 PM: Richard McQuade, DPW Buildings & Grounds

DPW Buildings & Grounds Manager McQuade provided a budget handout to the Selectboard and Budget Advisory Committee members. The budget was flat compared to the previous year. Mr. McQuade provided a line by line overview of the building maintenance budgets, including all of the core costs for each building (fire alarm inspections, furnace and septic service costs, etc.). Included in this discussion was an overview of projects that are built into the maintenance budgets for each building. Projects include maintenance and repairs; including re-roofing the side entrance of the Meeting House, and lift rental to clean gutters and fix the gutter heat tape at the Town Office. This was followed by a discussion on the individual line items such as contract services, mileage, and fuel. Mr. McQuade explained that fuel has been tracked in the DPW Road budget so he has put his fuel budget to zero and expects it to go away in future years. At 6:43 the Budget Advisory Committee expressed that there were no additional questions. The Selectboard thanked Mr. McQuade for his presentation.

6:45 PM: Carol Burgess, Recycling Center Supervisor

The Selectboard welcomed Supervisor Burgess to the meeting. Ms. Burgess discussed the 2019 Recycling Center budget. The budget discussion covered the increased costs of hauling solid waste. This included a discussion on plastics and hazardous waste. Budget Advisory Committee member Jack Moran asked for an explanation of the overall state of the recycling center program, because there are a number of products that cannot be recycled. Recent changes in the plastics at the Recycling Center have caused thin plastic shell containers to be placed in the solid waste stream. There followed a discussion on the recycling market. Supervisor Burgess explained that since 2010, Greenfield residents, through their recycling efforts, have reduced the solid waste tonnage by more than 100 tons annually (334 tons in 2011 to 218 tons in 2017). Supervisor Burgess explained that there are a lot of very dedicated recyclers in the community who have made tremendous efforts to recycle household waste. The staff at the Recycling Center tested the weight of the clamshell containers and found them to be negligible. Their removal allowed the center to continue to sell the other plastics, which helps offset the cost of hauling the product away.

There followed a discussion about the revenue that the Recycling Center contributes to the town. Despite a severe downturn in the market, Supervisor Burgess has continued to meet the goals set by the Selectboard. Recycling Revenue hit a high in 2017 at $21,852 and is $18,452 year-to-date in 2018. The revenue contributes to reducing the overall tax rate paid by homeowners. In 2018 however the budget is up 6.3% over the previous year including fees for solid waste and the requirement for a second part-time person to cover vacations and ensure that there are always two people on duty when open.

The Chair asked about the overall plan for the recycling center layout. He stated that it’s been three years since the conversation started. Supervisor Burgess stated that she understood that the survey of the property was almost complete and the plan is waiting on the finalization of the removal of the hill across from the front of the building. The Chair noted that the Selectboard needs a plan for the facility based on the town’s needs. Following a review of the plan the Board would determine the timeframe for the excavation of the hill. The Selectboard asked several questions about the life expectancy of the balers. This discussion led to a question about whether enough funds were being placed in the Recycling Center capital reserve fund. The conclusion was that the funding was too little to help replace a baler. At the end of the meeting, the Chair thanked Supervisor Burgess for her time.

7:45 PM: Todd Mason, DPW Road Manager

The Selectboard welcomed DPW Road Manager to the meeting. Mr. Mason provided an overview of each line item in his budget. Most the lines are flat compared to the previous year. He has added funding back into Road Maintenance and to Contract Services. Payments to the Wetlands Engineer are considerably over budget this year due to the need to schedule major culvert installations, which require engineered plans for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES). The total budget increase is 4.31% over the previous year. A discussion on vehicle maintenance and the relative age of the vehicles was held. The vehicles are not as expensive as the equipment such as the grader and loader. A discussion on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) followed. The Budget Advisory Committee Members discussed the CIP plan, and asked whether the CIP savings is based on the total dollar value of the fleet broken into Capital Reserve Fund (CRF) savings over a period consistent with the expected lifetime of the equipment. The Selectboard explained that the town has only recently embraced capital reserve fund savings. As a result the CIP for any department is not married to the budgeted Capital Reserve Fund savings in a direct fashion. The CRF funds are based primarily on their effect to the overall budget, as it was felt at the time that the town could only absorb so much in additional operating budget.

The Chair asked Mr. Mason about the gravel roads; specifically is there a gravel road plan schedule, and, does the road plan include a ditching schedule. A discussion followed and concluded with the Selectboard requesting that Mr. Mason build a systematic schedule for ditching and trimming brush on both paved and gravel roads. A schedule for the graveling of dirt roads, similar to the 10 year paved road plan is also needed. The Selectboard was interested in Mr. Mason hiring outside contractors as needed to supplement the work of DPW. The Chair explained that the Selectboard is aware that their decision to move one of the DPW people to its own Buildings and Grounds department has left the rest of DPW shorthanded. There followed a discussion of how residents had responded to previous road agents' use of outside contractors. The Selectboard made the decision that DPW should use contractors as needed to supplement the department’s work and ensure that the department stays on a schedule for gravel roads, similar to the schedule for paved roads.

8:30 PM: Selectboard Work Session

At 8:33 the Chair requested a motion to enter into non-public discussion. Selectwoman Day made a motion to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 IIa to discuss a personnel matter with DPW Manager Mason. On a roll call vote the Board voted 3-0 in favor of entering into non-public session. At 9:20 pm the board voted 3-0 to exit non-public session. While in the public session, Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to seal the minutes under RSA 91-A:III in order to preserve the discussion and proposed personnel action’s effectiveness. The motion was seconded by the Chair and passed on a vote of 3-0 in favor.

Following the non-public session, the Selectboard reviewed a synthesis of statements in the Greenfield Personnel Policy Handbook outlining the culture that the Selectboard intends for its employees. The Selectboard reached a consensus to deliver the policy statement to the employees and to include the statement in the next revision of the handbook.

At 9:28 the Selectboard discussed the Peterborough Ambulance. It was noted that a letter from Peterborough’s Fire Chief was just received outlining a cost increase over the previous year. After considerable discussion the Selectboard was of consensus that it should vote on next steps with the ambulance. Noting that there is a response needed by Peterborough, the Selectmen deliberated about how and if a move to Wilton Ambulance could happen. At the conclusion of the discussion Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion that Greenfield advance discussions with Wilton Ambulance and the Town of Wilton, with attention to certain contractual items outlined by Town Counsel and that the contract from Wilton must come back prior to November 22^nd, otherwise the town would remain with Peterborough. Chairman Marshall seconded the motion and asked for discussion. Seeing none he called the vote and the Board voted 3-0 in favor of the motion.

Next the Selectboard read an advisory email from Fire Chief Hall regarding notification from Midwest Fire that the town is required to send members of the fire department to their site for inspection and turn-over of the new tanker truck. The Board discussed this email at length noting that they were very disappointed as Midwest Fire had originally assured them that a virtual tour and turnover was available prior to the tanker being shipped to Greenfield. Chief Hall’s email indicated that the fire department members would have to fly to Midwest Fire and that there were funds in his budget to make this happen. After discussion, Chairman Marshall made a motion to support the Fire Chief’s request. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion was called and passed 3-0 in favor. It was noted by the entire Selectboard, for the minutes, that the Board is very disappointed by Midwest Fire’s change of process, which was not what the Board had originally agreed to with the company.

Adjournment

At 9:55 pm Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day, the motion carried 3-0.