Selectboard Minutes
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Wednesday, January 08, 2020 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;
Public:
5:30 PM: Selectboard Work Session – No Public Forum – Staff Appts. only
The Selectboard welcomed Michael Borden, Code Enforcement Officer. Mr. Borden provided an overview of the building and code enforcement inspections in 2019, and his role as Health Officer in Greenfield. Mr. Borden explained the nature of the time intensive inspections that occur every year in Greenfield, including those required by statute of the Health Office. These involve life safety codes and inspection of certain facilities. A discussion followed. At the conclusion of the discussion, Selectman Marshall suggested that there is a need for a separate health officer stipend line item in the 2020 budget. Mr. Borden said that a reasonable amount for the Health Officer in 2020 would be $1,250.00. The Board discussed the meaning of ‘stipend’ versus part-time wages and agreed to suggest a stipend in 2020 to allow for the possibility that the Health Officer role could be appointed to someone other than the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer. The Board discussed the parameters of the current appointment. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair made a motion as follows: In consideration of the workload in the Building Inspector's budget in 2019, the Selectboard authorizes the transfer of funds remaining in Other Code Enforcement and Board of Health line items to Part-Time Wages, not to exceed $700 and authorizes said funds to be paid out of the 2019 budget to Mr. Borden. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion passed on a vote of 3-0. Selectman Marshall asked that the Board revisit the 2020 budget in order to amend the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement budget to include Health Officer Stipend and Mileage lines. The mileage line will be used for travel to conventions and trainings.
Next the Selectboard welcomed DPW Road Manager, Todd Mason. Mr. Mason brought forward his recommendations for the 2020 DPW Roads budget. The Selectboard examined each line and discussed the increases and reductions for certain line items. The proposed 2020 budget has increases to the Calcium Chloride line of $500, Contract Services of $4,000, Electricity of $500, Equipment Rental of $2000, Gravel/Stone of $5,000, Part-Time Wages of $1,000, Telephone on $500, and $5,000 to Vehicle Repair/Maintenance. The Selectboard requested that Gasoline & Diesel Fuel be increased from $22,000 to $25,000. The DPW budget also includes a Warrant Article for Gravel Road repair and reconstruction set by the Selectboard at $50,000. There followed a discussion of a warrant article for a Morbark chipper with a cost of $41,500. After some discussion the Board determined that it would prefer to look at the current equipment and ensure that a plan was in place for replacing some of the aging equipment.
The Selectboard examined the DPW capital improvement plan (CIP) and noted that the Back-hoe, Loader, and Grader are coming due for replacement within a few years of each other, starting in 2023. It was also noted that the 6-Wheel Dump Truck is not on the CIP plan submitted by the Planning Board CIP subcommittee. Discussion followed in which Mr. Mason explained that the dump truck was discussed with the committee and all agreed then that it would be due in 2022. He also stated that repairs to the dump truck over the last few years have increased significantly, with nearly ten thousand dollars in repairs in December that pushed the DPW over budget. The Board observed that waiting until 2022 would further complicate the compression of the payments for the other three pieces of equipment. The total CIP cost for all four items is in the ballpark of $850,000 + and to have multiple lease payments occurring at the same time over many years will be very difficult for the town. The Board discussed the option of purchasing a new dump truck in 2020, noting that if it was ordered after Town Meeting, it would not be ready until late in the year. Mr. Mason stated that he would need three quotes but based on the performance of the 2014 Mack 10 Wheeler, it would be his preference to look closely at a Mack dump truck to replace the aging Freightliner.
At the conclusion of the discussion, Selectman Marshall suggested that the Equipment Rental line be increased by an additional $4,500 to accommodate rental of a chipper at different times of the year. This increased the Equipment Rental line by $6,500 from $5,000 to $11,500. Next Selectman Marshall outlined his concern for the wages and the competitive market. The Selectboard agreed to take up a discussion on wages on January 23rd.
Adjournment
At 8:04 pm Selectman Marshall made a motion to adjourn the meeting; the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion carried 3-0.