Selectboard Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Saturday, March 14, 2020 – 11:25 AM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator; Mike Borden, Health Officer; Brian Giammarino, Police Chief, Rick McQuade, Fire Chief/DPW Bldgs&Grnds; Catherine Shaw, Office Manager; Linda Dodge, Checklist Supervisor, Katherine Heck, Treasurer, Dorene Adams, Deputy Town Clerk
11:25 AM: Emergency Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 11:28am. The Chair stated that the meeting was an emergency meeting being held on the recommendation of the Police Chief and the Health Officer to address concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Giammarino recommended that non-essential personnel be sent home and the Town Office closed until further notice. Health Officer Michael Borden stated that the Board should closed Town Offices. He said that there are two triggers for such a closure, one is the closure of the schools in response to the pandemic, and the second is a large cluster of infectious disease outbreak. He said we have the first trigger in the school closure.
A discussion followed regarding the school closure and the need for internet access for distance learning. It was noted that the Library has recently upgraded its Wi-Fi and people can use the parking lot for internet access.
Selectwoman Day asked how can we function if we close. Should the Town Office departments need to look at providing services on alternate days?
Deputy Town Clerk Dorene Adams stated that the Town Clerk’s office can process renewals by mail. New registrations would have to be done in person.
A discussion on Essential Personnel vs. Non-essential Personnel was held. At the conclusion of the discussion Selectman Marshall stated that “we should err on the side of caution and choose the most conservative path forward until we have more information”. He stated that the Board should listen to the advice of the Health Officer and close the building. Selectman Marshall made a motion to close the Town of Greenfield Town Office until further notice. Selectwoman Day seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0 in favor.
A discussion followed in which the service model was examined and the need for a policy governing the closure was outlined. A statement for salaried employees and hourly employees was discussed. The Selectboard is in favor of a ‘Pay-to-Stay’ home policy.
Treasurer Heck suggested that an alternate service model could include closing the building to the public and having office staff isolate in their respective offices. She stated that there are certain essential tasks that need to get done. She stated that the Board needs an emergency policy stating that because of the State of Emergency any policy or ordinance that conflicts with or does not apply to the emergency circumstances be suspended.
The Selectboard agreed with this proposal. Selectman Marshall formulated a motion as follows; due to the current State of Emergency, the Selectboard is suspending current policies and ordinances that do not apply or that are contradictory to the exigent circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic and will take each such case or instance on a case-by-case basis going forward. The motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion passed on a vote of 3-0.
There followed a discussion on putting out an EDDM to the public. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board agreed to post a meeting for Monday, March 16th in order to let residents know that essential functions will be continue and provide additional guidance on how.
Adjournment
At 1:37 pm Selectman Marshall made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Selectwoman Day. The motion carried 3-0.