Town of Greenfield
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday – May 18, 2006 – 5:45 pm
Present: Selectmen - Chairman, Conrad Dumas; Selectman, Aaron Kullgren; Selectman George Rainier
Selectman Dumas will call the meeting to order at 5:45pm
Administrative Assistant, Deb Davidson taking minutes
Appointments:
5:45 – Charlie Stevenson – Mr. Stephenson requested that consideration be given to installing a 3-way stop at the end of Zephyr Lake Rd., where it meets Slip Rd. – Mr. Stephenson discussed this is a bad spot and is getting worse each year. Selectman Dumas asked about accidents in this area, Mr. Stephenson replied that he didn’t know of any, but it seems to be getting more dangerous with more residents, the corner gets cut and he suggested the stop sign would hopefully slow folks down. He further stated he has discussed this with Chief Giammarino who thinks this is a good idea.
Selectmen stated that this request will be taken under advisement, however before anything can be installed a hearing will need to be scheduled.
6:00 – Key Staff Meeting –
Selectman Dumas welcomed everyone and indicated that each department will have 5 – 10 minutes to briefly discuss what they have been doing. Selectman Dumas also welcomed everyone and introduced Selectman Kullgren to his first key staff meeting. Dumas also stated that this meeting is a direct result of the town management committee recommendations. He said the Board is getting their feet on the ground and moving forward with projects (i.e. the cupola, church lease, wage & benefit recommendations; etc.)
· Administrative Assistant –
o Properly completing time cards is very important, request that department heads double check time cards. This saves time when doing payroll and errors are found, which need approval by Dept. Head to correct.
o Approving Invoices in a timely manner is also very important, being cognitive of time needed to process invoices is important to allow for discounts and adequate processing.
o The town has been approved for the bond sale in July for the $120,200 spent for the waste water system, these funds will reimburse the general fund for funds that have been spent for waste water system.
o Assessing – most of the pickups are done with the exception of a couple; abatements will be mailed next week; the new assessor working out well; the warrant was processed today, selectmen will sign it tonight allowing tax bills to be mailed out shortly.
o Selectman Kullgren discussed that he thought purchase orders would help alleviate some of the inefficiency of the payments. Discussion followed.
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· Police
o They have received a grant for patroling the state park, the grant is just under $2,500.00. This will allow an officer to be in the park and will cover the reimbursements of the payroll, this also keeps the duty officer out of the state park.
o Traffic stops for Greenfield are over 500
o MV accidents are down
o Just ordered two new bullet proof vests; 50% was requested to be paid by a grant – He has not been given an approval of the grant yet, but he is hopeful that he will receive it.
o The Police department received $25,000 last year in federal and/or state grants. Unfortunately, the department had too many grants and didn’t use the funds, so this year they are not going to be receiving as many grants. The reason for not utilizing the funds was due to investiagations of serious nature making it difficult to utilize all the grant funds.
o Personnel doing well, he has a fully staffed department
o He has spent 41.9% of the police budget, right on target percentage wise.
o Selectman Rainier asked when did the park open? Giammarino stated that Memorial Day weekend is the start of the season. The park keeps the police department very busy, it also keeps the rescue very busy
o Selectman Rainier stated that this week was an important week for Chief Giammarino, as it is his 20th Anniversary as being a cop.
o Peter Hopkins stated that “the report of Brian substantiates that there is a need for legislation to initiate a core tax”
· DPW
o Road Agent, Duffy Fox reported that the highway crew was doing well until two weeks ago. Most of the spring grading was completed until the rains came.
o Grading was started at Zephyr Lake Road to begin the reconstruction on that road. He will be taking the next couple weeks to repair the damage from the recent rain. Sunday night there were 14 roads with water over flowing them, but nothing too serious was damaged.
o $6,000.00 of FEMA funds were carried over from 2005, however this we didn’t have damage enough to qualify for any funds from the recent rains.
· Fire Department
o Chief White stated he has submitted paperwork for a grant to replace apparatus, hopefully will know by years end if it is approved or not.
o A used rescue vehicle has been acquired, there was a delay in registering it, due to Ambunet not forwarding the title.
o Enrollment for the fire department is down, the Fire Dept. is going to do a drive either through the Spirit or some other source in hopes of gaining enrollment.
o Fire Chief Association Breakfast – there is a regional Fire Chief Association which recently held a breakfast in Dublin. Committee members and/or Selectboards were in attendance to hear the Mass. & NH State Fire Marshalls speak. They both did a great job, the Massachusetts Fire Marshall discussed the resourcing of networking with each other will help each community to do a better job with purchases, share training expenses etc., without reinventing the
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wheel. The Association intends to do a breakfast like that annually. Will be directed towards legislature, where the changes can be best used for the Fire Chiefs. This will allow a stronger voice towards fire laws and training. Another meeting is scheduled next month in New Ipswich.
· Parks & Recreation
o Everything is going great for Parks and Rec. She rehired her summer staff from last year.
o Three sessions of swimming lessons will be offered; They are going to include a Saturday session
o The groundskeeper is doing great; Anfuso stated she has been meeting weekly with Terry Jarest. Maryanne Grant is doing the gardening. She is hoping everything will be ready by Memorial Day.
o Ms. Anfuso discussed Oak Park stating that the large evergreens near the gazebo are dead. She asked if she can remove them discussing that she is concerned about the gazebo rotting, she is also concerned about damage to the gazebo in general. Duffy & Molly have been discussing this, discussion followed about the age of the evergreens.
o The Womens Group would like to purchase a maple tree on behalf of Estalyn Westcott, they would like to plant it on the Meeting House lawn. Selectmen think that this is fine.
o Fertilizing started this year, Selectman Rainier would like a copy of the license of the fertilization company. Administrative Assistant will contact them and have it faxed over.
o Anfuso discussed she is not sure what to do with soccer field, so the upgrade of the field will be tabled until she has a feeling as to how things are going. Karla Allen commented that lime is a great fertilizer.
o Selectman Dumas stated he would like to have Anfuso attend a Selectmen’s Meeting to discuss the recreation revolver account.
o Karen Day asked what kind of fertilizer is being used, and further asked if it was organic. Anfuso responded that she does not know, she has the bill, she will find out and get back to Karen.
o Selectman Kullgren asked if the Saturday swimming classes was going to affect lifeguards. Anfuso stated that it was not she was going to be changing the hours to be 10 – 4; due to the weekend time the lake will be covered from 10 – 4; she has three certified swimming instructors.
· Recycle
o Mr. Pelkey stated he was glad to be back to work, he was out a long time and he is catching up on loose ends at the center. He is working towards getting the yard more organized
o All the tires have been shipped out
o Aluminum cans were taken to Concord, the Town received 80 cents/lb
o Mr. Pelkey stated that the income for the Recycling center is close to $4,000.
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o The Recycle Committeeis working towards getting back on track, they would like to get together with Selectmen one night soon. They are looking for new members. The Chairman of this Committee has changed from Roger Lessard to Neil Brown.
· Recycle Committee
o Mr. Brown followed up with he will follow the recommendations and will post regularly scheduled meetings and be sure they are publicly noticed. They hope to start picking up where they left off. The will be discussing issues of strategy, efficiency and future needs of the Recycle Center. There are currently several issues some large, some small.
o Selectman Kullgren suggested putting a membership drive in the Spirit.
· Bookkeeper – Catherine stated she didn’t really have anything to report, everyone else has pretty much talked about anything she would have discussed.
· Flags - Road Agent, Duffy Fox reported the flags will be set out next week and asked if there is any specific angle or height the Selectmen would prefer? Mr. Pelkey reported that “Catherine went on ebay and didn’t find anything”. Pelkey suggested the flags be consistent with the flags that are on the light posts.
· Health - Peter Hopkins stated that towns all be consistent with IRCO? Meetings are becoming overwhelming and he does not have the time. Hopkins discussed if it would be beneficial to have a Deputy Health Officer that is someone in the field of healthcare and would take up this portion of the concerns. Selectman Dumas discussed that there may be organizations in Greenfield already involved in such a program that may want to be our representative.
· Tax Collector
o Laurie May reported that receipts for everyone are now being printed regularly for every payment
o Tax Liens are about to be executed
o Notice of intent to deed properties will be sent out shortly
o July tax bills will be sent out before June 1
· Town Clerk
o Dee Sleeper reported she is getting into a routine and organizing all that there is to do. Fran Kendal is still coaching her.
o She is going to training for the election process;
o Mrs. Sleeper reported that she thinks next year her computer budget might explode, they currently have three different functions they perform on one computer with one printer. There are going to be lots of changes within the next year or two, she hopes to be on line next year sometime for car registration
o Her budget is looking good, they continue making money.
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· Treasurer
o Nancy Vaihinger commented that she records in the bookkeeping system everything everyone does.
· Supervisor of the Checklist –
o Bruce Dodge reported the State is requiring the Town must be on line this fall.
o Members of the Checklists have taken several training sessions on changes that are being required. They need two more days of training, the Town Clerk & one Supervisor must attend this training. Fortunately, Linda Dodge is the Supervisor Chairman and knows the system because she was a tester of the system, therefore Greenfield will be ready for the fall.
o Linda Dodge asked about using the laptop wirelessly. Administrative Assistant responded that there is a bridge and the laptop should work, it has a wireless card. Mrs. Dodge also stated that the checklist would like to move files to the first floor. Catherine asked where were they now? Mrs. Dodge stated in Molly’s office. They will move their files to the meeting room.
· Budget Committee
o Selectman Kullgren reported they would like to call out to new members, they are going to put a notice in the Spirit. Hoping to get a quorum of 7 members of the budget committee.
o Bruce Dodge stated that they are going to start having a member sit in as an alternate for the Planning Board.
· Planning Board
o Chairman, Dario Carrara reported the Planning Board income is up
o They have a full 7 member board with two alternates. The average of the members have quite a bit of experience.
o Several issues for the Planning Board this year which all are high priorities – some of them are the following:
· Impact fees vs. offsite improvements
· Formal statements on class 5 &6 roads
· Updating the file system
· Updating the Capital Improvements Program (CIP)
· Looking for someone to fill in for their secretary who takes minutes and is temporarily out due to personal issues
· Looking at consistency of driveways, common drives & roads
o A few subdivision applications to date, there are two large potential subdivisions one is a 20-30 unit subdivision and the other a a 20-25 lot subdivision
o Karla Allen asked for clarification of class 5 &6 roads? What roads should and should not be improved, looking for criteria to upgrade, a list of roads, site walks to all potential class 6 roads. She further commented that it seems like four-wheelers are trashing the roads. She thinks gates & bars are a good option.
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o Peter Hopkins asked how much control do we have on class 6 roads? Road Agent, Fox asked if can’t they be designated trails and not roads? Fox went on to explain exactly what “subject to gates & bars” means, he stated that it was when there was livestock in those areas and gates were installed to keep the livestock in, people needed to open the gates and close them after themselves. Dario also discussed the abandoned roads has been discussed at Planning Baord level.
· ZBA
o Kevin O’Connell reported there have been two hearing so far
· A special exception, which was denied
· Crotched Mountain for a wetlands permit
o Brundige has an openspace development proposal
o Class Six Road building hearing
· Town Forester
o Karla Allen reported that logging has slowed down due to the wet spring, she will check sites due to the wetness
o Karla reported she is teaching a class on log scaling for loggers, she wondered if Selectmen would like her to do the same thing for local residents if there is an interest. She would do it on a Saturday if it was ok. She will get back to the Board on this matter.
· Conservation Commission
o Karen Day reported that the Roadside Rounde-up went very well and was very successful.
o There is one member of the ConCom that is concerned for the turtles, as this is the time of year they move around. Signs will be put out on roads in town indicating turtle crossing. The signs will be on separate posts and will be taken down after turtle breading season, the signs will be placed on Zephyr Lake Road, Forest Road, near the Yankee Farmer and near the swamp on Francestown Road.
o Karen discussed the Spirit and stated she still needs information for the Spirit – She discussed she will put in the Spirit the member drives for the various committees, the possible logger training she would like a photo of the new rescue vehicle (she can clip art Town of Greenfield on it if necessary). Karen discussed how much space the recreation dept. should use for the Spirit. Does the Selectmen always want two pages or should it be less. Selectman Dumas stated that he thinks if the Dept. Head needs the space, they should have it. Catherine explained that one extra page isn’t one page, it is actually 4 pages. Loren White expressed he
would like to see an insert in every issue for recreational functions. Deb explained this would be very time consuming to stuff 700 Spirit’s. Selectman Kullgren discussed we don’t charge for the business’, why don’t we charge for the benefit of advertising of businesses to offset the cost of the printing?
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Conservation Commission Cont.
Selectman Rainier discussed this has been discussed in the past and it was decided not to charge local businesses, however he was concerned with how many home occupations there are, and does not know of any site plans changes for many of them.
Selectman Dumas reitrerated that if andy staff need to meet with the Selectmen to please contact Deb and set up an appointment. He closed by stating the Selectmen would like to keep communication open among everyone.
After everyone left, Selectman had a brief discussion of the meeting. Selectman Dumas asked that Debbie make a list of follow-up issues.
On – going matters:
WW Hook ups – Mr. Delay will be scheduled for next week, as will Mr. Carbee.
Church Lease – 30 minutes will be set aside the week of May 25th for Selectmen to work on the lease.
Wage & Benefits –
Parks & Rec. – Selectmen would like Molly to attend the meeting in two weeks to discuss the revolving account.
Recycle Center & Committee – Selectmen would like to be notified when the committee schedules their meetings on the board in the mail room, they would like to try to attend the meetings.
Code Violation – Code Officer, Peter Hopkins to discuss this violation next week.
Cupola – Selectmen briefly discussed the references provided by Target New England. Motion by Selectman to sign a contract with W. Rindge Builders for the necessary work to the Cupola. The motion was seconded by Selectman Dumas. Voted: Affirmatively
Discussion followed – Selectman Dumas stated he prefers to work with someone he is familiar with, he supports Bill Harper, as his reputation has spoken for himself. Selectman Kullgren stated he would not vote for W. Rindge Builders, he thinks it is approximately 40% higher than the low bid and not an acceptable bid.
Voted: Dumas – Yes; Rainier – Yes; Kullgren – No; - Voted: Affirmatively – Selectmen Dumas & Selectman Rainier signed the bid.
Letters will be sent to everyone who bid on the project, notifying them of the decision.
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Other Business:
Trails Association – John Hopkins will provide either a mapped out area of what the Association would like to do, or come to a meeting shortly. They will not start any trails without Selectmen discussing them first.
Selectmen Approval –
· P/R checks & A/P invoices
· Minutes – accept 5/10/06 as written
· Light Duty Policy –
· Abatements –
o Granted: Steere (R1-20-7); Ferry (R3-11); Hill Rev. Trust (R4-62); Pero (R6-6); Belmore (V2-11); Pieterse/Smith (R5-9-1); Hillegass (V4-13)
o Denials: Smith/Gilbert (R3-4); Belmore (R4-42); Burtt (R5-5-2); Nickerson (R6-8-8-3); Timmons (R7-24-2);Russell (R9-36-3); Bruno (S2-12)
· Miscellaneous correspondence was reviewed
· Assessing – There were several residents who live in the business district and did not return their exemption form. This is an annual application; the deduction was removed from those residents that did not return the forms. This increased the property valuation by approximately $30,000.00. Discussion followed that if the board is going to give them all abatements, then the purpose of this application is not being followed. This is a statute and should be followed, as all other exemptions must be. Deb discussed that the new assessor John Duhamel.
· Selectman Kullgren discussed possible future of computer technology. No decision was made.
· Warrant – Selectmen signed the July tax warrant – tax collector will most likely get tax bills out next week
· Oak Park Rentals – 1st NH Calvary (July 28-July 30); Evans (June 24)
· Cemetery Trustees – Lawn Care Service Contract – Selectmen signed the contract, however they would like a copy of the license for the authorized fertilizer installer.
· CU re-categorizing – Sheldon Carbee; Tammy Atherton
· Gravel Tax – Stewart ($452.40), Kokal ($533.54), Robertson ($33.50) –Total gravel tax warrants was $1,019.44.
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· New Deed & CU maps – Kokal – Selectmen signed a letter requesting updated Current Use categorizing w/acreage for each lot, wetlands dimension verification, & copies of the new deeds resulting from having a survey completed of their properties.
· Appointments – Michael Borden, Planning Board Alternate; Kathy Seigars, Supervisor of the Checklist
· Refrigerant Removal – Selectman Rainier asked the Administrative Assistant to find out why only 25 refrigerators were released of the freon and no air conditioners and report back to the board on this.
With no further business Selectman Dumas adjourned the meeting at 8:00 pm. The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, May 25th at 5:45 pm.
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