Town of Greenfield
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday – February 5, 2009 – 6:00 pm
Present: Chairman, Aaron Kullgren, Selectman, Jarvis Adams, IV; Selectwoman, Karen Day
Minutes: Administrative Assistant, Deb Davidson
Call to order: Selectman Kullgren called the meeting to order at 6:00pm
Appointments:
6:10 – Peter Hopkins – 2009 Budget – Hopkins opened by discussing a memo he recently received from Deb indicating his wage figure was changed in the budget. Hopkins stated he would like to know why and how this figure was derived at.
Kullgren replied by stating that it was Peter’s suggestion. Kullgren went on to say that, Peter had noted that the other towns he is inspector for does not have office hours and that the office staff takes care of the paperwork.
Hopkins stated that he doesn’t mind not having office hours, but he feels the office staff may not appreciate it. Hopkins gave the Selectmen an example of last nights time spent with only two contractors.
Hopkins provided the Board with figures of his w2s, which compared what the other towns have paid him and compared the number of permits compared to Greenfield. Hopkins believes that they have cut his department completely out, by cutting his wages so drastically. He stated he would charge a minimum of 15 minutes for every call he receives if he doesn’t have office hours. He charges other towns a minimum of 2-5 hours/month for administrative work, and will do the same in Greenfield. Hopkins stated he doesn’t believe this cut will save the Town any money; he is willing to give it a try but doesn’t know how it will work. He further commented that there are twice as many permits in Greenfield as the other towns.
Kullgren stated they based their reduced wage on the number of office hours, if it needs to be adjusted then Peter should discuss this adjustment.
Hopkins explained what he does during his office hours. He believes there should be a minimum of $5,000 in the building inspector wage account. Hopkins stated that the other towns he works for combine his supplies, etc., into the general fund, whereas, Greenfield separates them out.
Hopkins provided the board with 9 years of comparison budgets, showing the total income to the town from the building department over the 9 years, has been $41,000.00. The original thought for this department was to keep it a revenue neutral budget. Hopkins stated that the building fees are in line, but we could go up on our fees if we wanted.
Selectwoman Day discussed increasing Hopkins wages to $4,100.00. Selectmen were all in agreement of this increase.
Hopkins said he would do whatever the Board wants.
Selectmen thanked Peter for coming and discussing this with them.
6:30 – Sheldon & Beverly Carbee – Mr. & Mrs. Carbee’s children, Sherry Anderson, Scott Carbee and Hunter Carbee were also present.
Attorney, Peter Bennett was present and is the attorney representing Mr. & Mrs. Carbee. After Attorney Bennett introduced himself, he discussed the Carbee’s are moving forward as quickly as they can. The topics that were discussed at the last meeting and should be reviewed again as to the status of each matter.
Lot consolidation – The Carbee’s have gone before the Planning Board for the annexation of the shop & general store to be placed on the same lot. They attended the January 26, 2009 Planning Board meeting at which time the consolidation was approved. This has been completed and recorded at the Registry of Deeds.
Drainage – Attorney Bennett did speak with Deb to verify the Town viewed the drainage issue as a State issue – Attorney Bennett has not successfully met with the person who is in charge of this department, he will continue to try and make contact with the appropriate department.
Sale of the property – There is one very interested party – however there is some concern about the difficulty of the real estate market. They are in the process of getting an appropriate appraisal finalized; they have hired Wesley Reeks from Bedford. Mr. Reeks has viewed the premises, they had hoped for the completed appraisal for this meeting, however they don’t have it. The appraisal will enable them to move forward with the interested party. If there is no signed purchase & sales agreement within the next week, then they will put the building on the market. Attorney Bennett stated the Carbee’s want to render a price that will get the property taxes paid in full.
Scott Carbee stated there is no buyer in hand yet, but they do have a very serious interested party. Upon the purchase & sales they will report to the town. They are happy to do monthly updates with the Board, if that were what the Board would like.
Sheldon Carbee stated that about covers it.
Kullgren asked if the Carbee’s have any other inquiries, or is there only one strong party interested. Wondering how strong are the inquiries.
Attorney Bennett responded by stating that there is one offer, which is a lease option to purchase, the Carbee’s aren’t interested in that. The real estate assessment is unique in that there aren’t that many properties that are comparable to the site. Attorney Bennett stated this would be a good investment with the right buyer.
Kullgren stated the Board would like to be prepared for town meeting with as much information as possible about this property. The residents need to be able to clearly understand that everyone is working towards a good settlement for the back taxes.
Attorney Bennett stated the appraisal should be available tomorrow, so things should move quickly once this is in hand. Bennett further stated he would keep the town updated via letter, phone or e-mail.
Adams asked about the attachment of other property and what the concern was in doing this.
Bennett stated he doesn’t want the Carbee’s to have their property/homestead attached. They work hard and don’t want to see them lose their homestead. Also there is a discussion of a mortgage on their homestead, Bennett stated he would like to avoid that for his clients.
Adams stated he doesn’t want to take that action at this time, things are moving forward and he believes the Carbee’s want to clear this matter up properly.
Kullgren thanked all parties present; they will meet again with the Board on February 19, 2009 at 6:00 pm. Deb was instructed to call the Carbee’s if she doesn’t hear from them by the end of next week.
7:35 – Tax Collector, Kathy Valliere – The Board updated Valliere on the status of the Carbee’s. Valliere was asked not to proceed with tax deeding at this time. The Carbee’s will be back in two weeks after that meeting they should know more as to which way the property will go.
Valliere asked about a letter she received about Mrs. Alice Teng indicating she doesn’t have to pay taxes due to a court settlement. Deb stated she would provide Kathy with the documentation regarding Mrs. Teng. There was a settlement, however it has reached its completion and Mrs. Teng does owe the property taxes. All the information is in the file, which can be copied to Mrs. Teng’s attorney.
7:40 – Supervisor of the Checklist, Linda Dodge – Linda was here to discuss the supervisors did not have the data base available for the school meeting last evening. She doesn’t know if there is any repercussion for the database not being available. This was the responsibility of the Town Clerk and never was entered.
Approval of minutes:
Selectmen approved the minutes of the1/29/09 Selectmen’s Meeting
Sign Documents:
Selectmen signed the following documents:
- Payroll
- Accounts payable
- Minutes
- Sympathy Card for Patty Gibbons
- CDBG warrant - $31,920.48
Old Business:
- Budget - Selectmen reviewed and finalized the 2009 proposed budget
- Treasurer position – There was a brief discussion regarding this position. Deb was instructed to set up interviews on the 19th with the three applicants.
- Website – Deb discussed the website and the fact that people don’t get notified of changes to the site. The only notifications will be from the news and announcements. Also, Deb spoke with Sam McIntyre, who indicated our site is too big to take on at this time; maybe he could do it in summer. Town will stay with Virtual Town Hall for hosting our website.
- Accounts Payable - Deb discussed there is a problem with department heads not signing A/P in a timely manner. Invoices are being submitted very late, resulting in late fees and loss of discounts. Kullgren asked Deb what she thought should be done about this. Brief discussion took place, no decisions. Deb will start off with a memo, more strident action will be taken to get Departments to realize the importance of this.
New Business:
- Spirit Articles - With the recent Spirit having been printed, and some articles being missed. Deb discussed ways of improving, assuring that articles get into the Spirit when submitted. Karen would like to see everything go through Deb, who in turn would forward it on to Karen.
- Doc Miner pictures – Deb provided the Board with pictures of Doc Miner for the Town Report. They all agreed to use the photo that was used in the DRAFT Town Report. Deb was instructed to type up something for the Report to go with the photo.
- E-mails were reviewed - Kullgren read an e-mail from Michael Sparling regarding the Church noting that they haven’t ruled out other locations for the Church. Though they are reviewing the 3-year lease agreement with the Town to remain at the Meeting House.
- Rymes Lighting – Deb spoke to Keith at Rymes, the lights will be fixed, and they didn’t know they were out.
- Attorney’s – Deb asked other towns who their counsels are, she reported to the Board the following: Peterborough uses Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella; Hancock – Upton & Hatfield; Lyndeborough – Upton & Hatfield; Antrim – Upton & Hatfield.
- School Budget – Kullgren discussed the school budget, after a brief discussion on this matter. It is noted that the Board is supportive of the School Boards recommendations.
- Recycle Center – Adams discussed some concerns he has regarding the recycle center – it was discussed that there needs to be more presence by the workers and a more assertive means to check bags for proper recycling. Adams stated that he noticed there was quite a bit of items not being recycled, being thrown into the dumpster. The Board will discuss this with Matt, Deb was instructed to let Matt know he must be at the meeting on Thursday, they would like to meet with him prior to the budget hearing. They also would like to have the recycling spreadsheet updated.
- 1st DRAFT 2009 Town Report – The Board reviewed the first draft of the town report – They need to submit their report, the report should be ready to go to the printer next week.
Adjournment: With no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:00 pm. The next scheduled meeting will be Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 6:00 pm, at which time the Budget Hearing will be held as well.
| 
