Town of Greenfield
Selectmen Meeting Minutes
Thursday – July 14, 2011 – 6:30 pm
Present: Chairman, Aaron Kullgren; Selectwoman, Karen Day; Selectman, Robert Wimpory
Minutes: Patricia LaPree taking minutes.
Call to order: Selectmen’s meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chairman Kullgren.
Appointments:
7:00 PM: Police Chief Brian Giammarino
6:30 PM: The following Documents were approved and signed:
A/P Invoices- approved, with clarification needed for the TJ landscaping bill
A/P Check Manifest- approved
Intent to Cut Wood – R9-67-1- approved.
Allen & Mathewson – Proposal for replacing oil tank at Meeting House. The board requests clarification as to why the old tank is not suitable.
Action: Administrative assistant Davidson needs to contact Allen and Mathewson to find out specifically why the old tank is not usable.
Selectmen Meeting Minutes – 6/30/11 & 7/7/11- approved and signed. La Pree provided the Board with copies of non public minutes ( 04/21/2011 and 07/7/2011) to be signed and sealed by the Board. This was done and minutes were sealed and filed in the appropriate place.
Other Matters:
Mail - The following miscellaneous mail was reviewed:
Criminal records checks on two new employees were reviewed.
Review of the letter to pre -buy fuel oil from Allen and Mathewson.
A letter from the Lyndeborough Police Department commending Cpl. Roberge for his assistance in a police matter.
No discussion about ASCAP, HHCCS correspondence
Avitar letter about utility assessments was read.
A letter from NH DOT about missing signs on Bridge #161/102 needs to be addressed.
Action: The Board will talk with Neal Beauregard about the notification.
The Annual Fiscal Report provided by Roberts, Greene and Drolet was not discussed by the Board.
The Community Service Program has been funded for Fiscal year 2012 by the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections for the Town.
Procter and Greene is making payment on their forbearance agreement with the Town.
The application for a permit to apply chip seal on roads in Town was approved by DOT.
The Greenfield Commons will pay a PILOT to the Town in the amount of 21.151.00.
The Board reviewed a letter form resident Neal Brown regarding the Bobcat at the recycling Center.
7:00 PM: Chief Giammarino introduced the Board to Frank Shea. Shea is a recent UNH graduate and has volunteered with the Greenfield Police Department since High School. Giammarino requests that the Board let him hire Shea as a part time officer for Greenfield. He is well known to the police department staff, criminal background check has been completed and references have been checked. The board approved the hire, and Shea was sworn in by Town Clerk Sleeper at 7:13 PM.
7:15 PM: Giammarino requested to go into non public session, per RSA 91A:3 II(e), investigation:
Motion made to go into non- public session by Kullgren, seconded by Day. Roll call vote was 3-0 in the affirmative.
7:42 PM: Motion made by Kullgren to seal the minutes of the non-public session. Seconded by Day. Roll call vote was 3-0 in the affirmative.
7:47 PM: Motion to come out of non-public session made by Kullgren, seconded by Wimpory. Roll call vote was 3-0 in the affirmative.
Other Business:
Security: The Board discussed the need for increased building safety. Wimpory asked if the file cabinets i n the building are fireproof; they are not. The police department evidence cabinet is locked, and could be more secure. The administrative assistant and accounting offices doors are locked, but the door to the accounting office was found open by Catherine Shaw on Wednesday at 9 AM after having been secured at the end of the day the last employee out of the building (La Pree). Giammarino suggested that a panic button be installed for the office staff in all the offices which would alert the police immediatly to any problems at the Town office. Day suggested that there be a dedicated records room in the building to further secure confidential information.
Action:Wimpory will follow up on the suggestions made and find out what it will take to better secure the building and increase staff safety. No time frame noted for completion of the task.
Budget review: The Board reviewed revenues and expenditures for each department for the year to date. There were a few questions about line items that will need clarification.
1) What is the expenditure in the “general supplies” line item in the Conservation Commission Budget?
2) Why is the cost of heating fuel so high for the Fire department YTD?
3) Is the amount paid YTD to Mutual Aid in the Fire and Police budgets representative of the yearly cost, or partial year costs. How frequently is the Town billed by Mutual Aid?
4) What are the contract services at Oak Park?
5) Why has the Library foundation not been fixed yet?
Action: Wimpory will go and look at the Library foundation and basement mold before the next Board meeting. DPW Director Murray needs to schedule with Neal Brown to be shown the foundation and other building repair needs.
6) Has the new police cruiser been paid for yet?
Actions:
The cost of building maintenence, grounds and general government buildings seems high. The Board will discuss how to consolidate them to save money. Administrative Assistant will re-copy the spread sheet she devised for the cost comparisons for the Board meeting on July 28, 2011.
Catherine Shaw will answer questions numbered 1, 3, 4, and 6 for the Board by the next Board meeting.
Department Updates: The Board would like to meet with new DPW Director, Tim Murray and Loren White, Fire Chief at the next board meeting. The goal for the meetings are to hear from DPW a “State of the Union” about the department, and for White to bring the Board up to date about Code Red, as well as answer question 2. Tbe Board also wants to meet with Charlie Buttrick in order to get an update on the status of the Town equipment.
Action: The AA will schedule Buttrick for 15 minutes, Murray for 20 minutes and White for 15 minutes at the next Board meeting after 7:00 PM and before performance evaluations.
Merit Increases: The Board wants to include a “merit pool “in the 2012-2013 budget as a way to award raises based on merit.
Action: The AA will develop a spread sheet of salaries and hourly wages paid in towns within a 25 mile radius of Greenfield and obtain a copy of the salary comparisons that appeared in the Ledger-Transcript before Town elections in March 2011 by 7/28/2011.
Compensation for Educational Classes: It has been reported to the Board that Carol Burgess,has been visiting other recycling centers on her own time. She has been attending classes at the NRRA that she pays for herself. When she asked about getting mileage paid for attending classes, she was told she needs to clock the hours for class time in order to submit mileage reimbursment. She doesn’t want to get paid for the time, just the mileage. She does not expect mileage for going to other recycling centers.
Action: All Department Heads must ask the Board’s permission before taking classes in order to get paid for their time and mileage. Employees need to do the same with their department heads.
Oak Park Playground Equipment: Volunteers cannot be used to erect the equipment, due to liability issues,. The DPW has the pieces assembled at the highway garage. Murray needs to let the Board know when they can put the pieces up at Oak Park on a Friday. When the DPW crew can do it, they will be paid for the whole day. Since the DPW works a four day week in the summer, Murray will have to arrange schedules with the crew accordingly.
Action: DPW will arrange their schedule to have the equipment up by July 22. Day will inform DPW of this time frame. AA will write a letter to the Oak Park Committee informing them that DPW will put up the equipment.
Music on the Common: Day reported to the Board that the cost to the recreation department budget for the series is 485.00. She has arranged for the Ice Cream Lady to bring her truck to Greenfield next week for the event, and is trying to arrange a hot dog vendor as well.
Personnel Policies : The Board discussed the pros and cons of earned time versus paid time off, and whether the earned time should accrue hourly or by pay period. Earned time was decided on, accrued at an hourly rate. The earned time policy will have the proviso that if the employee uses earned time before it’s earned and leaves the position, they will have to reimburse the Town for the unearned , but already used, time.
Vacation time will need to be used within the year of the anniversary date of hire. If not used, the employee can only carry over 40 hours into the next year, any other time will be lost.
Day will write up the changes to the personnel policy made tonight and after having Town Counsel review it, she will bring it back to the Board for final approval. She will also meet with Catherine Shaw and work on the ccounting issues associated with the changes. After completion of the changes, the Board will meet with all employees to inform them of the changes and obtain their signatures.
9:55 PM: A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Kullgren, seconded by day. The vote was 3-0 in the affirmative.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 28th at 6:30 PM.
| 
