Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, March 22, 2012 – 6:30 pm
Board of Selectmen: Selectwoman, Karen Day, Selectman Robert Wimpory; Selectwoman Davidson
Staff: Town Administrator Patt,
Public: Aaron Kullgren, Patty Donovan, Donna Smith
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Administrator Patt.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectmen reviewed and signed the following items:
A. A/P Check Manifest
B. A/P Checks
C. A/P Invoices
D. Approval of Selectmen Minutes
E. Meeting House Rental Agreement – Schmechel
F. Roofing Proposals for Town Office
G. Paving Proposal for Town Office Ramp
6:30 PM: Open of meeting and election of new Chair
The Administrator opened the meeting, as the previous chairman no longer holds office. The first item following the start of the meeting was to elect a new chairman. Selectwoman Day opened the discussion by saying that normally she would be next in line for the position but this year her plate was too full to allow her to take the position. Selectwoman Day then made a motion to nominate Selectman Wimpory as Chairman. Davidson Seconded the motion and the motion passed. The Administrator turned the meeting over to the new Chairman.
Chairman Wimpory asked if there were any scheduled meetings and was informed that the meeting with Trustee Brown had cancelled prior to the meeting and was rescheduled for next week. After discussion with the Administrator, the Chair indicated that they would have an administrative meeting to welcome newly elected Selectwoman Davidson and to discuss a ‘project roadmap’ for the year ahead.
Aaron Kullgren, formerly selectman, was recognized briefly and spoke about his concern for the Recycling Center budget, which was cut by $10,000 at Town Meeting. Mr. Kullgren felt that there were some important projects that needed to be accomplished at the Center including bringing running water to the site. He cautioned the Board that this is required by health codes and then reminded the Board that they are the Health and Safety Officers of the Town. Mr. Kullgren welcomed the new selectwoman. He then asked Selectwoman Davidson and the Board when his road was going to get fixed, as the mud was a significant event this year. He especially wanted to underscore that County road needed attention. Mr. Kullgren closed his remarks by saying that he was interested in an appointment to the Budget Advisory Committee.
The Selectmen reviewed the bi-weekly Payroll manifest, signed Payroll checks, and reviewed items in the Selectmen’s reading file.
7:15 PM: Administrative Meeting to welcome Selectwoman Davidson
The selectmen held an administrative meeting to welcome new Selectwoman Davidson, and to discuss the individual selectmen’s sense of priority projects and the administration of the Town for the upcoming year. Chairman Wimpory extended a welcome to the new Selectwoman. Selectwoman Davidson said that she was excited to be on the Board and that she looked forward to working with the other Board members and the employees of the Town on behalf of its residents.
The selectmen discussed the Town of Greenfield’s unique characteristics with regards to the best process to communicate with residents on projects that the Town needs to undertake. The Board discussed the question of prioritizing projects in town and agreed that they would like to have a process in place for each project, specific to the project itself, but tailored to provide the town’s residents with enough information so that people understand each project, including the significance and the costs associated. This includes holding enough meetings that people have a chance to weigh in on each project.
The Board then went around the table and discussed specific projects or issues that they were aware needed attention.
1st item: The Town Office roof and the Meeting House roof. Chairman Wimpory asked if DPW could patch the Town Office roof and could the Board be provided information as to the timeline for when the Town Office roof would need to be done. What was the level of urgency?
2nd item: Avitar issues. The Board discussed the comments on the floor of Town Meeting about Avitar. One of the items associated with this discussion was the question of whether the company was supposed to notify residents that they planned on visiting resident’s homes. The question was expanded to ask if they had originally been under contract to provide this service. The issue of safety and the question of how the company arrives at the list of statistical updates was covered. This is a randomly generated list according to Selectwoman Davidson, but it was clear that there were some residents at Town Meeting that felt that they were being selected on a too frequent basis. The Board determined that there is a need for a noticing process so that each person chosen receives notification of the
company’s intent and the time and day when they plan to visit properties.
3rd item: the Meeting House. Selectwoman Davidson felt that the Meeting House needed attention. The steeple issue was a priority. The question of whether there were grant funds available for restoration of this building was asked. It was also agreed that there needed to be attention to the interior of the building.
4th item: the Fire Department’s proposed MOU with Lyndeborough. It was agreed that the access to certain homes on class VI roads in other towns was an issue, especially where the zoning was different from the Town of Greenfield. Selectwoman Davidson said that there might be another MOU on file under the name of Henderson that the Administrator could review.
5th item: Chairman Wimpory indicated that security for the Town, its buildings and employees was very important. A brief discussion was held on the security system implementation at the Town Office.
6th item: A discussion of available grants was held on a general basis. The Historic Preservation group, LCHIP, and the Moose Plate program were mentioned as avenues that should be explored.
7th item: The Administrator talked about each of the buildings and the need to have a report for each building that included its major systems and a punch list of maintenance projects. The question was asked if Primex had a building report that could be used to generate these reports. DPW is currently working on the punch list for each building and had accomplished a number of items already.
At the conclusion of the conversation the Administrator read back the list of projects and there was a short follow up discussion of the process for providing communication with residents.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Selectwoman Day moved to adjourn the meeting. Selectwoman Davidson seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 8:12 PM
Respectfully Submitted:
Aaron Patt
Town Administrator
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Board of Selectmen. A signed copy is on file in the Selectmen’s minutes.
_______________________ _______________________ ______________________
Robert Wimpory, Chairman Karen Day, Selectwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman
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