Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, March 29, 2012 – 6:30 pm
Board of Selectmen: Chairman Robert Wimpory; Selectwoman, Karen Day; Selectwoman Debra Davidson
Staff: Town Administrator Patt,
Public: Donna Smith, Planning Board Chairman Marshall, Neal Brown, Ken Paulson, Paul Renaud, Patty Donovan,
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Chairman Wimpory.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectmen reviewed and signed the following items:
A. Payroll Check Manifest
B. Payroll Checks
C. A/P Invoices
D. Approval of Selectmen Minutes
E. People’s Bank Signatory Paperwork
F. Intent to Excavate
G. Appointments for Budget Advisory Committee: Paulson, Kullgren, Harris
6:30 PM: Meeting Open
Chairman Wimpory asked if there were any scheduled meetings and was informed that there were two meetings, one with Planning Board Chairman Marshall to discuss the Master Plan, and a second meeting with Neal Brown, Greenfield Recycling Committee Chairman to discuss the results of Town Meeting.
The Selectmen reviewed the bi-weekly Payroll manifest, signed Payroll checks, and reviewed items in the Selectmen’s reading file.
7:00 PM: Planning Board Annual Meeting to address the Master Plan
Chairman of the Planning Board, Bob Marshall approached the Board to discuss the Town’s Master Plan. Mr. Marshall opened with remarks that the conversation started tonight was meant to initiate an ongoing dialogue with the Board of Selectmen to ensure that there is a focus on the Master Plan, its components, and to engage with the Board on issues vital to the Town of Greenfield. As an example, economic development in town is something that many people feel is a priority.
As part of a general overview Mr. Marshall listed some major developments over the past decade that have been consistent with Master Plan Goals, which include:
§ Open Space Development Ordinance
§ Small Wind Energy Systems Ordinance
§ Vertical Take-off and Landing Ordinance
§ Outdoor Wood-Fired Hydronic Heaters Ordinance
§ Driveway Regulation
§ Creation of specialized districts:
§ Wetlands Conservation District Ordinance
§ New Hampshire model Floodplain Development Ordinance
§ Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation and Education Center District
§ Groundwater Protection Ordinance
§ Greenfield Commons-Senior Housing Project
Also the upgrade of public infrastructure in development of the downtown area using both public and private investments:
§ Greenfield Commons
§ Harvester Market
§ Greenfield Meeting Place
§ Public sidewalks, street lighting, parking areas, community septic system
§ Conversion of the former elementary school to Town Office space
§ Addition to Stephenson Public Library
§ Historical Society Building/Barn
An example of a program that was not advanced by voters is the Steep Slope Ordinance. So there have been some major accomplishments and some setbacks including ordinances that have failed. The Planning Board feels that Economic Development has been the toughest area to effect a positive change
Current Master Plan work includes the electronic survey that is online and in print. There is also a photo shoot that is going on now until April 7th, and a roundtable discussion planned where attendees will meet in small groups to identify the top 5 priorities in town on April 28th.
One thought that the Planning Board has discussed is whether or not the Roads Commission should have a planning board member given that the Master Plan has a Transportation Section. This is another example of how the Master Plan can fit into and provide some support to other committees or commissions in town, by aligning the work that they do with the goals of the town.
On that note Mr. Marshall wanted to introduce Paul Renaud as the new Chair of the Capital Improvements Plan committee. Mr. Renaud opened with remarks to the Board about his goal to update the CIP plan regularly. He indicated that not everything that needs to be in the plan is currently included. Mr. Renaud foresees the need for a good system that once in place, can help the prioritization of the capital improvement needs in town. Selectwoman Day agreed that this was a good idea and said that she would like to see a financial plan that is tied to the CIP; indicating that the plan should stay within the Town’s realistic budget as opposed to creating a huge wishlist that voters could never afford. In this way prioritization of projects would take place. As part of the initial steps we need a ballpark figure for what
the needs are in town. Chairman Wimpory said, building on the idea of a realistic CIP plan, that the plan needs to be prioritized so that the projects that the Town needs to accomplish would be addressed. We are constantly fighting fires right now. Selectwoman Davidson commented that the Town of Greenfield does not have a planning department like some other neighboring towns. Selectwoman Day said this was a good year to gather and collect the information needed to build a good program. Chairman Wimpory commented that that are clearly a number of capital items that are coming forward right now and the need for an ongoing effort stems from the growing number of projects in the pipeline. Selectwoman Davidson said that planning is very important because you can’t hit people with a million dollars worth of projects.
7:30 PM: Greenfield Recycling Committee Chair Neal Brown
Neal Brown, Chairman of the Greenfield Recycling Committee came before the Board to discuss the results of Town Meeting vote on the PAYT program and to discuss the Recycling Committee’s role at the Recycling Center going forward. Mr. Brown opened his remarks by saying that it was clear that the PAYT program was a non-starter at Town Meeting and now the committee has questions about how they should move forward. The committee’s goal with PAYT had been to reduce waste in the trash stream and increase recycling. The committee would like to reset its goals, potentially drawing from the comments at Town Meeting to create a system that is fair for everyone. An example of the comments from the floor of Town Meeting were that the center could police the bags better, could use clear bags bought by residents in the
normal fashion at the supermarket, could strengthen the ordinance, and could work harder to prevent toxins such as paint and other non-household waste from being thrown away. Selectwoman Davidson asked why this was an issue, are people not recycling? Mr. Brown answered that since 2006, recycling has waned. Although Supervisor Burgess, in the last year, has increased recycling revenues to their highest levels since the inception of the program, it hasn’t prevented people from throwing away paint, oils, and glass with their trash. You can see and hear the bottles and cans going into the waste stream.
The mandatory recycling ordinance was discussed, followed by a conversation about the glass pile on site. In the course of the last two budget seasons Supervisor Burgess has put money in the budget for removing the glass pile but it has been cut back each time. The options are currently being examined on the best and most cost effective method for dealing with the glass. The pile is not big enough to warrant an outside party coming onsite to remove the pile for commercial use. Similarly, it has been reported in the past that there is not enough to warrant crushing the amount for use by the DPW. The cost is prohibitive for the quantity on site. The Board agreed to review the recycling ordinance to see if any changes could be made that would help.
Old Business Item: DPW Access Road
The access road to the DPW and Recycling Center was on the agenda for review by the Board. DPW Supervisor Murray has suggested changing the access road to the Recycling Center from running through the center of the DPW site. The reason is that on many occasions the traffic to and from the recycling center is going quite fast while the DPW trucks and heavy machinery are moving to load salt, gravel, and sand. Mr. Murray has said that this is a liability waiting to happen as some of the traffic drives very fast to get around the equipment instead of waiting patiently. The current site plan therefore is not a safe use of the space. The proposal that he has suggested is to move the access road so that once you reach the top of the hill to the DPW site, the access road would angle off to the right and go around the outside of
the DPW site. The current gravel piles would be re-situated closer to the garage, making access by the loader more efficient. There is a very large pile of dirt and gravel on the right side of the road as you come in. The plan, according to Supervisor Murray, would clean up that pile. Conversations with Building Inspector Hopkins, Planning Board Chairman Marshall, and with the owner of American Steel have all been positive. Mr. Cilley, the owner of American Steel, seemed to be in favor of the clean-up that would result and Mr. Marshall said that there would not be a setback issue.
In the course of the discussion it was agreed by the Board members that one of the issues that should be addressed is the flow of traffic that enters the Recycling Center. Currently the traffic crosses over at the top of the short hill to the center. Traffic in the right hand lane crosses the centerline as it bears left around the side of the recycling center building. Traffic leaving the site has to wait when cars cross the centerline toward the recycling bays. At the angle that DPW suggests bringing a new road to the short hill, the flow of traffic would be improved if traffic were to bear right and continue around the back of the building. On exiting the traffic would not cross over but come around the side of the building and stay straight onto the right hand lane of the exit/access road.
The Board concluded that it would like to schedule a site walk so that Selectwoman Davidson could see the proposed road location and so that the Board could look at the access to the recycling center.
8:20 PM: Dee Sleeper Town Clerk
At 8:20 Dee Sleeper stopped in to update the Board that the issues with the Town Clerk’s network and computers seemed to have been corrected. The office had been unable to process registrations for several days in a row. The office was particularly busy tonight and as a result the Clerk was not able to notarize documents for the Board because of the lateness of the hour. Chairman Wimpory thanked the Clerk for bringing them up to speed and then asked if there had been any progress on selecting a Deputy for the Clerk’s office. There was a short discussion on the computer needs in the office before its feasible to bring a deputy on board, as it would not be possible to train a person until there is a working computer for them to use.
New Business Item: Change of Hours and Suggestions
Chairman Wimpory suggested that after working with the employees over the last year, he was aware that the hours of the Selectmen’s meeting were not conducive for meeting regularly with the employees. The Chair suggested that he would like to see the meeting hours change from 6:30pm on Thursdays to 4:30pm on Thursdays as he felt this would accommodate the employees better. On a motion by Wimpory and a second by Davidson the Board voted 3-0 to change the hours to 4:30pm on Thursdays.
Chairman Wimpory made remarks on his goals for the Board and stated that he wanted to build trust with the residents and employees. In order to do so he expected the Board to act as a team to support the employees in their jobs. The Chair stated that going forward there were ground rules that would help the town and save money, one of which was to have legal correspondence with Town Counsel go through the Town Administrator. A second issue was the need to be objective and avoid any favoritism, whether from a family relationship or friendship and that Board members would need to be cautious when deciding on issues that affect employees where there were close relationships. If a Board member could not be objective then the member should recuse themselves from such issues. Selectwoman Davidson wanted to point out that
Selectmen cannot act alone and wanted to emphasize that there needed to be a vote by the members. The Chair agreed.
Chairman Wimpory then stated that he would like to ensure that there was a town equipment list and a maintenance list for the equipment. There was a brief discussion on this question.
Donna Smith was recognized and asked if the DPW was cross billing the recycling center for its time at the center when it uses equipment there. The Chair indicated that the Board could look into that but currently it was not being done.
New Business Item: Vote to Apply for Tax Anticipation Note
Selectwoman Davidson made the motion to authorize the treasurer to apply for a Tax Anticipation Note/ line of credit (TAN) for the 2012 year and to make application to those banks that the Treasurer deems most appropriate for such application. Chairman Wimpory seconded the motion. On a roll call vote the Board voted 3-0 to authorize the Treasurer to apply for a TAN line of credit.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Selectman Wimpory moved to adjourn the meeting. Selectwoman Day seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:48 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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