Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 25, 2012 – 4:34 pm
Board of Selectmen: Chairman Rob Wimpory, Selectwoman Karen Day, and Selectwoman Debra Davidson
Staff: Town Administrator Patt
Public: Ken Paulsen, Gary Russell, Myron Steere, Diane Boilard, Neal Brown, Mary Ann Grant, David and Hilda Bridgewater, Norm Nickerson, Mary Ann Beard, Patty Donovan, Leigh LeBlanc and Christine Long. Andre Wood and his wife joined at 7:20pm.
The meeting was called to order at 4:35 PM by Chairman Wimpory.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectmen reviewed and signed the following items:
§ A/P Manifest
§ A/P Checks
§ P/R Manifest
§ P/R Checks
§ Cartographic Associates tax map maintenance proposal
§ Greenfield Police Detail Policy
§ Oak Park Rental 2013 August - update
§ Recycling Committee proposed recycling center layout
§ Recycling Center Ordinance
§ Vacation Request – Recycling Center
§ Town Hall Rental Contract – October 27th Pancake Breakfast
§ Town Hall Rental Contract – November 16th
§ Vincent Property status update
4:30 PM: Review of Documents and Correspondence
At 4:30 PM the Chairman Wimpory opened the meeting. The Board reviewed the A/P manifest and signed A/P checks. The Board reviewed the P/R manifest and signed P/R checks. The Board approved the Pancake Breakfast rental agreement for the Meeting House. The Board reviewed documents and held a brief discussion on the Meeting House rental agreement. The Board reviewed and signed a stand-alone ordinance for the Recycling Center. The ordinance states “Recyclables and items legally dropped off at the Transfer Station become the property of the Town of Greenfield. At no time shall items be removed from the Transfer Station/Recycling Center unless approved by the Transfer Station Supervisor. Unauthorized taking of items and recyclables is theft and is punishable by law.”
5:00 PM: Generator Bid
At 5PM the Selectmen opened and reviewed the generator bids. The Town received two bids for the generator and electrical work and a bid on a stand-alone generator without electrical work. The first bid from Wilson Technologies was resubmitted and included a 25 kw Kohler LP generator at $24,410.76 and a diesel comparison at $26,235.76. Wilson Technologies included bids for a tow-behind generator and a portable Generac generator. Next a quote was opened and read from Reliable Equipment. Reliable provided specifications and a quote on a Winco 20kw LP generator at $13,495 with an additional $1,100 for an automatic switch. Reliable also quoted pricing for a towable and a skid mounted (no trailer) diesel Multiquip generator for $20,995 and $18,500 respectively. A quote from North Pack Electrical Services was opened and read.
North Pack provided a quote for a 20kw Kohler LP generator with automatic transfer switch. It was noted that the quote included a maintenance contract to be provided separately by Powers generator service.
The Board reviewed the quotes and asked DPW Supervisor Murray several questions about the specifications in each quote. Supervisor Murray indicated that he thought the quote from reliable was for the box alone and not the electrical connection and that North Pack had quoted a pass through on the generator in order to capture the electrical work.
The Board reviewed the bid and voted 3-0 on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Davidson to accept the bid from Northpack Electrical Services in the amount of $9,257.50.
5:15 PM: DPW Supervisor Murray – DPW Budget
At 5:15 PM Supervisor Murray and the Board of Selectmen discussed the budget that Supervisor Murray had forwarded included several small increases over the 2012 budget. It was noted by the Board that the hours were due to change at the highway garage and Supervisor Murray indicated that DPW would return to winter hours (5 eight hour days from 4 ten hour days) on November 1st.
Supervisor Murray and the Board discussed several questions about items that were needed in 2013. Supervisor Murray needs to replace the tires on the loader.
5:45 Police Chief Brian Giammarino
The Board of Selectmen and Chief Giammarino discussed the updated budget request from the Police Department. It was noted that the Group II retirement had recently increased. The Board discussed part-time wages with the Chief and whether increases were overdue for the part-time police officers.
6:45PM: Working session
The Selectmen concluded discussions with Chief Giammarino and discussed setting the Tax Rate for the next billing cycle. The Board requested that a meeting be posted for 2PM on Tuesday October 30th and asked if the contact at the DRA could speak to them directly after their meeting in order to set the rate.
7:00 PM: Budget Advisory Committee
The Budget Advisory Committee met with the Selectmen to start the 2013 budget cycle. The Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) had completed its discussions about the Transfer Station and had voted to advance a comparison of a transfer station with the Greenfield transfer station, to the Board of Selectmen. It was noted from the minutes of the last meeting that the vote was 6-1 to advance a question of a feasibility study to the Board of Selectmen to see if the information that had been collected could help save money at the transfer station. The majority of the BAC felt that the comparison should be advanced to the Selectmen in order for a more comprehensive study to be completed. A discussion followed outlining the cost saving measures undertaken by the town of New Ipswich and the subsequent decrease in the cost of the
transfer station center. It was noted that New Ipswich is a pay-per-throw town but the Budget Committee’s discussions focused on the layout of their transfer station compared to Greenfield, and the question of whether recycling revenues were sufficient to offset the labor and hauling charges. New Ipswich is reported to have reached the conclusion that the handling costs far exceed the revenues. As a result the New Ipswich center is designed to facilitate the least amount of handling through the use of dumpsters for their recyclables and C&D. Chairman Wimpory indicated that the town of Greenfield residents would ultimately decide which program they prefer. Mary Ann Grant indicated that there was a value to having a person in charge of the center and she was worried that the focus on part-time help in New Ipswich would detract from Greenfield’s well-run center if adopted here. It was noted by Diane Boilard that New Ipswich is only open for one 8-hour day, whereas
Greenfield is open three days a week. It was noted that there is a value to having a properly licensed person at the site to ensure that the center is clean and well run. Gary Russell who runs the Bennington transfer station, said that there needs to be someone in town with the proper licensing but that they don’t have to be onsite during the open hours. They have to be in town. This meant that some towns that have people licensed and in town, can have part time people man the station. Aaron Kullgren addressed the Board and said that the Budget Advisory Committee voted to the idea of a feasibility study to the Board of Selectmen. He wanted to ensure that the Board understood that the Budget Advisory Committee did not vote to advance any changes at the Transfer Station to the Board. The BAC would like the Board to review the information and see if the Town of Greenfield could make use of the information. Gary Russell addressed the Board and said that he recently was able to
reduce the hauling fees because NRRA, the vendor for the recycling has branched out into hauling trash and their charges are lower. The Board noted that Carol Burgess, Transfer Station supervisor was present and asked her to note the opportunity for lower hauling charges. Supervisor Burgess indicated that the conversations were already underway and she expected to update the Board by the next meeting. Gary Russell noted that Greenfield has an excellent recycling rate, which has reduced the cost of the trash hauling.
8:21 PM: Adjournment
There being no further business, Selectman Wimpory moved to adjourn the meeting. Selectwoman Davidson seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:21 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.
_____________________ _______________________ ______________________
Rob Wimpory, Chairman Karen Day, Selectwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman
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