Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, January 10, 2013 – 4:30 pm
Board of Selectmen: Chairman Rob Wimpory, Selectwoman Karen Day, and Selectwoman Debra Davidson
Staff: Town Administrator Patt,
Public:
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 PM by Chairman Wimpory.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectmen reviewed and signed the following items:
§ A/P Invoices
§ A/P Manifest
§ A/P Checks
§ Resident Correspondence – Assessment valuation
§ Meeting House Rental Contract – Contd. Discussion
§ IT Vendor Maintenance Contract
§ Resident Complaint – Investigation Report
§ Meeting House rental rates – Revision
§ Town Office - Oil Tank Quote
§ Highway Safety Agency – Correspondence
§ Meeting House rental agreement / Family Gathering – contd.
4:30 PM: Review and Approval of Document
At 4:30 PM Chairman Wimpory opened the meeting. The Board reviewed and signed the AP checks and manifest. Chairman Wimpory announced that the Board would be holding a shorter meeting than usual so that the Selectmen could attend the Selectmen’s Advisory Committee (SAC) scheduled for 7 PM later that evening.
5:00 PM: Brian Giammarino, Police Chief
At 5:00 PM the Chair motioned to enter into nonpublic session under 91-A II a, Compensation in order to address compensation of public employees. On a roll call vote of 3-0 the Board entered into non-public session. At 5:58 PM the Board voted to exit non-public session. It was noted that after discussion with the Police Chief, the Board of Selectmen had voted to provide a raise for Corporal Roberge of 1.5%.
6:00 PM: Greenfield Recycling Committee member, Neal Brown
At 6:00 PM the Board welcomed Neil Brown to the meeting. Mr. Brown brought a revised copy of the survey that had been worked on the previous week to review. Prior to the review the Chairman opened the conversation with a question about a recent conversation between Mr. Brown and the DPW Supervisor. Chairman Wimpory indicated that he intended to follow-up on that conversation and that it could be public or non-public according to Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown chose to have the conversation public. Mr. Brown explained that he had called the Supervisor on his cell phone to talk about the Winter Wonderland flags that were hung on the light poles. The GIVers had installed flowerpot hangers from the flagpoles that would need to be moved to the back of each light’s pole, or removed, so that the flags could be hung. The conversation
had taken a bad turn and Mr. Brown had driven up to the DPW garage to apologize to the Supervisor the next morning. Chairman Wimpory expressed his interest in promoting a workplace environment where people want to come to work for the Town of Greenfield. The Chair indicated that it was his understanding that Mr. Brown was swearing to the point where the Supervisor has asked him to stop swearing three times because his son was able to hear it over the cellphone. The Chairman indicated that the Town would not tolerate this type of behavior, no matter if it were from a long standing volunteer. Mr. Brown said that he had put a lot of time into finding suitable flowerpot holders and expressed regret that he had been heated during his conversation with the Supervisor. Mr. Brown said that he was surprised that the question was coming up and that he expected to be able to work out his relationship with the Supervisor man-to-man. Chairman Wimpory said that it was important that the Board of
Selectmen stand behind the employees and provide the best possible work environment. Mr. Brown assured the Chair that his conversation was just a “kerfluffle”, as he doesn’t make it a habit to blow up at employees, he went on to assure the Board that the conversation was a one time event. The Chair directed Mr. Brown to work through the Town Administrator for the next 30 days until the event had cooled down. The Chairman then observed that having volunteers climbing the light poles with a stepladder in the snow was a concern and he wanted to make sure that volunteers sign a liability waiver. Mr. Brown said that he had been volunteering and giving to the Town over the past eight years and assured the Board that the flowers from the GIVers do not require climbing. The winter decorations require some extra work but if the DPW wanted to take that over he was happy to have them hang the lights and the wreaths. Mr. Brown went on to say that he was very impressed with
the Supervisor and wished that all of the times that he had said that DPW does a great job had been communicated instead of this particular instance, which he regretted.
6:32M: Adjournment
It was noted that several of the meeting documents and decisions on the oil tank, Meeting House rental rate revisions, and the IT vendor contract were being postponed to the next meeting.
In advance of the SAC meeting, Selectman Wimpory moved to adjourn the meeting. Selectwoman Day seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 6:32M
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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