Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, April 18, 2013 – 4:30 pm
Board of Selectmen: Chairman Rob Wimpory, Selectwoman Karen Day, and Selectwoman Debra Davidson
Staff: Town Administrator Patt
Public: John Gryval, Conrad B. Dumas, Myron Steere, Norman Nickerson, David G. Knowlton, Marjorie Vanasse, Robert McWha, Elizabeth Halper, John Halper, John Eber, George Rainier, Martha Pitt, Tim Pitt, Randolph K. Beltz, Kathrine Beltz, Tom Bascomb
Dave Anderson – Monadnock Ledger Transcript
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 Manifest
§ A/P Checks
§ A/P Invoices
§ Old Bennington Rd. petition
§ Department of Safety award of XTS 2500 EMD Radio
§ NH Community Planning Grant agreement
§ Notice of Generator Award – Town Office
§ Assessor’s abatement recommendations: R7-1, R1-22, R6-29-7
§ Assessor’s notice of current use tax: R1-24
4:30 PM: Review and Approval of Documents
At 4:35 PM Chairman Wimpory opened the meeting. The Board signed A/P invoices, A/P Checks and A/P Invoices.
The Board then welcomed DPW Supervisor Murray to the meeting. Supervisor Murray provided an information package outlining his review and inventory of the paved roads in Greenfield. Supervisor Murray explained that he had been examining the UNH Road Inventory and Assessment survey that had been completed in 2011. He examined the survey with the Administrator and determined that the costs outlined in the UNH report were contract costs. DPW provides grading & maintaining dirt roads, and the ditching and spreading of gravel during reconstruction. The costs in the report are not calculated to reflect the actual cost for DPW to perform the tasks. An example was provided showing that the UNH study used .08 cents a sq. ft. as the basis for the cost to grade (blade/drag) dirt roads. Using FEMA rates, which are reimbursable
from the federal government after a disaster is declared, the DPW reports that its actual cost is closer to 4/10ths of a cent per square foot. It was suggested that the costs, overall, as provided by the UNH study, appear to be at least 24-25% higher than actual costs.
The cost estimates to reconstruct roads, provide overlay, ditch & grade dirt roads, and generally work with paving contractors require adjustments to bring the estimates in line with the actual cost to perform the work on each specific road. A series of spreadsheets were provided that showed these cost comparisons for paved and unpaved roads. An example for Old Bennington Road, using the lowest of several recent paving quotes for that road, was provided to show the difference between the UNH study costs and the actual costs in today’s market. Even though the study is now two years old the reconstruction and paving costs are less today than the study suggested in 2011. The Selectmen reviewed the spreadsheets (for paved and unpaved roads) and asked several questions about the unpaved roads. Chairman Wimpory
discussed the original question of bonding that had been advanced by the Roads Commission. There was a general discussion about the advantages of taking out a bond. Supervisor Murray stressed that by increasing the road reconstruction warrant article for two to three years, he can bring the roads to a satisfactory baseline from which the town could reduce the warrant article back to its current $125,000 for new paving projects. The Board discussed Old Bennington Road at length and Supervisor Murray indicated that it’s the one of the worst of the paved roads. The roads he felt that needed the most immediate attention were Old Bennington, Longwood, and Knotwood. The Board discussed the traffic flow on each of the roads. Supervisor Murray referred to traffic studies in 2001 and in 2011 for specific information. Lastly, the Board requested that Supervisor Murray provide a three-year plan using the data that had been compiled and revised. The plan would be brought to the 2014 Town
Meeting.
The Board then discussed the upcoming meeting with the residents of Old Bennington road. Supervisor Murray indicated that he would like to pave the road this summer. Selectwoman Davidson voiced a concern that the spreadsheets show that the cost to provide full reconstruction of the road, including ditching and work with any possible drainage issues, appeared to be $158,583 from the spreadsheet, while providing the grinding and paving alone would total $131,000. Selectwoman Davidson indicated that she would prefer to ask for the necessary funding for a complete reconstruction on the paved portion of Old Bennington road at the 2014 Town Meeting than to just grind and pave it this year. The Board agreed with Selectwoman Davidson and on further discussion determined that committing the equivalent of a dollar on the tax rate
to the roads would probably be the best route forward based on the information submitted. The Board asked several questions about the remainder of Mountain Road, which did not get completely paved in 2012. The Board suggested that they would prefer to see Mountain Road finished before starting Old Bennington. The Board and Supervisor Murray reached a decision to finish Mountain Road this year. Supervisor Murray indicated that he felt that he could also do Longwood Drive this year.
The Selectmen asked the Administrator to follow up with the Greenfield Roads Commission to find out if they have held any meetings in 2013. There have been some conversations with individual selectmen and commission members that suggest that some of the commission members have resigned. The Board asked the Administrator to follow up with the Commission and find out the names of the people that are currently members.
The Board thanked Supervisor Murray for his road inventory and indicated that they looked forward to receiving the finalized three-year plan.
5:45 PM: Working Session
At 5:45 PM the Board noted that the 6 PM meeting period was open and that there were a significant number of items that needed review and signature. The Board used the remainder of the time prior to the 7 PM meeting to finish signing the A/P checks and reviewing of A/P invoices. The Chair signed the Department of Safety award of a radio for the Emergency Management Director. The Chair signed the NH Planning Grant for the Planning Board. The Administrator notified the Selectmen that the 50% matching grant for the generator at the Town Office was approved and that the Department of Safety has indicated that work can begin at any time. This information has been provided to DPW and work is in the process of being scheduled with DPW and the electrician.
The Board reviewed correspondence from Avitar, the Town’s assessing firm. Abatement recommendations had been received earlier during that day. The Board reviewed each recommendation and upheld them for R7-1, R1-22, and R6-29-7. Each of the applications was denied for reasons specific to each application separately. A separate document for the collection of current use tax was provided and signed, for R1-24.
Minutes from the April 4th meeting were reviewed and signed.
Selectwoman Davidson provided a quick update on the Selectmen’s Advisory Council meeting schedule.
The Administrator reported that the auditors had completed the annual audit in two days on-site. The only areas of interest from the auditor was the police details, which are not gross budgeted and one other recommendation for petty cash that would follow in their letter to the Board.
7:00 PM: Public Petition from residents on Old Bennington Road
At 7:00 PM the Board welcomed residents from Old Bennington Road to the meeting. The Chair welcomed fifteen people and indicated that he would read aloud their petition:
“We the undersigned, all current residents on the paved portion of the Old Bennington Road in Greenfield, hereby petition the Town of Greenfield to NOT convert said pavement to dirt/gravel in anticipation of future re-paving.”
Chairman Wimpory asked if the petition accurately captured the intent of all of the people that were in attendance. He then noted that all of the residents on the paved portion of the road had signed the petition. Resident George Rainier indicated that there was one person that did not sign the petition but he believed that the man had recently moved to another town. Chairman Wimpory thanked the residents for providing the petition, as it was a helpful indication from the residents of their expectations for the future of their road. A short conversation regarding the condition of the road was held with three or four issues raised, some of which would be answered by DPW. One issue in particular was the speed of the school buses. The buses “go like heck” and the person noted that the Greenfield police do an
excellent job of calming traffic on the road, when they are out and visible. Once the police are not present the buses begin traveling at a high rate of speed again.
Other issues that were raised included the culverts, which were installed last year, and need attention again this year to provide a smoother surface. The corner of Old Bennington and Cavander road has also become a problem.
Chairman Wimpory assured the residents that the Board would make sure that the road would not be touched this year and indicated that the cost of a complete reconstruction of Old Bennington had been discussed earlier in the evening. The Board had determined that it would be better to wait until next year, when the road reconstruction warrant article could be increased to cover the cost of the full reconstruction.
The Board thanked the residents for their input and reiterated its appreciation that all of the residents on the paved portion had taken time to sign the petition and provide a clear and helpful direction to the Selectmen.
Adjournment
Chairman Wimpory moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 PM. Selectwoman Day seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 7:15 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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