Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, October 31, 2013 – 4:30 PM
Board of Selectmen: Chairman Rob Wimpory, Selectwoman Karen Day, and Selectwoman Debra Davidson
Staff: Town Administrator Patt, Police Chief Brian Giammarino, Fire Chief Loren White, Zoning Board Chairman John Gryval
Public: Myron Steere,
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 AM by Chairman Wimpory.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectmen reviewed and/or signed the following items:
§ A/P Invoices
§ A/P Checks
§ Wastewater Checks
§ Avitar Revaluation / Update agreement
§ Roberts & Greene, PLLC – general auditor’s agreement
§ Supplemental Grant Award – Planning Board
§ Property Tax Warrant
The Selectmen reviewed two Inspection Station applications that had been forwarded by the State of NH. The Board agreed that both of the applications should go to the Planning Board.
At meeting open, DPW Supervisor Murray asked if he could provide information about the Meeting House furnace. The Meeting House furnace that services the main hall and the downstairs was inspected by Sandford Temperature Control and the company advised the furnace needed replacement. Allen and Mathewson Co. was brought in for a second opinion. Supervisor Murray is currently researching the cost to replace the furnace because the fire bricks that line the interior of the burn chamber appear to be deteriorating. Murray installed CO2 sensors in the basement and stairwell as an additional layer of building security. Murray believes the furnace can continue to operate; however, it should be replaced when the budget allows. There are some complications with the sizing of the ductwork compared to the overall building area, which
makes the current set-up less efficient.
Separately Selectwoman Davidson announced that the ConVal School Board Public Hearing would be on Tuesday the 5th at 6:30PM.
4:35 pm: Chief Brian Giammarino – Police Department Budget
Chief Giammarino provided a preliminary budget report. It was noted by the Administrator that health and insurance costs will not be available until the middle of the month. Chief Giammarino outlined Greenfield’s dispatch costs, which have gone up over 2012 rates. Greenfield has 1000 more calls for the year than nearby Hancock, and Hancock has three full time officers, compared with only two full time officers in Greenfield. Chief Giammarino said he was concerned with the increases for the dispatch service and called to find out why Greenfield’s costs were so much higher than other towns.
The current roster of part time officers is down due to training and the loss of one officer to a full time position in another town. Staff levels are down and Chief Giammarino and Corporal Roberge have been working additional shifts in order to provide coverage. The Board of Selectmen discussed coverage and the question of whether it would be better to have three full time officers compared to the number of part-time officers. The Board asked the Administrator to gather a cost comparison between the current roster of part-time employees and the cost/value of adding another full time person. The part time roster would be reduced if that were to happen
5:25 PM: Avitar Revaluation Contract
The Selectmen reviewed the Avitar Revaluation contract and a letter from the Department of Revenue Administration. The Board voted to sign the Avitar contract on a motion by Chairman Wimpory and a second by Selectwoman Davidson with a vote of 3-0 in favor of the contract but with the requirement that a performance bond be provided by the company. The cost of the bond would be $960.00.
5:26 PM: BTLA A-9 forms - Delinquencies
After a brief discussion, on a motion by Selectwoman Davidson and a Second by Chairman Wimpory, the Selectmen voted to accept the BTLA form A-9 / List of Real Estate on which Exemption is claimed from the Greenfield Congregational Covenant Church, and from Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center. The Board voted 3-0 to accept the BTLA A-9 form from each of the parties.
5:33 pm: Neal Brown and David Bridgewater, GIVers Oak Park Signs
The representatives of the GIVers provided an updated outline of the Oak Park sign that the group had determined would be the best fit for the Park. After discussion of the costs and the location, the Board voted on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day, 3-0 to pay the sum of $265 for materials used to make the sign. A portion of the funds would be to pay for the routing of the sign.
6:00 pm: Carol Irvin, Conservation Committee Chairperson
Carol Irvin came before the Board regarding a recent email from Conservation Commission member Ray Cilley to the Town Administrator. The Board welcomed Ms. Irvin and asked if she would like to speak to her budget first. Conservation Chair Irvin said that she would like to add $500 for a “minutes secretary” and leave the rest of the budget the same.
A discussion followed about the accounting of the Conservation Commission funds over the years. Conservation Commission member Cilley joined Conservation Chair Irvin with the Selectmen. Mr. Cilley had recently purchased property from S.Robinson and noted that there is an easement on the property along with a pledge of $20,000 for the remediation of wetlands from the Conservation Committee. Irvin outlined that in the past the pledge had been part of a grant process. The grant process was interrupted because the Wetlands Reserve Program (NRP) had determined that the wetlands would be adversely impacted by the remediation and NRP had decided not to move forward with that program. Instead Carol indicated that there was an interest in remediating invasive species. Irvin said that since that time the property had changed hands
and, while the pledge is recorded in the ConComm minutes, she hasn’t received a proposal from anyone. Chairman Wimpory asked about the invasive species and Cilley indicated that his current interest is to use the funds to build a road through the property to a camp site. Chairman Wimpory asked Irvin if the ConComm was ok with a change of venue; if there has been a change in the project, and a change in the owner, is the Town still on the hook to make this payment?
The conversation outlined several items regarding the budget. The Administrator outlined the Conservation Commission’s fund transactions and said that this fund has not been reported in the Town Report with an income and expense report. The Board requested that the Administrator follow up on the original warrant article that was passed to add funds from the Land Use Change Tax to the Conservation Fund and determine if the fund transfer was based on an annual basis or on a billing basis (could funds from future payments be transferred to the fund after the close of the year in which they were billed). The Board requested that the budget be reported similar to the Waste Water budget, i.e. with an income and expense report that shows the transactions in more detail.
7:00 pm: Chief Loren White – Fire Department Budget
Fire Chief Loren White came before the Board of Selectmen and introduced Captain James Morris. A discussion about the Fire Department budget was held. There were three areas of discussion 1) heating fuel, 2) mutual aid dispatch fees, and 3) the cost of diesel fuel. Additional discussion outlined that there are 20 active people in the department. Twelve are fire fighters and eight are Emergency Medical Technicians. The number of mutual aid calls is around 25 per year. There are a total of 150-225 calls for service per year total. Seventy five percent of these calls are Rescue (EMT) calls. The two areas of funding that must be noted are turn-out gear and radios. There are no plans to change the budget for 2014.
7:30 pm: Loren White, John Gryval – Zoning Board update
At 7:30PM Loren White, as Zoning Board member was joined by John Gryval, Chairman of the Zoning Board. ZBA Chair Gryval outlined the recent applications for the appeal of an administrative decision regarding the Forest Road gravel site. There had been 7-8 applications for appeal. The Board of Appeals had met in advance of hearing the appeals in order to determine if the ZBA could in fact provide any relief since the appeals were about a warrant article that was passed at Town Meeting. In addition the ZBA needed to determine if they had jurisdiction to actually hear the appeals. Based on research and an opinion from the Local Government Center’s lawyer the ZBA determined it did not have jurisdiction and that it could not hear the appeals. ZBA Chair outlined that it was also his understanding that a recent petition
for a Special Town Meeting was illegal because there weren’t enough signatures so the whole thing would likely settle down.
ZBA member White indicated that the applicants made comments, however, that were of interest to the ZBA even if the Board wasn’t engaging with their applications. As a result of the comments the ZBA members had their own reservations about the project and wanted to speak to the Selectmen on behalf of the applicants about a series of concerns.
ZBA Chair Gryval said that he explained to the applicants that it wasn’t actually necessary for the Selectmen to have a warrant article to spend money on the surveying and engineering. That money could have come out of the DPW budget. So there are a lot of perceptions about the project that aren’t real. They (ZBA Chair Gryval and member White) were there to talk about the applicants concerns, but wanted to stress that the Board of Selectmen didn’t do anything wrong. Chairman Wimpory commented that it seemed questionable to have zoning board members representing those applicants to the Selectmen. The Zoning Board is supposed to be impartial. ZBA Chair Gryval said that the minutes of the meeting don’t capture the full impact of the meeting. He thought it was important to address the selectmen in a
public forum. ZBA Chair Gryval said he thought the Board of Selectmen should know their concerns. Selectwoman Davidson said that they had already heard the concerns in the informational meeting that the Selectmen had held. Most of the people (applicants) who showed up didn’t go to Town Meeting. Selectwoman Davidson went on to say that she had spoken to many people who feel it’s a good project and some who were glad they didn’t sign the petition because it was a way to save money. ZBA Chair Gryval said that if the informational meeting had been a public hearing it might have been more appropriate, even though it was recognized that it wasn’t required to be a public hearing. Chairman Wimpory stressed that it had already been voted at Town Meeting whether it was an informational meeting or a public hearing it would have gone forward regardless. The meeting was joined by an abutter across the road from the gravel site. After some additional questions the
Selectmen closed the meeting.
Adjournment
On a motion by Chairman Wimpory and a second by Selectwoman Davidson the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:13 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 office.
_____________________ _____________________ _____________________
Rob Wimpory, Chairman Karen Day, Selectwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman
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