Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 – 4:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Debra Davidson, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt, Catherine Shaw,
Public: Dylan Fisher of Monadnock Ledger Transcript, School Board Rep. Myron Steere, Ken Paulsen, Vicki Norris, Neal Brown
The meeting was called to order at 4:33 PM by Chairwoman Davidson.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectboard reviewed and/or signed the following items:
§ A/P Checks
§ A/P Invoices
§ SRPC letter – Fluvial Erosion Hazard
§ Sand and Gravel Operation – DPW Site Guidelines
§ Trustee of Trust Funds Appt.
§ Extension of Notice of Intent to Cut – R7-21-1,2,3 & R7-27-1-1
§ Road Side Round-Up – NH the Beautiful registration form
§ Annual Reports from Temple & Greenville
§ Banking Signature Page
At 4:32 PM the Chair opened the meeting. The Board reviewed the A/P invoices, A/P checks, and reviewed the minutes of March 27th, for which corrections were requested. The Board signed an extension of an Intent to Cut for R7-21-1,2,3 & R&-27-1-1. The Chair signed the Road Side Round-up registration form. The Selectboard signed the bank signature page for internal use.
4:35 PM: Tim Murray, DPW Supervisor
Tim Murray, DPW Supervisor was present to update the Selectboard briefly on some work that he wanted to do at the Forest Road sand and gravel site. In 2013 the Selectboard had requested he stop work while the discussion of the Special Town Meeting petition was held. As a result the DPW didn’t get a chance to clean up brush. Supervisor Murray explained that the fire wardens have given approval so that DPW can burn brush on-site. He was there to ask permission to burn brush, provide an update about the use of winter sand and salt to date, and to set a time for excavation of sand and gravel starting later in the month of April. After discussion the Selectboard agreed to allow work to start and for DPW to burn brush. The Selectboard reached a consensus that they would notice the start of the 2014 excavation in the
newspaper as a courtesy but direct people in the future to the website for notification and notices. Supervisor Murray indicated that he would need three weeks of 4-days each; a total of approximately 12 days to cut trees, clear the driveway to DOT standards, and excavate sand and gravel.
Supervisor Murray indicated that over the course of last winter DPW had used approximately 2700-2800 yards of sand vs. 1800 the year before. They had also used 376 tons of salt vs. the 300 he had planned for at the start of the season. The Selectboard asked how many yards of sand were going to be needed going forward given the way the last couple of winters have been. Supervisor Murray indicated he wanted to take 4000 yards this year to replace the amount of stockpiled sand that was used and to ensure that there was enough to use next winter if conditions are similar. It was acknowledged that the winter was particularly severe and that use of salt and sand products was significantly beyond what was expected.
The Selectboard discussed meeting on-site with Supervisor Murray at the sand and gravel site for a walkthrough of last year’s dig. It was decided to post a meeting to be held 10AM Saturday morning.
5:00 PM: Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
Myron Steere asked if he could make a quick report from the School Board. He said he was not voted Chairman of the School Board but he was voted Chair of the Budget & Property Committee. There was a short discussion about the voting process and how Mr. Steere could help the budget process as a result of his new role at the School Board.
The Selectboard worked through the remaining time to complete review and approval of administrative documents.
5:30 PM: Vicki Norris – Applicant for Trustee of Trust Funds
Vicki Norris, resident of Greenfield for 26 years, came before the Selectboard to volunteer to be a Trustee of the Trust Funds. Ms. Norris indicated that she has a bachelors degree in accounting and that she is very excited about the idea of being involved with the Trustees. Neal Brown, newly elected Trustee of Trust Funds attended and introduced himself to Vicki. There was a short discussion about the hand-off from the previous Trustees, of materials and documents. Selectwoman Charig Bliss, a recent Trustee of Trust Funds until her election discussed some of the duties and responsibilities of the Trustees. Ken Paulsen, a resident attending the Selectboard meeting, said that he would volunteer too. Appointment paperwork was drawn up for both Ms. Norris and Mr. Paulsen and the Selectboard signed the paperwork. The
volunteers were directed to visit with the Town Clerk to be sworn in.
6:00 PM: Janet and Paul Renaud – Residents requested meeting
Janet and Paul Renaud approached the Selectboard. They brought with them an application form for rental of the Meeting House and explained that they were interested in promoting a Monadnock Music Concert at the Meeting House on July 20th at 3PM. A discussion was held with the Selectboard in which it was noted that Monadnock Music Concerts are held in various places, similar to the Meeting House, in the region, but has never been held in Greenfield. There is no fee for the concert. Everything is by donation. There are people who attend every concert and having the concert in Greenfield would help bring people to the village. There was some discussion about the use of the piano in the Church Sanctuary and Mr. Renaud indicated that they would discuss this with Reverend Osgood and make sure this was acceptable to
the Church. The
Selectboard discussed the idea and agreed that this was a unique event. Mrs. Renaud said that they were hoping that the Selectboard would agree to make this a joint venture with the Town because otherwise the fees to rent the Meeting House would be prohibitive. She explained that the concerts are held for free. The Selectboard agreed to make the event a joint venture, through the recreation department, with the Town, and not charge a fee for the rental.
6:30 PM: Work Session
The Selectboard’s next scheduled meeting being for 7PM, they used the Work Session for discussion. There was a discussion and agreement for a nomenclature change to modernize language from the masculine ‘Selectmen’ to ‘Selectboard’ and Selectperson, and from ‘Chairman’ to ‘Chair’ when referring to the Board or its members. The Selectboard indicated that these changes should be adhered to going forward in their minutes.
7:00 PM: Loren White, Fire Chief
At 7 PM Loren White, Fire Chief approached the Selectboard to discuss his interest in forming a citizens committee, which was outlined and voted on at Town Meeting. Chief White provided a brief outline of the committee to the Board and answered questions about the number of people needed, and his interest in getting feedback from residents on how the Fire Department can increase the number of volunteers and also keep the retention rate high. Over the past couple of years a number of older firefighters have retired and the roster of volunteers is down and the Chief feels as if these questions have been exhausted at the level of the Fire Department, without a lot of results. In forming the committee he said that he hopes that residents with a deep interest in the Fire Department will come forward and see things that the
volunteer firefighters miss because they are too close to the issues, to close to the department, or simply haven’t been thinking as creatively as someone from the outside. The Selectboard discussed some of these points with Chief White and made note that the committee as formed at Town Meeting would require the Selectmen to appoint the members, and that meetings would have to posted, and minutes taken at the meetings. Chief White responded that he didn’t realize that this was necessary and said it sounded more formal than he expected. The Chair responded that the Selectboard was not telling him that he needed to do this because they felt it was a good idea, they were simply noting that as a result of how the committee was formed that these things were necessary according to statue. Chief White said he understood but said he felt a little discouraged by the level of formality of such a committee.
The Selectboard asked questions about several items including dry hydrants, the number of volunteers currently on the roster, how they are currently paid and if the Chief sees this changing in the future, and the difference between full-time and volunteer firefighters. The Selectboard asked if the new committee’s mission was to increase membership and Chief White responded that it is not only the membership but also participation. He outlined that participation could be limited by the fact that members are driving a considerable distance to work and they are not available during the day. This has occurred more frequently the farther we get from an agrarian society where people work in the towns they live in. The result now is that participation is as vital as membership. The Selectboard noted that there was an
article in the paper recently and they indicated that they hoped that this would help drive interested people to the committee.
Chief White provided the Administrator with copies of Social Media policies for the Fire Department. A discussion of the Primex insurance was held and Chief White asked for clarification on several insurance related issues, which the Administrator said he could provide in the coming weeks.
Adjournment
On a motion by Chairwoman Davidson and a second by Selectwoman Day, the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.
______________________ _____________________ _____________________
Debra Davidson, Chairwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman
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