Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 16, 2014 – 4:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Debra Davidson, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt,
Public: Ken Paulsen until 6PM
The meeting was called to order at 4:35 PM by Chairwoman Davidson.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectboard reviewed and/or signed the following items:
§ A/P Checks
§ A/P Invoices
§ Wastewater A/P Checks
§ Minutes of April 2nd, April 5th & April 9th
§ Letter to NH Housing rescinding Supplemental Grant
§ Raffle permit – CMRC
At 4:35 PM the Chair opened the meeting. The Board reviewed the A/P invoices, signed A/P and Wastewater checks, and reviewed the corrected minutes of April 2nd and of April 5th. The minutes of April 9th were presented.
5:00 PM: Tim Murray, DPW Supervisor
DPW Supervisor Tim Murray came before the Selectboard to provide a report on the amount of stone purchased for mud season. As of today, April 16th, Francestown Sand and Gravel has transported approximately 47 loads of stone. Approximately $17,000 has been spent but has not been invoiced yet, reported Murray. This comprises all of the gravel budget, which has a line item of $10,000 with the remainder to come from the Road Maintenance budget. The Selectboard expressed a hope that mud season would come to an end soon as the budget from the long winter combined with the mud was challenging. The Selectboard and DPW Supervisor discussed the most difficult trouble spots and how the cold winter had pushed the frost down deeper than last year; as a result there are very muddy spots in the middle of the roads where the
shoulders are dry. Further discussion was held regarding DPW’s ability to fix these roads similar to the work that was completed on Cavender Road last year.
Murray reported that from Monday – Wednesday, because of DPW’s focus on the roads they had only limited hours onsite at the Forest Road Sand and Gravel site. The Selectboard asked that Murray keep track of the amount of time spent at the site so that a good accounting of the actual days worked can be made available to residents if there is an interest.
The discussion moved to Old Bennington Road (from Forest Rd. to the Peterborough town line), which will be repaved this summer. After discussing the need to grind the road and leave it for a number of weeks so that it can settle and pack down, Selectwoman Charig Bliss made a motion to notify Old Bennington Road residents by letter, of an informational meeting with the Selectboard and to provide two week notice of the meeting date. The motion was seconded by the Chair and passed unanimously.
5:00 PM: Bob Marshall, Planning Board Chair
Planning Board Chairman Bob Marshall came before the Selectboard to provide an annual update on progress made by the Planning Board. Marshall reported on the general status of Master Planning in 2013. Four chapters were finalized and adopted: these are chapters on Land Use, Land Use Maps, Limitations of Development, and Population and Housing. Currently the Planning Board is preparing an agreement with Southwest Regional Planning for 2014. The tentative plan is to look at a Community Facilities chapter, create a new Economic Development chapter and potentially update the Construction Materials chapter. The hope is to finish the above projects by 2016 when the Master Plan is slated to begin again.
Next Marshall discussed the Community Planning Grant #1 (CPG #1). The zoning changes proposed as a result of this grant were adopted at Town Meeting in 2013. The Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations revisions were completed in June of 2013. The grant was completed by July 1st 2013. Community Planning Grant #2 (CPG#2) was awarded to help with the promotion and adoption of the Neighborhood Heritage District Ordinance. This ordinance failed at Town Meeting in 2014 and the supplemental grant for CPG#2 in the amount of $7,600 cannot be awarded. Planning Board Chair Marshall provided a letter for the Chair of the Selectboard to sign indicating to NH Housing Finance Department that the ordinance did not pass. The Administrator indicated that the DRA would disallow the warrant article as it was
contingent on the passage of the ordinance and that he had already discussed this with them. CPG #2 would be completed by July 1st, 2014.
Next Marshall outlined the recent successes of the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) and congratulated the Selectboard on their wisdom in setting up the committee. Greenfield was selected as one of three communities to receive assistance in Broadband Planning as a result of EDAC’s outreach efforts and networking. The committee was also responsible for the passage of the new industrial/commercial zone passed by voters in March. This is the Community Revitalization Tax Relief Incentive (CRTRI) RSA 79-E. RSA 79-E declares that it is a public benefit to enhance downtown areas and to encourage the rehabilitation of underutilized structures for economic development, as well as promote residential and municipal uses in accordance with RSA 9-B. The CRTRI is a tax relief incentive.
As part of the discussion of the RSA 79-E tax relief incentive, Mr. Marshall indicated that one of the criticisms that he heard about the Neighborhood Heritage District (NHD) was that it was a perceived as a prescriptive ordinance that interferes with property rights rather than an incentive program. As a result it was clear from the vote on the NHD that residents would rather have an incentive program rather than an ordinance to promote sensitivity to neighborhood heritage qualities. Since the vote, the Planning Board has been taking stock of the reactions from residents. The Vision Statement has not changed, and the directive to look at ways to preserve the village and surrounding neighborhoods is still before the Board. But in the same way that RSA 79-E offers an incentive program, the Planning Board will be looking at
ways to adopt or create other types of incentives. The goal is to find common ground between the residents and what is available. The Planning Board is in the process of strategizing how to align these interests. Selectwoman Day commented that she had heard from several residents throughout the course of the discussions on the NHD ordinance that there is enough zoning in place already and that Greenfield’s zoning covers all of the eventualities that the Town is likely to encounter. She asked Planning Board Chair Marshall if this was accurate. Mr. Marshall provided a brief overview of business vs. residential zoning in Greenfield and indicated that the current zoning doesn’t speak to the built environment of the village district for residential purposes; for instance the zoning currently mentions that esthetics are mentioned but not defined. Selectboard Chair Davidson interjected that esthetics are subjective and not everyone agrees on such things. Marshall agreed
and outlined an example of someone moving into the village and building a modern residence with large flat glass panes in a metal structure. Selectwoman Day asked if the Planning Board can say “No” to an applicant. Mr. Marshall answered that the Planning Board cannot say “No”, if an application complies with the zoning it will go through. In other words, if it is consistent with the ordinance the Planning Board is bound to let it pass. A discussion of past site plans followed. Mr. Marshall outlined that it was clear that the Town had said it did not want to go forward in a regulatory way (such as NHD) so the question is how to do it by incentivizing people to engage in preservation/promotion of community characteristics. Selectwoman Day said that people seemed to think it was not advisory but 100% regulation. Marshall explained that he encountered the same misconceptions after the Planning Board had removed a great deal of the first draft to accommodate the
feedback they received. After the third draft, however, people were still bringing up concerns that had been removed and dealt with months ago. Notwithstanding this frustration, Marshall said it was a very valuable experience that on reflection may bear a lot of fruit. Selectboard Chair Davidson said that she was so glad that Mr. Marshall was so positive despite the vote. Mr. Marshall said that “we all live here and we all love this town… so we have to keep trying”.
In 2013 the Planning Board completed the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP), thanks to Paul Renaud, who also chairs the EDAC. Paul and his team put a lot of time and effort into the CIP, with the result that Mr. Marshall felt the numbers in the CIP are much more accurate than in previous years. Marshall expressed that he hoped that it would prove useful to the Selectboard as they tackled budget planning for next year.
Next Marshall outlined “Where are we going”: The Planning Board is currently planning on a Charrette to be held on September 26-27, 2014. The Charrette will need active support and participation from the Selectboard. There are a couple of meetings that are being planned prior to the Charrette in order to help get people focused on the downtown area. The Charrette will allow the town to have professional eyes on the downtown area in hopes of generating some new perspectives on how Greenfield can address future planning.
For 2014 the Planning Board will review the Open Space Ordinance, and develop incentives to preserve/promote the village along with other districts in town. There will also be the continued focus on Master Planning, as outlined, with a Charrette to provide residents with suggestions on how to promote economic development in the village. Residents had indicated in the (Master Plan) Vision planning their desire for the preservation of the rural characteristics and character of the village while also their desire for economic development to help ease some of the tax burden.
5:30 PM: Park Theatre Presentation
Peggy Ueda and John Sepe of the Board of Trustees for the Park Theatre in Jaffrey came before the Selectboard to provide a presentation on the development efforts and construction schedule in place for the Park Theatre. Mr. Sepe (Seh-pay) indicated that the trustees were conducting outreach to local towns to promote the ability of the theatre to hold dances, conventions, and programs. As history to the Park Theatre, in 1933 the theatre had 723 seats. In 1943 four giant murals of the four views of Mt. Monadnock were commissioned. The views were painted based on the views from Jaffrey, Dublin, Marlborough and Troy. In 2001 there was a push to renovate the building, however, it didn’t meet code due to lead paint and asbestos. On December 10th of last year the entire building was taken down. The current
construction schedule has the building open for business in Spring of 2016. The theatre is booking shows out now as most venues are two years in advance. The new building will house 375 people and is a mid-sized theatre. It will be the only theatre of its size with an orchestra pit. Ms. Ueda outlined that the use of the building is available to all towns in the Monadnock region. The theatre will host films, major concerts, programs, performances including school performances. The theatre will be a regional center for arts and entertainment.
6:00 PM: Review/Approval of Documents
The Chair signed the NH Housing Finance Authority letter rescinding the supplemental grant. A CMRC raffle permit was signed. A request was made to the Administrator to send an email requesting a roster of the Fire Department to provide to the insurance pool. The Selectboard requested the Administrator request a copy of the minutes from Town Meeting. The Selectboard discussed the Payment in Lieu of Benefit and examined the results of a NH Government Finance Officers List Serve query. Selectboard Chair Davidson commented that many of the towns in the spreadsheet are larger than Greenfield. It was noted that several towns of Greenfield’s size responded although one of the towns does not offer the benefit. The value of the savings being considerable, the Selectboard asked the Administrator to draw up the language of the
policy while they considered the value of the benefit payment.
A discussion about the Committee to study retention and membership on the Fire Department took place. It was agreed that Selectwoman Charig Bliss would speak to the Fire Chief in advance of the first meeting and go over the requirements of the committee to post the meetings and take minutes. Selectboard Chair Davidson said that a review of past minutes from 2013 reminded her that the Selectboard had asked for an 18 month call record and a copy of the Fire Department roster. She asked the Administrator and Selectwoman Charig Bliss to follow up with the Fire Chief on these items.
The GIVers provided a picture of the new Oak Park Entrance sign that they had installed. Following a meeting with the Selectboard in 2013 the GIVers had created the new sign over the winter. In a photo provided by the GIVers the new sign is shown in place with Neal Brown, David Bridgewater, Dan Wolaver and Gary Smith. Dan Wolaver hand-scribed the letters and oak leaves. David Bridgewater routed them out and Gary Smith painted the panels. The Selectboard expressed their appreciation for the sign and the GIVers donation.
Lastly, the Selectboard Chair asked the Administrator to follow up on Municipal liability and provide the RSAs at the next meeting.
The Administrator noted that Welfare Director Leah Fiascanaro Conway will be out on vacation for the April 23rd and April 30th Wednesday schedules.
Adjournment
On a motion by Chair Davidson and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss, the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:12 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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