Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 – 4:30 PM
Selectboard: Chair Debra Davidson, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt,
Public:
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
§ Payroll
§ Groundskeeper pay schedule
§ Gardener pay schedule & pmt request
§ Minutes of 4/16
§ Treasurer Memo- Cashflow
§ Selectboard Invitation to Informational Meeting
§ Town Hall Rental – yard sale
§ Appointment paperwork for Volunteer Study Committee
§ Notice of Intent to Cut – R10-7
At 4:30 PM the Chair opened the meeting.
4:30 PM: Resident Donald Haney
Mr. Donald Haney, residing at 416 Gulf Road, came before the Selectboard. Mr. Haney reported to the Selectboard that the roads have been “terrible” this winter. The Chair stated that it had been a long winter and one that was particularly hard on the roads everywhere. Mr. Haney said that he drives on Gulf and Cornwell roads the most and that he was concerned that not enough sand had been used on the end of Cornwell where there is a hill. He asked the Selectboard to ensure that in the future enough sand is provided to these two roads.
Next Mr. Haney outlined that he had recently had a re-assessment done on his home. In the past he has filed two abatement requests with the Town and both had been denied. Chairwoman Davidson explained that the process is for residents to file an abatement application with the Town, which is then forwarded to the assessing company that the Town uses to assess all properties. Once the Selectboard receives a recommendation from the assessing company its usually upheld. From there the applicant has the ability to appeal to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA). She asked if Mr. Haney had gone to the BTLA. Mr. Haney said that his property had been improperly assessed at $344,000 and this had been reduced to $309,000, but that the Town had unjustly collected taxes over the years that he has lived in the home. He requested
that the Selectboard provide him with a $1,600 refund for the taxes that he has paid, which he feels is based on a higher valuation than the home is worth. The Chair read from the letter that had been provided to Mr. Haney that the assessors cited several comparables that indicate that his home value was supported in the market at that time. The Chair noted that the tax card indicates that the assessors were refused entrance in 2010. Mr. Haney explained that he had been on his way out and wasn’t able to let them in at the time so the assessors had only measured the outside. Mr. Haney referrred another property in town that he felt was an example of a property that is superior to his but is valued at less than his property. He stated again that he was reassessed by Avitar in the last two months. The Chair questioned whether it had been two months and Mr. Haney affirmed that was the case. Mr. Haney indicated that the assessor changed the assessment from $344,000 to $309,000,
which shows that the assessment was incorrect.
The Selectboard asked the Administrator to follow up with Avitar and determine what steps had been taken so that the Selectboard can have a clear view of the things that have happened.
5:00 PM: Work Session
The Chair provided an update on the Selectmen’s Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting. At the SAC meeting the default budget was discussed. The Chair outlined the default budget as the prior year’s budget plus contractual obligations. The Chair reported that she asked a question about the layoffs that have been reported by the newspapers. The Chair reported that she pointed out that the staff were accounted for in the budget the previous year so why were people being laid off from teaching positions? “I feel as if you are punishing taxpayers because [ConVal’s] budget was defeated”. She reported that Myron Steere, the Greenfield School Board Representative said that they couldn’t talk about the layoffs because it was a personnel issue.
Next the Board reviewed the minutes of 4/16 and made corrections to the second paragraph of the meeting notes in which the DPW Supervisor indicated the amount of time that DPW had been at the Sand and Gravel site on Forest Road. The correction noted that there had been a limited number of hours from Monday thru Wednesday that DPW worked at the site. A second correction with regards to the paved portion of Old Bennington Road was accepted.
The Selectboard discussed the initial meeting of the Volunteer Study Committee that was formed as a result of the vote at Town Meeting: “to establish a committee for the purpose of seeking ways to increase and preserve volunteerism on Greenfield’s Fire Department so we can provide an adequate level of fire and EMS services”. LGC Legal responded to the Selectboard’s request for clarification on the implementation of the article. LGC Legal confirmed that the Selectboard would be responsible for setting up the committee. Chief White provided a list of the people that attended the initial get together and forwarded a date of May 19th as the committee’s first meeting night. Appointment paperwork was drawn up for ten people that originally expressed interest to Chief White of the Fire
Department. Chief White forwarded a meeting summary document of his initial meeting with volunteers to the Selectboard. The Selectboard reviewed the meeting summary notes. It was noted in the meeting notes that the meeting was not a formal meeting of the committee, which would start after people were sworn in. The Selectboard then reviewed and signed the appointment paperwork.
Discussion about the format of the committee and their goals was touched on briefly. It was thought by the Selectboard that a facilitator for the initial meetings would help the committee “white board” their thoughts and ideas and allow the participants to work through a focusing exercise that would help bring the issues to light in a constructive manner. As an example, one issue that Selectwoman Charig Bliss outlined was that a significant number of the volunteers joined the department to become Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and not necessarily fire fighters. “We need to attract Fire Fighters”, she said. There followed a short discussion on the cost of training for Fire One certification and the question of whether the local towns can work cooperatively together as discussed by the
Selectmen in their multi-town meetings (at the Meeting House in Greenfield) in 2012.
Next, in part due to comments made in their 4:30pm meeting, the Selectboard discussed some of the recent feedback from residents regarding the roads and mud season. The feedback collected had been both positive and negative and some people had called to say how much the roads had improved as a result of the ongoing work by DPW. It was noted that the DPW Supervisor had come in seven days a week to run the grader for approximately the last four weeks. Now that the weather was improving and the roads finally drying out the Chair noted that she had received several positive comments on the gravel roads.
The Selectboard discussed the road closure process and the types of signs used. The Selectboard were of a consensus that the Road Closed signs by themselves were not as clear as if there were also signs for Detour, and Pass At Your Own Risk. The signs for Road Closed /Local Traffic Only were not as clear as if there was a Pass At Your Own Risk sign associated, and in the case when the road was closed, it had been unclear on at least two occasions that motorists were meant to detour (an example was a portion of Old Bennington Road; closed to all traffic by DPW with traffic meant to travel to Forest road via County road). The Selectmen also discussed the Move Over Law and the need for adequate work zone signs. The Administrator said that he was going to meet with the Police Chief and the DPW Supervisor to discuss work zones
and he would report back on the discussion. The Administrator also said that DPW had pointed out that the Move Over Law was amended in 2008 to include Amber Lights, and that this change was meant to include highway work vehicles.
6:00 PM: Review/Approval of Documents
The Selectboard reviewed the A/P Checks and A/P Invoices and signed off on each folder. Payroll was signed. The Selectboard accepted and approved the Groundskeeper and Gardener pay schedules for 2014. The Selectboard reviewed a memo from the Treasurer. A memo from the Administrator had already been sent out to reduce spending until after the middle of June based on the Treasurer’s memo to the Selectboard. The Selectboard signed a Town Hall Rental, and reviewed and signed an invitation letter to residents on the paved portion of Old Bennington Road. The invitation is to meet with the Selectboard and the DPW Supervisor in advance of the work on the paved portion of the road this year. The Selectboard’s informational meeting will be held on Wednesday May, 14th at 6:30 PM. The Selectboard signed an
intent to cut for R10-7.
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 7:07 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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