Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, September 17, 2014 – 4:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt, Recycling Center Supervisor Carol Burgess, Zoning Board Chair John Gryval, Zoning Board member Loren White
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 Invoices
§ A/P Checks
§ Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
§ Oak Park Rental – Wedding 9-21
§ Intent to Cut R7-15
§ Meeting House Rental – Project Shakespeare 12/19/14
Chairwoman Davidson opened the meeting at 4:35pm.
4:30 PM: Recycling Center Supervisor, Carol Burgess
Carol Burgess, Recycling Center Supervisor approached the Board to provide more information about the recent announcement that the Recycling Center would no longer be taking #3- #7 marked plastic products at the recycling windows. Supervisor Burgess said that the Town has been sorting these products out by hand inside the building for as long as she has been employed, due to the fact that there is no off-take agreement for these products. Burgess said she finally decided that it would be more cost effective to put a stop to handling the products and have residents sort them into trash at home. She went on say that our vendor NRRA provides a market for plastics marked #1 & #2 and the Town makes money on these products. She tested the #3-#7 plastics and found that there was a 5-1 ratio of #1s over the #3-7s. So
the amounts of the #3-7 that are entering the waste stream will be lower than people might think. She further explained that Greenfield has to partner with other towns to achieve a full trailer load, which is required by the haulers in order to have the recyclables shipped out. Greenfield does not have enough volume to make a full trailer load of product in any category. The Board asked some questions about the NRRA and the off-take agreements that are available in the market. Supervisor Burgess said that for the recyclables where there is a market, she can’t beat NRRA’s hauling prices. She summed up the recent changes by saying that there has never been a market for the #3- #7 since she has been here and that it’s not cost effective to handle the products, especially this year when she is having such a hard time finding any good pricing on the recyclables.
The Board talked about several issues with Burgess, including the scale at the Recycling Center. The scale was inspected by the State of NH Weights and Measures Department. The company that made the scale went out of business many years ago. There are no replacement parts for the scale, and, the scale was never intended to be certified for retail use. As such Burgess asked if she could have permission to scrap the scale and turn the small building its housed in into a more productive facility. The Selectboard reviewed the report by the State and agreed that it was not worth keeping the scale in its present condition. The Board asked that Burgess provide a quote for a new scale sufficient to be used at the Recycling Center.
Next Burgess reported that Mike Borden has an eagle scout that is working on a project for the Recycling Center. The project is to replace all of the tables that sit outside the recycling windows. Supervisor Burgess explained that the lumber company is providing a discount for the materials and that she hopes to have the table tops covered in metal sheeting in order to best protect the tables from the weather.
The Board reviewed a complaint by a resident against Supervisor Burgess. On review of the Recycling Center Ordinance enacted in 1993 and revised and re-adopted in 2013 the Board found that Supervisor Burgess was acting in concert with her responsibilities when she discussed a resident’s frequent use of the Mini Mall.
5:03 PM: Angelique Moon, PTO President , 45th Annual Harvest Fair
Angelique Moon came before the Board to discuss the 45th Annual Harvest Fair, which will be held at Oak Park. She noted that the Fair is the longest running event in town. Angelique Moon provided insurance binders for the Fair to the Selectboard. She then asked about the possibility of providing carnival rides at the Fair. The Selectboard and Moon discussed the possibility and went into detail regarding insurance against any liability for the rides. Moon agreed that the PTO and the Carnival ride operator would each provide a separate insurance binder to the Town but that the PTO would stay in charge of the event, so they would be responsible for the rental of Oak Park and for the facility. She said that the PTO was also considering an inflatable movie screen in order to show a free children’s movie on
Saturday night after the Fair was needed. The Selectboard debated the carnival rides and the movie. They discussed the noise ordinance for evening entertainment. They determined that they would need a certificate of insurance from the carnival ride vendor. They next agreed that it was ok to hold a movie as long as it did not extend past the 10PM cut off in the noise ordinance.
6:05 PM: Recess prior to Public Hearing
Due to a cancellation in the meeting schedule, and a public hearing scheduled for 7:30 PM, the Selectboard recessed the meeting for a quick dinner.
6:20 PM: Selectboard Meeting resumes
David Hall dropped in to say hi to the Selectboard. Mr. Hall introduced himself and spoke about his experience with firefighting, teaching firefighters and EMTs and managing a department. He also talked about his experiences with area town fire departments through his training sessions. He explained details of the specialized “training building” the fire department hopes to erect behind the Fire Station on Forest Road and invited the Board to attend the Saturday training session with a similar portable unit (Smoke Trailer).
The Board completed the review and approval of documents. The Board signed AP Check, AP invoices, an Oak Park rental agreement for a wedding, and an Intent to Cut form.
7:30 PM: Public Hearing – Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
John Gryval, Chairman of the Greenfield Zoning Board and Loren White, Zoning Board member joined the meeting. Selectboard Chair Davidson opened the public hearing and announced that the Selectboard would be taking public input on the Hazardous Mitigation Plan Update during the hearing. Chair Davidson noted that the public hearing had been noticed in the Ledger Transcript, the local paper, and at the Town Office and the Post Office. She further noted that the Plan Update had been on display to the public during the month of April and public notices announced the public comment period. Chair Davidson opened the public comment portion of the meeting. John Gryval was recognized and reported to the Selectboard that the Hazardous Mitigation Committee worked very hard on the project. He reported that our contact at Southwest
Regional Planning Commission was very pleased to be involved. He noted that he had heard that in some other communities the updated had been done in a few hours, but Greenfield had held a number of meeting and had gone through the plan extensively. He said that “it wasn’t just fill in the blanks…..we added a number of tables and additional information” to strengthen the document. He said that he was proud of the committee that did the work and praised their diligence.
There being no other comments from the public, the Chair closed the public portion of the hearing. On a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Day, the Board voted 3-0 to accept the Hazardous Mitigation Plan Update.
7:45 PM: Other Business
At the end of the public hearing Loren White, as Fire Chief sat with the Selectboard and followed up on a recent Volunteer Study Committee Meeting. There was a brief discussion about the items covered in that meeting. It was acknowledged to have been a very productive meeting by Selectwoman Day.
Selectwoman Charig Bliss said that she had two items for discussion at the Charrette. The first was the repair of the apron on the Old Town Office Driveway and the second was the demolition of the fence around the Meeting House cemetery.
The Selectboard discussed RSA 31-105 Indemnification for Damages. The Chair remembered that previous Selectboard had voted to adopt the provisions but she could not remember in what year the vote had been taken. Selectwoman Day said that she would like to re-affirm the vote and on her motion and a second from the Chair, the Selectboard voted 3-0 to adopt the provisions of RSA 31:105 as follows:
31:105 Indemnification for Damages. –~A city, town, county, village district or precinct, school district, chartered public school, school administrative unit, or any other municipal corporation or political subdivision may by a vote of the governing body indemnify and save harmless for loss or damage occurring after said vote any person employed by it and any member or officer of its governing board, administrative staff or agencies including but not limited to selectmen, school board members, chartered public school trustees, city councilors and aldermen, town and city managers, regional planning commissioners, town and city health officers, overseers of public
welfare, and superintendents of schools from personal financial loss and expense including reasonable legal fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand, suit, or judgment by reason of negligence or other act resulting in accidental injury to a person or accidental damage to or destruction of property if the indemnified person at the time of the accident resulting in the injury, damage, or destruction was acting in the scope of employment or office.
Adjournment
On a motion by the Chair, and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss, the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.
______________________ _______________________ ______________________
Chair, Debra Davidson Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman
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