Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Meeting Minutes
Monday, September 22, 2014 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt, DPW Supervisor Tim Murray,
Road Commission Members: Michael Merzi, Norm Nickerson, Myron Steere
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by Chairwoman Davidson.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectboard reviewed and/or signed the following items:
§ A/P Invoices
§ A/P Checks
§ Timber Tax – R7-27-1,2,3& 27-1-1
§ Current Use Change Tax – R5-22-2
§ Abatement – NH Financing Authority – Tax Exempt
Chairwoman Davidson opened the meeting at 5:35pm. The Board noted that the items on the clipboard (Documents for Review/Approval) would be tabled until the 9/24/14 meeting.
5:30 PM: Greenfield Roads Commission
Three members of the Greenfield Roads Commission came before the Selectboard; Mike Merzi, Norm Nickerson and Myron (Mike) Steere. The Board opened the meeting with a copy of the NH Municipal Association article - Municipal Road Files: Why are they important? What should they contain? The Board supplied an agenda of items to cover in the meeting. The agenda items follow:
a. Road Files – see NHMA article (attached)
b. GIS Mapping with SWRPC – Mapping of Culverts
c. 2015 Road Reconstruction Project – Russell Station Road
d. 3 year Road Schedule Russell Station Rd. 2015; East Road 2016 & 2017
e. 2015 Budget Season – Equipment needed – York Rake
f. 2016 Budget Season – New 6 Wheel Dump Truck req.
g. Tree Trimming - Greenfield Planning Board / DPW
The Roads Commission reviewed the NHMA article. The Board discussed the need for a file for each road that includes information on its formation and historical data, including costs of road reconstruction so that this information can be available at future dates. The Town can look back and see how the prices have changed over time, for example. The Board outlined their interest in looking at mapping culverts and having the information provided on a GPS based map. This could be added to the road file. The Chair asked for feedback. Myron Steere, Chair of the Roads Commission said that “GPS doesn’t tell you anything, it’s better to mark them with stakes”. The Board asked Supervisor Murray for a quote and he provided that stakes cost $10.00 each x2 for each of 217 culverts or an approximate cost of
$4,400; once installed they will become a maintenance issue during plowing and ditching, he said. Selectwoman Charig Bliss indicated that there are physical and technological solutions to finding and marking the culverts and then asked which was the most cost effective. Norm Nickerson said that there are pluses and minuses to both solutions but that physical markers would be helpful. Mike Merzi agreed and said that they should be marked. Selectwoman Charig Bliss said that her suggestion would be to begin with the map and then put in the posts, create the road file and blow up the tax maps on a road by road basis for the file. Myron Steers suggested that the culverts could be marked on an electronic map and not have to be printed; they could be updated as needed. There was some additional conversation about the question of mapping the culverts. The discussion about the Town maps led to a question as to whether the Town maps would be compatible with the GPS marking. Selectwoman Day
noted that the Town maps are not GPS based maps. They are digitized maps so the GPS coordinates may not match exactly to the location of the culvert. The Board asked the Administrator to reach out to Southwest Regional Planning Commission to see if there are maps that have the physical layer that includes telephone poles. Supervisor Murray said that if the pole data is there he can measure from each pole and provide the measurements of the distance from the known location of the poles to the culverts. Myron Steere suggested that the Town use the Govt. Survey maps instead because the topographical maps at 1:25,000 will provide enough data that measurements can be taken to pinpoint the culvert locations. It was agreed that the Administrator would follow up with Southwest Regional Planning Commission to see what map layers are available.
The next topic of conversation was the 2015 road reconstruction plan. Supervisor Murray said that he intends to ask for funding from Town Meeting to shim and pave Russell Station Road. He said that a rough estimate of the cost is in the neighborhood of $111,000 but that he was going to have better numbers later in the month. Norm Nickerson asked about putting a top coat on the paved section of Old Bennington Road or on Mountain Road. Supervisor Murray indicated that he was focusing on bringing roads up to good and that there wasn’t enough money to put a top coat on the roads. He pointed out that they elected to go with a “Winter Binder” instead, which is the densest of road binder, so that it should last 8-10 years. Mr. Nickerson said that it was frustrating “that you get a road done and there is
no money to do anything again for many years”. This lead to a conversation about ConVal and the impact of the schools on the town and the Town’s ability to pay for the services it needs.
The next topic of conversation was the upcoming 2015 budget and whether there is any need for new equipment. There had been discussions about the purchase of a new York Rake earlier in the year. After some discussion Supervisor Murray indicated that he would rather have money to put into road product (gravel, crushed rock, road fabrics) in order to get away from the mud; rather than purchase a new rake. Mr. Nickerson asked about the rake that is owned by DPW and after discussion it was noted that the rake is a push rake that attaches to the front of the loader. The push rake does not do a good job. Mr. Nickerson asked if it could be converted to a rear rake and Mr. Murray said he would look into it.
There was some discussion about the use of a mini excavator this year to ditch paved roads. Supervisor Murray indicated that the excavator had been a very successful rental and that he looked forward to using it again in the future. For 2016 it was noted that the town would need to purchase a new 6-Wheel Dump Truck. The current one is in the shop often and costs a lot to maintain. The Truck’s end- of-life is rapidly approaching (the older 10 Wheeler had been totaled by the insurance company at the end of its life last year). In 2016 the backhoe payment will end so adding a payment for a dump truck would help keep the budget flat.
Next it was reported by the Administrator that he and Supervisor Murray would be attending a Planning Board public hearing regarding tree trimming along scenic roads, in order to be able to do some tree trimming this year. It was noted by the Roads Commission that there are visibility issues along corners of certain roads because of the growth of brush and saplings. The Administrator explained that in a recent public hearing there had been several residents that were not in favor of tree trimming by DPW along scenic roads. As a result DPW and the Town Administrator will be working with the Planning Board to craft a tree trimming program that would allow the Town to meet its responsibility under RSA 231:150 and RSA 231:158. By working with the Planning Board to put together a good process it was hoped that DPW would be
able to streamline the tree trimming practice so that they could be more responsive to the brush and saplings.
The Chair made closing remarks and the meeting was adjourned.
Adjournment
On a motion by the Chair, and a second by Selectwoman Day, the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:58 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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