Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 – 4:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt, Ken Paulsen Trustee, Vickie Norris Trustee
Public: Andre Wood, Gerry Foss, Si Little Esq.
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
§ NH Retirement
§ Tax Collector Forbearance Agreement
§ Timber Tax – R9-18 & 18-2, R7-26
Chairwoman Davidson opened the meeting at 4:35pm.
4:30 PM: Andre Wood -Resident
At 4:35 pm the Selectboard welcomed Andre Wood to the meeting. Mr. Wood explained that he had attended the Planning Board meetings that dealt with the Town’s DPW department’s plans to conduct tree trimming on town roads. During the meetings there were several people who attended that had concerns. In the Planning Board meetings, DPW Supervisor Murray had said that he would reach out to people who have concerns about trimming on their road. The Town subsequently sent letters to abutters on two Scenic Roads, but since Mr. Wood does not live on a scenic road he did not get a chance to meet with DPW before they started trimming. He felt that even though the Town is not required to send him a letter, which is required for people who live on scenic roads, he felt that his presence at the meeting was sufficient that
Mr. Murray should have touched base with him in advance and had better follow through. “I have a right to be involved” he said. After some discussion, Mr. Wood stated “I’m impressed, he had a light touch and did a better job than I expected”. Still it was unfortunate that the Woods would have to live with the disappointment for a while. After some further discussion the Board thanked Mr. Wood for coming in to see them.
5:00 PM: Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
At 5:00 PM the Board took up the Tax Collector’s Forbearance Agreement and approved the agreement with an increase in the monthly amount for S2-4-1. The Selectboard approved A/P invoices and signed the A/P checks. The Selectboard signed timber tax forms and the NH Retirement monthly payment.
5:30 PM: Gerry Foss & Atty. Silas Little
At 5:30 pm the Selectboard welcomed Ms. Gerry Foss to the meeting. Ms. Foss was accompanied by her attorney Silas Little. Atty. Little outlined that his client currently resides in Greenfield in a home she has occupied as a renter for twenty six years. During that time the property has been liened by the Town because the property owner had not paid their taxes. As a result of recent activity by the Tax Collector the property is due to be taken by the Town. Atty. Little outlined that Ms. Foss had been working to take title to the property and, as of that morning, he had received a quitclaim copy by fax from the owner, Ann E. Herrick. The original is in the mail according to Atty. Little and would be electronically posted to the Registry of Deeds on receipt. Atty. Little asked the Selectboard to give Ms. Foss time as she
works with her bank to pay off the outstanding taxes. Atty. Little asked the Selectboard to consider granting an abatement to Ms. Foss of some of the interest owed, as the property owner previous to Ms. Foss had allowed several years of interest to accrue. The Board said that they were happy that Ms. Foss was taking ownership of the property and that they would contact the Tax Collector to discuss her request. The Chair anticipated that the Administrator would follow up with Atty. Little in a relatively short time. Ms. Foss and Atty. Little thanked the Board for their consideration and left the meeting.
6:00PM: Trustee of Trust Funds, Ken Paulsen & Vickie Norris
At 6:00pm Trustee of Trust Funds Ken Paulsen and Vickie Norris came before the Board of Selectmen. The Trustee have three things that they want to go over with the Board. The first is their intention to fill the open position. They expressed that they would prefer to have three people serve as Trustees. Mr. Paulsen asked if the Board members could recommend anyone. Secondly, Mr. Paulsen outlined that they would like to go over the Sayles fund; provide details about the fund, outline research undertaken by the Trustees and outline several actions that the Town could take with the funds, which were not active according to the Will at this time.
The Sayles fund is based on R5-18; land that is in conservation. Mr. Paulsen outlined the features on the map regarding the property, including roads, waterways, and water protection districts. In 1952 this property was deeded to the Greenfield Sportsmen’s Club. In 1958 Mr. Ralph Sayles left $5,000 in his will for a dam to a pond that was part of the original bequest of R5-18 land by George Proctor. Mr. Sayles stipulated in his will that monies from the will would accrue until his sister is no longer attached to the property. In 1982 Mr. Sayle’s sister died and the amount of original bequest had increased from $5000 to $14,615, which was then gifted to the Town in August of 1982. Subsequently, after many years the Sportsman’s Club has grown dormant and wetlands restrictions have caused the Conservation
Commission to vote against building the dam as originally intended on the property. Mr. Paulsen said that after this and other research had been conducted, the Trustees concluded that the original will cannot be realized. He said that they have been looking at a Cy Pres court action as this would allow the courts to free up the money for other projects or uses. He noted that the courts would expect that any proposed use of the money be as near to the original intent as possible. The Trustees would like input from the Board to indentify uses for the money prior to entering a Cy Pres petition to the courts. Discussion followed. Selectwoman Charig-Bliss asked what the Trustees felt was “close” to the original intent by Mr. Sayles. Vickie Norris noted that the Sportsman’s Club is not financially active but they are not completely disbanded. Selectwoman Day said that the Conservation Commission had looked at putting in an interpretative trail in the past. She said that
she remembered a conversation with the Town Forester who walked the property. The Forester had concluded that the size of the property was closer to 100 acres and not 54 acres. There followed a discussion about how the Town could follow closely the original intent of the gift. The topic did not yield a solution and the Selectboard asked for some time to review the information.
Next Mr. Paulsen outlined that the Trustees have been examining proposals for increasing the interest in the Capital Reserve Accounts and the Trust Fund Accounts. Mr. Paulsen said that the risk to the principal is that inflation will outpace the interest and start eating away at the ability of the funds to maintain their strength. The Trustees outlined the prudent man rule and posed the question of how do we beat inflation?
Mr. Paulsen outlined the rules for investments at the Town level. He explained that recent legislation has allowed for the payment of investing advisors. He introduced the concept of one company that has 20-25 communities producing between 1% and 3% in income annually. He noted that for the Trustees to enter into this type of a relationship the town would have to vote at Town Meeting to pay a % of income to such an advisor. The Trustees would also need a budgetary amount in the neighborhood of $750.00 to pay for the service if the warrant article doesn’t pass.
The Selectboard thanked the Trustees for the due diligence with the Sayles fund and for working hard on the questions around investment of the funds.
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 7:45 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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