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Selectboard Minutes 09/17/2015
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Work Session Minutes
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015 – 5:00 PM

Selectboard: Chairwoman Karen Day, Selectwoman Margaret Charig-Bliss, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr. arrived at 6:10 PM
Staff: Administrator Patt,
Public:
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Chair Karen Day.

Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectboard reviewed and/or signed the following items:

  • A/P Invoices
  • A/P Checks
  • A/P Invoice for BoS discussion
  • 9/11 Payroll Manifest
  • Oak Park Rental Contract – Greenfield Harness & Drawbar Club

5:00 PM:  DPW Updates – Neal Beauregard DPW Roads Manager & Patrick Greene Buildings and Grounds DPW Manager

At 5:00 the Selectboard Chair opened the meeting and welcomed Neal Beauregard and Patrick Greene to the meeting. Mr. Greene provided pictures and updates to the Board on the painting of the Oak Park Pavillion, the reconstruction of the Recycling Center platform and repairs to the Sunset Lake beach lifeguard building after it was broken into and vandalized. The Board discussed the projects at Oak Park remaining, before the end of the summer weather. Next Neal Beauregard provided an update on the drainage on Muzzy Hill road, Cornwell road, and South Francestown road. Driscoll road has been graded for the first time since the town took over the road at Town Meeting. The Chair discussed erosion control on several roads with Mr. Beauregard.

Mr. Beauregard outlined work that is needed on the Ford F550 1-ton. The truck needs new tires before winter and it needs a fuel injector module and will eventually need a diesel turbo. The bed is very tired and should be replaced depending on if funds are available.

The Board and Mr. Beauregard discussed the need for a solution to the Rymes gas-pump closure. After speaking to Rymes it was noted that they did not feel that they could guarantee that they would continue to provide gas delivery to the municipalities in the area. Rymes said in a telephone conversation that they were guaranteeing deliveries to Francestown only through the winter. Beauregard reported that he has not been able to find anyone else that would provide gas deliveries in the small quantities required by the town. As such he did not feel comfortable purchasing a tank for the departments’ gas vehicles. Instead the Town would look to providing gas cards (Fleet Cards) or speak with Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center to see if there was any interest in working with the town.

5:30 PM: Documents for Review and Approval

At 5:40 pm, the Board reviewed and signed A/P invoices and A/P checks. The Board signed the Oak Park rental agreement for the Greenfield Harness and Drawbar Club. The Board reviewed purchase plans for DPW and signed two Purchase Orders.

6:00 PM: Public Information Hearing – Use Fire/Rescue Apparatus Capital Reserve Funds

At 6:00pm the Chair opened an informational meeting regarding the Fire Department’s interest in using Fire/Rescue Apparatus Capital Reserve Funds to upgrade two of the older fire trucks, and to purchase a replacement vehicle for the 1977 Dodge Brush Truck that came from the State. Fire Chief Hall provided an overview of the fleet, including the age of the vehicles, noting that the newest fire truck is from 1999 and the oldest trucks are from the mid-1980s. Chief Hall noted that there has not been a replacement truck purchased for any of the vehicles since 2000. Fire trucks have a lifetime of 30 years and the two older trucks are at the point in their lifespan. Chief Hall noted that fire trucks have to start, have to run and have to pump water.

There is currently $109,000 (Chief Hall used a figure of $106,000 in the meeting) with another $20,000 voted to be transferred at the end of the year. Chief Hall noted that the town has been funding the capital reserve fund with $20,000 per year since 2009 but in some of the years the amount has been changed to $5,000 at Town Meeting. He further noted that new trucks cost $300-$400,000 and, as an example, Peterborough just contracted to have a truck built that will cost close to $600,000. Greenfield does not have the capital reserve funds in place to replace fire trucks at this time. The Fire Department is struggling for a solution to the aging fleet. He noted that used trucks can be “pretty expensive, running $150,000-$200,000, which is still out of reach”. The fire department is contemplating use the capital reserve funds to upgrade and rebuild the two oldest trucks so that the department can extend their lifespan by five to eight more years. Chief Hall noted that he felt it was important to “live within our means and not borrow money for a lease/purchase plan to purchase replacement vehicles at this point”.

Chief Hall introduced Michael “Moto” Maguire. Mr. Maguire is a fire truck mechanic and a member of the Greenfield Fire Department. Chief Hall outlined the work that Mr. Maguire would provide as a volunteer to the department. Mr. Maguire would act as a volunteer general contractor (GC) for determining the work needed for each of the two trucks and would coordinate with fire equipment vendors to provide quotes for the work. Mr. Maguire is a resident of Peterborough and worked on a committee to design the truck that Greenfield eventually purchased from Peterborough. He said that he would have to fit in the volunteer work on the trucks around making a living but that he would be happy to provide the expertise.

The Chair asked if the Selectboard members had any questions as a result of the presentation. Selectwoman Charig-Bliss asked Chief Hall how much of the capital reserve funds is he expecting to use. Chief Hall said that before the department asked Mr. Maguire to go through the list they wanted to get the go-ahead from the Selectboard that the funds are available. As to the total amount he said the department needs to get quotes from vendors using a controlled list that he will develop. He said that the vendors would also provide feedback on equipment necessities that they find as part of the process. A discussion followed on how the vendors would interact with the town’s trucks (would they come to Greenfield or would the trucks leave town). Mr. Maguire said that his confidence was high that they could rebuilt/upgrade the older trucks, receiving three bids for the work, using the funds in the capital reserve fund.

Selectwoman Charig Bliss asked if there were any warranties or guarantees that would come from the vendors. That depended on the type of work performed. A question followed from the audience: “is there a legal requirement for the upgrades”. There followed a discussion on the improvements that would extend the service life of the vehicles.

Charlie Stevens asked if the department had a ballpark figure for the amount of money that needed (if a new automatic transmission was included in the quotes). Mr. Maguire said that the department will do what makes sense for the town and that there is more research to do before they have a good understanding of the costs for each vehicle. Mr. Stevenson asked what would happen if the cost of the upgrades turned out to be cost prohibitive. Mr. Maguire said that if that were the case the department wouldn’t do that work. Chief Hall pointed out that tankers are more expensive, costing $400-$600,000. As such extending the life span of the town trucks would provide the town more time to step up its capital reserve fund savings. There was a discussion about a manual versus automatic transmission.

Debra Davidson asked if the quotes could wait to go to Town Meeting. Kyle Fontaine wanted to know if the work had to be done this year. Bob Marshall said that the town hasn’t saved the money it should have over time. “We need the time. At 20,000 each year we have enough for half a truck in 10 years”. Gene Mitchell concurred and said that voters need to understand we need more money in the capital reserve funds. Mike Borden, fire department member said that the call volume has doubled and asked the residents assembled to support the needs of the fire department. A resident asked what the current valuations are on the trucks. A brief discussion followed. Chief Hall said that the fire department was trying to be flexible, and rather than enter into lease purchase agreements right away, which could interfere with the need for a new DPW 6-wheel dump truck in 2016, the department is looking for the Selectboard to give the greenlight on assembling the information to determine the upgrades needed to extend the life of the current trucks.

Selectwoman Charig Bliss asked what the priorities in terms of spending would be. Chief Hall said that the fire department has a fair amount of critical priorities but that the older engine would be looked at first then the tanker would follow and the brush truck would be last. A discussion about the brush truck took place. It is currently an “in town-only” truck due to its age. Catherine Shaw asked if there were any State trucks newer than 1977 available. The State trucks are provided for the town’s use but remain the property of the State and have to be returned. The discussion on the brush truck concluded with the comments from fire department that the Dodge brush truck is overweighted, old, and that the department would like to own its truck.

A question about grants was asked. Chief Hall said that there are some grants out there but that the environment is highly competitive. In certain instances the department has compliance issues that make it ineligible for some of the grants. Chief Hall said that the department recently submitted a grant for a significant amount of monies for specialized training. He is hopeful that grant submissions will increase as the department moves forward.

At 7:12pm the Chair closed the public hearing and thanked the residents for their input.

6:30 PM:  Ken Paulsen, Planning Board CIP Presentation

At 7:20pm the Board welcomed Planning Board members Ken Paulsen, Andrew Heck, Kevin O’Connell, Chair. Bob Marshall and Myron Steere as alternates were in attendance. Ken Paulsen provided the Selectboard with an outline of the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). The plan included a discussion of the department heads’ needs and suggestions for future capital reserve fund (CRF) planning to meet those needs. In addition the CIP binders included the Planning Board’s recommendations of the priorities for the 2016 warrant articles.

The 2016 CIP Planning Board Recommendations are:

  • Repair Stephenson Memorial Library foundation leak
  • Replace DPW international six wheeler dump truck
  • Replace 1977 Dodge brush truck with a more recent cab and chassis
  • Replace Fire Department (c.1988) extrication equipment
  • Annually propose a warrant article to fund the Fire/Rescue Apparatus CRF at $50,000
  • Annually propose a warrant article to fund the Highway Equipment CRF at $50,000
  • Annually propose a warrant article to fund the Police Vehicle CRF at $15,000
  • Annually propose a warrant article to fund the Town Buildings Maintenance CRF at $20,000
  • Annually propose a Road Paving warrant article to cover the planned road/road section
  • Enlist knowledge experts to study, scope the cost, and plan combining workspace areas of Town Clerk, Tax Collector, Town Treasurer and Welfare Director
Mr. Paulsen provided a talk-through presentation of the CIP recommendations starting with the Library foundation leak. Each of the above topics was presented in the CIP binder with a one page project description, cost estimates, and prioritization. For the Warrant Article recommendations, the CIP binder included a one page description of the fund, its purpose and reasoning for the proposed CRF funding amounts. Accompanying each CRF recommendation was a bar chart showing year over year fund balances as well as some of the expected draw downs from the funds in future years. Bar charts were calculated for the time frame of 2016-2025.

The CIP presentation included data for each of the major town departments. Projected spending needs are outlined for each of the departments. CIP spending is primarily recommendations by Department Heads that total $5,000 or more for a particular project and is depreciable over its lifespan. The Planning Board rates the departmental projects on a 10 year survey as Urgent, Necessary, Deferred, or Committed.

In addition to the comprehensive data that was outlined in the report, Mr. Paulsen provided a spreadsheet of capital reserve funding in surrounding towns. With the exception of Hancock, which does not have CRF funding as a primary planning program, Greenfield was noted as savings significantly less than the surrounding towns of Bennington, Francestown, and Lyndeborough.

9:10 PM: Selectboard Work Session

Myron Steere provided a brief overview of conditions on County and Muzzy Hill road following a petition letter that he submitted with signatures from people who live on those two roads.

The Selectboard reviewed the presentation by the Fire Department. After some discussion the Chair motioned to allow the Fire Department to go out to bid and collect (3) three quotes on the two older fire trucks upgrades, and a cab and chassis replacement for the 1977 brush truck. The motion was seconded by Selectman Atherton. The motion passed 3-0.

Adjournment

On a motion by the Chair, and a second by Selectman Atherton, the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.

_________________    _______________________                        ___________________________             
Chair, Karen Day        Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectwoman    Stephen Atherton Jr., Selectman