Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Work Session Minutes
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 – 5:00 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Karen Day, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr., Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss
Staff: Administrator Patt
Public: Loren White; Nicholas Handy, Ledger Transcript reporter
The meeting was called to order at 5:03 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
- Payroll
- Wastewater Checks
- 2015 Tax Rate Documents/Warrant
- Employee Vacation request
- Employee Vacation request
- Oak Park Rental Contract – 225th Anniversary 2016
- Meeting House Rental Contract – Bell Ringers
- Thank you Letter from Resident – DPW Roads Division
- Employee Co-Pay Authorization Form
5:00 PM: DPW Managers, Neal Beauregard & Patrick Greene
Roads Division
At 5:03 pm the Chair welcomed DPW Managers Beauregard and Greene. DPW Road Manager Neal Beauregard opened the meeting with a letter from the NH Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding a critical bridge deficiency with the bridge on School House Road. After discussion with Mr. Beauregard about the culvert associated with the bridge, the Selectboard reached a consensus that the Town should close the road to thru-traffic. Mr. Beauregard said he has already contacted the school bus company. There is one child that lives on the road and the bus company can access the pick-up from Forest Road. Mr. Beauregard said that he would procure jersey barriers and contact the police and fire departments, as well as dispatch for both, to inform them of the road closure.
The Board briefly discussed the 2015 Paving Warrant Article. It was noted that the work at the recycling center was completed. Mr. Beauregard reported that the work on Gould Hill is completed for the season. The Chair then read a letter from a Gould Hill resident:
“ I want to commend you on the excellent job that you and your crew did while paving and improving the drainage on Gould Hill Road. I have lived on Gould Hill for over twenty years and the recent work you have done is by far the most extensive since I have lived there. It looks like you have really tried to remedy some of the underlying problems of a road with very steep grades rather than just putting now a new layer of asphalt. I also appreciate your efforts to minimize traffic disruptions while work was ongoing. I have spoken to several of my neighbors, and they all agreed with my assessments.”
Mr. Beauregard reported that the approval for Russell Station Road is still in process with the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES), and that the engineer for the town is still working to have DES downgrade the wetlands impact from a tier 3 to a tier 2.
Lastly Mr. Beauregard outlined some issues he has encountered with the purchasing policy that he would like the Board to address in the future. In the past, the DPW’s purchase of gravel and salt has been exempt from the requirement for purchase orders (P.O.s). Mr. Beauregard would like the Board to consider having the warrant article paving, and crack sealing exempted from purchase orders. He explained, the warrant article paving and the crack sealing have been discussed at length with the Board and voted on by the town at Town Meeting. There have been quotes provided before the work is done to ensure that the town is receiving a good value. The short time-frame to schedule work made it difficult to wait for the Board to receive and sign P.O.s and then give the vendors time to schedule the work as it got later into the
end of summer when the weather wasn’t cooperative. The Board agreed to take this up at a future meeting. For the current year, with the late transition to Gould Hill Road and Longwood Drive, the Board voted 3-0 on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss to approve the invoices already received, without purchase orders, for the paving that was done with the warrant article, and the crack sealing. This includes the work at the Recycling Center. Mr. Beauregard indicated that there would be funds left in the 2015 DPW budget, and the Paving Warrant Article, which would be returned to the town.
Buildings and Grounds Division
The Chair asked for a progress report from Patrick Greene, DPW Buildings and Grounds Manager. Mr. Greene outlined that he had completed an inventory of the 12 Slip Road property, including building materials left inside the house. Mr. Greene reported that he had Michael Borden, Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer, look at the Town Office sill at the back of the building, which has deteriorated badly over the past few years. Mr. Borden agreed that the sill needs replacing in 2016. Mr. Greene explained that he had found a bad spot in the foundation responsible for a significant leak into the basement and that he could fix the issue for approximately $500 in materials. This would shore up the concrete pad at the rear of the building, and, would not interfere with the sill replacement in 2016. Next, Mr. Greene
reported that there are significant issues with the DPW building roof. A discussion was held and Mr. Greene reported that he has gathered quotes for re-roofing the building. He said in some areas the underlayment needed to be replaced. He provided quotes for standing seam ($24,000) and asphalt ($13,000). Both choices were deemed to be too expensive by the Board. Budget Committee member Norm Nickerson suggested that the town look at strapping the roof with 2x4s and putting corrugated metal over the strapping. He reported that he did this with one of his buildings and it worked out very well. He said that it sheds snow and will last a long time with nowhere near the material cost of standing seam metal roofing or asphalt shingles. The Board reached a tentative agreement on this approach and asked Mr. Greene to price out the materials for comparison.
6:30 PM: Non-Public Session, Reverend Dan Osgood
At 6:30pm, on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectwoman Charig Bliss the Chair voted in a roll call vote to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II c Reputation, at the request of Reverend Dan Osgood who came to the Board representing a local family. At 6:40 pm the Board voted 3-0 to exit non-public session. It was noted that no decisions were made and no votes were taken during the non-public session.
6:40 PM: Budget Work Session
The Board discussed the 2016 budget. It was noted that Peterborough had sent the 2016 invoice for the Peterborough Ambulance service and the invoice amount was $60,373. This is up from $32,965 in 2015 and $20,555 in 2014. A discussion followed about the way in which the rate was calculated, the impact of Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center (CMRC) on the number of calls, the capital plan that Peterborough is using, and the question of whether the town should move forward with another ambulance service. It was noted that at the 2014/2015 meetings Peterborough had originally wanted to charge the town $80,000+ but ultimately settled on the $32,965 figure. At that time they had said that the price would likely be steady. Based on the incremental increases the town would be paying $80,000 next year, said Board members.
Next the Board discussed the tax rate noting that ConVal is increasing by .85 cents from $14.87 to $15.70. The ConVal monthly payment plan has recently been amended. In July, ConVal Business Manager Marian Alese sent an email explaining that the Selectman’s Advisory Committee and the ConVal School Board needed to agree on which year’s assessment figures would be used for payment calculations (and ConVal’s tax rate). As such the payment schedule was not updated until October. The increase over the previous payment schedule, partly due to the length of the delay, is $18,009.00 a month. ConVal’s monthly increase is spread over fewer months. The amount of the payment on the 2014/2015 payment schedule was $195,740 and on the most recent schedule the payment is $213,749.
8:17 PM: Non-Public Session
At 8:17pm the Chair motioned to enter into non-public session under 91-A:3, IIa Compensation. Selectwoman Charig Bliss seconded the motion. The Board voted on a roll call vote to enter non-public session 3-0. At 8:55 pm the Board voted to exit non-public session. It was noted that the Board had finalized the 90 day reviews of both DPW Managers.
9:00 PM: Work Session contd.
The Board discussed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Library Trustees and the Selectboard governing the responsibilities of the town to the library building. The Board discussed several aspects of the MOU. The MOU edits from Selectboard Charig Bliss were forwarded to the Administrator for updating before the next meeting.
The Board signed A/P Checks, A/P Invoices, Wastewater checks, and Payroll. The Board reviewed and signed the 2015 Tax Warrant. The Board approved a revised Employee Healthcare Co-pay schedule. The Board signed an Oak Park rental agreement and a Meeting House rental agreement. The Board reviewed and approved employee vacation requests.
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 9:17 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
| 
