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Selectboard Minutes 12/17/2015
Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Work Session Minutes
Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015 – 5:00 PM

Selectboard: Chairwoman Karen Day, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr., Selectwoman Margaret Charig Bliss,
Staff: Administrator Patt, DPW Buildings and Grounds Manager Patrick Greene, Recycling Center Supervisor Carol Burgess
Public: Ken Paulsen, Jim Conway

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Chair Karen Day.

Documents for Review/Approval
  • A/P Invoices
  • A/P Checks
  • Payroll
  • Minutes of 12/10
  • Wastewater Checks
  • Resident Petitions (2)
  • Emergency Management Director Appt.
  • Order for Removal – Service Affidavit; V3-10
  • Health Agencies’ 2016 Request for Donations
  • The River Center
  • Monadnock Area Food Pantry
  • American Red Cross
  • Monadnock United Way
  • Monadnock Family Services
  • Contoocook Valley Transportation Company
5:00 PM: Carol Burgess

At 5:00 pm the Chair welcomed Supervisor Carol Burgess to the meeting. Supervisor Burgess provided a presentation on changes at the Recycling Center for the 2016 year. These include industry related changes and the impact of increased costs that coincide with changes within the solid waste industry. 2016 revenues will be “rock bottom” and costs will increase. Greenfield is faced with similar problems as other towns regarding loose paper. Compact paper brings $15 a ton when dry. The hauling fee of $150 is incurred for each 10 ton delivery, along with a rental fee of $50 for the container. Each load has a net cost of -$50 to the town, or -$600 annually. The Town does not currently have a compactor. Instead the town handles loose paper. Loose paper is hauled on an average every three weeks (instead of monthly) in the amount of 6.5 tons. The hauling fee is $150 but there is no rental fee on the open container. The cost to the town for loose paper is -$2600 a year.

Supervisor Burgess further explained that when loose paper gets wet it can no longer qualify as a commodity and becomes trash. Greenfield’s open top container loads are currently being hauled away and disposed of at the lowest possible price to the town, whether it is wet or dry, however, it’s likely that this will come to an end because no one will take wet paper. Instead wet paper will cost $90 a ton to dispose, which is the price of trash today. Disposing of wet loose paper will exceed $10,000 a year at the $90 a ton rate.  The paper in the container has to be compacted and pulled from the front to the rear twice a week in order to fill it as full as possible. DPW uses its backhoe to pull and crush paper products in the open paper container. Supervisor Burgess stated that there are covers that can be installed over the current open-bin container, however, she does not know of a cover that will work well with the constant need to have the backhoe reaching into the container every week. A better solution, and one that guarantees you have dry compacted paper, is a compactor with an enclosed chute.

Supervisor Burgess provided several quotes for enclosed compactors. The best price is $9950 for a used compactor with an additional $330 for electrical work, and, a cement pad installed by DPW. Supervisor Burgess did not have a price for the cement pad. She is relying on DPW to provide pricing for the cement and site work.

Lastly, Supervisor Burgess notified the Board that Schnitzer is raising hauling fees effective January 1st. This company provides hauling and rental-free containers for light metal and steel cans. The town will remain in a net-positive position relative to the increase in costs, vs. the revenue the town receives, but it shows how much commodities have collapsed that the company has to increase fees to offset what was previously a free service (free hauling).

The Board deliberated about the costs associated with a compactor compared to covering the town’s open container. Supervisor Burgess noted that the covers are not foolproof against rain and snow, are difficult to work with in severe winter weather, and are also costly ranging from $2500 for plastic covers to $4k-$5k for rollaway covers. The cost of the compactor was debated and Selectman Atherton stated that the town should be able to build a roof out over the container that could still allow access by the backhoe for less money than the cost of a compactor. The Board asked DPW Buildings & Grounds Manager Greene to collect the material and site work costs to build a cover for comparison against the price of covers and the compactor.

The Chair recognized Jim Conway. Mr. Conway requested a status update on the Schoolhouse bridge. The Chair explained that the Board would be meeting a representative of the Department of Transportation (DOT) on Tuesday morning at 9AM to review the DOT’s letter and concerns.

6:00 PM: Selectboard Budget Work Session

The Board reviewed quotes to replace the kitchen stove and approved a purchase in the amount of $749 for a stove to be placed in the Meeting House basement kitchen. The Board reviewed and discussed two quotes on the Meeting House Sanctuary furnace. A third quote is coming prior to the final date for encumbering funds on December 29th. The Board reviewed and discussed three quotes for contractor trailers.


6:30 PM: Stephenson Memorial Library Trustees

At 6:40 pm the Board welcomed Library Trustees Bruce Dodge, Jami Bascomb, Neal Brown, Bob Marshall, and Library Director Julie Steenson to the meeting. Mr. Marshall was asked by Library Trustee Chair Neal Brown to speak to a recent letter to the Selectboard from the Trustees summarizing their meeting with Bill Harper of West Rindge Builders regarding the basement of the old library building. Mr. Harper was the builder of the new library building wing. The summary provided by the Trustees to the Selectboard outlined Mr. Harper’s contribution to their understanding of the building – below ground, and their interest in having two engineering studies completed; one for structural issues and one as a civil engineering study. The civil engineering study is expected to provide a specific bid list based on design services for the basement project. Mr. Marshall said that the Trustees are aware that there is no guarantee when dealing with the old stone foundations and they want to ensure that the steps they take solve the leaks the first time. The Trustees suggest that the Selectboard bring a warrant article for a capital reserve fund to Town Meeting in March in the amount of $15,000 for this project. The Trustees would like to move the rest of project to 2017 and base the project on an engineered design.  

The Board and Trustees discussed the timeline associated with the project. Chairwoman Day expressed a concern that the Library basement project moving to 2017 will put the project into competition with capital reserve funding for that year. Mr. Marshal said that the trustees are concerned about the possibility of encountering unknowns, which could create costly over-runs. By working with an engineering firm the Trustees feel that they can reduce the risk of such a possibility. Chair Day said that she was afraid that if the project costs exceed a certain level then the townspeople won’t vote for it. A discussion of encumbering funds from the 2015 budget for contracting with the previous bidders was discussed. Each of the vendors that submitted bids in 2013/2014 had been asked to refresh their bids based on the expanded list of criteria outlined in the last meeting between the Trustees and the Selectboard. DPW Buildings & Grounds Manager Greene reported that the bids were still pending for all of the vendors. He had received a verbal quote from a previous bidder who said that their bid would increase to approximately $19,000.
The meeting concluded after some discussion. The Trustees will move forward and have engineering plans drawn up. The Selectboard will look at capital reserve funds at a meeting in January.

7:50 PM: Edith “Dee” Sleeper, Town Clerk

Dee Sleeper, Town Clerk came before the Board to review the 2016 Town Clerk’s budget with the Selectboard. The Selectboard had only a few questions. The Chair asked when the renewal by mail program would be starting. Town Clerk Sleeper explained the process and said that there were still issues that needed to be worked out with the company that provides the municipal clerking software. She also stated that the fees have changed in certain instances and that the changes have to be updated prior to initiating the software. The Town Clerk said that she is very close to having the system online.
A discussion followed about the Town Clerk’s need for a deputy. Sleeper said that the Tax Collector has been appointed as a deputy, and then acknowledged that this was for emergencies. She said that the issue the office faces is that the training is intensive and requires a substantial commitment on the part of the deputy and that Greenfield can only provide a deputy a few hours a month over the course of a normal year.
Lastly, the Board asked about the raise in salary (4.8%) that Ms. Sleeper included in her budget. Ms. Sleeper explained that she doesn’t foresee any pushback at Town Meeting. She said that people routinely say that she isn’t paid enough compared to other Town Clerks in the State.

Documents for Review/Approval

The Board reviewed two petitions dropped off by resident Debra Davidson. The first petition asked the Board to post the job description publicly prior to appointing a fire chief in 2016. The second petition asked the Board to include a warrant article at Town meeting reducing the Fire Chief’s salary from $20,000 to $5,000.  Following the discussion on the petitions it was noted that the Fire Chief had forwarded a request for an appointment of David Martin as the Emergency Management Director. The job description for Emergency Management Director had been posted at the Fire Station and was open to fire department members in good standing. Mr. Martin was the only applicant for the position. The Board reviewed the request and signed the paperwork appointing David Martin to the position of Emergency Management Director.

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 8:30 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