Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectman Stephan Atherton Jr., Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator
Public: Ken Paulsen, Michael Goen
5:30 p.m. The meeting was opened by Chairwoman Charig Bliss.
Documents for Review/Approval
- A/P Invoices
- A/P Checks
- A/P Check Manifest
- Selectboard Minutes
- Oak Park Rental – Wedding Reception
- Oak Park Rental – 1st NH Cavalry
- Meeting House Rental – Memorial Gathering – Mayer
- Meeting House Rental – Summer Reading
- Library Alternate Appointment
- NH Division of Parks and Recreation Police Detail Contract
- Cintas Uniform Quote – DPW
- Eversource Pole Attachment Application – Memorial Day Flags
- Order for Repair/Removal – R9-63, R1-29
- New Hire Worksheet
- Employee Wage Worksheet
- Returned Check Fees – Updated Cost Sheet
- Gardening Wages Worksheet
5:30 PM: Public Forum
Michael Goen asked questions about a property close to his home on Coach Road that has recently been issued a building permit. Mr. Goen was referred to the Building Inspector for questions regarding the building permit process.
There were no other public comments.
5:45 PM: Signing of Documents
The Board began signing documents at 5:40pm. The minutes were approved and signed. A pole attachment license from Eversource was reviewed and on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectman Atherton Jr. the Board voted 3-0 in the affirmative to authorize the Town Administrator to sign the license agreement on behalf of the Selectboard. The pole attachment license allows the town to attach flags for Memorial Day. The Board then reviewed A/P Invoices, A/P Checks, and signed the A/P Check manifest. The Board discussed an Employee Wage Worksheet, which had been previously voted.
6:00 PM: Selectboard Work Session
The Board continued signing documents and reviewing the documents list at the start of the Selectboard Work session. A quote for uniforms for the DPW was reviewed and a contract signed with Cintas Corporation for same. A NH Division of Parks and Recreation Police grant was approved and signed. Orders for Repair/Removal for two properties were reviewed and signed. These include the property at the corner of Sawmill Road and State DOT driveway, and a property at the corner of Russell Station and Mountain Road. A Library New Hire form was signed to hire a new Library Page at the Library. Two Oak Park rental agreements were signed, and two Meeting House rental agreements were signed. The Board reviewed a letter from Bruce Dodge, Library Trustee Chair and voted to appoint Mary Ann Grant as a Library Trustee Alternate for
2016/2017 year. The Board voted to approve the minutes of the April 5th meeting with one correction for misspelling.
At 6:53pm the Chair voted to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II,a Compensation. The Chair motioned to enter non-public, seconded by Selectman Marshall, and on a roll call vote of 3-0 the Board entered non-public session. At 7:12pm the Board voted 3-0 to exit non-public session and to seal the minutes for reasons of personnel. It was noted that the Board had determined that the wage adjustment paperwork for Officer Quigley was approved, as well as a correction to the wages in order to meet the wage threshold of $44,000 as agreed upon with the Police Chief prior to Town Meeting but after the public hearing.
At 7:18pm the Chair motioned to enter non-public session for the purpose of personnel under RSA 91-A:3 IIa. The motion was seconded by Selectman Marshall. On a roll call vote the Board voted 3-0 to enter non-public session. The Town Administrator was out of the meeting between 7:18 pm and 7:37pm. At 8:15pm the Board voted 3-0 to exit non-public session and to seal the minutes indefinitely for personnel reasons.
At 8:16pm the Board undertook a discussion of supplementing the Music on the Common recreation activity. The 2014 fund raising program was $1,301 short of meeting its costs. The Board deliberated and found that the concert series is a beneficial cultural and recreational activity that targets a number of demographics that might otherwise not be addressed during the year. After discussion the Chair motioned to underwrite the Music on the Common fund-raising with up to $1,500 from the Recreation Revolving Account in order to support the summer music program. Selectman Marshall seconded the motion and the motion passed on a vote of 3-0.
Next the Selectboard took up a discussion of a 2016 Project list, which the Board could work on throughout the year. Several topics were discussed. One of the topics was outlined at length; building a road file for each of the roads in town and populating the file with historical data on how the road was formed, its measurements and any maps, surveys, plats, subdivision maps, and any other information that may be pertinent for the town going forward. This would include work done by the DPW on each road for future reference. It was noted that the town does not have this information on file currently.
At 8:50pm the Board discussed several upcoming workshops.
- A Solar Workshop 101 for Elected Officials put on by NHMA
- A Hard Road to Travel workshop to introduce new updates to the publication
- A solar installation tour and workshop in Peterborough
- A recent zoning change(s) workshop put on by SWRP
There is no cost for attendance except for the Hard Road to Travel workshop. The Board agreed that Selectman Marshall would attend the Hard Road to Travel workshop as part of Greenfield’s efforts to update its road files.
The Chair requested information on Forest Management plans for Town Property and asked the Town Administrator to contact the Town Forester for an update on any plans in place.
There followed a discussion about building on a Class VI road, which is a request pending from John Paradise, a property owner who would like to build a house on the border of Bennington and Greenfield. Selectman Marshall outlined RSA 674 and its subsections RSA 674:41 and RSA 674:53, which outline the steps that the municipality must take prior to issuing a decision on such a request. The request must be referred to the Planning Board for review and comment, and because the property abuts Bennington, the Bennington Planning Board has to receive notice and have time to comment on the use of the road through Bennington, to access the property across the line in Greenfield. The Board asked the Town Administrator to review the RSAs and to make a list of the pertinent steps that must be taken, as contained within the RSAs.
Next the Board discussed the possibility of using a Consent Agenda to streamline some of the Board’s workflow. It was determined that some parts of the workflow presented to the Board in the form of signing documents and reviewing invoices could be reviewed and potentially streamlined into a better process. The current workflow requires up to two hours to complete. The meeting having run late, the discussion on the use of a consent agenda was tabled until April 19th.
Adjournment
The time being 9:15pm the Chair Charig Bliss moved to adjourn. Selectman Marshall seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried 3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.
_________________ _______________________ _________________________
Chair, Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr., Robert Marshall, Selectman
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