Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Tuesday, Sept. 06, 2016 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;
Public:
5:30 p.m. The meeting was opened by Chairwoman Charig Bliss.
Documents for Review/Approval
- Payroll Check Register 9/06/2016
- NH Retirement ‘ACH’ Payment 9/15/2016 (For August)
- Intent to Cut R10-7
- Sewer Tax Bill Abatement V3-10
- Fire Department EMT Purchase Order
5:30 PM: Public Forum
There were no members of the public present for the public forum.
5:45 PM: David Martin, Emergency Management Director
At 5:45 pm the Selectboard Chair welcomed David Martin, EMD to the meeting. Mr. Martin explained that he was interested in applying for a homeland security grant for the purpose of updating the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) of the town. He has located a company that provides the work to update the plan and a grant that is a reimbursable grant with no impact to the town. The cost of completing the EOP update is $4,000, which is paid for by the homeland security grant. The matching grant portion requires a soft-match in hourly contributions by members of the committee that equal $4,000, for a total of $8,000.
Since there is no tax impact on the town the Board members felt that it was a worthwhile project. Selectman Atherton being absent at the beginning of the meeting, it was felt that the grant application should be signed when he is available.
6:05 PM: Michael Borden, Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer
At 6:05 pm Michael Borden, Building Inspector & Code Enforcement Officer met with the Selectboard. Mr. Borden outlined his recent experience of attending a workshop on Permit to Assemble and the use of tents in public spaces. Mr. Borden explained that laws have been on the books since the 1940s but the recent tragedy in Lancaster has the Fire Marshal looking closely at tents, especially large tents used for fairs and other venues. Large tents or canvas structures require an Assembly Permit for use by more than 50 people. Assembly Permits are free and are rarely enforced today. Mr. Borden said that as a result of recent events the Assembly Permits are going to get a lot of attention. He felt that the Oak Park rental agreement should include a line that outlines the need for this permit when the venue reaches a certain
size. Mr. Borden explained that in past court cases it has been stated that “the public has an expectation of safety” when attending an event.
Next Mr. Borden discussed a recent question regarding insurance coverage for employees and officials that drive their personal vehicles on town business. At a recent convention he learned that Primex, the Town’s risk pool insurance provider, has outlined their limitation on providing insurance for individuals that are on town business while using private vehicles; the insurance pool will only cover the deductible up to $500 and disclaims responsibility for providing coverage for medical, property damage or loss of life. Mr. Borden explained that his position as a building inspector, which is common across the State, is a position especially vulnerable to the fall-out associated with a motor vehicle accident. The Selectboard asked the Town Administrator to follow up on this question with Primex and to look at whether it
was possible to purchase a rider that covered town employees and officials when using their own vehicles for town business.
7:05 PM: Carol Burgess, Recycling Center Supervisor
At 7:05 pm the Selectboard Chair welcomed Carol Burgess to the meeting. Ms. Burgess explained that she was meeting with the Board to discuss the holiday and vacation day policies for employees that normally work shifts that are longer than 8 hours. As an example, the Recycling Center employees typically work 10-12 hours shifts at least once a week, sometimes more. The current holiday and vacation day policies only allow these benefits to be used in 8 hour increments. So if a holiday falls on a day when the employee works, or, if they want to use vacation time, the amount of time is counted in 8 hours and the employees will lose two or more hours of pay that week. The vacation policy was discussed and the Board agreed that this should be looked at during the policy review during the budget season, which will open later in
the month.
Next Ms. Burgess informed the Board that due to drought conditions the brush pile has not been burnt for some time. As a result the amount of brush and burnable materials has accumulated to the point that the Recycling Center cannot take any more brush. After discussion, the Board agreed that the brush pile shall be closed on a temporary basis due to the drought, and as weather conditions and burning space permits the brush pile will re-open. There was a short conversation about whether the town should have a chipper available to chip brush brought by residents vs. burning the brush. The Board asked that the rental and purchase price of a chipper be provided at a future meeting, for reference.
8:00 PM: Selectboard Work Session
At 8:00 pm the Board discussed the upcoming budget season. Selectman Marshall had several questions regarding internal policies. Selectman Marshall requested permission to attend a budget session provided by NH Municipal Association. A cost of $80.00 to attend the session was discussed and approved, with the fee to come from Executive budget.
Adjournment
The time being 9:00 pm the Chair moved to adjourn. Selectman Marshall seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried 2-0.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Selectboard. A signed copy is on file in the Selectboard’s office.
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Chair, Margaret Charig Bliss, Selectman, Robert Marshall
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