Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectboard’s Minutes
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016 – 5:30 PM
Selectboard: Chairwoman Margaret A. Charig Bliss, Selectman Stephen Atherton Jr., Selectman Robert Marshall
Staff: Aaron Patt, Town Administrator;
Public: Abby Kessler, Ledger Transcript Reporter
5:30 p.m. The meeting was opened by Chairwoman Charig Bliss.
Documents for Review/Approval
- A/P Check Register dated 10/06 and 10/12
- ACH Payment Register - NHRS payment dated 10/14
- Void Check Register for Welfare Payment
- Selectboard Minutes
- Town of Greenfield transfer deed – R6-36
- 2016 Tax Warrant & 2016 Final Tax Rate
- General Election Warrant
- Contract for paving at the Library
5:30 PM: Public Forum
There were no members of the public present for the public forum. The Selectboard reviewed the Consent Agenda during the 15 minute session.
6:00 PM: Fire Chief, David Hall
At 5:55 pm the Selectboard Chair welcomed Fire Chief David Hall to the meeting. Chief Hall outlined his interest in having the town purchase a Brush Truck for the Fire Department. The subject was brought up last year during a public informational meeting. Chief Hall said that Fire Department member Michael ‘Moto” Maguire, a fire engine mechanic, has located a suitable used 2005 Ford F350 with a flat bed that can handle the fire department equipment. The current truck is a 1979 Dodge Ram ¾ ton which came from the State of NH surplus auction. Chief Hall outlined the cost to purchase, and the cost of lettering and some preventative maintenance coming in at $19,500. The cost for the truck will be covered by Capital Reserve funds. The Board indicated that they would hold an informational meeting for the public since the
funding is from capital reserves. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 25th. The meeting should be posted in advance as soon as practical after tonight’s meeting.
Next, a brief discussion on the purchasing policy was held. The Chief asked if there had been any progress on the purchasing policy updates that he and the Board discussed at the last meeting. The Board indicated that there have been several conversations but no new updates as of this meeting.
Next, the Chief outlined his concern regarding the furnace for the equipment bays at the fire station. He updated the Board on some history of the furnace and stressed the need for the replacement to be done in a timely manner. The Board indicated that they had provided the Town Administrator and the Building & Grounds Manager with the authority to negotiate the purchase of a new furnace for an amount not to exceed $6,000. Town Administrator Patt said that he believed that the DPW was a day away from finalizing the purchase. The town had received five quotes and was in the last stages of comparing the two finalists’ quotes and the furnace specifications. Once a furnace was chosen the town would move ahead with the vendor to complete the paperwork. The Buildings & Grounds Manager was sharing the information with
Mike Borden, Greenfield’s building inspector.
7:25 PM: Selectboard Work Session
At 7:25 pm the Board entered into a work session discussion on several items.
The Board reviewed the Consent Agenda and on a motion by the Chair and a second by Selectman Atherton, voted 3-0 to approve of the Consent Agenda items. This included the A/P Check Register, an A/P ACH Register, the 2016 Tax Rate paperwork, the General Election Warrant, a contract for paving the library parking lot (previously voted in the affirmative) and Selectboard Minutes of 10/04/2016.
Old business items were taken up and discussed. It was requested that a letter in answer to Diane Boilard regarding Ice House Lane be updated with one additional sentence for the Board to review and approve at their next meeting. A checklist of other items was reviewed and the Town Administrator was asked to follow-up on several items.
Next the Board held a discussion on the Town of Greenfield’s personnel policy regarding the section on Vacation for town employees. After discussion outlining problems with the current policy, the Board agreed to review proposed policy changes at their next meeting. The policy changes would include a proposal to ‘catch-up’ people who have outstanding vacation hours as a result of not taking vacation time. Vacation time expires annually with the exception of 40 hours, which can be rolled over. There are several employees that have not taken vacation time due to a variety of issues including staff changes, and the policy’s current accrual method, which is acknowledged as creating issues with scheduling time off.
The Board held a brief discussion on the Sportsman’s Club property. Selectman Atherton said that he was told that a meeting was held by the club, but that he was not sure of whether there were any minutes available. Selectman Atherton said that he would bring information from the members to the next meeting.
Adjournment
The time being 8:45 pm the Chair moved to adjourn. Selectman Marshall seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried 2-0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 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. Selectman, Robert Marshall
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