Town of Greenwood
Regular Meeting of the Selectboard
July 5, 2006
1. Open Meeting – Chair Loretta Mikols called the meeting to order at 5:00pm with Selectperson Wayne Hakala, Selectperson Fred Henderson, Town Manager Kimberly Sparks, and Deputy Clerk Angela Lovejoy in attendance.
2. Pledge of Allegiance – Recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Howe Hill Road Bids – Chair Mikols mentioned there were three sealed bids passed in for the reconstruction of a portion of Howe Hill Road. She opened each one. The bids were as follows: D.A. Wilson & Co., LLC - $91,770; Jack Cross Excavation - $105,000; and Wilson Excavating, Inc. - $143,037. Dennis Wilson (D.A. Wilson & Co.), Alan Seames (Road Foreman), and Roma Wilson (Wilson Excavating) attended. Selectperson Henderson said they should make sure everything was in the bids that should be. Hakala agreed. Mikols said the same bid package was given to each contractor, so they were all bidding on the same thing. She said that D.A. Wilson’s bid was the lowest. Selectperson Henderson motioned and Selectperson Hakala seconded to award the job to D.A. Wilson & Co., LLC. Motion passed 3-0. Road Foreman Alan Seames attended. He mentioned that the Town had raised only $80,000 for the job at Town Meeting. He said he had already purchased $7,000 worth of culverts for the job and the Town was planning to pay for the geo-textile also, another $2,400. Mikols asked if there was any place the extra money could be taken from. Hakala said he thought they could use the unanticipated expense account for some. Town Manager Sparks said there was $5,000 in that account. Seames said he had some FEMA money left that he could use – between $12,000 and $14,000. There was talk of having a Special Town Meeting. Mikols said she thought that was a good idea, but if they could come up with the funding now and replace it later on, they would not delay the project. Henderson mentioned they needed to be sure they could legally use the money from the other accounts for that purpose. Seames said that was fine as long as he didn’t lose the FEMA money needed to complete other projects. The Selectboard agreed. It was agreed to use what was left in the FEMA account and the Unanticipated Expenses account to make up for the difference between what was raised at Town Meeting and the actual cost of fixing the road, and to “re-pay” these accounts through Special Town Meeting. Sparks had Dennis Wilson sign the contract.
4. Warrants – It was motioned and seconded to accept Warrant #26 ($32,142.83), and Warrant #27 ($17,282.31). Motion passed 3-0.
5. Minutes – It was motioned and seconded to accept the minutes of June 20, 2006 as amended. Motion passed 3-0. An amendment was made to item number seven to clarify that the $1,000 stipend for the Constable was $1,000 for the remainder of the present year – not a full year. An amendment was also made to the meeting minutes date – from June 21, 2006 to June 20, 2006.
6. Comments from the Public – Road Forman Alan Seames asked if the Selectboard had set a date for a Special Town Meeting yet. Mikols said they had not set a specific date yet but they would now plan to have it within the work-frame of Howe Hill Road. Seames said he would order the fabric (geo-textile) for the road from Paris Farmer’s Union.
7. SAD#44 Budget Referendum Warrant – Town Manager Sparks mentioned that the School Board was bringing back the defeated question from the last referendum vote. The amount to be voted on was about $78,000 less than before. The Selectboard signed the warrant. Sparks mentioned the issue was delaying the Town’s tax commitment because there was no set figure yet for the school budget.
8. Update on Constable – Town Manager Sparks told the Selectboard that Richard Fournier had accepted the Greenwood Town Constable position. He had taken some ordinances home to read and was going to write up a list of things he might need. She said he was also interested in the EMA Director position.
9. EMA Update – Town Manager Sparks passed out copies of a document sent to her by Scott Parker that included a job description, roles and responsibilities, and a draft ordinance for the EMA Director. She asked the Selectboard to look it over.
10. Oxford County Recycling – Selectperson Hakala mentioned he was not happy with how Greenwood and Woodstock were doing with their recycling in terms of volume. He said Dwight Mills, Transfer Station Manager) was very unhappy with it also and Greenwood needed to work with Woodstock to get a better handle on it. Town Manager Sparks asked if there was a certain area the recyclers were lacking in. Hakala said no, the ones that recycled were doing great – it was the ones that were not recycling that he was concerned about. He said recyclers were in the minority. Sparks asked if the trash volume was up causing it to be more costly to get rid of. Hakala said yes.
11. Amended Restricting Vehicle Weight Ordinance – Town Manager Sparks mentioned she needed to add to the Restricting Vehicle Weight Ordinance that it could be enforced by the Town’s constable. The Selectboard signed the amended ordinance.
12. Ron Testa Septic – Town Manager Sparks mentioned that Ron Testa needed to run a pipe and electricity for his septic across the Greenwood Road. Road Foreman Seames said that Andre Bernier was doing the work. Andre told him that he would be using a 10” steel pipe three feet deep in the ground and would have to close the road for about ½ hour while doing the work. Seames said the road would be closed on Friday around 8:00am. He said he would like to see the area compacted after and patch put over it. If a hump developed later on, he wanted it to be Andre’s responsibility to fix it. Selectperson Hakala motioned and Fred Henderson seconded to have Andre Bernier install, for Ron Testa, a 10 inch by 40 foot steel pipe, three feet (minimum) under the Greenwood Road, and to use the same material dug up - if it is good, dry material - to fill the hole made; this material is to be compacted with a vibratory plate compactor and the area is to be paved over with a suitable patch material and, if need be, Andre Bernier will come back and fill any dip in the road with more patch material. Motion passed 3-0.
13. Town Facilities – Selectperson Hakala mentioned the Town needed an ordinance for all Town facilities to cover smoking, littering, etc. Town Manager Sparks said that would probably be a Town Campus and Facility Ordinance. Mikols said Sparks could work with the recreation committee on it. Sparks said she had talked to the Recreation Committee about an ordinance and they agreed that one was needed.
14. Recess – It was motioned and seconded to take a break from the meeting at 5:45pm. Motion passed 3-0. Meeting resumed at 6:15pm
15. Planning Board Alternate Opening – Town Manager Sparks mentioned she had only one application for the Planning Board Alternate position. The applicant was Alan Hamilton. The Selectboard decided to post the position again in the fall when people might have more time to devote to the position.
16. MMA Executive Committee Voting Ballot – Town Manager Sparks passed out copies of the ballot for the Board to look over for the next meeting.
17. Town Office Remodel – Town Manager Sparks mentioned that the work had begun on the new, upstairs furnace room. When tearing out the floor, the contractor found that the floor joist, beam and sill that he was working with were infested with carpenter ants. She said there was also a serious mouse and bat problem in the attic that was found by the smell of mouse urine and the existence of fresh bat droppings in the area being worked on. Sparks said they had put out a mouse trap, but instead of going inside, a mouse pooped on top of it. Mikols said Sparks should check with the insurance company to find out if there was anything that might be covered such as testing (for health hazard), repairs, extermination, etc. She said she wasn’t sure if bat and mice droppings could be a health hazard but thought they should find out. Sparks said she would call the insurance company. Mikols asked the other Selectboard members what they thought should be done with the building. She said they were having problem after problem with it. She suggested getting someone to assess the building to find out what the condition it was in and how much it was going to cost to fix it versus building new. She asked if there might be any historical value that might make it eligible for a grant. Sparks said she knew that if a building was altered in any way from it’s original state, it could not be on the National Historic Register. The municipal building had definitely been altered, but she said she would look into grant possibilities either way. Mikols mentioned they should have a proper building inspector do the inspection. Sparks said she would work on getting someone.
18. Adjourn Meeting – It was motioned and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 6:40pm. Motion passed 3-0.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Kimberly Sparks – Town Manager