The poor condition of town roads dominated the discussion at Greenfield Town Meeting Saturday.
“I realize a lot of you, by the phone calls and everything, a lot of you look at me and you think I don’t know what I’m doing,” Roads Manager Todd Mason said. “But I’d like to explain to you the way my life is. … My life depends on machinery breaking down, the weather, employees calling in sick, buildings and grounds might need help.”
Voters passed all articles on the warrant by a voice vote Saturday.
All motions to amend articles were voted down, including one to add $100,000 to the Department of Public Works budget in order to address needed road work.
Early on in Town Meeting, Selectman Robert Marshall moved that voters jump ahead in the warrant to an article that asked voters to approve $465,876 to fund the DPW in order to allow Mason to speak to the article and then get back to the work of repairing damage caused to town roads by Friday’s rain.
Residents of Old Bennington Road were especially unhappy about road conditions.
“I’ve been here for 28 years, the town’s been the worst it has been in that amount of time,” Craig Pettigrew of Old Bennington Road said.
Pettigrew then asked why $16,000 of the $65,000 slated for the road maintenance and gravel budget this year has already been spent and wanted to know how that got spent, saying it doesn’t appear to have gone into road repair.
“I see it has been reappropriated to other places in the budget, truck maintenance,” he said. “I was looking to see if there would be a better effort for next year to use that $65,000 and put it into the dirt roads as opposed as into other places.”
“We are already at the end of March and that is where the money has already gone, into road equipment for the entire town,” Mason said.
Mason said when he started with the department eight years ago the department was well-staffed with experienced DPW employees and the roads looked great. Since then the longtime employees have left, the budget for road maintenance was cut by 25 percent and he has been shorthanded more often than not and he has had to deal with extreme weather events.
Mason encouraged residents to keep calling him to report road issues, but added, “I’m not looking for sympathy or anything, I’m just trying to be honest with you people that I have a three-man crew, we have a bunch of old equipment and we try our best to do the best we can.”
Moderator Gil Bliss said everyone understands he is doing his job with “one hand tied behind his back” and told Mason he is appreciated, which prompted a round of applause for Mason from the voters.
Marshall warned voters against a motion to add $100,000 to the DPW budget, saying with the ConVal School Budget and a reassessment of town properties this year the property tax rate is already going up.
He said the Select Board is working to create a gravel road maintenance plan and is considering hiring contract workers for some road projects.
Marshall agreed the road conditions are dire, “My road this morning has been the worst it’s been in my 40 years of living here.”
Afterward, voters also approved a separate $125,000 for road paving and reconstruction.
Voters also approve d spending:
$44,145 to support the Town Clerk’s office
$2,400 to purchase materials and/or obtain service to establish, improve, or operate a used oil collection center
$116,707 to support the recycling center
$116,896 to support the Stephenson Memorial Library
$5,200 for a solar-gain reducing awning outside the children’s section windows of the Stephenson Memorial Library
$213,629 to support the fire department
$258,120 to support the police department
$964,427 to support operation and maintenance of the town
$6,000 from the George Proctor Recreation Area Town Forest Committee for improvements at the George Proctor Recreation Area Town Forest
Voters also:
Authorized the Trustees of the Trust Fund to pay for capital reserve fund investment management services and other expenses occurred from capital reserve fund income, added money to the following capital reserve funds: $5,000 for assessment, $40,000 for fire/rescue apparatus, $40,000 for highway equipment, $10,000 for library buildings and grounds maintenance, $7,500 for non-apparatus fire department, $10,000 for police vehicle, $1,000 for recycling center facilities and equipment, and $5,000 for town buildings maintenance
Created a Meeting House Improvements Capital Reserve Fund and placed $25,000 into the fund
Created a Planning Board Master Plan Capital Reserve Fund and placed $6,000 into the fund
Added $500 to the Forest Fire Fighters Expendable Trust Fund
Established a George Proctor Recreation Area Town Forest Maintenance account