Document
The Deerfield Board approved highway winter plow contracts and rates, allowing road agent-approved non-employees on loaders but banning them from trucks, with updated 6-wheeled spreader rates. They approved $18,405 from the expendable trust for truck equipment and accepted up to $45,000 in grant funds for water remediation. The Board declined Parks and Rec's requested salary increase, approving a total 2027 budget of $96,389. They approved the 2027 Executive budget of $18,360 but tabled the Gov Buildings and Transfer Station budgets for further review. A $162 motor vehicle refund was approved, and $110,541.05 in payroll and $29,132.19 in accounts payable were authorized. The GBW boiler repair quote will be sought from AJ LeBlanc, and the Chair signed the R&D Paving contract. The next meeting is September 21, 2026. Source: https://www.deerfieldnh.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09142026-397
1 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 TOWN OF DEERFIELD 1 BOARD OF SELECTMEN 2 September 14, 2026 3 MINUTES 4 5 Call to Order 6 7 5:30 pm – Chairwoman McHugh calls the meeting to order 8 9 Present: Chairwoman Cindy McHugh, Vice Chairman Jared Messina, Selectman Greg Whitmore, 10 Selectman Gary Sanborn, Selectman Eric Seitz, and Town Administrator Karen Clement 11 12 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 13 14 Public Comment 15 • No Public Comments 16 17 Unfinished Business 18 • Highway Winter Plow Contracts 19 The Board reviews the updated contract and discusses it with a highway employee in the audience 20 and the town administrator. 21 22 Two updates made to the highway winter plow contract scope: 23 1. A road agent approved non-town employee will be able to operate the loader 24 2. No non-town employee can operate a town truck 25 26 One change made to the highway winter plow contract rates: 27 1. Hoist over 2-ton line scratched and the $5.00 in that line is moved to the 6-wheeled spreader line 28 only 29 30 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the Highway Winter Plow 31 Contract with the updated scopes, a road agent approved non-town employee will be able to 32 operate the loader and no non-town employee can operate a town truck. 33 Second: Selectman Seitz 34 Discussion: 35 36 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 37 38 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the 2026/2027 highway winter 39 plow contract rates with the updated change of removing the hoist over 2-ton and the $5.00 40 from that line is moved to the 6-wheeled spreader line only to bring it to $35.00. 41 Second: Selectman Sanborn 42 Discussion: 43 44 Pick-Up 1-Ton 6-Wheel GVWR 10,000 or less 10,000-25,999 26,000+ Operator $65.00 $75.00 $90.00 Reversible Plow $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 Wing Attachment $10.00 $10.00 Spreader $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $35.00 Hoist Over 2-Ton $5.00 Total Hourly Rate $80.00 $110.00 $140.00 2 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 Spreader Up to 2.5 yrds 2.5-5.5 yrds 6+ yrds $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 1 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 2 3 New Business 4 • Highway Department Updates and ETF Funding Requests 5 - Matt Kimball, Highway Department, gives the Board an update on the highway departments 6 equipment and projects. 7 - Mr. Kimball will reach out for quotes on tree removal and he’ll look into auctioning off the old 8 unused equipment. 9 - Trucks: 10 1. It is $81,600.00 for the full upfit of the F600. 11 2. Plow frame and headgear will be purchased and installed by Fairfield for the F550 at a cost of 12 $15,255.00. 13 3. The F350 currently has a plow but needs a push plate and wiring for a cost of $3,150.00. 14 4. Total = $100,005.00 15 Mr. Kimball and Ms. Clement will confirm with Fairfield that the dump body for the F600 is 16 stainless-steel in the quote and also get a second quote from Candia Trailer for a stainless-steel 17 dump body for the F600. 18 The Board will vote on this at the next meeting. 19 20 - RFP for the guardrails went out and is due by 9/21 and the bids will be opened at the meeting 21 that evening. 22 23 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the purchase and install of a 24 plow frame and headgear for the F550 and push plates and wiring for the F350 in the total 25 amount of $18,405.00, funds to come out of the expendable trust fund for highway vehicle 26 maintenance. 27 Second: Selectman Sanborn 28 Discussion: 29 30 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 31 32 Unfinished Business 33 • Don Wyman, Deerfield Fair Association: Fire Detail Rates 34 Mr. Wyman goes over the information the Board requested at the previous meeting and discusses it 35 with the Board and Chief Fisher. They discuss the detail rates and scope of work and they close by 36 discussing the conversion of a building for the ambulance service who will be renting the space at the 37 fairgrounds. 38 39 New Business 40 • Open Bids 41 - Oil: no bids received 42 - Propane: no bids received 43 - Diesel Fuel: no bids received 44 45 Ms. Clement will work with Ray Ellis, Facility Supervisor, to go back out to bid without putting it in the 46 newspaper and the bids do not need to be sealed. They can be emailed directly to Ms. Clement. 47 48 • Review 2027 Budget requests 49 1. Parks and Rec 50 3 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 - Craig Houston, Parks and Rec Director. Mr. Houston explains the Parks and Rec budget and 1 discusses it with the Board. Total budget is $117,075.00 2 3 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to decline the increase in the Parks and 4 Rec 2027 proposed budget of $25,760.00 in the full-time employee salary line. 5 Second: Selectman Whitmore 6 Discussion: 7 Vice Chairman Messina explains why he declined the increase. 8 9 Vote: Yea 4, Nay 1, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 10 11 New total with the COLA raise is $96,389.00. This includes the 2026 COLA that passed and 12 the 3% possible merit increase in 2027 that the Board agreed to have built into budgets. 13 Those merit increases will be Board approved minus the Police as they have their own step 14 program for merit increases. 15 16 Motion: Selectman Whitmore makes a motion to accept the new total of the Parks and 17 Rec 2027 proposed budget in the amount of $96,389.00. 18 Second: Vice Chairman Messina 19 Discussion: 20 21 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 22 23 2. Gov Buildings 24 - Ray Ellis, Facilities Supervisor. Mr. Ellis and Ms. Clement worked on the budget and they 25 would like to see Gov Buildings budget to include town hall and the GBW building and explain 26 why. Mr. Ellis, Ms. Clement, and the Board discuss the budget with the other 2 buildings 27 added. Total budget is $334,535.00. 28 29 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to table the Gov. Buildings budget. 30 Second: Selectman Whitmore 31 Discussion: 32 33 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 34 35 Ms. Clement and Mr. Ellis will work on the Gov Buildings budget with town hall and GBW 36 included but also show the budget keeping the lines separate and come back to the Board. 37 38 3. GBW Building 39 - Included in Gov Buildings 40 41 4. Town Hall 42 - Included in Gov Buildings 43 44 5. Veasey Park 45 - Rescheduled to the next meeting 46 47 6. Executive 48 - Karen Clement, Town Administrator. Ms. Clement explains the Executive budget and 49 discusses it with the Board. Total budget is $18,360.00. 50 51 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the 2027 Executive budget 52 in the amount of $18,360.00. 53 4 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 Second: Selectman Whitmore 1 Discussion: 2 3 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 4 5 7. Transfer Station 6 - Some of the budget is included the Gov Buildings budget so this needs to be recalculated. 7 8 Motion: Selectman Whitmore makes a motion to table the 2027 Transfer Station budget. 9 Second: Selectman Sanborn 10 Discussion: 11 12 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 13 14 • Facilities Job Description 15 The Board reviews the Facilities Supervisor job description that Ms. Clement and Mr. Ellis had 16 created and the newer job description that Vice Chairman Messina proposed in their packets. It is 17 made clear that they can discuss the job function and description in public but current job 18 performance would need to be in a non-public. They discuss the descriptions with Mr. Ellis and Ms. 19 Clement and decide they each need time to review the descriptions and come back to it. 20 21 Motion: Selectman Whitmore makes a motion to table the Facilities and Buildings Maintenance 22 Technician job description until the next meeting. 23 Second: Vice Chairman Messina 24 Discussion: 25 26 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 27 28 • The GBW Boiler 29 Mr. Ellis and Ms. Clement give the Board an update on the warranties and the cost to fix it. The 30 installers, Granite State Plumbing and Heating, has a one-year warranty that has expired and the 31 manufacturer has a 10 year. Manufacturer will not come out so Granite State is offering to fix it and 32 charge labor only. Cost is $10,000.00. 33 Mr. Ellis will get a quote from AJ LeBlanc to fix the boiler and he will work with Ms. Clement to collect 34 the additional information on the warranties. 35 36 Regular Business 37 • Review of Outstanding Minutes: 8/31/2026 Public and Non-public 38 39 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the 8/31/2026 public and non-public 40 minutes as written. 41 Second: Selectman Sanborn 42 Discussion: 43 Selectman Seitz requests that line 28 on page 5 be amended from Seizt to Seitz. 44 45 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 46 47 • Vouchers/Payroll Manifest: 9/15/2026 - $110,541.05 gross 48 49 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the 9/15/2026 payroll manifest in the 50 amount of $110,541.05 gross. 51 Second: Selectman Whitmore 52 Discussion: 53 $73,455.83 net 54 5 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 1 2 • Accounts Payable Manifest: 3 - 9/8/20206 $42,626.56 (already signed) 4 - 9/15/2026 $29,132.19 5 6 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the 9/15/2026 accounts payable 7 in the amount of $29,132.19. 8 Second: Selectman Whitmore 9 Discussion: 10 11 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 12 13 • Town Administrator’s Report including Signatures & Correspondence: 14 - Notice of award for R&D Paving contract. Their insurance and payment and performance bond 15 have been submitted. Contract needs to be signed by the Chair. 16 17 Motion: Vice Chiarman Messina makes a motion for the Chair to sign the R&D Paving 18 contract. 19 Second: Selectman Seitz 20 Discussion: 21 22 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 23 24 - Motor Vehicle Registration refund request. $162.00 to be refunded for using the incorrect MSRP 25 price. 26 27 - Land Use Change Tax bills and warrants that were approved at the previous meeting need to be 28 signed again as they had to be reprinted and are new copies needing signatures. 29 30 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve the Motor Vehicle Registration 31 refund request in the amount of $162.00. 32 Second: Selectman Whitmore 33 Discussion: 34 35 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 36 37 - Parks and Rec applied for and was awarded the Lead in Drinking Water Remediation Fund grant 38 through DES. The funds are up to $45,000.00 and it is 100% reimbursable. Ms. Clement explains 39 the grant and the fund disbursement. Vote needed to accept and expend the funds. 40 41 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to approve Deerfield Parks and Recreation 42 Department/Town of Deerfield to accept and expend up to $45,000.00 from the Drinking 43 Water and Groundwater Trust Fund and to enter into a grant agreement with the New 44 Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. 45 Second: Selectman Sanborn 46 Discussion: 47 The last water test came back clear. 48 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 49 50 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to have Karen Clement, Town 51 Administrator, sign the grant documents on behalf of Deerfield’s Parks and Recreation 52 Department/Town of Deerfield. 53 Second: Selectman Whitmore 54 6 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 Discussion: 1 2 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 3 4 - AJ LeBlanc, was awarded the PEX project and with the grant they will need to be part of the 5 project to extend the pipes. Ms. Clement is requesting a waiver to allow them to do the project 6 without going out for quotes or bids. 7 8 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes a motion to grant the bid process waiver to extend 9 the piping for the Lead and Drinking Water Remediation Fund Grant. 10 Second: Selectman Sanborn 11 Discussion: 12 13 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 14 15 - Replacement of the well pump is being covered by insurance so the town will be reimbursed for 16 the cost. 17 18 Other Business 19 • Selectman Seitz requests 3 updates: 20 - The fire inspection report. Ms. Clement states it was sent to the Board and that she will talk to 21 Chief Fisher about releasing it to the public. 22 - Public Access Channel. Per IT, Once the fiber cable that needs to be replaced by the carrier is 23 replaced, they can work on fixing the issue. 24 - Who is responsible for the general maintenance of the ball fields. Ms. Clement believes it’s 25 volunteers but will ask Mr. Houston for clarification. 26 27 • Chairwoman McHugh. Mowing of the water holes and cisterns needs to be done. 28 29 Public Comment 30 • Tom Dillon. Haynes Road. Executive budget, line 190, Merit increases. He states, they are longevity 31 increases not merit increases. 32 - Ms. Clement agrees that the line item states that but explanation states it’s a longevity payment 33 and the Board agrees to have her rename the line. 34 35 Non-Public Session 36 37 Motion: Vice Chiarman Messina makes a motion at 9:32pm to go into non-public under RSA 91-A:3 38 II (a) The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such 39 employee, or the investigation of any charges against him or her, unless the employee affected (1) 40 has a right to a meeting and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be 41 granted. 42 Second: Selectman Seitz 43 Discussion: 44 45 Roll Call: 46 Selectman Seitz, Yea 47 Selectman Sanborn, Yea 48 Selectman Whitmore, Yea 49 Vice Chairman Messina, Yea 50 Chairwoman McHugh, Yea 51 52 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 53 54 7 Deerfield Board of Selectmen September 14, 2026 Motion: Vice Chairman Messina makes motion to resume public session at 9:47pm and to seal the 1 non-public minutes. 2 Second: Selectman Whitmore 3 Discussion: 4 5 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 6 7 8 Adjournment 9 10 Motion: At 9:47pm Selectman Sanborn makes a motion to adjourn. 11 Second: Selectman Whitmore 12 Discussion: 13 14 Vote: Yea 5, Nay 0, Abstained 0 - Motion Carries 15 16 17 Next Meeting: September 21, 2026 at 5:30 pm 18 19 20 The Minutes were transcribed and respectfully submitted by Randi Long, Recording Secretary 21 Pending approval by the Board of Selectmen 22