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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-08-05 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE August 5, 2013 7:07PM MINUTES Council Members: Sprague, Baldacci, Durgin, Nealley, Blanchette, Civiello, Longo, Gallant Staff: Cyr, Little, Higgins, Lucas, Caruso, Canders, Kipler, Morgan, Conlow, Bird 1. Consent Agenda a. Report of Bids Awarded by Staff – July 2013 b. Quitclaim Deed – 191 Center Street – Hill Councilor Baldacci moved, Councilor Sprague seconded, approved. 2. Request from Taxpayer to Accept Partial Payment for Personal Property Taxes Outstanding *To Be Rescheduled per Taxpayer Request* Councilor Baldacci moved to reschedule, Councilor Sprague seconded, approved. 3. Bids/Purchasing a. Kittredge Road Realignment – Engineering – Lou Silver - $225,878 Staff recommendation is to award the contract to Lou Silver, the low bidder. Councilor Baldacci moved, Councilor Sprague seconded, approved. b. Radios – Airport – Whitten’s 2- Way - $19,583 Finance Director Cyr stated we received 4 responses with two not meeting specifications and one that raised concerns due to the company being located in Tallahassee, Florida. Staff recommendation is to award the contract to Whitten’s 2-Way. Councilor Gallant moved, Councilor Baldacci seconded, approved. c. Request for Sole Source Purchase – Fire Department – Fire Engines Finance Director Cyr stated the Fire Department would like to negotiate with Pierce Manufacturing for the purchase of two new fire engines, this would lead to consistency across the fleet, decrease the lead time for obtaining the equipment and allow staff to negotiate the price based on the established budget. Councilor Gallant moved, Councilor Baldacci seconded, recommended to the City Council. Councilor Gallant stated he would like to see a buy back option like we have with Nortrax, etc., to help lower costs. d. Request for Contract Extension – Parking Management on a month to month basis for up to 3 months. Councilor Baldacci moved, Councilor Gallant seconded and opened to questions. Councilors discuss the possibility of meeting with current contract holder, Republic Parking, but Councilor Blanchette felt that was unethical. Councilor Gallant didn’t think so since they are currently under contract with us and if we’ve had complaints about their services, etc. it’s our responsibility to meet with them to discuss this. Recommended to City Council. 4. Update on 11 and 15 Field Street Finance Director Cyr stated that the ownership of 11 Field Street is murky at best but the City does have a foreclosure notice signed by Mr. Knight’s daughter. If acceptable, there will be a motion to take ownership of the property. Councilor Baldacci moved, Councilor Gallant seconded, recommended to City Council. Councilor Baldacci moved to correct the issues dealing with notification of 15 Field Street so we can take steps toward taking ownership of the property, seconded by Councilor Gallant, approved. 5. Update on Properties with Matured Tax Liens Treasurer David Little explained that the City currently has 49 properties that are 5 years or more behind in tax payments. Staff’s recommendation is to move forward with the foreclosure process. This will entail a review of the files to ensure all paperwork is complete and appropriate notifications have been made to homeowners and lien holders. Councilors discussed the whether or not the properties were vacant, in foreclosure or just unkept and whether they are vacant parcels of land or have actual buildings. It was noted by staff that most vacant buildings are residential and most land is business owned. City Manager Conlow stated that Code Enforcement is currently preparing a vacant property ordinance and that will be presented when Jeremy Martin gets back into the office at the end of August. This will include penalties, etc. 6. Write off of Real Estate Taxes – 13A Pray’s Park Treasurer Little stated this is the trailer that was moved out of the City without the proper notifications. Staff recommendation is that the Committee write off of the $600 owed instead of paying more to track it down. Councilor Gallant moved, Councilor Sprague seconded, approved. 7. *Write off of Real Estate Taxes – Lot 286 Cedar Falls The Legal Department received a notice from the attorneys of the current owners of a property on the list discussed in the previous item that they have filed a writ of possession against the owner of the mobile home and they intend to take possession of trailer and dispose of it. As a lien holder we can dispute but would have to pay lot rent and pay to dispose of it. Staff recommendation is to write off the $2,364.72 owed. Councilor Gallant moved, Councilor Baldacci seconded, approved. 8. Proposed Changes to Vendor Notification of Bid Opportunities The City’s current vendor notification process is cumbersome for our smaller staff. Staff would like to transition to using the eGov notifications. Durgin asked if there are any statutory regulations. Finance Director Cyr stated not that we are aware of. We just need to make sure that DBE’s are put into the vendor database. The vendors that we deal with at this point will be okay with this new system. Vendors like the idea that they can get an electronic copy of the bids instead of having to come in for a plan book. 9. Council Order 13-250, Authorizing Issuance of $4,740,000 in General Obligation Bonds Councilor Baldacci moved, Councilor Gallant seconded, recommended to City Council. 10. Council Order 13-251, Authorizing Issuance of $2,500,000 in State Revolving Loan Fund General Obligation Bonds Councilor Baldacci moved, Councilor Gallant seconded, recommended to City Council. Adjourned at 8:04pm.