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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-07-19 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE July 19, 2010 Minutes Councilors: Bronson, Stone, Nealley, Weston, Wheeler, Blanchette Staff: Cyr, Moore, Others: 1. Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. a. Quitclaim Deed – 154 Falvey Street b. Quitclaim Deed – 486 Hammond Street c. Quitclaim Deed – 12 Holiday Park d. Workout Agreement – 624 & 628 Hammond Street e. Workout Agreement – 99 Pine Street 2. Bids/Purchasing a. Update on Pending Bids Cyr said the first is the conversion of certain City facilities to natural gas. During the recently completely FY11 budget process, staff spoke of converting the Bangor Armory and Fire Station 5 to a dual fuel burner, which allows the use of #2 fuel oil or natural gas. Staff recommends issuance of a bid to do the necessary improvements at both facilities simultaneously. Stone asked about a payback analysis. Cyr said she could put the info together tomorrow based upon the budgeted cost. Staff researched the capital investment required at each facility in order to provide an estimated budget cost. Cyr went through a number of vehicles that have been talked about throughout the budget process both for municipal functions and for airport functions. Dawes put together a list:  Two new patrol cars to replace two 2005 cars that each have 125,000 miles. Responding to Wheeler, Dawes stated that the average police car gets about 40,000 to 45,000 miles per year for the newer cars.  A Backhoe loader that is being returned on a five year buy back that will need to be replaced. Instead of returning the Backhoe, the WWTP will purchase that machine.  A smaller loader will be purchase to replace an older plow truck that has 190,000 miles. Dawes and Wardwell talked about this earlier this year and decided that a loader could do a lot of what the plow truck could do and will also have many other uses in the other seasons.  The purchase of three used unmarked police units to replace vehicles that have between 140,000 and 150,000 miles on them.  The purchase of four used pickup trucks that have high mileage and will likely not pass state inspection this year without some significant investment. Responding to Wheeler, Dawes says he would hate to spend $6,000 on parts and labor for something that might last a year or two when a vehicle can be purchased for $10,000 to $12,000. Weston pointed out that this item has been discussed in previous meetings and a cost analysis was done at that time.  The airport is looking to buy a 4x4 pickup truck to replace a 98 GMC which is used for transporting equipment and supplies.  The purchase of a fuel farm panel van to replace a 1990 Chevy panel van.  The purchase of a used 8 seat van to replace a 1994 Dodge van which is used for transporting folks around the airport property. Cyr then spoke about the electric scissor lift at the airport. This was approved in the recent budget for about $27,000. It will replace a 1987 model which is out of production and parts cannot be found to fix it. It is also narrow and unstable during certain weather conditions such as high winds. Another issue is that it can only go up to 20 feet. There is aircraft now that requires equipment to reach up to 26 feet in order to be properly serviced. The request is to go out to bid for a new/used electric scissor lift. Bronson stated that he and Cyr had discussed the possibility of discontinuing the pre- bid updates in order to speed the process up. Bronson thought this update was needed and asked the Committee if they had any input. Stone pointed out that the original intent for these discussions were to provide the Committee with the information because there are times when Councilors have questions or different viewpoints to share. Additionally, Stone reminded the Committee that these items go on the agenda which allows any Councilor that might have a special interest to ask questions. He feels that this update might actually speed the process up because there are fewer road blocks further in the process. b. Request for Sole Source – WWTP – Flow Monitors for Combined Sewer Overflow Cyr stated that the City has a number of combined sewer overflow points. This is where storm water and sewage go together and then outflow into one of the City’s watersheds. The City is required to monitor these. There are 5 specific locations that are considered very difficult. Moore had gathered some information together and is requesting that a sole source be done with ADS Environmental Service for the 5 locations. They are the only company with meters that have the flexibility for integrated wireless modems and an output to scada. This type of flexibility is crucial for this project. The total cost for this project is just over $94,250, a portion of which includes a first year service and training. After that point, Moore believes his staff will be able to take over the service and the maintenance. If this was approved, the City would approach the DEP about using some State Revolving Loan Fund money that the City currently has that is not earmarked for any specific project right now. Moore pointed out that the City has done a great deal of work already. The City started out with 22 of these CSO points and is now down to 8. The EPA requires that any points that remain need to have the frequency and volume measured that is discharged from those points either into the Kenduskeag Stream or the Penobscot River. The ADS Environmental Service is well known in the industry. Responding to Weston, Moore said that there are 3 CSO points that the WWTP is already measuring and has been for years. They are more of a conventional outflow. The other 5 are very difficult and requires more than the WWTP’s expertise. Responding to Nealley, Moore said that the money that is now becoming available through the State Revolving Loan Fund has a green component to it. That is now a consideration and he believes the State is setting aside a certain percentage of that SRF money for those that qualify for green projects. At this point, he does not know the criteria in order to qualify for that green money but staff is keeping an eye on that. c. Review of HVAC Upgrade for WWTP – Honeywell Cyr reminded the Committee that back 3 or 4 years ago the City hired Honeywell and undertook an extensive energy audit and looked at all of the City’s facilities. The General Funds Facilities were the first to be reviewed. About two years ago Honeywell came forward with results of their review of the WWTP. Because the folks at the WWTP are so efficient, there was not a lot of energy savings to be had there. One thing that was discovered, that Moore was already aware of, is that the HVAC system had to be replaced. Honeywell put together a project scope and gathered some bid information. They came back with a number that was too high and at staff’s request went back and revised the scope and re-bid the project. The recommendation that is coming forward is that the City executes a change order with our Honeywell contract. The City still has a contract with them and for an additional $1 million dollars they would replace the HVAC system. Cyr stated that this is a significant amount of money, but pointed out that there is a large amount of work to be done. One of the areas that Moore and Ring spent a significant amount of time reviewing was the scope of work that Honeywell included, as well as the open book pricing. Three bids were received and staff is recommending the low bidder. Responding to Bronson, Cyr said this money would need to be borrowed. Moore stated that the heating and ventilation system went into service in 1968. There have been some components that have been replaced throughout the years, but the major pieces still need to be replaced. There are also some code issues due to the age of the system and the changes in codes. For example, the air changes per hour are not up to code. Moore also pointed out that this is guaranteed pricing and will not require any change orders. Ring spoke about how, in most instances, Honeywell and their projects have dealt with energy conservation and money savings but, in this project that will not be the goal. The existing components that are going to be replaced will be energy saving beyond what they are now, but with temperature control and meeting the current code standards for the number of air changes per hour which is a safety issue. Ring was surprised by the wide range in pricing from the different bids. It ranges from $1M to $750,000 for this project. He thinks that this is very indicative of the current bidding climate. CH2M Hill reviewed this and Ring pointed out that they have been the City’s waste water/environmental consultant for some time. CH2M Hill agrees that this is an appropriate process and gave staff additional comfort that the pricing appeared to be reasonable and consistent with what others would charge. Ring stated that staff’s recommendation is to proceed with this project this year. Responding to Nealley, Moore said that the employees are working with equipment that is referred to as hazardous areas which require explosion proof equipment. This means that if the air is not changed often enough, the area could become explosive. He pointed out that this is not a matter of comfort for the personnel. Stone said he would like to see a 5 to 10 year plan of anticipated expenses. Ring said that staff does so during the planning process and looks at them very closely. This is a project that staff knew was coming and in his recommendation this is the time to do it. There have been other projects both in the plant and within the city that staff was able to defer in part due to the maintenance that Moore and his crew has done. 3. Discussion of Potential RFQ for Consultant Services to Review Police Department Operations Stone feels that it would be beneficial for the City to look at hiring a consultant to come in with a different set of eyes and a different set of life’s experiences to provide some input and some suggestions. This could be in any area such as dispatch and working with the County to scheduling, etc. Stone said he listened to a consulting firm at the Bangor Brewer Committee who didn’t make a proposal but was making a sales pitch. Stone thought that in the interest of the community, the City should obtain a quoate from this firm. Bronson clarified that what Stone is asking for is the discussion of a potential for an RFQ and not authorizing an RFQ. Stone said that was correct and to also give Cyr permission to talk to this consultant much like the Committee does for pre-bids. If the Committee is interested and after she speaks with the firm, Cyr can come back with her recommendation to the Committee. Cyr thinks that this is an area that the Council wants to review, and noted that there are consultants out there that deal specifically with public safety. She feels that the Committee is not going to want to close that group off. She has no problem speaking to this particular firm to get an estimate from them and see what they think a project like this would run; however, she thinks that public safety is a very specific area and there are some unique considerations in there. It may behoove the Council to actually do an RFQ and to be sure to find the firm that will give the City the best information possible. Nealley feels that consulting groups pay for themselves and says that even if the cost is $100,000 and they find savings of $100,000. He also feels that unless the firm specializes in public safety, it would be difficult for them to make any recommendations in that area. Blanchette feels that this is entering into a field that will cost the City a lot of money and she does not think that anyone will be able to tell Chief Gastia how to run his department or when he is allowed to use overtime or not. She would not support this RFP. Gastia said he tries to keep an open mind and is always open for suggestions on ways that the service to the public can be made better. Responding to Weston, Gastia said that the majority of the overtime can be broken into two significant parts. One is the private duties (extras), in which the department gets reimbursed from the private entities who hire the Police Department. The overtime that is generated and does not receive any revenue is to fill open shifts, either because of vacations, sick leave, workers comp, and training. Court time also generates a large piece of this overtime and cannot be controlled or altered. Gastia spoke of the priorities and says that he will do all that he can with what he has, but he realizes that he can’t do everything. He does not feel that he or his department has received a lot of direction as to what the Council’s priorities are such as to maintain the public peace, and maintain the safety of the citizens of Bangor. He mentioned that although parking violations are not a priority, he knows that certain Councilors feel it is a priority. When more responsibilities are placed on patrol officers, the ability to handle all responsibilities gets difficult. Gastia admits that he does not have a real good handle on what the Councilors priorities are. Responding to Weston, Gastia said there is a way to break down the different percentages of each type of overtime occurred last year. For example, Gastia can tell how much time was spent in court, private details, etc. He said that when he took over as Chief he made it a point to go through and identify what was being spent in what line. Weston asked if the Finance Director could put together something that breaks down each line item. Gastia wants the Committee to realize that public safety is a very unique profession and it has many intricacies and complexities that no other business has. In the U.S. the average size of a police department is under 10 people. With this information, Gastia pointed out that Bangor is a very large department. Regarding suggestions and recommendations about ways to improve the Bangor Police Department, he thinks it is imperative that whoever looks at that understands completely what law enforcement and police agencies do and understands the complexity in general. He also feels it is important to understand the differences between the Bangor Police Department and an average police department in the U.S. He pointed out that Old Town and Bangor are very different. He said that the Maine Chiefs of Police do evaluations on a regular basis for other departments and are hired by municipalities. He is not encouraging the idea of hiring a private consultant or the Maine Chiefs of Police but just wanted to be sure that if this is to take place, it needs to be done by someone that is qualified. Stone thinks that the logical thing would be to have an item on the Council Agenda authorizing the Finance Director to go out for RFQ. If the Council doesn’t agree, than Stone thinks the Committee is wasting time discussing it further. Weston made a motion to move an agenda item to full Council to discuss going out to RFQ to look at a consultant that could be responsible for overlooking, not just police, but public safety. This was seconded. Responding to Nealley, Gastia said that he does not know of any specific agencies that does public safety in general. He said there are many public safety departments across the Country that both do police and fire. Old Town is one example in which the Chief is the Public Safety Director. Bronson said that he is aware that there are consultants that deal strictly with fire, some that deal strictly with police, and some that deal with public safety as combined entities. Stone is suggesting that this go to full Council and when the Finance Director comes back with some more information, the Council will proceed accordingly. Wheeler thinks that something to consider is having the entire municipal government and each department working with a consultant. Some cities have Directors of Public Safety who are not fire chiefs or police chiefs, but have a specific title as the Director of Public Safety. He asked Gastia if he had any knowledge on how that works. Gastia responded by saying that he does not have a great deal of knowledge other than being aware of some municipalities and some Safety Directors in other municipalities around the country and in some areas it works well, and in others, he understand that it is a disaster. Bronson asked Weston to clarify the motion and whether it was for all public safety services or specifically the Police Department. Weston said he used public safety for a reason. He remembered that during the budgeting process there were long hours regarding the Fire Department’s budget. He recommends going with public safety and not just a single department. This was moved to full Council. 4. Executive Session – 1 MRSA Section 405 (6) (E) – Settlement of Non Insured Claim 5. Open Session – Decision on Settlement of Non Insured Claim – Committee approved staff recommendation contingent upon receipt of a denial letter from the individual’s insurance agency.