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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-17 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE March 17, 2008 Minutes Councilors: Stone, Palmer, Gratwick, Farrington, Wheeler Staff: Cyr, Barrett, Ryan, Farrar, Yardley, Hupp, Cammack, Bostock, Higgins 1. Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded to move the Consent Agenda. Palmer noted that item c. contained a typo. The item should refer to a Public Health Nursing Grant rather than WIC. Responding to Gratwick, Yardley said the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has come out against the idea of eliminating the prescription drug benefit for the MaineCare non-categorical, which will save significant dollars for local municipalities. If eliminated, it would have been a cost burden without savings. Gratwick asked how public health monies compare to prior years. Yardley said for the most part grants received from the CDC have decreased a few percentage points. They are not significant cuts but there are no increases to keep up with the increased costs of rent, gas, payroll, etc. It again creates more of a burden on the local municipality each year. In response to Gratwick, Yardley indicated that the Health and Community Services budget including WIC approximates $6M. a. Quitclaim Deed – Ford – 29 Dillingham Street b. Quitclaim Deed – MacDonald – 9 Heather Road c. Council Resolve 08-116, Authorizing Application and Acceptance of WIC Grant 2. Bids/Purchasing a. Bio-Diesel Tank Supplies – Airport – Adams & Fogg Oil - $30,380 Cyr said the Airport has an area designated for placement of the bio-diesel tank and the City has qualified employees to perform the work. This item is for the required parts to put the tank together. The City received four responses to its RFP, and recommended the low bidder, Adams and Fogg Oil. Once in place, bio-diesel will be dispensed to Airport vehicles. Farrington asked if there are any savings to be made in terms of transportation. Cyr said the RFP’s include FOB destination. Palmer clarified that the tank is 10,000 gallons. Responding to Stone, Barrett said moving to bio-diesel at BIA is part of a supplemental environmental project that the EPA required BIA to enter into in lieu of a fine over a violation involving the handling of hazardous materials. It will create a very strong improvement in emissions which is the primary benefit that EPA was looking to obtain. There is a requirement to use a certain amount of this material by April 2009. Cyr said the only place to purchase bio-diesel is from Irving Oil. The bio additive costs $1.50-$2.00 extra per gallon. The City uses approximately 400,000-500,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year, mainly by The BAT and Public Works. On a blended basis, Barrett said the premium is about 40 cents per gallon. Barrett said the Airport is required to spend an amount equal to the fine and then at that time a decision would be made whether to continue with the bio-diesel because of its environmental benefit. Once the payment of the fine is completed, Hupp said the tank will have usage beyond April 2009. Barrett said diesel and the bio product are two separate commodities. In the future, they might be priced differently dependent upon supply and demand. Palmer asked if the tank will be secured. Hupp said it will be placed within a secured area. Gratwick spoke about the small environmental impact of bio-diesel in a larger perspective. Barrett said the bio product is not ethanol. Gratwick made a motion to approve the item but indicated he is looking forward to further discussion in April 2009. The motion was seconded. b. Printing/Copy Paper – Central Services – Lindenmyer Munroe - $42,910 Cyr said the City has its own in-house print shop that provides the City’s printing. Central Services estimates it quantity and various types of paper requirements and the City then goes out for bid once every three years. Four responses were received and the low bidder was Lindenmyer Monroe. Walter Ryan said his estimates are based and calculated on the past year’s paper use. Responding to Farrington, Cyr said there are most likely no other municipalities that have the type of volume or the same in-house printing service. She did speak with the School Business Agent who provided information for a lesser price but the delivery had to be taken immediately and all at one time. The City doesn’t have storage place. In response to Palmer, Cyr said there are 1,000 fulltime employees with the City and the School. Stone asked what Ryan would do if paper usage was to be cut by 10%. Ryan said the Council is a large user of the paper supplies; i.e. the Council agenda. Ryan indicated that he does not have control over individual office use of computer printers. Barrett said the City has attempted to reduce paper use by using electronic transmission of paperwork. Palmer talked about the value of recycling to offset the cost of paper. Cyr said office paper is recycling throughout City buildings and is picked up by Pine Tree. For every ton of paper recycling, the City saves approximately $40 in PERC recycling fees. Gratwick talked about the possibility of recycling household office paper. A motion was made and accepted to approve staff’s recommendation. c. Hoist Inspection Services – City Wide – New England Crane - $12,507 Throughout various City Departments, Cyr said there is a large number of equipment with hoists as an integral part. It requires an annual inspection by an independent third party. In the past, the RFP for inspection service was split up by department. Four responses were received. Staff recommended award to New England Crane for the three year contract for all of the hoist inspection services. They were the only responder bidding on each piece of equipment, and they provided a 5% discount at the BIA because the Airport has a man-lift. Because of no prior experience with New England Crane, staff performed a significant reference check. Responding to Palmer’s comments regarding the New York City crane incident, Cammack said those folks are controlled by OSHA and OSHA would do a complete inspection once the equipment was in place to insure that a yearly certification has taken place. It is similar to what Bangor does for an annual certification to insure safe operation. Responding to Gratwick, Cyr said the price for the service is similar as to when it was broken up by department. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. 3. Discussion of Grant Award to Replace Snorkel Truck Cammack said he came before the Committee and Council a couple of weeks ago regarding a grant award for self-contained breathing apparatus equipment. As part of the process, the City applied for three grants: self-contained breathing apparatus, replacement of snorkel one located at station 5, and a public education piece. The snorkel was purchased in 1977 and it has not had a lot of use over the years. During that time, there were a minimum of 22 employees on duty and now it is 18 personnel on duty. In the department’s capital program, it looked to replace the snorkel in 2012. He indicated that the Department is in the process of an ISO inspection, which will determine the City’s insurance rating, which is currently 2. At their last inspection, ISO recommended that the snorkel be moved from Station 5 to Station 6. Because of the physical restraints of the current Station 6, it was not able to be immediately relocated. Plans for a new Station 6 are moving forward. The initial request for funding was $625,000. We felt it was enough resources at that time. The Department was notified and asked if it would be able to work with $400,000 with a 10% local match of $50,000. Part of this request is to first look at just doing a straight 75-foot ladder which would be placed a Station 5. A second option is a combined ladder and pumper unit at approximately $650,000. It is referred to as a Quint. This unit would be located at Central Fire and the existing 105-foot ladder truck would be moved to Station 6. Fire Department staff felt the best recommendation would be option 2. The Fire Chief asked for approval to pursue the grant and permission to start looking at what is available for the equipment. Two firefighters will be attending an upcoming conference and would like to see what is available. The grant requires that the funding be expended prior to the end of calendar year 2008. Responding to Palmer, Cammack detailed the operations of a Quint unit. Barrett said that moving the 105-foot ladder truck to station 6 will reduce the number of times that unit responds to fire calls and to hopefully get the 30 years of life out of the equipment. To replace it would be over $1M. Palmer asked if the new piece of equipment would help the City’s fire insurance rates. Cammack said yes and no as ISO will only let the City rate it as one piece of equipment. He will need to decide if it will be used as an aerial or a pumper. The unit will provide more versatility to the Department in responding to calls. Gratwick asked how the Department determines the amount of aerial equipment it needs. Cammack said the City’s determining factor is the ISO, Insurance Services Office, and their rating is more on readiness rather than outcome. Brewer, Bangor, Veazie, Orono and Old Town have aerial pieces. Cammack said the aerials are used for chimney fires, rescues from upper windows, ventilation purposes on a daily basis. The ladder trucks can put a lot of water out in high places. Responding to Gratwick, ISO looks at response time along with what the equipment can do at the site. Gratwick talked about regionalization of services. The total cost is $650,000 and the City needs to come up with $150,000. Cyr said there are two choices. The money could be bonded or it could be taken out of the Undesignated Fund Balance, which she recommended for the capital investment. Barrett said the snorkel is at the end of its useful life and will have to be replaced at some point. The grant funds are available at this time. Farrington asked if additional personnel would be needed at Bangor Fire. Cammack said this would allow the use of existing staff more efficiently. Palmer said he would support accepting the grant money. He wants to be certain that the equipment sought is the best available. Responding to Stone, Cyr said there is a capital reserve set aside for fire equipment. She had planned to pay for part of the equipment out of the reserve and borrow the remainder. Currently, the reserve balance is between $70,000-$100,000. The department also needs to replace a rescue unit next year. In order to use these federal funds, Cyr said the unit has to be on site prior to the end of December. If the City determined not to accept the grant funds for this unit, Gratwick asked if the grant funds would be applied for next year. Cammack didn’t think it would be a positive move. Responding to Gratwick, Barrett said there have been discussions with the towns of Veazie, Orono and Bangor about sharing or contracting for equipment and services but nothing has ever been solidified. A motion was made and seconded to support staff recommendation. Cyr said there will be several required actions as part of the upcoming Council agenda including accept and appropriate the grant, appropriate the additional money required for the local match, and granting authority to the fire department to enter into some sort of negotiations with vendors. 4. Executive Session -- Property Acquisitions -- 1 MRSA Chapter 13, § 405 6. C A motion was made and seconded to move into executive session.