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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-05 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE May 5, 2008 Councilors: Stone, Gratwick, Farrington, D’Errico, Palmer, Hawes Staff: Cyr, Barrett, Little, Cammack, Hupp, Cyr, Bostock Others: Mr. Blenkhorn 1. Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. a. Quitclaim Deed – Ware – 46 Larkin Street b. Quitclaim Deed – Leonard – 55 Thirteenth Street c. Acceptance of Maine Fire Training Education Grant 2. Bids/Purchases a. Metal Castings – Public Works/WWTP – EJ Prescott - $46,832 Cyr said this is a contract that goes out to bid every three to six years, depending upon the contractor. The City did go out to bid this year. This is actually a re-bid as there was some confusion about the required weights. Five responses were received and staff recommended a three-year contract to EJ Prescott, the low responsive bidder, at an estimated $46,832. The needed products will be ordered from Prescott on a project by project basis and not kept in inventory. Stone asked about product liability insurance provided by vendors and asked staff to look into it. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation. b. Disk Harrow – Airport – Hammond Tractor - $14,000 Cyr said BIA is looking to purchase a disk harrow, which will be attached to a tractor. She noted that harrow is a very large piece with 26” blades and the offset disk rigid is 8’ 1/2 inches. The only bidder was from Hammond Tractor. The City has used Hammond Tractor in the past and has no issues with their performance or their products. Hupp said the equipment is used for grading of the runway and taxiway safety areas. There are Federal regulations and requirements to be followed. Palmer asked for further information about the product and how it is implemented. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. c. Quint – Fire – Pierce - $668,919 Cammack said he came to the Committee previously to ask permission to shop for a Quint. Staff has done so and found that one can be purchased from Pierce for $668,919. The overage of $18,919 is due to safety equipment including air bags. Stone spoke about a 50% deposit. Palmer said he agreed with Stone. He asked about the safety of the Quint and dual rear axles. Cammack said traffic accidents are the number one killer of firefighters. He asked if there was room for further price negotiations. Cammack said he feels they have done all they can but doesn’t mind going back to the manufacturer. Pierce is the only manufacturer to provide delivery by the deadline. Bostock said he and others looked at several manufacturers at a trade show. Pierce was by far the better. Pierce helps with long-term maintenance. Responding to Stone, Bostock said there was one vendor who could make a March 2009 delivery at $648,000. Cyr will provide an option for the additional funds and be prepared to address the prepayment concern prior to the Council meeting. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval to the full Council. 3. Taxpayer Request to Waive Interest Little introduced Mr. Blenkhorn, a taxpayer, who purchased a mobile home at Pray’s Park last fall. At the time, the seller did not inform him of any tax issues with the property. He recently received notice from the City that there are five years outstanding taxes on the property. He is more than willing to pay the taxes but would like the Council to consider a reduction in or a waiver of the interest. Palmer asked why Blenkhorn didn’t catch this at the time of the sale. Blenkhorn said it was a private sale and provided further details. Palmer asked Little if the City finds itself in this situation often. Little said it happens a lot but not just with mobile homes. Most mobile homes are private sales and do not require a deed at the registry. Responding to Farrington, Little said in the past the Council has approved and not approved such requests. Little said it is not inconsistency of the part of the Council but their determination is made on the circumstances in each individual case. Little said his opinion is that the interest be paid by Mr. Blenkhorn. Responding to Barrett, Little said the City did not make any errors in his situation. Palmer said the interest should be collected but that the monthly payment could perhaps be lowered. Blenkhorn said $100/month is okay with him. Palmer made a motion that Little put together a PSA for the City’s government channel providing information about these types of situations to educate the public. He also asked Little to call Northeast CONTACT to have an article generated for the BDN’s business page to alert consumers. Palmer moved that the workout agreement be accepted. The motion received a second. Barrett said that staff would insure that Homestead application will be provided to Blenkhorn to avoid future taxes. Little said it has already been done. At D’Errico’s request, Stone clarified that the motion was made on staff’s recommendation that the City charge the interest and payments be made at $100/month. 4. Appropriation and Acceptance of Homeland Security Grant Barrett asked the Fire Chief to detail what is included in the grant and to answer any questions. The amount is $25,000 for the technical rescue team, $10,000 for the explosive ordnance disposal team, $20,000 for the special response team at the Police Department, $7,000 for projects on the mobile command vehicle; the generator is for Mary Snow School for emergency shelter purposes. This is the third generator at a Bangor School. Bostock spoke about the GIS and the money is essentially to hire consultants to move the project forward. Chief said the next item is a special response vehicle and the money will be utilized to replace the command vehicle which is used by the assistant chiefs as they respond to calls. The next is water and communications facility security and it is a software program that will inform dispatch if a repeater site goes down. Another is security cameras at the waterfront for $21,000, $30,000 for a rescue boat, AVL software that will be utilized in all police vehicles so that dispatch will be able to locate the equipment and dispatch the closest appropriate unit to the call. Funding for NIMS Compliance for employee overtime for up-to-date national incident management training. Gratwick asked how this GIS software fits into the overall picture. Cyr indicated that there is a city staff committee working on an overall City GIS program. Barrett said it would be better discussed during budget sessions with Engineering and Public Works. Gratwick spoke about port security. Cammack indicated that he and the police department are working on waterfront security coordination. Cammack said that the rescue boat would be a unit that would be anchored at the waterfront. Responding to Stone about maintenance on the items to be purchased with the funds, Cammack said he would bring the information back with each item. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. 5. Finance Committee Resolution Approving $2,000,000 in SRF General Obligation Bonds Cyr said that last August the Council approved the issuance of bonds for continued CSO improvements. The money will help finish the last project from the EPA’s Consent Decree. The interest rate through the State Revolving Loan Fund is significantly lower. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. 6. Ordinance, Amending Chapter 33, Sec. 18 of the Code of the City of Bangor to Permit Certain Employees to Serve on the Ethics Board This Ordinance, if approved by Council, Heitmann said this would amend the City’s Code of Ethics that provides that members of the Board of Ethics may not be employed by the City. The amendment would allow part-time employees who work for less than 200 hours during any calendar year to serve on the Board. This issue arose when a person who usually works for the City during elections was appointed to the Board of Ethics. The Board of Ethics, which recommends this change, determined that such limited employment by the City, particularly in an area such as staffing elections where we often have difficulty finding enough help, does not pose an ethical problem. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation to the full City Council for its action. 7. Executive Session – Hardship Abatements (a) and (b) – 36 MRSA Section 841(2) A motion was made and seconded to move into Executive Session. 8. Open Session – Hardship Abatement (a) and (b) Decisions A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation. The Committee adjourned at 6:05 pm.