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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-09-05 Finance Committee Minutes FINANCE COMMITTEE September 5, 2007 Minutes Councilor Attendance: Stone, D’Errico, Hawes, Blanchette, Farrington Staff Attendance: Barrett, Cyr, Dawes, Little, Enman, Ring, Hupp Others: Representatives of Camden National and Bangor Savings Banks 1. Consent Agenda A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda items. a. Quitclaim Deed – Edick – 92 Dartmouth Street b. Quitclaim Deed – Boudreau – 38 Blue Hill East c. Quitclaim Deed – Kimler – 33 Penn Plaza d. Quitclaim Deed – Lawler – Lot 52 Pray’s Park e. Quitclaim Deeds – Various Accounts f. Workout Agreement – Ingegneri – 37 Fifth Street g. Workout Agreement – Winchell – 66 Catell Street 2. Bids/Purchasing a. Parking Lot Expansion – Airport – Hughes Bros - $199,630 Hupp said that a parking study had recently been completed which indicates that during the peak times in winter months and spring break there is not sufficient parking at BIA. Despite the fact that passenger enplanements are down, with the introduction of Allegient Air there will be an increase in parking during peak times. Responding to Blanchette, Hupp said she expects the project to be paved this fall and it is a relatively small project and should be done with 30 days. It should be completed prior to Thanksgiving. Stone asked the amount of time for the payback. Hupp said it depends on utilization, the cost per space is in the $1,200 range. Ring said the cost per space is close to $2,500 but it includes a retention pond, dealing with stormwater, lighting, etc. Part of the overall project will include maintenance work on the existing parking lot. The paving portion is under the City’s annual paving contract and achieved a $5-10/ton savings. The City has used Hughes Bros over the years with good results. Cyr added that this project was designed and speced out by the Engineering Department and will be overseen by Engineering. Responding to Stone, Cyr said this is all airport funding approved as part of the budget process. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval to full Council. b. Request for Additional Police Cruiser Cyr said that Dawes had recently requested permission to purchase two cruisers and, when reviewing his inventory, discovered that he needed three. Dawes is asking permission to amend the previous bid award to allow the vendor to purchase three cruisers. It will also put the Department on a better replacement cycle. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation for the purchase. c. Grooming Deck Mower – Greenway Equipment - $12,400 (revised award from prior meeting) This purchase had been approved at the previous meeting of the Finance Committee. Cyr said that when staff actually looked at the tractor that it did not meet specifications. Greenway is the low responsive bidder in that it meets all of the bid specifications. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff’s recommendation. d. Banking Services – Camden National Bank Farrington disclosed a possible conflict of interest. He is a stockholder of Camden National Bank. Barrett said the standard in reporting requirements and ordinances is 5% of the total stock. A motion was made and seconded indicating that Farrington did not have a conflict of interest. Cyr indicated that in July the City issued its RFP to provide banking services. She detailed the services. One requirement was that the bank have a Bangor branch. There were six responses, which were reviewed by five staff members. Based on the initial review, some were eliminated because of the lack of certain services; i.e. investment services, positive pay on checks, which addresses forgery. The remaining institutions were then further reviewed. It is an estimated three year contract with two one-year renewal options. In reviewing the three-year costs, it became clear that the two front runners were Bangor Savings and Camden National. The staff looked into imaging checks and electronic transactions, which was cost prohibitive. In the end, it was clear that both finalists were effective and efficient institutions and capable of providing the services but it came down to pricing. Staff recommended award to Camden National Bank. Responding to Farrington, Cyr said it was a courtesy in the RFP process to ask that the pricing be made available to the City of Brewer and to Penobscot County. D’Errico asked about transport service. Cyr said the City currently has armored transport daily by Brinks. Blanchette asked about debit card use at City Hall. It would be Treasurer, City Clerk and Code Enforcement. Cyr talked about the expense to the City of using credit card services. Debit card use is normally 60-cents per transaction. Stone asked the cost to transition from one bank to another, why it is a three-year time period for banking services, and what does it cost to go out for bid. Cyr said the cost of transition are similar to that of individuals. New checks need to be purchased. Each piece of the service has different implementation issue. File transmissions need to be changed in relaying information to the bank. Staff will be trained by the bank. There is more work on the part of the bank than on the part of a customer during a transition. There are a number of automatic deposits, which will require the old accounts be kept open for a specified amount of time. The City issues contracts for three years because the Council Members sit for three years. The cost to go out to bid probably takes three week for total worked performed by all staff members involved. Cyr estimates the City pays $227,000 over a three year period for banking services. This contract will cost $151,000 approximately. Bangor Savings Bank representatives congratulated Camden National. Camden National expressed thanks to the City for the opportunity. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval to the full Council. 3. Appropriating Funds to Garland St Reserve Stone indicated that this item will be postponed since representatives of the School Department were not available to attend. 4. Review of Purchasing Regulations – Competitive Sealed Proposals Stone stated that this item was on the agenda at the request of Council Chair Greene, who was not in attendance for discussion. Stone recommended that this item be postponed to a future meeting. A motion was made and seconded to table the item. Farrington stated that when Council members request an agenda item that they should be in attendance. It is poor practice to discuss an item in the absence of the maker. 5. Executive Session – 36 MRSA Section 841(2) – Hardship Abatement A motion was made and seconded to move into executive session. 6. Open Session- Hardship Abatement Decision A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation.