HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-17 Finance Committee Minutes �
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FINANCE COMMITTEE
� 7uly 17, 2006
Minutes
;� Councilor Attendance: Stone, Palmer, Hawes, Greene, Farrington .
Staff Attendance: Sheriff, Cyr, Mitchell, Caruso, McKay, Gastia, Little, �
� Ring, Wellington, Hamer, Yardley
Others: Gagnon, Donna Allen, Leo LaChance, Richard Dickey
� i. Consent Agenda
_ A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda
items.
� a. Council Resolve 06-263, Accepting &Appropriating a Homeless
Continuum of Care Grant from HUD
� b. Quitclaim Deed -Greene - 10 Ridgewood Drive
c. Quitclaim Deed -Greene- 1186 Essex Street
d. Quitclaim Deed - Paradis - 55 Sunbu.ry Avenue
� e. Authorization to Enter into a Cost Share Agreement with F�ocon
Mobile for Painting of Fuel Tank #2
f. Establish Trust&Agency Account to Place Flowers on Burial Lot-
� Byard
2. Bids/Purchasing
� a. Lead Abatement-Community Development-Abatement Solutions
- $15,006
SherifF said the City owns property at 251-253 Union Street. The
� investment will be more than $25,000/unit and federal regulations
require an abatement of all lead based paint hazards. Mr. Seavey, the
� risk assessor at Penquis CAP, has assessed the property and has
issued a RFP. Three bids were received and stafF recommended the
low bidder, Abatement Solutions, for $15,006. Responding to Palmer,
� Cyr explained the location of this property, which will be rehabilitated
by]ohn Karnes. Community Development Block Grant funds will be
used for the abatement process. In response to Palmer, McKay said
� when the City purchased the properry, the four unit tenants were ,
relocated, and the City would like to abate the lead while the building
� is vacant. Stone asked why this wasn't a condition of the purchase of
the properly back when the City acquired it. McKay said the purchase
price was determined by appraisals and it was purchased knowing that
any properry built before 1975 contained lead based paint. The use of
� federal funds in an amount over $25,000 triggers the abatement
process. Palmer said the purchase price for that property $140,000
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plus this $15,006 for abatement. Palmer asked about radon and other �
issues that potentially arise. McKay said the lead is the only area
required under federal regulations. A motion was made and seconded �
to approve stafF recommendation.
b. Annuai Paving — Public Works— Lane Construction - $694,037 �
Sheriff said finro bids were received in response to the RFP. Lane
Construction was the low bidder. Ring said that unfortunately the _
prices are significantly higher this year by 55%. It is approximately a �
25-30°/a decrease in the amount of distance to be paved. Most of the
costs is in the prep work and that hasn't increased 55%. The City will �
be receiving approximately $119,000 more from the state than
originally planned. Greene said that $816,000 was budget for paving
and asked why it was higher than the amount of this bid. Cyr said
that budgeted amount is never the final amount. Each year the �
Council appropriates $350,000 as part of the general fund operating
budget. In addition, the city receives from money from the Urban
Road Improvement Program and received a significantly higher �
� amount this year ($460,000). There is $100,000 from the Sewer Fund
for paving. Cyr stressed that the paving account is a non-lapsing �
account and whatever dollars that are not expended go into the next
fiscal year budget for the paving program. Ring said this is the _
contract price and doesn't include the preparation work which is done �I
with existing staff. A motion was made and seconded to approve
stafF's recommendation to full Council. �
c. Two-Way Radio System Upgrade — Police/Fire— Whitten's Two-
Way Radio - $260,630 �
SherifF said there were two bids received: RELMBK Radio of West
Melbourne, Florida, $229,808.92 and Whitten's Two-Way Service of
Brewer, Maine, $260,630.40. Whitten's was not the low bidder, but �
the Purchasing Agent recommended contract award to them. Both
responses were evaluated and found that Whitten's met all of the
specifications of the RFP whereas the other bidder did not meet those �
• specs. Gastia said that RELMBK, as part of their bid process, indicated.
they would hire Whitten's for maintenance on the equipment. Gastia
provided background on the updating of the department's radio �
infrastructure. It includes police, fire and ambulance. Once the
infrastructure is in place, the service will be used for other City �
departments as well. Improved infrastructure will remove'dead spots'
for radio communications. Farrington complimented staff on their due
diligence in researching bid responses. A motion was made and �
seconded to approval stafF recommendation to full Council.
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� d. Digital Data Recorder— Police—Automated Business Concepts -
$23,925
1 Farrington said that Automated Business Concepts is one of his clients
and asked the Committee to determine if he has a conflict of interest.
A motion was made and seconded indicating that Councilor Farrington
� does not have a conflict of interest on this issue.
SherifF said this equipment stores the radio and telephone
� communications received by the Police Department. The current
system is outdated and needs to be upgraded, and Homeland Security
� funding is available. The RFP specifically stated that the proposed
systems must use a Microsoft Windows XP operating system making it
compatible with the City's current telephone and computer systems.
� Six bids were received and the lowest 3 were evaluated. The lowest
bid did not meet the Microsoft requirements. The second lowest
bidder was Automated Business Concepts and their response met all of
the specifications. Gastia spoke about the bids received. A motion was
� made and seconded to approve staff's recommendation to full Council.
� 3. Request for Quitclaim Deed —386 Kittredge Road
Cyr provided background information on this item which had been
previously discussed by the Finance Committee. Donna Allen, the
� coordinator for the clean up project, requested through Code
Enforcement that a quitclaim deed be issued back to the Dickey's. A
� lot of progress at the property has been made in the last few months.
Allen provided a more up to date list dated July 14. Work remaining to
be done: the decision on the two large truck storage trailers, the
� length of time those are on the property will be worked out with Code
Enforcement, the Dickey's are paying a monthly fee to store their
belongings in the trailers, final relocation of the travel trailer is pending
� drying out of the soil and decision on the truck containers, relocatio�
of shed #2 depending on decision on truck container and dry soil,
metal fencing near the road will be moved if successive workout
� agreement depends on it, the bundles of heavy chain link fences would
like to be kept on the property, the brush pile will be burned and Code
has given authorization, miscellaneous items owned by the Dickey's
� are awaiting disposition by the Dickey's and pick up by relative which
all is pending on the removal of the travel trailer. Wellington
� . introduced Leo Lachance, who has been helping the Dickey's,
Richmond Dickey, one of the property owners, and Donna Allen, who
has spearheaded the efforts to date. Wellington said that remarkable
� change has taken place but he needs guidance from the Committee as
to what point the City is willing to release the quitclaim deed. All
monies owed to the City have been paid, albeit late, and therefore a
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hold on the release of the quitciaim. Wellington suggested a written �
agreement working out the remaining issue prior to the release. He
has concerns about the long term plans of the Dickey's. Permitted �
uses in the Rural Residence and Agriculture Zone are agriculture and
- single family homes. The Dickey's have not established either of the
primary uses. The Dickey's have a large amount of personal property �
stored on the site and there is not police presence. Allen would like to
have approval to leave the trailers in place until the Dickey's make a
decision on whether to build a home. The trailers could be moved to �
the back of the property, she felt. Dickey said the brush pile has been
taken care of by burning. Cyr said she has no problem releasing the �
quitclaim deed once a final written workout agreement has been put
together and approved. Wellington said he has future concerns with
the return of gathering of items at this property and he isn't certain �
that the Dickey's fall timeframe to construct a home is realistic and
doable. Dickey said he plans to build a barn for a lot of the storage.
He does understand Wellington's concerns regarding the timeframe for �
construction of the home. Allen said that no bank or charitable
organization will work with the Dickey's until they have the quitclaim
deed.� Nawes agreed with a written document with definite deadlines �
but is not comfortable with releasing the deed until there is agreement
on all sides. At the last meeting, Farrington thought there was an
agreement on what needed to be done to move forward. He said the �
ownership should stay with the citizens, if they comply with the City's
requirement. Palmer is glad the Dickey's have chosen Bangor. He ,
wondered if the property could support a house lot. Regarding the
trailers and personal belongings, he is concerned about the safety of
the items. Dickey said the lot is suitable for a home with appropriate �
testing. A well needs to be drilled. There is no City water provided on
that road. With the exception of the two trailers, Dickey said he has
made other corrections required. If he were to get all of the items �
together including financing and come back to the Finance Committee
next month, Dickey wondered if the City would allow him to leave the
trailers on site. The original agreement date was October 2006. Allen �
said the original agreement indicated the trailers could remain on the
property with the length of time to be worked out with Wellington.
When the area had been cleared and bulldozed, Allen checked with �
Wellington. Wellington said it needed to come to a committee of the
Council. Wellington said he has an idea of what Allen and Dickey need �
to bring it to a resolution: the Finance Committee meets again in two
weeks which would allow time for him to meet with Allen and Dickey
and LaChance to put a final agreement together. Cyr said if all can be �
worked out with Code Enforcement there is no reason to come back to
the Committee. Wellington will meet with the three by week's end.
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� No formal vote was taken but the Committee agreed that Wellington
will work with all invoived. Stone commended Allen for her assistance
� to the Dickey's.
4. Review of Physical Fitness Incentive Policy
� The City is attempting to promote a healthier workforce. Through the
City's Safety Program, Cyr explained that it ofFers programs to its
� employees for smoking cessation and weight loss. Staff is requesting
approval of a physical fitness incentive program. The City's health
insurance program is self-rated and anythmg the City can do to create
a healthier workforce will hopefully reduce health insurance claims
� which at some point will help with the health insurance premiums.
The proposed policy is for the City to contribute up to $50 for each 6
� months membership at a health fitness site. To assist employees in
paying the upfront membership costs, the City will upfront the entire
amount and then recoup it through weekly payroll deductions from the
� employee. The employee has to sign a form indicating that all of the
money will be taken from the employee's final paycheck should the
employee terminate City employment. Farrington agreed with the
, proposal. Responding to Farrington, Cyr said with the City paying the
upfront membership there is no tax impact to the employee. Stone
� asked the associated costs. Cyr said the program is funded through
the Workers'Comp rates, and all departments are charged a Workers'
Comp rate. Hawes said it was a good concept and a responsible
� program. She asked if the program can be monitored to make certain
that employees ga to the orientation of the fitness site of their choice.
She talked about an injured employee at a fitness center could become
a workers' comp issue. She cautioned that employees should sign off
� on this. C�rr said that can be easily taken care of by the City.
Responding to Palmer, Cyr said the City would not discriminate on
� health centers. Palmer is concerned that there are degrees of qr�ality
at various centers and doesn't want to put employees at risk. Hawes
said most centers are required to be certified. Charlie Mitchell said any
, injury sustained at a facility would not be subject to workers'comp.
Responding to Greene, C�rr said this would apply to only fulltime
employees and those part-timers who are eligible for Earned Time Off
� and probably approximately 500 employees. Greene asked if 10 or
employees signed up for one specific facility would there be a
� discount. C�rr said the City would check out a reduced rate when the
paperwork is received from the employee. Stone feels the proposal is
an open ended concept. He asked if C�rr could send out a request to
� several Bangor facilities and report back to the Committee. Cyr said
staff has looked into but it needs to be the employee's choice. Stone
disagreed because it is City dollars. Cyr said if program encouraged an
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employee to attend a center the City will have successfuliy promoted �
physical fitness. Stone said he would not support the proposal unless
it is narrowed down to three or four facilities. Mitcheil said an �
evaluation was done of the various facilities. In order to make it
equitable to all, he felt this was the best method of cost involvement.
Cyr again said that all of the sign up forms will be handled in her office �
with a specific deadline set. If a large number of employees sign up
for one specific site, she will contact the facility for a discount. From
her employment field, Hawes feels the City can't afford not to promote �
the program. Palmer believes in the concept but he is concerned
about the taxpayer's concern. He asked if the City can demonstrate �
that the expense will pay for itself and the taxpayer will see the break.
Cyr said that any financial results will not appear in the next six
months. It might be two years to see a reduction in health insurance
rates. Health insurance costs are in the area of$3M in the City's �
annual budget. The City sets its own Workers'Comp rates. Stone
asked why this wasn't discussed during the budget process. He �
expressed disappointment that it wasn't handled in that manner. Cyr
asked for a committee vote to determine adequate support for the
program. If there is, the City will move forward. It doesn't require full �
Council approval. Farrington said that Maine is one of the most obese
states in the nation. Physical fitness needs to be a priority. He doesn't
see how the City can lose in this proposal. Farrington made a motion �
to approve staff recommendation. Hawes seconded the motion.
Stone stated that he is opposed to the process at tonight's meeting
and that it did not come through the budgetary process. He thinks �
the total workers'comp amount should have been reduced and then
the full Council should decide if that amount should be used for the �
proposed fitness program. Palmer respects the will of the committee,
but he would be more comfortable with measurable results. The final
vote of the committee was 3-2. Greene said the committee voted to �
move forward with the project. He asked staff to provide updates to
� the committee as the program moves along. Cyr agreed to provide
updates each 6 months. �
5. Request to Write Off Accounts
C�rr indicated these are for real estate and personal properly accounts. �
A number have matured tax liens on real estate which cannot be
collected as they were on mobile homes which are no longer in place. �
The personal property accounts are for businesses that are no longer
in existence. Staff recommended the accounts be written off. The
information has been submitted to the collection agency. Hawes made �
a motion to accept staff recommendation. The motion was seconded.
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� 6. Executive Session — Hardship Abatement (A), (B) — 36 MRSA
, §841 (2)
� A motion was made and seconded to go into Executive Session.
� 7. O en Session — Hardshi Abatement Decisions A , B
P P C ) � )
� A motion was made and seconded to approve staff's recommendation
on both abatements.
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