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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-17 Finance Committee Minutes � � 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 � � � 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. � . � � \ � 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 � � . � 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. � . � � � 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 � � , � 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. . � , � � 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. � � � � � � � � � . � � � � � �