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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-13 Government Operations Committee Minutes ' ' GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE ' MINUTES � August 13, 2003 t Councilors Present: Gerry Palmer, Richard Greene, Anne Allen, Nichi Farnham, David Nealley , Staff Present: Bob Farrar, John Hamer, Frank Comeau; Mary-Ann Chalila, Claire Bolduc ' Others Present: Linda Packard, Bill McGlaughlin, Alison Bankston , The meeting convened at 5:10 p.m. � Consent Agenda 1. Request by Eastern Maine Medical Center to lease parking spaces at ' Cascade Park. EMMC seeks to lease 30 spaces Monday through Friday for September and October and 48 spaces from November through April, at a rate of $33 per r space/month. This has been an annual request for several years and assists with generating revenue for maintenance/capital projects at Cascade Park. Staff recommends favorable consideration of the request. ' The Committee a roved the re uest. PP q ' Regular Agenda � 2. Request by Literacy Volunteers to expand current services at Park Woods Transitional Housing. Chalila discussed the original intent to install a daycare center at Park Woods , when the housing was first established, however the City was unable to find a partner in this project. Literacy Volunteers stepped forward and initiated an afterschool reading program for children and adults. This program has grown ' over the years, and we have a request from Literacy Volunteers to take over a second rental unit at Park Woods, and to pay full rent for the space. Staff concurs with the request and recommends that rental payments be placed into , the Children's Park Woods Trust Fund. i 1 ' � Alice Bankston of Literacy Volunteers presented information on the program. She said that the program operates out of an office downtown, and said that this , would give an opportunity for the program to save money by combining offices and improve services. Sally Thompkins of Literacy Volunteers discussed their partnership with Park � Woods. Claire Bolduc of Park Woods discussed the positive aspects of the program. � Allen asked about the funding, and Chalila noted that the Children's Trust Fund was set up for the children and related programs and the proceeds from , Randolph Drive were set up for capital expenses in the Park Woods Trust Fund. Greene wanted to know what the rent would be. Chalila said it was $575 per ! month. The Committee approved the request. t 3. Council Ordinance 03-252 Amending Chapter 260, Signs, Section 13, , adding new Subsection F to establish Park Sponsorship Signs. Farrar said that this amendment codifies and refines the existing Adopt-a-Park program into the sign ordinance. The amendment also establishes different , levels of sponsorship fees and sets the physical standards for the signs. This will take effect June 1, 2004. Allen said that she thou ht we had chan ed the Ado t-a-Park lan ua e to ark � 9 9 P 9 9 p sponsorship. Hamer said that we have changed the terminology in the � ordinance. Allen asked that we change the Council Action form to remove the Adopt-a-Park language. Hamer said that we could amend the ordinance by substitution. � Linda Packard of Packard ]udd Associates presented the re-designed park sponsorship signs to the Committee for consideration and approval. She noted l that the sign is now a vertical sign that is a little larger than a pedestrian sign, but not quite as large as a vehicular sign. Greene wanted to know if there was a provision in the sign policy to update the ' sponsor name if it changes. Packard said that the signs would be designed to be updated rather than totally redone if a sponsor's name changed. � Nealley expressed concern about the anonymity of the signs per sponsors. Palmer noted that Davenport Park will not have a sign, however it may have a � sponsor. � , ' ' Comeau said that we may lose sponsorships with the new signs, based on , sponsors wanting their signs visible from the highway, and their company logo on the signs. Comeau said that we may list the park sponsors on the city website and recognize the sponsors yearly in an ad in the Bangor Daily News. , Nealley said that he thinks that park sponsors should be able to have their name listed as it was before. � Allen questioned the size of the sign. Allen challenged City staff to be more creative in how we handle the park sponsorship to be more than erecting a sign. , Palmer said that we could find creative ways to recognize park sponsors, such as ' listing names on the BAT/Community Connector. He said that we have the best park system in the state of Maine. � Hamer reiterated that the ordinance is written so narrowly due to a citizen's concern about commercialization in the parks. � Greene said that we are discussing changing a billboard to something classier. He agreed with the various ideas expressed about how to recognize sponsors. , Farnham wanted to know the difFerence in the categories of parks. Comeau said that we have three levels of sponsorship $1,500, $1,OOQ and $700 for categories 1, 2, and 3, and that we do have sponsors in each category. Hamer said that we ' use categories so that if changes need to be made in the future, we can do so by order rather than amending the ordinance. ' Nealley wanted to know in what way we are going to link the marketing strategies to the program. He said that if we do not have it listed as part of the � program, then we may lose sponsors. Allen questioned whether the sign would be readable from a passing car. � Packard said that people should be able to identify the signs from riding by. She said that this is less of an advertising opportunity than a community support program. � Farnham wanted to know when the new program would start. Comeau said it would start July 1, 2004, which gives us time to explain the program to existing ' sponsors. Farrar suggested that staff discuss and prepare a recommendation for the park , sponsorship recognition program and return to the Committee at a later date with this. ' � ' ' The Committee recommended this item to Council with the proposed "Park Sponsorship" language in piace of"Adopt-a-Park." , 4. Council Ordinance 03-253, Amending Chapter 231, Public Parks, Section 8 adding new subsection D to allow Adopt-a-Park signs. ' Hamer said that this was a companion plan to Council Ordinance 03-252. The purpose of this amendment is to altow Park Sponsorship (Adopt-a-Park) signs in , City Parks. The Committee approved this amendment to Council. � 5. Council Ordinance 03-266, Amending Chapter 291, Vehicles and Traffic , by adding new article 9, Ice Cream Trucks. Hamer said that this amendment creates an ordinance regulating the licensing , and operation of ice cream trucks. In summary, the ordinance requires trucks to be licensed annually, requires vehicle inspection and driver background checks, establishes a variety of operating regulations aimed at ensuring safety of � patrons, establishes sound restrictions and other related requirements. Nealley expressed his disappointment that this item had gone this far, because ' every time we pass an ordinance to regulate and try to control more free enterprise, that we mess up the free enterprise system. Nealley said that if he had an ice cream truck, he would not be driving in Bangor neighborhoods ' anymore. He said that is the goal of the gentleman who came before Council, and we have done a great job of accommodating that one individual. He is not , supportive of things that do not allow Bangor to be competitive with other communities. Palmer noted that it is not just one individual and that there are others who have � expressed similar opinions. He said that the Committee is trying to be fair and balanced. � Bill McGfaughlin said that he is the only ice cream vendor operating out of Bangor for AG Ice Cream. He said that there were two other companies, one in � Franklin and one in Hermon. He said that each individual driver is his own business, and can not afFord to pay $165 out of their own pocket. By the time a driver pays for gas and cost of ice cream, he may take home $150 per week. He ' said that where this issue started and where it is going are two different directions. He said that it started because the noise was bothering Mr. Gleason, , but what's next. Is the carpenter who uses his skill saw during the daytime next, because the noise ruins someone's piece of mind? He said that there are sounds ' � , , , of summer and sounds of winter. He said that he doesn t really like to hear the ' piow backing up when plowing the street, however he doesn't expect the street not to get plowed because he doesn't like the sound. He said that some of the things in the ordinance are good, but he said that he and his drivers are already ' very safety conscious. He wanted to know the definition of"full summer" in Maine. He said that they start selling in April and have been out the least number of days since 1976, due to inclement weather. ' Palmer wanted Hamer to present the fee structure and to explain the definition of full summer. Hamer said that he was asked to remove the fees from the Ice ' Cream Truck Ordinance and put them under the business license ordinance, with all other licenses and fees. He said that a full summer fee is $100 and the ' holiday license is $20. The reason there is a difference in definition is because this Committee recommended a separate fee for those events that may be a one-time thing for the year, and fu{I summer really means anytime during the ' year. McGlaughlin said that he would not have his truck out during the winter months, , so he really is paying for a full year and operates about 100 days a year or less. Hamer said that the fees are generally based on administrative costs and a full ' summer license at $100 is less than a normal business license which is up to $165. ' Allen said that these trucks have never been licensed. McGlaughlin said that the trucks are licensed by the State Department of Agriculture. ' Palmer said that the full summer license is approximately $1 per day. ' McGlaughlin said that Brewer charges $20 for a ficense. Allen wanted to know if staff checked with any other communities throughout the state to determine what they charge for licenses. ' Barrett said that what we did was to examine all of our fees and determine our actual costs. He said that there are two items $55 for the City Clerk to process ' the paperwork and $22 for a Police Department inspection, so $77 total. The three day, individual holiday license is $55 for the clerk, however we suggested $20. ' Allen wanted to know what the $55 fee consists of. Barrett said that it for the time it takes to process the paperwork. Barrett said that there is no volume , discount in determining the fee for licensing. , , , ' Greene wanted to clarify the numbers he heard earlier $165 to $175. Barrett said that the recommendation that was in his last referral to the Finance , Committee was $20 for a 3-day holiday permit and $75 for the annual permit. Barrett said that $165 is what the City charges for a transient seller. ' McGlaughlin said that the gentleman running the Monster Truck Show at the Auditorium asked him to come and sell ice cream. He said that Mike Dyer told ' him that we had to pay $200 for two days to sell ice cream. McGlaughlin said that he finds it hard to believe that the staff for the City of , Brewer charges $20 and it costs the City of Bangor $55 to do the same thing. Barrett said that the Council could certainly set the fees at whatever they want. ' This figure simply represents our actual costs with some adjustments based on individual situations where there might be some hardships. One of the concerns , that has been expressed is that fixed location vendors pay a fee and property taxes. Allen wanted to know what we are doing to be competitive in the state. Barrett , said that we have done some analysis with other communities, however it is difficult to compare due to different requirements. Barrett noted that our , licensing fees are significantly lower than Portland's. He said that the fees in Maine could not exceed the costs in providing the license. McGlau hlin said that the Old Town charges $20 and Bucksport charges $10. He ' 9 said that they have state inspected vehicles and it seems redundant to have , police officers inspect the vehicles. McGlaughlin said that he makes 20-40� profit on his products and can not increase the price to cover fees. He said that this could end the ice cream truck business in Bangor, as it does not appear that ' Bangor promotes small business. Palmer said that the City's intent is to regulate the business to make it uniform and safe. He said that these are only recommendations and that we would be sending out , letters to make others aware of what we are doing so that they can have an opportunity to come before the Finance Committee and Council to express their , opinion. Allen said that we need to be competitive and we are not business friendly. Nealley said that the Council should make the fee a little more pertinent to this , type of business. He wanted to know if we needed to inspect the vehicle as well, � after the state has already done so. ' ' , ' i is t in w rk t ward m re re i nalization then Greene said that if the C ty ry g to 0 0 o g o , ' we should take into account the competitiveness of the fees. Greene wanted to know if there was something we could do to decrease our costs. Barrett said that we could examine our criteria for inspection as compared to the state's ' inspection. Barrett noted that we also do a background check on the individual that is operating the truck. McGlaughlin said that he does a motor vehicle check and a background check through a private agency. , Palmer said it is important to look at our cost, before we try to lower the fees. ' ' Allen made a motion that we move to Council everything except the rates. Barrett said that the way this ordinance is written it does not refer to the rates, so that if we went forward with this ordinance we are not establishing fees. ' Greene seconded the recommendation. ' The Committee recommended the ordinance to Council. 6. Council Ordinance 03-267, Amending Chapter 194, Noise, Section 9 � Noise Restrictions— Sound Trucks. Hamer said that this is a companion to the ice cream truck ordinance and would � reduce the decibel level for sound trucks from the current 75 dBA to 65 dBA, to make this noise level requirement consistent with the proposed Ice Cream Truck Ordinance noise level. ' Palmer wanted to know if the trucks currently make more noise than 65 dBA. Hamer said based on recent readings by the Police Department, they do not ' make more noise than 64 dBA. ' Nealley commented that it is not consistent to say that the music from an ice cream truck is offensive and needs to be turned down, and a motorcycle can rev up its motor so loud that you can't hear yourself talk. , McGlaughlin said that his truck would not normally emit louder than 65 dBA, however on a cloudy day, his truck might be higher than the 65 dBA. He said ' that we have a law now that says 75 dBA for a limit, and it's not being broken, then why are you trying to fix something that isn't wrong. ' Hamer said that his understanding from the police department is that on a cloudy day the decibel level would not rise that much or enough to be measurable. He said that there is a decibel level for motorcycles. ' , � ' . ' McGlaughlin wanted to know if we were going to be lowering the decibel level of motorcycles. Palmer said that this ordinance deals specifically on ice cream ' trucks and that is where our focus needs to be. McGlaughlin said that he was just looking for discrimination. Nealley said that he did not think this change was necessarily enforceable. ' Greene said that he originally brought up the concern of lowering the decibel level based on Sgt. Roach's decibel level readings of the ice cream truck. , Greene wanted to know what we needed to do to bring this into compliance so that all are equal. Hamer said that the only ordinance we have states 75 dBA for � sound trucks. The ordinance that we are considering states 65 dBA as a limit and could be adjusted. ' Greene moved to keep the sound ordinance at.75dBA. The Committee recommended the 75 dBA level to Council. , 7. Maine Municipal Association Ballot Barrett said that every year we are asked to cast a ballot for the officers and , executive committee members of the Maine Municipal Association. He presented this year's ballot. He discussed why he and Councilor Rohman, who is currently ' on the executive committee for MMA, would recommend Bill Bridgeo for vice president. Allen wanted to know where the candidates stand on the Governor's tax , proposal. Barrett said that Dana Lee is very supportive, Bill Bridgeo thinks that ' MMA should continue to work with the Governor. Nealley said he supports Barrett's recommendation. He said that he has known ' Dana Lee since college, however he feels that Bridgeo would better represent the types of issues that Bangor would have. The Committee approved staff recommendation to cast Bangor's ballot for the , slate of officers as presented, including Bill Bridgeo for vice-president. The meeting adjourned at 7 p.m. ' , ' ' '