CAPITAL OUTLAY COMMITTEE
February 25, 2010
MINUTES
The meeting of the Capital Outlay Committee was held at 7:30 pm in the Selectmen's Meeting room and was called to order at 7:36 p.m. by Chair Paul Linehan.
Members Present:
Chair: Paul Linehan
Board of Selectmen: Walter "Joe" Roach and William Heitin
Finance Committee: Alt. Edward Phillips and John Hitter
School Committee: Mitch Blaustein and Laura Salomons
Planning Board: Seth Ruskin
Finance Director: Bill Fowler (ex-officio)
Town Administrator: Benjamin E. Puritz (ex-officio)
Others Present:
Chief of Police: Joseph Bernstein
COA Director: Norma Fitzgerald
Library Director: Barbra Nadler
Fire Department: Captain Bryant Simpson
1. Administrative Items
Approval of January 28, 2010 Minutes
MOVED and SECONDED to accept the January 28, 2010 Minutes VOTED: 4-0-3
2. Review Vehicle Replacement Cycle
Chief Joseph Bernstein discussed the life span of the Police Department vehicles being that they have a primary purpose of a 3-year life span rather than the 5-year span (stated in the Capital Outlay Request that the minimum qualification is $10,000 value with a five-year life span).
Chief Bernstein stated that police vehicles are passed down to other Town departments, plus their own department for use after the vehicles are no longer useful to the department. We could keep them longer, which would depend upon the costs such as repairing and reconditioning. But if we did do this, reliability of the car, safety comes into play. Vehicles average 17/18 mph including idling time. Depending upon the condition of the vehicle we can get 2 years, 3 years and sometimes 3.5 years. Equipment is transferred to the new cars to extent feasible.
Norma Fitzgerald, Director of Council on Aging, discussed the Lift-equipped Van and the Lift-equipped Mini Bus and the van as being the weaker of the two as reported by DPW mechanic. The 2003 COA van has 44,000 miles on it and is primarily used for medical related trips. The van averages around 120 trips a month. The 2004 COA mini bus has 54,000 miles on it and used for shopping, errands, medical appointments, special events and adult center programs, etc. The mini bus has developed leaks around the windows. The bus averages around 400 rides a month.
Captain Bryant Simpson of the Fire Department discussed the cost of repairing vs. replacement of a tanker truck. Purchase of a new tank truck is proposed to replace the 25-year tank truck which has already been refurbished once and many of the parts of the truck are not in working condition and parts are hard to come by due to the age of the tank truck. The steel water tank is showing its age and has been repaired once already. The truck chassis is also starting to rust and may not be dependable too much longer. The tank truck is used in remote areas that have no fire hydrants and to supply large volumes of water for woods fires.
Barbra Nadler, Director of the Sharon Library, discussed repair cost for the Sharon Public Library. There is repeated cracking of windows on the east side of the ground floor of the building. We do not know exactly where the problem lies.
A construction company has determined a cost for the work to be estimated not to exceed $40,000. Chair Linehan questioned whether or not repairs qualify as a Capital project. Finance Director, Bill Fowler, said it could be, given the fact it is of a structural nature. An option discussed was a reserve fund transfer. Town Engineer, Peter O’Cain, will be meeting with a contractor to try and remove the window trim, in order to obtain a more detailed view of the area around the existing windows.
3. Review Balances in Previous Authorizations
Finance Director, Bill Fowler, discussed with the committee the balances of the previous capital authorizations and will further advise the committee of his recommendations at a later capital meeting.
4. Discuss Debt COC Budget Target
It was discussed that the calculated COC budget for the upcoming term would be 4.8% if all items were included at a five-year borrowing time. This is substantially below historic debt service due to the aggressive debt reduction plan. This percentage does not take into account the cost purchase amount which will impact the rate as well. Bill Fowler and Bill Heitin to confirm the spreadsheet values are correct at the next meeting.
5. Review Preliminary Budget Spreadsheet – Bill Fowler
A power point presentation by Bill Fowler re the Capital Projects proposed FY’11 was presented to the committee.
6. Future Meeting and Agenda Items
Capital Outlay Committee deliberations and voting.
Next Meeting: Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. – Selectmen’s Meeting Room.
It was MOVED and SECONDED to adjourn. VOTED: 7-0-0
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.