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TOWN COUNCIL
BOARD OF FINANCE
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
NOVEMBER 23, 2011
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. at the Avon Town Hall, in the Selectmen's Chamber by Chairman Zacchio. Members present: Mrs. Samul, Messrs. Shea, Pena, and Evans.
II. REVIEW, DISCUSS, AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL
APPROPRIATION FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL
Chairman Zacchio reported that we are here to talk about extending the resolution for funding for debris clean-up. The Town Manager reported that we are now heading into the tenth day of the storm debris pick-up project. There are three components to this: the debris collection, the hangers and tree removal, and the Town’s ultimate cost for the removal of the debris from MH Rhodes. He reported that we are finding that with the debris removal portion we were slightly off with respect to the estimated amount. We thought we were in pretty good shape, we grossed it up, and the initial 100,000 cubic yards that we settled on was based on not only our assessment but the assessment of three separate contractors as well including the State’s contractor Ashbritt. He reported that Ashbritt
thought we had approximately 30,000 cubic yards of debris; we took a few other contractors through Town and were getting estimates anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000, we grossed it up to 100,000 and thought we were in good shape. He reported that Avon like many other towns including Farmington and Simsbury are finding that we are coming up short. He commented that we talked to Simsbury Public Works yesterday and they are coming up approximately 100,000 cubic yards short; they had initially estimated 125,000 cubic yards of debris and are at more than 250,000 cubic yards. He noted that Farmington is in a similar situation. The Town Manager reported that through yesterday we collected approximately 75,000 cubic yards. He added that we did decide to collect debris on private non-association roads and Secret Lake and Lakeview which also equates to between 10,000 and 12,000 additional cubic yards of debris that we had not budgeted originally so net we were off
approximately 20,000 to 30,000 cubic yards on the debris removal.
The Town Manager reported that where the estimate was really off was with respect to the hangers and widow makers. We used a very similar process to estimate that level of work; initially thought that an amount of 1,000 hangers and widow makers was a good estimate to work with but what we are finding now it is more like 5,500 to 6,000. He noted that Simsbury and Farmington are encountering the same issue. It is not until you get up in the bucket truck and look at these trees that you can really understand what the level of damage is.
The Town Manager reported that the third component is the ultimate disposition of the debris that has been staged at MH Rhodes and noted that if you have not seen it yet go out and see Mt. Brushmore as it is really something to behold. He reported that initially when we put together the contract with Michael’s they would haul it after it had been chipped once to the location of our choice within a sixteen mile radius at a cost of approximately $0.05 per cubic yard. We were anticipating that by the time that brush is reduced it would cost between $5,000 and $6,000 to haul it. He noted that what we did not include was the tip fee for disposal at the ultimate disposal site. He reported that Dunning Sand and Gravel had discussions with Avon and Farmington and indicated that they wanted the
material and take it free of charge and waive the tipping fee. As time has gone on and they have gotten an understanding of the scale of the material Dunning Sand and Gravel has changed their offer twice. The first amendment was that they would take it but were going to charge based on the cubic yardage of the chipped material then the second amendment was that they would take it but instead of charging on the cubic yardage of the chipped material they would charge based on the cubic yardage of the original brush collection. Chairman Zacchio asked about the logic in that. The Town Manager responded that it does not make any sense and it destroys the economics and on that point we are looking at many different disposal options and talking to different farms and vendors. He noted that we will not be able to get rid of it for free but certainly not willing to pay that level of tipping fee.
The Town Manager reported that this is a picture that is evolving daily. We have completed approximately fifty percent of the roads at this point. He reported that our goal was to hit the hardest hit areas first and we have one more area, Reverknolls, that was hit really hard to pick up but we do anticipate that it is going to start tapering off a little bit.
The Town Manager reported that as of yesterday $775,000 was going to be a good, safe number. He reported that the Director of Public Works has some additional numbers to review in terms of volume and incorporating yesterday’s collection results and a drive around with the contractor yesterday. The Director of Public Works reported that he received an e-mail from Michael’s this morning giving us the quantities and the money spent through yesterday. He also asked Michael’s for some estimates on remaining work and with the hangers we were estimating $6,000 and Michael’s says that might be reduced to $5,500. He noted that was $95 per tree and recommended that we leave it at the $6,000. He reported that Michael’s estimate on the debris is a wider range and based on
the Reverknolls area that has yet to be collected in addition to the remaining roads to be collected the estimate is another 115,000 to 150,000 cubic yards. The Town Manager reported that in terms of options what we were thinking yesterday was going with the $775,000 additional appropriation was a good, safe conservative estimate but cannot guarantee that we will not be back for a third bite; it just depends. He noted that he learned this information from the Director of Public Works this morning. He commented that to be absolutely safe another option would be to add some additional room just to account for the absolute high end of cubic yards that could be out there and go with an appropriation of $850,000. He commented that would probably be the most conservative and giving you the most room or we can continue to take this in bite size chunks and if we need it, come back to Council and Board of Finance again. Mr. Evans asked if the $775,000 include
the $100,000 for the disposal as referenced under the third item as an option. The Town Manager responded that it does and we initially included that $100,000 which represents the absolute worst case scenario for disposal but seeing that was unlikely that was also the buffer so to the extent that total cubic yardage exceeded estimates he would have a little bit of money there to fund that. Mr. Evans commented that is what he was getting at, that there already seems to be a little buffer in the $775,000. The Town Manager responded there is. Chairman Zacchio commented that is the estimate from Dunning to take the debris at a pre-chipped level which he is not interested in entertaining; Council agreed.
Mr. Gugliotti, Board of Finance member, commented that the difficulty we are having in planning and estimating in what we have to do to get a job done; it is a microcosm of what Northeast Utilities had to do and he is not exonerating that but we have to keep in mind what we are going through when we as Town Officials think about what Northeast Utilities did or did not do, not being an apologist for Northeast Utilities. He asked if Dunning said at one point that they agree to do the following there is a contract there. He did not know if we want to go back to Dunning and tell them that they agreed to something, yes it is verbal, but it is still an agreement. He added that it does not get us where we need to be but that is terrible. He commented that Michael’s has been doing a great job.
He noted that with respect to hangers he saw the trucks working this weekend taking down multiple limbs on one tree and asked if each limb is $95 per limb or one charge for working on that one tree. The Director of Public Works responded that is a charge of $95 per tree.
Mr. Shea commented that as a practical matter he agreed with the Chairman Zacchio and Mr. Gugliotti’s position on Dunning however, he did not know if going legal is going to solve our problem in the short-term. He commented that he leans toward the $850,000 even though that provides more of a cushion because the Dunning number is in there because what he would like to see potentially is for the Council to put in some checks and balances if we raise it to $850,000. He noted that his concern is not just being prudent with the money but any disruption that we will have with this contractor. He commented that right now out in Avon this is supposed to be done by November 21st; we have a great argument as to why it cannot be done. He commented that the Town has done a great job, the
contractor has done a great job. His concern is what if we cannot get a quorum for a meeting, what if the contractor has to leave, etc. He asked Council how they felt about raising it from $775,000 to a number, providing some checks and balances with sign offs by the Council Chairman so that we move unimpeded to try to service and satisfy the needs of the Town of Avon. The Town Manager noted that because it is a joint appropriation with the Town Council and the Board of Finance there should be a mechanism as well for the Board of Finance. Mr. Shea responded that there can be a sign off with the Board of Finance Chairman if their board is in agreement. He reported that his concern is this is a real moving target and we are going to have potential other disruptions. He thinks it is a bit naïve to sit here and think that we have all of the answers today; unprecedented storm, many different variables, he wants to watch every penny that is spent
but on the other hand this contractor leaves we have a problem.
Chairman Zacchio commented that he is comfortable with that approach of course with the Board of Finance’s sign off. He noted that Council has a December 1st meeting and asked how many days that $850,000 gets us. The Director of Public Works responded that Michael’s was off today to rest as they have been going seven days a week, tomorrow they are resting, and they start back up on Friday, November 25th. He noted that currently we have approximately $95,000 remaining in the funds based on the $272,000 for tree removal and we have overspent the tree hangers by $176,000 leaving us approximately $95,000. Chairman Zacchio commented that would only get us through this Friday.
The Town Manager noted that in terms of the November 21st date that was not really the date that we were expecting all of this to be completed; the significance of this date was that is the date that we asked residents to have all of the material out on the right-of-way. He noted that is why we feel comfortable coming back with this request because now everything is supposed to be out there. Mr. Shea noted his error as previously stated and he asked for confirmation that we were going to be making two passes through Town. The Director of Public Works responded that some residents have received a pass because we started picking up on the 14th so in fairness yes those residents will get a second pass but some will not. He noted that we have already closed down some of the roads
that they have picked up and videoed and will continue that process as they move forward. Mr. Pena commented that there was confusion regarding the 21st.
Mr. Harrison, Board of Finance Chairman, reported that the Board of Finance has caucused and if the Town Council is in mind to go to a little higher number he thinks the Board of Finance would be comfortable with that for the reasons that Mr. Shea articulated. Mr. Harrison commented on the pick up of debris in the additional areas in Town as noted by the Town Manager and asked if that is eligible for reimbursement. The Town Manager responded that we are picking up in two of the tax districts (Secret Lake and Lakeview) and the rationale for that is that both of those tax districts were created by special act of the legislature and the Town has been subsidizing their operating budgets from the 1930s and 1950s respectively so we think there is a logical nexus, an argument to be made that they are part of the Town
as they have line items in our budget. He reported that the areas that he is not sure about are the private roads that are not included in associations, approximately four and a half miles worth. He commented that we could try but it is probably unlikely that will be subject to reimbursement. Mr. Harrison asked if that was a huge chunk of money. The Town Manager responded that it is not and what we did with those areas was to really restrict the scope and put some restrictions on the pick-up of those non-association private roads that we did not put on in other areas so in terms of volume it should not be that much. The Director of Public Works noted that all of those non-association private roads, Secret Lake, and Lakeview have been completed.
Mrs. Samul commented on the roads being “closed” and asked if the people on those roads know that they are done. The Director of Public Works responded that we have publicized through the Town’s web site and any other means that can get out there. Mrs. Samul commented on Dunning and not being in favor of litigating but she asked if the Town had tried negotiating at all with them in that would they be willing to do something along the lines of taking “x” number of cubic yards of chips at no charge which is what their initial offer was and we will take care of the rest. The Town Manager responded that what we will do with respect to Dunning is go back to them and see if we can work something out. Mr. Gugliotti commented that if Dunning said they will do it for “x” and when you have your discussions with them you might use that as part of your discussion that they agreed to something and now they are backing off of it; that is a bargaining point for you to say legally they made an
agreement and if they want to back off they should come back in our direction. Mr. Evans asked if Dunning accepted some debris free of charge for some period of time. The Director of Public Works responded that he spoke to Ben Dunning on Wednesday or Thursday after the storm and he said that they would be willing to take chipped debris for free as he was with tree crew vendors. He noted that the following Monday or Tuesday he went over there with Michael’s to discuss the plan and that is when Mr. Dunning stated that they are getting such a volume of debris that they need to now implement a fee to dispose of it. Chairman Zacchio asked for an understanding between chipped and non-chipped fee. The Director of Public Works reported that he did not know where that came from; it is supply and demand and it went away as fast as it came. Mr. Evans commented that we should have a conversation with them and not forget that they did accept some debris
for free for a few days in helping people out and we should not lose sight of that as well.
Mr. Speich commented that he would agree that there is going to be more which goes above the original estimate and it could go as high as $850,000 or whatever is agreed on but he is not willing to necessarily every time there is an increase just not do a lot of investigative work and requested to have checks and balances. Chairman Zacchio commented that the only check we have now is our inspector in the tower checking the trucks coming in and the tallies runs by what our inspectors say are in the truck. He noted that personally he would have rather have seen it on the way out after it has been reduced to a ratio of 4 to 1 because that is going to be a real measure of what is in the truck versus the estimate that we have to give it but apparently FEMA requires the check to happen as it is going into the site. He asked the Town Manager if there are ways that we can set that line in the sand. The Town Manager responded yes and one of the things that we are cognitive of is that
coming back to you with this kind of request is subject to the bait and switch. He reported that we will continue to excerpt all of the pressure and will continue to monitor them and hold them accountable; even though it is 75% reimbursable it is still our money.
Mr. Speich commented that as far as Dunning goes, if he said he was going to do it he was going to do and if he is not going to do it then we should not do any business with them; he is a local guy who said he was going to do it, stand up to it and do it; obviously he got overwhelmed, but we have a lot of power here too in Town right? Chairman Zacchio agreed.
Mr. Speich commented on tax districts and that Pond Place is a tax district and asked why they are not being given the benefits of being able to have debris picked up. The Town Manager responded that what we had to do was determine if there was a bright line between tax districts and associations; there are Home Rule tax districts and there are Special Act tax districts. He reported that at its most simplistic level the reason that the benefit was extended to Secret Lake and Lakeview is because they are Special Act tax districts and the Town actually subsidizes their operating budget and has done so since the 1930s and 1950s as part of the Public Works section for FY 11/12 there are separate pages for both districts and we are spending approximately $38,000 for Secret Lake and approximately $18,000 for
Lakeview. He added that what we do with that funding is basically supplement their Public Works services and we even manage their contracts; we put their snowplowing contract out to bid and manage it for them. He commented that there actually is a relationship there versus Pond Place or Hunter’s Run or Farmington Woods where there is no connection.
Mrs. Bratton commented that because Secret Lake and Lakeview are Special Act tax districts they are covered by FEMA or do they still have to move their debris to curbside. Chairman Zacchio responded that their debris has already been picked up and the question about whether they will be reimbursable or not is still one that is up in the air but thought it was appropriate to handle the debris in those areas because of the connection with the Special Act tax district. Mrs. Bratton commented on the streets that are closed and asked if any of them were closed before the November 21st deadline. The Director of Public Works responded no. Mrs. Bratton asked if they have all been run through recently and then closed. The Director of Public Works responded yes; we picked up the debris, we
videoed the street, and we post the street that is now closed on our computer network so if staff in the Town Manager’s office gets calls they can refer to this list. Chairman Zacchio commented that the easy way to think about it is that we got started, said to have everything out by November 21st, if we come through your neighborhood before November 21st we will come through again, but once November 21st comes we come through your neighborhood once. Mrs. Bratton agreed.
Mr. Shea commented on Mr. Speich’s previous comments and stated that when he suggested the checks and balances and controls of the $775,000 versus the $850,000 make no mistake about it, what he was trying to implement was a business practice; it sounds to him as though we are going to approve the $775,000 without much reservation as he has not heard anybody say that is not the number, management supports the number, or $850,000. He added that what he was trying to get at was if anybody is uncomfortable going from $775,000 to $850,000; that we are able to put in the checks and balances and controls of the Board of Finance Chair and the Town Council Chair signing off incrementally on what they need and do not need. He was afraid that we would get caught short picking a number above the $775,000 thereby
stalling the process.
Mr. Gugliotti asked if the best check and balance is not our people who are in the tower who are looking in the truck so the contractor does not have any control over what is coming in and we can stop at anytime; the contractor is not gaining the system by measuring the loads differently so whatever else you put in place that is a pretty good check right there. Mr. Shea commented that his concern was if we need more money and we have to collect this group together again and when he read in the contract that the contractor can leave and that is his concern. Mr. Gugliotti commented that by going with the $850,000 if that is what it is, it is not as though that because it is there it is going to get spent because we have control over that. Chairman Zacchio commented that we could agree that he and the Board
of Finance Chair could work with management to incrementally change this figure if needed prior to Council’s December 1st meeting if the circumstance that Mr. Shea describes becomes a reality that we could act in order to keep the vendor moving; it sounds like a $100,000 a day burn rate, this allocation will get us up to and past December 1st by a day and we can make a change on December 1st if they had to. Mr. Shea commented that we would also need a quorum of the Board of Finance on December 1st if that situation arises.
Mr. Evans commented that the Town Manager references in his memo the limit on our right to appropriate for emergencies, the four percent of the Grand List; he asked in the event that we end up appropriating something in excessive of $2 million then we get the 75% reimbursement back from FEMA have we freed up room for future emergencies, is it like a revolving account that comes back and we have opened ourselves up for additional opportunities if we need to and how that works. The Town Manager asked the Finance Director if we have any experience with that. The Finance Director responded that legally she would not want to address it but logistically these are stand alone appropriations but would ask our Town Attorney to look into it. She commented that once you do an appropriation it has a life and it ends
and you would be able to do that again and invoke an emergency appropriation for a different purpose. She added that having not gone through this we should check it out. Mr. Evans asked the Finance Director if she thinks we can go up to a four percent at each appropriation and it is not a yearly limit. The Finance Director responded that we would have to look at the Charter. The Town Manager responded that he is not sure about that and he would tend to have a more conservative view of it and think that it is probably a yearly limit; it is a question for the Town Attorney but that is his guess. Mr. Evans added that when you say appropriation, let us say we go with the $850,000 and we only use $700,000 does the difference come back and say that is not appropriated when we close this out. The Town Manager responded that is just the actual cost. Mr. Evans asked when this item is discussed with the Town Attorney if and when we get our 75%
reimbursement of whatever figure he hopes that brings down our yearly limits so if we ever have emergency needs even for the balance of this year we would have that available to us. Chairman Zacchio commented that we are going to run out of head room against the four percent of the tax levy pretty quickly. The Town Manager commented that he will look into it and have a report for the next Council meeting.
Mr. Pena commented on the Town Manager’s previous comments about being at 75,000 cubic yards picked up, 50% of the roads being completed and asked how many days we envision we would go into from today. The Director of Public Works responded that we have eight tree crews out there currently and by Sunday that should be down to two tree crews and we will keep one of the elevator trucks that will be able to reach the higher hangers in the event that we come across a few. He thought that by Monday, November 28th we should be done with the hangers and trees that have to come down and with the debris he does not know; the best way to get control of this is to get these streets picked up after November 21st so they are not contributing to the cost on it. He added that by the end of
the first week of December we should be complete with the debris pick-up. Mrs. Samul commented that the Director of Public Works mentioned 50% of the roads being complete now and asked if that is 50% of the number of roads that we have in Avon or miles. The Director of Public Works responded that is 50% of the roads, including the heaviest hit. The Town Manager reported that to the extent that residents are continuing to clean out their lots they need to understand that they are on borrowed time and we really want everything out by November 21st. Chairman Zacchio commented that the key is that if it is out, and if it is not out, then you should not be adding to it.
Chairman Zacchio asked about the three options, in particular option number two. He has been involved with conversations as well as others where some companies who are local realize the market is going to get flooded with debris and chips next year but the year beyond that would be a better market year for them and they are interested in our commodity for exchange of storage on our site for the next two years at free of charge. It would be brush chipped and hauled away and remedied free of charge. He realizes that on the other side that means we have Mt. Brushmore sitting there for two years. He asked the Town Manager to talk more about those options because he thinks the Town Manager has heard from us that we are all pretty disappointed in the turnaround and the cost structure on the original path
that we thought was going to be available to us and option two seems like one that buys us more capacity in terms of pick-up with our dollars versus chipping and hauling. He also asked about option one and why is it that we can only spread the balance over six acres when we have fifteen acres at MH Rhodes. The Director of Public Works responded that we have just over eight acres at MH Rhodes and maybe the fifteen acres takes into consideration the asphalt and the building. He added that with the option of the spreading of the chips he has talked to DEEP numerous times over the last week about different options and with this option they would consider up to 6” of the chips to cover the area where the building footprint was which is sand and their reasoning for that is erosion control where the sand would not blow and that is the limit of area that you can place that and that is roughly 900 cubic yards per acre which equates to approximately 5,000 to 6,000
cubic yards.
The Director of Public Works commented that the process is evolving as we look around and the option of letting it sit for two years has gone by the wayside; we have one vendor who sent a proposal for a cost. He is currently working on those options now and hopefully will have a nice option as a recommendation for Council’s December 1st meeting. Chairman Zacchio commented that we have $100,000 built into this $850,000 regardless whether we use it for debris collection or removal. The Town Manager reported that the Director of Public Works has been talking with a couple of different farms in the area and he does feel that we will have something firmed up for Council’s consideration at Council’s December 1st meeting. He added that this is all heavily regulated
by DEEP and we find that some of the farms that we are talking with who are interested in accepting the debris are not permitted for it so we have been talking to DEEP and they are happy to talk with us and try to expedite this process but with some additional regulation involved. Mr. Gugliotti commented that he understands that to chip it a second time to get it down into a grade size that we can sell is another $100,000 which is an option and that we have not acquired that yet. He also commented that there is a sixteen mile radius where Michael’s was going to haul it and asked if the cost of that sixteen mile hike in the numbers that we are already looking at so that if we do not have Michael’s ship it out do we get some kind of reduction in the price that we are paying for the services. Chairman Zacchio responded yes, that it is approximately a nickel per yard in the contract for hauling fees and if we chose not to do any of that, we buy capacity
and head room in the contract.
Mr. Speich asked about the possibility of storing the chips on MH Rhodes site. The Director of Public Works responded that the DEEP has come out with some guidelines and what they prefer is to see it with certain separation, distances and certain heights and continually turn it and will not allow you to keep it as a mound at the site as it is spontaneous combustion. He added that another option is to bring it to the Landfill but we do not have the equipment to do so. Mr. Gugliotti commented that if we keep it there for future use we would have to incur that $100,000 expense to grind it the second time to make it usable. Mr. Speich responded that we could trade the sixteen miles as it could be $100,000 versus $5,000 to $6,000. Mr. Pena asked what the State is doing with their brush debris. The Director of Public Works responded that he has not asked that question; there has not been much information coming out like that from the State.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Shea, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council approves an additional appropriation not to exceed $850,000 for Storm Debris Removal.
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
On a motion made by Mr. Evans, seconded by Mr. Pena, it was voted:
RESOLVED: That the Town Council recommends to the Board of Finance an additional appropriation for Storm Debris Removal in the amount of $850,000, to be funded from available unappropriated General Fund Resources, per Charter Sections 9.5.1(e) and (g).
Mrs. Samul, Messrs: Zacchio, Evans, Shea, and Pena voted in favor.
The Town Manager commented in terms of the difference between the $775,000 and $850,000 so he was clear on what he was going to be doing, we are going to keep this under $775,000 to the extent that we can but if we feel that it is approaching $775,000 then he will coordinate with the Chair of the Council and the Chair of the Board of Finance to provide the rationale for exceeding that appropriation up to $850,000. Chairman Zacchio responded yes.
The Director of Public Works reported that he will have a recommendation for Council’s next meeting. The Town Manager commented that he will e-mail it out to Council as soon as it is ready next week. Chairman Zacchio reported that it is extremely important that we get communication out to make sure people know that November 21st was the date in which they should have had debris out and that it really shouldn’t be added to at this point. He added that by methodology of us trying to determine what is out there they will continually throw us off if they continue to add to those piles. Mr. Gugliotti suggested for the Town Manager’s benefit and for anyone else that people should know that this is not the Town of Avon saying that but because of FEMA regulations and the
contract and what we have to do to preserve our rights with FEMA. He would, to the extent that you can redraft this not to say “shouldn’t be added” as it almost sounds advisory and that it should read you “may not” or “can’t.” He added that this was the Director of Public Works early fear when we first talked about this was that people will be hauling stuff out of the woods so the sooner we get it done the better. He added that at this point it seems like people have had a pretty good time limit to put the debris out.
Mrs. Bratton commented that we should also add to our communication that streets will be closed. Chairman Zacchio agreed and also added that if your area has been picked up it is done and you will not see another sweep. He added that this communication should be out today with the Thanksgiving weekend coming up. Mr. Gugliotti asked about the use of the phone system that was used during the height of the storm and devastation afterwards and we received phone messages from the Town Manager’s office. Chairman Zacchio responded that the Everbridge System is a Reverse 911 System and can only be used for emergency communications. He added that we can communicate through the sites where people have signed up, i.e. the school system.
Mrs. Bratton also asked in an effort to make it clear to the public since our total price is going to be higher and we do have this chart of the previous estimates from all the other vendors if we should have an updated chart so people will know that the one we chose came in the lowest; right now his number is higher than some but an extended calculation of all of those others if we had gone with them so that he still shows that he still would have been the lowest bid. Chairman Zacchio responded that is a talking point; it is a per yard discussion at $12.76 per cubic yard and the chart was based off an estimate of $100,000 and up to 100,000 cubic yards and all of those prices would change based on the cubic yards that was identified. Mrs. Bratton asked for maybe a general statement like that to show that he
still would have been calculated as the lowest bid as she wonders if the public will question that because they may not understand it. Mr. Shea commented that Mrs. Bratton’s point is a good point but as you look at all of the large projects that we have ever done, there have been changes to that project after we have chosen the contractor and there are additional charges that go along with that and he thinks that is just a geometry given and once you choose your contractor and you go forward the same pricing is supposed to be used. Chairman Zacchio responded that maybe in the communication we identify that the change in price is the change in the scope of the material being picked up. Another comment made that might make it a little more favorable is that private roads were not in the original budget and that is $100,000 to $175,000 of this.
III. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 a.m.
Attest:
Caroline B. LaMonica
Clerk
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