December 1, 2008
Work Session
Present were Mayor Bertrand, Councilors McCue, Lafleur, Goudreau, Evans, Cayer, Donovan; Councilors Poulin and Remillard were absent. Patrick MacQueen, Debra Patrick media and public were also present.
Health Care Discussion
Mr. MacQueen explained that Primex is the City's primary health care provider and they are offering a 2% discount on next year's plan if the City agrees to allow Primex to hold employee wellness workshops in the next year. He went on to say that municipalities receive insurance policies from one of two sources, NHMA or Primex and most cities go back and forth between the two depending on price.
It is the intent to ask the Local Government Center for a quote on insurance and we would hope to get that quote prior to having to sign on with Primex. Both groups are always very close in price.
Meeting Schedule through Holidays
If there are no pressing issues, the Council could forgo the meetings on 22nd and 29th.
Other
Combining Water & Sewer
Mayor Bertrand commented that there was a committee in place with the last administration charged with looking at consolidation of water and sewer. Only one meeting was held and the committee did not achieve any result. Mr. MacQueen indicated that both the water and sewer departments had begun to gather information.
Mayor Bertrand noted that the committee should be resurrected. The prior committee consisted of the Mayor, Paul Grenier, Rick Fournier, Lucien Langlois, Tony Urban and David Morin. Council members did not oppose the Mayor's suggestion to re-look at the consolidation and hurdles that would have to be overcome to make a consolidation happen. The Mayor will talk to the existing members to see if they are still interested in serving and if there are citizens that are interested; the issue could be looked at again.
Burgess Street Transaction
Mayor Bertrand reported that the Water Works was not contacted when the City sold a Burgess Street property to Fortier Fortin and he asked that they BWW be contacted in the future so that if there are outstanding water bills they could be brought to the forefront.
Coos County Thank You Letter
The Mayor stated that he received a letter thanking the City for its early payment of the county tax.
AVRRDD Alternate
Mayor Bertrand noted that Councilor Cayer is the alternate to the AVRRDD and he asked that the Council confirm the appointment during the regular meeting.
AVRRDD Budget
Councilor Lafleur intidated that he put copies of the AVRRDD budget in the Council's boxes. The AVRRDD budget public hearing is Thursday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. at the post office.
Taxi Ordinance
Councilor Goudreau questioned the taxi ordinance that is scheduled for final passage. He expressed concern about taxis that are registered in another state and operating in Berlin and he wanted assurance that insurance held by the taxi company is valid in this state.
The ordinance is clear that driver's have to have a NH driver's license.
Another concern of the Council was that the Oversight Committee would be making decisions without the consent of the Council and that perhaps a member of the Council should be on the committee. Additional discussion acknowledged that the Oversight Committee puts the responsibility of denying a driver based on the information in the criminal background check on a group of qualified staff members and the appeal to that decision would be to the City Council.
Councilors questioned whether a Gorham based company would have to be licensed in Berlin if they deliver clients to Berlin. Ms. Patrick clarified that the taxi company should be licensed in the community where they pick up clients.
Mayor Bertrand addressed several grammatical issues in the proposed ordinance. He suggested removing the requirement for a license plate number on the certificate of insurance. It was also proposed that language be added to be certain that insurance on the taxi is valid in the State of NH. Councilors conceded that the ordinance would remain tabled until December 15 when the ordinance with the proposed changes would be presented.
With no further business in work session, the meeting moved into the regular session.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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