July 6, 2009
Work Session
Present were Mayor Bertrand, Councilors Remillard, Lafleur, Evans, McCue, Landry, Cayer, Goudreau; absent was Councilor Poulin
Others present were: Andre Caron, Pamela Laflamme, Dick Huot, Mike Perreault, Patrick MacQueen, as well as Craig Lyons, Berlin Daily Sun and Eric Eisele, Berlin Reporter.
Sewer Abatement Request Tabled from 6/22/2009 Meeting
A request for abatement from Rolande Blanchette for 660 Cheshire Street, tabled from the June 22, 2009 meeting was addressed. Mr. Perreault reported that there was a clerical error in his memo of 6/22 that reported consumption at 47 cf when the correct amount should have been 17 cf. With that correction, the ratio of the bill made sense. Councilor Landry moved to deny the request for abatement; Councilor Remillard seconded and the motion carried.
Economic Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Ms. Laflamme explained the Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) and Coos Economic Development Council (CEDC) will usually help a client apply for an economic development CDBG; however the grant needs to come through a community or county. The City is the pass through agency for the grant; however there are administration fees of about $20,000 that the City will get for administering the grant, conducting the audit and legal fees. Cathy Conway and Dana Willis will come to the public hearing on July 20 to further address the merits of the grant.
Zoning Ordinance Discussion
Ms. Laflamme reported that when the zoning ordinance was rewritten in 1999 it was removed from the Code of Ordinances and numbered in a way that is inconsistent with the City Code. By this ordinance we are returning the zoning ordinance to the code and formatting so that it is consistent with the existing code. No substantive changes have been made with the only differences being numbering, commas, and formatting. Councilor Landry confirmed that the zoning ordinance will be on the web site now that the numbering is compatible.
Donation to BIDPA
Mayor Bertrand noted that there is a draft resolution to accept the donation of the former Rite Aid building to BIDPA. Mr. Huot confirmed that the BIDPA Board voted favorably to accept the donation with the approval of the City Council and to spend approximately $10,000 in closing costs and taxes due. He went on to say that BIDPA saw this as an opportunity to take an unused building and turn it into a profitable building. There is nothing in the purchase and sale agreement that restricts BIDPA from selling.
Mr. Huot estimated that if BIDPA retains ownership, they could have a return on investment in ten years. He would like to see a restaurant or something that would bring evening activity to the downtown. BIDPA would like to see the curb cut on Main Street closed and the return of a granite curb. BIDPA would rent at market rate and the lessee would be responsible for property taxes on the portion of the building they rent.
Mayor Bertrand affirmed that the building was built in 1993 and the roof is not likely to be in bad shape. Councilor Landry commented that the front of the building is ugly. Aesthetically, the awnings could be removed or changed and the boarded windows could be opened; there is also the possibility of adding another entrance on Main Street.
Councilor Goudreau likes the idea of a potential restaurant. He questioned whether it would be worth having someone call the chains and market the building to see if there is any interest. Councilor Remillard confirmed that some renovations such as taking the awnings down, painting the trim, closing the sidewalk and removing boards on windows, would be done to the building before selling. Councilor Lafleur noted that corporate chains have restrictions on where they build in conjunction to the highway and that is yet another reason for the State to be improving the roads. Mayor Bertrand suggested that an independent entrepreneur may have an interest in the building as he is less likely to get competition from the chain stores.
Mr. Huot noted that acquiring the building follows the Master Plan by having the City take an active role in the rehabilitation of the downtown through BIDPA. Mayor Bertrand expressed that BIDPA should only do the bare minimum to rehabilitate the building for now. He added that if there is concern about through traffic crossing the parking lot, BIDPA should put in bollards to omit the traffic. If the curb cut is removed, it may close the door on another opportunity. He advocated no permanent changes that may preclude what will happen down the road.
Andre Caron cautioned that, as an owner of a downtown property, BIDPA will have to be sure not to undercut existing property owners by leasing similar space at subsidized rates. He added that it would discourage others from investing in the downtown. Mr. Huot assured that BIDPA would be charging market rate and they would first be looking for someone to rent the entire 7,000 square feet.
Chamber of Commerce Grant
Ms. Laflamme explained that there is a resolution before the Council this evening that will allow the city to accept $13,200 from the Tillotson Fund on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce to pay for the production of a video about the area. There is a TV station out of Maine called Local Discovery that is looking to expand their programming into NH. They create a segment focusing on what a community has to offer. The Chamber is a 501 c 6 and cannot accept Tillotson funds and therefore the City is being asked to act as the fiscal agent.
The funds would be used to produce video that could be used to market tourism in the area. Each segment costs $3,000 and funding will be used to produce segments for the non-profits such as the Northern Forest Heritage Park, St. Kieran Center for the Arts, Gorham Moose Tours and the ATV Club. On Time Warner the series will be aired on channels 21 and 99 in the late summer into early fall. More information may be obtained at www.ourmaine.com
Other
Councilor Goudreau noted that since he last attended a meeting, he received calls regarding the City converting positions to part time and how that will affect the NHRS. He brought his concerns to the City Manager and found that Mr. MacQueen had contacted the NHRS in late April regarding the finance director position. He informed the NHRS of the City’s intent to hire Ms. Shallow on a contract basis at 34 hours per week and told them that there was no intent circumvent the law or to hide anything. The City would only do what is legal and he was assured that 34 hours is part time which is allowable for a retiree to work.
Since the initial contact there were notices that went out from NHRS that confused matters again. Last week he had a conversation with a representative of the retirement system who said that the City could not hire an employee at part time until they had their first benefit check. Mr. MacQueen indicated that he then asked for a copy of the legal opinion or by-law that so states and NHRS admitted that there wasn’t one. Ultimately the City has a document from NHRS saying that the 34 hour work week is appropriate. Mr. MacQueen clarified that the contract with Ms. Shallow has a clause that allows either party to cancel the contract with 120 days notice.
There being no further business in the work session, a 15 minute recess was called by Mayor Bertrand.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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