City Council Work Session
August 16, 2010
Councilors Present: Tom McCue (Acting Mayor), Councilors Rozek, Danderson, Remillard, Poulin, Cayer, Evans
Councilors Excused: Mayor Grenier, Councilor Landry
Others Present: Dick Huot, Northern Forest Heritage Park; Mike Perreault, Public Works Director; Andre Caron, Housing Coordinator; Jim Wagner, Pat MacQueen, City Manager; press
The work session started at 6:40pm
Agenda items one and two were switched.
Northern Forest Heritage Park Update
Dick Huot, Executive Director from the NHFP presented the City Council with information about the events that have taken place at the NFHP this summer. The overall numbers are up and the sight-seeing tours have started and there have been requests for chartered tours. Mr. Huot told the Council that there have been several improvements to the grounds at the park and there is a great group of volunteers working at the park. The information booth is running for the second year in a row and North Woods Rafting runs the booth on the weekends.
The next big event after River Day is the Lumberjack Festival and there is already a lot of interest. RiverFire is being organized by the Main Street Program & the Chamber. Work is already beginning on a Christmas festival. The Garden Club is very active.
Councilor Danderson praised Mr. Huot for his efforts and was glad to see things happening.
Councilor McCue commented that there is a need to be cautious about keeping the River Day & RiverFire events separate. He also asked that Mr. Huot contact Norm Charest who is now working on the Mahoosuc Initiative about the initiative to focus on the NH side of the Androscoggin River. Mr. Huot indicated he has already touched base with him.
The Council thanked Mr. Huot for the update.
Sewer Connection Assistance Request for 915 Main Street
Mr. Wagner updated the Council about the progress being made at the Research & Development buildings. He told the Council that the current sewer line connection needs to be rebuilt and the Park would like the City’s help in restoring the line. The NFHP will purchase the material. Mike Perreault, PWD stated he believed value of the City’s donation would be approximately $3000 until further design is explored. Councilor McCue stated that he felt there needed to be firmer numbers. Mr. MacQueen stated that a good way for the Council to deal with this request would be to give the NFHP a do not exceed price/donation of $3000 or whatever the Council is comfortable with and that the Heritage Park would pick up any costs beyond the donation.
Councilor Rozek commented that he felt it was okay for the City to donate labor but not actual material like sand.
Councilor Danderson made a motion to allow Public Works $3000 from the Sewer fund, seconded by Councilor Poulin. All councilors voted in favor of the motion with the exception of Councilor Rozek and Councilor Evans.
Councilor Remillard feels $3000 is a small price to pay to encourage development along Main Street, to which Councilor Poulin agreed.
Multi-Family Dwellings Discussion – Councilor Danderson
Councilor Danderson told the Council that he has been researching multifamily dwellings and the new proposed assessments from Avitar. He is very concerned about the high depreciation figures in the multifamily dwellings and the fact that the Department of Revenue will be adjusting the tax rate this fall. These multifamily properties use a lot of City services, including schooling, garbage, and police calls.
The assessments will be finalized sometime soon after an Avitar presentation to the Board of Assessors. Councilor Danderson feels that there will be an unfair burden on single family homeowners. One thing the City Council could consider would be to charge multifamily property owners a fee for trash pickup. Multifamily property owners are business owners and they should pay their fair share according to Councilor Danderson. Those property owners whose assessments stayed the same will likely see an increase of about 10-15% in their taxes in his opinion.
Councilor Remillard stated that she felt this was not a good idea because the market in Berlin wouldn’t support it for the area.
Councilor McCue wanted to see if Avitar would come to the Council and Mr. MacQueen stated he would invite them to a meeting.
Housing Coordinator Andre Caron told the Council that they need to hear from Avitar to understand what their method was to set the assessments as the values seem very disorganized.
Mr. MacQueen will contact the Board of Assessors and Avitar.
Value Engineering
Mr. MacQueen told the Council the history of the USDA loan/grant and because of the cost of the project and the fact that it is federal money being used; the project needs to be reviewed by a second company. The process is called value engineering. After a request for proposals for the value engineering was solicited staff was able to narrow down the proposals to three highly qualified firms. Further review brought it down to Underwood Engineers, a NH firm that was very experienced. Now that the City has accepted the financing package from USDA, it is time to do the value engineering. Mr. MacQueen recommended moving ahead with Underwood Engineers. Both Wright Pierce and Underwood Engineers participate in the process and two agreements need to be signed. This comes out of the grant/loan from USDA.
Councilor Evans moved to authorize Mr. MacQueen to sign an agreement with Wright Pierce and an agreement with Underwood Engineers. Both agreements total $57,000, seconded by Councilor Danderson.
A roll call vote was asked for and taken with all votes in the affirmative. The motion passed.
Request to Waive the Bidding Requirements for Pump Purchase
Mr. MacQueen told the Council that NHDES wants the third pump in working order. Mr. Perreault and Mr. Noel want to try a different pump than the one they currently have. This pump would be simpler to maintain and less expensive. The brand of the pump is Penn Valley. The City can get a three month trial and Mr. Noel wants to purchase it if the trial works out. The pump is above the bidding threshold of $15,000 and staff would like to move ahead with the Penn Valley trial and pump purchase. The pump will cost $24,000.
Councilor Danderson made a motion to waive the bidding requirements and authorize the purchase of a 24,000 Penn Valley pump. The motion was seconded by Councilor Poulin.
A roll call vote was asked for and taken with all votes in the affirmative. The motion passed.
TIGER Grant Application
Mr. MacQueen referred to the Council memo he sent with the agenda regarding the previous TIGER application from the City and surrounding communities last fall for the stimulus grant. The first round project application was not funded as the grant was very competitive. There is a second round of TIGER funds, which is still competitive. The consultants have pared down the grant to Berlin/Gorham area and the cost is down to $17 million as opposed to the $44 million from last time. The consultant Roadway Management wants to submit the application again.
Mr. MacQueen needs the Council’s commitment for 600K a year for road maintenance if the City receives the grant.
Councilor Danderson made a motion that The Mayor and Council of the City of Berlin hereby affirm their intent to fully fund the proper maintenance of City streets that are brought up to a decent standard as a result of receiving a $12,822,000 TIGER grant. It is estimated that this maintenance funding will be approximately $4,778,000 over a period of eight years following the initial project improvements, seconded by Councilor Remillard.
All Councilors were in favor of the motion and the motion passed.
The Council adjourned the work session at 7:30PM.
Respectfully Submitted
Pamela Laflamme
City Planner
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