REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING – MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2011
Mayor Grenier called the regular City Council Meeting to order at approximately 8:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The pledge of allegiance to the flag preceded roll call. Present: Councilors Remillard, McCue, Danderson, Evans, Rozek, and Nelson. Also present: Pat MacQueen, Corinne Cascadden, Bobby Haggart, citizens and the press.
Minutes, Previous Meetings
Councilor Danderson moved with a second by Councilor McCue to accept the minutes of the February 22 Work Session/Regular Meeting and February 28 Work Session. So moved, the motion carried.
Disbursements: It was recommended by the Committee on Accounts/Claims to pay all bills dated 2/24/11–3/09/2011 for a total cash disbursement of $1,482,484.31 Draft #1635. Councilor Remillard moved with a second by Councilor Nelson to accept the disbursement summary and pay all bills as recommended by the Committee on Accounts/Claims. So moved, the motion carried.
Councilor Rozek had a question about a rear differential that was broken on a Police Department vehicle and asked the City Manager to see exactly what took place? There also was a busted windshield so he was curious. He said that Councilor Danderson brought up the question if a city vehicle is in an accident is there any type of retraining? The City Manager replied the standard procedure is that Gorham investigates a Berlin accident but he will look into it for Councilor Rozek.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: No Comments.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
- Council Committee Reports – Safety Committee
Councilor Evans presented the following Safety Committee Recommendations:
- Wight Street Parking. To adopt an ordinance to provide no parking between signs located at the pole in front of Lot #92 for a distance of about 20’ to the south.
- Community Bible Church. To adopt an ordinance creating a School Zone with proper signage on Sullivan Street between Grafton and Coos and on Grafton between Rockingham and Cheshire Streets. Councilor Evans added they never acted on that before because there is no such thing as school zone. It is just a 15 mph zone and the reason it stretches to Cheshire Street is because Headstart is located in the old Guardian Angel School Building. The Police Department has expressed support for both these changes.
Councilor McCue wanted to make sure that the no parking on Wight Street did not interfere with business in that area. His other question was could they change the speed limit zone back if the school is no longer in existence?
Councilor Evans assured him that Mr. Gosselin came to meetings and has no opposition. Regarding the school zone, since there is no such thing as school zone, it is just creating a 15 mph speed zone, the only reason not to change it is political not administrative.
Councilor Remillard met with the pastor and talked to a teacher at Headstart and they were pleased about the reduced speed limit since some of the speeders were parents of the kids at school. Their concern was about kids crossing the street to the playground. Regarding Wight Street no parking, the Gosselin’s are 100% behind this and Police Officer Valliere is the one who suggested the no parking area to keep that area wide. It is a good resolve for everyone.
Mayor Grenier’s only issue with the school zone is the part from Rockingham to Sullivan since that is a significant hill. People will not be able to go fast enough to build momentum and that may endanger people and create a hazard instead of fixing it especially in the winter. He could support the school zone from Sullivan and on Grafton Street to Cheshire but not Rockingham to Sullivan since that could open a huge can or worms. He knows what he is talking about since he has lived there all his life. It is an item to vote up or down.
Councilor McCue moved with a second from Councilor Remillard to accept the Safety Committee report as presented and place it on file. So moved, the motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
- Ordinance 2011-01 Amending the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15, Traffic & Vehicles, Article III, Stopping, Standing and Parking, Sec 15-69. Prohibited at all times in designated places by adding “No Parking Between Signs” in front of 124 Wight Street. (1st read)
Councilor Danderson moved with a second by Councilor McCue to table the ordinance and schedule a public hearing on March 21. So moved, the motion carried.
- Resolution 2011-05 Authorizing an application to the New Hampshire Community Finance Development Authority (NHCDFA) Neighborhood Stabilization Program 3 (NSP3) for a Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($3,500,000) grant to stabilize neighborhoods affected by high foreclosure rates and sub-prime mortgage-related problems. (1st read)
Councilor Remillard moved with a second by Councilor McCue to table the resolution and schedule a public hearing on March 21. So moved, the motion carried.
- Resolution 2011-06 Amending the City of Berlin’s Speed limit map by creating a fifteen (15) mile per hour School Zone of Sullivan Street between Grafton and Coos Streets and on Grafton Street between Rockingham and Cheshire Streets pursuant to the City of Berlin’s Code of Ordinances Sec. 15-41. (1st read)
Councilor Remillard moved with a second by Councilor McCue to table the resolution and schedule a public hearing on March 21. Councilor Evans voted no. So moved, the motion carried.
- Resolution 2011-07 Authorizing an application for $250,000 of funding from the USDA Forest Service 2011 Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program for engineering services to convert the heating system at Berlin High School to Biomass. (1st read)
Councilor Remillard moved with a second by Councilor McCue to table the resolution and schedule a public hearing on March 21. So moved, the motion carried.
Budget
Enclosed herewith is the proposed City Manager Budget for FY2012. It is not substantially different than budgets for the past several years. An attempt was made to hold the tax rate flat by asking all Departments to reduce their budgets to an amount slightly below this year's FY11 budget. The School budget however, instead of being reduced or even flat is up by about 6% which makes it near impossible to flat line the tax rate because the School is by far the largest Department in the City. Even so, by reducing most of the other smaller Departments by about 4%, the overall City General Fund budget is still only up by 0.3%.
Fire and Library Telephone Purchase
Proposals were received for replacing the phone systems at the Library and Fire Departments. Five proposals were received and reviewed by the Fire Chief and Housing Coordinator. Goulet Communications Inc. from Stark was selected and awarded a contract to provide the new systems at a cost of $7,789 installed.
Police Generator Bid
You may recall that the Police Department has found that its standby generator no longer has the capability to power the Department in the event of a loss of power. The PD has been able to get Homeland Security funding to purchase and install a new larger capacity standby generator. Electrical Engineer was asked to draft specifications and we put it out to bid a few weeks ago. The bids came in last week. Six bids were received and they are being reviewed by Lee Carroll prior to award. The apparent low bidder was in the amount of $51,890 and the high bid was in the amount of $94,500. It is hoped that an award can be made this week.
241 High Street Demolition
This property next to the BJHS was demolished during the school week of vacation by Fortier Associates. Backfilling, cleanup and driveway formation will have to wait until probably April to complete. April 30th is the deadline for completion.
Coos County Annual Budget Meeting
The County Annual Budget Meeting will be held this Saturday, March 12, 2011, at the Coos County Nursing Home on Cates Hill Road in Berlin at 9 am.
Governor's Proposed DHHS Budget
Attached is a memo from Welfare Director Angela Martin-Giroux giving her take on the impact of the Governor's proposed budget on us as the safety net of last resort. There is no doubt that the State's problems will to some degree (yet to be determined) be passed along to us.
Tri-County Cap Transit
Attached is a letter from Bev Raymond, Transportation Director at TCC which transmitted a Directory of profit and non-profit transportation providers within the region. There is a web site www.grafton-coosrdd.org which includes this Directory for anyone who would like to see it. We also have one hard copy of it in the office.
WorkcampNE
I have attached information on this "camp" which is coming to Berlin this summer. It is a Christian sponsored camp and religious exercises are a required element of it. It appears to be quite a well organized program which has had significant success in a number of communities across the country. The Berlin camp will occur in Berlin from July 24th to July 30th. The students will be "camping" at the High School and will be volunteering with projects (like painting, carpentry, roofing, framing and sheet-rocking) throughout the community, many of them helping with housing maintenance and improvement for residents who are not able to carry out these projects themselves. The volunteers pay their own way for this camp
Northern Pass
Attached is a letter from Senator Ayotte updating information on the Northern Pass proposal. There will be a scoping meeting on Thursday sponsored by the US Dept. of Energy at the Mountain View Grand Hotel in Whitefield on Thursday, March 17, 2011, from 6-9pm. We have packets and other information on the Northern Pass project if anyone would like to avail themselves of it.
Legislative Matters
SB133: A vote on this bill which would re-instate the Pole Tax Exemption is scheduled for this Wednesday, March 9th. The Council has sent a letter of strong opposition to this bill.
SB156: This is the bill which would authorize retail vehicle dealers to act as agents of the DMV. It is scheduled to be heard this Friday March 11, 2011, at 9am in State House Room 100. Amendments are being proposed to tweak the bill to have a one year pilot program to see how it works and to guarantee that municipalities actually receive the revenue. The Council has sent a letter of opposition to this bill.
SB78: This bill would repeal a surcharge (which is scheduled to sunset on 6/30/11) on motor vehicle registrations which has served to increase the amount of Highway Block grant funding that municipalities receive. NHMA has taken a position opposing this at least until "an equitable substitute for funding the highway fund is adopted."
SB1: This bill has passed and become law. It repeals the "evergreen law".
Public Works Monthly Report and Manager's Time Keeping available for review in City Manager Office
Mayor Grenier asked the City Manager for the benefit of the press and public to explain what the budget impact, as presented, would be. The City Manager confirmed it would be a $1.77 impact.
Councilor McCue moved with a second by Councilor Remillard to accept the City Manager’s Report and place it on file. So moved, the motion carried
- Mayor’s Report – Resignations: Ward IV Councilor Poulin; Ward I Councilor Landry.
Mayor Grenier would like to advertise on March 9th with a terminate date of the 18th and Council election at the March 21 Work Session. Councilor Danderson confirmed he will be absent that night. The Mayor encouraged anyone in the City that wishes to try Council this is a short trial period and a great time to test the water without a long term commitment. He encouraged anyone to apply. These are challenging and opportune times presenting a nice opportunity for folks.
Councilor Danderson moved with a second by Councilor Rozek to accept, with regret, Councilor Poulin and Landry’s resignations. So moved, the motion carried.
Councilor Danderson moved with a second by Councilor McCue to accept/file the Mayor’s report. So moved, the motion carried.
- Public Comments - No comments
- COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilor Danderson pointed out that in their budget, page 9 in the City Manager overview, they should read the last paragraph carefully. If the budget is in place as it stands, he wants to remind everyone it will be quite an impact. We have to think about what oil prices will be next winter and we will likely see higher prices. Councilor Danderson asked Mayor Grenier (as one of the County Commissioners) if the public is allowed to speak at the County Commissioner meeting this weekend? He will urge the County Commissioners to look at what the Prosecutor’s budget was for last 10 years. He asked Mayor Grenier if he could get him with a copy of the Prosecutor’s budget.
Councilor McCue commend the Pollution Control Department for no accidents or incidents this month. He also appreciates the update of activities report about the Recreation and Parks Crew. Councilor McCue thanked Angela Martin-Giroux for her letter regarding the State Budget and the effect on us. The last paragraph comparing folks in Berlin as compared to folks in Nashua on the same program is interesting. Regarding tonight’s Council resignations, he concurs it is a good opportunity to get involved but the most important thing Council does is the budget. This is a good time to come on board. He regrets Councilors Poulin, Landry and Cayer leaving but anticipates we will have great people step up and join. He officially welcomed Councilor Diana Nelson on board.
Councilor Rozek had two things to discuss. First, he asked Mayor Grenier when he plans to discuss how he wants to approach the budget since there are several ways he can dissect and deal with it? Mayor Grenier replied that the back page tells it all. Council Rozek said in other words, kind of what they did last year where they agreed the whole Council would follow the entire budget process.
Mayor Grenier agreed and is happy that Councilor Nelson has budget experience. We have seven folks who know the process but two new people. He thinks they are much better off being a budget committee as whole rather than a bunch of smaller committees.
The second item Councilor Rozek wanted to discuss was that while at the Police Commissioner Meeting that he and Councilor Evans attended last Thursday, he had the opportunity to ask a question about the unfortunate fire at PL Auto parts on January 31 which was a very serious fire. One of the things he remembers hearing about was the Fire Chief making a statement about not having enough personnel to cover fires. Councilor Rozek asked the Police Department if during that fire was there any authorization to answer the Fire Department phone lines at the Police Department during fire? He asked that before because he knows they sometimes leave a qualified firefighter back at the Fire Department to answer phones. He wanted to know if, on that particular day, the Fire Department transferred the call duties to the Police
Department. Councilor Rozek handed the City Manager a copy of the written response that he received from the Police Department. It was determined that at no time during the incident were phone lines transferred from the Fire to the Police Department. Further information showed that the unit that remained to command the Fire Station was the Fire Chief. If they are short on personnel, why aren’t all the fully trained and qualified personnel out to fight a 2-3 alarm fire, especially the Chief? He wants to make a copy of the report to put in the record because Council will be listening at the budget hearings. Last year, the Fire Chief brought forth a really good presentation about being short handed but when you leave people behind that are fully trained to fight fires especially a 2-3 alarm business fire and he makes a statement in the paper that he was short handed and yet was not in attendance? Councilor Rozek said this confused him.
There being no further business before the Mayor and Council at this time, Councilor Danderson moved with a second by Councilor Remillard to adjourn the meeting. So moved, Mayor Grenier declared the Regular Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:50 p.m.
A True Record, Attest:
Debra A. Patrick, CMC
City Clerk
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