City Council Work Session
June 17, 2013
Present were: Mayor Grenier, Councilors Otis, Benski, Remillard, Morgan-Allain, Higbee, Rozek, Nelson and Theberge
Others present included City Manager James Wheeler, former City Manager Patrick MacQueen, Sylvia Poulin, Police Chief Pete Morency, Linda White, Chief Randall Trull, Patty Chase, Dick Huot, Bryan Lamirande, Corinne Cascadden, Barbara Tetreault, Berlin Daily Sun, and public
Mayor Grenier opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m.
ATV Festival Update
Sylvia Poulin reported that the ATV Festival is getting a lot of marketing time through radio advertising, and a press campaign. She noted that this event highlights the City and we want to do everything possible to look our best and she is seeking help from the city to coordinate. Main Street is proposing to put on a downtown block party on Friday night to showcase the downtown businesses.
Dick Huot explained that the ATV Club is a very small group and there is a lot of work involved with the festival. The Chamber helped as a 50/50 partner and they are expecting that the festival will be well attended. The festival has an estimated cost of $10,000 to $12,000.
Chief Morency spoke to the parking problems and the violations that occurred last year. There is a new law in place that will not allow unlicensed drivers to ride without being accompanied by a licensed driver. There will be a public informational meeting on OHRV rules on July 11. He went on to say that there is a cost to having police presence for streets, block party and for parking. He estimated it could cost up to $7,000 for the entire police cost of the event and he anticipated that there would be some participation from the organizers.
Ms. Poulin described the block party as an effort to showcase downtown businesses by having restaurants downtown serve tables outside of their restaurants. The event will begin at 4:00 pm with a Ride-In; there will be a live band, contests and events until 9:00 PM. Using other organizations to help with the parking for a donation will be discussed at an upcoming ATV Club meeting.
Mayor Grenier recommended that Council Contingency cover the cost of the additional police presence up to $4,000. Councilor Nelson made the point that ATV Club also has $3,000 appropriated from the upcoming budget to the Festival. Councilor Theberge said that there will be a post meeting after the event to troubleshoot.
Paving at 3 Glen Avenue
Mr. Wheeler explained that paving for 3 Glen Avenue was thought to have a cost below $15,000, where a formal bid is not required. There were specifications for the job and four quotes were received. Councilor Rozek moved to waive the bid formality and allow an award to Central Asphalt Paving for $18,330.00. Councilor Higbee seconded and the motion carried.
Ambulance Contract with BEMS
Mayor Grenier voiced that he is very comfortable with what is being presented in the agreement with BEMS. Councilor Rozek moved with a second from Councilor Nelson to enter into a three year agreement with Berlin Emergency Medical Services (BEMS) for $25,916.66 per month for the first year. So moved, the motion carried.
Budget Discussion
Mayor Grenier thanked all council members for the time they spent working on the budget. It is not a perfect process; however the budget gets fully vetted in the public.
Mr. MacQueen distributed a sheet that showed the differences from the published budget. The proposed changes will result in keeping all of the positions originally proposed to be cut with a tax increase of .69. The City opened a bond issue and will only pay $116,000 of interest in this year; the principal is put off for one year and that helped create the additional cash flow. Next year, the SAFER grant will work to fill some of the voids. The proposed budget uses $1.2 million out of fund balance and operating surplus.
Councilor Benski asked why the county tax amount went down and Mayor Grenier explained that the valuation in comparison to the remainder of counties will not be as high as originally thought. Councilor Rozek commented that it took a lot of hard work on everyone’s part and considering the economic times, this budget includes money for road construction and keeps everyone employed. Mayor Grenier mentioned that additional funds for state education are expected and we have pledged to give the schools the money for an IT person if the additional funding comes in.
There being no further business in the work session, Mayor Grenier called to move on to the regular meeting subsequent to a ten minute recess.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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