April 18, 2016
City Council Work Session
Present were Mayor Grenier, Councilors Otis, Remillard, Gentili, Higbee, Rozek, Nelson and Theberge; Councilor Morgan Allain was absent
Others present included City Manager James Wheeler, Community Development Director Pamela Laflamme, Public Works Director Michael Perreault, HEB Lead Engineer Jay Poulin, School Business Administrator Bryan Lamirande, Finance Director Patty Chase, Fire Chief Randall Trull, Assistant Fire Chief Thad Soltys, Fire Captain Roland Berthiaume, and Barbara Tetreault from the Berlin Daily Sun.
Volunteer Tree Awards
Mayor Grenier presented volunteer awards to Amy Michaud, Missy Wedge and Renee Stewart. Friends and family came for the presentation.
Route 16 Bid Results
Jay Poulin reported that there were four bidders for the Route 16 project: Sargent, Coleman, RM Piper and Couture Construction. Bidding was very close; however Sargent is the apparent low bidder on both the base and alternates. Bids were higher than anticipated. The low bidder is a qualified reputable contractor. The project is a complete rebuild from St. Anne’s Church to 12th Street and the mill and overlay to the college.
Mr. Wheeler indicated that there is a deficit of about $77,000 and that can likely be found in the project. His recommendation is to award the bid to Sargent. Mr. Poulin stated that the design team and contractor can get together to identify areas where costs could be reduced and those items will come back to the council for final approval.
Councilor Rozek moved to award the base bid for Route 16 to Sargent and allow the City Manager and engineer the flexibility to review for cost savings; Councilor Nelson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Bond Resolution
Mr. Wheeler indicated that the final bond application will be sent out this week and there is a draft application at the bond bank. Conventional financing will also be reviewed. At this time there is no amendment necessary.
Fire Department Discussion
Mr. Wheeler stated that he was contacted by Gorham’s Town Manager to see if the city would be interested in offering fire chief services to Gorham. Laconia and Belmont have an arrangement that works. A preliminary meeting was held to talk about feasibility. The Council was open to studying the idea further. Mayor Grenier suggested that the first meeting should be between the two chiefs who could report back to the Manager for the next steps.
Councilor Gentili commented that he would never want to see Berlin’s fire department go volunteer. He stated that he would support cooperation among the city and town and go with the consensus.
Utility Revaluation Services Contract
Mr. Wheeler recommended that the Council approve a contract for the City’s utility revaluation and general contracting with Goerge Sansoucy. The contract has been read and approved by the DRA and the contract value is built into the current budget.
Councilor Nelson moved with a second from Councilor Rozek, in accordance with Sec. 2-430, to waive the requirement in Sec 2-429 and approve a contract for utility revaluation and general contracting with George Sansoucy. All voted in favor.
Other
Councilor Nelson asked about abatement requests and Mr. Wheeler reported that he spoke with Richard Dorcett of KRT who assured him that abatements would be completed by the end of May. There were 92 requests and 28 are pending review by the Board of Assessors. The Board and KRT have until the end of the fiscal year to complete.
Mayor Grenier distributed a 6 month review of the emergency response vehicle.
There being no further business in work session, Mayor Grenier called for a five minute recess and he moved on to the Regular Meeting.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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