Chilmark Board of Selectman / Finance Committee Minutes January 25, 2006
Members present:
Board of Selectmen: Warren Doty, Frank Fenner, and Riggs Parker
Finance Committee: Kathleen Cameron, Sarah Shipway, Doug Sederholm, William Randol and Frank Yeomans
Town Hall: Melanie Becker, Tom Wilson and Annette Anthony
Members absent: Marshall Carroll (Chair), Katie Upson, & Tim Carroll
Public:
Bonnie George- MV Cultural Council
Joyce Bowker – Up-Island Council on Aging, Leslie Clapp – Island Council on Aging, Norman Freed & Cathy Thompson – Chilmark Library
Jane Slater – Historical Commission, John Flender – Cemetery, Dennis Jason – Harbor Stanley Larsen – Shellfish.
Doug S. called the meeting to order at 7:30pm. He said that Marshall C. was on vacation and had asked him to chair the meeting. He said the first order of business was to review and approve the draft minutes from January 18, 2006.
There was a brief general discussion led by Riggs P. to correct misspelled words, which included the name of Dr. Weiss as well as Walter Delaney. He added that the name of Skipper should have included his last name, Manter. Frank F. added that the abbreviation for T.M. should be spelled out as Town Meeting as well as IEP, be spelled out as Individual Education Plan.
Sarah S. clarified that a question proposed to the Members about the possibility of receiving a Charter School Budget was asked and then answered by Roxanne Ackerman.
There was general discussion about Emergency Management data in which David Norton was asked about the number of Volunteer Fire Fighters. Sarah S. noted that the figure was incorrect and made changes to reflect the true number of active Fire Fighters.
Riggs P. noted that the Beach Superintendent’s increase was not 10% but only 7% which included a Step increase and a 4% Cola.
Riggs P. made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected, Kathleen C. seconded the motion. Doug S. asked if the vote was unanimous, all Members voted aye, so approved.
Cultural Council:
Bonnie George said that she was there to ask the Town of Chilmark to contribute
$ 1,500.00 to the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council. She said that Oak Bluffs had given
$ 500.00, and West Tisbury $ 1,000.00. She said that the State had cut its budget by about 15%. Warren D. asked if this was a new item, and noted that he thought it was not originally in the budget requests. There was a brief, general discussion about whether or not there used to be a line item in the budget book for the Chilmark Cultural Council.
Warren D. explained that the Chilmark Cultural council had changed to the MV Cultural council and how that came to be.
There was a general discussion led by Doug S. about what the State’s contributions had been in the last fiscal year, what their contribution would be this year and what each Town was prepared to give. Bonnie G. noted that in 2003 & 2004 the Chilmark Cultural Council had received over $ 1,500.0 from Chilmark and that they were only asking for $ 1,500.00 this year. She noted that this money request would help make up the deficit from the State.
There was a general discussion about the percentage of requests from the Cultural Council, how many of those requests were from Chilmark, and who determined what each recipient received. Bonnie G. named many Chilmark recipients such as Tom Bena’s Film Festival, the Yard, the Chilmark Library and the Chamber Music Society. She noted that the Chilmark Women’s Symposium used to receive money from Chilmark, but no longer does.
Doug S. said that the Members should consider this $1,500.00 request as a possible Warrant Article or put it into the budget. Tom W. said that the Town used to have a line item in the budget for the Chilmark Cultural Council and that he could reinstate that line and adjust it to be for the MV Cultural Council. There was a general discussion among Members on whether or not to make this $ 1,500.00 request a Warrant Article or to put it directly into the budget and keep it there from year to year. Frank Y. asked for the old figures from past years, which was not currently available.
Doug S. asked if anybody wanted to make a motion regarding where to put this request. Kathleen C. made a motion to put the $ 1,5000.00 request directly into the budget and Riggs P. seconded the motion. Frank Y. said that before that decision and vote was made that he felt that they should be able to see corresponding paperwork which would better help them to determine where the money should be put.
Doug S. stated that if the Finance Committee decided not to do this, and since a motion was made and seconded, that it would have to be withdrawn.
Riggs P. withdrew his second and Kathleen C. withdrew her motion. Doug S. stated that the motion to place the Cultural Council’s request into the budget was withdrawn.
UP- ISLAND COUNCIL ON AGING:
Joyce Bowker said that biggest increase to their budget was the 4% COLA, which was set by the West Tisbury Personnel Board. She noted that there was no increase to the staff or hours. Frank F. asked what the Island Council on Aging was and Joyce explained that it was an All Island Council, as apposed to just the Up-Island Council. There was a brief discussion about the combined budgets for the Council’s on Aging. Tom W. said that the total figure of $ 86,882.00 for FY07 was both the Up-island COA and All Island COA budgets combined. He said that Chilmark’s share for Up-Island COA was $ 77,153.00.
Warren D. explained how the assessments were divided by the 3 up-Island towns and noted that Chilmark’s contribution was 34%, based on the total number of elderly residents in each town. Currently Chilmark has the highest number of elders 60 years and older. There was a general discussion about the aging population in Chilmark, what their basic needs were, and how many Chilmark households were served in 2005.
Doug S. asked if there were any questions and there were not.
Joyce B. said as part of her job, she writes grants. She said that she received approximately $ 3,000.00 in grants from the State for each town. She said the money received helped defray the cost of the heating and electrical bills. Warren D. asked Joyce B. if she thought that the Town was well enough prepared for any major snowstorm. Joyce B. said this year the 3 most needy elderly households were not on the Island this winter. She did say that she would like to see the cell phone service for Chilmark improve, noting that last years major snowstorm made it difficult to check on elders in Chilmark, and that if there was better service they would have been able to reach them via cell phone.
There was a general discussion about the recent changes in the Town of Aquinnah, which allowed them to install antennas on top of the telephone poles enabling the Town to receive cell phone network without the installation of an ugly cell phone tower, and how the same procedure might work for Chilmark.
LIBRARY:
Norman Freed said that the budget presented was strictly for the operating expenses for the library. He said the items that had changed were beyond his control such as salary increases, heating and electricity costs. He stated that the Friends of Chilmark Library contributed financially to the Library for any special items needed. He did note that the Library is used for the Chilmark School’s Library and for many programs offered by the Library, as well as, for the townspeople to use to hold meetings. He noted that circulation was up by 50%. There was a general discussion about what percentage of the circulation increase was for books, what was for audiovisual and what was for computer usage. Norman F. stated that the biggest increase to the budget was the electric bill. He said that they had underestimated the cost
to run the dehumidifiers all year round. He did note that the Trustee’s had approved the installation of a generator on site and assured the Members that the main cost of the generator would be paid for from the money the Library had left remaining in their building fund.
Doug S. asked why they were running the dehumidifier year round and Cathy T. explained in detail why this was important to the Library’s collection. She also noted that the year round dehumidification technique was needed in order for the Library to be properly insured. Frank F. asked if the Library had had an energy audit and Norman F. said yes and that the Library had received a $ 15,000.00 reimbursement from Cape Light Compact for and energy efficient building.
Doug S. noted that currently the Library had already expended approximately $ 6,000.00 of the $ 8,000.00 FY06 electricity budget. Norman F. said that he had not accounted for the dehumidifiers and that the cost of electricity had increased a fair amount this year.
Kathleen C. asked if the Library had considered using solar panels and Norman F. said that in the initial building plans they had not because they were not able to get an agreement. There was a general discussion about the benefits of solar usage and the possibility of reevaluating the possibilities of the Library using solar in the future.
There was a brief, general discussion about the library renewing books automatically versus over the phone, and if the Library considered being open for all or part of the day on Sunday. Cathy T. explained the situation on renewals and noted that currently they have the ability but do not have the willingness of the staff to open on Sundays.
HISTORICAL COMMISSION:
Jane Slater said that the Historical Commission had budgeted for $ 500.00 as it does every year. She said that this year that the Veterans Plaque would be erected and that the $ 5000.00 in the budget would be used for expenses pertaining to that plaque.
There were no questions for Jane.
CEMETERY:
John Flender said his budget was pretty much the same, not much change. He noted that the mowing was up a bit. He said that they had acquired new plot markers this year and that they had been putting in level roads.
HARBOR:
Dennis Jason stated that his budget was up by about $ 20,000.00 and he was quickly corrected by the Members that his budget was only up about $ 9,000.00 from last year. Dennis J. said he had 1 new line item, Administrative Assistant. He said that the department had grown and that Richard Steves had been doing the clerical work that he used to do, but no longer had time to do.
Dennis J. said that the Harbor Dept. started a new policy this year of collecting fees in the winter instead of the spring. Riggs P. said the Harbor Dept. had been very successful with this new collection policy and that only 8% of the 250 applicants had not returned their money and application on time. Dennis J. said that the new policy had improved the Harbor’s cash flow and that by having the applications returned to them in the fall it did not distract him form other items taking place in the spring when he is very busy.
Frank Y. asked Dennis J. if the Assistant Harbormaster was also the Assistant Wharfinger. Dennis J. said that Richard Steves had started as the Asst. Wharfinger and now was one of the 3 Assistant Harbormasters.
Warren D. asked how the charges for the electricity were. He stated that some of the
$ 10,000.00 in the electricity line item does come back to the Harbor Dept. and Dennis J. said yes. Warren D. said that he felt the electric fees should be adjusted for the up and coming summer due to the increase in electric rates. Riggs P. noted that the Harbor would be installing software that allowed them to track exactly what the Harbor would be collecting and then they would be able to compare that to the bills. He said that they really don’t know, at this point, weather ort not the Harbor is covering their bills. He noted that Dennis J. thought that by comparison of other harbors they did.
There was a general discussion about the fees collected for the amps used at the Harbor. Warren D. reiterated that the Harbor charged boats $ 10.00 per day for the use of the 50 AMP. Frank F. noted that in 2004 and 2005 the expended amount of electricity was about $ 8,600.00. He noted that the Harbor may get money back through fees but that the Harbor had to appropriate all of the money up front and he felt that the $ 1,000.00 increase this year was not enough. Dennis J. explained why he only increased the electric budget by $ 1,000.00, stating that there were high energy rates this past summer, but that they had decreased as well as the decrease in fuel. Frank F. noted that the budget was about 15% over what it was in 2005. Warren D. said that he thought they should make the electricity line $ 12,000.00. Doug S. said
that they would change the $ 10,000.00 to
$ 12,000.00. Doug S. asked Dennis J. what the Harbor revenues were last fiscal year and Dennis said about $ 55,000.00. He asked about the Harbor boat maintenance and if there were any major problems, repairs or concerns. Dennis J. said no, not really, a little bit of work, nothing major.
Frank F. asked what “Other Purchased Services” were and Warren D. said that it was the Harbor's share of the cleaning contract and how its cost was divided between the Beach, the Comfort Station and the Harbor. He noted that the Harbor's portion is $ 23,000.00 of the total $ 40,000.00 contract. Frank F. asked why the line item for uniforms was reduced and Dennis J. said that everybody got uniforms last year and that they will all be returning this year, therefore no need to purchase new ones. He noted that the Town only provided a Baseball cap and polio shirts.
SHELLFISH:
Stanley Larsen stated that the Shellfish budget was less this year than last year. He said that the only increase to his budget was the shellfish group and the cost of living.
Warren D. said that the Shellfish Group had actually gone down, due to the appropriation from the state.
Doug S. noted that this budget was $ 1,800.00 less than last year.
COMFORT STATION:
Frank F. said that the Town had put out bids for the Comfort Station contract and had received a lower bid and accepted it.
There was a brief, general discussion about the cleanliness of the Comfort Station over the past summer and that the Board of Selectmen had received a letter form the Board of Health stating that the Comfort Station was not as clean as it had been in previous years.
There was a general discussion about what services the contract included. Warren D. noted that the $ 36,900.00 included cleaning the bathrooms and collection of the trash, which included going to the filled dock and pick up of 1 or 2 barrels along Basin Rd. He noted that they did collect trash at the beach as well. Frank Y. asked if part of the Vendor’s fee included the tipping fee and Warren D. said no. He said that the Town has a roll-off dumpster at the Landfill that is just for the trash from Menemsha. He said that the Vendor dumps the trash twice daily in the dumpster and then weekly the Refuse District picks up and dumps accordingly. Warren D. noted that he tipping fee is paid by the Beach Dept. and the Harbor, and the approximant cost for the Harbor was about $ 7,000.00.
Doug S. noted that the electric budget was under control and Kathleen C. said that is was probably due to the solar panels, which generate the hot water needed. Frank F. noted that the 3-year average was a minus figure.
Doug S. adjourned meeting at 8:45 pm
Respectfully submitted
Annette Anthony, Assistant to Executive Secretary
APPROVED 2-8-06
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