TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Monday, November 24, 2008
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectman Present: Chairman Gerry McCarthy, Martin Gilman, Paula Proulx, Gail Ellis and Joan Funk.
Town Staff Present: Town Administrator Anthony Mincu, Water/Wastewater Department Head Dale Sprague and Fire Chief Rich Fowler
Public Present: Dottie Bean
Chairman Gerry McCarthy opened the meeting at 6:00pm.
1. Public Input:
A. Dottie Bean invited the Board and the entire town to the Dickens’ Christmas Carol show on Sun, December 7 at 2pm at the Old Town Hall, noting it is a free show for all.
2. Fire/Rescue Budget Review:
A. Gerry asked if the Board can get a copy of the FPA 1500 and 1720 to review and Rich said he would forward them.
B. Rich explained that line 01-4220-10-241 (FD physicals) is for personnel physicals so that all the apparatus drivers will be CDL licensed.
C. Rich explained that he reduced line 01-4220-20-432 (protective gear) by $4000 because he feels comfortable that the town will be awarded the 2009 Fire Act Grant for protective gear.
D. Under line 01-4220-30-740 (forestry equipment) Rich noted he will need 4” hose and other hand tools.
E. Rich informed the Board that he has been having some difficulties with Strafford County Dispatch, explaining that he has asked them to identify the codes for the calls so that they can more efficiently respond, but they will not. Rich is going to write them a letter and if he does not get a satisfactory response then Marty, Gerry and Tony all agreed to assist him.
F. Gerry asked why the Rich does not take down all the cables for the alarm system and Rich explained that he need to budget more money in order to do so. Gerry suggested disconnecting the cables and leaving them there.
G. Rich stated that he is unsure why town departments pay other town departments for services like water and sewer. Paula explained that the town started this inter-department billing so that the tax payers would be paying their fair share of the water and sewer bills.
H. Under line 01-4220-20-687 (medical supplies) Rich stated that he increased this line by $3000 due to call volume being up, though most of these costs are recouped through the ambulance billing.
I. Rich explained that the Americorp Grant is good for another year and that because of the positions the overnight response time has reduced from 8-10 minutes down to 3-4 minutes. Rich expects this grant to be good for another 3-5 years.
J. Rich explained that under line 01-4220-80-630 he needs to replace the emergency lights at the station and replace the lights in the apparatus bay. He also needs to install a fire alarm system in the station and would like the Board to consider installing a door somewhere in the hallway as you go up the stairways to stop the heat loss. Marty replied that it would probably be a compliance issue to install a door but an air curtain would be a great idea.
K. Rich explained that under line 01-4220-10-110 (full-time staff) he would like to change the captain position to a deputy chief so that he is a true second in command. This change would increase this line by $5500 but would eliminate the need for overtime. Joan asked how the duties would be split and Rich explained that the fire inspections and EMS would be the responsibilities of the new deputy chief and the operations training would be the volunteer deputy chief’s responsibility. The break down of the staff line would be $55,500 for the Chief and $45,000 for the deputy chief.
L. Rich also offered a few warrant articles for the Board to review.
1. The first one would be to take $19,000 out of capital reserve for the replacement of Engine 2 if the town is awarded the grant. Rich expects to know the status of the grant by the end of the year.
2. The next article is for a new command vehicle.
3. The third was to consider looking at other options for dispatch services like Lakes Region Dispatch. Joan asked if Rich really looked at the pros/cons of this service and Rich said yes, they have 38 communities in a true mutual aid fashion. That all the radios carry their frequencies and that they will fix all the pagers so that they are online. He also explained that they use the 9-11 call descriptors and a representative of the Lakes Region Dispatch has offered to meet with the Board to discuss their program.
4. The last article is for some new equipment so that the town can get protocol status with their paramedic. The 2009 protocols require defibulators that the town does not currently have. Gerry asked if the town is close to getting paramedic protocol and Rich replied that he has had a good paramedic on board for the past six months and that the pharmacy at Frisbee is the last big hurdle. Gerry asked what the revenue is for the ambulance and Rich replied it is about $110-115,000 but he will forward the true numbers. Gail asked if there are any grants available for this equipment and Rich said he is looking.
M. Marty asked if Rich can get the fire truck out of the firehouse museum and Rich said he is just waiting for the key from CHANCES, in which he is expecting to get tomorrow.
3. Water Budget Review:
1. Dale informed the Board that he needed to change the following lines;
262-(gas) to $4,210 because the cost of gas has come down so much
263 (diesel) to $2,400 for the same reason
266- (vehicles) to $1,750 because he might need to buy a catalytic converter for the car
268-(sodium hydroxide) to $21,900 because it was a misprint.
2. Dale explained that the 2009 water projected income is $325,000 with his bottom line being proposed at $367,000, so therefore he will be deficit spending.
3. Paula commented that the Board needs to have a conversation on whether or not they are going to keep the ½ time position in the water. The Board agreed to discuss it later.
4. Joan asked if Dale could cut anywhere and Dale said if he had to he could cut $10,000 for consultants (this is to search for other water sources), $2000 in new equipment and some from mainline renewal.
5. Marty asked if the town needs to repave Rte. 153 would Dale need to do anything in that section under the road. Dale said the sewer line should probably be checked to make sure there is no infiltration because there is a lot of water there but that the water main should be good.
6. Paula asked when the last payment for the tank repair was and Dale said he believes it was 2007. Paula stated that the $10,000 from the CRF line was moved into the enterprise fund but that she did not recall the Board voting to do so. Dale said he would have to check with Pam on this.
7. Marty asked if the new roofing is for well houses 4 and 5 and Dale said yes.
8. Gail asked what the consultant line is for and Dale explained that it for a consultant to look at alternative ground water supply and that he would like to work with the GPS and SRPC to map out all the studies he has completed over the years on ground water supplies in town and the pro/cons of each section.
4. Wastewater Budget Review:
1. Dale informed the Board that his 2009 projected revenue is $342,000 with his total proposed budget at $355,407 and therefore his will be operating with a $13,000 deficit.
2. Dale explained he needs to change the gas line to $587, the diesel line to $5,110, the vehicle maintenance line to $1,750 and the personnel line to $116,279 for the same reasons as the water department.
3. Dale explained that the $60,000 in the plant upgrade line will complete the contractual obligations with Wright-Pierce but does not include the phosphorous river study which will cost about $25,000 and has to be completed. He said that the line would need to be changed to $80,000 or the money for the river study can come from the capital reserve fund. Gerry asked if Dale has heard from the EPA and Dale said no, but in regards to the septic lagoons he does not think it will be a viable solution and that he would like to see what CMA thinks about it.
4. Marty asked if Dale has any weekly overtime and Dale said yes so the plant can be checked on Saturday and Sunday. Marty asked Dale to look at his scheduling to see if he can do something to cut this overtime out because it affects the workman’s compensation line.
5. Joan asked if there are any areas Dale could cut and Dale replied not really.
Marty Gilman motioned to go in non-public session under RSA 91A.3.II. (d), 2nd Gail Ellis. Roll Call- Marty Gilman (yes), Gerry McCarthy (yes), Joan Funk (yes), Paula Proulx (yes) and Gail Ellis (yes).
Joan Funk motioned to adjourn, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 8:42pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
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Chairman, Gerald McCarthy Vice-Chairman, Martin Gilman
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Paula Proulx Gail Ellis
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Joan A. Funk
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