TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Monday, March 23, 2009
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectman Present: Chairman Paula Proulx, Joan Funk, Gerry McCarthy, Charlie King and Gail Ellis.
Town Staff Present: Director of Planning and Community Development Dan Merhalski and Water Superintendent Dale Sprague.
Public Present: Steve Dean, Tim Moody, Richard Stanley and Ed Leonard of Wright-Pierce.
Chairman Paula Proulx opened the meeting at 6:00pm.
1. Review of Minutes:
a. Joan Funk motioned to accept the public minutes of 1-26-09 as amended to clarify items 6a, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
b. Joan Funk motioned to accept the non-public minutes of 1-26-09 as written, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
c. Joan Funk motioned to accept the public minutes of 2-2-09 as amended, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with Gail Ellis and Charlie King abstaining.
d. Gerry McCarthy motioned to accept the non-public minutes of 2-2-09 as amended to add the time of the start of the meeting, 2nd Paula Proulx. Discussion followed in which Gerry questioned if a majority of who was present at the meeting is needed to approve the minutes or just a majority of the present Board. It was decided a majority of who was present is appropriate. Motion carried with Joan Funk, Charlie King and Gail Ellis abstaining.
e. Joan Funk motioned to accept the public minutes of 2-9-09 as amended, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion withdrawn so the video can be reviewed. Joan Funk motioned to table the public minutes of 2-9-09, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Charlie King abstained.
f. Joan Funk motioned to accept the non-public minutes of 2-9-09 as amended to add the time, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
g. Joan Funk motioned to accept the public minutes of 2-16-09 as amended for clarification, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
h. Gail Ellis motioned to accept the public minutes of 2-23-09 as amended, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
2. Board and Committee Appointments:
a. The Board interviewed Richard Stanley as to why he would like to serve on committees in town. Joan Funk motioned to appoint Richard Stanley to the Economic Development Committee for 3 years and the Downtown and Business Committee for 3 years, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with all in favor.
b. The Board interviewed Tim Moody as to why he would like to serve on the planning board. Joan Funk motioned to appoint Tim Moody to the planning board as a one year regular member, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Gail Ellis abstaining.
c. Gerry McCarthy motioned to reappoint Kristie Holtz to the Conservation Commission for a 1 year term, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with all in favor.
d. Paula reviewed that there are several committee members in town who have not reapplied to the committees and whose terms are up. They are Cindy Snowdon and Steve Henry of the budget committee, Deb Scanlon and Jeanette Colpitt of the Downtown Committee, Sylvia Arcouette of the Economic Development Committee and Barry Elliot, Randy Orvis and JoAnne Shompe of the Zoning Board.
Charlie King motioned to move up the Acceptance of the Bond for Labrador Road, the SPRC request and COAST discussions on the agenda before the Wright-Pierce discussion, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with all in favor.
3. Acceptance of Bond for Labrador Road:
a. Dan explained that the current bond for Labrador Road of $50,000 is due to expire on 3/30/09 and the developer is proposing to renew the bond at $60,000. Charlie King asked Dan if he required an engineering estimate and Dan said yes. Charlie asked if the bond amount should be set to cover the estimated costs to complete the road and Dan replied that the Notice of Decision did not include it, so the town could request a review by FST Engineering but we do not have the ability to demand it. Charlie stated that he would like to see FST Engineering oversee the balance of the project at the developer’s expense, so that Joel Moulton can tend to his busy schedule. Paula asked if the town can charge the developer for the outside engineering oversight and Dan said probably because they want
the roads accepted by the town and it will save the work in the future. Charlie King motioned to accept the Labrador Road new bond amount of $60,000, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Gail Ellis opposed.
Gail Ellis motioned to have Joel Moulton oversee the remaining work of the Labrador Road project, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Charlie King opposed. Paula asked Dan to question the developer to see if he would be willing to pay have FST Engineering oversee the remaining work, explaining that it will help them with future road acceptance. This will relieve Joel of oversight.
4. Strafford Regional Planning Commission Request:
a. Dan explained that SRPC has four projects they are proposing to the town for completion and that they would like to set up a time to meet with the Board to review them. Gail asked Dan to sit down with Joel Moulton and review the proposed projects and Dan said he would. On April 6, Dan and Joel will meet with the Board to go over their recommendations and then the Board can meet with SRPC on 4/20 or 4/13 if they need to meet earlier. Gail then asked Dan if SRPC considered the reactivation of the railroad as a possible project. Dan replied that the state has said it can be reactivated but that they are not willing to spend the funds to re-install the rails.
5. COAST Discussion:
a. Dan explained that COAST is facing possible state funding cuts and have requested that the town forward a letter of support for public transportation funding and on certain bills that are before the legislature. Charlie noted that he would not mind supporting the public transportation but he would prefer not to comment on the bills without reviewing them in their entirety. Gail asked if the funding is decreased by the state will the routes be decreased as well and Dan replied yes. Gail stated that she does not think that is fair because the town approved this year’s funding for COAST based on the current schedule. She then asked what other measures COAST has taken to reduce costs. Dan explained that they have been successful at obtaining several grants. Thy also have purchased
two new buses and hired for three new positions (one is federally grant funded). Gail questioned how that is saving money. Charlie King moved to have Dan draft a letter in support of public transportation and asking the legislature to reinstate the funding, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with all in favor.
6. Wright-Pierce:
a. Ed Leonard asked if the Board is still in agreement to move forward with providing septage receiving services at the proposed plant. Charlie stated that he would like to reconsider this $1 million improvement because the service is available in other towns and it doesn’t cost the residents anymore to utilize it. Gerry replied that the Board presented the septage receiving services with the cost and bond request at town meeting and should probably continue with it. Paula agreed, noting that the taxpayers who have private septics would most likely not be pleased if the Board was to eliminate this service; plus the town is eligible for an additional 10% in grant funding with it. There was consensus to move forward with the septage receiving services
for the plant.
b. Ed explained that another item to finalize is at what capacity the plant should be built for, though the plan will be for a 500,000 gallon build out. Paula replied that the plant was presented as a 500,000 gallons plant and approved as such, so the Board should not deviate from this. Charlie argued that the vote at town meeting was for the bond approval and that the design was not approved because it was unavailable. Paula agreed the design was not available but stated that several PowerPoint presentations were given in which the 500,000 gallon plant was presented. The Board was in agreement to plan and build a 500,000 gallon plant, noting that the second RIB might not be needed immediately.
c. Ed informed the Board that he is going to request the eliminations of a few of the studies requested by the EPA because the town’s goal is to get out of the river. NHDES has said (in a memo) that they are agreeable to the town’s plan and Ed is going to forward this memo to the EPA for reference. Also, he is going to request the EPA support the town in obtaining funding sources for the project. Ed then added that he is currently working on getting the permit from NHDES and that he will continue to push them on the subject. Also, he is working with Dan Merhalski on the Rural Development Grant and the preliminary report has already been commented on by Rural Development.
d. Ed explained that he has provided the town with three contracts; one for design of the RIB, one for design of the plant and one for Amendment 5. He noted that NHDES has requested these as separate contracts so the projects are eligible for stimulus funding. Gerry asked for an explanation of what an indirect cost is and Ed explained the overhead costs of Wright-Pierce are the indirect costs; an example would be the phone service and the accounting office. Charlie asked for an explanation of the direct rates discussed in the contracts. Ed explained this is for direct labor and that they do send detailed monthly billing reports.
Paula asked what will happen if the Board signs the contracts and the funding falls through so the project cannot be completed. Ed explained that he has heard from NHDES that the town is looking at $2.1 million in funding (50% funding and 50% principal forgiveness) and this will be a firm commitment by the first week of April. Ed then added that the contract could be amended or an authorization letter could be attached to the contract that limits the work of Wright-Pierce until all grant funding is approved. Charlie asked if the contract for the plant design has to be signed tonight and Ed said no, it could wait several weeks.
Gerry asked Dale if the short term funding is coming from the enterprise funds and Dale said yes. Gerry asked where the money will come from for the plant design contract. Ed explained that Wright-Pierce can hold off on the billing until SRF interim funding is approved. Gail asked about the interest being charged on any unpaid balances to Wright-Pierce. Ed explained that the interest is in the contract but is discretionary and he has never charged it before.
Gerry asked who sets the policy on change orders and Ed said it varies from job to job. Generally if a change is under $5000 then it is done and then approved but if it is over $5000 the change would go to the Board for approval before hand. Gerry commented that he would like the names of the sub-contractors with the bids and Ed replied that the dollar amount for the sub-contractors can be requested but the intended sub-contractors are not usually requested. Gerry then stated that Tony forwarded a memo to the Board that stated the contracts looked good but he would suggest third party review in the form of Clerks of Works on the project. Gail Ellis motioned to accept the contract from Wright-Pierce for Amendment #5, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried
with all in favor.
Gerry McCarthy motioned to approve the $107,950 contract from Wright-Pierce for the RIB design, 2nd Gail Ellis. Discussion followed in which Charlie asked if this is for the initial basins or all sites. Ed replied it is for the initial site Farm 1-A with three basins. Gail added that the money for the third phase however was included in the total project cost at town meeting. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
7. Discussion with Dale Sprague:
a. Dale asked if a member of the Board would be willing to be on a committee to review the proposals he received for the groundwater study. The committee will go through and interview the individual bidders and then bring their recommendations to the Selectmen. Gerry volunteered to sit on the committee.
At 8:37pm, Gerry McCarthy moved for a short recess, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried. Chairman Paula Proulx called the meeting back to order at 8:44pm.
8. Bids for Bulk Oil:
a. Joan questioned if there the bidding policy was followed on having sealed bids go to the Town Administrator. She then added that it seems the integrity of the bidding process would be better upheld with sealed bids go to Tony. Charlie had a copy of the purchasing policy with him and confirmed this is the process outlined in the policy. Paula noted that Tony should review the policy with the department heads at their next meeting. Charlie noted that when he reviewed the bulk oil bids he was wondering why the town was not putting bids out at the distributor level. The Board was in consensus to table this item and have it go back out to bid according to the purchasing policy and if oil is required before the bid is awarded then the department can purchase small quantities as needed.
9. Updates:
a. Bergeron Proposals – The Board agreed the information received answered all their questions and was adequate.
b. Road Postings – The Board received a memo from Joel Moulton regarding the road postings and his findings. (This memo is on file at the Municipal Offices).
c. Community Action Report – Paula explained that the town’s median ration is at 97.7 and it appears to be in line with the 2004 numbers; so the town should do well in the revaluation.
d. Nute House – Tony forwarded a memo to the Board regarding the new price for the Nute House. Gerry commented that he would like to move forward with purchasing the building. Charlie noted he would like to tour the property and Joan stated she was not in favor of purchasing it because it needs a lot of work. The Board will revisit this discussion at the next meeting.
e. FEMA Reimbursement – Paula stated that the ice storm FEMA reimbursement funds have come in to the town in two checks; one for $21,717.37 and the other for $45,556.59. She explained that the Board also received requests from the Public Works department and Police department to see if they can get their individual budget lines reimbursed with these funds. The Board was in agreement that they would like to review this with Tony first so they can see how the costs were broken down in the FEMA reimbursement request.
f. Police Department Electrical Bids – The Police Department forwarded bids for the electrical work that needs to be completed in the station. Paula asked if it would make sense to have them follow the purchasing policy like the Board is asking Joel to do and re-bid the work and the Board was in consensus to do so.
g. Stipends – Gail stated that the Board still needs to resolve the issue with the two outstanding stipends and she suggested eliminating the deputy welfare assistant and safety/health coordinator stipends. She noted that all the work being completed for these two “jobs” are being done on town time and being paid as such. Charlie stated that he agreed and that all additional duties should be compensated in base salaries. Gail Ellis motioned to eliminate the two stipends, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried with Gerry McCarthy opposed.
At 9:21pm, Joan Funk motioned to go in non-public session under RSA 91A.3.II. (d), 2nd Charlie King. Roll Call – Gerry McCarthy (yes), Charlie King (yes), Paula Proulx (yes), Gail Ellis (yes) and Joan Funk (yes).
Gail Ellis motioned to adjourn, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 10:37pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
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Chairman, Paula Proulx Vice-Chairman, Gail Ellis
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Gerry McCarthy Charlie King
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Joan A. Funk
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