TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Monday, May 4, 2009
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectman Present: Chairman Paula Proulx, Joan Funk, Gerry McCarthy, Gail Ellis and Charlie King.
Town Staff Present: Town Administrator Anthony Mincu, Town Clerk Kathy Seaver and Public Works Director
Public Present: Victor Lapierre
The Board met at 5:30 to review and sign the bills and manifest. Chairman Paula Proulx opened the meeting at 6:03pm.
1. Public Comment:
NONE
2. Review of Minutes:
a. Charlie King motioned to approve the previously amended public minutes of 3-23-09, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried.
b. Joan Funk motioned to approve the public minutes of 4-6-09 as amended, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried.
c. Joan Funk motioned to approve the non-public minutes of 4-6-09 as amended to reflect two sets of non-public minutes for the night, labeled A and B, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor
d. Gail Ellis motioned to seal both sets of non-public minutes for 4-6-09, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried.
e. Charlie King motioned to approve the public minutes of 4-20-09 as amended, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with Gail Ellis abstaining.
3. Public Works Department (Director Joel Moulton presenting):
a. Drainage Study – Joel explained that the area in and around Water St. is where he would like to have the drainage study completed. The scope of work would include; 1. analyzing all major outfalls and compiling a master drainage area in an approximate 300 acre area, 2. analyzing the micro systems or lack there of and 3. providing a written analysis and recommendations. Joel explained that a study of this nature would support proposals for grant funding in the future and that he would like to use the FEMA reimbursement money to fund the study.
Charlie noted that before he would approve a Request For Proposal (RFP) being advertised he would like to see a comprehensive scope of work. Joan asked what the early quotes for this work were and Joel replied $30-$40,000. Joan then stated that she believes this study would be a useful tool but that in these economic times there are several other important projects these funds could go towards. Gerry questioned what money would be available to do the projects identified by this study and added that maybe it would be better to do some actual repairs in the area instead. Joel replied that he has worked with a lot of engineers to save the Town money over several projects and reminded the Board that they already approved the 12% state reimbursement funding to go towards the Orange St. drainage project.
Gail stated that she would be in favor of requesting firm prices for the study. Charlie questioned if it would make sense to split the scope of work in half. Joel said he can set up the RFP to get pricing to evaluate each side of Central Street and then a bottom line for the entire project. Charlie then asked Joel if he feels he is capable of writing the RFP and Joel replied yes, it is his job. Paula commented that the Town has a lot infiltration issues that effect the Wastewater Treatment Facility and questioned if the study would also help Dale Sprague (Wastewater Superintendent) with identifying the areas in need of improvement. The Board was in consensus to have Joel create a detailed RFP and forward it to the Board for review with recommendations on how it should be posted.
b. Trash Label Bids – Joel posted the request for bids and received the following bids; Walnut Printing Specialist, Inc. ($5150), Allegra Printing & Imaging ($5656.40), Bob’s Tropphy and Awards ($7500), TKO Printing & Sign Co. ($10,815), and C & K Printing Service ($10,730). Charlie asked for the status on the missing labels and Joel said he turned in all the information he had to the Police Department in March. Charlie then asked when Joel will be out of labels at the landfill and Joel replied in 2-3 weeks. Gail asked if the storage of the labels has been moved to a more secure area and Joel said yes. Joan Funk motioned to award the trash label bid to the low bidder, Walnut Printing Specialist, Inc at $5,150, 2nd Gerry
McCarthy. Motion carried with all in favor. Tony informed the Board that the Town website now has a tab for titled RFPs where requests will be posted.
c. Paving Bids – Joel posted the bid request and received the following bids; For “Full Depth Repair (3 inch pavement) Durell Paving ($21/sq. yd), R.D. Torno ($21.80/sq. yd), and GMI ($28/sq. yd) with all pricing to include removal of existing asphalt and fine grading prior to paving - - For “Shim and Overall Paving” Durell Paving ($98/ton), R.D. Torno ($98.80/ton) and GMI ($150/ton) with all pricing to include grinding, milling of joints and surfaces. Joel stated that he will also come to the Board before commencing on each project. Joan Funk motioned to award the paving bid to Durell Paving with the full depth repair quote of $21/sq. yd to include removal and grading and the shim and overall paving quote of $98/ton to include grinding and milling of joints and surfaces, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried with all in favor.
d. Bay Road Bridge – Joel informed the Board he is still waiting to see if the Town was awarded Economic Stimulus funds for the project but he would like to move forward with the second stage of engineering in the meantime. Paula asked what the second stage would include and Joel explained it would be for the preliminary engineering of the conceptual design and he has $35,000 in his bridge maintenance line for this. Gerry asked if Joel is planning to put a damn on one side to build up the Mill Pond and Joel said he will look into it. The Board discussed that the first phase at $35,000 was completed last year, this phase will be another $35,000 and then the final construction engineering will be the third phase at another $35,000. These expenditures will meet the 80/20 State Bridge
funding program requirements even if the Stimulus money does not come through. Charlie noted that he was told the Town is looking at a short-term cash shortfall and he would like to make sure the cash is available before commencing on the contract. Tony said the shortfall is because the tax bills are going out late due to assessing issues and the school payment might be late as well. Joan Funk motioned to go forward with the second phase of the Bay Road Bridge reconstruction project contingent upon the funds being available, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Charlie King abstaining.
e. Other –
1. Gail asked Joel if he looked into grant availability for a waste oil furnace and Joel said he will.
2. Gail asked Joel if he contacted Dan Auger of Sheepboro Road about his concerns and Joel explained he just received the information last Thursday and will be reviewing it but that he would call the resident.
3. Charlie asked Joel if he is working on taking care of the waste metal and Joel said yes.
4. Gail asked if the Tall Pine culvert situation was resolved and the answer was no.
5. Gerry asked for an update on the work at Edgerly Park and Joel replied he will be working with Keith and Rick to remove stumps up there this week. Gerry then asked about the fencing repairs and Tony said he did not have a price yet but they are looking into some temporary repairs.
f. Landfill Update – Joel explained that CMA is trying to extend the permit for the Town another year but if they are not successful then they are going to propose applying a daily cover and vegetation, though the town won’t be able to accept waste after June 2010 without the extension.
g. Landfill Loader – Joel explained that he is having a lot of issues with the loader at the landfill and in his opinion it is not worth repairing. Paula asked where it is on the CIP and Joel said it is not, his plan was to replace the highway garage loader this year and put the old one at the landfill.
4. Cistern Policy:
Charlie stated that based on comments by legal he thinks the Planning Board should work with the Fire Chief to create a comprehensive policy and then forward it to the Board of Selectmen for comments. Then those comments can be considered and the Planning Board can adopt the policy and apply it consistently to applications. The Board was in consensus this was a good idea.
5. Purchasing Policy:
Paula explained that Tony is going to draft a purchasing policy with the recommendations from the department head meeting and then will forward it to the Board. Joan commented that it appears there is a lot of phone calling for prices and she would just to make sure the policy is being followed. Gerry commented that some wording needs to be added that says the governing body (Selectmen) will approve actual purchases and that the amounts need to be increased. Charlie agreed with Gerry and commended Tony for creating a RFP tab on the website, plus he would still like to see an approved vendor list created. Gail commented that she liked the wording and structure of the sample Claremont policy but not the dollar amounts and the only thing she found it was missing was the purchase orders need to
approved before actual purchases.
Paula asked if the schedule for the purchase orders in the current policy is attainable. Tony said right now he gets the purchase orders on Monday and signs then by Tuesday and then they go in a folder. Paula asked how the department heads know if they have approval or not and Tony said that unless he specifically contacts them the orders are approved, but a lot of them are for actual daily operational expenses. Paula commented that the policy may need to distinguish between what needs prior approval and what does not based on a dollar amount.
Gail brought up a purchase order from Kathy Seaver that appeared to be after the fact but Kathy explained this is for a service and an estimate and the actual bill has not been received yet. Kathy also explained that the tax bills are not going out last and that they have always gone out between May 15 and 31, with the typical send out date being the third week in May.
Paula asked if the Town has a centralized common stock still and Tony said yes, for sanitary and paper products. Joan commented that she would like to see the Town join in with the schools for these purchases because it would save a lot of money. Paula then asked if state bids are always the lowest price because the policy states the lowest bidder policy does not apply to state bids. Tony said they aren’t necessarily the lowest bid but that state bids are usually for specialized items. Gail commented that the policy should be the same even with state bids involved. Paula then stated she would also like the part of the policy that says the requirements are waived in an emergency situation to be changed to say at least a verbal approval must be given by the Town Administrator.
6. Follow-Up on Ongoing Issues:
a. Gail said she would like to review the draft credit card policy so that it can be approved.
b. Gerry asked if the RFP for the clock repairs went out and Tony said not yet but it will this week. Charlie asked for three references to be included on the RFP.
c. Paula asked for an update on the Town Clock agreement and Tony replied that he is addressing some concerns brought up by a resident. It was also discussed that the passageway stabilization will be part of the RFP but the Church will be responsible to maintain it after the repairs are made.
d. Paula asked for an update on the sprinkler system for the Old Town Hall and Tony said they are commencing the work next week and will be done by June 15.
e. Paula asked for an update on the Police Department electrical work and Tony said the RFP is going out on Tuesday.
f. Paula informed the Board that she spoke with Scott Roberge about the 288 minutes that Marty Gilman had questioned on the cell phone bill and he explained it was a personal call but that those minutes are free because they are within the same network. The cellular phone contracts were then discussed and Tony said the bills have been for two months lately and he is awaiting a single bill to verify the $274/month price he was quoted for all the lines.
7. Any Other Business To Come Before the Board:
a. Dan Merhalski forwarded a memo to the Board regarding the Wastewater Treatment Facility. The Board agreed it was something that has to be done as Dan outlined so tat the bid process is not held up. Tony added that NHDES has issued approval. Charlie King motioned for a five minute recess so the Board could read the memo but the motion failed for lack of a second.
Charlie King motioned to follow Dan Merhalksi’s recommendations for posting and hearings by the Planning Board for the wastewater treatment facility, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with Gail Ellis abstaining.
b. The DWI grant that the Police Chief wrote was approved.
c. RSA Development, LLC. Served the Town with an appeal to a ZBA decision.
d. The Board received a draft of the LeClair Easement Deed. Charlie asked if there should be a signature line for acceptance by the Town.
Joan Funk motioned to adjourn, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 9:53pm.
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