TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES
Monday, July 6, 2009
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectman Present: Chairman Paula Proulx, Joan Funk, Gerry McCarthy, Gail Ellis and Charlie King.
Public Present: Jean Pease
Chairman Paula Proulx opened the meeting at 6:03pm.
1. Public Comment:
Jean Pease, representative of the Historical Society, informed the Board that the Judge Nute memorial bench is now in front of the Municipal Offices and they will be having a dedication ceremony on July 30th at 10am.
2. Town –Owned Vehicle Policy:
Paula explained to the Board that Tony did not create a draft policy because he would like some recommendations from the Board on what they are looking for in the policy. Charlie stated that the Town does not have a consistent policy on whether or not department heads should be taking home town vehicles and he is concerned that with the limited fleets, a vehicle might not be available when needed. Joan commented that the Town would have to pay mileage for department heads responding in emergencies and response time could be lengthened if department heads could not take their vehicles home. Gail stated she would like to know how often the Police and Fire Chiefs respond from home.
The Board also discussed that the policy should include requiring seatbelts, no smoking in vehicles and should consider the liability issue (for a vehicle parked at a residence and when traveling to and from home). Other department vehicles were discussed but the Board did not feel there would be reason for other vehicles to go home. Paula will direct Tony to draft a policy and review it with the department heads at their meeting on Wednesday for their comment.
3. Purchasing Policy:
Charlie stated that he felt the exemption section of the draft policy was very lengthy and questioned if alot of them were necessary. The Board agreed with his comments. Joan added that she felt the entire policy was lengthy and questioned if the Board wanted to go back to the original policy and just make some changes to it. Gail commented that the current policy is good and the problem was that it was not being followed. She added that emergency purchases should have a Purchase Order within 24 hours with an explanation of the emergency and that the state bid list might not always be the most economical. Gerry commented that the draft policy covers most everything though some of the limits might need to be changed, plus he feels that all professional services should be approved by the
Selectmen.
The Board agreed to work with the draft policy and make some changes. Gail started by stating the last sentence of the document giving the Town Administrator authority to waive the policy should be changed to read that the Selectmen have the authority.
a. Exemption Section – The Board agreed to scratch all but #s 1, 2 and 11 and add to #11 that it “should be done within 24 hours with a reason as to the nature of the emergency.”
b. under #4 add “may be made” from approved vendor list.
c. Section B – Charlie asked if there should be a minimum amount of written communication for proposal soliciting like posting on the Town website. The Board said no because they feel the threshold limits it. Charlie responded by stating that he feels by posting the $1000-$2500 jobs on the Town website it would make the postings readily accessible to local contractors. The Board agreed to add to this section “written communication and posting on Town website” or “must be solicited at a minimum by posting on the Town website.” Of this same section #8 should be stricken, #6 should have “most responsible” stricken and #7 should be changed to read “in conjunction with the Town Administrator” and
“may reject and/or approve any and all proposals. Also in #9 the word “should” needs to be changed to “may be.”
d. Section 3 – The limits for this section should be $2500-$7500. In the second paragraph a statement to “add minimum postings for proposals should be circulation and Town website unless waived by the Board of Selectmen.” The Board discussed that they would like to be able to waive posting in certain circumstances, like a $3,500 Dozer part. It was decided that a department head could call the Board members to see if a posting could be waived. Town Administrator should be changed to the Board in #4 and #7 should be removed. Also, in #8 the “should” needs to be changed to “may be.” It was then noted that a general statement needs to be added to state that the state bid should be used when it is the
most cost effective and “bid” needs to be changed to “proposal” throughout the document.
e. Section D – The Board was in consensus that this section should be for purchases in excess of $7500 and therefore “$10,000” needs to be changed to “$7500” throughout this section. The Board decided to eliminate “reviewed by Town Attorney” and to add “posting in circulation and on Town website.” #3 should read that the Board shall award any request for proposal, #4 should read that the Board shall have authority to waive and #5 should have “most responsible” removed. Then the Board decided to replace the current #7 with a new one to say that “RFPs shall be approved by the Board before posting.”
f. Section E – The Board was in consensus to eliminate this whole section because all consultants and professional services should go through the Board regardless of cost.
g. Section F – After discussion the Board agreed to strike this section and throughout the document where it says “approved vendor list” strike the word “approved.”
h. Section G – eliminate section
i. Section H – eliminate section
j. Section I – eliminate section
k. Section J – good as written
l. Section K – It was decided to change to “Proposal process” in the title of this section and throughout the section and to eliminate the second paragraph in its entirety. It was also discussed to be careful to note some items like fuel should be proposed separately, as well as a lot so can get the best price.
m. Section L – Charlie asked if there is a dollar amount threshold in which the Board would want to review the RFP before it is published. The Board agreed they would want to review all RFP for $7500 or more. This section needs to add statements that RFPs should be put out for lots or itemized purchases for items like motor oils and that any required walk through proposals should be conducted with all potential vendors at one scheduled time.
n. Section M – Gerry stated that “for said projects” needs to be added at the end. Also the last paragraph of this section should be eliminated.
4. Time Card Policy:
a. Charlie commented on Joel’s policy, stating that if an employee has to pencil in a time then they should notify the department head with a reason as soon as possible and the Board agreed with this.
b. Charlie noted that he feels time cards are the best way to document work hours. Joan brought up that some department heads might have an issue with time cards because they keep their overtime in check by utilizing comp time and would not be able to do some with time cards. Joan added that this could potentially cost the Town a lot of overtime and she feels Tony should discuss this with the department heads to see how the policy would affect them. The Board agreed they would like Tony to ask the department heads if they have any reasons why hourly employees should not use time cards. It was also noted that “Ghost Punching” needs to be defined. The Board agreed to discuss this policy again at a future workshop.
5. Discussion on Direction for Planner Position:
The Board was in consensus that they were surprised to see resumes for this position when they have not yet decided what to do with the position. Gerry asked if Tony had looked into Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) for a per-diem planner and Charlie replied that he looked into it but they do it seems they might not have the personnel. Joan stated that she feels the position could be cut down to part-time because of the economy and people are not building. Charlie disagreed and stated that he feels the position should be kept full-time because the department has already been reduced and during this lower building time the planner’s time could be used to work on revising the Ordinances and other Regulations, plus Dan did a lot of grant writing. Charlie stated that he contacted
professionals that have worked for the Town in the past and asked them to contact Tony if they are interested in a part-time contract with the Town until a full-time planner can be hired. Joan commented that she felt Charlie overstepped his bounds by contacting Mike Garrepy as the Board had not yet discussed whether to put a full-time or part-time person in the position and no one Board member should make these types of contacts or decisions without first discussing it with the Board. The Board agreed to have Tony make a list of people interested in a part-time contract to present to the Board and to post the temporary part-time position. Gerry stated that if the Board would like to stay with a full-time planner he would like to have reasons to justify the full-time hours.
Charlie King motioned to post a temporary part-time planning position with the terms to be determined, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Charlie, Paula and Gerry in favor, Joan opposed and Gail abstaining.
Charlie King motioned to reconsider the previous motion so it can be changed to eliminate “temporary”, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Gail abstaining.
Charlie King motioned to post for a part-time planning position, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with Gail abstaining.
6. Follow-Up/Other:
a. Joan asked for the Municipal Office renovations list to be put on the next workshop agenda.
b. Paula stated that a letter from Shirley Cameron came in regarding the Quilting Class she teaches as part of Explore. In the letter, Mrs. Cameron stated that she would like permission to continue with this class at its current location after the Explore program ends in August. The Board decided that they would like to talk to Tony as to why and how the Explore Program is ending and agreed to put this item on the next agenda.
c. Charlie asked if the Police Chief came before the Board with what he would like to spend the additional JAG money on. Paula replied he did not and that Tony approved the list/proposal. Gerry then asked how Rochester could use the JAG money for “filing of records” when he had asked for this to be done the first time around and the Chief said the money could not be used for such items. He then asked if the cameras, safes and firearms have been received yet from the first JAG proposal and no one knew.
Joan Funk motioned to adjourn, 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 9:37pm.
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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