Public Protection Committee
Draft Minutes of 10:00 A.M., March 11, 2009 Meeting
The Town Office Meeting Room
Abbreviations Description Abbreviations Description
BOS Board of Selectmen PS Pump Station
FF Fire Fighter WC Warrant Committee
WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant
MDWD Mount Desert Water District
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at approximately 10:03 A.M. by Chief Bender.
II. Roll Call of Members
Attendance Present Attendance Present
“Voting Members (9 total)” Citizen Rep. Dennis Shubert (DS) Yes
Citizen Rep. Mary-Lee Bayne (MLB) Yes Pub. Works Dir. Tony Smith (TS) Yes
Citizen Rep. Katie Bell (KB) No Police Chief Jim Willis (JW) Yes
Fire Chief Mike Bender (MB) Yes “Non-voting attendees/at large”
Citizen Rep. Marilyn Damon (MD) Yes Town Mgr. Mike MacDonald (MM) No
Harbormaster Shawn Murphy (SM) No BOS Liaison Rick Mooers (RM) No
NEHA Joanne Robbins (JR) Yes MDWD Mgr. Paul Slack (PS) No
Selectman Jean Bonville, Selectman Chuck Bucklin, Ed Bonville and Martha Bucklin were in attendance for the entire meeting.
III. Discussion/Approval of Minutes
Minutes of February 11, 2009 approved. 5-0 (DS-TS). MLB and JW arrived shortly after the minutes were voted on.
Agenda items taken out of order:
V. New Business
A. Highway Garage: The August 2, 2007 memo describing the deficiencies at the highway garage provided by TS to MM and the BOS was discussed, a copy of which was distributed to all Committee members. TS explained that he had been authorized to spend up to $1,000 by the BOS at the time to have a floor plan and associated costs prepared of a new facility. He went on to explain that he had not had the work done because at approximately the same time he received the cost estimate for the upgrade of the Somesville WWTP and, due to the costs involved there, he decided then was not a good time to be proposing another large capital expenditure. After reading the MMA Risk Management portion of the TS memo, ML-B said that we need to address the highway garage sooner than later.
MD explained that the minutes from our last meeting erroneously stated that she was in favor of replacing the existing building with a new one. She asked if the existing building could be remodeled to meet current needs. TS said that in his opinion, remodeling a building built in 1962 based on needs and codes at the time would be throwing good money after bad. MD did indicate that she felt the building needed a lot of major work. TS said he was getting the impression that MD thought that the construction of a new building was something that would happen very soon. TS explained that was not the case and that he anticipated such tasks as an analysis of the existing one, recommendations with associated costs to remodel the existing one to meet today’s needs and codes, preparation of a concept plan and costs
for a new facility incorporating current needs and building standards, authorization to move forward then design and construction. He briefly explained the design-build process. DS stated that we need to address the highway garage issue in a step-by-step manner.
At times, MD asked if the highway garage was okay. Each time TS stated no, but it was functional.
After much discussion of the highway garage, including how it would be paid for, JW reminded us of the Committee’s charge: to prioritize and recommend our findings to the BOS. JR stated that after the tour of the facility we agreed that the building was a top priority to be addressed. No action was taken regarding the highway garage.
Consensus: The highway garage is a top priority that needs to be renovated or replaced.
B. No agenda item presented on this line.
C. Project Worksheet: DS distributed and discussed a project worksheet to aid the Committee members in the prioritization and recommendation of public safety capital improvements to the BOS. The worksheet is entitled “Evaluation of Alternatives”. After discussing the worksheet a fifth criterion was added entitled “Creates Community”. The following points were added to the “Character” column of the worksheet per “Criterion”.
• Supports Public Safety: Added - Protects life and property.
• Financial Efficiency: Added – Ongoing costs
• Financial Efficiency: It was agreed that there should be a range between “Small” and “Large” investments.
• Enhances Towns Image: It was agreed that “Fair treatment of Town employees…..” should include the facilities and the work environment.
After DS discussed the weighting system portion of the worksheet, the Committee members scored the criteria. DS then collected the worksheets to analyze for next months meeting. All members of the Committee were very complimentarily of the worksheet.
D. FF Stimulus Money: MB discussed the so-called stimulus money available for fire departments, primarily to assist departments lacking staff members to hire new people. MB stated that, in the past, the money was presented as a five-year grant with the community cost-share increasing per year as the grant monies decrease each year. It is his understanding that the stimulus package would waive the community’s cost-share for the five-years, covering 100-percent of the cost of new FF’s.
JW discussed a similar program for PD that covers a three-year period with 100-percent of the costs of a new police officer being covered by the grant. The intention is for the community to retain the services of any police officer hired through the grant or they are obligated to repay the grant monies.
ML-B asked if we had a grant writer. MB said no, the application fro a grant would be prepared by him.
DS stated he thought the stimuli money could be used to prevent police officers from being layed off but not FF’s.
MB explained that the FF’s are paid to train and for equipment checks, but not for responding to calls. He also explained that Bar Harbor has 10 full-time FF/EMT people on staff supplemented by 20 volunteers. Members of the full-time staff are on duty for three days/24 hours then are off duty for 48 hours.
TS briefly explained that public works had applied for wastewater stimulus money.
IV. Unfinished Business
A. It was agreed that MB’s presentation of BHE procedures for requests of electrical power disruption during working structure fires.
VI. Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 (MB-JR). The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 A.M., April 8, 2009 at the Northeast Harbor Library’s Mellon Room. Agenda items are to be developed between now and then.
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