FIRE STATION
BUILDING COMMITTEE MEETING (FSBC)
May 18, 2015
In attendance, in alphabetical order: John Alcaidinho, Trisha McCarthy, Vice Chairman Dennis Moran,
Mike Pivero, Chairman Dale Putnam, Jim Ryan and Jim White. Jim Holland and Joe Lingel were excused. Secretary Barbara White transcribed the minutes.
Call Meeting to Order
Mr. Putnam called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm.
Acceptance of Minutes
Mr. Putnam asked for a MOTION to approve the April minutes.
Mrs. McCarthy MOVED to accept the April 20 minutes as submitted; Mr. Moran seconded.
Mr. Alcaidinho abstained. Motion passed.
Bond Fund Information
Mr. Moran had put together a sample bond fund spreadsheet and distributed to the group. He indicated current bond rates are approximately 3-4%. This spreadsheet showed scenarios from $1-2.5 million cost for the firehouse to compare the difference in bonding amounts. It is based on the 2014 tax rate of
$25.94 / thousand home valuation or $3.36 for the town.
Mr. Moran had also included the tax impact for home valuations from $150-400,000 (which covers part of agenda item Anticipated cost of new station/potential tax impact). The tax impact of a 20-year bond would range from $11.26 - $30.03 tax increase. For instance, if your home has a value of $150,000, you would pay an extra amount of only $11.26 per year (not per month) toward the bond (each year for 20 years).
Grant Information
Mrs. White had been in contact with Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley who reported she had been looking for possible grants and has not seen anything that would fit what our needs. She indicated her Town Administrator responsibilities were extensive and unfortunately she would not have time to do grant research. Usually a person would be hired solely to conduct research for possible grants.
Mrs. White noted she had been informed Chief Alcaidinho has experience with grants; He answered he had no experience with grants for fire stations. He had done some for individual equipment, but that was not the same and in Massachusetts, which has different procedures.
Mr. Putnam brought up the fact there had been pervious discussion about bonding opportunities for a Safety Complex versus a Fire Station, and there were more bonding opportunities for safety complexes.
Mr. Putnam asked if the Chief could inquire if there had been similar bonding done anywhere in Mass.
Although he is familiar with the terminology, the Chief answered he did not know of any grants that had been done for an individual building. It was easier to find grants for a public safety building versus a fire department. Mr. Putnam indicated he thought if they housed EMS with the Fire Department, that would be considered a Safety Complex.
Ms. McCarthy corroborated the fact it was all about the terminology. In the past they had looked into grants, but were not successful since there was no full time fire person at that time. Mr. Putnam noted also they would need to know how much money they were talking about before even considering hiring someone to look for grants; and at the present time they had no budget to do so.
Chief Alcaidinho stated some important issues would need to be fixed at the present fire station in the very near future. For example, the apron of the floor under where the trucks are housed, the heating system and/or windows and the roof. The building needs to be kept up to code. Any improvements could be recouped if in the future the building is used for something else or sold.
Raffle Information
Mr. White had approached Home Depot in regard to what the process would be to ask for a donation of item(s) for the Fire Department to raffle off. What Home Depot requires for the request is: 1) a written request on the firefighter organization letterhead; 2) the purpose of the raffle; 3) a list of item(s) desired; 4) the non-taxable ID number. It was suggested to approach Walmart also for donation items.
Mr. White suggested they ask for some smaller items in addition to a grill such as smoke/CO detectors, fire extinguisher, etc. People would be more apt to purchase raffle tickets with the opportunity to win more than one item. Mrs. McCarthy offered to approach businesses in town for raffle items.
Discussion ensued regarding the Fire Department and the Fire Association activities, and if the tax ID number is still current. The Chief will get that information from the Town Administrator next week.
It was also pointed out that if donations to the Fire Department are made out to the Town of Newton,
that money would go into the Town General Fund. If donations are made directly to the Newton Fire Department, then that donation would go to the Fireman's Association and not the General Fund.
It was suggested an Open House at the Fire Station would be a good time for the Fire Department to start selling themselves to the public and have the raffle, as there had not been one in about 4 years. It was noted that any Holiday weekend would not be a good time to hold the open house as most people are away at that time. Chief Alcaidinho suggested the week after Columbus Day. Fire Prevention week is Oct. 4-10; the Open House could be on October 18th. Mr. Putnam also suggested giving away 9-volt batteries at the open house.
As it appeared the issue of the tax-exempt number might be an issue in getting a donation from Home Depot or Walmart, Mrs. White offered to purchase a grill for the Fire Department to raffle. She also has some new grill accessories to donate to the raffle. The Chief asked her to wait to purchase a grill until they found out about the tax ID number.
Discussion on Social Media
Mrs. White had sent members the link to the Social Media procedure on the Town Website, which she has been informed is in the process of being updated. From her understanding it is quite complicated, with many things not able to be done. It was the general consensus that the Committee is not ready to get on social media at the present time.
Review of plans / size of bldg / what to include
There were no plans to really look at the present time. Chief Alcaidinho noted in looking at the plans for Atkinson, it appeared that what is included on their plan would be what Newton would need. Mr. Ryan noted when the plans for Atkinson were given to him, he was given permission to use them as Atkinson was finished with them.
Mr. Putnam suggested the Chief put together his "wish list" of what he thought would need to be included in the building. Mrs. McCarthy will send a copy to the Chief.
Mr. Putnam noted they needed to move forward on getting the information together for the Selectmen for a warrant article this year. He opined the Selectmen would need it to be able to ascertain what to include on the warrant. Mrs. McCarthy suggested some sort flyer to inform the residents of what the fire department provides to them.
Mr. Moran will make some full-sized copies of the proposed plans to post on the walls of the Fire Department for the Open House.
Anticipated cost of new station/potential tax impact
This item was covered in the bonding discussion.
How to disseminate information to residents
Mrs. McCarthy noted that besides the Open House in October, another opportunity to bring focus on the Fire Department could be National Public Safety Night which is August 4.
Mr. Ryan brought up that at the NMCC meeting they had suggested having some sort of trivia questions published in the newspaper. Mr. White, Mr. Ryan and Mrs. McCarthy had been on this committee then, and will have a quick meeting to discuss it after we adjourn.
Next Month's Agenda
- Review Chief's Wish List
- Discussion for Open House / Fund Raising meal
- Discuss July/Aug meetings - necessary to cancel due to vacations?
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm. Next meeting is June 15th
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara White
Barbara White
Secretary
Fire Station Building Committee
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