Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall Meeting Hall.
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~Present:~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~Andrew Russell, Wayne Devoe, H. P. Garvin, III,
Christopher Kerr, Janet Sturges, David Woolley
Alternate Members:~ David Kelsey, Judy Read, Maggie Ward
Doris Johnson, Finance Administrator
Nicole Stadjuhar, Finance Director
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Absent:~~~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~ David Woolley
~~~~~~~~~Alternate Members:~
Guests: Skip Sibley, Selectman
Bonnie Reemsnyder, Selectwoman
Ruth Roach,
Steve Anderson, Vice President, Applied Geographics, Inc.
Michele Giorgianni, GIS Project Manager, Applied Geographics, Inc.
Ann Brown, Zoning Enforcement Officer
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Mr. Russell called the meeting to order at 7:54 p.m.~ He stated that Mr. Woolley would not be present this evening, therefore a motion was made by Mr. Devoe, seconded by Mrs. Sturges to have Mrs. Ward vote for Mr. Woolley in his absence. Motion carried.
Mr. Russell explained that Information Technology request should have been added to the agenda under Old Business. A motion was then made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mrs. Ward to have the Information Technology request added to the agenda. Motion carried.
Mr. Russell also said that a Zoning personnel issue also needs to be added to the agenda. A motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Devoe to add Zoning personnel issue to the agenda. Motion carried.
Information Technology – GIS Request
Mr. Anderson summarized the background of our GIS mapping technology. The GIS applications and software are constantly changing. It consists of layers that include contour maps, street layout, property outline and further details. He presented a powerpoint presentation explaining the GIS developments and accomplishments for the town of Old Lyme to date. He stated that that he has been involved with Old Lyme since 2004, and that the town awarded and signed with AppGeo in 2005. The visible geography includes building footprints and points, edge of road pavements, bodies of waters including rivers, driveways, trails, unpaved roads, railroads, utility poles, etc.,
The site has generated use since December 2009 (which is the slowest month of the year), nearly 80,000 hits per month; 351 visitors (with 6 internal to town hall), 11 visitors per day (7 days a week average), 2,770 maps per month generated, which breaks down to 92 maps per day generated, 7 days a week.
Board of Finance Meeting January 19, 2010
GIS can be used in many departments and functions. The Town Clerk’s office can utilize the tracking of Dog licenses, election district maps, assembly district maps, school district maps, post office coverage maps, street dedication database, etc. The Public Works department can track storm sewers/drains mapping, storm and sewer network tracing, infrastructure improvement planning, street light mapping street sign mapping and tracking, logistics and tracing of snow plow routing, pavement management, etc. The Assessor can track tax mapping, support of revaluation, sewer usage permits, abutter’s notifications and public access to maps/data. In the Building office, it can be used to confirm permit applications (zoning, wetlands, flood, etc) and building permit mapping. The Planning and
Zoning could tract violation/complaint mapping/tracking & reporting, development application support (zoning, wetlands, flood plain, soils), support at public meetings, open space mapping and planning, and special projects. Public Safety – support of dispatching (location and best route), incident database, sector maps, accident location, firearm license database, crime analysis, hazardous material storage mapping, water system/hydrant location mapping, etc.
Discussion ensued on staff training and the effective of present use of GIS applications. Mrs. Roach stated that she included in the 2009 budgeted figures within the new 2010 budget, however, there may a plan included to interface with Vision Appraisal. The IT Department is requesting $12,000 to update the website and provide more hours for training, ideally someone from the Land Use department, in the use and understanding of all the applications of this product. Mrs. Roach stated that the Town made a $40,000 commitment when the initial package was purchased and it is now up to the Town to fulfill this commitment by getting someone fully trained to make the most out of this program and to stay current with the upgrades and changes as they occur. After further discussion, the board felt
that additional information and time lines and a five year budget projection would need to be developed in order to budget for future years.
Zoning Personnel Request
Mrs. Brown distributed an agenda on a special Zoning Commission meeting regarding a Low Impact Development: She stated that a presentation was presented by Steven Trinkaus, a Consulting Civil Engineer whose expertise is in the design and application of Low Impact Development strategies, such as Environment Site Designs, storm water treatments and necessary analyses to assess and mitigate impacts of storm water on the natural environment. Mrs. Brown also spoke to the board in regards to the new Zoning secretary, Kim Barrows, who was hired last year, and is doing a great job. She requested that the board consider approving an increase in salary as of January 1, 2010.
Minutes of December 15, 2009
The minutes of December 15th were reviewed. There were several typographical errors noted.
A motion was made by Mr. Devoe, and seconded by Garvin to approve the minutes as modified. Mrs. Ward abstained as she was not present. Motion carried.
Board of Finance Meeting January 19, 2010
Chart of Accounts/Financial Reports
The Financial Report was reviewed in detail. Mrs. Studjuhar stated that under revenues, the report does not include the January payments received. Mrs. Johnson detailed the expenditures stating that the expenditures are up to date and there is no area of concern within the report.
Budget and Budget Schedule Overview
Mrs. Stadjuhar stated that binders are being compiled. The board members felt that the budget is the Selectman’s budget and the budget should be given as an entity rather than piecemealed as it has been in the past.
After a discussion on the readiness of the budget materials for next week’s meeting, a motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mrs. Ward and passed unanimously to cancel the meeting of Jan. 26, 2010. Motion carried.
Mr. Russell inquired if the budget letters have gone out to department heads and the various spending agencies. He stated that the goal for this upcoming budget season is to have all the requests submitted prior to the beginning of budget season. Mr. Russell asked the board members to contact him if there is a desire of change in specialist area.
Old Business
Bid Policy Update: Mr. Kelsey e-mailed a draft of proposed procurement policy for consideration. It was decided to move discussion of bid policy until the February 2nd meeting.
New Business
Bus Barn Building: On December 23rd, twelve construction bids were announced at the public bid opening ranging from $498,000 to $772,000. The Bus Barn Building Committee and Anchor Engineering then assessed the three lowest bidders; CT Carpentry ($498,000), Machnik Brothers ($521,400) and S. Carpenter Construction Co. ($564,400). This project primarily requires an extensive amount of site work (at least 70% of the project) along with a 1,100 sq. ft. building. Following consultation with Anchor Engineering and the analysis of the requested background information, the Committee unanimously recommended to the Selectmen that the Town hire Machnik Brothers. Machnik Brothers bid also offer alternative methods for building construction: “stick” building
construction and a modular design for the building, which could reduce the total cost of the project by $7,140.
Board of Finance January 19, 2010
Mr. Russell reminded the board that the Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday, January 25th at 7:30pm in the Middle School auditorium. Items on the agenda include accepting the Annual Town Report, announce the recipient of Citizen of the Year for 2009, to appropriate $32,000 to fund the engineering work associated with the repair of the Duck River Bridge culvert on McCurdy Road, to accept Olivia Lane as a Town road, to approve the lease to SBA Towers at 14 Cross Lane, to approve the dedication in perpetuity for open space and recreational purposes of a parcel of land owned by the Town at 17 Cross Lane consisting of 46 acres, to approve amendments to the Harbor Management Ordinance, to approve amendments to the Fees Ordinance which authorize waiver of fees or fines under particular circumstances, and
to authorize the waiver of building permit fees associated with the Regional School district 18 High School building project.
Selectman’s Report
No Selectman’s Report noted.
A motion was then made by Mrs. Ward, seconded by Mrs. Sturges, and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Hayes-Finn
Secretary
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