Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall.
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Present:~~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~ Andrew Russell, H. P. Garvin, III,
Christopher Kerr, Janet Sturges, David Woolley
Alternate Members:~ Adam Burrows, Bob Jose
Bonnie A. Reemsnyder, ex-officio
Mary Jo Nosal, Selectwoman
Skip Sibley, Selectman
Absent:~~~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~ BJ Bernblum
~Alternate Members:~~David Kelsey
Guest: Judith Read, Resident
Frank Pappalardo, Chairman, Sound View Commission
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Mr. Russell called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Russell stated that Mr. Bernblum is not present this evening and has requested that Mr. Burrows vote in his absence.
Approval of August 15, 2017 Minutes
The minutes of August 15th were reviewed. There was a correction noted on page2, under Old Business, Proposed Bid Policy Guidelines. Mrs. Sturges questioned the 5th sentence requesting that “$74,999” be changed to “but less than $75,000” and “$19,999” be changed to “$20,000”. On page 3, last sentence, add, “more closely” after “monitored”.
There being no other corrections noted, a motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Garvin to approve the minutes, as modified. Motion carried.
Review of Monthly Financial Reports
Mr. Russell outlined the Financial Report Notes for August 2017. Under Revenues, the Property tax, total tax collections were $437,393. Sound View Parking income, street and lot collected $28,282, 64% of the budget. Total revenue collected year to date is 49.3%.
Expenditures included Police Vehicle Repair and Maintenance budget is 80% spent due to routine maintenance that was not performed. Debt Services - Principal is $320,000 and interest is $17,676. Under Capital, $33,215 deposit to Columbia Cascade for the Cross Lane playground equipment. Public Works Capital spent $30,500 for a vehicle and $6,400 for the plow. Road overlay spent $114,450 ($21,000 to Anton for Blackwell Lane and $93,450 to Pasteryak for Old Stage Coach and Boughton Road. The Building Improvement Fund spent $36,127 to Martinex for Town Hall exterior work ($56,617 of $60,000 budget spent).
The percentage of general government budget spent to date (without Capital or RSD#18 included) = 22%.
Board of Finance Meeting September 19, 2017
Old Business
Proposed Bid Policy Guidelines: As previously reviewed, the purpose of this policy is to create a process for purchasing goods and services that will increase efficiency, promote fairness, accountability and confidence, and provide necessary supplies and services in a timely and cost-effective manner. This policy is directly binding upon all town employees, public officers, officials and members of boards, commissions and agencies. The Board of Finance shall direct the Town audit firm to review and comment on compliance with this policy. Procedures include advertising for Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) which is often used to determine who will be considered to bid, depending on their qualifications; a statement regarding the right of the Town to reject any and all bids, with the
discretion of the First Selectperson, Board of Selectmen or the Board of Finance according to what is in the best interest of the Town.
Mrs. Reemsnyder distributed a revised Draft Bid Policy. Under Definitions on page 1, letter D, to change the “Board of Finance” to “Board of Selectmen”. Under Procedures on page 2, letter A, reword “which shall include” and include that advertising should include “on Trade Associations websites” which may direct prospective bidders to the Town website for detailed information.
Construction Project Budget template: Mr. Russell stated that Mrs. Stajduhar is working on this and is not present this evening, therefore, discussion was postponed until the October 17th Board of Finance meeting.
New Business
Pump Station Lease: Mrs. Reemsnyder shared that there have been discussions between the Town of Old Lyme and three private beach associations planning sewer installations about locating a pump station in the town-owned parking lot at the end of Hartford Avenue in Sound View. The Sound View Commission was in favor of this collaboration if bathrooms could be built in conjunction with the pump station. She reached out to CT DEEP, who stated that there may be Clean Water funds that would be available for the construction of the bathrooms if built as part of the pump station. The lease would be for a total of $200,000, payable at $10,000 per year over 20 years, and the CWF loan, if granted, would be at a 2% rate over 20 years. Mr. Frank Pappalardo, chair of the Sound View Commission, spoke to
the board to share that he was part of the initial discussions with Mrs. Reemsnyder and the three chartered beaches representatives regarding the pump station and potential lease, though he has not seen the draft lease agreement yet. Mrs. Reemsnyder said that there is potential cost savings for the Town and three beaches by having one pump station to service all beach areas, and by utilizing the bathroom building to house some of the pump station components. Approval of a lease must be through a town meeting, and the beach communities would like this to go to Town Meeting before the end of October, however, there are still various issues that need to be resolved before being considered for Town Meeting. The Planning Commission has already heard the referral of this under section 8-24, approving it in keeping with the Plan of Conservation and Development.
Other Business
Nothing to report.
Selectman’s Report
Exterior work at Town Hall: Painting and lead abatement has been completed on the exterior of the Town Hall, with the exception of the garage door. The facilities manager, Phil Parcak, watched the progress and reported that they did a great job. They have moved their equipment to the Lyme Street Fire House and are working on painting their building and it’s already looking very good.
Blight Ordinance: Mrs. Reemsnyder reported that a draft Blight Ordinance has been developed and is being reviewed by the Land Use department and the Town Attorney. After the Attorney and land use officials complete the review and finalize the wording of the Ordinance, it will then go to a town meeting for approval.
Cross Lane Playground: The playground equipment has been ordered. The new Playground Committee has met to discuss their budget and timeline. Mrs. Stajduhar attended the first meeting to discuss the budget format. The Chair, Anna Reiter, will populate the budget format so that future reports will be presented in the desired format.
Mr. Russell stated that the next meeting of the Board of Finance will be Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 7:30 pm.
A motion was then made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Burrows to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele E. Hayes
Secretary
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