Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall Conference Meeting Hall.
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Present:~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~ H. P. Garvin, III, Christopher Kerr,
Janet Sturges, David Woolley
Alternate Members:~ David Kelsey, Judy Read
Timothy C. Griswold, First Selectman Ex-officio,
Doris Johnson, Finance Administrator
Nicole Stadjuhar, Finance Director
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Absent:~~~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~~Wayne Devoe, Andrew Russell
~~~~~~~~~Alternate Members:~~ Anne Coburn,
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~Mr. Russell was out of Town; therefore, Mr. Kerr called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m.~ A motion was made by Mr. Woolley, seconded by Mrs. Sturges to have Ms. Read vote for Mr. Devoe in his absence. Motion carried.
Minutes of April 7, 2009
The minutes of April 7th were reviewed. On page 1, under Information Technology Presentation it was noted Ruth’s last name of Roach should be added to that paragraph.
There being no further corrections noted, a motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Garvin and passed unanimously to approve the minutes as modified. Mr. Woolley abstained, as he was absent from that meeting
Minutes of May 26, 2009
The minutes of May 26th were reviewed. A clarification was noted on page two, under Police Officer Interviews, third sentence add the word “from” after the word request. In the same section, last sentence, add, “for three years and the Town will be responsible for the fourth year” to the end of that sentence.
A motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mrs. Sturges and passed unanimously to approve the minutes as amended. Ms. Read abstained from voting as she was not at that meeting.
Board of Finance Meeting June 16, 2009
Chart of Accounts and Carryovers
Mrs. Stajduhar detailed the Chart of Accounts. In the area of Revenues, under Property Tax Current Levy, the uncollected balance will be reduced by $16,000 during the month of June and another $16,000 needs to be collected. Under the Charge for Services, Capital Assets proceeds represents the sale of the pumper, the backhoe for $7,300 and the L90 loader for $6,500. Under Selectman’s Office revenue, $6,000 is included which represents Police Private Duty. Chart of Accounts was reviewed and discussed. The Treasurer Other Miscellaneous represents bank charges and fees. For Special Deductions the buyback sick and vacation time won’t be spent until July. Under Public Works, wages are over budgeted due to the union contract settlement.
Bus Barn – Project Financing: Mr. Griswold stated that last week the Zoning Commission approved the Bus Barn project which was the last Land Use approval necessary in order to move forward to Town Meeting. Mr. Griswold hopes that it could be put to a Special Town Meeting by late July or early August. Mr. Griswold detailed what the project included; a building, paving, fencing, etc. The facility would need to be completed by July 2010, when the present bus contract with District 18 expires.
Church Corner Project – Project cost and possible change order to overlay or reconstruct balance of Ferry Road: Drainage bids were sent to four local contractors and three responses were received. The low bidder at $27,800 was Bond Excavating which was more than the engineer’s estimate. For the reconstruction of Church Corner, American Industries was the low bidder at $328,900 which is less than the engineer’s estimate. The total project cost is estimated to be approximately $421,000, including a 10% contingency, which is significantly less than the $600,000 approved at the Town meeting. There was a discussion about extending paving project to include the rest of Ferry Road Route 156. There was a discussion on the scope of the project and the town’s
desire to complete Ferry Road and add additional expense to the project. It was the consensus of the Board that, while there would be savings if the rest of Ferry Road were reconstructed, the current economic climate dictates the Town not spend the funds now.
There have been problems getting the utility company to move the utility poles in question for the project.
Public Works Garage – Bid results: The Committee is scheduled to meet next week. Bids that were received were about $14,000 less than anticipated at $120,000 +/-. Garage doors have been installed, generator is set and the new boiler and related work has been completed.
Board of Finance Meeting June 16, 2009
Kus Stump Dump – Discussion with DEP: Mr. Griswold explained that back in 1986, the Town and Alvin and Margaret Kus entered into an agreement with the State of CT to permit a stump landfill on their property. The permit called for which was to be filled with stumps and covered daily. Once the trench was filled, the landfill would be capped and closed. For years, the Kus’ have not operated their landfill in conformance with the permit. Most of the trench has buried stumps, but they have also recycled stumps while the DEP is and has been aware of the recycling activity, it now wants to address and correct the non-conforming activity. In October 2007, the DEP requested a typographic survey to note current conditions. Based on the survey, the DEP would then
establish a Consent Order to map out a plan of correction with milestones. The town has retained a lawyer who specializes in this area. There are still a lot of unanswered questions.
Honkers – Goose Control: Mr. Griswold read a letter from Honkers, LLC stating the terms of a new contract. The new contract specifies that Honkers will operate only on the land portion of Hains Park on a per visit basis with an average of ten visits per week. Wendy Pettit would provide a written report detailing date and time of visits and the conditions observed. Water tactics or egg addling will no longer be part of the contract and would be billed separately. Mr. Griswold will speak with Ron Rose, Sanitarian, about the proposed contract.
Old Business
A motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mrs. Sturges to add to the agenda the Public Works Union Contract Appropriation. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Ms. Read to add $27,654.52 for the additional appropriation needed for Public Works salaries. Motion carried
New Business
No new business noted.
Selectman’s Report
State Police Contract: The State of CT has proposed increasing the Towns’ share of the State Police contract from 70% to 85% in FY2010 and possibly up to 100% in FY2011 and increasing the overtime rate that Resident Trooper towns pay by 53%, so the state can recoup some of the costs of benefits. The towns impacted believe they should be responsible for only 70% of overtime, in accordance with State statute. Old Lyme will not sign the Resident Trooper contract until the terms have been settled. A number of towns have not signed their contracts and CCM is attempting to schedule a meeting with Resident State Trooper towns and the Department of Public Safety to discuss the issues.
Board of Finance Meeting June 16, 2009
Probate Court Consolidation: In order to reduce expenses, the State will consolidate the probate courts from 117 courts to 50 courts with each court serving a population minimum of 40,000 or a case load of 3,000. The two options for Old Lyme are to consolidate with the towns in the Lower CT Valley Selectmen’s Association or consolidate with East Lyme, Montville and Salem. The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen voted to redistrict with East Lyme, Montville and Salem and Mr. Griswold sent a letter to that effect to the Probate Administrator. Judge Peterson favors this redistricting as well.
A motion was then made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mrs. Sturges and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Hayes-Finn
Secretary
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