MINUTES
BOARD OF FINANCE
JULY 17, 2007
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Finance was held on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, members of the Board of Finance Daniel Farley, Bruce Cornish, Mark Bushka, Thomas Scoville (arrived at 5:08 p.m.), and James Zeller, Corp. Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, Comptroller Alice Proulx, Purchasing Agent Shirley King, and Superintendent of Parks & Recreation Mark Lavoie. Board of Finance member James Nichol was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
MINUTES #025
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held June 19, 2007.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #035
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Zeller, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
USE OF FUNDS FROM CONTINGENCY: HOMELAND SECURITY #045
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request to authorize the use of $19,000.00 from Contingency to purchase various equipment with the remainder of the 2005 Homeland Security funds. The funds will be reimbursed by the state.
Mr. Cornish asked where the equipment purchased through funds from Homeland Security was being stored.
Mayor Bingham said most of the equipment is split between the Police and Fire Departments, i.e., phones, computers, etc. are stored in the emergency management center in the basement of the Police Department, and storage trailers, trucks, cots, etc. are stored at the Fire Department. He added that in the future, some of the monies from Homeland Security will be placed in a pool for regional projects. Thomas Vannini is the city’s agent who deals with Homeland Security and FEMA and the contact person who will coordinate between police, fire and ambulance in the event of a disaster.
REALLOCATE PRIOR YEAR RESERVES #125
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request to reallocate prior year reserves in Parks & Recreation to updated projects.
Mr. Cornish asked if the motion had any impact on budget surpluses which they reallocated in the budget process for this current year’s expenses.
Comptroller Alice Proulx said it had no impact.
Mr. Zeller inquired why the reallocation went as far back as 2002.
Ms. Proulx explained that several Parks & Recreation Directors were hired in the midst of these encumbrances and projects were never completed. Some of the funds are residuals from projects that they hadn’t expended all the funds on. She said she informed Mr. Lavoie when he was first hired that certain funds were available and asked him whether he would expend them or put them back into the general fund.
Mark Lavoie, Parks & Recreation Director, added that the funds were supposed to have paid for projects that were never started or completed. Some of the work, such as fencing, was safety issues. By spreading the funds equally throughout the city’s parks, residents of Torrington will be able to see great upgrades throughout the park system by September 1st. He assured the board that the funds will be well spent and that he’ll get the best possible prices for each project.
Mr. Scoville arrived at 5:08 p.m.
BUS: SECTION B #275
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to consider business in Section B:
OVERTIME: PURCHASING CLERK # 280
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to accept the Council’s request to authorize an amount not to exceed $750.00 from Contingency for overtime for the Purchasing Clerk.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #410
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Bushka, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Bingham and members of the Board of Finance.
Mr. Zeller asked Ms. Proulx if the city received a letter from Sawicki & Lombardozzi, per the board’s conversation during their last meeting.
Corp. Counsel Weaver indicated that the city received a letter confirming the fact that the firm was dissolving, and that Lombardozzi had no interest in pursuing the account and that it would be transferred to UHY.
Mr. Farley asked Mayor Bingham if the city was taking preemptive measures and if the Board of Finance needed to do anything in regard to the Tax Collector’s contract.
Mayor Bingham said the city is taking preemptive measures, but we have to wait until the investigation is complete. The contract is being reviewed very carefully to ensure that it is being honored to the best of his ability. Corporation Counsel Weaver has been in touch with the State’s Attorney’s office in regard to the investigation and was informed that we should be hearing something soon.
WEED ROAD PROJECT #480
Mayor Bingham informed the board that the city will not have to go to a referendum in regard to the Weed Road project because funds from the bridge repair line item can be used. In order to complete the project by winter, the City Council voted to extend a contract with Dayton Construction Co. to include Weed Road.
Ms. Proulx asked the board to modify the budget for the 75% that FEMA will reimburse the city for the Weed Road project, even though she doesn’t have a specific dollar amount at this time, so they can move forward and use those line items for costs and reimbursements. The revenue will be offset by the expenditure. Ms. Proulx will bring forth that dollar amount to the board as soon as she knows what it is.
Mr. Cornish asked if it was the Engineering Dept.’s recommendation to bypass the bidding phase of the project by extending an active contract with Dayton Construction and still meet the federal guidelines for reimbursement.
Mayor Bingham said it was Engineering’s recommendation to extend our contract with Dayton Construction and to replace the existing culvert with a
prefabricated arched culvert. This will eliminate the bidding process and give the city enough time to complete the project before winter. In order to do so, it will be necessary to modify the budget to include provisions for the expenditures and revenues.
ADD TO AGENDA #650
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Scoville, the board voted unanimously to add an item to the agenda by 2/3rds vote to adjust the revenue and expenditure budgets.
MODIFY BUDGETS #675
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Bushka, the board voted unanimously to add line item 0010-0031-5816-0035 to the expenditure budget, which represents 75% reimbursement from FEMA for the Weed Road Bridge Replacement project and add line item 0010-0070-4052-0004 to the revenue budget for 75% reimbursement from FEMA for that project.
Mr. Zeller pointed out that the board approved $55,000.00 during their June meeting to execute a contract with the city’s consulting engineers Milone & MacBroom for design work on this project and asked if the recommendation to proceed in this fashion was a result of that study.
Mayor Bingham indicated that the study is not complete, but Milone & MacBroom is recommending this type of culvert.
Mr. Cornish asked if the engineer’s recommendations and the city’s reviews concurred with the recommendations from Milone and MacBroom prior to asking Dayton to get involved in the project.
Mayor Bingham said yes. He noted that the work Dayton Construction has been doing for the city is very similar to what they will be doing on Weed Road and that they are very knowledgeable in that type of work.
Mr. Cornish pointed out that a change order in any construction environment is more risky and more expensive than that of an affirmed bid, based on the specs developed by the consultants.
Mayor Bingham said the consultant was leading the change order in this instance. It’s actually an independent look at what needs to be done. If the city doesn’t agree with the prices that are given, we’ll go out to bid and time will no longer be an issue.
Mr. Scoville noted that time was of the essence and we should do everything we can to expedite the project without suffering cost or quality.
Mayor Bingham said time, as well as cost, is a huge factor in this project; however, they won’t rush into the project merely for time. It will also be diligently looked at by our consultants in terms of cost. The project could not be done this year if they didn’t proceed with the change order to extend the city’s contract with Dayton Construction. If they don’t feel comfortable with it, they will make a recommendation not to move forward with the project.
Mr. Cornish asked if the cost proposals from the contractors will be reviewed by the consultants as well as our engineers, and if they will be following FEMA’s guidelines?
Mayor Bingham said they have been working very closely with FEMA on this entire project. It was actually FEMA’s recommendation to do the project in this manner because they saw it as an opportunity to save time, and they are aware that this is a top priority project for the city.
Ms. Proulx will bring the dollar amount to the board as soon as she has it.
Mr. Cornish pointed out that an item to use contingency funds to remove an oil tank on city property was deleted from this agenda.
Mayor Bingham noted that the item was tabled by the Council on July 16th for more information.
ADJOURNMENT #940
On a motion by Mr. Cornish, seconded by Mr. Farley, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:30 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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