Wellfleet Finance Committee
Minutes of Meeting of April 14, 2005
Senior Center Conference Room
Present: Berta Bruinooge, Chair; Nancy Bone, Carl Caruso, Pat Foley,
Mac Hay, Arlene Kirsch, John Makely, Sylvia Smith
Absent: William Carlson
Chair Berta Bruinooge called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Review of Budget & Warrant Articles for Town Meeting
Article I of Special Town Meeting was the only Article for which FinCom had reserved its recommendation. Taking into consideration the memo from Assistant Town Administrator Rex Peterson dated April 11, 2005 regarding Information Technology services, the Committee was still not ready to make a recommendation. Although Peterson’s memo provided interesting material on Town-wide computerization history and goals, it did not give a financial accounting of cost. FinCom would like a summary of spending for FY05 and projected figures for FY06 broken down by departments and totals for hardware, software, training and consulting fees. Chair Bruinooge will e-mail the Town Administrator and request this report by April 22 so that FinCom can make a recommendation by Town Meeting. If the Committee
does not receive the information, they will have to decide about making a recommendation for all the items in Article I except Item 1 for Computerization.
Arlene Kirsch brought up Article 13, the purchase of a 25-acre parcel of land from the Chequessett Yacht Club. She did not want to revisit the Article, but she had heard questions from townspeople and felt certain these issues would be raised at Town Meeting. One question was that the vote on the land acquisition was premature; the vote on reopening the dike should come first. The other general comment on Open Space/ Land Bank purchases concerned the practice of splitting property up and setting aside part as conservation land in perpetuity. Before Land Bank funds were available, this was the route taken by people seeking a tax break on their land while increasing the value of their property.
Bruinooge asked about access to the eight upland acres of the property and the location of a kayak launch site. Selectman liaison Helen Miranda Wilson spoke of the advantages of creating a greenbelt that won’t be developed whether the Herring River dike is opened or not. She confirmed that the access to the upland property is the road between the Yacht Club and the Colony. She recommended the walk-through visit to the property scheduled at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 and also noted that the Housing Authority, who had been opposed to the purchase, had completely changed their minds. Wilson also was convinced that should the Herring River Restoration project proceed, the Memo of Understanding that the dike would be opened incrementally was correct.
Minutes of March 21, 2005
Foley moved to approve the minutes of 3/21/05. Makely seconded. The minutes were approved 7-0-1 (Hay abstaining).
Other Business
Mac Hay reported on the Renewable Energy Committee’s progress. They expect a test tower to be in place by summer. The most likely site is the old air strip at Marconi Beach. A future possible site for a windmill is at the school property. There are two ways to use the power: the electricity can go to municipal buildings or it can be sold directly into the grid. In the case of the former, excess power can be sold back into the grid for a lower rate. The Committee is leaning toward the latter option of selling directly into the grid.
Chair Bruinooge established that funding for bus routes begins next year.
Carl Caruso said he would try to attend the Wellfleet Forum’s Pre-Town Meeting on Thursday, April 21. It was not established what FinCom member would attend the Selectmen’s Pre-Town Meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19.
Returning to the Warrant, John Makely wanted to clarify comments in FinCom’s Overview on page 13. The meetings with departments for suggested new revenue sources referred to the budget process. He would like to have more meetings with various departments during the course of the year.
Selectman Wilson mentioned a raffle be held after Town Meeting. It is hoped that incentive to win a free beach sticker will keep voters there till the end of TM.
FinCom members expressed their dissatisfaction at the changes in the list of definitions they had submitted for inclusion in the Warrant. Some definitions had been altered, some were not there, and the logical progression of terms that had been established was scrambled. The Committee also noted that the authorship of the Budget material on pages 9-11 at the beginning of the Warrant was unclear. Kirsch said that the Charter specifies that the format of Budget presentation belongs to FinCom although Chair Bruinooge said that it does not specify the Warrant. Kirsch would like to discuss this after Town Meeting with the Town Administrator and the BOS. Caruso agreed that FinCom’s role as financial watchdog should be taken as seriously by them as it is by the Committee itself.
Adjournment
Makely moved; Foley seconded; and all agreed to adjourn 8-0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Mary Rogers, Committee Secretary Berta Bruinooge, Chair
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