Capital Improvement Program Committee
January 14, 2015
Town Office Building-Lower Level Conference Room
Members Present:
Barry Wallet, Stuart Cobb, Peter Tanaka, Al Ference, John Patton, Steven Vera, Kelly Trueb, Christina Beebe Mailhos and Donna Latincsics.
Absent:
Mark Makuch
Additional Attendees: Dave Harding, Peter Andersen and Carol Jordan
Kelly Trueb called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Approval of Minutes:
Peter Tanaka mentioned that the spelling of Capital needed to be corrected in the heading of the January 7th minutes.
Peter motioned to approve the January 7, 2015 minutes as corrected.
Stuart Cobb seconded. (Vote: all yes).
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Hall Memorial School Library Roof--$10,000 (FY 2015-2016)
Dave Harding, Superintendent of Schools presented the information to the CIP committee on the various projects needed for our schools.
Dave is resubmitting this project to replace two sections of roof at HMS. They have been repaired in the past—one in 2013, but repairing them is only good for a short period of time—both areas show decay. He would like to get this done for FY 2015-2016.
Ventilation System HMS-- $30,000 (FY 2015-2016)
A Ventilation System for Hall Memorial School which includes air conditioning was discussed. The present system is over 30 years old, has malfunctioning parts and is not energy efficient. The quote for the project is $30,000 which seemed low to some commission members. John Patton added that if air-conditioning was added, electricity would be expensive.
Playground Equipment for Hall Memorial School--$35,000 (FY 2015-16)
The playground equipment we have is old and broken—we cannot replace parts. Soon it will not be in compliance and is in urgent need of replacement.
Oil and Seal Hall Memorial School Parking—$24,000 (FY 2017-18)
Chip sealing the parking lots to repair cracks and holes is also a project that is being resubmitted. Dave said that it was moved from 2015-16 to 2017-18. We need to do this project but it could be postponed if needed.
Center School Parking Lot Lights--$7,500 (FY 2015-16)
Lighting needs to be installed in the Center School Short-Term Parking Lot. The School Safety Council puts an emphasis on this project. It is for security and was included in a security grant last year. The money from the grant was put back into the General Fund.
Discussion was held on reimbursement grants—Dave would write a grant for assorted projects to get done and get reimbursed—the money would go back to the General Fund and not to Capital Improvement. He discussed the process when the Town was reimbursed. He would be reimbursed 67% and then go to the Town for the remaining 33% of the project. Dave will see if he can resubmit the ventilation grant for $7500. The original grant didn’t include lighting.
Discussion continued on a maintenance system for the larger projects that would work for both the Town Buildings and the schools. This would not include plumbing and lighting. A custodian from the school could come to the Town Offices for a plumbing or lighting problem or for floor waxing. A secretary from the school could come and take messages in a department instead of hiring a person from the outside to do the same. Steve Vera noted that you have to do this for survival in his industry.
Christina Beebe Mailhos said that this is the second year that there is no $15,000 IT or $10,000 Carpet and Paint amount in the BOE budget. Dave said the BOE is paying for it—it’s not a savings. John Patton said it doesn’t matter which budget the project is coming out of, it’s the recognition that we are doing this together.
Placeholder-$20,000-FY 2015-2016
Dave stated it was a priority for FY 2015-2016 to get a full-service maintenance contract project going within six months. He would ask for $10,000 for each school (placeholder) and then come back for the money allocated. When Ron Strong was here, he would repair something by going on Ebay, get a new motor and repair the item himself. With a maintenance contract, that would not be the case. Dave wants a firm cost in the quote to repair and fix things and the company he was working with is reluctant to give a price on repairs or parts—they would need to take a survey. He is not giving up on the maintenance project—he will go back to the drawing board. He has $50,000 in a maintenance budget but some repairs would become capital improvement projects i.e. the Center
School Parking Lot Lighting.
Kelly Trueb and Donna Latincsics will work on the numbers and report back To Dave Harding
.
CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Peter Andersen and Carol Jordan both spoke to the committee requesting some sort of contribution from the Capital Improvement Committee—they have been rejected in the past. They know of Willington landowners who would like to sell their land to the Town instead of selling for subdivision purposes. They are looking for something that would not impact the budget but would give them seed money so that they could start building an account if some land does become available.
There is economic benefit to Open Space vs. roads, services, etc. Peter noted that the job of the Conservation Commission is to encourage Open Space. Open Space is part of the Plan of Conservation and Development. Carol mentioned that they are trying to protect the wetlands and wildlife corridors. She also mentioned that if something comes up that their commission may come back to CIP.
Kelly Trueb motioned to adjourn at 8:05 p.m.
Peter Tanaka seconded. (Vote: all yes)
Respectfully submitted,
Carol Noyes
Recording Secretary
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