HomeMy Public PortalAboutSelect Board -- 2022-02-16 Minutesa�.v�ty E W s ,
Approved: 3/16/22
a�
i VOTE: 7-0-1
r — _�.
%.p�;; Select Board Approved: 03/14/2022
VOTE: 5 -Yes, 0 -No
TOWN OF BREWSTER
SELECT BOARD JOINT WITH FINANCE COMMITTEE
Date: February 16, 2022 Time: 6:00 PM
VIRTUAL MEETING MINUTES
Present: Select Board Chair Cynthia Bingham, Vice Chair David Whitney, Clerk Edward Chatelain, Mary Chaffee
(7:38pm), Kari Hoffmann
Finance Committee Chair Pete Dahl, Vice Chair Frank Bridges, Clerk Bill Meehan, Honey Pivirotto, Robert Tobias,
Alex Hopper, Bob Young, William Henchy, Andy Evans
Capital Planning Committee Chair Bill Schirmacher, Cynthia Caldwell, Town Administrator Peter Lombardi,
Treasurer/Collector Lisa Vitale
Also present: Donna Kalinick, Assistant Town Administrator; Susan Broderick, Human Resources Director
Absent: Mimi Bernardo, Finance Director
The Chair called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm and announced a quorum.
This meeting will be conducted by remote participation pursuant to Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021. No in-person meeting attendance will be permitted. If the Town
is unable to live broadcast this meeting, a record of the proceedings will be provided on the Town website as soon as possible.
The meeting may be viewed by: Live broadcast (Brewster Government TV Channel 18), Livestream I livestream.brerwster-ma.aov). or Video
recording (tv.brewster-ma, ov), ,
1. Public Announcements and Comment- none
2. Select Board Announcements and Liaison Reports - none
3. Town Administrator's Report - none
4. Presentation and Vote on 5 -Year Capital Improvement Plan (FY22-26) and Review of
Spring 2022 Caipital Project Recommendations — Capital Improvement Committee
Peter Lombardi said over the past two years they developed a five-year Capital Plan. It took a considerable
amount of work to get though that work. We typically go through the development and approval process in the
winter months, and then in the summer leading up to fall special town meeting, the plan is adopted and then
what has changed within thepast 6 months. They bring most of the Capital requests to special town meeting and
then the balance in the spring. Peter Lombardi then went into the new initiative to having the Budget
information online in real time. We have the information loaded on the Open.gov platform. This is a hybrid
product and will look very different once things are solidified. We realize it isn't fully available for this year.
For tonight, we will use the platform as we did last Wednesday. Any initiatives over $10,000 are included in the
Capital Plan. Typically, our primary funding source for most of our Capital projects is from Free Cash. We
generally try to target $1.35M and felt comfortable up to $2M, but no greater in any one fiscal year. This year
was a little bit of an outlier, a record high Free Cash balance certified by the State at a little over $4.5M. Town
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022 Page 1 of 7
Meeting appropriated $1.75M to help with the acquisition costs of the Sea Camps properties in September. In
the fall, we received approval at Town Meeting to use $950,000 in Free Cash to fund our Capital needs then. In
the spring, we are seeking to use $605,000 to cover Capital requests. Total Capital expenditures is just over
$3.5M. That brings our Free Cash to just under $1M to close out FY22. The Select Board has a reserve policy
that targets the closing balance between 2-2.5% of the FY Operating Budget. This will bring us in at just under
2.2%. May be a bit lower than the past several years, but historically, it has landed at 2`:15-2.2%. So, we are
right where we want to be going forward in a balanced and reasonable way.
There are some very important disclaimers at the bottom of the plan.
• Just last month, we received the feasibility study for the potential consolidation of the elementary
schools as part of their report, they identified another $4M in Capital needs: for our two elementary
schools that aren't currently accounted for in their current five-year Capital„Plan. They are not as
part of the school consolidation plan, they are separate.
• Relative to our recent discussions to water quality planning and related initiatives. We had a report
from our water quality consultant who identified between $20M -$30M in major future waste -water
water quality initiatives. Those bigger expenses aren't currently included in the plan.
• There are two capital requests associated with the Sea Camps properties over the next year or two.
As we go along, we will have a much better idea of what those expenses will be and the additional
projects we may be looking at in the coming year.
Then Peter Lombardi said he would start at the top of the Plan and go department to department. He would
cover the highlights, not line by line. All the yellow highlighted spots are Capital Requests — larger projects.
y
In terms of the DPW, we try to purchase one larger item, such as the dump truck, and then several other smaller
items each year. One of the things we did this year to balance the Capital Plan is with the L3 Loader at
$22500 - to push it out to FY26, but we may need to revisit this, as repairs for our current truck are costly as
this is almost a 20 -year-old vehicle. We are planning to seek reappropriation of funds from a previous Capital
Article that we are not using, to have a site assessment done of the entire public works,and recycling campus.
The Facilities Department has two requests — Town Hall window replacements, and toget started, we know we
need about $50,000 this spring. The other request is replacing Town Hall AC units at just over $10,000.
Window units are less than ideal in terms of energy efficiency, but ultimately, there wasn't enough significant
return on investment with the cost of that project being close to $100,000. So, for nowiwe are looking to
replace several very old window units.
For the Library, the largest project is their full renovation, but that is budgeted for FY24 and FY26. In FY26, we
have $4M+ awarded from State Grant Funding, but the queue of other libraries in front of us is long. So, in the
meantime, we will keep it on the Capital Improvement Plan. We have one Capital Request for $30,000 to
replace the elevator which is out of order frequently. Our estimate is approximately $300,000 for replacement
work in FY23. Right now, the Town will use $20,000 in Free Cash for design work and the Library Association
would contribute $10,000. And then the construction, $225,000 from Free Cash and $75,000 from the Library
Association. There's also some exterior work, painting, etc. for FY23/24 of $100,000 total.
The bike trail extension has been pushed out to FY24/25. We still haven't been able to identify a funding source
for the project for the just under $2M pricing. We do have design plans that we worked with DCR on several
years ago but haven't been able to move forward. The Wing Island Boardwalk construction, we had approved
the $50,000 this fall from Free Cash to cover a portion of the $130,000 for design and permitting. We got the
$50,000 from the State and the $30,000 private donation. The overall project early estimates a little over $1M.
We have received a pledge from the same private donor for $1M to cover the costs of construction. We did
decide to use $100,000 in FY25 from CPA funds to cover the balance.
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022 Page 2 of 7
Peter Lombardi discussed how the Sea Camps Land acquisition wasn't on the plan last year. The total debt and
Free Cash appropriation is reflected in FY22. in FY23 and beyond, we have working assumptions based on
covering those debt payments and our short-term debt obligations. For the purposes of this plan, we are
assuming the Brewster Conservation Trust will be able to provide $1.75M in funding over the next 3-5 years to
cover some of the costs and that Mass Audubon will contribute $1.5M, with the Water Department contributing
a total of another $100,000 within the next 3 years. For the Sea Camps comprehensive planning, Town Meeting
approved reappropriation of existing funds of $185,000 in the fall, and we plan on seeking another $75,000 in
State Grant funding. We have our two near-term Sea Camps projects — the first is $100,000 to develop beach
access on the Bay Property. We have design and permitting work to be done. We are anticipating using
$100,000 in ARPA funding for that purpose. We will have more answers over the next several weeks. Our plan
is for this beach to be resident -only. The next project is $200,000 for site remediation. We are planning to use
ARPA funds to cover thestart of that work.
1
Lastly, on Drummer Boy Park construction, the total cost estimate is $1.5M for FY23 & FY25 - $500,000 of the
total is anticipated to come from the Community Preservation Act funds and the rest will come from Free Cash.
The first phase of construction is looking at improving access coming in, add more formal parking, and provide
walkways. Then build th6 boardwalk out to Wing Island which will be a very popular destination and a big
draw regionally.
For the Nauset Regional High School project, the total cost as just under $132M. That isn't Brewster's share of
course, but assuming the MSBA reimbursement comes in where we thought it would, the cost would come in at
$95M with 50% based ori our student enrollment population. That all remains to be seen, but they haven't
issued any of the long-term debt yet. It is our understanding that will be done in FY24.
Selectperson Bingham asked if there were any questions from the Select Board. There were none. She handed
the meeting to Finance Committee Chair Pete Dahl. Pete Dahl asked if the Finance Committee had any
questions.
Honey Pivirotto asked about the ARPA funds and if any of the guidelines have changed. Peter Lombardi
answered that there were recent changes when the US Treasury issued its final rule. The major change there that
gave us flexibility to usehese funds as proposed is that the US Treasury changed their approach to revenue law
and looked at municipalities and allowed them to claim up to $ l OM in revenue loss associated with the
pandemic and to use ARPA funds for any general government services or projects. This gives us a lot of
flexibility. Robert Tobias asked if the Stony Brook school boiler is to be converted from oil to gas and
wondered if that design might consider electric heat pump technology. Peter Lombardi answered they have
spoken to the Energy Committee and the plan is that once the funding is in hand, we will have a meeting with
the School Committee, our Energy Committee, and Energy Manager to discuss final outcomes. Frank Bridges
asked if there was gas going to the Stony Brook School itself. Peter Lombardi answered yes.
R
Peter Lombardi said the Capital Planning Committee did meet and vote to approve of this plan as presented last
week. `'
Selectperson Chatelain MOVED to approve the Capital Planning as outlined in this presentation.
4
Selectperson Whitney second.
Roll Call Vote: Selectperson Hoffman — yes, Selectperson Whitney — yes, Selectperson Chatelain — yes,
Select Board Chair Bingham — yes
The Select Board voted, 4 -yes 0 -no
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022 Page 3 of 7
Chair Bill Schirmacher MOVED to adjourn the Capital Planning Committee Meeting at 7:38 PM. Peter
Lombardi second.
Roll Call Vote: Lisa Vitale — yes, Peter Lombardi — yes, Cynthia Caldwell — yes, Chair Schirmacher — yes
The Capital Planning Committee voted: 4 -yes 0 -no
S. FY23 Budget Presentations (Select Board FY22-23 Strategic Plan Goal G-6)
a. Human Resources
b. Accounting - deferred
c. Debt - deferred
d. Town Administration/Select Board
e. Employee Benefits & Pension/Retirement
f. Liability Insurance
g. Utilities
h. All Others
a. Human Resources,
Director Susan Broderick presenting
Susan Broderick went over some of the accomplishments over the last 8 months of the new Human
Resources Department since it's inception. They completed a Comprehensive Compensation and
Classification Study, which hadn't happened in over 10 years. Over the last 7-9 months, we have hired
14 new employees. They were able to hold several well-received trainings partnering with CCCC's and
had great feedback from staff that attended the trainings. They are working on several other trainings to
come. They also want to work on developing contacts and relationships with some area colleges, alumni
associations, and trade schools to help with resources for any openings and recruitment needs. Lastly,
another goal is looking at developing an employee recognition program. In the FY22 budget there was a
training and education line item at $5,000 and an OSHA and professional development line item for
$13,000 for a total of $18,000. This year, we are requesting a total of $15,000 under one line item. We
have been able to take advantage of free trainings from our insurance company, There is an increase in
the recruitment line item as it is getting increasingly difficult to find experienced specialized municipal
employees. This will require more outreach on our part, posting positions in some places where some
will charge you to post. Even the Cape Cod Times has partnered with Zip Recruiter which has increased
the cost of advertising. There are some upcoming retirements and there will be need for posting those
as well. No questions.
d. Town Administration/Select Board,
Town Administrator Peter Lombardi presenting
€:
Peter Lombardi said their budget has increased by about $72,000. It is misleading in two ways — 2/3rds
of that increase is due to two positions that are coming online in our budget fornext FY. The first is the
Energy Manager which has been funded through a grant fund, and for FY23 and beyond, it will be
covered by a portion of the revenues from lease agreements with the solar car ports from the golf course.
They are looking to hire a new part-time administrative assistant that will work across Town Hall
offices. We have departments of 2, 3, and 4. This position will provide coverage for phones, walk-ins,
etc., wherever there is high-volume foot traffic. Secondly, Kathy and Tom are processing all their new
bills, having no administrative support currently. Under Facilities, we have added management
operations for the Sea Camps. We have taken it on at Town Hall and hopefully this person would help
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022 Page 4 of 7
with that as well. They may also be able to assist with digitization and scanning for Building, Health,
and Planning. That's our major staffing request. It is in our office but intended to be available for all
departments. We are proposing increasing the professional services funding for next year, to give the
office an ability to be nimble and be able to hire a consultant to help forward a particular project, etc. —
to have a little more capacity to do that. We are decreasing our overtime budget, due to how staff spends
their time in the office. We have another decrease in our Town Meeting line item — we do have ARPA
funds available and feel this expense line can be reduced. No questions.
e. Employee Benefits & Pension/ Retirement,
Town Administrator Peter Lombardi presenting
Peter Lombardi said he and Donna Kalinick would be trading off items. In terms of employee benefits,
they are up in total by a little under $200,000 (5%). A major driver is increased Health Insurance costs.
The golf and water departments carry their own share of Health Insurance in their budgets. We have
almost fully implemented the classification and compensation plan but haven't yet implemented for
library employees or police personnel bylaw employees. We have a $40,000 line item in contractual
obligations to fully implement for those employees. We see increases 8-10% in our assessments. Our
assessments by the regional retirement board are going up by $93,000. This helps create some capacity
this year. We pre -spay up front to get a benefit discount. No questions.
f. Liability Insdance,
Assistant Town Administrator Donna Kalinick presenting
Donna Kalinick said our primary insurance agency is MIIA. We are covering a wide range of insurance
needs in the town`, our buildings, equipment, automobiles. Our liability insurance and our worker's
compensation have a component of coverage related to worker's compensation related to Police and Fire
as well. We also lave some specialty coverages — marina liability, drone coverage, bond insurance. We
do meet with MIIA every year, review coverage, necessary changes, new potential areas of insurances,
thoroughly going through all coverages each year. We participate in their rewards program which
provides a percentage discount on all policies — it's a win/win to participate in that program. We apply
for a MIIA grant. We have been awarded that for the past several years. We have purchased an extra
safety trailer; we are purchasing much needed radios for the golf department through those funds. It is
up to $10,000 each year. We also take advantage of an early pay discount. We haven't received our
official rates yet for purposes of budgeting, we are carrying a 3% increase on the overall coverages. In
addition, there is $50,000 in insurance coverage for the Cape Sea Camps properties. Just as with pension
and health insurance, the insurance for Golf and Water is allocated to those departments and they pay
through their department's budgets.
Selectperson Hoffmann agrees with everyone who really likes the new format — so easy to use. She
asked what MIIAstands for. Donna Kalinick answered - Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Agency.
Bill Henchy asked Donna Kalinick what drone coverage is? She answered the Fire Department has a
drone that they use for emergency safety and recovery purposes and a couple of Town functions. You
are required to have insurance and be licensed to operate a drone. Robert Tobias asked where Cyber is
and did we drop coverage as Umbrella went to zero? Donna Kalinick said Umbrella coverage is
incorporated into liability coverage. We have been trying to streamline our line items for accounting
purposes. The cyber liability coverage is included in our MIIA coverage package.
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022
Page 5 of 7
g. Utilities,
Assistant Town Administrator Donna Kalinick presenting
This covers our electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, postage, telephone and communications, diesel and
gasoline, and systems and repairs mostly related to telephone or gas systems. Sbme of the major drivers
are from the Select Board meeting with Cape Light Compact, talking about the increase in electric rates.
Because we get our electricity through them, the impact is a little less than what the public is seeing. We
have carried a 6%`increase based on their advice. The communications/telephorne has an increase of
$10,000 based on our prior year actuals. We have had a need for an increase in'communications because
of remote work and the pandemic. Our fuel oil, gasoline, and diesel are all bid through Barnstable
County. Gasoline and diesel is one of the biggest bids in all counties — we are proposing a 3% increase.
It could be more than 3%, but we won't know just yet. The buying power of the, town does help us keep
this number low. Postage has gone up and with the initiatives to increase voting by mail, the Town
Clerk's office has been doing a lot more mailings and getting notices out. We afire also incorporating the
costs of the utilities at the Sea Camps properties with our utilities budget. We have been looking at what
is already in place and how we can decrease some of the services going forward. Hopefully in the next 6
months we will have more details on the usage in the Sea Camps.
Robert Tobias asked about the electricity line item — is this for all the town's properties and departments
other than golf and water? Donna Kalinick said there are other departments such as Fire and DPW
a
which carry a line item for electricity in their own budgets.
h. All others,
Town Administrator Peter Lombardi, Assistant Town Administrator Donna Kalinick, and
Project Manager Conor Kenny presenting '
M
The Health and Human Services Committee recommended a total decrease in funding of 6.1% for
FY23.The Fuel Assistance Budget is level funded. The FY22 Budget was temporarily inflated by $5000
to help keep the Nauset Youth Alliance afloat during the pandemic. The FY23 recommendation is
temporarily deflated due to the Gosnold Agency deciding not to reapply for all $12,000 in funding. They
have decided not to apply for any funding from all Health and Human Services�Committees across the
Cape. Generally, the Health and Human Services Committee recommends a total funding increase of
2.5% each year. They said they would plan to use that baseline for next year. The Committee set aside
last year's $5000 for the Youth Alliance, level funding for 7 out of 16 agencies.that re-applied, and
increased funding for 9 for an average increase of 8% across all applicants.
Local funding:
Brewster Chamber of Commerce $27,000
Town Band $3500
Skippers Program $4500
All level funded for FY23
Local Cultural Council — receives money from state and local funding of $1,000 — this is level funding.
However, this amount was increased in FY21 at the request of the Cultural Council to give them a little
more capacity. We have kept it there going forward.
Alewives Committee — helps to pay stipends for herring run wardens and site for $4,350 - level funded.
Mill Sites Committee — their events were cut back because of the pandemic; but this year, they were able
to do a few events. This stipend provides supplies to the Miller and supplies to run the mill and grind
corn at host events and make minor repairs at the property for $4,000 - level funded. We did have
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022 Page 6 of 7
significant help from AmeriCorps this year cleaning out the Mill Sites. It looked great. We also have a
very dedicated volunteer core who maintains the beauty of this site.
Assessments —
Peter Lombardi said these are figures that do not have discretion built into them.
2.5% increase for our County Assessment — the regional services provided by county government.
State Aid as a revenue source and offsets on the expense side, our assessments will decrease by a little
under $13,000 for the coming fiscal year.
Pleasant Bay alliance covers cost with participation in the alliance working with officials to comply
with the Pleasant Bay Watershed permit. It has staff support in place to lead and coordinate the regional
effort. There is a small increase of a little under $1,000.
Greenhead Fly assessment — we are assuming it is level funded but won't have the details for a month or
two.
Old Kings Highw4y Historic District assessment to cover expenses associated with review of any
projects within the Old King's Highway District. There is a 2% estimated increase for FY23.
Sealer of Weights and Measures — a regional program with an annual 2.5% increase.
z
No questions on tfle presentation.
6. Finance Committee Liaison Assignments to Sea Camps Planning Committees
i
4
Pete Dahl said he would make this brief. His assignments are:
• Bay Property, ,Bill Meehan
• Pond Property; Bill Henchy
Thanks to both members yvho will be working on this long-term.
7. Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair- none
8. Questions from the Media - none
9. Next Meeting: , February 28 (FY23 School Budgets) joint with Finance Committee
10. Adjournment
Bill Meehan MOVED to'adjourn the meeting at 8:53 PM. Frank Bridges second.
Roll Call Vote: Frank Bridges — yes, Bill Meehan — yes, Honey Pivirotto — yes, Robert Tobias — yes, Andy
Evans — yes, Alex Hopper — yes, Bill Henchy — yes, Chair Pete Dahl— yes.
The Committee voted: 8` yes 0 -no
Bob Young left the meeting before the vote was taken.
Selectperson Chaffee MOVED to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 PM. Selectperson Chatelain second.
Roll Call Vote: Selectperson Chaffee — yes, Selectperson Hoffman — yes, Selectperson Whitney — yes,
Selectperson Chatelain _ yes, Select Board Chair Bingham — yes
The Select Board voted: 5 -yes 0 -no
Respectfully submitted, Beth Devine
Packet of supporting materials on the website for public review
Select Board Joint with Finance Committee Minutes
February 16, 2022 Page 7 of 7
t