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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20100324 - Appropriations Committee - Meeting MinutesTown of Hopkinton Appropriation Committee (AC) Minutes of Meeting on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 Room 211, Town Hall, Hopkinton, Massachusetts In attendance: Stuart Cowart Norman Khumalo, Town Manager Ron Eldridge Heidi Krieger Mary Lou Haroian Joe Karner Chairman Eldridge called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Joe moved and Stuart seconded a motion to accept the minutes of our last meeting, on March 22, 2010. The motion passed unanimously. Norman reported on a question raised at our last meeting concerning the availability of a school resource officer (SRO) at the high school next year, should the current 2011 police department budget (which calls for a reduction of one officer) be passed. At present, the SRO position for FY 2011 is not in jeopardy. The Committee welcomed JT Gaucher, Mike Mansir and Eric Carty of the DPW. They reported that in the absence of any more significant weather events, snow and ice charges will amount to $560K for this year. Discussion ensued on various articles sponsored by the DPW on the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) warrant. Article # 12 is for a loader with plow at a net cost of $132K. This machine will replace a 1998 CAT loader which currently has over 3000 hours of use. The cab of this loader is rotting off the machine, affecting the structural stability of the vehicle. Next year the DPW is requesting replacement of 4 pieces of machinery at a total cost of $392K, therefore they do not want to postpone the replacement of this auto. The DPW has reviewed leasing options and determined that purchasing this unit makes the most practical and financial sense at this time. The cost of a new loader is $170K, the $132K requested in this article represents the cost after trade-in of the existing machine. Article # 13 is for clean-up and improvements to the Cedar Street snow dump at a cost of $120K. The money will cover the cost of removing approximately 700 square yards of existing catch basin debris that has been on the site for quite some time ($89K), and also cover the cost and construction of design improvements to the site ($30 – 42K) to render it more suitable for a staging area for catch basin debris removal in the future. Both of these measures are necessary for the town to be compliant with current state requirements. The BOS voted against this article because of prioritization issues. The funding for this article is intended to be via borrowing. Heidi will check on whether this amount has been provided for in the cost of borrowing in the current budget. Article # 14 is for radio read water meters at a cost of $220K. These meters will enable the water department to read customers’ meters from the water department office. The dollar amount represents the cost of constructing the first of two towers required to transmit signals to the office and approximately 1600 meters. The total cost of the project is anticipated to be $490K, which will provide for building 2 transmission towers and purchasing about 3000 radio read meters for each of the water department users. Funds for the balance of the project will be requested at Town Meeting in the next two years. The meters will enable the water department to detect water leaks on a more timely basis, and spread out the cost of water service to users on a more even basis. This cost will be paid for by ratepayers, and has already been factored into the current rate study. Article # 15 is for a service truck for the DPW at a cost of $42K. This truck will replace a 2000 vehicle, whose body is rotting out underneath. The existing truck has 93,000 miles on it. Replacement of this vehicle has already been pushed out 3 years. This truck will be used to install the radio read water meters discussed above. This cost of this truck will be paid for by ratepayers, and has already been factored into the current rate study. Article # 19 is for design and improvements to the town well for $25K. These improvements are necessitated by new DEP regulations that call for more stringent controls of wells. As with articles 14 and 15, the project will be funded out of retained earnings of the water department. Mike Mansir of the Highway Department voiced his concern about the failure of the current budget and the budgets of the last few years to maintain level services to the citizens of the town, particularly with respect to road repairs and resurfacing. He stated that the backlog for pavement management is currently at $5.2 million, whereas when the program was initiated in 2002 it was $3.8 million. The current budget includes $450K of chapter 90 funding and $100K of General Fund money, for a total of $550K. In order to prevent the current backlog of repaving requirements from increasing, a budget of $800,000 is required. Chairman Eldridge raised the possibility of funding the repaving program via borrowing, instead of via the General Fund. He requested the DPW look into this possibility and to prepare an analysis of the last 5 years of repavement history and the next 5 years of desired repaving. The DPW will return to the AC with this analysis at our meeting next week on March 31. The Committee welcomed Ken Driscoll, Tom Nealon and Peter LaGoy of the Downtown Revitalization Committee (DRC) along with Tony Lionetta and a landscape architect from the Beta Group, a civil engineering and planning company. The DRC presented their case for article # 16 for $400,000 for a downtown design for traffic, roadway and streetscape enhancements. The preliminary plan that has been presented to the state Department of Transportation has been favorably looked upon by the state and the proponents of this article feel they will be eligible for $3 - $4 million from the state Traffic Improvement Program (TIP) to fund it once it has been designed. Worthwhile benefits include: rehabilitation and construction of pavement on Main Street, repair of sidewalks, repair and installation of curbing, movement of utility poles currently sited in the roadway, drainage improvements and new traffic signals. Other upgrades could include installation of period lighting, continuance of brick work on the sidewalks, tree plantings, pedestrian improvements and installation of wheelchair ramps. It is the hope of the Committee that all of these changes will be a catalyst for revitalizing the downtown area. The $400K price tag for the design work is based on “an educated guess” by the Beta Group. There would be a competitive bid process for awarding this contract. To date, the Beta Group has been paid by the DPW. The BOS has already voted favorably on this article, but since it was on the CIC’s schedule for 2012, its impact is not included in the FY 2011 debt service budget. Chairman Eldridge requested the DRC look into getting the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to approve partial payment for this project due to its impact on the historic district in Hopkinton. Ken Driscoll committed to discussing this with John Coolidge of the CPC. In article # 17, the DPW is requesting $700,000 for the design and replacement of the water main on Main Street, from Pleasant Street to Ash Street. The existing main is cast iron and was installed in 1888. The DPW is concerned about its structural soundness and ability to withstand the high pressure necessary to provide downtown fire protection. Mr. Gaucher will be returning to the AC at a later date with more thorough information on this article. At 9:15 pm, Joe moved and Stuart seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed by a vote of 4 – 0.