Bellows Falls Village Trustees Special Meeting Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Transcription

1 Bellows Falls Village Trustees Special Meeting Tuesday, August 8, 2017 Present: Myles Mickle, James McAuliffe, Stefan Golec, Steve Adams, Deborah Wright Also Present: Shane O Keefe, Municipal Manager; Kerry Bennett, Village Clerk; State Representative Matt Trieber; Police/Fire Chief Ron Lake; Deputy Fire Chief Steve Cenate; Conservation Commission Member Guy Payne; Bellows Falls Historical Society Member Chris Glennon; BF Police Office/Firefighter Shaun McGinnis; Louis Bravakis & Alex Bravakis, Novus Energy, LLC; Donna Cenate; Wade Masure; Jonathan Wright; James Mitchell; Hope Brissette Press: Matt Farkus, FACT8; Kelsey Christensen, Eagle Times; Harmony Birch, Brattleboro Reformer Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by President Myles Mickle Additions to the Agenda for Routine Administrative Matters and/or Pressing Matters that will require ratification at a future meeting: None Approve Minutes of July 11, 2017: Stefan Golec made the motion to approve the minutes of July 11, 2017 as printed. Motion was seconded by Deborah Wright. Motion passed. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda: (3 minutes per person): None Manager s Report: Thank you to Bennett for being Acting Manager during his vacation over the past few weeks. A survey from USDA was distributed to Board members as part of a requirement for the USDA funding for the Wastewater project. Once complete the survey is to be mailed directly to USDA. Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark served the Village with a summons earlier today from JP Sicard for non-payment in relation to the water project in the Morgan s Field area. O Keefe noted that this has to do with paving that was done by JP Sicard that was not authorized. O Keefe noted that Attorney Massucco has been given this document. The building at 38 Green Street has been taken down and the property mulched and seeded. The building at 14 Tuttle Street is scheduled to be taken down either August 21 or August 28. The property at 35 Front Street has gone to foreclosure and the Village has a lien on this property that will now most likely get paid by the bank. The revised tax bills for the Village will go out at the end of August, and the Trustees will need to set a new tax rate prior to this.

2 August 8, 2017 Page 2 Agenda: 1. Ratify vote taken at 7/11/2017 meeting to not have attorney presence at union negotiations unless requested by Trustee representative or Municipal Manager. James McAuliffe made the motion to ratify the vote taken at the July 11, 2017 Trustee Meeting to not have an attorney present during union negotiations unless requested by the Trustee representative or the Municipal Manager. Motion was seconded by Stefan Golec. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Discussion with State Representatives & State Senators: State Representative Matt Trieber was present to answer questions. Mickle stated that the Board would like to know how property is assessed and what can be done to change the process noting how high taxes were in this community. Trieber explained the process noting that the State law is very vague and the elected Listers are given guidance only and must develop their own process for arriving at fair market value of property. Trieber stated that there is an instruction booklet for this process and will forward this to Bennett for distribution to board members. Wright asked why multi-family homes and apartment buildings are assessed lower than single family homes. Trieber stated that the Statute is very broad noting that the assessment is a decision of the Listers, and the Legislature is very hesitant to create restrictions. McAuliffe asked about the homestead vs. non-residential education tax noting that a lot of the apartment buildings are owned by non-residents and these individuals are getting a tax break due to a change made a few years ago by the Legislature and asked if the legislature was addressing this. Trieber stated that there are only two ways that the State looks at properties residential and non-residential owner occupied vs. everything else stating that there is no distinguishing between a business and a residential property. Trieber stated that the property tax system is fundamentally broken and a cumbersome process. Trieber noted that there are two very important points to keep in mind. Do you want lower tax rates, or do you value local control? Mickle thanked Trieber for his time and Trieber stated he was available to answer questions or come back to a meeting if requested. 3. Discussion on Solar Energy Credits: Conservation Commission Energy Committee member Guy Payne introduced Alex Bravakis and Louis Bravakis from Novus Energy Development, LLC, to give the Board an overview on this subject. Alex Bravakis stated that the proposal would be a no risk-no cost project for the Village. A. Bravakis explained that the energy credits are sold to Green Mountain Power so the bill from Green Mountain Power would be $0. The Village would then pay the investors 90% of the credits and retain 10%. A. Bravakis stated that Peter Bergstrom, the Town s Energy Coordinator, supplied Novus with the power bills for both the Town of Rockingham and the Village of Bellows Falls over the past 12 months and using these calculations, the Village would save $8,600 to $10,500 per year or $232,742 for the 25 year agreement. L. Bravakis stated that the group is currently applying to the Public Service Board for a Certificate of Public Good for a maximum 500 kw project. L. Bravakis noted that the gravel pit site cannot be viewed from anywhere, making it a perfect site. L. Bravakis explained the process to the Board for the renewable

3 August 8, 2017 Page 3 energy credits and how this works. Wright asked if savings would be seen immediately. A. Bravakis explained how the process works and the Village would only pay for credits received. McAuliffe asked if this committed the Village to 25 years with this company. L. Bravakis stated that it did. O Keefe noted the recent improvements in the Wastewater Facility which will mean significant energy efficiency savings and A. Bravakis stated that this would be taken into consideration when assessing the usage. McAuliffe asked if a 10% retainage was typical. L. Bravakis stated that it used to be 15% but the Public Service Board changed the rules. O Keefe asked if any of the credits they were offering were grandfathered to the 15%. L. Bravakis stated that they were not. The group discussed ownership, taxation, decommissioning, investors, energy credits and alternative sites. Ralph Meima from Green Lantern Group was also present and noted that information from Green Lantern on this project was also included in the Board packets. Meima stated that Green Lantern does have some of the grandfathered credits and may be able to offer a better deal. Meima asked how his company would know if there were multiple offers. Payne stated that the Energy Committee would need to meet and discuss and develop a request for proposal developed. Meima left the meeting before the end of the discussion to attend another meeting. Wade Masure asked where the 90% payment would go. L. Bravakis stated that their company works with an investment firm in Boston. Jonathan Wright asked who these investors were. A. Bravakis stated that the firm is Kendall Structure Investors. Mickle thanked Alex & Lou for attending and answering the questions. 4. Fire Department a) Review Fire Department Scheduling: Information was provided in the packets. The Board had no questions. b) Review 2013 Fire Department Analysis: The analysis was also included in the Board packets. Golec stated there was also a Police Department analysis done in 2013 that may be useful. Steve Cenate stated there was also a 2001 Municipal Resources, Inc. study that had more detail. 5. Updates a) Water & Wastewater Projects Chase/Hadley/Oak Streets: O Keefe stated that Hadley & Oak Streets are just about ready for paving, curbing and sidewalk, and the work has started on Chase Park. Rob Wheeler, Wastewater Chief Operator, was present and stated that grading is due to take place tomorrow with base paving on Oak & Hadley Streets scheduled for Monday morning, followed by curbing and sidewalk installation, then final paving. O Keefe noted that they are still waiting for utilities to be moved from the utility pole on Oak Street to finish that street. Wright asked when this project was due to be

4 August 8, 2017 Page 4 completed. O Keefe stated that the contract was extended out a few weeks and is most likely due to be completed by the end of August. Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade: Rob Wheeler, Chief Operator, stated that the pump stations were 99% done. Wheeler noted that the odor from the plant continues to be a significant issue and hopes that by late fall this will improve. Wheeler outlined the work going on at the plant and what is remaining to be completed. McAuliffe asked what the time frame was for completion of the project. Wheeler stated that he anticipates completion by the first of the year. Adams asked about the sludge. Wheeler stated that the plant is not accepting sludge at this time due to the plant only running at half capacity and this would make the odor even worse. Jonathan Wright asked about the air quality. Wheeler stated that they are doing the best they can, but the digesters right now are open with no covers. Wheeler stated that things should improve significantly within the next few months. 6. Finance Office a) FY2017 YTD Budget Status: O Keefe stated that revenue and expenses are still being booked to FY2017 but as of now the general fund, taking in the fund balance deficit and the tax reimbursement, the FY2017 is $22,000 off budget. McAuliffe stated that he wouldn t characterize is that way but thinks that the fund balance, as of August 1, is now down to $87,700. Mickle stated that he thinks it is fair to include the budgeted deficit and that is something that the board planned on. McAuliffe noted that 3 of the accounts the salary accounts for the police department was $59,000 over budget, the fire department was $25,000 over budget, and the legal fees for negotiations were $9,000 over budget, and those are big deficit items and had those been managed on budget there would not be nearly the fund balance issue that there is now. McAuliffe stated that it is very critical that the Manager manage those salary accounts. b) FY2018 YTD Budget Status & Discussion on 7/20/2017 Vote: O Keefe noted that the budget was cut at the July 20, 2017 meeting by $241,290. Mickle stated that this is a significant amount of money and the Board has a lot of money to find and less than 12 months to do this. O Keefe stated that no significant purchases have been made and there are quite a few places that will have to be cut to meet the goal of cutting $241,290. O Keefe noted that some cuts can be made immediately while some will have to wait due to contractual obligations and is waiting to hear from the Board on how it would like to proceed. McAuliffe noted that there is $5,000 budgeted for the audit and $4,500 has already been paid. McAuliffe asked if the $5,000 number was a good number. O Keefe stated that the Village has a contract with the auditor and that is the amount. O Keefe noted that the auditors will be here in a few weeks to do the majority of the FY2017 audit. McAuliffe asked if they also audit the Water & Wastewater Budgets. O Keefe stated that they do. McAuliffe noted that the part-time firefighter account shows that 18% of the annual budget was spent in one month. O Keefe stated that this was due to vacation coverage.

5 August 8, 2017 Page 5 Mickle stated that a meeting was scheduled for tomorrow at 6:00 pm to discuss and make decisions on specific cuts to the budget. Mickle noted that with this amount of money to cut, it is going to be necessary to eliminate staff. Golec did state that the consensus of the Board was to cut the budgeted 10 th police officer. McAuliffe stated that there are a couple of big items that are not staff, one of which is the mutual aid for the Fire Department which is something that can t be touched, and the other is the contract with the Windham County Sheriff s Office for dispatch services, and it is likely impossible to do anything with that as he believes it is only in the 2 nd year of a 3 year contract. McAuliffe felt that it would be beneficial to look into other alternatives or reduce the service. O Keefe stated that there is an automatic escalator on that contract which was included in this year s budget. Wright noted that if the Windham County Sheriff s Department goes over the number of hours they are contracted for then the Village gets charged for that. O Keefe stated that when the Trustees made the decision to go from its own full-time dispatch to one full-time person and contract out, there was a dramatic savings. McAuliffe asked if the Board could look at staffing at the Police Department. O Keefe stated that he has been working with Chief Lake on scheduling noting that now the officers work 10 hour shifts and the Chief is now looking at 8 hour shifts and there appears to be some savings. Golec noted that in years past the Village had contracted with Windham County Sheriff to provide coverage in the village and this could be looked at again. Golec also noted that in reference to the dispatch services a number of other services were looked at including Springfield, Hartford and others, and the $90,000 for the Sheriff s Department is very reasonable as opposed to the $200,000 that the Village was spending for our own dispatch. Jonathan Wright stated that now we are looking at a $240,000 cut that has to be found rather quickly and asked the Board to consider a revenue generating model for fire/ems as Manchester, VT has. Mr. Wright noted that Manchester Center has a volunteer fire department and rescue with a budget similar to ours but it generates $450,000 in revenue. Mr. Wright stated that this would involve charging for response services. Golec stated that this was considered in the past and both the Trustees and the Selectboard did not adopt it. Mr. Wright stated that the Board should consider not only cutting now but how it would solve this in the long run and how it can generate revenue. Mr. Wright asked that the Board keep an open mind and look at generating revenue as well as keeping services. Mickle thanked Mr. Wright and stated that his ideas were good for the future but for the short term the Village is going to experience some losses. Deborah Wright noted that the Board is going to appoint a fire committee or a services committee and that over time there will be ways to have services as needed and find ways to generate revenue.

6 August 8, 2017 Page 6 O Keefe noted that, as Mickle mentioned earlier, there would have to be elimination of staff and from a time frame standpoint, because of the union contracts in place, one of the departments requires 120 day notice before any lay-offs which brings this into December. O Keefe stated that the $240,000 cut, in some ways, has to take place over half a year as opposed to a full year and asked the Board to bear that in mind. c) Water/Sewer Rate Setting/Customer Classification: O Keefe noted that information was provided in the Board s packets which showed the trend of a 3% increase in both water & wastewater every other year and a drop in the minimum cubic feet each year. Deborah Wright asked why the North Westminster rates were the same as the Bellows Falls rates. O Keefe stated that there was an agreement and he will look into this. McAuliffe asked what percentage of wastewater flow is from Walpole, NH. Wheeler stated this was a moving number and last flow measured from April, May & June was 24%. Wheeler stated that Walpole pays a portion of the bonds Headworks & RBC - and will pay a portion of the Depot Street pump station upgrade. Wheeler also noted that in FY2019 the bond for the upgrades would come into play as well. McAuliffe noted that the FY2018 budget shows a reduction in Walpole and would like to see a cash flow analysis. Wheeler explained that over the years Walpole has lost significant large businesses such as Hubbard Farms and the hatchery off Route 12. McAuliffe then noted that at the end of the year the Wastewater Fund had $29,000 in cash and that both Water and Wastewater funds were in good shape. O Keefe stated that for FY2017, which closed June 30, the fund balance for the Water Fund was $5 million and the Wastewater Fund was $5.8 million. McAuliffe stated that he sees the cash balance for the Water Fund at the end of FY2017 is $869,000 and the Wastewater Fund is $29,000. McAuliffe stated that he wants to make sure the Board is making a good decision on setting the rates. McAuliffe again stated that he would like to see a cash flow analysis for these funds especially with the anticipated increase in debt service in FY2019. McAuliffe asked that once a finance director is in place that this cash flow analysis be done and other board members agreed. d) Discuss & Set Water/Wastewater Rates: O Keefe noted that what has taken place over the past years has been a steady increase of 3% every other year and dropping the minimum cubic feet each year in anticipation of the FY2019 debt service so it is not a major hike in rates. O Keefe stated that his recommendation would be a 5% increase in wastewater rates and 3% in water rates. Golec asked for a Board consensus on his previous suggestion to not purchase vehicles this year for the Water & Wastewater Department. O Keefe stated that he felt the Board should stick to the 7 year replacement schedule. Deborah Wright reminded the Board that the agenda item was to set rates and this could be discussed at a future meeting. Stefan Golec made the motion to increase the Wastewater Fund rates by 5% and the Water Fund rates by 3%. Motion was seconded by Steve Adams. Motion passed unanimously.

7 August 8, 2017 Page 7 7. Trustee Items: a) Discuss Service Charges for Properties or Activities: Adams stated that he feels the Board should address where revenue can be increased, noting certain properties in the village see more activity and use more services than others, and the property owner should be charged a fee over a certain usage such as police response, fire response, etc. Deborah Wright stated that there was a committee in 2012 that never completed gathering the information. Adams stated that there are enough rental properties here and asked how a cap could be placed on restricting further development of rental units. Deborah Wright stated that there are ways to look at a cap, to alter zoning and assess fees, and this can be done at a board level. Adams suggested asking the Town Planning Board. b) Historical Society Request for Dog Station: Chris Glennon was present representing the Bellows Falls Historical Society and is requesting that the Trustees place two dog stations on the Historical Society property where individuals are now walking their dogs. Mickle stated that information could be provided on where to purchase these but that he didn t feel it should be a Village or Town expense. O Keefe noted that this is not municipal property. Glennon asked if the Historical Society purchased the stations would the Village purchase the supplies. It was the consensus of the Board not to do this but the information will be provided on where these can be purchased. c) Motion to discuss Walpole/Bellows Falls Sewer Agreement: O Keefe noted that on July 12, 2016 the Trustees, by a majority vote of 3-2, voted to table discussion on this agreement until it was brought back up by a vote of the Board. Deborah Wright made the motion that the Bellows Falls Trustees discuss the sewer agreement between Bellows Falls and Walpole. Motion was seconded by James McAuliffe. Motion passed with Mickle, McAuliffe, Wright and Adams voting in favor of the motion, Golec opposed. d) Ordinance Committee Discussion: Mickle noted that an ad was placed in The Shopper and on the municipal website requesting letters from individuals interested in serving on this committee. Bennett stated that no letters were received at Town Hall. Mickle stated that he had one person, Remy Walker, who had approached him directly. Mickle stated that the committee would consist of him, Deborah Wright and Remy Walker. Overtime & Comp Time Reports: The Board members noted that this month s reports looked very good. Adams asked if training could be done during the regular work day. Bennett explained that the part-time and call firefighters have other jobs and the evening is the only time they could attend. Review Fire Dept & Police Dept Call Logs (first meeting of the month): Deborah Wright noted that there were a significant number of calls on the Police Department log showing officers outside the Village limits and is concerned that this leaves the Village vacant of police presence.

8 August 8, 2017 Page 8 Review Agenda Items for Next Regular Trustees Meeting September 12, 2017: Bellows Falls/Walpole Sewer Agreement Appointments to Fire Department Implementation Committee FY2018 Budget Reductions Review Agenda Items for Joint Board Meeting August 29, 2017: Finance Director Cost for Shared Finance Office Staff Approve Orders, Bills and Warrants: Stefan Golec made the motion to approve the orders, bills and warrants as presented. Motion seconded by James McAuliffe. Motion passed unanimously. Other Business: Golec asked that a bus tour be set up for the Joint Board O Keefe asked if the Trustees were interested in setting up another meeting this month but did note that he would be away on 8/22. Deborah Wright apologized to those present and those watching who expected that action on the FY2018 budget would be taken at this meeting and reminded everyone that the Board would be taken at the special meeting tomorrow, 8/9/2017 at 6:00 p.m. Executive Session: No executive session was necessary. Adjourn: Deborah Wright made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Motion was seconded by James McAuliffe. Motion passed unanimously. Attest: Kerry Bennett, Village Clerk