November 23, 2020 ~ CIP Meeting

2020-11-23 · Capital Improvement Committee · 1:53:04 · watch on YouTube →

A working session of the capital improvement committee, held over Zoom, to go through this year's five applications and replacement schedules and compile the questions department heads will be asked when they meet the committee on December 1. No funding decisions were made; scoring and ranking come later, after which the committee forwards recommendations to the select board. Members spent most of the meeting on the public works request for a 1.5-ton dump truck that would be an addition to the fleet, on whether the fire department's $100,000 reserve request is specific enough to be accountable, and on an SCBA air pack replacement the chief rated his top priority. Joe (?) raised repeated problems with the paperwork, including applications carrying the wrong year and dollar figures entered in the wrong boxes, and argued for separate reserve accounts per item rather than one departmental bucket. Mark, attending for the first time as the select board's member of the committee, agreed to visit the town office and come back with more detail on the administration's reorganisation request.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 0:06
   What the committee is for

   Paul opened as he does each meeting by restating the charge: implement the CIP policy, which gives a process to rank and prioritise capital expenditures against the goals in the comprehensive plan and a formal set of evaluation criteria. He listed the benefits as saving over time rather than borrowing, spending as you go rather than deferring, stabilising the tax rate by spreading expenditures, and forcing department heads to keep their replacement schedules current and answer questions early.

2. 0:06
   Where the process stands

   This cycle covers expenditure year 21, the town being on a calendar year. Tonight's job is to review the applications and schedules and produce questions for the department heads, who meet the committee on December 1. After that members score the applications individually, then meet once more to see how the collated rankings come out and move recommendations to the select board.

3. 0:06
   Roll call

   After the pledge, members introduced themselves for the record: Joe, Michelle, Mark and Paul. Brian and Curtis were not present.

4. 5:30
   How the questions will be compiled

   Paul (?) offered to collate the questions as he did last year, and asked members to email him theirs after the meeting rather than rely on the discussion alone. He wanted them by close of business Wednesday so the questions could reach department heads by Monday, ahead of the December 1 meeting.

5. 5:30
   Welcome to the select board's member

   Paul welcomed Mark to the committee, saying having a select board member sitting with them would help communication and cross-pollination between the two bodies. Mark (?) said he would attend as often as he could but could not guarantee every meeting.

6. 5:30
   Road debt and the paving schedule

   A member asked about bond payments and whether the committee had the paving schedule. Paul (?) said road paving is not scored by the committee but is in the policy so members can see what new debt may be coming when they weigh future expenditures. Ruth (?) said Calvin had sent her the capital road improvement plan, that nothing is due to be rebuilt for about ten years, and that she would forward it.

7. 11:00
   Auto excise and the fire department assessment

   Ruth (?) confirmed auto excise tax goes straight to the operations budget with none of it into capital reserve. On the select board's plan to put an assessment of fire department services and equipment out to RFP, Mark (?) said no answer had been reached on how it would be paid for and it would probably go on the warrant. Ruth (?) said it depends on the price: the threshold for a capital cost is $10,000 over five years. Paul (?) said New Gloucester had a similar assessment done last spring by a New Hampshire contractor covering public works and fire and rescue for around $15,000, and Mark (?) said Durham had scoped roughly $10,000, so it sits close to the line.

8. 16:40
   Applications carrying the wrong dates

   Joe (?) said he had reprinted everything and still could not tell what was being asked for: applications were headed 2020 and 2021 and dates prepared ranged from 2019 to late October. Ruth (?) acknowledged some say 2020 where they should say 2021 and offered to list exactly what the five applications are. Members asked for consistent labelling by budget year.

9. 16:40
   The fire reserve request has no figure on it

   Going through the chief's application, the committee found the reserve request does not specify a dollar amount in the right place: $100,000 appears under total estimated cost, while the reserve account balance of about $223,000 sits in the middle of the page. Ruth's spreadsheet carries $100,000 as the request. Making the chief state the amount he wants became one of the questions for December 1.

10. 21:53
    Whether to change the application form

    Members discussed putting the amount requested at the top of the form so it is not buried. Paul (?) said the department heads have already done what was asked of them on the existing form, so any change to the form and the policy should be taken up at the end of the process or at a fall meeting before the next cycle starts.

11. 21:53
    Paper notebooks or electronic files

    Ruth (?) offered to print the materials into books for collection at the office. Joe (?) said he is a hard copy person; Paul (?) said he is in electronic mode this year given Zoom but hopes the notebooks become a tradition again. Members agreed to work electronically this cycle. The spreadsheet of tabs holding the replacement schedules, vehicle inventories and Ruth's combined sheet matching schedules to anticipated reserve balances was identified as the key document.

12. 21:53
    The market value adjustment application

    One of the applications labelled 2020 turned out to be last year's market value adjustment, which the town did not carry out. Ruth (?) said it would be taken up in next year's process because the board wants to see what the market does, given the uncertainty around COVID.

13. 27:01
    The fifth application

    The remaining application is Ruth's own: $10,000 into the municipal building fund for a town office reorganisation. Mark, who had not been on the distribution list, asked for the spreadsheets and was told he would get the updated versions.

14. 27:01
    Public works replacement schedule

    For FY21 the schedule carries $95,000 for a 1.5-ton single axle dump truck, which would be an addition to the fleet, plus a request to put $100,000 into reserve. Coming up after that is the 2001 International 2000 SE tandem axle plow truck, which is 20 years old.

15. 32:19
    Later years on the public works schedule

    In 23 a 3500 dump truck last purchased in 2014 comes up after nine years, followed shortly by a 2500 pickup.

16. 32:19
    The 1.5-ton dump truck application

    Paul (?) read the justification: adding a full-time position let the crew be split between sites, but there are not enough trucks to support that, and each crew needs a small dump truck equipped with safety signals and tools. The town has two one-tons and the pickup the road commissioner drives between job sites and meetings, leaving nothing for maintenance of town properties or for the mechanic to run for parts. The proposed truck would be a bit larger than a one-ton, with a wing as well as a plow and live hydraulics for a side dump sand and salt system so roads can be treated as they are plowed, and would not require a commercial driver's licence.

17. 37:40
    Questions about adding to the fleet

    Members wanted context from Calvin on why the extra employee was added and how the crew is meant to work, noting the application says both that the crew was split and that two crews are already running. Paul (?) asked whether the 2008 Chevy dump coming up for replacement in two years could simply be replaced then with something that does this job, whether any truck could be retired if one is added, and whether the two existing one-tons are both dumps, which the inventory does not make clear.

18. 42:46
    Whether three dump trucks are needed

    Paul's underlying question was whether the town needs three dump trucks or whether a pickup would do for running parts and casual facilities maintenance, so the town does not buy more than it needs. Michelle (?) asked who would actually drive the new truck and whether it would be the one taken for repairs and parts.

19. 42:46
    Using the road commissioner's own truck

    Joe (?) questioned whether a 1.5-ton dump could push the snow left after the big trucks and suggested instead fitting out the road commissioner's vehicle, a 2015 GMC 2500 HD, as a plow and duty truck, or buying a similar truck more cheaply. Members agreed to ask what the road commissioner's role and route are during a storm.

20. 48:10
    Replacing rather than adding

    The discussion settled on asking Calvin directly what his options would be if he did not get this truck, and whether the need could be met by replacing one of the smaller existing vehicles rather than adding to the fleet. Joe agreed to email his specific questions to Paul.

21. 53:22
    Whether the town vehicle is a perk

    Michelle (?) asked Mark whether there is any incentive arrangement giving the road commissioner a vehicle on a set replacement cycle, as some municipalities do for public works directors. Mark (?) said he was not aware of any and had never heard it discussed, and that there appears to be no policy on personal use of town vehicles because the question has not arisen.

22. 53:22
    Public works reserve request

    Rated priority three, the request is titled for replacement of the 2001 International tandem axle plow truck, though Paul (?) said it should be titled as the public works equipment reserve since the money goes into a general reserve. The account holds about $62,000, cited later in the discussion as $68,000, against a truck Paul put at roughly $200,000 plus a 3% inflation factor and due not next fiscal year but the one after. Most communities replace plow trucks somewhere in the ten to sixteen year range; this one is over twenty.

23. 58:22
    How much of the operating budget will be left over

    Mark did not want to discuss adding to reserve without knowing how close public works will land to budget, since the department's unspent money rolls into its capital reserve account. He noted the road commissioner had underspent by $70,000 to $80,000 in past years, which is how the town paid for the last two plow trucks, and that the budget was cut this year to bring him closer. Members agreed to ask Ruth for an estimate and to ask Calvin how his budget looks for the rest of the year, acknowledging December plowing is unpredictable.

24. 1:03:31
    What role the old International plays

    Paul wanted it confirmed whether the 2000 International has a regular plow route or sits as the spare, and how that would change which truck becomes the spare, since the answer is what drives the size of the reserve request.

25. 1:03:31
    Fire and rescue replacement schedule

    The Quint has been pushed back and is now described as a used Quint to replace truck 24, at a lower figure than last year's undescribed $650,000 placeholder. Mark (?) confirmed the schedule may change depending on the assessment, and said the chief wants the study rather than working from a gut feel. Engine 21, believed to be a 2004, will be 20 years old in 2024 and is the next large purchase, carried at a base cost of $625,000 escalated at 3% a year to about $700,000.

26. 1:08:39
    Whether the engine cost estimate holds up

    Paul wanted to know how recent the $625,000 base figure is and whether 3% is an adequate inflation factor, saying he had seen an estimate in another community double in a single year because an old base figure had been escalated at a rate that had not kept up, leaving the town unable to afford the vehicle when the year arrived.

27. 1:08:39
    The fire department's case for the reserve

    The chief's justification states the town has historically not done well at saving for apparatus replacement, that years of defunding or not requesting the necessary amounts left it bonding expensive items, and that buying an engine and a rescue in the same year should serve as notice. Air pack replacement and station systems upgrades have already drawn the reserve down. He asks that the amount be earmarked only for apparatus replacement.

28. 1:14:19
    The projection still falls short

    Ruth's combined schedule assumes $40,000 a year of EMS revenue and $100,000 a year from taxation into the reserve, which brings the balance in 2024 to $663,439, just short of what an engine is projected to cost that year.

29. 1:14:19
    One reserve bucket or several

    Joe (?) objected that nothing in the paperwork ties the $100,000 to any particular purchase, so if the department buys ten air packs instead of six the town is still short in 2024, and he wanted separate reserve accounts per item. Paul (?) said one equipment and apparatus reserve per department is the common approach, and that item-specific reserves leave residual balances from twenty or thirty years ago that nobody remembers the purpose of and nobody knows how to resolve. Michelle agreed from her experience auditing nonprofits.

30. 1:24:57
    The figure is in the wrong box

    The committee worked out that the chief's $100,000 was entered as the total estimated cost when it belongs under amount requested, and that the wording about engineering, survey and design is boilerplate from the town's own form rather than anything he wrote. Joe (?) argued that the application is where accountability has to live, since it becomes the public record of what the money was for.

31. 1:24:57
    SCBA air pack replacement

    Rated the chief's top priority, this request would buy 10 Scott self-contained breathing apparatus and masks. The justification says the department's SCBA are at the end of their usable life, no further upgrades are available, they will soon fail to meet NFPA 1981, parts are becoming scarce and expensive, and no grant funding has been secured. All the air cylinders have already been replaced, 29 of them, so only the packs and masks remain. The plan is 10 packs in 2021 and the remainder in 2022, then a scheduled rotating replacement.

32. 1:30:15
    This year's surplus cannot be used

    The chief had hoped to spend a COVID-driven operating surplus on packs this year, reducing what capital funds must cover. The committee noted the packs cannot be delivered before year end and the funds must be expended within the fiscal year, so the money will roll into reserves instead. Mark (?) confirmed a purchase would go out to RFP, that he regards the need as real, and that the chief would raise it at the select board meeting the following night.

33. 1:30:15
    What happened to last year's request

    Members recalled the chief's SCBA request last year ranked high and was forwarded to the board but did not make the warrant. On checking, that request was for the air cylinders, which were funded another way, and the current request is for the packs and masks themselves.

34. 1:35:36
    Which year the packs are for

    The application is filed as a reserve request but describes spending in 2021 and again in 2022, which members found unclear. Paul's view was that the reserve request should stand alone and the 2021 purchase should come in as a project request for a stated number of packs at a stated cost. Michelle was asked to write the specific questions, including whether the reference to COVID concerns cleaning or individual assignment of masks or simply cost pressure; Mark thought the packs are being replaced because they have reached the end of their life.

35. 1:40:54
    Town office reorganisation application

    Rated three, this asks for $10,000 in 2021 and up to $20,000 in 2022 against a total estimate of $20,000 to $30,000, described on the form as an uneducated guesstimate, with about $26,000 in the town office municipal account. The description notes the town voted against funding a proposed addition at the 2007 town meeting and that rearranging the existing configuration was suggested in 2017; with COVID and a town manager likely to be hired, options include moving or resizing the meeting room, converting the storage room to an office, or consolidating bathrooms to free space. The first step would be hiring someone to make recommendations.

36. 1:40:54
    Town manager timing and meeting space

    Mark (?) said the town manager question passed and the board meets MMA in early December to form a committee and set the process, with a search likely to run three to six months. On space, he said the board had looked at the problem from the other direction, considering wiring the Eureka Center so meetings could be filmed and streamed from there, since internet is the obstacle to using it now. A storage container behind the fire department is also in use.

37. 1:46:13
    Getting more detail before scoring

    Members said the application leaves too many questions about cost and scope to score against a clear path, and that $20,000 to $30,000 does not go far on any real reconfiguration. Mark, who is the select board's liaison for the town office, offered to visit and have Ruth walk him through what she has in mind so the committee has more to work with on December 1. Paul (?) said he favours repurposing existing space over new construction.

38. 1:46:13
    Close of meeting

    Paul recapped that members would email him their questions by the end of the day Wednesday, that he would collate them and send them to Ruth, and that she would pass them to the department heads. There was no other business. A brief question arose over whether Mark, as a select board member rather than a committee member, could move the adjournment.

What was decided

• 5:30
  Agreed that Paul would compile the committee's questions for the department heads, with members emailing him theirs by close of business Wednesday so the list reaches department heads before the December 1 meeting.passed
• 21:53
  Agreed to work from electronic files this year rather than printed notebooks, given the Zoom format, and to leave any changes to the application form and the CIP policy until the end of the cycle or a fall meeting rather than changing them mid-process.passed
• 1:35:36
  Michelle agreed to draft the committee's specific questions on the fire department's SCBA air pack request, including whether it should be split into a reserve request and a 2021 project request.passed
• 1:46:13
  Mark agreed to go to the town office as the select board's liaison and have Ruth walk him through the reorganisation proposal, so the committee has more detail on cost and scope at the December 1 meeting.passed
• 1:46:13
  Motion to adjourn, made by Mark. The chair called for those in favour; no count was recorded, and the meeting ended. Joe, who had been dropped by a reboot, asked afterwards to be added to the vote.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 1:14:19
  Even assuming $40,000 a year of EMS revenue and $100,000 a year put in from taxation, the fire apparatus reserve is projected to reach $663,439 by 2024, short of the roughly $700,000 an engine to replace the 2004 Engine 21 is expected to cost. The chief's own justification says years of not funding capital savings have left the town bonding expensive apparatus.
• 53:22
  The public works equipment reserve holds around $62,000 against a tandem axle plow truck due for replacement in FY22 at roughly $200,000. The truck it would replace, a 2001 International, is over twenty years old, where most communities replace plow trucks between ten and sixteen years.
• 1:24:57
  The fire department's breathing apparatus will soon stop meeting the NFPA 1981 standard and parts to repair them are becoming scarce and expensive, with no grant funding secured. The 29 air cylinders have already been replaced, so only the packs and masks remain, 10 in 2021 and the rest in 2022.
• 1:40:54
  The town office reorganisation request revives a question the town last voted on in 2007, when it rejected funding an addition. The administration asks for $10,000 next year and up to $20,000 the year after against a total the application itself calls an uneducated guesstimate of $20,000 to $30,000, which members said would not go far.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 1 passage of motion language, against 5 decisions summarised.

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