Capital Improvement Committee Meeting ~ November 30, 2023

2023-11-30 · Capital Improvement Committee · 1:23:45 · watch on YouTube →

Third Capital Improvement Committee meeting of the fiscal 2024 budget cycle, held to settle the committee's rankings and send them to the selectmen. Michelle had compiled the members' individual scores into a ranked list, and the committee went through the projects one by one to test whether the order made sense. The main change was procedural: on an idea raised by Joe, the committee took the Public Works capital fund and the fire department reserve out of the ranking altogether and will present them separately, on the grounds that the scoring criteria are built for projects rather than for annual saving. The remaining rankings were left as scored, and both motions carried. Paul will draft a one-page conveyance memo, circulate it to members individually, and aim to have it to the select board by its January 10 meeting.

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. 0:31
   Opening and plan for the meeting

   Paul (?) described where the process stands: department applications and replacement schedules received, department heads heard, projects scored individually against the policy criteria, and the scores compiled and ranked by Michelle. The plan was to walk the list, decide whether members agree with the order, and then vote on sending it to the selectmen.

2. 0:31
   Fire department CAD dispatch

   The dispatch project ranked first, with four members placing it first and one placing it third. Paul (?) said listening to EMS scanner traffic during the Lewiston mass shooting brought home how important communication is during an incident.

3. 0:31
   How to use the scoring criteria

   A member asked how to handle categories that do not apply, noting that Paul had scored ones where others scored zeros or marked not applicable. Paul (?) said the criteria are open to interpretation and what matters is that each member is internally consistent, comparing it to a hiring matrix where the score matters but the overall judgement has to make sense.

4. 6:07
   Assessing and revaluation

   Assessing ranked second at 660. Members noted the certified ratio is 67 percent against a required band of 70 to 110 percent, and that the last revaluation was around 2009, close to fifteen years ago. Pandemic-era sale prices were given as the reason the ratio has fallen, and members discussed the equity effect when a revaluation finally happens.

5. 11:18
   What a revaluation will cost

   A member relayed that John Talbot of the planning board reported Poland's revaluation RFP came back at over $400,000, against a figure the town has carried that a member recalled as 180, which several thought may be low. Poland reportedly received only one bidder and the work cannot be done until 2027. O'Donnell and Associates of New Gloucester, which does the town's tax maps, was suggested as another firm to check with.

6. 11:18
   Public Works capital fund

   The Public Works capital fund ranked third at 581. One member said he scores both reserves identically across the board because each department has a capital needs list and the question is simply whether the reserve gets funded. Another member said she struggles to rank reserves at all, since setting money aside should be a standing part of the budget rather than something competing with immediate needs.

7. 16:20
   Taking the reserves out of the ranking

   Paul relayed an idea from Joe that the capital funds be pulled out of the ranking and presented to the selectmen on their own, because the criteria are designed for projects and the funds never rank well as a result. Members tied this to level funding the reserves each year so that purchases come out of savings rather than the tax raise. Jerry agreed, and Paul recorded that the committee would take them out this year.

8. 16:20
   Whether to rank the two reserves against each other

   Members discussed whether to prioritise the Public Works capital fund over the fire department reserve or present them unranked. The view taken was that both reserve requests have appeared on the warrant in past years and that if capital funds are worth raising for one department they are worth raising for the other, so both go forward without a ranking.

9. 21:59
   Flexibility from level funding

   Members said that if the reserves are funded regardless, the town gains the ability to defer a purchase without losing the saving, and vehicles can be assessed on actual condition rather than age. A member recalled an early CIP meeting at the Public Works building where Calvin showed the committee a truck bed covered in patches and cracks, which made the case in a way paper does not.

10. 21:59
    Land use codification

    Scores on this one were spread across high, low and middle. One member ranked it high on economics, reasoning that clearer ordinances mean less money spent on lawyers interpreting them, less code officer time, and fewer appeals and suits. Paul (?) said it scored lower for him on public safety and that he wanted a clearer scope of work before committing to a contract.

11. 27:40
    What the codification contractor would deliver

    Jerry (?) said the contractor would review the ordinances and propose specific language changes, delivering a package identifying where work is needed, which would go to George the planner; most changes could only take effect at town meeting. An example given was an ambiguous appeal period that does not say whether seven days means calendar or business days, which forced a rushed response over a holiday week. The firm has done about 23 towns in the state and hosts the resulting ordinances on its own site, linked from the town's page, though redrafting and hosting would be add-on services the town is not currently seeking.

12. 33:12
    Capacity to keep ordinances current

    Paul (?) said ordinances in small towns are always a work in progress and what matters is having people continually moving them forward, but he is not sure the town has that capacity now. Jerry (?) said George works 20 hours a week, is preparing ordinances for the next town meeting and dealing with fallout from ones passed last year, and that a third-party review would take staff out of the firing line when changes are proposed.

13. 38:13
    Town office remodel

    Paul (?) raised staff retention, saying the remodel has been talked about for years and there is now an affordable plan with someone willing to carry it out. Jerry (?) said three employees share a 10 by 10 office holding code enforcement permits and plans, assessing reports and the planner's ordinances, and that part-time staff work at a TV tray behind the glass. He said the town has no space for the revaluation firm to work in or for an intern.

14. 43:20
    Whether the remodel is a stopgap

    Members said putting up a wall in the meeting room is a Band-Aid that creates a temporary meeting space and leaves the town without a board room, since select board and budget committee joint meetings have had to move to the Eureka Center and the fire station. Jerry (?) noted a plan written in 2006 put an addition at about $600,000, when the town had no full-time code officer and no planner, and the population is now about 4,200. Members agreed the ranking order of land use codification then town office remodel was about right.

15. 48:52
    Public Works equipment trailer

    Nobody present had inspected the trailer. Members understood it to be the original trailer supplied with the equipment, carrying heavy loads over rough roads, and expected stress cracks. The ranking was left where it fell.

16. 48:52
    Road treatments and paving costs

    Jerry (?), who said he had taught pavement management for the Maine Local Roads Center, described chip seal at about $32,000 for what would cost $100,000 in pavement and gets about seven years, and called crack sealing the best value because water in the cracks destroys the base. He said hot mix asphalt cost the town $82 a ton last year and this year's budget quote is $110, against 42 miles of road, and that a mix of crack sealing, chip seal and paving is the only way to hold a reasonable rotation.

17. 54:02
    Public Works director pickup

    The pickup has about 129,000 miles and rust in the rockers but no known major problems, and is used for plowing. It ranked eighth, with individual ranks of five, six, six, seven and eight. Members noted the three items above it are in the $50,000 to $65,000 range, so moving it up would mean displacing several projects, and that if it is not funded this year more should go into reserve.

18. 59:07
    How the budget is being rebuilt

    Jerry (?) said Mark is preparing the budget now in a form that does not co-mingle capital with general fund money, using a workbook that shows the tax impact as operating figures are entered. Building needs were given to Mark as placeholders, including a roof on the Eureka Center in the five to ten year range and a fire station roof already over 20 years old, and Jerry guessed roughly $10,000 to $12,000 a year to fund buildings. He also flagged septic fields around 30 years old and the town office's wooden windows.

19. 59:07
    Union Church

    Paul (?) said the building has historical value, was once the town hall and sits in the centre of town, but has little parking and no engineering report in the committee's hands. A member said the recurring problem is that there is no comprehensive plan for the building, which makes it hard to rank against needs that can be seen and costed.

20. 1:05:03
    Union Church obligation and next steps

    Lois had brought a specific request. The member whose score placed it highest said the town has an obligation to do something with the building and cannot simply ignore it, and that if it is to be left to decline the town should be released from that responsibility. Jerry (?) said the building is safe and the outstanding work is cosmetic, and that the Union Church committee was meeting that evening at Bill Snider's house intending to bring recommendations to the December 12 select board meeting.

21. 1:10:23
    Information available at this stage

    A member who also sits on the budget committee said she had assumed the CIP committee worked from the same data the budget committee sees in February, and was struck that it does not. Paul (?) said starting early is the value of the process, since questions flushed out here can be answered before the budget committee and selectmen take it up.

22. 1:10:23
    Motions on the rankings

    Michelle (?) moved to remove the Public Works capital fund and the fire department reserve from the ranking and present them separately, carrying the other rankings as scored. Paul then made a separate motion to refer the recommendations on to the selectmen.

23. 1:16:17
    Conveyance memo

    Paul will draft a one-page memo and send it to members before it goes to the selectmen, asking that comments come to him individually rather than by reply to the group, to avoid conducting town business outside a meeting. Members asked that the memo explain the removal of the reserve funds from the ranking, note what the committee did not have on the Union Church, and pick up the evening's points on land use codification.

24. 1:16:17
    Timing and presentation

    Jerry set out the schedule: Mark presenting on December 12 with the budget committee invited and Bill Snider presenting at the same meeting, the budget pack going to the budget committee around January 5, and the select board meeting on January 10. The committee settled on having the memo ready for the January meeting.

25. 1:21:30
    Joint meeting and adjournment

    Members discussed whether the memo should be presented in person at a joint select board and budget committee meeting as in past years, leaving the arrangement to Jill and Joe. The meeting adjourned.

What was decided

• 1:10:23
  Remove the Public Works capital fund and the fire department reserve from the ranking and present them separately, carrying the remaining rankings as scored; moved by Michelle and recorded as 5-0passed
• 1:10:23
  Refer the committee's recommendations on to the selectmenpassed
• 1:16:17
  Paul to draft the conveyance memo and circulate it to members individually, with comments sent to him rather than to the grouppassed

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

• 6:07
  The town's certified assessment ratio is 67 percent, below the 70 to 110 percent band members said the state requires, and the last revaluation was around 2009.
• 11:18
  Poland's revaluation RFP came back at over $400,000 with a single bidder who cannot do the work until 2027. Durham's own figure, recalled in the meeting as 180, was thought by several members to be low.
• 38:13
  Jerry (?) said three town office employees share a 10 by 10 office and part-time staff work at a TV tray, and that a 2006 plan put an addition at about $600,000 when the town had no full-time code officer or planner. Population is now about 4,200.
• 48:52
  Hot mix asphalt cost the town $82 a ton last year and the budget quote for this year is $110, against 42 miles of road.

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: 2 passages of motion language, against 3 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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