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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLight Comm Minutes 7/21/1997Royle/Madan Vote 5- 0 111=11UM I, r Mr. Galante advised the Board that there were several different avenues the Board could concentrate on regarding the issue of regulations of Fiber Optic Cable: 1) Control 2) Liability 3) Revenue The Town of Lexington will not codify regulations and basically allows installations to be done on an ad -hoc basis. The Town of Lexington charged fees in excess of 1/2 a million dollars to the electric department and over $400,00 a year to the phone company This is an excellent source of revenue for the Town but they have decided not to tackle the whole issue of codification. The Towns of Wellsley and Dedham focus on the issue of liability. To these towns the liability issue is of much greater concern than any revenue that could be gained from the installation of fiber optic cable. These towns contracted out all of their cable issues and the ownership is vested with the contracted cable company, then the cable company pays the Townw a fee, however the fee is much smaller than. what the Town of Lexington receives. The Board should be aware that there is the potential for significant liability depending on what the cable is actually used for. Mr. Galante would like a consensus from the Board as to how•much weight the Board wants to give each of these three concerns. The other area Mr. Galante would like clarification on is the scope the Board wants to give to this issue. - -was ro review ute.¶vo,vvv vuel hull, 1 VV .. $68,000 was insufficient. 'However, TCG has now skipped over Mansfield and is installing their cable in Walpole so Mansfield has lost this money. He also questioned why we would need regulations now if no one currently wants to install cable. The Manager stated that at the very least we should have a written procedure in place as to what steps are required to apply for a permit. He also suggested that we don't want guidelines that are so stringent that they prohibit companies from entering Mansfield. Mr. Galante mentioned that Welsely and Dedham contracted the ownership of the cable out to a company named FiveCom. Mr. Galante also reiterated that he believes the $68,000 one time payment offered by TCG was not a reasonable figure. Mrs. Royle complimented Mr. Galante on his outline and stated that she feels the Board should develop guidelines and a permitting process. Mrs. Royle pointed out that if we adopt guidelines rather than regulations, it will not require a Town Meeting vote. Mrs. Royle also feels that if we do an RFP we would have a much broader picture of what is available in the industry. Mrs. Royle stated that we should find out what the future needs of the large customers in our industrial park will be, they may even help us write an RFP. Mr. Mahana requested that Mr. Galante have FiveCom submit a written proposal to the Board. The consensus of the Board was that they would prefer to draft guidelines rather than regulations since regulations would require a Town Meeting vote. The Manager indicated that he doesn't feel that it is the Board's job to identify the needs of the Town. The Manager feels we should have an outside company or consultant identify what the Towns` needs are and submit proposals. In summary, Mr. Galante will ask FiveCom to submit a written proposal to the Board and also to provide references. Mr. Galante will also begin drafting guidelines. Purchase Order Approval Six purchase orders were submitted for the Board's approval. 1. Columbia Electric PO #017182, in the amount of $2381.81 for direct burial pvc. 2. WESCO PO #017270, in the amount of $6570.00 for pad mount transformers. i .MOTION: To approve the six purchase orders submitted by the Manager. Robinson/Royle Vote 5 - 0 The Manager also advised the Board that he had received two separate invoices from Hendrix which amounted to $10,123.88, however the purchase order for these invoices was approved for only $9,644.40. The Manager advised the Board that we should have requested bids for this since it was so close to $10,000 and that we will watch this more closely in the future. The Manager also advised the Board that he had authorized emergency work to be done by B &C Paving in the amount of $1,020.00. The Manager had to have six driveway repaved on Lantern Lane and he did not feel it would be fair to the Homeowners to make them wait until the next Board meeting. Mr. Mahana wanted it noted that he didn't care what the Manager bought, but he wanted the Manager to ensure that he was adhering to the public bid laws. He does not want to see any other invoices exceeding $10,000 which have not been submitted for public bids. Charter Review Meeting ::The- Manager- advised the Board that Electric Department is scheduled to appear before the Charter Review Committee on August 4th at 7:30 which is the same night of the next Light Commissioner's Meeting. The Board advised the Manager to post the Light Commissioner's Meeting for 7:30 pm Monday, August 4th, however, the agenda will be posted and the meeting will be televised for 8:30 pm since we will meet with the Charter Committee at 7:30pm. . � sy the policy for signs on poles. 1 he manager aavisea the i3oara chat mere are not specinc bylaws or statutes regarding this issue. The Electric Department and the Telephone company owns the poles, no one has a right to put signs on any of these poles. If it - becomes a problem, the Manager will notify the Police Department and they can remove signs from poles in Town. At this time, it is not a problem. The Manager submitted the suggested posting for the Apprentice Lineman/Meter Reader to the Board and advised the Board that he was planning on posting this job at the DPW office the Electric Department and the Town Hall. The Manager feels we will get enough applications without advertising the position in the paper. Mr. Colella requested that the Board not vote on this, he would like to discuss this further with the Manager prior to posting the position. Mrs. Royle stated that she supports the position and felt the Manager should post the position and get it filled. MOTION: To authorize the Manager to post the Apprentice Lineman/Meter Reader position and fill the job. Robinson/Royle Vote 2 - 3* s *Commissioners Colella, Madan and Mahana were opposed, motion failed Wages Office Staff MOTION: To award a 3% wage increase across the Board to all non -union Electric Department Office employees. Mahana/Royle Mr. Forget - Vote 5 =0 The Manager advised the Board that he had investigated Mr. Forget's remarks from the prior meeting regarding no one responding to the dispatcher's page. The Electric Department employee on call did receive a call from the police which requested that the power to the building at 27 East St be killed. Since this employee was at the fire the previous evening and had killed the power to building, he told the dispatcher that no further action was required. r:_ I• Mrs. Royle asked the Chairman if he had received a response from Town Counsel regarding who actually has the final authority regarding personnel issues at the Electric Department. The Chairman indicated that he had not received a response from Town Counsel, but in his opinion the Board of Light Commissioners have the final authority. The Manager was asked to contact Town Counsel for a decision regarding this issue. Outsourcing bills for printing The Manager advised the Board that the Electric Department is working with the Town Manager and getting prices from different vendors regarding outsourcing the printing of Town bills. 9. i• The Manager advised the Board that we had hit an all time peak of 37.05 megawatts due to the heat wave on Thursday, July 27th. Monthly Financial The Manager advised the Board that we, lost quite a bit of money in the Month of May and it appears that we will also lose money in the month of June. The May financials will be finalized and sent out to the Board this week. The Manager asked the Board not to panic and to wait to see what the July financials look like. If there is not a significant change in the July financials, we will need to increase rates. Travel/Meetings /Conferences Mr. Mahana stated that he had a problem with not being notified that Mr. Robinson had traveled to Toronto to the APPA Conference. The Chairman stated that he had a problem with this also and feels that he should be aware of all travel for the Electric Department. The Manager advised the Board that he had extended the invitation to this conference to all Board Members and the money for these conference is budgeted for. s Motion to Adjourn at 9:15 pm Royle/Mahana Vote 5 - 0 Clerk's signature & date