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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCapital Improvements 11/05/2013Capital Improvements Committee Minutes November 5, 2013 Present: Scott Feely and Michael O'Brien, Finance Committee; Kevin Moran and George Dentino, Board of Selectmen; Mike Trowbridge and Wayne Smith, School Committee; Michael Feck and Rich LeBlanc, Planning Board; Bob Barry, MBC William Ross, Town Manager; Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development 2, Correspondence 1. Minutes October 22, 2013 Motion: To approve as submitted (Trowbridge-Feck) All in favor. PASSES 2. November 5, 2013 Memo from Town Clerk Marianne Staples re: Voting Machines 3 "Paine Department Requests Chief Ron Sellon explained his department's FY 2-14-15 requests. Police Station Camera System $17,514.29. Chief Sellon explained one of the department's two DVR systems and half the cameras in the station broke two years ago. The cells and the temporary evidence locker are being covered by the remaining cameras. Chief Sellon said the DVR technology is obsolete and the whole system should be replaced with an IP -based recording system. Mr. Trowbridge asked how much is available in the reserve fund. Mr. Ross said the reserve fund has $250,000, but the wall repair at the high school is over budget, and $180-$200,000 of the reserve fund is committed to that project. He said they could not take money from the reserve fund now. Chief Sellon said his priority is minimizing risk. Mr. Trowbridge said the town should be concerned about lawsuits and liability and asked if the Police Department had any savings elsewhere in its budget that could be used for this equipment. Mr. Ross suggested purchasing this equipment out of this year's budget and replenishing the funds at the 2014 Annual Town Meeting. Motion: To fund the new Police Department IP -based camera system from this year's Police Department budget, then transfer the money back into the department at the 2014 Annual Town Meeting. (Trowbridge -Moran) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Feely said it is important to move quickly and have this system in place before the 2014 Comcast season. 2. Speed Trailer $21,990.00. Chief Sellon explained the current trailer is over ten years old, is rusted and the computer board does not work properly. The trailer is frequently stored outside and is used in bad weather. He said a new, top-of-the-line trailer would cost around $21,000 and include a message board to monitor vehicle speed and traffic counts. Vehicle $32,687.75. Chief Sellon explained this would replace a detective sergeant's vehicle with 33,000 miles on it. He explained there are two measures of wear for a car, the miles on the odometer (100,000) and the hours on the engine (5,000). Chief Sellon said he would like to replace the current Crown Victoria with an all -wheel drive Ford Escape. Mr. Ross and Chief Sellon discussed keeping three cruisers in the Police Department's operating budget. Chief Sellon said he would request one additional car for this year. Chief Sellon explained some issues that will come up in FY 2016, including the "Data 911" system. He said he would like to shift from a camera -based system to a tablet system and is looking for a more affordable way to share the information. He said the tablets would be $4-500 each versus laptops at $5,000 each. Chief Boldrighini said he has been working with Chief Sellon and Doug Collette from MIS to bring the tablets into the cars and fire engines. Mr. Feely asked about the Police Departments requests after 2016. Chief Sellon said the department needs to settle some positions, then fill out equipment needs. He said the department has 37 officers and his goal is to have one officer assigned to each cruiser on each shift. Chiefs Sellon and Boldrighini explained their long-term need for a combined public safety building. The North Main Street fire station was built in 1909 and is in poor condition. The West Street Police Station has a leaking ceiling, inadequate storage space, is crowded and needs cells for men and women, as well as for people under age 17. The chiefs discussed the option of a shared public safety building and shared regional dispatch, which would include Easton, Attleboro, North Attleboro and Norton. The departments would share the current DPW building at 500 East Street when the DPW moves to a new facility on Fruit Street, Mr. Ross said the proposal is very timely; he said the DPW move must happen first, but the town is still facing concerns from the neighborhood. He said there is money available for regional dispatch and for relocating MEMA. Chief Neal Boldrighini explained the turnout gear and Rescue 4, funded by 2013 Annual Town Meeting, have been purchased. Chief Boldrighini explained his department's FY 2014-15 requests. 1. Rescue 33/Associated Equipment $270,000.00 will be purchased this fiscal year trough the ambulance revolving fund. 2. Vision 21 $28,000.00 (fire alarm revolving account). 3. Thermal Imaging Cameras $20,000.00. Chief Boldrighini explained two cameras, $10,000 each, are needed for the ladder truck or the second engine. The department has two cameras now, but would like to be able to equip each engine with a camera. Mr. Stanbrook explained there is approximately $2.8 million in free cash; $1 million is going into reserve/stabilization, and $1.8 million will be available for other uses, like CIP. Mr. Feely said a lot of fire requests are being paid for out of revolving accounts and the water/sewer/light requests by retained earnings. Mr. Stanbrook said a lot of the town's long-term debt will be coming off the books soon. He said he would like to have a consistent plan for the next five years and to retain the town's AA bond rating. Mr. Stanbrook said the capital plan should be viewed as fundable, and said he would come back to the committee with an update at the end of the process. Mr. Ross said the Department of Public Works, which will be coming to the November 19 meeting, will provide the amount of work that can be done with a defined level of funding. Mr. Feely said DPW is looking for design money for the DPW facility, and the Police/Fire facility will need feasibility funding this year and design funding next year. He said lie thinks there will be a lot of support for both buildings. Motion: To adjourn at 8:10 p.m. (Feck-Trowbridge) All in favor. PASSES 19, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. Date of Approval