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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS 04/12/20184. n. Minutes of Board of Selectmen Joint Meeting with the Finance Committee and School Committe April 12, 2018 �teECEIVED TOWN C? ERIK OFFICE Present: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman; Mr. Jess Aptowitz, Vice-Chairman.r�AF,raplc DQI /eFchgg Clerk, and Mr. Steve Schoonveld. Mr. Neil Rhein was not present fliBB [[ 1i UU )t- NSFIELO Motion: To open the Board of Selectmen's meeting at 7:OOPM. (Aptowitz/DelVecFi�i;SETTS Passes 4:0 M ` .,, Mr. Wilk made a few comments about the budget, noting that the Town and School budgets are balanced. Mr. Dumas thanked the Finance Committee for their review of the budget and all the departments for their work going through the whole process. He noted that it is a balanced budget and does not use free cash. Ms. Murphy noted it has been positive process and truly was the collaboration of all the Committees and departments and everyone has worked together. Chairman Trowbridge noted that the Board will be reviewing the final budget making recommendations on the Town Meeting Warrant Articles at the April 251h Selectmen's meeting. Mr. Feely began the discussion on Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and how the projects would be funded. He stated that borrowing is higher in both long term and short term borrowing than in previous years. Mr. Wilk stated that part of this is funded with free cash and the roadwork, North Main Street underpass/overpass, building improvements to both the Plymouth Street Fire Station and Memorial Hall will all be funded through long term borrowing and short term borrowing will be used for a new fire engine. Mr. Wilk noted that the road bond of $2,000,000 is done every year which is catch up from all the previous years of neglecting roads. Mr. Feely noted that the CIP Committee has approved the projects and are looking for approval from the Selectmen and Finance Committee so it can be voted at Town Meeting. Mr. Dumas stated that North Main Street has a bridge owned by the Town and another owned by the State that both rest on the same railroad abutment. He stated that Mr. Azinheira worked closely with the FTA and GATRA to get $1,600,000 for the project and the Town will contribute $1,400,000. Mr. Dumas stated this area needs work as it has been deteriorating. Mr. Wilk asked how many years this debt would be and Mr. Dumas answered that Mr. Stanbrook and he will be working closely with the bank to come up with a long term strategy so that the Town can get the best interest rate and there are more projects coming in the future, but estimates that it will be spread out over ten to twenty years. Mr. Dumas stated that the highest amount the Town could borrow is $160,000,000 and with the debt for the municipal complex and the debt for the CIP projects the total debt would be $42,448,000. Mr. Wilk confirmed that the Town would never borrow that much, but it was the max capacity. Mr. Schoonveld stated that he wanted to fully explain his vote on the CIP Committee. He agreed that all the projects are valid, but voted against because the Town was going to borrow long and short term debt of $5,000,000 for the projects. He stated that since fiscal year fourteen the Town borrowed $1,800,000, $2,000,000 in fiscal year sixteen was borrowed for the roads ar�$3,300,000 in fiscal year seventeen for roads and a school project. Mr. Schoonveld then explained that in fiscal year fifteen the debt principle and debt interest was $781,000 and increased in fiscal year sixteen to $1,200,000. He stated that on day one of fiscal year twenty the Town will be behind maybe $1,400,000 depending on the math. He then stated there was no plan right now for economic development for fiscal year twenty; he believes there could be other ways to fund these one-time projects this year to ensure that fiscal year twenty would not be painful. He added that it would be easier if one time receivables like permits could be used for these onetime expenses. Mr. Dumas added that it would be the goal to not borrow the full $5,000,000 but it provides opportunity should the borrowing need to happen to get the projects started. Mr. Schoonveld asked to see a model of the effect of borrowing the full $5,000,000 over the course of the next five years and stated that if borrowing the full amount is not the plan, than it should not be presented at Town Meeting that way. Mr. DelVecchio stated that everyone is concerned with budget sustainably and stated he would like to look at the information further before making a final determination at the next Board of Selectmen's meeting. Mr. Schoonveld agreed that with more information in a couple weeks it will be easier to make a decision then it was at the last couple CIP Committee meetings. Mr. Feely continued down the list of CIP projects with brief explanations. Ms. Aguiar of the Finance Committee questioned the dollar amount for the repairs of memorial hall and Mr. Aptowitz explained that it is a historical building and to maintain its character there is a lot of detail work that will need to be done like repairing the original windows which is very costly. Mr. Dumas continued with the next CIP item of a new fire apparatus. Mr. Aptowitz questioned this additional piece because five to seven years ago two Seagraves were purchased. Mr. Dumas explained that the current engine is a 2006 vehicle that needs to be replaced there are electrical issues with the radio system and significant decay in the frame of the vehicle that is not replaceable. Mr. Feely noted that Fire Chief Boldrighini is upset about losing the piece of equipment and it was unexpected. Mr. Aptowitz stated that typically this equipment should be lasting twenty years, but Mr. Dumas stated that it is typically only twelve to fifteen years. Mr. Aptowitz stated that the entire fleet of fire vehicles should be reviewed. Mr. Aptowitz had questions about a few vehicles on the CIP list and who they were for. He asked who the DPW Public Works truck was for Mr. Ahern and his truck will get passed down and replaces a sixteen year old vehicle of a tradesman. Mr. Azinheira answered it was a Mr. Aptowitz also questioned the Chevy Tahoe on the list for the police department. Mr. Feely answered it was replacing the M7 traffic vehicle with a new Tahoe all -wheel drive vehicle. Mr. Aptowitz thought the cost of $55,000 was high. Mr. Feely responded that he would get more information from Chief Sellon. Mr. Aptowitz then asked if the $40,000 request for the website covers the entire cost and Mr. Dumas confirmed that it does. Motion: To adjourn the Selectmen's Meeting at 8:16PM. (Aptowitz/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Signature Date Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne