Board of Commissioners

TOWN OF BURGAW BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL MEETING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) DATE: February 19, 2014 TIME: 9:00 AM PLACE: Burgaw Municipal Building BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Eugene Mulligan Mayor Pro-tem Howard Walker Wilfred Robbins, Charles Rooks and Elaine Tyson BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Jan Dawson (arrived at 11:30 for regular meeting and afternoon session of CIP) STAFF PRESENT: Chad McEwen, Town Manager Sylvia W. Raynor, Town Clerk Robert Kenan, Town Attorney Rebekah Roth, Planning Administrator Bill Fay, Director of Public Works Louis Hesse, Building Inspector Ashley Loftis, Finance Officer Montrina Sutton, Chief of Police Allen Wilson, Fire Administrator MEDIA PRESENT: None The meeting was called to order by Mayor Mulligan at 9:00AM. Mr. McEwen advised this process is to forecast our budget needs for the next five years as well as to set some goals for the upcoming fiscal year. Mr. McEwen reviewed the capital improvement plan document that was drafted at the end of last year which was included in a power point presentation. Mr. McEwen advised he does not anticipate raising tax rates or water/sewer rates in order to meet the budget needs for the upcoming fiscal year. Upon completion of the review Mr. McEwen presented requests by department. ADMINISTRATION – No CIP items requested PLANNING Mr. McEwen and Ms. Roth discussed the proposed marketing and branding campaign for the downtown area which includes public art, t-shirts, brochures, flyers, bumper stickers etc. Mr. McEwen advised the blue historic district street signs were also a part of this plan. Mr. McEwen advised Tourism Development Authority funds could be used for the abovementioned items. Mr. McEwen advised there has been a request from a daycare for fencing the play areas at Rotary Park. Ms. Roth advised it was suggested that the age restricted areas be separated by fencing to discourage older children from playing on the younger children’s play equipment. The request was 10k for chain link fencing. Mr. McEwen said he has not had any requests from the public regarding this issue, only from the daycare which tells him the larger public is not concerned with this issue. He said he wasn’t sure this is a justifiable expense. He also advised it would create more maintenance. Commissioner Rooks commented that if the citizens are not asking for the fencing that he is not concerned about private businesses having their special requests met at tax payer’s expense, plus the maintenance work for public works would be doubled. Mr. McEwen advised a bike and pedestrian plan has been talked about. He advised this is something that Ms. Roth can manage in house. Mr. McEwen advised there has been discussion regarding a west side park plan. He commented that we are resource heavy on the east side of the rail road bed. He advised we need to incorporate the western side of town into the recreational components offered by the town. BOC MINUTES CIP MEETING FEBRUARY 19, 2014 1 Ms. Roth reviewed proposed multi-family zoning policy changes. She advised there has been some discussion with the Planning Board to maybe have a separate multi-family zoning district. She said the Planning Board is in favor of making changes in order to be able to not feel obligated to approve a project that is not in the town’s best interest. Ms. Roth advised the issue is primarily tax credit projects that come through at a certain time of the year and the developers complain about the process because it costs them so much up front. Ms. Roth advised her desire is to put this issue out to the public and for the Board to decide if they desire to make changes to the policy. There was a very lengthy discussion regarding this issue. The consensus of the Board was for Ms. Roth to discuss this item further with the Planning Board and bring it back to the Board of Commissioners at a later date. INSPECTIONS Mr. Hesse advised there is a need to replace the roof on the annex building at an approximate cost of $8000. Mr. Hesse said Needham Hall advised the roof can wait a little longer. Mr. Hesse advised the roof replacement is on the five year plan. Commissioner Robbins asked if there is any need for another inspector and if Mr. Hesse is managing the inspections without being overworked. Mr. Hesse advised he is managing and it helped when the administrative position was hired which gives him the ability to be out of the office. Mr. Hesse said he has a second inspector in the five year plan if revenues and projects warrant the need for another position. He said all is well at this time. POLICE DEPARTMENT Mr. McEwen commented that for several years the Police Department has followed a five year Vehicle Replacement plan. He advised that currently three cars are scheduled for replacement this year. Mr. McEwen advised there are many different opinions regarding this replacement plan. Commissioner Rooks said he drives his vehicles for longer with higher mileage than any of these listed on the replacement schedule. Commissioner Rooks said he feels we need to hold out for higher mileage on the vehicles. Mr. McEwen said he feels that each year we need to objectively look at the condition of each vehicle before taking any action. He said he has issue with replacing a vehicle just because it is five years old regardless of condition. Commissioner Tyson agreed that each vehicle needs to be looked at before purchasing new vehicles. Chief Sutton said that the Trailblazer needs to be replaced because of its age but that the police department needs a four wheel drive vehicle in the event of inclement weather. Mr. McEwen advised the Board needs to make a final decision as to how to manage the vehicle replacement in order for him to get some ideas for the budget process. Commissioner Rooks said his recommendation is to hold the vehicles until there is a minimum of 100k miles whether its five years or seven years or whatever. Commissioner Robbins said he likes the idea of replacing the Taurus (admin car) with the Mercury Mountaineer. He also said we do need a new four wheel drive due to the weather we have. He said the Crown Victoria could be repaired and kept to be used as needed. After much discussion with no definitive decision, Mr. McEwen advised he would like to put this discussion on hold until after the next item is discussed which involves the hiring of another patrol position. Mr. McEwen advised Chief Sutton is requesting an additional police officer and desires to apply for a grant which would include the purchase of a vehicle and necessary equipment. Mr. McEwen advised the Governor’s Highway Safety grant is a depreciating five year grant. Mr. McEwen asked if we could commit to purchase of one vehicle if Chief Sutton receives the grant by which she would receive a second vehicle. Commissioner Rooks said at the end of the grant the new officer becomes the town’s responsibility and he wants someone to show him where we need another officer. Chief Sutton said call volume has increased and that if Walmart comes in there will be more calls than we have now. Commissioner Tyson commented that she would like to replace the Trailblazer and wait to see what happens with the grant and keep the five year replacement plan but look at each vehicle each year. After much discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to purchase one vehicle and possibly a second contingent upon Chief Sutton receiving the grant. Mr. McEwen stated that Chief Sutton is requesting an increase in starting salary of patrol officers from $29,400 to $30,400 per year. Chief Sutton said it is difficult to recruit officers when other surrounding agencies start at a higher rate. She advised it has become difficult to get applicants because of the low starting salary. Mr. McEwen said that if this starting salary increase is granted he feels that merit increases should be given to the three officers that would be at or just slightly above the new starting salary to help alleviate any negative feelings among the most recent BOC MINUTES CIP MEETING FEBRUARY 19, 2014 2 recruits. It was the consensus of the Board to plan for a starting salary increase of $1000 per year for police officers to include increasing salaries of the lowest paid current officers to put theirs at or above the new hires. Mr. McEwen advised Chief Sutton is requesting purchase of new shotguns. Chief Sutton advised the shotguns currently in use were purchased seventeen years ago. FIRE DEPARTMENT Mr. McEwen advised currently the fire department has a pool of people that equals 2.8 persons that show up for work every day. The budgeted funds are split up among eight people that currently show up for work Monday through Friday. Mr. McEwen informed the Board the proposal is to convert the 2.8 employees to 2 full time employees (individuals) and retain one part time position that will be selected from the pool that will equal 1 full time person. Mr. McEwen advised the call volume indicates that most calls are from outside the incorporated area. He said we have looked into asking for a 2 cent fire tax increase to cover the expenses of personnel which would generate $63,514 in revenue to help with cost of these employees. Mr. McEwen also advised having the full time employees would help reduce our fire rating. Allen Wilson, Fire Administrator said that Burgaw has not had a reclassification from the state which is part of the process that determines the fire rating. Mr. Wilson said having full time employees will help improve the fire rating. Commissioner Rooks asked if the fire board is aware of the requests being made today. Mr. Wilson advised the fire board is aware of the requests and they had no questions at that time. Commissioner Rooks said he does not want to get rid of volunteer fire fighters and end up with a paid department. Mr. McEwen advised this is not an effort to get rid of the volunteers. Mr. McEwen said this will only work with an active volunteer base. Commissioner Rooks suggested trying to reduce our fire insurance rate before changing to full time employees. He also suggested one full time and two part time employees for the fire department. Mr. McEwen advised sometimes there is not enough coverage during the day due to part time employees being held over at their regular jobs or being out sick etc. Mr. McEwen advised he needs guidance regarding the 2 cents fire tax increase because they have to meet with the county in March to set the county budget. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the fire department employees. Commissioner Rooks advised he is opposed to the tax increase. Commissioner Robbins said he would be willing to go with one full time. Commissioner Walker advised he could go with one full time. Commissioner Tyson advised she favors one full time employee. Mr. McEwen advised they will use one full time employee for budget purposes. Mr. Wilson advised the proposed tanker is a new truck that will give the fire department two tankers. He advised this truck will be for Pender Central. Mr. McEwen asked if the town should buy this truck when it will be purchased for coverage of the Pender Central fire district and is this reason enough to ask for the 2 cent fire tax increase. After a lengthy discussion, Mr. McEwen advised he feels this is a reasonable argument considering the truck will be a Pender Central truck and not a town truck. Commissioner Tyson said that if we have to buy the tanker truck for Pender Central she thinks it is only fair to go up on the fire tax to help pay for the truck. Commissioner Rooks asked if the purchase of the tanker truck is a required piece of equipment to maintain the ISO rating. Mr. Wilson said “yes”. Commissioner Robbins asked Mr. Wilson if the purchase of the tanker truck would lower the ISO rating enough to offset the fire tax increase. Mr. Wilson said that when the state gets here to make its decision it should lower the ISO and reduce insurance rates. It was the consensus of the Board to move forward with the purchase of the tanker truck along with a request for a 2 cent fire tax increase. RECESS Mayor Mulligan recessed the meeting at 11:00AM in order to prepare for the rescheduled regular meeting at 11:30AM. MEETING RECONVENED The meeting reconvened at 2:57PM. BOC MINUTES CIP MEETING FEBRUARY 19, 2014 3 PUBLIC WORKS Mr. McEwen reviewed the public works requests which included a public works 4x4 truck (35K), 100k -150k for paving priorities, garage improvements (35k), generator /ATS for Smith Street (35k) and sewer jetter for (75k). There was brief discussion regarding the abovementioned items; no changes were requested. Mr. McEwen advised the water improvements project is contingent upon grant funding. NON DEPARTMENTAL ITEMS Mr. McEwen reviewed the cost of the proposed roundabout. Commissioner Rooks said it is difficult to think about spending town money on a state road. Mr. McEwen advised the Board that now is the time to decide if the roundabout is still a priority or if we want to consider taking it off the CIP list. He said unless the Board tells him to take it off the list it will continue to be on the plan. Mr. McEwen said that without some type of funding to make up the balance, the project will never be constructed, it will remain a concept. Commissioner Rooks said if we get feedback from the public information session then we can discuss what our next step will be. Mr. McEwen briefly mentioned the proposed sidewalk to the senior center. Mr. Hesse briefly reviewed the plans for roof repairs on the Community House. There was a brief discussion regarding the future of the old EMS building with options to demo the building, do minimal up fits or a complete renovation. Mr. McEwen reviewed the security issues at the town hall including secure storage solutions as well as more security at the town hall building to include restrictive access to all doorways and to include video cameras. Allen Wilson reviewed the options for either a key fob entry or swipe card system to gain entry to the building. Mr. McEwen advised there are painting and flooring needs throughout the building that need to be addressed. Mr. McEwen advised there are space issues in the building. He said it is time to start to discussion about the expansion of this building due to office space issues, board room space limitations and parking limitations. He reviewed some possible plans for expansion and said this is conceptual only and there are no plans to do anything this year. He said it would be nice for all staff to be under the same roof. He said if the town hall is expanded, the planning and inspections office as well as the old EMS building could be demolished. He said if the board is interested, we need to start planning for the future. Mr. McEwen advised the computer upgrades are scheduled at $15,000. Mr. McEwen reviewed the cost of proposed COLA and merit pay increases and the benefits of merit increases for morale. Mr. McEwen reviewed the proposals for fiscal years 2016-2019 (listed on attached power point). There was much discussion regarding the necessity of replacing vehicles and it was reiterated that this is a plan only and this will be looked at again in accordance with need. Other possibilities were mentioned including more sidewalk repairs downtown, additional Christmas decorations, marquee/message board for town hall, sidewalk to hospital, scout hut renovations and water tank mixers. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the purchase of a tank mixer at a cost of $25,000 per mixer. Bill Fay suggested putting the mixer in the largest water tank. Commissioner Rooks said he is in favor of purchase of one mixer. BOC MINUTES CIP MEETING FEBRUARY 19, 2014 4 OTHER ITEMS There was much discussion regarding the condition of Fremont Street and how to get it paved. Mr. McEwen reminded the Board that the water line must be repaired first and he is hoping to incorporate this into the water project that he is working on with Skip Green. There was brief mention of repaving of the cemetery streets as well as repair of the tennis courts. Mayor Mulligan asked if the walking trail was in some way going to be connected to the county park on the west side of the town to create more connectivity. Mr. McEwen advised Ms. Roth is currently working on a plan. Mayor Mulligan mentioned connectivity across the railroad right of way to safely move pedestrians and bicyclists from one side of town to the other. Mr. McEwen advised this could be addressed in the plan that Ms. Roth is working on. Commissioner Walker suggested a bench be placed beside the fence at the middle school for a rest stop for walkers. Commissioner Rooks commented there is a dire need for a center turn lane on NC 53 (W Wilmington) near Lanier’s store in order to alleviate traffic issues at that intersection. He said he would like to see this done from Wright to Smith Street. Commissioner Tyson commented about the vision impairment at the intersection of Bennett Street and Fremont Street due to the parking on the south side of Fremont. ADJOURNMENT There being no further comments, Commissioner Rooks made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Dawson and carried by unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 4:15PM. ___________________________________ Eugene Mulligan, Mayor Attest: ___________________________________ Sylvia W. Raynor, Town Clerk BOC MINUTES CIP MEETING FEBRUARY 19, 2014 5