City Council - Finance Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 MINUTES FINANCE Meeting 09/29/2021 Attendees: FINANCE Committee Members: Councilor Peg Conniff Councilor Homar Gomez, Chair of this meeting Other Attendees: Chris Norris, Fire Chief Bri Eichstaedt, Health Director Jamie Webb, Assistant City Planner Emily Russo, Director, Human Resources Meeting called to order at 5:00pm. The meeting was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pan- demic and was videotaped. Approval of Minutes from 7/14/21; 8/17/21; 9/14/21. Motion Councilor Gomez, Second Coun- cilor Conniff. Approved 2-0 Mayor Communication: None Public Speak: None New Business 1. Interdepartmental Transfer A. $49,586.95 to transfer to the PEG Access Receipts Reserved Account. This money is received by the city for Charter for Easthampton Media. Motion (Gomez), Second (Conniff) passed 2-0 2. Supplemental Appropriations  A. $4,900 from Cannabis Stabilization for grant match - Fire Dept. hose/nozzle/rack. This amount will be used to fund the required match for a $19,000 AFG grant to replace old outdated hose and nozzles. Chief Norris explains that this is a result of a “need” assessment done in the Fire Department. The grant received requires a 5% match from City funds. Motion (Conniff), Second (Gomez) passed 2-0 B. $13,095.24 from Cannabis Stabilization for grant match towards purchase of a new ambulance. 2 ambulances are rated from Fair to Poor. The ambulance was retro- fitted in 2010 with a new chassis. The patient box is from 2000. New technology exists that would provide better care for patients. All equipment in existing ambu- lance will be transferred over. Old ambulance will be traded in. Motion (Conniff), Second (Gomez) passed 2-0 3. Request to Amend scope of CPA project at old Town Hall - Original CPA request approved by City Council included specific requirements that the scope of the project could not be changed. The Old Town Hall project is requesting to use some of the approved funding to re- design the first floor space (Flywheel) to meet fire and building codes and to paint former Flywheel pace. Jamie Webb spoke regarding the need for this change. Original funding was in 2017 from CPA $206,478. $135,000 was used for design and construction drawings leaving $71,478 for future bidding. Burns Maxey spoke about the need to refurbish the old Flywheel space since this tenant left as a result of the pandemic. There was also some painting of the north facing tower. The entire project is about $26,000. The agreement with CPA is they will provide money as long as CitySpace gets a 50% match. Motion (Conniff), Second (Gomez) passed 2-0 4. Amend Chapter 7 to add the following positions to the Classification & Pay Plan: A.Community Social Worker at a grade F. New position to be added. Health Director Bri Eichstaedt spoke to the need for this position. This has always been a position that is necessary for the city. The Health department hears 150-300 complaints on unsanitary conditions and hoarding. It has been the #1 issue faced by the Health de- partment. There is often difficulty getting resources for this issue. This position would work closely with Police CSO officer. Work with Healthy Youth Coalition. Mayor supports this and has recommended using ARPA dollars to fund this for the next few years. There will be no impact the current budget for this salary. Motion (Conniff), Second (Gomez) passed 2-0 B. Information Technology Director at a Grade H. Prior to this year, technology depart- ments were shared between Schools and City. The city is now building out their own Tech department. The current system administrator position does not encompass all the knowledge and tasks needed by this director. This new position would look to be filled in the FY23 budget. The high end salary would be about $108,000 annually. Motion (Conniff), Second (Gomez) passed 2-0 5. Amend Chapter 7 to change the pay grade of the Public Health Nurse from E to F Looking to change the grade of the Public Nurse to be more competitive with surrounding com- munities. Initially, this position would be 23 hours/week. Funding through December 2021 would come from CARES/FEMA dollars. After that until the end of FY22, the salary would come from the Health Department budget which leave about a $4-5K gap. This gap would be funded through the General fund and then included in the FY23 budget. Meeting Adjourned at 6:02 PM Next Meeting TBD