Finance Committee

REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE DECEMBER 4, 2013 A meeting of the Finance Committee was held on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. Mayor Donnalee Lozeau, Chair, presided. Members of the Committee present: Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire, Vice Chair Alderman-at-Large David W. Deane Alderman-at-Large Barbara Pressly Alderman June M. Caron Alderman Arthur T. Craffey, Jr. Alderman Paul M. Chasse, Jr. PUBLIC COMMENT - None COMMUNICATIONS From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Contract Award for Legislative Services (Value: $14,000) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AUTHORIZE THE RENEWAL OF THE CONTRACT WITH DAVID ALUKONIS IN THE AMOUNT OF $14,000. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN DEPARTMENT 101, MAYOR; GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET; 53, PROFESSIONAL & TECHNICAL SERVICES MOTION CARRIED ON THE QUESTION Alderman Chasse I have the report from Mr. Alukonis on what he worked on. There are eight pages and I am very impressed. I know when we first brought him on board, it was when Ex-Alderman Teeboom was here and we were a little skeptical about this particular thing but in my opinion, $14,000 was well spent. Alderman Deane When this contractor was first hired, what was the value of the contract? Mayor Lozeau $14,000 – it’s always been $14,000. Alderman Deane He is not a registered lobbyist, correct? Mayor Lozeau He registers as a lobbyist just to not violate the spirit of the law, but he does not lobby on the city’s behalf. Finance – 12/04/13 Page 2 Alderman Deane Who pays for that registration fee? Is there one? Mayor Lozeau He pays that fee. I think it’s $50.00. Alderman Deane Are there any other charges associated with this service other than the $14,000 that he is compensated for? Mayor Lozeau The first year we had a dinner with the representatives relative to pension costs and that came out of this $14,000. We have done lunch from time to time at the State House, on a session day and invited the Legislators over for sandwiches, which again, came out of the $14,000. However other than that, there are not. Alderman Deane Is there an expense report generated that he turns in? Mayor Lozeau No, if we do something like a luncheon, the city does the invoice directly and we pay it directly from the city. He is not reimbursed. He gets paid in equal installments and the years where we have had things that were related to food, that amount was less he was paid. Alderman Deane So, the food cost came out of the $14,000? Mayor Lozeau That’s correct. Alderman Pressly Does he represent anyone else besides this city? Mayor Lozeau No. From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Purchase of Replacement Training Simulator Requested by Nashua Police Department (Value: $61,189) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE FROM TI TRAINING IN THE AMOUNT OF $61,189. SOURCE OF FUNDING IS DEPARTMENT 150, POLICE, POLICE FORFEITURE FUNDS; 71, EQUIPMENT MOTION CARRIED Finance – 12/04/13 Page 3 From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Purchase of Bomb Robot Upgrade Requested by Nashua Police Department (Value: $62,000) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE FROM REMOTEC IN THE AMOUNT OF $62,000. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IS DEPARTMENT 150, POLICE; POLICE GRANT FUNDS; 71, EQUIPMENT MOTION CARRIED From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Contract Award for Auditorium Upgrades (Value: $86,259) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO ACCESS AV IN THE AMOUNT OF $86,259. SOURCE OF FUNDING IS DEPARTMENT 122, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; GOVERNMENT & EDUCATIONAL CHANNELS; 81, CAPITAL PROJECTS/IMPROVEMENTS MOTION CARRIED ON THE QUESTION Alderman Pressly I would like to speak to the next two items at the same time; they are related to the television and the broadcasting. I do support both of the items, but something interesting has come up that I have observed myself and brought up at CTAB Meetings. It’s the ability of people in the room to hear. I experienced this the other day. I went to a Land/Use Meeting on the third floor and I couldn’t hear. People in the audience could not hear at all. Some people raised their hand and asked people to speak up and they would momentarily. I know that Alderman Chasse has referenced occasionally that you can’t hear people. I did bring it up to them and then I deliberately watched the same broadcast to see if they had the same at home and the answer is no. If they broadcast a meeting, when it goes through the television, they have the capability of turning it up, but the people who cannot hear are the ones that actually attend the meetings. Mayor Lozeau You would be happy to know that we agree. Right now there are two older speakers in the auditorium. This proposal puts in six speakers. Alderman Pressly I know that – it really comes down to a lot of people do not speak into the microphone. This has been identified by the Technology Group that was put together. Apparently, as of right now, there is nothing that can notify that the person who is speaking that they are not being heard. I think it really is a problem, particularly at Land/Use meetings where people do have a vested interest. If you look around the room, a lot of the members just don’t speak into the microphone. I do feel that we need to support these two items and they are trying to solve part of the problem. I think the real problem is getting the members that are participating to speak into the microphone clearly. I don’t know how you would enforce that other than to have the Chairman remind people constantly. People can be shy about raising their hands and say please speak up. I feel sad for the people that take the time to attend the meeting if they can’t hear. Mayor Lozeau I agree and one of the things that we are trying to do is to do something about that. In addition, they can’t see. The genesis of this was trying to solve some of those problems and we included the Chairman of the Planning Board and the Chairman of the Zoning Board to meet with us and talk about what could be done. The President of the Board of Alderman also came. The T.V.’s that are going to part of this purchase will Finance – 12/04/13 Page 4 take away the need to go back up on the stage. It will also allow us to set up the table differently on the stage so that the audience can see who is speaking. The tables that we have purchased for upstairs can make a horseshoe configuration on the stage. I hope we are moving in the right direction. The panel in front of Alderman Chasse shows all of the microphones here so you tell if the volume is down on some. We are hopeful that is something that can be used up here as well. Alderman Pressly If there could be some way that you could send a signal to a speaker if you can’t hear them. Everyone has a different style of speaking. I think these will help a little bit but that still will not help the problem with the people in the room not being able to hear the speakers. Mayor Lozeau I think that having the six speakers instead of the two will go a long way to help. But, you are right, if they are not speaking into microphone, the speaker is not picking them up. Alderman Pressly I really think that it was the individual speakers because watching on the television; I could see that they were speaking way back. Alderman Chasee There is a certain gentleman out there who watches all of the meetings and he says that even myself, and I talk pretty loud, if I talk away from the microphone, my voice goes in and out. If I back up, he says he has trouble hearing me. I think there’s something with these microphones that you have to speak straight at them. Mayor Lozeau Maybe we should get everyone lapel microphones. I don’t know if those would work but I will ask. Mayor Lozeau At the Playground Meeting the other night, people were able to hear relatively well. One of the things we had was the multi-directional microphones on the table. Anyway, it is a problem that we are trying to solve. Alderman Pressly I think it really is a problem in the Land/Use Meetings because the meeting I attended had people announcing their position and nobody really had any idea what they said. The vote was a real surprise because nobody had any idea based on not being able hear what was just said. Mayor Lozeau Let’s hope what we are doing will go a long way and we will pay attention and see if we need to do anything else. Alderman Deane This will not correct the problem of – if I happen to be home and want to watch a meeting replay, I have to put the volume on my TV. up to 100 to be able to hear it. Finance – 12/04/13 Page 5 Mayor Lozeau This should change that. There are a couple of things that are happening in addition to this. Comcast is re- doing their feed into the building. It’s a very old feed and I don’t have all of the information yet but I will share that with you when I can explain it in a way that everyone will understand. We think that will go a long way in helping with the problem. Alderman Deane Is that a Comcast problem? Mayor Lozeau It’s not necessarily a Comcast problem, but some of the things that we are doing we think will help that problem. Alderman Deane That’s been going on for a long time, that’s not a new issue. Mayor Lozeau Yes, but we want to see how the new connection impacts it. It may or it may not. Alderman Deane Are we getting that free of charge? Mayor Lozeau Yes, actually, we are. Alderman Deane Don’t we have a contract to approve or to discuss for Comcast coming up shortly? Mayor Lozeau Not yet. The contract they have expires in 2015. We are working on putting together the group that is going to work on that contract. Hopefully, it will be ready by the 1st of this next year. I am sure there will be conversation surrounding it. From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Purchase of Studio Switching System (Value: $29,995) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASEE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO ACCESS AV IN THE AMOUNT OF $29,995. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN DEPARTMENT 122, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; GOVERNMENT & EDUCATIONAL CHANNELS; 81, CAPITAL PROJECTS/IMPROVEMENTS MOTION CARRIED Finance – 12/04/13 Page 6 From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Electronic Recycling Change Order #2 (Value: $75,000) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AUTHORIZE THE CHANGE ORDER #2 TO THE CONTRACT WITH UNIVERSAL RECYCLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR A NET CHANGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $75,000. SOURCE OF FUNDING IS DEPARTMENT 168, SOLID WASTE; SOLID WASTE FUND; 55, OTHER SERVICES MOTION CARRIED ON THE QUESTION Mayor Lozeau You may recall that this came in in June 2012 as a three-year contract. The amount of electronic recycling that we are getting in has far exceeded any of our estimates. We had hoped in the first couple of years that we would get our Samsung subsidy that we had had for a couple of years before that. It did not come through but it is still on the table as potentially coming through this year, after January, but we do not know for certain. We were paying .24 cents; it’s been negotiated down to .17 cents. Hopefully that will help mitigate some of this but it is significantly more than what we had expected it to be – the amount of electronics that are coming in and being recycled. We did an increase of $9,500 but looking at the way we are going; it looks like we are going to do double what we expected in the year. Alderman Deane Are these people easy to communicate with? Mayor Lozeau Do you mean the people that we are doing the recycling with? Alderman Deane Yes, I have tried to touch base with them about some recycling stuff and they never call back, they are impossible to reach, and nobody ever answers the phone. Maybe I should ask the Public Works Director for a direct number or contact. Mayor Lozeau It could be that it is a small company and so they are out there recycling. I know that we have been successful working them, I know that they were willing to negotiate the price down for us because of what we were dealing with. Then again, we see them in person, multiple times per week. Alderman Deane Are they the same folks that do all of the other fluorescent bulb recycling for the school district? Mayor Lozeau I don’t know. Alderman Deane What do we do with all of our recycling? Finance – 12/04/13 Page 7 Mayor Lozeau I don’t know. Alderman Deane I’ll send the Public Works Director an e-mail. Maybe she has another phone number. This is just another example of the disposable society that we live in. It never ceases to amaze me when you go down to the land fill and you see the amount of electronic products. Especially those big projection TV’s. There are some valuable metals, especially in computers that they cherry pick out of there. Alderman Pressly Just seeing the word recycling, and I live in a building where I was hoping there would be something done. Is there any report or has anything been done on the recycling project for apartments and condos? Mayor Lozeau We have done a significant amount of work and we have come up with an idea that we were exploring. We have met with vendors. It has been virtually impossible to find a night to meet when you look at the make- up of the committee. I don’t know the results of the vendor meetings. I wasn’t able to attend that meeting. I can tell you that I was impressed with the Tara Heights off of Exit 1. They actually have compact recycling on-site that they provide for their residents. From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Contract Award for Demolition of 28 Fairmount Street and 73-75 Broad Street (Value: $88,830) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO JAY-MOR ENTERPRISES IN THE AMOUNT OF $88,830. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN DEPARTMENT 160, PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION/ENGINEERING; CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND; BROAD STREET PARKWAY MOTION CARRIED ON THE QUESTION Alderman Deane Where is the debris going? Mayor Lozeau I usually make sure I know the answer to that…. Alderman Deane Is this the blue building on Broad Street? Mayor Lozeau It is the blue building on Broad Street – the house and the garage. Alderman Deane What are they doing with the flag pole? Finance – 12/04/13 Page 8 Mayor Lozeau I did not ask them what they were doing with the flag pole. Where would you like it to go? Alderman Deane I would like to put a flag pole at our baseball field because we end up using the one across the street. Mayor Lozeau I think I can probably take care of that. Alderman Deane Didn’t Jay-Mor do some grinding for us at one time? Mayor Lozeau Jay-Mor has done a lot of work for us. Alderman Deane Are they the ones that own that CBI grinder that they bring down to the landfill? Mayor Lozeau I don’t think so, but maybe. I am not confident in giving you the answer on where this demo is going but I’ll let you know. I have a Broad Street Parkway meeting tomorrow so I’ll let you know. Alderman Deane Which building is 28 Fairmount? Mayor Lozeau It’s the one right at the top of where Fifield Lane used to be. Alderman Deane Who is in charge of disconnecting all of the utilities? Mayor Lozeau The project is. The house is vacant and has been for quite a while. We wanted to put these two together to get a better price. Alderman Deane Wasn’t this Francisco guy – isn’t he the one that tore down…. Finance – 12/04/13 Page 9 Mayor Lozeau 44 Broad Street – and he did great job but when he bid on this he missed something in his bid so he withdrew. The State and Federal Highway allowed us to go to the next lowest bidder which was Jay-Mor. Alderman Deane What did he miss? Mayor Lozeau It was something that increased the price. I don’t even know if it was specific, I think what happened was after he was the lowest bidder and was awarded the contract and it went through the Board of Public Works; he came back and said “I missed something that would add X to my price so I will withdraw.” From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Contract Award for Pipe Lining on West Hollis Street Requested by Public Works Engineering (Value: $122,000) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO INSITUFORM TECHNOLOGIES IN AN AMOUNT NOT-TO-EXCEED $122,000. SOURCE OF FUNDING IS DEPARTMENT 169, WASTEWATER; WASTEWATER FUND; SEWER REHAB MOTION CARRIED ON THE QUESTION Mayor Lozeau We talked about this a couple of meetings ago when we brought in the emergency because of the sewer collapse on West Hollis Street. It was questionable back then on whether or not we were going to be able line. We did replace 15 feet of the pipe that collapsed with a new pipe. This is 815 feet of pipe that we are going to be lining in that general area - more than one pipe and multiple connections. When we had talked about being able to do a single lane because the lining should allow us to be able to do that and only close one lane at time - that may not be case here because of the extent of the work. They are going to try to do that. They will put a Work Plan together for us. We don’t know how long it will take. It’s going to be daytime work starting at 7:00 a.m. We will have to get a better idea of that when they come in and have the Construction Planning Meeting. My understanding is that it will depend on the size of the equipment that they are going to need they have to do a lot of video work. It’s my hope that it doesn’t take longer than a couple of weeks. Alderman Deane Are they going to have to use a pumping system to by-pass some of this? Mayor Lozeau No, they will not have to do any by-pass work. The lining is a frozen form that they put in and then they have to heat it with either hot water or steam so they will have something running into the pipe system for that. I am told that usually takes about six hours. Alderman Deane What is the warranty on this work? Finance – 12/04/13 Page 10 Mayor Lozeau We have been using it all over the city for a lot of different pipes. It’s not a straight 815 feet. The longest stretch is 313 linear feet. I don’t see what the warranty is right now but I do know is that we have had great luck with it. It has cost us significantly less than replacing the pipe. Alderman Deane Well, we know that because a while ago we talked about manhole structures that we were doing this with. Mayor Lozeau They did the sewer lining project for Burke Street….. Alderman Deane There’s a one-year warranty from the date of installation. I just found that. That’s not a long time. Mayor Lozeau No, that’s not a long time. Alderman Deane How old is this technology? Mayor Lozeau I can’t answer that question. I learned about it when we used it the first time, four or five years ago, and at that time there was a lot of discussion about it. I do know that we haven’t had any trouble with what we have used. Alderman Deane We have to supply them with a fire hose. Do we have one of those? Mayor Lozeau We work together with City Departments. They might be able to provide something from their training. Alderman Deane I think it would be a hard sell to tell the Fire Department that their fire hoses were going to down in the sewer line. We also have to provide traffic control as needed, including police details and/or flag men and special traffic control set-ups while work near or on local or state roads. The condition of the pipe is the responsibility of the owner. Are we going to be allowed to open the hydrant? Mayor Lozeau It says that we have to provide the use of fire hydrants and/or sufficient water to complete the flushing and access to that and the water supply will be within 500 feet – which we have. Finance – 12/04/13 Page 11 Alderman Deane How are we going to pay for the details? Mayor Lozeau It will be part of the project. Alderman Deane It will be part of the project but not part of the cost. Mayor Lozeau We have funds in the Wastewater Budget, as you know, for these kinds of projects. For those items that are outside the scope of this particular contract, the source of funds will be the same. Alderman Deane So, in reality, the cost of this project is going to be a lot higher than the $122,000. Mayor Lozeau It depends on how long it lasts and how many details need. I don’t think there’s much more that’s costly in here. There’s going to be staff time involved and inspection time involved. 815 feet of pipe at $122,000 or $200,000 is still a heck of deal. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None NEW BUSINESS – None DISCUSSION Alderman Pressly I had heard via the Conservation Commission that there has been a land donation given in the southwest quadrant by a Nashua family and there is going to be a memorial or a monument put up there. I’ve asked Patty about it and she has said “yes, that’s true” and she was going to send me something about it but I haven’t received it. I leave her messages. Mayor Lozeau She’s been out. She has some family medical issues going on right now. The only thing that sounds familiar to as to what you are talking about is a land donation that happened many years ago. If you are talking about the Tamposi land that had been donated in 2000 or 2003. I know that they went to the Conservation Commission because part of that donation included putting some kind of plaque or monument up that would recognize that it was donated by the Sam Tamposi, Sr. I know that they went to the Conservation Commission to get permission on where to put it and they cleared out an area to put it in. I haven’t seen it myself but it’s near Lovewell Pond. Alderman Pressly That must be it. How much land is involved? What do they plan to do with the land? Is it recreational? Finance – 12/04/13 Page 12 Mayor Lozeau It is conservation land. Years ago when the southwest quadrant was developed, it included a donation of a significant of amount of land, including land around Lovewell Pond that went to the Conservation Commission. I think the memorial is already there and the Conservation Commission did give them permission but I have personally not been there to see it. RECORD OF EXPENDITURES MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE HAS COMPLIED WITH THE CITY CHARTER AND ORDINANCES PERTAINING TO THE RECORD OF EXPENDITURES FOR THE PERIOD NOVEMBER 15, 2013 TO NOVEMBER 27, 2013 MOTION CARRIED PUBLIC COMMENT - None POSSIBLE NON-PUBLIC SESSION ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN CRAFFEY TO ADJOURN MOTION CARRIED The Finance Committee meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m. Alderman Paul M. Chasse, Jr. Committee Clerk