Finance Committee

REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE DECEMBER 18, 2013 A meeting of the Finance Committee was held on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 7:01 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. Mayor Donnalee Lozeau, Chair, presided. Members of the Committee present: 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. Members not in Attendance: Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire, Vice Chair PUBLIC COMMENT - None COMMUNICATIONS From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Hunt Building Masonry Restoration (Value: $30,634) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO SCHROEDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $30,634. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN DEPARTMENT 131, HUNT BUILDING, CITY BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS FUND; 81, CAPITAL PROJECTS/IMPROVEMENTS ON THE QUESTION Alderman Pressly I know it is important with older buildings to make sure to use extra caution that you don’t break through the crust of the brick and that the mortar is matched. I didn’t see anything that indicated that they are well aware of that – you have to be very careful what chemicals you use, if any. Mayor Lozeau This is the same group that did it before. My understanding is that they did a good job. Alderman Deane They left a lot of repointing out and the damage to the caps that I’ve seen – instead of cutting reglets, they drilled into the caps and put some masonry anchors in and they popped chunks of the cap in a lot of different places. They are going to repair all of that. Mayor Lozeau You will see that they talked about doing the inspection and if it needed to be repointed, they would make that recommendation but that would be an additional cost. There would be a change order. In November, 2011, they were finding things that were now going to be exposed that hadn’t been before. I don’t anticipate that there’s a significant amount left up there that we don’t know about but, it’s possible. Finance – 12/18/13 Page 2 Alderman Deane Item #6 – His exclusion sentence – Repointing of sides and front of parapet walls are not included. Is he making a point that he’s not including it? Mayor Lozeau They made a decision to abandon the old one and do it differently. When they start doing the work, they may find that something needs to be repointed. Alderman Deane It’s too bad they couldn’t replicate those ornate pediments that are on the front. I think the building is a landmark in the community and I think there was a point in time when there was talk of selling it and there was a massive uprising about it. I am glad we kept the building. It’s the history of the city. What’s the sense of urgency of getting this approved now when they are starting in three or four months from now? Mayor Lozeau We wanted to try to close up what was left on that building and make sure that everyone had agreed that this would happen and to be able to lock into the price. Alderman Deane What else is left after this? Mayor Lozeau What’s left after this is just some exterior painting, some window trim, and molding. We originally thought most of the work was going to be internal – HVAC systems, carpets, painting, etc. After the work started, we discovered some of the exterior work. It didn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on the inside of the building without wrapping up the exterior of the building as well. I had hoped to have a price for the exterior painting at the same time but the bids have come in pretty high so Mr. Honeywell is going to go out again to see if he can get some more bids on that. Alderman Deane Will the staging play a part in the painting that needs to be done? Mayor Lozeau That’s what we need to find out. MOTION CARRIED Finance – 12/18/13 Page 3 From: Robert Gabriel, Purchasing Manager Re: Contract Award for Website and Branding Requested by Nashua Public Library (Value: $15,000) MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASEE TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO MESH INTERACTIVE IN THE AMOUNT OF $15,000. SOURCE OF FUNDING IS DEPARTMENT 179, LIBRARY; BLOOMFIELD TRUST FUND ($8,000) AND HUSSEY TRUST FUND ($7,000) ON THE QUESTION Mayor Lozeau This is an opportunity to freshen up the library website. From their perspective, it’s not up to the current web standards and it’s not intuitive in its navigation. I was pleased that it was important enough to them that they thought it was appropriate to use trust fund dollars from the library instead of city dollars. Alderman Deane They are re-branding the library – I don’t get it. A library is a library. How much of the $15,000 is being used for the little logo they may create? Mayor Lozeau They are playing off of our logo. The $15,000 is for all of that – for the new brand and logo. It’s similar to what the school did - they picked up the city’s shape and colors. Alderman Deane Did the school get charged for that? Mayor Lozeau It was part of their change to the website. Alderman Deane How much did it cost to change the logo? Mayor Lozeau I don’t think anybody pulled that cost out. It was just part of the package. I think it’s the same for library. MOTION CARRIED UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None NEW BUSINESS – None Finance – 12/18/13 Page 4 DISCUSSION Alderman Chasse I’d like to know if the parking ban was activated during the storm yesterday. Mayor Lozeau The emergency parking ban – no. They are very careful about when and how they use it. Especially with the Overnight Parking Pilot Program. They make the decision depending on the time. In their estimation, both storms did not need that because the overnight parking bans were in effect and most of the clean-up was done overnight. Alderman Chasse I know for a fact that Manchester had the ban at noon time. The plow in my area came around 6:00pm. The tree streets were loaded with cars. How can you expect a plow driver to do a good job if he has to keep on going in between cars? Then the phone start ringing - what a lousy job of plowing. I think we should use the parking ban to our advantage. Mayor Lozeau It does sometimes make it difficult but they try to take into consideration that there are businesses and others that need cars to be out. Manchester allows overnight parking. The determination that they made was they could get through to the main roads and by the time they didn’t have to deal with overnight parking; they had crews out that were going to clean up anything that was left behind. Alderman Chasse There was one car that stayed out there all night and it didn’t get towed, it didn’t get ticket, and the plow driver came back on his own to do it. His shift was done and he made a special trip to take care of it. My plow driver gets frustrated because when he’s plowing in the middle of the night and there is a car parked on the road, he’ll call the police department. The police department will say we are not towing tonight. That’s a perfect example of when a car should be towed. Mayor Lozeau That’s not a decision that the police department gets to make. They should tow. The process is the plow driver should toot his horn, make a call and try to get a call to the homeowner, and when those things don’t work, the police are supposed to tow it. That’s what is supposed to happen. Alderman Craffey When are we starting the overnight parking experiment? Mayor Lozeau We are waiting for the legislation that determines what side of the window the permit should go on. Other than that, we are ready to go. Finance – 12/18/13 Page 5 Alderman Craffey The reason for the question is that I have been getting phone calls. The other question I have is about Fairmount Street. Have they decided on a light in that area? Mayor Lozeau We told people we would put a police detail out there in the morning and in afternoon after school while we did the traffic counts. The traffic counts have come in far too low for a street light or for the detail quite frankly. Most people are going down Charles Street and going to the light there if they are not comfortable with pulling out. It’s a challenge to pull out on the left. We are supposed to be trimming some bushes that are there. I think that has taken place but I will confirm it. The numbers just don’t meet the requirement. Alderman Craffey I want to say thank you. I have served two terms on the Finance Committee. I want to say thank you to Alderman Deane for his knowledge. It’s been a great learning experience for me. It’s been an honor to serve. Alderman Deane The five broken sidewalk plows – do we have a list of which ones they were? Mayor Lozeau We have four pieces of equipment that we have had some challenges with. It’s pretty much happened every year at the start of the season. I think they are all operational now. Alderman Deane I think you bought junk. That was my opinion when that stuff was approved. The Skid Steers are quality pieces of equipment. Mayor Lozeau I think we bought a Skid Steer for the Street Department as well. We bought the one for transit that you are referring to. Alderman Deane I just feel if we are going to put this sidewalk plan into place… Mayor Lozeau There’s an ordinance that says you are not allowed to plow a snow bank onto a street or a sidewalk. You can’t leave a pile of snow on the sidewalk. Mayor Lozeau I think the new Street Superintendent has done a really good job in these couple of storms. We were able to clear what we needed to within 48 hours. Finance – 12/18/13 Page 6 Alderman Deane I concur with Alderman Chasse’s concerns. Alderman Deane I have asked the Director of Public Works regarding the CMAC Project. Why did that change like that? Mayor Lozeau I can’t answer that question right now, nor can the Director. We are looking into it and I’ve asked her to put something together. We are having a hard time with the CMAC Project right now. Alderman Deane That change in the signalization on Broad Street is insane. The Broad Street traffic never seems to be able to get onto Amherst Street. Mayor Lozeau I understand that it’s a problem. Alderman Deane These are expenditures and contracts that we approved as a committee. The other thing is the Opticom System. That’s a problem. Mayor Lozeau It’s always been a problem, Alderman Deane. I didn’t know we were going to talk about this tonight. It would be helpful if you could let me know you have some of these questions beforehand so I can do a little bit of legwork. Alderman Deane I did send you an e-mail. I have a lot of people asking me about the signalization. I was told by the director that it would be completed and operational by the end of the year. Mayor Lozeau I told you that as well. Then we did a change order and I told you that it didn’t look like it would still be completed by the end of the year. Right now, our best calculation is that it’s going to be a couple of months off. I am trying to meet with VHB. I can’t see the rhyme or reason why Siemens is doing this project. Alderman Deane They have installed cross walk lights. Mayor Lozeau That’s because it is federally funded. I just don’t understand the method that they are using to implement to it. Finance – 12/18/13 Page 7 Alderman Deane What are we spending every year on street lights? Mayor Lozeau This year’s budget is $775,000. Typically it’s $730,000. Alderman Deane Did you read the article that I sent you today? Mayor Lozeau I know that there’s something going on with the PUC in Manchester. There’s an approach that we have been looking at for a couple of years now and we are going to reach out to them to talk about it. We are now going to own all of the LED lights on Main Street. We have done a lot of work on this. Alderman Deane Is there a sense of urgency with having a Finance Committee meeting on January 2, 2014? Mayor Lozeau I don’t know that there’s a sense of urgency, but there’s an ordinance that says that we have to one unless the only item is a Record of Expenditure. If that’s the case, I would be happy to postpone the meeting. Alderman Pressly It’s been a wonderful experience serving with you. I wish you the best of luck to all of you. RECORD OF EXPENDITURES MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSEE THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE HAS COMPLIED WITH THE CITY CHARTER AND ORDINANCES PERTAINING TO THE RECORD OF EXPENDITURES FOR THE PERIOD NOVEMBER 28, 2013 TO DECEMBER 12, 2013 MOTION CARRIED PUBLIC COMMENT - None POSSIBLE NON-PUBLIC SESSION - None ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN CRAFFEY TO ADJOURN MOTION CARRIED The Finance Committee meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m. Alderman Paul M. Chasse, Jr. Committee Clerk