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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCapital Program Committee Minutes - 11 15 2011_201402121340308662Minutes for November 15, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 1 of 3 Town of Nantucket Capital Program Committee www.nantucket-ma.gov MINUTES Tuesday, November 15, 2011 4 Fairgrounds Road, Second-floor Meeting Room – 9:00 am All or a portion of this meeting is being recorded. If you plan to record this meeting yourself, please check with the chairman of the board before you begin. Called to order at 9:03 a.m. Staff: Terry L. Norton, Town Minutes Taker Attending Members: Peter Hoey (Chair), John Tiffany, Peter Boynton, Carol Dunton, Phil Stambaugh Absent Members: Patricia Roggeveen, Linda Williams Late arrival times: (Recorder on 9:05 a.m.) I. MINUTES 1. None II. DISCUSSION 1. Philosophy Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Discussion Tiffany – Source of capital (rough numbers): Revenue $917,715; Free cash ±$1,500,000 (but have to assume zero); Over-ride Tax (1-cent increase in tax rate) = $179,000; Annual Debt Service =10% capital spending. Hoey – Any entity should do a budget for the next year. When they do that budget, common sense and law require the budget to balance. Towns and not-for-profits call profit, ‘surplus’. Level debt service is a steady payment amount over years. Tiffany – There are ridged strictures in use of Free Cash. Traditionally not used for anything but capital. Hoey – Explanation of retained earnings. If any Enterprise Fund has a deficit, Irene Lynch-Larivee, Finance Director, indicated that the state has instructed that the Town must use Free Cash instead of using the Enterprise Fund’s retained earnings. Tiffany – For that reason and purpose of today, we have to assume Free Cash is zero. Al Paterson said many times that if the Airport did not get a grant, they did not do the project. A grant is reimbursement of expenses; the project manager must submit statements of expenses in order to get the reimbursement. One purpose of the Finance Department’s forensic audit of the Airport is to determine whether or not the Airport received the grants. Hoey – Have an established priority of how to choose projects broken up into four categories. Recommend all committee members become familiar with those priorities. Tiffany – If you look at the last three years of capital spending, there has not been a lot of money spent on infrastructure. This year’s list from school is a lot more practical than in the past. Outlay: Town and School Infrastructure $7,768,000; Solid Waste and Our Island Home Infrastructure (subsidized enterprise funds) $1,100,973; Hummock Pond Bike Path $1,518,775; Wind Turbine $3,500,000; (Total $13,888,298). Not entered into calculations are: Water and Airport no problem and Sewer $1,642,000 (paid via rate increase). Hoey – In actuality, Sewer is paid by hook ups, rate increase and taxes. Tiffany – The $13,888,298 would be approximately 7.8 cents on the tax rate or 2.2 percent. Hoey – Read statements from three years ago about adopting an austere budget for FY2010. Two years ago, this committee was again austere. For 2012 only approved $3,500,000 for school and town out of about $15,000,000. This committee has been saying no; but the Town cannot wait forever to fix things. Four Categories: Highest=essential, Second= necessary but postpone-able, Third=desirable, Fourth=appropriate. It is time to take care of items that fell in the third and fourth categories. Interest rates are the lowest they have been in 50 years; and this is the time for the Town to borrow. Minutes for November 15, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 2 of 3 Discussion continued Stambaugh – A lot of townspeople might argue that a financial crisis still exists. Tiffany – Over the past three years, the infrastructure has suffered in lieu of personnel. Hoey – Wrote the austere program smack in the middle of the financial crisis. Tiffany – Any increase in tax for someone who is under or un employed is going to be hard, but having said that, something has to be done about the infrastructure. Dunton – Haven’t talked about the average person. 50 percent of the island population is self-employed and for them, the situation is still bad, a little better, but not good. Hoey – Need to balance things with the fact that waiting has penalties of inflation and increase in interest rates. Boynton – Upgrading the track and turf to artificial is a luxury. Fence is fine. Dunton – The rational for doing something does not make it to the floor at town meeting. Tiffany – This year is the first year in several years an over-ride is being proposed; and that will come up in spades. Hoey – Members of this committee need to speak up at town meeting to explain the committee’s reasoning for requesting an over-ride. This committee should also encourage the administration, Board of Selectmen, or possibly The Civic Association to have information meetings both before Annual Town Meeting (ATM) and between ATM and Ballot. Tiffany – This committee can request that 20 South Water Street renovation, Wind Turbine and Hummock Pond Bike Path be separate warrants. Discussion of having information meetings for the public between town meeting and the ballot day. Hoey – This committee needs to make a decision about the idea of making warrant articles ala carte rather than omnibus. When voting on each project, please assign it between zero (undesirable) and five (essential) points. Action Committee members to get “votes” to Diane O’Neil by Friday November 18. 2. Recommendation of presentation of projects for town meeting. Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion None Action Motion that recommendations will be in the form of a group of projects with the exception of then large projects, such as 20 South Water Street, Hummock Pond Road Bike Path; Madaket Wind Turbine, etc., which should be on separate warrant articles. (Tiffany) seconded. Carried unanimously 3. Town Administration to provide further information Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion Various Town projects Tiffany – Libby Gibson, Town Administrator, plans to come back with information about the discrepancy of $3,500,000 and $4,500,000 estimate for Plan A for 20 South Water Street renovation. Hoey – If Gibson does not come back with the requested information, this committee has the option of recommending the smaller $3,500,000 project. Stambaugh – Does the building really need to be renovated at this time? Not going to sell the Mooney Building in this environment. Dunton and Tiffany – Would support renovation Plan A. Action None at this time 4. High School Athletic field Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion Boynton – The track is a luxury especially when the high school does not have a track team. Hoey – The committee could have objections to building a new track, but still recommend the full $100,000 for design of all items at this time. Action None at this time Minutes for November 15, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 3 of 3 5. Classroom upgrades Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion Hoey – Dave Kanyock, Nantucket Public School Facilities Director, said a partial would be ok, with the rest completed next year. Personally feel that all the classrooms should be repaired, but politically it would be better to go with paring down. Stambaugh – One item is for the l was for Nantucket High School lower-level classrooms 1-13, walls and floors in showers, Cyrus Peirce Middle School classrooms and lockers at $225,000; and the other is for the elementary school classrooms. Hoey – Kanyock said highest priority was the high school classrooms. Could do a partial here. What about voting on $125,000 to fix the classrooms but stay away from showers and lockers. Stambaugh – That’s nit-picking. Action 6. Department of Public Works. Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion Boynton – VacCom does not appear. Tiffany – Was put under sewer; which two committee members believe should be under the DPW. Action None at this time 7. Children’s Beach Building Renovation - $500,000 Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion Hoey – This could be done by local contractors. Dunton – That building is in deplorable condition. It contains bathrooms and food is sold out of it. Tiffany – It is falling apart, but the question is, “Is it necessary?” Hoey – It could be better to wait a year and do it all right than do it now on the fly. Tiffany – The project numbers tend to be high because the Town can’t spend more than the appropriation without a Town Meeting vote. Dunton – Make it work with $300,000. Boynton – Commercial kitchen and H/C access are not cheap. Action None at this time 8. Town taking of Surfside roads. Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation None Discussion Dunton – Strongly against the planning department request for taking Boulevard, because those have been private roads the residents have not taken care of. Tiffany – If it is approved, it should be conditional upon the abutters paying 30 percent. Hoey –I am sympathetic to the plight of the abutters because this road has become a main thoroughfare used to get to the airport. That said, this committee should not recommend approval unless a commitment from the abutters to pay 30 percent of the costs, as promised, is in place. Alternatively, approval could be contingent on the approval prior to ATM. Action None at this time Next meeting November 29 Adjourned: 11:13 a.m. Submitted by: Terry L. Norton