CIP COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 9.19.18
Attendees: Jim Bibbo, Marlene Freyler, Jason Allen, Karen Hambleton, Claire James, Sheila Jackson
Meeting was brought to order at 12:05 pm.
CIP project updates for each department were discussed, as follows:
Fire – No update for this department as of yet. Sheila inquired as to whether or not the department might consider renting out their washer and dryer to bring in additional revenue, reasoning that these were somewhat costly items which likely do not see much use by the department. Jim Bibbo will follow up on this to find out how often the department’s dryer and washer are used.
Library – Claire spoke with Library Director Ellen Barselle, who advised that the same two projects identified last year should be included in the CIP again for this year: Both of these projects (interior painting and carpeting) are still to be slated for 2020. Ellen needs to check if the estimate for carpeting still applies or if the cost has increased, as well as how long the estimate will remain the same. For the painting, she plans to get a new quote, as the person who provided the initial quote is not the same person who will actually be doing the work. These projects will both be funded via taxes.
Transfer Station – Claire spoke with Lois Kilnapp, who advised that a brand new trash compactor would cost approximately 25K, while a used one would cost roughly 13K. The Revolving Recycling Fund, which would be used to fund this project, currently has a balance of 25K, which is the fund’s cap. Lois advised that when the compactor eventually needs to be replaced, she would prefer to save the money and get a used one for 13K. This project is still slated for 2020 and is the only project currently on the CIP for the Transfer Station.
Police – Jason talked to Chief Jim Valiquet. The current inventory of the police dept is 1 SUV and 2 cruisers. The cruiser car models they have now will no longer available in the future, so the price for this particular vehicle may vary somewhat. The next vehicle purchase is slated for the year 2019 and will be upgraded from a cruiser to an SUV, to accommodate for harsher weather conditions. Cost for this vehicle is estimated to be 45K. The next vehicle replacement after that is scheduled for 2021 and will be a cruiser, for approximately 35K (but again the department may need to adjust this number to account for the newer model). Jim Bibbo asked if the town can prepay for a lease purchase, if the vehicle is not paid for outright. Karen will look into this and advise, along with the terms.
A new police station will also be needed at some point in the future and Jim advised that he would like to resume setting aside funds for it. The estimated cost of a new building is expected to be somewhere in the 250-300K range, for approximately 3100 sq. ft. The town has a fund in place for the new police facility, which carries a current balance of 68K. Jim further advised that he would like to set aside funds for equipment and other potential expenses (handguns, radios, funds for deductible fees in the event of an accident, for example). While he didn’t put forth an exact number for these expenditures, somewhere in the range of 3-5K annually is probably a reasonable figure. Jim Bibbo advocated for establishing an expendable trust fund for police vehicles and equipment. The rest of the CIP Committee members agreed that this is a good idea.
Community Center – Karen advised that there will likely be no real changes as compared to last year’s CIP, as she would like maintenance expenses to be placed in the operating budget. The heating system estimate, however, is expected to be the same and will be kept on the CIP for the same year.
Highway Dept. – Karen spoke with Steve Hall, newly appointed Road Agent. Steve is working on putting together an inventory list for the department, and reviewing current projects listed. His initial advisory was that the project costs will likely require more funding than what is presently indicated, but he will get back to Karen with more information once he has completed his assessment.
Next Meeting Date: Thursday 9/27/18 at 12:00.
Meeting adjourned: 12:54 pm.