CIP COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
October 3, 2018
Attendees – Claire James, Jim Bibbo, Karen Hambleton, Marlene Freyler, Mark Goldberg, Steve Hall
Absent – Sheila Jackson, Jason Allen
Meeting was called to order at 12:07pm.
Review of 9.26.18 Meeting Minutes:
Marlene Freyler made a motion to accept the 9.26.18 minutes. Jim Bibbo seconded. Motion Carried: 4-0.
Review of Spreadsheet:
The committee reviewed both the Fire Department’s and the Highway Department’s CIP projects. Mark Goldberg and Steve Hall were in attendance to discuss their respective departmental updates, as outlined below:
FIRE DEPARTMENT
- Replacement of 1994 Pumper (Engine 2)
- Mark advised that he would like to move the pumper replacement from 2019 to 2020, as well as include an additional 25K to the cost estimate. He further explained that developing the specs for this pumper will likely take 100’s of hours to do, and that the department recently lost 5 members – 2 of whom were very active and 1 of whom was extremely knowledgeable. Given this, the department does not currently have the manpower to handle the spec development in time for a 2019 expenditure. Meanwhile, Mark recommended allocating half (50%) of the remaining money to be raised for this project to the year 2019, and the rest to 2020.
- Replacement of Driveway
- Mark advised that he would like to move this project from 2021 to 2019. He spoke with a company by the name of Porta Paving for the project estimate and should have a hard estimate by the end of this week. There was some discussion of moving this project to the Highway dept., however no decision was reached.
- SCBA Bottle Replacement
- Per DOT regulations, fiberglass composite bottles must be replaced every 15 yrs., even if they are not used. Mark advised to keep the cost estimate the same but to split the bottle purchases over a two year period: 15 bottles to be purchased in 2021 and 15 in 2022.
- SCBA Apparatus
- Both the estimate and the expenditure year to remain the same. No change to this project. Per Mark, the last SCBA Apparatus was funded by a 80/20 percent Fire Safety Grant. We should look into trying to fund it this way again, if possible.
- Medium Rescue Truck (aka “Rescue 1”)
- Change age from 16 yrs. to 17 yrs. Both the cost and the expenditure year to remain the same. No changes.
- Forestry Truck
- Change age from 16 yrs. to 17 yrs. Both the cost and the expenditure year to remain the same. No changes. Mark advised that historically, the department has purchased this item used rather than new. The current truck has 100K miles on it. It also has a calf skid which will likely need to be replaced. (This is included in the 70K estimate).
- OTHER
- Fire House Building Maintenance Fund – This should be bolstered again, as the fund was depleted with the recent purchase of the alarm system. The question of the fund’s precise current balance arose. It is believed to be approximately 10K but this will be confirmed. Mark advised that the next item probably to be replaced at some point will be the furnace. He suggested placing a cap on the fund (30K, perhaps), and to allocate 10K for this fund in the year 2019.
- Fire Equipment Fund – This does not exist at present but Mark would like to have one established, for items such as radios, SCBA bottles, etc. Karen stated that there is a Communications Fund, but Mark replied that this covers things such as narrow banding and replacement of certain radios. An equipment fund would be more all-encompassing.
- Jim Bibbo followed up on a question regarding the possibility of the department renting out their washer and dryer for use, and whether or not this is viable. Mark advised that most fire departments already have their own washers and dryers so it really may not be a need.
HIGHWAY DEPT
- Sand Shed
- Steve advised that he’d like to put in 2 bays with poly domes, as opposed to putting in an entirely new building. For 85k this could be done. Claire asked about the price to accommodate for sand storage v. sand and salt storage. Steve was not certain re precise cost difference but advised that accommodations for salt storage would be more expensive. (Ex. – Sutton recently spent approx. 125K on a salt shed.)
- Pick-up Truck with Plow
- Steve advised that the current vehicle is rusted out and that the engine is no good. It is also recently out of inspection. Total cost to repair these items is in the 8-10K range. It makes less sense to spend this money to repair the truck when a new truck could be purchased now at 36K, assuming the 2018 model is still available. Further, the new vehicle would come with a warranty and a plow. Currently, there is approximately 30K in the expendable trust which could be put towards this purchase. The remaining 6K can be taken perhaps from elsewhere, per Karen. The Select Board is going to discuss this at their next meeting. Given that a used truck with a plow is 40K, per Steve, it makes sense to purchase a new vehicle now instead of waiting until next year – especially as we will not be able to get the same deal next year, per the dealer.
- Chipper
- The estimate for this item should be changed from 40K to 48K. Per Steve, the current chipper is difficult to get parts for. The last time the department needed to get parts, it took 2 weeks for them to come in. The department can get 5K for the current (1983) chipper. The price for a new chipper (including the 5K from the trade-in) is just over 47K, but round this up to 48K per the above.
- Jim asked if it might be cheaper to rent a chipper, as opposed to buying a new one. Or, perhaps this could be a shared purchase amongst towns. Per Steve, the chipper is generally used for storm damage so it would get dicey, logistically speaking, to have to share it between towns in this scenario. Steve is not opposed to looking into the cost to rent a chipper, and advised that the department probably uses it approx. 50-60 hrs. per year. It is not used daily, but certainly it is used on a monthly basis, especially during the more seasonable months.
- Ten Wheel Dump Truck
- Steve advised that he received one quote for 215K and another for 200K. However the expenditure year is 2021, so keep the 225K estimate, as the cost will likely go up between now and then. No change to this line item.
- Grader
- One grader is from the 1980’s and the second is an army surplus grader which, as stated at the last meeting, is not adequate for certain tasks as it is not heavy enough. It can be used during the summer months but otherwise does not perform well. No change to this line item cost or expenditure year.
- Six Wheel Dump Truck
- Currently the department has 2 six wheel dump trucks. The 2003 truck is being replaced with the ten wheeler (listed above). The 2008 truck will be replaced with another six wheeler. Steve advised that he called White Farm to see if it would be possible to get a 10 wheeler surplus (chassis cost would be approx. 10-12K, plus body would be 100K). If so, we can reduce this line item cost. For now though, keep it listed as 225K. No change to replacement year; keep this at 2022.
- Road Repair Patch
- No change. Keep 50K estimate and expenditure year the same.
- OTHER
- Paving – Steve informed the committee that he is looking to pave Marshall Hill Rd. next year, which would include the stretch of road from the Water St. Bridge up to Hogg Hill Rd. Length of this project is approx. 3,048 ft. plus the cost of culvert replacement. Cost allocation for this project is approx. 122K but round up to 125K to provide for a buffer. Expenditure year requested is 2019. Add this to the CIP.
- Curbing for the sidewalks on East Main St. were discussed, as the curbing has separated from the sidewalk. Steve reached out to the people who installed the curb. The issue is that when the curb was installed, there was a choice to have it either cemented or filled in with gravel. Gravel fill was the cheaper solution and also acceptable by the state of NH, so this was the option selected. However it was not the best, most long term solution, as water is able to penetrate the gravel, causing expansion and contraction from colder to warmer months. The curb installers advised to find a spot in the sidewalk curbing where there is an obvious visual separation and measure this separation. Next spring the separation should be measured again, to establish the extent of movement/separation. Unfortunately, this may not be an easy fix and could be costly to repair. Ultimately, the current curbing may need to be taken out and reinstalled, which would necessitate some road repaving as well. Karen said she would get in touch with Mike Croteau to discuss this, perhaps in conjunction with the curb installers.
Karen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jim seconded the motion.
Meeting adjourned at 1:21pm.
Next meeting: Wednesday, 10/10/18 @ 12pm.
Minutes submitted by Claire James.