Back to Advisory Committee Minutes
Present: Committee Members Cavoores, Dwyer, Eldredge, Ellison, Farrell, Friedman, Innis, Johnson, Lauter, Manning, Marwill, Mooradian, O’Meara, Seelen.
____________________________________________________________________
1. Chair Irma Lauter called the Advisory Committee meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
2. The Committee reviewed and approved the minutes from the June 24th meeting.
3. New Members:
Irma welcomed new Committee members John Cavoores, Dan Dwyer, Elizabeth Eldredge, Laura Marwill, and Andy Mooradian.
4. Meeting Schedules:
Future Committee meetings will begin at 7:00 PM unless otherwise announced, and effort will be made to adjourn no later than 10:30 PM.
5. Budget Process:
Ted Alexiades gave the Committee a summary of what to expect during this year’s budget process. Three new approaches will be integrated into the process for all departments that report to the Selectmen:
• Zero-based budgeting for both expenses and salaries.
• Performance measurements of Town staff where duties permit (e.g., number of specific and repeated tasks that a staff member is able to complete within a specified time period).
• Comparison of departmental budgets and performance, on a per-capita basis, with equivalent departments in Hingham’s benchmark communities.
Ted also mentioned the quarterly budget review concept, though this won’t be pursued this year.
6. School Building Project Update:
Dennis Friedman reported that the school building project is well under way, details as follows:
• Construction of the new elementary school is proceeding on schedule.
• The Phase I work at Foster and PRS is substantially complete, and somewhat under budget.
• A question has arisen about the required extent of handicap accessibility upgrades at Foster and PRS. The School Building Committee anticipates an answer to this question by 9/30/08, at which time the impact, if any, on schedule and budget can be addressed.
7. Lincoln School Apartments:
Irma introduced Selectman Laura Burns, and Hingham Affordable Housing Trust (HAHT) chairman Jim O’Brien, to bring the Committee up to date on the status of the Lincoln School Apartments:
• The facility is being sold by the current owners, and the Town has a right of first refusal that must be exercised by 11/15/08; closing must then take place within sixty (60) days.
• The Selectmen are concerned about the potential loss of some of the affordable housing units if the facility is sold to a private entity. At least a portion of the facility must remain affordable in perpetuity, though the exact amount seems to be in question.
• The Selectmen and the HAHT have been working for several months to explore various ways that the Town might purchase, own and operate the facility to preserve its long-term affordability.
• The studies completed to date indicate that the facility might produce positive cash flow for the Town, if all assumptions behind the studies are correct.
• It is likely that a Special Town Meeting will be called for 10/27/08 for the Town to consider a purchase of the property in order to meet the 11/15 deadline.
Committee members had several questions:
• What is the Town’s current official count of affordable housing units?
• What is the Town’s goal for provision of additional affordable housing units?
• Does the capital needs analysis prepared for the facility (showing $2M worth of improvements required over 20 years) provide an accurate picture of the future required capital expenses?
• Does the capital needs analysis reflect the cost of construction of a municipal owner versus a private ownership entity?
• What is the likelihood of the Section 8 program (that subsidizes the apartment rents) continuing into the foreseeable future?
• What is the anticipated amount of cash that will be needed to effect the purchase of the facility, and can the Town afford it?
• Can any preference be given to residents of the Town in renting the affordable units?
Irma asked Committee members to forward any further questions to Dick Innis. Dick will assemble and forward to Jim O’Brien prior to the 9/16 Advisory Committee meeting. Irma anticipates a public forum as a joint meeting of the Advisory Committee and Selectmen on 9/23/08 to discuss the situation collectively.
8. South Shore Country Club Management Committee Update:
Jack Manning reported on the status of recent discussions at the Country Club Management Committee (CCMC):
• It is unlikely that the Country Club will start contributing $400,000 back to the General Fund again in the near future.
• The Selectmen have asked the CCMC to prepare a 5-year strategic plan for the Country Club.
• Two of the 5 members of the CCMC have resigned and been replaced. The re-constituted CCMC is now working on the strategic plan for the facility.
• A law suit is in process related to the recent installation of the new irrigation system.
The Committee asked Ted Alexiades to provide an update on the Country Club’s budget as this year’s golf season draws to a close.
9. DPW Project Update
Andy Mooradian reported on the status of the DPW construction project:
• The general progress of the construction is good, all three of the buildings are well under way, and the site work related to the playing fields is in progress.
• A residential neighbor of the site has asked that the School Department’s maintenance building be dressed up in some fashion since it is now more visible due to the new site work at the playing fields.
• The total cost of the original project scope may be less than originally anticipated, so the DPW Building Committee is considering whether to construct some elements of the project that had been deleted to save money (e.g., the completion of the 2nd floor of the DPW building). There was some discussion about the process of spending authorized money on expanded project scope.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:00 PM.
The next Advisory Committee meetings are scheduled for 9/16/08, 9/23/08 (with Selectmen), and 9/30/08, all beginning at 7:00 PM, at Hingham Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Jerry Seelen, Vice-Chair