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APPROVED
Town of Hingham
Advisory Committee
December 18, 2007 Meeting Minutes
Hingham Town Hall
Present: Committee Members Bierwirth, Allinson, Asher, Barclay, Ellison, Farrell, Friedman, Innis, Johnson, Kiernan, Lauter, Manning, O’Meara, Port, Seelen.
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1. Chair Joe Bierwirth called the meeting to order at 7:32 PM.
2. The Committee reviewed and approved the minutes from the November 13, 2007 meeting.
3. Historic District Extension Proposal
Scott Ford, Chairman of the Historic Districts Commission, gave a presentation on the Commission’s proposal to extend the Hingham Centre Historic District. The extension area is identified as Phase II, and the Commission intends to propose the extension at the 2008 Town Meeting. A copy of the draft warrant article was distributed.
4. School Building Project Update
Mike Barclay provided an update on the status of the new school construction project and overall master plan, as follows:
• School Department and Building Committee members met with Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) staff on 12/13/07. MSBA advised that funding for the new elementary school seems probable, and that the likely amount of reimbursement would be approximately 42% of project cost. The MSBA has assumed that the construction cost for the new school will be approximately $29 Million, or approximately $325.00/SF; this is somewhat higher than the Building Committee’s most recent cost projection. A firmer reimbursement commitment from MSBA is anticipated by mid-January.
• It is unlikely that financial assistance from the MSBA will be available this year for costs associated with the Foster and Plymouth River portions of the master plan. However, the School Department remains committed to making the investment of approximately $7 Million in these two schools, and it will consider incorporating a request for this money into the warrant for the Special Town Meeting.
• The School Committee will vote on how to proceed with the elementary school projects at its 1/7/08 meeting. 1/28/08 is the deadline for deciding to proceed with a 2/25/08 Special Town Meeting.
• The drawings for the new elementary school are 100% complete and ready to issue for bids. Mike will check on the status of the bidding schedule.
• The current thinking about the Middle School portion of the master plan is that a major Middle School project would not be feasible for another 3 – 5 years. Consequently, the School Department will continue to evaluate other alternatives to addressing the problems identified at the Middle School, including consideration of providing up to 5 modular classrooms.
• Advisory Committee members asked that projected operating cost increases associated with the new school projects be developed as soon as possible.
• The School Building Committee will provide a further update on project progress at the Advisory Committee’s next meeting, 1/8/08.
Mike also provided a brief summary of the School Department’s preliminary budget. The budget increases approximately 6.8% over last year’s amount, assuming the inclusion of several proposed new initiatives. The budget may also incorporate a capital request of $700,000.00 for 5 modular classrooms at the Middle School, plus operating funds for associated additional staffing positions. Increased operating costs associated with school space growth may require operating cost override or overrides as the newly constructed spaces are phased in.
5. Reserve Fund Transfer
The DPW has requested a Reserve Fund Transfer of $44,500.00 to cover the cost of purchasing a new one-ton dump truck. The Committee questioned whether such a truck could be procured prior to the next fiscal year, due to the lead time normally associated with such purchases, and therefore questioned whether the funds shouldn’t otherwise be incorporated into the normal FY ’09 capital request. The Committee then voted favorably as follows:
”To transfer $44,500.00 from the Reserve Fund to the Capital Outlay (motor vehicle) Account of the DPW for the purchase of a one-ton dump truck, subject to confirmation of the availability of the truck for purchase prior to the commencement of the 2009 Fiscal Year.”
6. Preview of Warrant Articles:
Joe distributed a preliminary list of warrant articles, some with Committee member assignments. Joe asked that members with an interest in taking on specific articles contact him directly.
7. Hearing Schedules
Joe distributed a preliminary schedule for departmental budget hearings.
8. Financial Issues
Joe reported that the projected shortfall for FY ’09 is now estimated as approximately $1.4 Million. This continues to be greater than the usual projected deficit at this time in the cycle.
Joe distributed a summary list of major additional requests from the various Town departments, as recorded in the draft departmental budgets.
A number of departments have undertaken a zero-base budgeting exercise to analyze their annual expenses. Although the bottom lines did not change substantially from what had been anticipated using the traditional expense budgeting approach, the results provided a more accurate detailed picture of how the money will be spent. The town will consider whether to use this zero base budgeting process in the future.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:38 PM.
The next Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for 1/8/08, 7:30 PM. Meetings will continue thereafter on a weekly basis, Tuesday evenings, 7:30 PM, unless otherwise scheduled.
Respectfully submitted,
Jerry Seelen, Secretary