Back to Capital Outlay Committee Minutes
Minutes of the Town of Hingham
Capital Outlay Committee Meeting
2/2/2011 at Town Office Building
Attending: Chairman Ray Eisenbies, Libby Claypoole, Lucy Hancock, Ron Kirven and Tom Pyles (both representing the Advisory Committee), Sue Nickerson (Interim Town Accountant)
Ray Eisenbies called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the 3rd floor East Hearing Room.
Town Assessor
Michael Shaughnessy and Mark Tyburski provided an update on the status of the Assessor's Office. The Board of Assessors has posted for a replacement for Lane Partridge and, until his successor is hired, has available funds from his salary. All town property is revalued every three years, and valuation adjustments are done during the intervening two years. The next full revaluation of town properties (residential and commercial) is due in October 2011, and the office currently does not have personnel who have expertise in the evaluation process or the software product (CAMA). The options are: a) sign a three-year contract with a consultant who uses one of the new valuation systems and may give us the software at the end of three years; b) purchase one of the new systems and hire someone to run it for us; c) retain the existing system and hire someone to run it for us. Options (a) and (c) are operating expenses; option (b) is a combination of operating and capital expenses. The Board needs to determine the cost of each option. Board members will return to the COC if they decide on option (b).
Information Technology (Accounting)
Steve Becker presented the FY 2012 capital IT requests for the Town. The three items are: a) telephone system migration ($45K); b) new software application for printing checks ($15K);
c) replacement of existing hardware ($48.5K).
The telephone system has been deferred as long as possible, and the risk is that the current system will fail, no phones will work at Town Hall, and no one will be able to make repairs. The total number of phones to be replaced is about 400, but the plan for FY 2012 is to purchase the new system and between 25 and 50 phones with more to be purchased in subsequent years. The old phones can be used with the old system, and the new phones can be used with the new system. The two systems can work in parallel until all the phones are replaced. Some of the phones will be funded by the School Department capital budget. Steve's accounting budget will cover the rest of the phones.
The new software application (referred to as Tyler Forms and self-service) was moved from FY 2013 to FY 2012. It will allow the migration from the old high-speed printer and continuous forms to laser printers and pre-printed stock. It also will facilitate the emailing of direct deposit stubs to employees. The software support will cost $1.5K per year. There will be a savings of $900 per year over three years due to the check stock. In addition, the cost of replacing existing hardware will drop by $4K per year if the new software is purchased.
The hardware expense is for infrastructure replacement. The request is lower than what is actually needed. The amount is $52.5K, but this will drop to $48.5K is the new software application for printing checks is purchased. Depending on the continuation of the server virtualization (started last year) and the solution for email archiving, it may be possible to lower the amount by another $15K to $18.8K.
Recreation Department
Recreation Director Mark Thorell presented the FY 2012 capital requests for the Recreation Department. Recreation Commissioner Tom Belyea also attended the meeting. Mark reported that all of the anticipated FY 2011 projects have been completed. The field that was rehabilitated was Cronin. He also noted that the new administrative software is working well.
The five items on the list for FY 2012 amount to $95K. They include playground replacement, fitness equipment, field rehabilitation, open recreation equipment, and building rehabilitation. The last item is a new one for Recreation, and it includes such things as lights in the gym and carpet in the Fitness Center.
All Recreation Department projects are self-funded from user fees. This is a change from prior years when the Rec Center and Fitness Center were self-funded, and other expenses were covered by the capital budget.
Police Department
Lieutenant John Norkaitis presented the capital requests for the Police Department. According to the latest vehicle schedule, seven new vehicles are needed for FY 2012 at a net cost of $162.2K. The Ford Crown Vic is no longer being produced, so the department is going to switch to the new Ford Interceptor (customized for police work). The policy of "no buy" every three years will continue. Mileage, wear & tear, and engine hours are the key to replacement.
Other items on the list for FY 2012 are an electronic lock system ($15K) for headquarters and additional non-lethal weapons ($6K). The current lock system has mechanical issues and should be replaced in order to guarantee security. If the Police Department relocates, the new system can be transferred to the new facility, with the exception of the wiring. The department got a two-for-one deal on five new tasers that will supplement the existing five tasers. They will be deployed on the street and in the station. Training is required before use.
The original FY 2013 capital list includes a new police facility at a cost of $5M. The target location is 300 Cushing Street. The Police and Light Departments would share a new building on the property that currently houses the Light Department.
Harbormaster (Police Department)
Harbormaster Ken Corson reported that the order for the new boat (approved last fall) was placed in January. It will be custom built and delivered in May. The FY 2012 capital items consist of a dedicated T1 line ($15K) and a PC / office furniture ($10K) for the new Harbormaster's office to be created in the Shipyard. Ken will find out if these items can be moved to FY 2013, since it is unlikely that the new office will be built in 2013.
Department of Public Works / Landfill / Engineering
Engineer Roger Fernandes reported that the $250K originally proposed for roadway construction has been removed from the FY 2012 Engineering capital requests, and a lesser amount has been proposed in the operating budget. An additional $150K of road-building money is due from the state. It is unclear whether road-building requests for future years will fall under the capital or operating budget.
Phase 1 of the landfill capping was completed over nine years ago. Phase 2 is due for completion in FY 2012 at a cost of $1.8M. Available funds for this project amount to $1.5M. The current request to complete the project is $250K. The MA DEP has signed off on the landfill capping but has asked the Town to investigate the PCB hit just outside the landfill. This involves measuring the depth of contamination and sampling to determine the degree. The Town will have to pay to have the material removed or place it on top of the landfill prior to capping. The first option will be expensive and could increase the capping cost significantly. Cost and timing are TBD.
Roger also reported that the Town is exploring the possibility of setting up solar panels at the landfill and other facilities. A Power Purchase Agreement would be necessary for this initiative. In the case of the landfill, a portion of the cap would be leased to a solar panel vendor who would sell electricity back to the Town. This could bring in $25-50K of revenue per year. No investment by the Town would be needed.
DPW Director Randy Sylvester provided the COC with an updated vehicle schedule that replaces the schedule(s) provided at earlier meetings. In future versions, he will separate the vehicles by DPW and landfill.
Other Business
COC members approved the minutes from the 1/19/2011 meeting with minor changes.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucy Hancock, Secretary