Committee Report - Finance - 5-25-11 — File 191464

May 25, 2011 Finance Committee Page 1 of 5 Printed 5/26/2011 REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Maryann M. Heuston Chair Present William A. White Jr. Vice Chair Present John M Connolly Alderman At Large Present Rebekah Gewirtz Ward Six Alderman Present Thomas F. Taylor Ward Three Alderman Present Bruce M. Desmond Alderman At Large Present Sean T. O’Donovan Ward Five Alderman Present Joseph Curtatone Mayor Present Jason Grossfield Asst. City Solicitor Present Doug Willardson Finance Present Thomas Graney Homeland Security Present Ed Bean CFO Present Paul Upton Dept. Police Chief Present Kevin Kelleher Chief Fire Engineer Present Peter Forcellese, Jr. DPW, A&F Present Adam Duchesneau OSPCD Present James Halloran Recreation Present Gorge Scazelli Recreation Present Tony Ciccarelli Headmaster, SHS Present Matthew Dias Director, T&P Present David Webster FRIT Present 190162 - Requesting acceptance of a supplemental increase in the Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Program (BCRLF) of $400,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency.: Mr. May informed the committee that this increase would allow the city to continue its program of lending funds to property owners for Brownfield cleaning. RESULT: APPROVED 190942 - Requesting approval of an extension of the Homeland Security Grant Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Boston to December 31, 2012.:

Committee Meeting May 25, 2011 Finance Committee Page 2 of 5 Printed 5/26/2011 Mr. Graney provided the committee with a breakdown of how funds associated with this program were used. RESULT: APPROVED 191024 - Requesting acceptance of a $2,500 grant from the MA Dept. of Public Health for the Fire Dept.’s Mass Decontamination Unit.: RESULT: APPROVED 191083 - Requesting the transfer of $120,000 from the E911 Salary Acct. to the Police Overtime Acct. to cover expenses.: Deputy Chief Upton explained that a portion of a previous grant was allocated to pay for 911 staffing overtime. The committee requested a breakdown of this transfer, detailing the amounts used for Police Department overtime vs. 911 overtime. This information should be made available prior to the FY-12 deliberations. RESULT: APPROVED 191084 - Requesting the transfer of $12,000 in the Fire Dept., from the Salary Acct. to the Supplies for Men and Women Acct., for bunker gear and other equipment.: RESULT: APPROVED 191085 - Requesting approval of a $5,000 grant from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund to support the Arts Council’s Mystic Mural project.: RESULT: APPROVED 191231 - Requesting approval of an MBTA Drainage Easement in Assembly Square.: Mr. Grossfield reviewed the changes to the Backstop Agreement with the committee. The committee asked that modifications be made to the Indemnification and Release section (#5) of the agreement to more accurately define the term "final completion". Additionally, the committee requested that the indemnification also apply to work performed under the terms of the warranty and that indemnification be referenced from the contractor to the City and from the City to the MBTA. These issues will be referred to OSPCD Counsel Anne Thomas for review and further action.

Committee Meeting May 25, 2011 Finance Committee Page 3 of 5 Printed 5/26/2011 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 191239 - Requesting the authorization of a Special Events Revolving Fund for FY11 to offset the costs of overtime related to preparing and cleaning public spaces for private events.: Mr. Bean explained that this revolving fund would allow the DPW to handle special events without placing a drain on the department's budget. RESULT: APPROVED 191345 - Requesting the transfer of $43,838 from the Sanitation Recycling Acct. to the School Custodians Professional & Technical Services Acct. to fund the remaining portion of the AM/PM Cleaning Corp. contract.: The committee discussed the reasons why the cleaning of school buildings was outsourced and was informed that the addition of the School Department’s Administrative offices necessitated an increase in the staffing level. The committee requested information relative to the change orders for the additional building and staff. The agreement is a state contract. Of the $43,838 being requested, $8,800 is for the additional building and $35,038 is for the “floater”. The committee requested an explanation as to why it was determined that additional staffing was needed just days after the funds for this contract were approved in the FY-11 budget. Additionally, the committee asked if negotiations were held with the contractor to provide jobs for city employees. A final request was made to report to the committee the hourly rate being paid to the additional part time employee hired. Mr. Boukili will provide the information requested. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 191346 - Requesting an increase in the Dilboy Revolving Account Fund Expenditure Cap by $40K to accomodate additional activity through FY11.: Mr. Halloran explained that increased activity at the field requires that additional personnel be hired to monitor those events. Mr. Halloran noted that these individuals are part time employees who do not receive benefits and who are hired for individual events. RESULT: APPROVED 191378 - Requesting approval to appropriate $115,000 from the remaining balance of $416,933 from the Argenziano School Construction Project to fund the construction of an outdoor Ice Skating Rink adjacent to the Veterans Memorial Ice Rink.: The Veterans’ Memorial Ice Rink does not meet the demand for additional use, therefore, the city is proposing to build an additional rink, owned and controlled by the City, that would allow for increased year-round recreational use for Somerville youths and residents. The total estimated cost of building an additional rink is $2,691,909. The City has reached an agreement,

Committee Meeting May 25, 2011 Finance Committee Page 4 of 5 Printed 5/26/2011 in principle, whereby Clear Channel would pay $125,000 per year to the City for 25 years as an impact fee. The agreement includes the upgrade of certain billboards to digital, removal of certain billboards and the construction of a new billboard on Route 93. In total, Clear Channel would pay $3,125,000 in fees. The expectation is, that as the rink’s revenues grow over time, these annual Clear Channel funds would be diverted to other capital projects. The first step in constructing the new ice rink is to install pumps that are designed to chill the new rink’s ice. The cost for this portion of the project is $40,200 and due to the mechanics of the chiller, installation of the new rink’s pumps has to be completed while the current rink is closed, which will be until June 30, 2011. Chairman Heuston submitted a letter from resident John Buchheit, et al, asking that consideration be given to abutters when planning projects such as this. The Planning Department will work to address abutter’s concerns and the Greek Orthodox Church will host overflow parking during rink events. The final completion date of the new rink is expected to be December 9, 2011. The committee heard from several individuals in support of an additional rink, including SHS Headmaster Joe Ciccarelli and representatives of various hockey teams and programs. Alderman Roche was unable to attend this meeting due to the Ward One ResiStat Meeting being held at the same time, but asked to be recorded as being in favor of skating rink renovations for the outdoor rink. The committee requested last year’s revenue and expense figures to determine how much of the present rink was self funded and also requested a breakdown of the projected revenues for the new rink. The committee also asked that the Administration provide a plan of future recreational endeavors being considered. The committee also mentioned that the punch list for the Argenziano School needs to be completed. RESULT: APPROVED 191379 - Requesting an appropriation of $72,735 from the Receipts Reserved-Parking Meter Receipts Acct. to the Traffic and Parking Professional Services Acct. to pay for on- line customer credit card transactions.: Mr. Dias told the members that the city has received numerous complaints from the public regarding the $3 service fee applied when paying traffic tickets on-line. Many people have opted to pay their ticket in person to avoid this charge, resulting in longer lines at the traffic and Parking office.

Committee Meeting May 25, 2011 Finance Committee Page 5 of 5 Printed 5/26/2011 RESULT: APPROVED 191380 - Transfer $32,000 from the DPW Sanitation/Recycling Acct. to the School Custodian Overtime Acct. to fund a projected deficit for the rest of the fiscal year.: The FY-11 budgeted amount for this line item was $5,000 and to date, $35,000 has been expended. The committee requested information on previous budgeted amounts and expenditures for this line item. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 191381 - Requesting the transfer $12,500 from the DPW Sanitation Recycling Acct. to the School Custodian Salaries Acct. to fund salaries for the remaining portion of this fiscal year.: This item was withdrawn by the DPW. RESULT: PLACED ON FILE 191382 - Requesting authorization to raise the FY2011 Council on Aging Revolving Account Spending Limit from $55,000 to $90,000.: Mr. Bean informed the members that there are several events planned that can't take place because the spending cap has nearly been reached. Raising the cap would allow scheduled events to proceed. Alderman White made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss matters regarding the Council on Aging and Mr. Grossfield pointed out that if an individual was to be discussed in Executive Session, that individual must be given at least 48 hours notice of the meeting. Alderman White withdrew his motion. Chairman Heuston requested that the Board of Aldermen convene in Executive Session at the June 9, 2011 Board of Aldermen's meeting to discuss issues pertaining to the Council on Aging and that any required notification be sent. RESULT: APPROVED 191383 - Requesting approval to declare as Surplus Equipment several Cisco 3500 network switches that are no longer being used or supported.: RESULT: APPROVED