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March 07, 2019, Finance Committee Meeting. Minutes
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Joint Meeting of the Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 2/26/20
and the Capital Planning Committee Vote: 6-0-1
Meeting Minutes
March 7, 2019
Capital Planning Committee Members Present: David Clough, Dave Emhardt, Stephanie Koke, Bob Panico and
Andrew Staiti.
Opening: The Capital Planning Committee met at approximately 7:00 p.m. in the Salah Meeting Room.
The following are notes from the Capital Planning Committee meeting.
M r. Emhardt stated that due to inclement weather earlier in the week the Capital Planning Committee (CPC) had
not completed their vote and had to vote on three outstanding School cash capital requests. The CPC had
requested additional information from the School Department for these three requests, received the information
and distributed it to the members of the CPC. The CPC voted on the following three school cash capital items for a
total of $187,000.
• $22,200 —Granite curbing for the school bus stop at the Canton High School (CHS).
• $65,000 —Canton High School auditorium Phase II of three-phase auditorium update.
• $100,000 —Portable teacher learning devices —Phase 1 districtwide.
A motion made by Mr. Emhardt to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 three school cash capital requests
totaling $187,000($22,000 granite curbing, $65,000 CHS Phase II auditorium and $100,000 districtwide portable
learning devices) was seconded by Mr. Panico. Vote: 5-0-0.
M r. Emhardt stated there were a few outstanding items for the school debt capital for a total of $168,000 as
follows:
• $100,000 —Memorial Field —Visitors side bleachers.
• $68,000 — Wi-Fi backbone.
The CPC had requested additional information for these items. Mr. Walsh, the Building Commissioner, had
recently informed the CPC that he was going to condemn the visitor's bleachers due to the unsafe condition of the
bleachers. The Wi-Fi backbone is a part of the whole upgrade, amulti-part project, to increase capacity due to an
i ncrease in devices.
M r. Clough expressed his concern about the bleacher project stating that he thought this project could all be done
i n one year instead of a multi-year project. He referenced that there was a $100,000 gap on the home-side
bleacher project for FY21. The CPC decided to place a hold on voting the bleacher project.
A motion made by Mr. Staiti to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $68,000 of debt capital to
u pgrade the Wi-Fi Backbone for the Elementary, Rodman Admin. &Preschool was seconded by Mr. Panico.
Vote: 5-0-0.
There were also a few items on the municipal side that the CPC addressed.
$48,000 -Council on Aging —Fencing at the Senior Center. The CPC had received updated information
regarding this request. The site plan had fencing included in it. If the fencing were removed it could
potentially require a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing. The general feeling was that the neighbors were in
favor of the fencing.
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A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $48,000 of cash capital for
the replacement of the fencing at the Canton Council on Aging Senior Center was seconded by Mr. Staiti.
Vote: 5-0-0.
M r. Emhardt continued to review the remainder of the cash capital requests from the municipal departments as
follows:
$115,000 —Executive Dept. —Drainage and sidewalk improvements —There was concern from neighbors
and abutters regarding this project. The Town wanted to make sure the neighbors understood the plan
and were okay with the proposed plan, the addition of granite curbing and the pitch of the road.
M r. Emhardt was under the impression that one abutter had taken the lead for all of the abutters. This
project was to correct water pooling issues onto private properties.
A motion made by Mr. Staiti to recommend to Town meeting for FY20 for the Finance Department the following
cash capital requests. $71,000 for server replacement,$17,000 for software upgrade,$19,000 for a police video
recording system,$10,000 for computers for library staff and $8,000 for a copier for the Building Department
was seconded by Mr. Panico. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 for the Fire Department the following
cash capital requests: $30,000 for fire records and dispatch software, $25,000 for the repair of floors at Fire
Stations 1 and 2 and $20,000 for turnout gear was seconded by Mr. Staiti. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 for the Library the following cash capital
requests: $27,000 for HVAC extraordinary maintenance and $7,000 for wireless printing services was seconded
by Mr. Clough. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 for the Parks and Recreation a cash
capital request of $11,000 for a lighting systems at the Duggan Baseball Field was seconded by Mr. Clough.
Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 for the Police Department two cash
capital requests for $145,000 to replace police cruisers and $15,000 for bullet resistant vests was seconded by
M r. Clough. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 for the Property Maintenance
Department four cash capital requests for $39,000 to replace apick-up truck with a transit van, $50,000 for
interior painting at Memorial Hall, $26,000 for exterior painting (clean and painting) at the Armando Recreation
Center and $20,000 for handicap door openers was seconded by Mr. Staiti. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 for the Public Works Department for
three cash capital requests for $9,000 for the purchase of an enclosed cargo trailer, $20,000 for the purchase of
stump grinding equipment and $18,000 for the purchase of a message board was seconded by Mr. Staiti.
Vote: 5-0-0.
The total cash capital requests recommended by the Capital Planning Committee for FY20 for the municipal
departments totaled $750,000.
A motion made by Mr. Staiti to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $200,000 of debt capital for
Pequitside Farm parking reconstruction and the sum of $162,000 of debt capital for Engine 2 refurbishment was
seconded by Mr. Panico. Vote: 5-0-0.
A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $189,000 of debt capital for
the replacement of a pickup truck with a Freightliner box truck was seconded by Mr. Staiti. Vote: 5-0-0.
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At 7:30 p.m. members of the Finance Committee met with the already in progress Capital Planning Committee meeting. Finance Committee Members Present: Christos Arsoniadis, Rob Barker, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, Barbara Saint Andre, Cindy Thomas and Wai Wong. Finance Committee Members Absent: Dan Cole and Cynthia Holcombe, Guests Present: Jim Murgia, Finance Director A. Approval of Agenda M r. Barker called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. on March 9, 2019. Chairman Barker welcomed the Capital Planning Committee to the Finance Committee meeting. The purpose of the joint meeting was to discuss the municipal and school capital requests for FY20. Chairman Barker stated that the CPC was forced to meet prior to the Finance Committee because of inclement weather on March 4, 2019. Because of a technical issue the Finance Committee had to wait until 7:30 p.m. when a q uorum had been established. Chairman Barker stated that the Finance Committee would follow the lead of the CPC with regard to controversial items or items where questions had arisen. B. Announcements There were no announcements. C. New Business M r. Emhardt and his CPC members continued with their voting on capital requests for FY20 as follows: A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $830,000 for debt for water system design costs was seconded by Mr. Clough. Vote: 4-0-0. A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $200,000 for an Integrated Water Resources Management Program and the sum of $185,000 to demolish the storage building at Pine Street, both items to paid for by a transfer from the Water Enterprise surplus(retained earnings) was seconded by Mr. Clough. Vote: 4-0-0. Note: Since the date and time that the CPC took their vote on this motion (March 7, 2019) and the date that Town Meeting took place(May 13, 2019) the original request of $200,000 was reduced to $50,000 after the Town received a notice that a $150,000 grant would be awarded from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust for this project. A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $200,000 for an Integrated Water Resources Management Program (sewer portion) to be paid for by a transfer from the Sewer Enterprise Surplus (retained earnings) was seconded by Mr. Clough. Vote: 4-0-0. A motion made by Mr. Panico to recommend to Town Meeting for FY20 the sum of $435,000 for the replacement of ambulance 2 to be paid for by a transfer from the Ambulance Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account was seconded by Mr. Clough. Vote: 4-0-0. Mr. Emhardt stated that ambulances are being replaced every four years instead of five years. F[NCOM 20190307 Minutes revised version BSA.doc Page 3 of 9 2/9/2020
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The CPC did not take a formal vote on the cash capital request of $115,000 request for drainage and sidewalk
i mprovements on Dedham Street or the $500,000 request from cash reserves (free cash) for the
Washington/Randolph Streets Intersection Improvements.
The CPC completed their voting at approximately 7:36 p.m.
Chairman Barker recognized Mr. Emhardt. Mr. Emhardt stated that they would start with the School requests for
FY20. Mr. Emhardt read the School Committee cash capital requests for FY20 as follows:
Buildine Repairs/Improvements
Rooftop Unit Replacement — GMS $39,000
Replace Entryway Floor Mats —JFK 5,477
Replace Bathroom Petitions —Luce 7,590
Door Locking Hardware &Interior Door Window 30,000
Coverings —District Wide (Phase 1)
M r. Emhardt stated that the door locking hardware &interior door window coverings request was a high security
item in that the School Department needed to redo and improve windows and doors for any existing school that is
not keyed to the same key and not able to be opened easily from the inside. This is an on-going project and will
not be able to be funded all in one year. The School Department will be starting with the highest-priority
classrooms so that persons will be able to quickly exit the classrooms or be able to block the window quickly and
will eliminate the need for fumbling for keys in order to open a door. Mr. Clough commented that if this was a
m ulti-year project he did not yet see it in the five-year plan.
M r. Emhardt continued with the school requests as follows:
Building Repairs/Improvements (cont'd.)
HVAC Maintenance $40,000
Replace Granite Curbing at Bus Drop-Off— CHS 22,200
Lawn Tractor &Snow Blower—JFK 11,000
Technology
Firewall for High Availability —District Wide 33,853
Portable Teacher Learning Devices Phase 1 —District Wide 100,000
Wi-Fi Access Points Phase 2 —Rodman, Luce, JFK 41,950
Replacement Chromebooks —District Wide 16,950
Projectors Phase 2 — CHS 79,206
Analog Security Camera Upgrade —District Wide 20,425
Security Servers — JFK, Hansen, Luce 33,500
Program Improvements
Laptops for Engineering &Robotics — GMS 9,000
High Jump System — CHS Athletics 7,370
Laptops for Robotics — CHS 7,740
TV Studio Computer Upgrades (Year 2) — CHS 14,486
Visual Arts Instructional Technology — GMS &Elementary 12,961
CHS Auditorium Updates (Year 2) — CHS 65,000
Classroom Based Instruments —District Wide 20,000
M usic Technology Course Equipment — CHS 9,247
Furniture &Fixtures
Teacher Desks —Luce 7,500
Classroom Furniture—JFK $40,000
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Library Furniture — GMS 15,000
Milk Coolers —District Wide 11,125
Furniture for Professional Development Room —Rodman 25,000
Special Education Equipment (Seating & Redcats) District Wide 10,000
Custodial Equipment 14,420
GRAND TOTAL —School Cash Capital requests: 750 000
Chairman McKenna inquired of Mr. Murgia clarification on the split of available funds for the municipal and school
cash capital requests. Mr. Murgia stated that $1.5 million was available, with $750,000 available for municipal
requests and $750,000 available for school requests. Mr. Murgia further stated that the Town attempts to set
aside 5-6% of revenues for capital spending. Mr. Emhardt is in agreement that a 50/50 split between municipal
and school is reasonable given the amount of equipment the Town side has for police, fire and DPW. The
operating budget is not 50/50.
Ms. Saint Andre stated that she had noticed the municipal requests totaled $750,000 but also had a $500,000 cash
reserves request for intersection improvements. She inquired if any thought had been given as to any requests
that might be needed on the school side using cash reserves as a source of funding. Mr. Murgia stated that the
School Committee would be requesting $750,000 of free cash for their SPED Reserve Fund.
M r. Emhardt continued with a discussion of School debt capital requests:
• $100,000 —Memorial Field Visitors Bleachers.
• $68,000 — Wi-Fi backbone —Elementary, Rodman Admin., and Preschool.
• $122,000 — CHS Roof Top HVAC Unit #17.
M r. Emhardt stated that the CPC had not taken a vote on the bleachers project and wanted to discuss it with the
Finance Committee. The Building Inspector had condemned the visitor's bleachers. The $100,000 request will
i nclude work for removing the existing bleachers and building a new set of bleachers in the same location. The
CPC was questioning the necessity for visitor's bleachers. The School Committee will be requesting in a future year
a pproximately $921,000 to replace the home bleachers (the high cost attributed to making the bleachers ADA
compliant). The CPC did not take a vote on the $100,000 debt request for the Memorial Field Visitors Bleachers.
The total School Committee debt requests for FY20 was $350,000.
M r. Emhardt reviewed the municipal department's cash capital requests for FY20 as follows:
Council on Aging
Replace Fencing at Senior Center $48,000
Executive
Drainage &Sidewalk Improvements 115,000
Finance Department
Server Replacement 71,000
Software Upgrade 17,000
Police Video Recording System 19,000
Computers for Library Staff 10,000
Copier for Building Department 8,000
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Fire Department
Fire Records &Dispatch Software $30 000
Repair Floors at Fire Stations 25,000
Turnout Gear 20,000
Library
HVAC Extraordinary Maintenance 27,000
Wireless Printing Services 7,000
Parks &Recreation
Lighting System at Duggan Baseball Field 11,000
Police Department
Replace Police Cruisers (4) 145,000
Bullet Resistant Vests 15,000
Proaertv Maintenance
Replace Pick-up Truck with Transit Van 39,000
I nterior Painting at Memorial Hall 50,000
Exterior Painting at Armando Center 26,000
Handicap Door Openers 20,000
Department of Public Works
Purchase Enclosed Cargo Trailer 9,000
Purchase Stump Grinding Equipment 20,000
Purchase Message Board 18,000
GRAND TOTAL —Municipal Cash Capital Requests 750 000
M r. Emhardt continued with a discussion of the municipal department's debt capital requests:
$200,000 —Conservation — Pequitside Farm Parking Reconstruction. The entrance and exit would be
expanded to allow an emergency vehicle, such as a fire truck, room to maneuver. The exit is currently a
shared driveway with an abutter which would be reconfigured to eliminate the shared arrangement.
$162,000 —Fire Department —Engine 2 Refurbishment.
$189,000 —Replacement of Pickup Truck with Freightliner Box Truck.
The total municipal department's debt requests for FY20 was $551,000.
M r. Emhardt stated that the Department of Public Works was requesting $500,000 of cash reserves for the
Washington/Randolph Streets Intersection Improvements. The proposed design work for the intersection involves
a traffic light, aleft-hand turning lane from Washington Street onto Randolph Street, aright-hand turning lane and
left-hand turning lane from Randolph onto Washington Street and provides for an island creating a split at the
right-hand turning lane from Washington Street onto Randolph Street. He indicated that the CPC held off on
voting on this request as they were looking for guidance from the Finance Committee with regard to the use of
free cash reserves.
M r. Murgia stated after the free cash was certified at the end of Fiscal 2018 that the Town would be close to 17%
of revenues. Ideally the Town could be at 15%. Mr. Murgia stated that normally the Town would go to Town
meeting with a request for $500,000 of free cash to supplement Ch. 90 funds. ATM 2019 would not have a request
for supplementing Ch. 90 funds. The Board of Selectmen are in support of the use of free cash for the Washington
Street/Randolph Street intersection improvements.
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Ms. Saint Andre spoke opposed to this intersection improvement project because it was based upon a seriously flawed study and stated that there were two primary reasons why this study was flawed: the study only included this intersection and did not include a study of the entire Washington Street corridor and did not taken into consideration the Pleasant Street Light, the Dedham Street light, the Chapman Street light. The study also did not consider the sidewalks beyond the Randolph/Washington intersection. The other critical point that the traffic study did not include was that the traffic study assumed that the traffic flow on Washington Street was free flowing during the AM and PM peak hours, which it is not free flowing. Ms. Saint Andre is concerned that a light at this intersection may even make the traffic worse for those people on Randolph Street. M r. Panico agreed with Ms. Saint Andre and stated that the Town needs to have a traffic management plan in place but realizes that after consulting with the Manager of Information Systems the technological logistics of syncing all of the intersections would be a costly endeavor. In response to a Finance Committee member's q uestion as to why there was no funding for Ch. 90 funds in the upcoming ATM warrant, Mr. Murgia stated that he did not what to be presumptuous but he believes it was a decision from the Board of Selectman to fund the Washington /Randolph intersection in lieu of Ch. 90 funds because of availability of funds. The Finance Committee will confer with the BOS at their next meeting. M r. Emhardt stated that until the state resolves the problems with the major interchange for Rt. 95 and Rt. 128, the Town needs to have a safe option for using the Washington/Randolph intersection given the great number of commuters that cut through Canton via Neponset Street, Chapman Street, Washington Street, Randolph Street and Rt. 138. M r. Emhardt completed his review with the Finance Committee for the following FY20 requests: The CPC supported the $435,000 request to replace Ambulance 2. The third ambulance would be stored off sight once the Fire Department has identified a location for storage. The CPC supported the $830,000 debt request for the Water System Design Costs. This is for the design portion only for improvements to at least eight to nine streets. The CPC also supported both the $200,000 request for Phase 5 of 5 for the integrated water resources management plan to be paid out of the Water Enterprise surplus (retained earnings) as well as the $200,000 Phase 5 of S for the integrated water resources management plan to be paid out of the Sewer Enterprise surplus (retained earnings). The CPC also supported the $185,000 request to demolish the water storage building at Pine Street. The CPC would provide to the Finance Committee at a later date their votes on the $115,000 drainage and sidewalk improvements on Dedham Street, the $500,000 Washington/Randolph intersection project and the $100,000 visitor's bleachers request. A motion made by Mr. Panico to adjourn the Capital Planning Committee meeting at approximately 7:32 p.m. was seconded by Mr. Clough. Vote: 4-0-0. Chairman Barker proposed voting on all the motions with the exception for the three projects the CPC had not voted on yet. Ms. Saint Andre stated that the Finance Committee should have the actual motions for Article 12 before they vote on anything. D. Old Business None. FINCOM 20190307 Minutes Page 7 of9 2/9/2020
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E. Approval of Minutes
No minutes were approved at the meeting.
F. Next Meeting Date: The next Finance Committee meeting would take place on Monday, March 11, 2019
at 7:00 p.m. in the Salah Meeting Room to discuss the FY20 operating budget &warrant/articles for ATM.
Adjournment: A motion made by Ms. Saint Andre to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 p.m. was seconded by
M r. McKenna. Vote: 7-0-0.
Minutes reviewed by: Wai Wong
R ectfull mitted,
~-
i m McKenna
Chairman, Canton Finance Committee
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Joint meeting of the Canton Finance Committee
And Capital Planning Committee
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town's website under the Posted Minutes section
(Laser Fiche).
Agenda for March 7, 2019. (1 page).
M unicipal Capital Requests for Fiscal 2020(revised 1/16/2019)(1 page).
School Capital Requests for Fiscal 2020 dated 12/24/2018(1 page).
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