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1992-09-08Records of the Board of Aldermen REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, SEPTEMBER 8, 1992 ROLL CALL: All Aldermen were present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: Led by Alderman Doherty. CONFIRMATION: The following appointments were confirmed. #346 Appointment- Constables - Lawrence Blasi, Edward Urkiewicz and David Almeida. COMMUNICATIONS FROM HIS HONOR THE MAYOR: September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA Dear Honorable Board: I hereby request that your Honorable Board authorized the Council on Aging to pay the enclosed bill in the amount of $20.39 to Viking Office Products from the 1992-3 Budget. Attached is a communication from Chairman Ed McCarthy concerning this request. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan Mayor Referred to Financing Property. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA Dear Honorable Board: I hereby request that your Honorable Board authorize payment of the enclosed bills for replacing the walkway at the Ferryway Landing from Waterways Improvement Funds: Attached is a communication from Greg Ward, Chairman concerning this request. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan Mayor Referred to Financing Property. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA Dear and Honorable Board: I hereby request that your Honorable Board authorized the Mayor to sign the attached contract between the City of Beverly and the MBTA for the FY 93 Shuttle Bus. Also attached is a communication from Ted Lehne concerning this request. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan Mayor Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Board: I hereby request that your Honorable Board authorize the Mayor to sign the attached Amendment of Water Tower Lease Agreement between the City of Beverly and Southwestern Bell Mobil System Inc., d/b/a Cellular One. Verbal approval has already been given on August 11, 1992. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan Mayor Order read once and adopted. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA Dear Honorable Board: I hereby request that your Honorable Board authorize the Mayor to sign leases for slips and mornings. Verbal approval was given on August 18, 1992. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan Mayor Order read once and adopted. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Board: I hereby appoint, subject to your confirmation, Mr. Anthony Dettorre, 20 MacArthur Road, Beverly, MA 01915 to the position of Intermittent Fire Alarm Operator, effective September 14, 1992. A communication from Chief Kenneth Pelonzi is attached concerning this request. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan Mayor Laid over for confirmation. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Board: I hereby reappoint, subject to your confirmation, Mr. George Zambouras, 17 Noble Hill Rd., Beverly, MA 01915 as Commissioner of Public Works for a three-year term. His term will be effective from July 1, 1992 to June 30, 1995. Very truly yours, F. John Monahan, Mayor Laid over for confirmation. COMMUNICATIONS FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS AND BOARDS: August 10, 1992 Bruce Burgess Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly MA 01915 Dear Honorable Board: The Council on Aging is completing the application of two grants to begin fiscal year 10/92 through 9/93. The Title III-B and Formula Grants are received annually to fund additional staff and costs which the city of Beverly does not cover IEEE: mileage expenses of grants employees, monthly newsletter mailing and access phone costs due to the relocation of the Council on Aging. Sincerely, Edward F. McCarthy Chairman of the Board Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. August 27, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City of Beverly Dear Members of the Board: I respectfully request that the Board of Aldermen accept ALL the provisions of Chapter 30-B M. G. L. as it relates to purchasing practices in the City of Beverly; i.e. the minimum bid threshold should be at $10,000 as set by State Law. My reasons for this request are twofold: 1. This will allow the Chief Procurement Officer to save time and money in the bidding process. Many of the Departments’ request could be handled at the department level, with oversight by the Auditor’s Office to monitor three quotes, as currently handled for purchases under $4000. 2. I feel that laminating the bid process for expenditures up to $10,000 will allow more local firms to participate in the purchasing of city materials and the smaller construction projects. Many small firms do not wish to participate in a sealed bid process, sensor reveals their prices and practices to competitors within the regional market. However, they are open to negotiations with city departments and could result in substantial savings for the City of Beverly. Downsizing of city government is now a reality and I would appreciate your help in adjusting our methods of operations to coincide with the reduction of staff. Very truly yours, Constance E. Perron City Clerk Referred to Public Service and Aid. August 27, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA Honorable Board: I am submitting to you my intention to retire as the Collector/Treasurer for the City of Beverly effective September 11, 1992. This has been a very difficult decision for me, as I have enjoyed working for the citizens of Beverly as a Clerk in the Collector’s Office for five years, then as Deputy Collector for ten years and finally as Collector/Treasurer for the past five years. Now it is time for me to enjoy the privilege of staying at home to spend more time with my family. I want to thank you for having enough confidence in my performance to reappoint me to this position over the past five years. Yours truly, Alice Remare, Collector/Treasurer July 13, 1992 Mr. Jeffrey S. Craigmile 10110 S. Fulton Ct. Orlando, Fl. Dear Mr. Craigmile: Thank you for your letter of July 7, 1992. The donation of land to the City of Beverly is a matter which must be approved by the Board of all women. I therefore, suggest that you contact the Meters Office and/or the City Clerk. Very truly yours, Peter H. Gilmore Chairman, Conservation Commission Referred to Financing Property. TO: Honorable Board of Aldermen FROM: Donald Young, Finance Director DATE: August 26, 1992 RE: Changing Bid Limits under certain circumstances The reduced staffing levels created by the early retirement incentive present some unique challenges in the day-to-day administration of the municipal government. One such opportunity for improving the efficiency and businesslike approach to the administration is to allow department heads the ability to avoid the cumbersome and technically difficult formal bid process when purchasing certain items with an estimated purchase price of between $4000 and $9,999. Controls can be established that would ensure the continued compliance with the intent of the Uniform Procurement Act and that will maintain the cost-effective purchasing enjoyed under the current bid limit of $4000. Such controls could include: 1. Purchases of two or more identical objects at the same time whose unit price is less than $4000 and whose combined price under $10,000. (E.G. Two computer systems each costing $2200 purchased at the same time would satisfy the requirement by solicitation of three or more quotes.) 2. Purchases of items with limited market availability (available from no more than three local vendors) where a formal bid would result in no great availability. 3. Purchases of items or purchases under circumstances that a bid procedure would probably not result in any more competitive pricing than the quotation process. 4. Any other circumstance that the Board of Aldermen may deem to warrant a quotation rather than a bid process. Obviously, the Board and, and probably should, require their review and approval even under and he one of the four circumstances listed above. I believe, however, that such a restructuring of the purchasing procedure is essential to effective administration with limited personnel resources. Referred to Public Service and Aid. TO: Honorable Board of Aldermen FROM: Donald B. Young, Finance Director DATE: August 26, 1992 RE: Changing the frequency of Bill Schedules to weekly The early retirement incentive will potentially create some significant staff shortages particularly in the clerical support of some offices. My office has been reviewing the clerical demands placed on those staffs by my office with particular attention to accounts payable and payroll. During preliminary meetings with the service bureau (HCR) we discussed a number of improvements in the payroll system that would mitigate the potential payroll problems cause by reduced staffing levels. While these improvements are some time away, they can be made with minimal involvement of the Board of Aldermen. Such is not the case with accounts payable. Currently, and each department collects their bills during the course of a month for delivery to my office by the fifth of the following month. These are then processed and documents are prepared for the various approvals by Subcommittees of the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor. Frequently, departmental clerical staffs have to deal with overlapping billing necessitating a cross check with the previous payments authorized (by the fifth, but not pay until the th 20) as well as the frequent necessity of preparing “Manual” bills for those invoices received too late for the regular monthly bill schedule but must be paid prior to the next monthly bill. For example, th if a department receives a bill on July 6, (too late to be submitted for the August 20 bill schedule) th it will not be paid until September 20....a full 44 days. Therefore, in an effort to reduce the workload on the departmental clerical staffs and to install a more businesslike procedure for paying of bills, I recommend that we initiate a weekly bill schedule system. Under such a system, the departments would prepare bills for my office by Wednesday, we would process all the bills on Thursday and Friday, the Board could review them Monday and Tuesday and checks would be issued the following Wednesday. Timing of the checks being sent by the Treasurer would be predicated on actual due dates of the invoices and not by the processing date (the computer would not print the actual check until the Wednesday before the due date) thereby minimizing any potential cash flow impacts. The necessity for manual interim bills would be significantly reduced. There may be more availability of early payment discounts. The cumbersome prior amount due would be drastically reduced. Hopefully, the workload for the departmental clerical staff would be more evenly distributed over the week rather than have the “crunch” of the monthly bill schedule. As an aside, a weekly bill schedule will enable the department head to monitor his/her budget more frequently than monthly. This is particularly important during the latter private of the fiscal year as appropriations become tighter and tighter. I recognize that there will not be a weekly demand on your time for the review and approval process but believe that the simulated time will not be dramatically different. I sincerely hope you will endorse this effort and, if necessary, make any ordnance changes. I avail myself to you to answer any questions or discuss this proposal in more detail. Referred to Financing and Property. August 3, 1992 Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA Dear Gentlemen, I respectfully request to pay $1130 (1991-1992) bills about of the current (1992-1993) Budget. Very truly yours, Kenneth Pelonzi Chief Referred to Finance and Property. August 31, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City of Beverly Gentlemen: Please find attached for your approval the Call for the Election for the State Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, September 15, 1992. This Call for Election deliniates the position contested as well as the polling places for this election. Sincerely, Constance E. Perron City Clerk Received and placed on file. August 19, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City Hall Beverly, MA RE: Planning Board or recommendation to Board of Aldermen Acceptance of Roads in the Thaxton Heights Subdivision (Old Planters Road & Windham Lane) Dear Members of the Board: At the Planning Board’s regular meeting held on Tuesday, August 18, 1992 members reviewed the Acceptance Plan submitted for the Thaxton Heights Subdivision and the recommendation we received from the Commissioner of Public Works. (See attatched). Following brief discussion, the Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend to your Board that the Acceptance Plan submitted for the Thaxton Heights Subdivision be accepted by the Board of Aldermen. Very truly yours, James A. Manzi Chairman Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. September 8, 1992 Mayor F. John Monahan City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Mayor Monahan: Please except my resignation as City Solicitor effective October 1, 1992. It has been a great privilege to serve the City of Beverly and it is with some sadness that I leave. However, as we have discussed, the private side of my practice has grown to such a degree that I can no longer do both. It has been a terrific experience to serve with you and the many fine individuals, both elected and appointed, who have been with the City during my tenure, and I thank you for the opportunity. Very truly yours, Thomas J. Alexander Received and placed on file. September 8, 1992 Honorable Board of Aldermen City of Beverly Dear Board of Aldermen: I recommend that the current method of water and sewer billing be revised from the current semi- annual billing to a staggered quarterly billing system. The proposed quarterly system would commence on July 1, 1992 and would reflect rates as established by the Board on July 1, 1992. The method in which we are calculate rate increases would also change to reflect rates in effect at the time of usage. In addition I request that the 10 % water discounts eliminated. Thank you for your consideration on this request. Very truly yours, George J. Zambouras, P. E. Referred to the Committee of the Whole. COMMUNICATIONS, APPLICATIONS AND PETITIONS: Communication from Mass. Department of Revenue relative to revisions to FY 93 Cherry Sheets. Referred to Finance and Property. Application for Class II Motor Vehicle Dealers License - Kagans Service Station, Inc. d/b/a P & B Automotive. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. SESD Notice of Project Change Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Claim - Richard Swartz Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Application for Class II Motor Vehicle Dealers License - Greenwheels Electric Car Company, 181 Elliott St. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Application for Class II Motor Vehicle Dealers License - Hannah Automotive, 228 Cabot St. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Application Automatic Amusement Device License - Burger King, 498 Rantoul St. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Communication from Rodman Spear relative to water rates. Referred to Public Service and Aid. Water Abatement - Mark Isenberg for 42 Bow St. Request for Zoning Map Change - Robert Dunn for 3 Summit Ave. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Claim - Michael Sciucco, 9 Doty Ave., Danvers. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Water Abatement - Leandro Noriega Referred to Public Service and Aid. Request by Temple B’Nai Abraham to hang banner on Cabot St. Referred to Public Service and Aid. Communication relative to Municipal Labor Requirements TLT Construction (Library). Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Application - Automatic Amusement Device - Borah’s, 175-181 Rantoul St. (5 machines). Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. Claim - Jay Powers Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES: The Meeting and Public Service and Aid to whom was referred the matter of Order for Commissioner of Public Works to respond to Dane Street Beach Alliance have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Received and placed on file. Order read once and adopted. The Committee on Public Service and Aid to whom was referred the matter of communication re: sidewalk condition - Rita Thibodeau have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Received and placed on file. The Committee on Public Service and Aid to whom was referred the matter of order for removal of a live tree - 247 Hale St. have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Submitted the accompanying order and recommend its adoption. ORDERED: Permission is hereby granted for the removal of a live tree at 247 Hale St., in accordance with the provisions of City of Beverly Revised Ordinances, 23, Section 23-3 and 23-4; viz. the tree may be removed by a properly licensed and insured company at the owner’s expense and the owner must pay a $50 fee to replace the tree. Order read once and adopted. The Committee on Public Service and Aid to whom was referred the matter of communication re: sidewalk condition - Robert Reece, Lefavour Ave. have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Received and placed on file. Order read once and adopted. The Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of consideration of new water/sewer billing system have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Submit the accompanying order and recommend its adoption. ORDERED: That quarterly billing for water/sewer bills, as explained by the Finance Director and as recommended by the Commissioner of Public Works, be implemented, effective July 1, 1992. An explanation of the process shall be included in each water bill. Order read once and adopted. The Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of the elimination of 10 % water discount have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Submit the accompanying order and recommend its adoption. ORDERED: That 10 % water discount be eliminated as recommended by the Commissioner of Public Works, effective with water bills of July 1, 1992. Order read once and adopted. MOTIONS AND ORDERS: By Alderman Coughlin ORDERED: That Section 29-5 of the City of Beverly Zoning Ordnance (“General Provisions”) be amended by adding a new subsection “N”, as follows: “N” Prohibition on Construction Other provisions of the Zoning Ordnance notwithstanding, no construction of any kind within one hundred fifty feet (150') of Wenham Lake shall be permitted. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. By Alderman Doherty ORDERED: That the maximum lot coverage requirement contained in Section 29-18, d.a. Of the City of Beverly Zoning Ordnance relative to the “CG - General Commercial” zoning district be either stricken or amended by increasing the maximum lot coverage percentage. Order read once and referred to Planning Board from the Committee of the Whole. By Alderman Coughlin ORDERED: That the Commissioner of Public Works E., and the same is hereby requested to make a study and recommendation relative to the removal of a live tree at 17 Butterworth Rd. Referred to Public Service and Aid. By Alderman Coughlin ORDERED: That the City Electrician to take appropriate action to improve the street lighting on Brimbal Hill Drive. Referred to Public Service and Aid. By Alderman Doherty ORDERED: In order to operate efficiently with reduced staffing, City Hall will be open to the public during the following hours, effective October 1, 1992: Monday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All personnel will work the regular hours, as now scheduled. This will allow undisturbed processing time for each department and provide concentrated attention to public service during above hours. Referred to Finance and Property. By Alderman Reinecke ORDERED: That the Finance Director of the City of Beverly, working with the U.S. I.R.S., determine each fiscal year those portions of the budgets of SESD, Salem-Beverly Water Supply Board, and the City of Beverly which are legal deductions on federal income tax returns in accordance with I.R.S. Regulations. And further, that the Finance Director cause to have the citizens of Beverly notified annually what percentage of their sewer bill may legally be claimed as a deduction on their Federal Income Tax Return. Referred to Finance and Property. By Alderman Reinecke ORDERED: That the Beverly Harbor Management Authority be granted permission to charge for parking at the Beverly Harbor Center on a 30-day trial basis in accordance with the attached communication; and That Section 14-12 of the ordinances of the City of Beverly be amended to allow such charges if so recommended by the Harbor Management Authority at the conclusion of the 30-day trial period. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. By Alderman Hannibal ORDERED: That the Commissioner of Public Works provide a plan for sidewalk improvements in the City of Beverly, for both bituminous and concrete sidewalks. Referred to Public Service and Aid. By Alderman Troubetaris ORDINANCE: Motive Vehicles and Traffic Parking is prohibited on Bridge St., southerly side, from Doane Ave., twenty (20) feet westerly. Referred to Legal Affairs and Accounts. By Alderman Troubetaris ORDERED: A tree, located at 31 Hillcrest Ave., home of Mr. & Mrs. Bert Hanlon, be removed as it is dying. Referred to Public Service and Aid. By Alderman Troubetaris ORDERED: That the Commissioner of Public Works make a study and recommendation relative to the removal of a live tree at 61 Matthies St. Referred to Public Service and Aid. Meeting adjourned: 9:35 p.m. Attest: Constance E. Perron City Clerk