COUNCIL COMMITTEES

The Council Committees Meeting was held on February 28, 2000 at 6:15 p.m., with Councilman Salters presiding in the absence of Council President Christiansen. Members of Council present were Mr. Lambert, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Truitt, Mr. Leary, Mr. Carey, Mr. Salters, Mr. Weller and Mayor Hutchison. Mr. Malone was absent.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS

Mr. Leary moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.

LEGISLATIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE

The Legislative and Finance Committee met with Councilman Leary presiding. Members present were Mr. Gorman and Mr. Merritt. Noting that Chairman Salters was presiding in the absence of Council President Christiansen and the absence of Councilwoman Malone, Councilmen Carey and Weller were deputized to serve as members.

Report on Financing of Ladder Truck

During the Legislative and Finance Committee’s review of the CIP last year (meeting of March 22, 1999), members relayed concern regarding the request of the Robbins Hose Company No. 1 (Fire Department) for the purchase of an additional truck in FY 2001-2002. It was suggested that a subcommittee be formed to consider the options available to the Fire Department to be presented back to the committee for consideration.

The Fire Department has planned the purchase of a new ladder truck to replace a 1981 ladder truck. A committee of the Fire Department solicited bids and has selected a vendor, Midlantic American LaFrance (LTI), for the purchase of a new ladder truck in the amount of $591,707. Delivery of the new ladder truck is expected by December 2000.

The Fire Department expects to receive $100,000 to $150,000 for the 1981 ladder truck; which will require approximately $500,000 additional funds to purchase the new ladder truck. After reviewing this matter, staff recommended that the Fire Department borrow $500,000 with payment arrangements and a borrowing plan, as follows:

1)The borrowing will take place in December 2000 or January 2001.

2)The first interest payment will be due in the year 2002. The second interest payment will be due in 2003. These payments will be made from funds available to the Fire Department as mentioned above. The Fire Department has indicated that Fire Station No. 1 is in need of repairs, and that $20,000 - $26,000 may not be available since the Fire Department may have a new mortgage by 2002, in turn, creating a financial problem.

3)The first principal payment will be made from the $95,000 available from the Fire Department and City of Dover ($25,000 and $70,000 respectively).

4)The same process will continue until the $500,000 loan is paid off.

The City’s current appropriation for the Fire Department is $890,814, which includes the following items:

                                    $70,000 current loan payment for the 1992 ladder truck

                                      60,000 mortgage payment for Fire Station No. 2

                                      20,000 loan payment for the rescue truck

Members were advised that the current loan for the 1992 ladder truck will be paid in full in fiscal year 2004. If the City were to continue providing this appropriation, it could then be used towards the $500,000 loan for the purchase of the new ladder truck.

Mr. Lambert relayed concern regarding the interest payments being made up-front and felt that if the purchase could be delayed it would alleviate such a considerable expenditure in this regard. Responding, Mr. O’Connor stated that the 1981 ladder truck has been experiencing a substantial amount of downtime and will soon require a considerable amount of maintenance; therefore, extending its service time for financial reasons would not be feasible.

In response to Mr. Lambert’s question regarding the necessity of the repairs to Fire Station No. 1, Mr. O’Connor stated that in the upcoming year, Council will need to determine if the repairs should be made to Fire Station No. 1, if the Fire Department should return the $26,000, if additional funds should be raised to make the repairs, or if the City should absorb the $26,000.

Staff recommended that Council affirm its intention to continue the $70,000 appropriation beyond FY 2004 and continue until the loan for the proposed purchase of a new ladder truck is paid in full.

Mr. Carey moved to recommend approval of staff’s recommendation, seconded by Mr. Gorman and unanimously carried.

Purchase of Land - South State Street Adjacent to Dover Public Library

For several years, the City has expressed an interest in the purchase of the Sapienza property, which is located adjacent to the Dover Public Library and has been on the market for more than six (6) years. Unfortunately, the City was not successful in negotiating an agreeable purchase price with the owner of the property.

Mr. O’Connor advised members that the City was recently made aware that Mr. Michael Zimmerman currently has a contract for the purchase of the Sapienza property. He stated that staff has negotiated an agreement with Mr. Zimmerman that would allow the City to purchase the rear portion of the property in order to build a parking lot. Should Mr. Zimmerman close on the purchase of this property, he has agreed to sell a total of 11,624 sq. ft. (75’ x 155’) to the City at a cost of $69,744. This property would be used for additional parking for the library (approximately 32 parking spaces). A part of the agreement would be for the City to provide Mr. Zimmerman enough parking spaces, which is estimated at 10 spaces, in order for him to meet the parking requirements necessary to receive a building permit for the existing building.

Mr. Weller moved to recommend that the City Manager be authorized to move forward with the purchase of the rear portion of the property located on South State Street adjacent to the Dover Public Library. The motion was seconded by Mr. Truitt and unanimously carried.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:27 P.M.

UTILITY COMMITTEE

The Utility Committee met with Councilman Lambert presiding. Members present were Councilmen Carey and Weller, and Mr. Nichols. Mr. Pitts was deputized to serve in the absence of Mr. Kramedas.

Proposed Installation of Two Additional Capacitors, 5MVARS Each at the DAFB Switching Station to Improve the Voltage and Power Factor at the Point of Installation

Pursuant to the Reactive Power Study performed by Duke Engineering, capacitor banks are required at the Dover Air Force Base (DAFB) switching station. These banks are necessary in order to improve the 69kv voltage profile and to provide sufficient reactive power capacity to maintain unity power factor as specified in the recent Interconnection Agreement between Delmarva Power and Light Company and the City of Dover.

In accordance with the Reactive Power Study, 15MVARS of capacitance are required at DAFB. During the DAFB re-build this year, 5MVARS were installed. The next step is to install an additional 10MVARS, which will satisfy the reactive power needs well into the next year.

Since ABB Power T&D Company, Inc., which is a manufacturer of this equipment, was awarded the bid for the 5MVAR installation, and the equipment must be compatible with that installation, it is required that ABB Power T&D Company be considered the “Sole Supplier” for the two (2) additional banks, in accordance with Section 3.17 of the Purchasing Policy. Members were provided a letter from ABB Power T&D Company, Inc., a manufacturer of this equipment, confirming that WESCO Richmond is the only authorized distributor of ABB Power T&D Company, Inc. products to the City of Dover Electric Department. They have an exclusive agreement with WESCO Richmond which precludes ABB from bidding through any other channel or distributor.

Staff developed specifications and cost estimates, calculated at $73,500 for each 5MVAR bank. Funding for the two (2) capacitor banks is available in the carry forward balance of the Electric Improvement and Extension Fund.

Staff recommended that a purchase order be issued to WESCO, which is the sole distributor for ABB Power T&D Company, in the amount of $147,000 for the two (2) capacitor units.

Mr. Carey moved to recommend approval of staff’s recommendation, seconded by Mr. Weller and unanimously carried.

Mr. Weller moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.

Meeting Adjourned at 6:38 P.M.

                                                                                    Respectfully submitted,

Reuben Salters

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