COUNCIL COMMITTEES
The Council Committees Meeting was held on September 29, 1992, at 7:00 p.m., with Acting Council President Irving S. Levitt presiding. Members of Council present were Mr. Daisey, Mr. Leary, Mr. Salters, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Hare, Mr. Lambert, Mr. Tudor and Mayor Knopf. Council President Christiansen was absent.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Mr. Lambert requested an addition to the Utility Committee agenda, item #4, Trash Collection. Mr. Leary moved for approval of the agenda as amended, seconded by Mr. Lambert and unanimously carried.
LEGISLATIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Legislative and Finance Committee met with Chairman Levitt presiding. Members present were Councilmen Salters and Leary and Mr. Hindman.
ISSUES RELATED TO DOVER DOWNS - NEED FOR ADDITIONAL ORDINANCES - CARL MOORE (MR. CHRISTIANSEN)
Noting the absence of Mr. Moore and Council President Christiansen, Chief Hutchison informed the Committee that he has spoken to Mr. Moore and suggested that he contact the City prior to raceweek 1993 regarding his request for additional ordinances. Staff will address his concerns at that time.
Mr. Salters moved to defer action on this issue, seconded by Mr. Leary and unanimously carried.
CITY VEHICLE POLICY
During their meeting on September 15, 1992, the Committee deferred action on the City vehicle policy to allow staff the opportunity to obtain additional information as requested by members. Mr. Worley updated members on information they previously requested and stated that the City pays between $.90 to $1.00 per gallon of gas for vehicles serviced at the City warehouse.
Mr. Hare felt that the committee was not given enough information on the vehicle policy, noting that there are six (6) vehicles assigned to Ryder MLS as pool cars.
Mr. DePrima, Planning Director, stated that should the Committee implement the policy as presented by the City Manager, only three (3) employees will be affected Citywide. Those employees are his inspectors. Mr. DePrima requested that, should the committee amend the policy, consideration be given to a grandfather clause for the current inspectors.
After further discussion, Mr. Leary moved to recommend no change to the current vehicle policy and that discussions on this subject continue during the next fiscal year budget review. The motion was seconded by Mr. Salters and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:40 P.M.
SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Safety Advisory Committee met with Chairman Hare presiding. Members present were Councilmen Lambert and Leary.
UPDATE - WEST DOVER FIRE STATION
Councilman Hare stated that the Public Safety Issues Implementation Study Committee will meet on September 30, 1992 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. An update of that meeting will be presented at the next Safety Advisory Committee Meeting.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN (MR. TUDOR)
Councilman Tudor requested that the Committee review possible plans in case the City of Dover falls prey to hurricanes as recently experienced in Florida.
Mr. Tudor expressed the need to maintain a list of contractors with equipment such as backhoes, tree trimming personnel, electrical contractors and dump truck operators, which should be kept on file in the event of an emergency. A roster of what they have available and a commitment that they take care of Dover's needs first should be very importantly considered. A meeting should be held each year prior to hurricane season to keep the contractor list updated. Two different command centers should be established in case one is down. The Electric Department should have double the amount of radios set to their frequency to handle the additional work force. The Electrical Department has many individuals that know the electric distribution system but are not linemen. These people would be in charge of small groups of volunteers that could triple the line crews. With the radios, a central dispatcher would direct work as needed.
Mr. Worley stated that there are currently five (5) plans utilized by the City during emergencies. These plans include the State of Delaware Emergency Plan, State of Delaware Relief Plan, the State of Delaware Recovery Plan, State Hurricane Evacuation Study and a guide which City staff utilizes during emergencies.
Responding to Ms. Ruth Tee, Chief Hutchison explained that the Police Department has a list of medically supported citizens throughout the City. In the event of an emergency such as a power outage, the Police Department contacts the Electric Department for information on the expected length of the outage. Should there be a substantially long period of time before power can be restored, the Police Department will take action in seeing that those residents receive the necessary care, which could require a generator in some cases.
Responding to Mr. Lambert, Mr. Worley stated that the City does not practice periodic emergency exercises due to the fact that the City utilizes the guides approximately once a year when an expected storm approaches.
The Committee took no action; however, it was suggested that staff obtain a list of available contractors to be kept on file in the event of an emergency.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:04 P.M.
UTILITY COMMITTEE
The Utility Committee met with Chairman Daisey presiding. Members present were Councilmen Pitts and Lambert and Mr. Carey.
ACCEPTANCE OF DEDICATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY AND UTILITIES - JUNE D. SCHAMP - ROUTE 8
Ms. June Schamp has developed an alley south of Route 8 to serve her property and has requested that the alley and utilities be accepted for maintenance and ownership by the City. After construction was completed, City Staff inspected the improvements and all design and construction standards have been met. Staff recommended acceptance of the dedication of right-of-way and utilities.
Mr. Lambert moved to approve staff's recommendation to accept the dedication of right-of-way and utilities for the developed alley south of Route 8, owned by June D. Schamp. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pitts and unanimously carried.
QUARTERLY FUEL ADJUSTMENT REVIEW
The City reviews its fuel adjustment projections at least quarterly and modifies its fuel adjustment in December on a levelized basis for the next calendar year. The current fuel adjustment is set at -$0.004 per KWH. Fuel revenue is $0.03 per KWH which is part of the base rates which represents fuel. The current cost for 2.3% sulfur oil is $15.50 a barrel ($0.37/gallon). The current cost for 1% sulfur oil is $18.40 a barrel ($0.44/gallon).
The recommended fuel adjustment was based on a small increase in the price each month, to a projected cost of $19.66/barrel by December 1992. The original projections had a balance at the end of August of $3,320,669.40 including the $1,000,000 reserve required by Council. The actual balance at the end of August is $3,333,080.21 with the $1,000,000 reserve.
There are still a number of uncertainties in the oil market which could result in large swings in the price the City pays for oil. The City has not been required to use the 1% sulfur oil. Due to a number of environmental considerations, staff purchased only 1% sulfur oil beginning June 4th.
Staff recommended that the fuel adjustment remain at -$0.004 (negative four tenths of one cent per KWH) for calendar year 1992.
The Committee took no action.
BID - PURCHASE OF 70' BUCKET TRUCK
Replacement of truck 772 was budgeted at $120,000. Bids were requested from (6) suppliers for a late model used truck. Staff has estimated forty 65 and 75 foot poles at 22 and 69 KV that have extensive damage due to woodpeckers. With the use of a truck with a 70 foot boom, repair of these and other tall poles can be handled in-house as needed. Baker Equipment of Richmond, Virginia submitted the only bid, with a total bid of $120,800. The bid met all requirements.
Staff recommended approval to purchase the used 1991 truck as quoted from Baker Equipment for the sum of $120,800.
Responding to Mr. Daisey, staff stated that the current cost of renting this particular vehicle is $3,800 per month.
Mr. Carey moved to recommend acceptance of staff's recommendation to purchase the 1991 used truck as quoted from Baker Equipment for the sum of $120,800, stipulating that the boom meet all certification requirements. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pitts and unanimously carried.
TRASH COLLECTION
Resident concern with the City's bulky refuse pickup policy has been relayed to Mr. Lambert. He explained that the City apparently considers carpet as construction material and the Public Works Department has refused pickup of residential, unwanted carpet. Mr. Lambert distributed photographs depicting overflowing refuse containers and unwanted carpet lying on the sidewalk/road. Mr. Lambert stated that the City's bulky pick-up policy needs to be examined to provide for a method of disposing of residential, unwanted carpet.
Mr. Scrafford stated that the City no longer picks up carpet because contractors were leaving carpet to be removed from residential properties.
Concern was relayed for the costs of disposing of such bulky items as carpet, due to the high landfill costs charged to the City by the Delaware Solid Waste Authority. Because of these high costs and the uncertainty of identifying the abuser of the removal policy, the City eliminated disposal of carpet regardless of whether it was left by a resident or by a contractor.
Mr. Salters stated that if the sanitation department is aware of refuse that will not be picked-up by the City, they should leave a note letting the property owner know that the bundle will not be picked up by the City of Dover.
Mr. Lambert moved to recommend that staff review other cities' policies regarding their sanitation disposal items and their billing for such service, seconded by Mr. Carey.
After discussing the matter, Mr. Lambert withdrew his motion as did Mr. Carey his second.
Mr. Lambert moved to recommend that staff remove residential carpets placed out for pickup, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:50 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Irving S. Levitt
Acting Council President
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