12-13-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, December 13, 2010 7:00 o'clock p.m. (6. CONTINUATION OF 2011 BUDGET HEARING, Continued) Franchot asked whether $50,000 is a reasonable amount to reserve for contingencies. Olson indicated in his view it is. Loftus stated out of a $5.8 million budget, a $50,000 contingency is reasonable. Franchot stated he would not be in favor of a zero percent increase for nonunion workers and that perhaps the contingency fund could be cut in half in order to come in with a zero percent budget increase. Franchot stated in his view the golf course losses cannot exceed $10,000, which would then allow them to cut the contingency fund slightly and make it a zero percent budget increase. If the decision is not to raise the levy at all, the City could reduce expenses in other areas. Franchot indicated he is in support of the resolution before the Council tonight. White stated a real message would be to cut the budget by 5 percent, but that he is not sure that can be accomplished. White noted the proposed increase is 0.77 percent, which is a very small increase. McMillan stated she does not want to micromanage the finance director and that she also does not want to rearrange the budget tonight in order to reach a zero percent budget increase. McMillan stated in her view the Council should go ahead and vote on the resolution. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 1, McMillan Opposed. PRESENTATION 7. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD RECONSTRUCTION PLAN UPDATE Kellogg stated in October the City Council authorized his office to complete plans and specifications on Old Crystal Bay Road. They are proposing some minor changes to the plan to increase the functionality of the road and are intending to meet with the school district and the medical office on the proposed changes. Kellogg stated they have met with the state aid office today. The Council had originally directed that they proceed with Option 2, with the third roundabout being bid as an alternate. The state aid office requires you to submit a plan that they can review and comment upon, which makes it different from a City project. Kellogg stated they went ahead and presented Option 2 with a possible third roundabout to the state aid office. By adding the third.roundabout as an alternate bid, the City will need to come up with two designs, which would include a basic design that shows a traditional intersection and then a plan with the third roundabout. This would add approximately $7,000 to $10,000 to the project. Another option would be to have the base bid include all three roundabouts, and if the bid is too expensive, the City can award the contract to the low bidder and renegotiate the bid. Otherwise the City has the option to go through the design process for the traditional intersection and resubmit it to state aid. Both plans will need to be presented at the same time in the bid process. Kellogg reported the soil borings show some petroleum based contamination underneath the roadway, which is similar to the Casco Point project. The soil borings have found contamination at three to five Page 6 of 27