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City of Lewiston MAY 2014 City Administrator’s Report Edward A. Barrett City Administrator [EMAIL REDACTED] Phil Nadeau Deputy City Administrator Director, Labor-Risk Management Service & Freedom of Access Officer [EMAIL REDACTED] Lewiston City Hall 27 Pine Street Lewiston, ME 04240 (207) 513-3121 & TTY/TDD 513-3007 Table of Contents Each month, this report from the City Administrator’s office provides a brief summary and update of major activities, events, projects, and programs that impact the community of Lewiston. Feel free to send your comments and suggestions. Greetings from the City of Lewiston 1 Items of Page 2 City Administrator………………………………………….. Page 3 Page 4 Page 5-6 Page 7 Planning & Code Enforcement Page 8 Page 9-11 Public Page 12-16 Wellness Team Page 17 ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 Items of Interest L/A Arts announces several live musical performances, a fashion show, and visual arts galleries for the June 27th Artwalk Lewiston Auburn! Greater Lisbon Street, Lewiston ME 5:00 - 8:30 PM Over 20 businesses/storefronts displaying or converted into visual arts galleries. Special arts exhibits with participating businesses, and outdoor crafts, & creative food & drink Performances Including: 5-6:15 PM - Chicks with Sticks Dufresne Plaza - (Callahan Hall @ Public Library Rain Location) 6:00 - 6:30 PM - Maine Music Society's Androscoggin Chorale Le Messager Gallery (223 Lisbon Street) 6:30 - 7:30 PM - Fashion Show with Designer Sahro Hassan from Tree Street Youth Dufresne Plaza - (Callahan Hall @Public Library Rain Location) 7:30 - 8 PM - Maine Music Society's Androscoggin Chorale Le Messager Gallery (223 Lisbon Street) 8:00 PM - The Juke Joint Devils She Doesn't Like Guthries (115 Middle St.) Throughout the evening: Solo music with Buck Curran from Arborea. Downtown Handmade & Vintage (182 Lisbon St.) ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Edward A. BarreƩ City Administrator City Council Authorizes Capital Projects The City’s adopted 5 year capital plan initially called for $7,075,000 in bonds for a variety of capital projects. Given concerns over the existing level of City debt and anticipated on-going restraints on the City’s operating budget, this proposal has been significantly reduced. The first adjustment was proposed in my message to the Council accompanying the proposed FY 15 municipal budget. That message recognized that we are now in the sixth year of flat to declining revenue growth and concluded that these circumstances were unlikely to change significantly in the near future. I proposed reducing borrowing to $1,803,000 in an effort to control the impact of future debt service on the operating budget. Only projects that would result in future year savings, were deemed absolutely essential, or addressed a significant City priority were recommended for funding. The final adjustment occurred late in the budget process over concerns about the level of unassigned fund balance likely to be used for capital and one time expenditures in FY 15. At one point, this exceeded $2.3 million. Based on this concern, $877,000 in street paving was shifted from fund balance to bonds, reducing the use of fund balance to $1.4 million. Finally, the City Council supported $575,000 in funding to replace a fire engine, a project that was initially deferred to a future year. We now anticipate issuing $3,482,000 in bonds. This represents about 44% of the average principal amounts that the City has repaid over the last three years, so it will continue our recent trend of reducing the overall amount of City General Fund debt. Projects that will be funded in the next year include street paving and reconstruction for just over $1.45 million; Riverfront Island Master Plan improvements ($250,000); the local share of state highway projects ($200,000) including the next phase of Main Street work and continuing our efforts to automate and interconnect our traffic signal systems; retrofitting downtown’s decorative street lighting with LED’s ($240,000), which will produce an estimated $30 to $40,000 annual savings in electric bills; and $765,000 in school projects including initial funding for work related to a new elementary school, ventilation im- provements at the High School, and restroom and flooring improvements at Montello elementary. Multi-Unit Energy Efficiency Loan Program Approved As an outgrowth of discussions with state and local agencies and local property owners, the City Council has developed a loan program that will assist multi-family building owners convert to natural gas and make other energy improvements that will result in a 20% savings in energy costs. This program will operate in conjunction with Efficiency Maine’s rebate program for energy improvements to multi-family buildings of 5 units or more. To access the program, property owners must select and work with an energy auditor approved by Efficiency Maine to conduct an energy audit from which a list of improve- ments are developed that will result in at least a 20% savings in energy consumption. Common improve- ments required to achieve the 20% savings could include replacing a furnace and or water heaters, conversion from oil to gas, insulation, low flow faucet aerators, and other improvements. If recommended improvements achieving the 20% energy consumption reduction are made, the building is eligible for a rebate from Efficiency Maine of $1,600 per unit. The City’s ENERGY Program loans will provide additional up front low interest financing to build on the rebates available from Efficiency Maine. For more information, contact the City’s Economic and Community Development Department. ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 Joe Grube, Chief Assessor Field Reviews & Audits May acƟvity centered on compleƟng field review of building permits for the 2014‐2015 assessment roll. Personal Property acƟvity centered on field audits of personal property accounts. Real Estate Transfers Real estate transfers were completed so that the proper ownership would be billed for the upcoming tax year. ExempƟon Status Requests for Homestead and Veterans ExempƟons were reviewed, granted, or denied based on state eligibility guidelines. BETE & Personal Property Filings The Business Equipment Tax ExempƟon (BETE) program applicaƟons and personal property filings accounted for the greatest demand on the assessing staff in May. Assessing ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 Fire Chief Paul LeClair L.F.D Keeps Busy With Multiple Fires in May Monday, May 12th ‐ 15 Peƫngill Street ‐ Porch Fire Upon arrival, firefighters found the second floor rear porch of a two family home on fire. The occupants and neighbors helped contain the fire unƟl units arrived. Luckily the fire was contained to the rear porch area and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was determined accidental—improper disposal of smoking materials. Monday, May 12th ‐ 740 Lisbon Street ‐ Truck Fire Firefighters responded to a truck fire which originated in the engine compartment of the 1988 Dodge Ram plow truck. The vehicle was located near a building, and the heat of the fire melted some of the siding. The cause was deemed to be mechanical failure ‐ the truck was a total loss. Friday, May 23rd ‐ 7 Dimsdale Avenue ‐ Porch Fire Firefighters arrived on scene to find the occupants using a garden hose to put out the fire. The fire was exƟnguished quickly and contained to the porch area resulƟng in an esƟmated $20,000 in damages. The cause was determined to be accidental ‐ an unaƩended candle. Friday May 30th ‐ 59 Franklin Street ‐ Basement Clothes Dryer Fire The occupant smelled smoke coming from the basement area and went to invesƟgate. The clothes dryer was on fire. The woman and her three young children escaped unharmed. Firefighters were able to quickly exƟnguish the fire and removed the dryer from the basement. The single‐family home was venƟlated and damages were contained to the basement area. The cause of the fire was mechanical failure. A valuable lesson was learned on the importance of having smoke detectors in the house; the family has since purchased and installed detectors on all levels of the home, including in the bedrooms and laundry room. Every year in the United States, approximately 2,500 people die in home fires. Most deaths occur in homes that didn’t have a working smoke alarm. ‐Remember: Install & Inspect to Protect ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 Lt. John ClouƟer and A.C. Bruce Mckay remembering those who’s numbers have been reƟred On Thursday, May 22nd, The Lewiston Firefighter’s Association held its annual retirement banquet . This year they gathered to honor and roast Pvt. Christopher Keneborus in recognition of his retirement from the L.F.D. after 25 years of service. There were nearly 90 firefighters (retired and current) on hand to enjoy the festivities. Pictured to the left is Chief Paul LeClair congratulating Chris on his retirement. Pictured below, left is Mayor Bob Macdonald. Needless to say, the Chief and the Mayor kept the crowd laughing with their humor and roasting remarks. Past and present firefighters enjoying the evening Lewiston Firefighter’s Honor Guard posƟng colors ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 LPL Receives Major Award from Bates College The Lewiston Public Library was awarded the 2014 Harward Center Community Partner Award for Sustained Commitment to Partnership. The Harward Center for Community Partner- ships bestows this award every year to an area organization that has provided ongoing support to the community. Library Staff News Bethany Martel, LPL’s Circulation Services Supervisor, graduated with honors from the Univer- sity of Maine at Augusta with a bachelor’s degree in library science. Bethany has been with the Library since January of 2013. Children’s Library Technician Danielle Fortin was awarded a Public Librarian Basic Level certification by the Maine State Library. This certification program is totally voluntary and allows library staff to take online course work to enhance their knowledge and competencies. Library Hosts Naturalization Ceremony On May 30th of this year, LPL hosted a federal Naturalization Ceremony during which 37 new Americans received their U.S. citizenship. The Androscoggin Chorale provided music for the event and the guest speaker was state Senator Margaret Craven, a native of Ireland and a naturalized U.S. citizen herself. The ceremony was conducted by the Portland office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Children’s Department News The Library’s Children’s Department was humming in May with a variety of new and special programming. The annual Androscoggin Head Start Family Literacy Night took place on Wed., May 7th, when 100 Head Start families visited the Library. Various literacy games took place around the facility and families were treated to a pizza dinner and free books to take home. Over the last month every third grade class in the Lewiston Public Schools visited the library to learn more about programs and resources available to them. The students played the Library Jeopardy Game and participated in a scavenger hunt which was designed to teach them how to make their way through the library’s collection of books. A new reading therapy dog, a Portuguese water dog named Graeme, began visiting the Library in May on Thursday evenings from 5 to 6 PM. Children can sign up to read to Graeme who is a very patient listener who never criticizes the kids. Studies have shown that reading to dogs provide reading motivation to children and boosts their skill level. Rick Speer, Director ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 Gil Arsenault, Director Planning & Code Enforcement PERMIT ACTIVITY Planning Board On May 12, the Planning Board voted to send a favorable recommendation for the City Council’s consideration to amend the existing conditional rezoning agreement for the Marshwood Nursing Care Center at 33 Roger Street to increase their number of residents from 100 to 108. (pic to the rt.) Staff Review Committee On May 1, approval was granted to operate Moose’s Kitchen, a semi-permanent roving diner with outdoor seating at 26 Oxford Street. On May 15, approval was granted for the construction of a parking lot at 7 Bartlett Street (formerly owned by the City) to provide parking for Vespucci’s, a restaurant located at 15 Bartlett Street. On May 22, the Committee granted approval to expand the existing parking lot at 1140 Main Street for Carol Ann’s Daycare Center. (pic to the rt.) May 2014 54 building permits with a reported value of $997,092 were issued 13 plumbing permits 30 electrical permits The highest reported dollar value building permit was in the amount of $500,000 for a new Dollar Tree store at 960 Sabattus Street. Enforcement Action The City Council ordered the demolition of the multi-family buildings located at 28 Wakefield Street and 60 Howe Street. May 2013 115 building permits were issued of which 6 new single-family homes were permitted with a total reported value of $2,276,525 9 plumbing permits 42 electrical permits ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 Police Mike Bussiere, Chief In the month of May, the Lewiston Police Department responded to a total of 3,897 Calls for Service (CFS) outlined below: STATISTICS Calls For Service 05/2014 Total CFS 3,897 Vehicle Stops 703 Citations 165 Written Warnings 271 Verbal Warnings 267 Adult Arrests 203 Juvenile Arrests 20 Criminal Summonses 104 Narcotics Arrests 18 OUI Arrests 10 Parking Tickets 575 Fireworks Violations 23 ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 COMMUNITY EVENTS Officer C. Johnson, as a member of LPD’s Honor Guard, posted at attention beside retired Officer Paul Samson during Samson’s funeral services. Officer J. Johnson represented LPD at two police funerals, one in NH and one in Aroostook County. Detectives Clifford, Conley, Levesque, and St. Laurent distributed awards to athletes who participated in the Special Olympics track meet hosted at Bates College. Sergeant O’Malley gave a presentation, regarding law enforcement response to sexual assaults, to Bates College students enrolled in Gender, Sexuality, and Violence: The College Campus and Beyond. Sergeant Bradeen served as a panel member at Kaplan University for a discussion regarding Sex Trafficking and Human Exploitation. Detective Brochu, Officers Griffin, Philippon, Weaver, Hood, and K-9 Ice attended the Touch a Truck event, hosted in Auburn, where a Lewiston PD command vehicle was displayed for attendees. Sergeants Bradeen and Whalen attended Wal-Mart Distribution Center’s open house with the LPD armored personnel carrier; children and adults were permitted to view and photograph the inside of the vehicle. Sergeant Bradeen, Detective Brochu, and Officer C. Johnson assisted Officer Lacombe with DARE graduation by awarding certificates to sixth grade DARE graduates attending Longley, Montello, and McMahon elementary schools. Officer Martin attended the Police Memorial Celebration in Washington DC. Officer Weaver attended the Blake Street Towers anniversary dinner. Officer Griffin conducted a personal safety class, for employees and clients, at Safe Voices; Officer Weaver conducted a personal safety class at the Frye School Apartments. Officer Griffin was a guest speaker at the National Association of Retired Federal Employees luncheon which was hosted at the Ramada Inn. Officer Philippon taught a class at Lewiston High School on the topic of underage drinking. Sergeant Ullrich and Officers Griffin, Philippon, and Weaver conducted a session of Coffee With a Cop at Bates College. Sergeant Ullrich and Officers Philippon and Weaver participated in the Geiger School “Bike to School” event. ---PAGE BREAK--- 11 RECRUITMENT TRAINING Sergeant Ullrich, as well as Officers Griffin, C. Johnson, Philippon, and Weaver attended and participated in a fundraising event hosted by the Dunkin Donuts on Strawberry Avenue. The fundrais- ing event was for Special Olympics. Sergeant Ullrich, along with Officer Philippon, moderated a community meeting regarding “Hot Spots.” Various sworn personnel were also in attendance. Officer Lacombe attended eight hours of training on Pediatric Case Review. Lieutenant St. Pierre and Sergeant Landry attended training pertaining to Deadly Force hosted by the University of Maine at Farmington. Officer J. Johnson taught self-defense at Central Maine Community College for the 100 hours LEPS pre-service. Officer Wade taught crash investiga- tion to the 100 hours LEPS pre-service. Officer Wade also instructed LRTC students on forensic mapping. ---PAGE BREAK--- 12 David Jones, Director Public Works With the passing of the budget, the City’s organization changed. The budget cuts included eliminating two positions in the Department’s Parking Garage operation and maintenance crew. We are still transitioning and trying to adjust operations to accommodate this cut. In addition, two positions in the Recrea- tion Department were cut including their Department Head and Facilities Maintenance Supervisor, and the remaining positions were transferred to a new Recreation Services Division in Public Works. Again, this will take some time to transition and become part of our normal operations. Here are some specifics for work done in May: DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS Street/Road & Sidewalk Improvement Projects The crews completed the following: Street sweeping is approximately half done. Each year we complete the downtown and the major arterials first. We then alternate addressing neighborhoods off the major arterials with this year’s priority being Lisbon Street, then Sabattus, and finally Main; General pothole patching with recycled hot mix has been done throughout the month, with numerous potholes the result of the very tough winter; Catch-basin cleaning has resumed, which is a requirement of our regulatory permits and helps keep our brooks, streams, and the river clean; Crews also repaired storm drains (culverts & catch-basins) in eight locations around the city; Crews prepared Olive Street for surface paving (raising CBs and matching driveways); Graded and repaired shoulders on Bradbury Road and portions of Tall Pines Drive and College Street; The Arborist worked with Goodwill Take 2 volunteers (non-profit group assisting troubled youths to learn vocational and social skills) to construct and erect two kiosks for the McMahon Nature trails; ---PAGE BREAK--- 13 Flower bed prep and planting in 21 locations around the City took most of the rest of the month for the Arborist crew; The traffic crew assisted with line painting, began the symbol & crosswalk painting, and installed downed signs; All athletic fields were fenced, fertilized, and are now being routinely mowed for sched- uled athletic events; Graffiti was removed at Potvin Park (buildings and benches), Kennedy Park (pool building), and Randall Road ball fields. Contracted projects: Main Street Route 202/11/100 highway im- provements Memorial Avenue to Stetson Road (0.57mile) with replacement of Stetson Bridge. Project is scheduled for 2014 construction and is in the contract award stage with CPM Constructors the apparent low bidder; Veterans Memorial Bridge paving with drain- age and safety improvements from Russell Street to Center Street is currently in the contract award stage with Pike Industries the apparent low bidder; R.J. Grondin & Sons continued work on the $5.1 million MTA project to upgrade the Exit 80 ramps. This is the first step towards development of the Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI); A project to construct a bike & pedestrian path along the Androscoggin River from Sunnyside Park to Tall Pines Drive has been approved and funded by Maine DOT with a local share from the City (already funded). The project is planned to be awarded in early June to J. Pratt Construction; J. Pratt Construction continues work on the Simard-Payne Park entrance between Lincoln Street and Oxford Street. Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Construction projects and studies: The Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission hosted a meeting to present the consultant report on the 2012 algae issue. Very few members of the public attended the meeting held at Auburn City Hall; however, it was recorded and televised on local access TV; Oak Street sewer & stormwater improve- ments: St. Laurent & Son $1279,259. The contractor completed work on the project in May; Jepson Brook Phase 3 of the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) sewer/stormwater project (five streets on the north side of Sabattus Street near the intersection with Russell Street): Gendron & Gendron $916,039, work has resumed on Fairlawn and Sabattus; Work has begun on Jepson Brook Phase 5 of the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) sewer/stormwater project (7 streets on the south side of Sabattus Street in the Garcelon Bog area): Longchamps & Sons $748,853 Jepson Brook Phase VI of the Combined ---PAGE BREAK--- 14 Sewer Overflow (CSO) sewer/stormwater project was awarded to Nitram Construction. The project includes work on eight streets in Jepson Brook Watershed. study of Jepson Brook by CDM Smith Consultants began to evaluate the capacity of the drainage channel and pipes, identify necessary improvements, and forecast future needs; Green Mountain Pipeline Service was awarded the sewer lining contract to install trenchless cure-in-place linings in 10,835 feet of sewer mains for a bid price of $681,815; National Water Main Cleaning from Massachusetts was awarded a contact to clean and video inspect 400,000 feet of sew- er, which is more than half of the city; new contract to replace the 8” and 12” water line on East Avenue between Fairlawn Avenue and Montello Street was awarded to St. Laurent & Sons in the amount of $444,495. The total project including materi- als is ~$670,000 and work will begin soon. Work performed by the Water & Sewer crews included: Responding to two water main breaks this month. The first was a 16” line on Lexington and the second was a 14” on Sabattus Street. Both of these breaks created major problems for businesses and residents along with some property damage; Replacing two hydrants and repairing numerous curb stops from winter damages; Responding to 43 E-GOVs; all are complete and 190 Dig Safe requests; Finishing the installation of 8” DIP on Louise Street replacing the 6” cast iron pipe that was installed in 1950; total length was 850’ and 17 house services; Beginning and replacing the water line on Lucille Street which was also installed in 1950; total length was 850’ and 20 house services; Replacing 22 manhole frame and covers at various locations due to the harsh winter frost which made a mess of some roads; Working with the contractors involved with the CSO projects; Continuing progress on the valve mainte- nance program and the sewer flushing program; Continuing to replace water meters, includ- ing some that test extremely slow; Continuing to maintain all watershed proper- ties and water & sewer properties. Street Lights We will begin another phase of upgrading Mercury street lights in the next three or four weeks. The upcoming phase will include 163 luminaries, leaving us with only 144 more Mercury lights to upgrade in the future. The funding for the upcoming work ($46,300) is from a rebate from Efficiency Maine for the upgrade we did in 2010. Because of the choice of LED luminaries that we will be using in this phase, Lewiston has been pre-approved for another Efficiency Maine rebate in the amount of $29,050. ---PAGE BREAK--- 15 Solid Waste The annual reports on environmental (groundwater) monitoring & facility operations were delivered to Maine DEP. This is a regulatory requirement. Paradis and their sub-contractor—RTD Enterprises—began work on closing the final, active disposal area within Cell 3 of the secure landfill with interim cover. This work included placing a 24” RCP culvert, grading waste material, placing barrier sand over the waste material and, final, installing 40 mil high-density polyethylene geomembrane over the sand. This project will be completed during the first week of June. Paving was installed around the facility’s office building and the newly constructed waste handling building. This will allow for re-locating materials and equipment used for—processing waste refrigerated appliances, storage of waste motor oil and anti-freeze, processing and storage of universal waste items—which were previously performed in the shredder building. Excavation for the foundation of the Casella zero-sort addition to the shredder building is scheduled to begin the first week in June. Public Buildings Work began on the off-season equipment storage building at the Operations Center. This building will house the equipment the department used to store at the shredder building now being converted to a zero-sort materials processing facility. All the parking garages and public parking areas in the downtown were swept. The division is going through the transition of losing two positions for parking garages and taking on the facilities management for the Rec Services Division. ---PAGE BREAK--- 16 Rec Services This new division will be headed by Deputy Director for Rec Services Joline Banaitis. She and her folks are transitioning to public works, but will remain in the Armory and will coordinate all Recreation programs. The facility mainte- nance portion of the former Rec Department will transition to the Public Buildings Division. More on this next month when we are further into the transition. The Armory hosted many activities, events, and meetings including: Senior Citizens: board meeting, various card games, Bingo, Cribbage, and senior exercises L/A Veterans meetings, Disabled American Veterans, VFW, and American Legion Meetings of local political groups Andy Valley softball meeting March of Dimes event The following programs occurred in May: Indoor T-ball, Gymnastics (classes and team), Indoor Batting Cages, Boys and Girls Lacrosse (grades 3-8), Spring Track Fundamentals (grades K-6), Kiddiesticks (Pre-K - grade Staff is working on registrations, flyers, and hiring for summer programs; Scheduling of spring sports: for Rec Services, High School, and Middle School athletics were completed (pending weather cancelations/rescheduling); Upcoming events in June include: Safe Voices Walk/Run, McMahon School Tiger Run, Art Van, YMCA Fit Fest, Sandcastle Preschool, LMS Promotions, Sailors Assoc.-Navy, Baxter Brewing Co., L/A Arts, Co-ed Softball Tournament, and Museum L/A Half Marathon. ---PAGE BREAK--- 17 EMPLOYEES WELLNESS Nature Trail Walks Led by Mike Laliberte WALK PROGRAM MAY 5TH - JUNE 27TH STEPS LOGGED FROM MAY 5—JUNE 1: Total of 1,555.47 miles 325 hours 3,110,405 steps! 17 registered walkers participating in the program ENJOY THE OUTDOORS EVERY STEP COUNTS! Maintaining Weight Loss with periodic weigh-ins Wellness Sponsored Lunch & Learn Gardening, Part II was held in May