12/21/2023 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Minutes (2)

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*APPROVED (1-10-2024)* Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Committee Minutes December 21, 2023 Select Board Chair John Cotton said that the Town has paid three years of lease payments, and a decision needs to be made to keep them or not. Mr. Collins again referred to the oversight of not budgeting for the buyout of the leases during FY2024. The lease agreements were shared with Finance Committee member Greg McKelvey at his request. Dawn Thayer added that an incentive payment was received by Nissan in the approximate amount of $40,000 ($10,000/car). Mr. Collins stated that he was asking to be authorized to negotiate with Nissan for an amount up to $71,643.72. School Superintendent Patricia DeBoer asked whether it would be better to return these cars and start new leases on new cars. Mr. Collins had asked the Town's mechanic about the expected life of the vehicles especially the cost and timing of replacing the cars batteries. Assistant Town Manager Taylor said that he was told that each battery could cost between $5,000 and $6,000, but that the expected life should be more than six years and it was added there is virtually no maintenance required on them. Mr. Collins further explained that being down four Town vehicles will be difficult and that if employees use their personal vehicles they will be reimbursed at the new IRS rate of $0.67 per mile. Motion made by Mr. Cotton to approve and authorize Town Manager Collins to negotiate with Nissan a purchase price for the four (4) electric vehicles (Nissan Leaf) not to exceed $71,643.72. Motion seconded by Mr. Livingston Discussion followed with questions about procedures allowed to purchase the vehicles in this manner. At this point the Town Manager read the following opinion from Town Counsel (dated December 13, 2023) into the record: "Upon review of all these documents relative to C1PC/Town Meeting authorization of funding for the subject electric vehicle leases/ charging station installation and our discussion relative to the lease term expiration circumstances, the issue facing the Town now is a lack of available funds to exercise the Towns lease -end purchase option with respect to the four electric vehicles. The only viable source of funding now available for this vehicle purchase, considering the recent expiration of the leases and imminent repossession of the vehicles by the dealer, is a reserve fund transfer approved by the Finance Committee pursuant to G.L. c. 40, §6. Such transfers can be approved by the Finance Committee 'for extraordinary or unforeseen expenditures". Given that the proposed vehicle purchase would typically be a departmental capital outlay subject to the CIP Charter and Bylaw requirements if the subject funds were to be appropriated by Town Meeting as a component of the annual Capital Improvement Program, I would recommend, in an effort to comport with the spirit and intent of the CiP Bylaw, that a Reserve Fund transfer for this purpose also be reviewed and approved by the CIP Committee in its role as an advisory body relative to Town capital outlays. Let me know if you have any further questions." Pat Patrick J. Costello Louison, Costello, Condon & Pfaff, LLP