REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

The Regular Council Meeting was held on November 27, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. with Vice President Salters presiding in the absence of Council President Williams. Council members present were Mr. Carey, Mrs. Russell, Mr. McGlumphy, Mr. Slavin, Mr. McGiffin, Mr. Hogan, and Mr. Ruane.

Council staff members present were Police Chief Horvath, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Townshend, Fire Chief Bashista, Mr. DePrima, City Solicitor Rodriguez, Mrs. McDowell, and Mayor Speed.

OPEN FORUM

The Open Forum was held at 7:15 p.m., prior to commencement of the Official Council Meeting. Vice President Salters declared the Open Forum in session and reminded those present that Council is not in official session and cannot take formal action.

Mr. Bobby Wilson, 1561 Nathaniel Mitchell Road, stated that the community is concerned with the level of minority contractor participation for the John W. Pitts Recreation Center. He noted that both Mr. Pitts and his wife worked tirelessly for the inclusion of all minorities in the life of the City. Mr. Wilson stated that Mr. and Mrs. Pitts grew up during the Civil Rights Movement and were lifetime members of the NAACP. Mr. Wilson suggested that the City Manager, Mr. DePrima, be appointed to head a committee that would be responsible for ensuring that minority construction contractors have contractual interest in this project to represent all that Mr. Pitts stood for.

The invocation was given by Chaplain Dixon, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS

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

Mr. McGlumphy requested that item #4 - Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee Report and item #5F - CIP Report, be removed from consent agenda. Mr. Slavin requested that item #5A - Budget Report, be removed from consent agenda. Mr. Hogan requested that item#7 - Election of Officers - Robbins Hose Company - Year 2007 Fire Line Officers, be removed from the Consent Agenda.

Mr. Carey moved for approval of the Consent Agenda, as amended, seconded by Mr. Hogan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote (Mrs. Williams absent).

ADOPTION OF MINUTES - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 13, 2006

The Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of November 13, 2006 were unanimously approved by motion of Mr. Carey, seconded by Mr. Hogan and bore the written approval of Mayor Speed.

PRESENTATION - GREATER DOVER COMMITTEE DONATION - JOHN W. PITTS RECREATION CENTER

Mr. Jennings Hastings, President of the Greater Dover Committee, and Mr. Bill Holden, Chairman of the Greater Dover Committee Focus Group, presented Mayor Speed with a check in the amount of $10,000 for the construction of the John W. Pitts Recreation Center.

Mr. Hastings stated that, over the past two years, the Greater Dover Committee held 15 community focus groups representing all age, ethnic, and business groups to review the recreational needs for youth in the Dover area. He noted that, although the John W. Pitts Recreation Center will be a major step in addressing the needs of the youth, the City should consider establishing partnerships with local organizations, such as the Greater Dover Boys and Girls Club, to further address the needs of the youth.

Mayor Speed commended the Greater Dover Committee for promoting the John W. Pitts Recreation Center and for their generosity.

PRESENTATION - GREATER DOVER COMMITTEE - ECONOMIC ENHANCEMENT STRATEGY

Mr. Gregg Moore, Project Chair - Comprehensive Study of Downtown Dover, thanked City Council and Staff for their participation in the HyettPalma study and the development of the Downtown Economic Enhancement Strategy. He noted that a number of meetings have been held with a wide variety of groups to discuss and dissect the report. Mr. Moore advised members that there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the project and contribution by the leaders of the city and community members.

Mr. Moore stated that one of the most important components is the “Partnership for Success”, which is a new entity that will be created as a result of the study that will combine the efforts of the current Downtown Dover Development Corporation, the Parking Authority, and Main Street Dover into one entity with one group, one board, and the representation of all the groups. This will enable shared resources and more efficient communication. Mr. Moore stated that they have met with the current Chairs of each group and it agreed that this is a positive step for the City of Dover and the revitalization of downtown.

Mr. Moore advised members that another key element is the hiring of an economic development staff person who would work through the partnership but would likely be a City staff person under the City Manager or Planning Department. Their primary role would be to pursue economic development in the entire downtown area, not just Loockerman Street. Mr. Moore stated that the study also recommended hiring an outside firm to help with the creation of a marketing strategy for the downtown retail, office, and residential areas.

Mr. Moore advised members that a Steering Committee was developed to oversee the Study and they conducted a telephone survey and distributed business and individual surveys to obtain as much input as possible. He noted that he has received many accolades regarding the study and only one negative comment.

Mr. Moore requested members to support and pursue the revitalization of downtown in the general parameters of the report. He advised members that they would work with staff to develop initiatives for Council’s review and approval prior to implementation.

Responding to Mr. Ruane, Mr. DePrima stated that the idea of the Partnership for Success is being further investigated and a meeting will be held with the City of Newark, which recently combined several committees.

Mr. Ruane stated that the City of Dover is the major metropolitan area for Kent County and the County should recognize that the revitalization of the downtown must be a part of their strategy. Mr. Moore stated that they are trying to garner support from all levels of government.

Mr. Slavin moved to suspend the rules to allow public comment, seconded by Mr. McGiffin and unanimously carried.

Ms. Georgiana Windley, 725 Bicentennial Boulevard, stated that she has been an economic development professional for over 25 years. She advised members that she has worked in the State Economic Development Office and started most of the Main Street programs for the State of Delaware. She also noted that she worked on the revitalization of the Riverfront in Wilmington.

Ms. Windley stated that she is delighted that downtown Dover is the focus of the study. She stated that she has read the study carefully and noted that the study was incomplete and its implementation is premature. Ms. Windley suggested that the methodology of the primary research needs to be articulated and the secondary research used needs to be sited because other professionals did the research. She also noted that there were gaps in the datasets and the primary research does not include the overlay of visiting populations, which have a tremendous impact on Dover.

Mrs. Windley recommended that an organizational development professional evaluate the different organizations, how they are incorporated, what their missions, goals, objectives, and strategies are and where there may be conflicts prior to proceeding with the “Partnership for Success”.

Mr. Carey moved to accept the report, with the understanding that any changes or planned implementation would be presented to Council for review and approval prior to action being taken. The motion was seconded by Mr. Slavin and carried with six (6) yes, one (1) no (Mr. McGlumphy) and one (1) abstention (Mr. Ruane)(Mrs. Williams absent).

Responding to Mr. Ruane’s concern that there may be other citizens that would like to speak regarding Economic Enhancement Strategy, Mr. Moore stated that the Greater Dover Committee would hold another meeting to receive additional public input.

UTILITY COMMITTEE REPORT - NOVEMBER 13, 2006

The Utility Committee met on November 13, 2006 with Chairman Carey presiding.

Green Energy Program - Net Metering and Tariff

In the Summer of 2005, the State of Delaware Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (Delaware Code, Title 26, Chapter 1, Sections 351-363). Section 363 - Special provisions for municipal electric companies and rural electric cooperatives states that municipal electric companies and rural electric cooperatives may elect to be exempt from the requirements of this subchapter provided that, on or before June 1, 2006, they:

            (1)       Submit a written notice to the General Assembly;

            (2)       Alert their end-use customers with notices inserted in two (2) consecutive electricity bills;

            (3)       Offer their retail customers a voluntary program for purchasing renewable energy under competitive rates; and

            (4)       Either contribute to the Green Energy Fund at levels commensurate with other retail electricity suppliers or create an independent, self-administered fund separate from the Green Energy Fund to be used in support of energy efficiency technologies, renewable energy technologies, or demand side management programs, into which they make payments of $0.178 for each megawatt-hour they sell, transmit, or distribute in the State. (75 Del. Laws, c. 205, § 1.)

Mr. DePrima, City Manager, informed members that the City has followed the four (4) steps and has generated a new electrical tariff to meet the requirements effective January 1, 2007. The City must also have a net metering electric tariff for green energy projects that will sell power back into the electric system.

Mr. DePrima reviewed the Net Energy Metering “NM” information, noting that it will allow the City to credit residential and small and medium commercial customers with less than 50KW of generation for KWH delivered from the customer to the City of Dover. All other rate classes or projects generating more than 50KW will be handled through special contracts. The rate of credit will be reviewed and adjusted annually. This does not apply to any electrical systems that are not connected to the City’s electrical infrastructure.

Mr. Steve Enss, Public Utilities Field Engineer, provided additional information regarding the special meters that will need to be installed. He noted that the resident will be responsible for any costs associated with the installation of the special meters. Mr. Enss informed members that the City’s technical considerations are similar to those adopted by Delmarva Power and the Delaware Electric Co-op. He advised members that the City is currently three months ahead of other local municipalities.

Mr. DePrima stated that there are funds available through the State of Delaware’s green energy fund for residents if they wish to install solar panels or windmills as a source of alternative power. He also stated that there are some zoning and permitting issues associated with the use of wind mills, which the Planning department will review.

Mr. Ruane requested that a presentation be given to the committee regarding the City’s Green Power Program and any financial incentives associated with the program. He also suggested that a representative from the State program be present, to provide valuable information to residents.

Staff recommended acceptance of the Net Metering Tariff, effective January 1, 2007.

The committee recommended acceptance of the Green Energy Program Net Metering Tariff, effective January 1, 2007, as recommended by staff.

By consent agenda, Mr. Carey moved for approval of the Green Energy Program Net Metering Tariff (Exhibit #1), as recommended by the committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hogan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote (Mrs. Williams absent).

Green Energy Program - Technical Considerations

In the summer of 2005, the State of Delaware issued a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (Delaware Code, Title 26, Chapter 1, Sections 351-363). Section 363 - Special provisions for municipal electric companies and rural electric cooperatives with which the City of Dover is required to comply. To comply with this law, which requires the City to support Green Energy Technology such as solar and wind power projects, technical guidelines for installation of these technologies must be adopted.

To insure the safe and proper operation of customer owned generation and the City’s electric infrastructure, technical guidelines have been created. Staff recommended that the technical considerations be included in the City of Dover’s Electric Service Handbook as Division VI – Parallel Operations of Customer Owned Generation.

The committee recommended amending the City of Dover’s Electric Service Handbook to include Division VI - Parallel Operations of Customer Owned Generation.

By consent agenda, Mr. Carey moved to amend the City of Dover’s Electric Service Handbook to include Division VI - Parallel Operations of Customer Owned Generation (Exhibit #2), as recommended by the committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hogan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote (Mrs. Williams absent).

By consent agenda, Mr. Carey moved for acceptance of the Utility Committee Report, seconded by Mr. Hogan and carried by a unanimous roll call vote (Mrs. Williams absent).

LEGISLATIVE, FINANCE, AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REPORT - NOVEMBER 13, 2006

The Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee met on November 13, 2006 with Chairman Salters presiding.

Financial Reporting and Information Flow

Mrs. Donna Mitchell, Finance Director, provided members with a PowerPoint presentation regarding Financial Reporting and Information Flow. Mrs. Mitchell stated that the information contained in the presentation was based upon the June 6, and October 23, 2006 presentations given by Burns and McDonnell.

Mr. Slavin informed members that the subject of information flow and any subsequent employee action was originally scheduled to be discussed during a Council Executive session. Due to concerns expressed by several members of Council, it was decided that these issues would be presented in a public forum and that an executive session may be necessary to discuss personnel issues.

Responding to Mr. Slavin, Mrs. Mitchell stated that during the budget preparation process it was realized that Duke Energy purchased a blanket insurance policy which included the City of Dover. Under the new agreement with North American Energy Services (NAES), the City must purchase it’s own policy at a cost of $300,000. Mrs. Mitchell indicated that this information was communicated to Council on September 18, 2006.

Mr. DePrima, City Manager, informed members that the City must purchase the difference between the current capacity requirements and the capacity generated by both the McKee Run and Van Sant stations from the PJM market. The current capacity requirement is 177 megawatts and both substations generate approximately 174 megawatts, necessitating the purchase of additional capacity at a cost of $63,000.

Mrs. Mitchell stated that due to the departure of the Public Utilities Director in May, this project has been a huge undertaking for staff. Responding to Mr. Slavin, Mrs. Mitchell stated that informational notes were sent to Council, via email, on September 18, 2006 and October 5, 2006.

During the October 23, 2006 presentation to Council, Mr. Jim Utt of PACE Global stated that an analysis of the electric plant would be conducted and the results would be presented to Council during the second quarter of fiscal year 2007. Mrs. Mitchell stated that the analysis will enable the City to make decisions and take the appropriate actions. Responding to Mr. Salters, Mrs. Mitchell stated that several factors will be included in the analysis, including staffing levels and maintenance costs.

Mrs. Mitchell advised members that if the projected sales of kilowatts hours to residents decreases it will affect the budget. She stated that 70% of the budget consists of fixed costs, the majority of which is employee benefits, and will be effected if the revenue decreases the funds available.

Mrs. Mitchell advised members that if the City’s bond rating is lowered, the interest rates on the City’s bonds will increase. Responding to Mr. Salters, Mrs. Mitchell stated that the rating agencies are reviewing the City’s bond covenants, prior to the $20M bond issue scheduled for fiscal 2008. Mrs. Mitchell also stated that she has contacted all the rating agencies and the situation is being closely monitoring. Mr. Slavin asked if the rating agencies would provide anything in writing, prior to December, to ensure their understanding of the use of the electric rate stabilization fund.

Mrs. Mitchell stated that the conversations with the agencies were all verbal; however, she will attempt to get the same assurances via email. Mrs. Mitchell also informed members that the bond covenant calculations were added to the Finance Department monthly report in May of 2005, for monitoring purposes.

Mrs. Mitchell, at the request of Mr. DePrima, advised members that there is approximately $12.5M in the depreciation reserve fund and approximately $8.7M in the future capacity reserve fund. Responding to Mr. Salters, Mrs. Mitchell stated that power supply expenses have increased $2.5M over last year.

Mrs. Mitchell noted that the $750,000 Duke Energy rebate will have to be recorded in fiscal year 2006 instead of fiscal 2007. The amount of the 2007 rebate is unknown at this time and cannot be projected. Responding to Mr. Hogan, Mrs. Mitchell stated that the rating agencies do not look at revenue earned in previous years or previous ratings.

The committee requested Mrs. Mitchell to identify when the information presented on slide #14 “Summary of Presentation Changes - FY07 June 6 versus October 23" was first discovered and identify when the information was communicated to Council, as well as provide more long-term solutions for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Mr. McGlumphy stated that he requested that this item be removed from consent agenda due to the severity of the electric rate situation and the possible solutions being discussed. He requested that any items dealing with electric rates or cost be placed on the Regular agenda, since they are not routine or non-controversial. Mr. McGlumphy suggested that residents check the City’s website for the reports.

Mr. McGlumphy moved for acceptance of the Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee Report, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.

MONTHLY REPORTS - OCTOBER 2006

By motion of Mr. Carey, seconded by Mr. Hogan, the following monthly reports were accepted by consent agenda (Mrs. Williams absent):

Chief of Police Report

City Assessor Report (September and October)

City Manager’s Report

Planning and Inspections Report

Referring to the Budget Report, Mr. Slavin noted that the number of payroll checks issued has increased by approximately 30 checks per pay period. Mrs. Mitchell advised members that 89 checks were due to a separate pay for retroactive increases for the police officers, 15 checks were due to a separate pay for the SORT officers, and the remainder were for seasonal or newly hired employees.

Mr. Slavin requested Mrs. Mitchell to provide a list, by department, of all positions, including position title, the date the position was filled, and the salary level for the position. He also requested a list of all vacancies, by department, including the date the position became vacant and the salary amount budgeted for that position. Mr. Slavin stated that he would like the report in February 2007.

Referring to the Electric Revenue Fund Summary of the Budget Report, Mr. Ruane requested Mrs. Mitchell to comment on what effect sales-to-date through October has had on revenue. Mrs. Mitchell stated that the October year-to-date Sales to Customer was $28,779,524, or 35.3% of budget. She noted that the kWh sales were down from the prior year by 11,559,000 kWh’s or 3.9% and 1% growth was projected, leaving a reduction in net revenue of $842,000 due to the decrease in consumption. Mrs. Mitchell advised members that kWh’s purchased was down by 4,769,000 kWh’s, or 1.6%, which equals a reduction of approximately $414,000 in purchased power. Mr. DePrima reminded members that the percentages are weather sensitive and, historically, October is not the best indicator of sales for the year.

Mr. Hogan suggested evaluating each quarter of 2003, 2004, and 2005 to determine if there is a trend.

Mr. McGlumphy moved for acceptance of the Budget Report, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.

Referring to the Electric Improvement and Extension Fund - Major CIP Projects in the CIP Report, Mr. McGlumphy noted that project history shows that the total original project budget amount was $20.5M, the revised amount is $24.5M and, due to a variety of increases, it has risen $4.5M. He noted that only 12.5% of the budgeted amount has been spent to date. The current fiscal year budget shows that 21.5% of the projects have been completed.

Mr. McGlumphy suggested that residents check the City’s website for the reports.

Mr. McGlumphy moved for acceptance of the CIP Report, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.

EVALUATION OF BIDS - FIBER OPTIC NETWORK REPLACEMENT

The purpose of the Fiber Optic Network Replacement project is to perform an evaluation of the City’s current fiber network and receive recommendations in order to improve and assure quality control.

Bids received were as follows:

            Columbia Telecommunications Corp. (CTC)            $ 29,995

            Damiano Long Engineering                                       $ 32,960

            Burns & McDonnell                                                   $ 39,000

CTC proposes a structured process of reviewing existing documentation, conducting on-site visits, and interviewing City staff and key individuals who are responsible for existing and planned communications systems and other City-wide infrastructure. CTC will conduct an on-site visit, organize a project kick-off meeting, review and visit key facilities, conduct a review of the current fiber cable routes and locations. They will also conduct a review of applications and the bandwidth usage of the current fiber network, develop a conceptual design, and engineer and design fiber construction for a redundancy route.

Current CTC staff members previously conducted a Connectivity Needs Assessment for the City when they were with Virchow, Krause & Company (VK). The City also contracted with the VK team for the study and development of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone network. That project started under VK and was completed under CTC as the VK team was incorporated into CTC. The familiarity that the CTC staff has with current Dover networking and connectivity provides a unique advantage for the City with moving forward with this project.

Funds are available in the 2006/2007 Budget, Page 233, Account No. 487-8300-563-50-61 (Project No. EE0710). Funds are to be carried forward from FY 2005/2006, Budget Page 255, Account #110-2100-515-30-31, which will be accomplished through the November budget revisions submitted through the Finance Department.

This is the first step in accomplishing this task; the remaining funds will be used for construction improvements. Upon Council approval, the review and evaluation of the fiber optic network will be completed by April 30, 2007.

Staff recommended awarding the contract to the low bidder, Columbia Telecommunications Corporation (CTC), in the amount of $29,995.

Mr. Hogan moved for approval of staff’s recommendation, seconded by Mr. Carey and carried by a unanimous roll call vote (Mrs. Williams absent). 

ELECTION OF OFFICERS - ROBBINS HOSE COMPANY - YEAR 2007 FIRE LINE OFFICERS

Mr. Hogan advised members that there was an unresolved issue regarding a ballot received from a member who is currently overseas. Noting that there were two (2) contested seats, Mr. Hogan recommended approving the uncontested seats and deferring action on the Deputy Fire Chief and Second Fire Line Captain positions until the next meeting.

Mr. Hogan moved to defer action on the positions of Deputy Fire Chief and Second Fire Line Captain until the next meeting, seconded by Mr. Slavin and unanimously carried.

Mr. Hogan moved to for acceptance of the following Fire Line Officers for Robbins Hose Company No. 1 for the Year 2007, as submitted, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried:

            Fire Chief                               -          Jason A. Osika (uncontested)

            First Assistant Fire Chief        -          Paul Strochine (uncontested)

            Second Assistant Fire Chief   -          Patrick West (uncontested)

            Third Assistant Fire Chief      -          Glenn Whitt (uncontested)

            Fourth Assistant Fire Chief    -          Jason Anderson (uncontested)

            First Fire Line Captain           -          Benjamin Smetana (uncontested)

COUNCIL MEMBERS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mr. Salters announced that Mrs. Williams had returned to the hospital for further medical treatment.

Mr. Carey congratulated Chief Horvath on being named Delaware Police Chief of the Year by the League of Local Governments.

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

Meeting Adjourned at 8:33 P.M.

                                                                                    TRACI A. McDOWELL

                                                                                    CITY CLERK

All orders, ordinances, and resolutions adopted by City Council during their Regular Meeting of November 27, 2006, are hereby approved.

                                                                                    STEPHEN R. SPEED

                                                                                    MAYOR

/TM

S:ClerksOfficeAgendas&MinutesCouncil-Minutes20058-22-2005 Council.wpd

Exhibits Attached to Original Minutes and File Copy

Exhibit #1 - Green Energy Program Net Metering Tariff

Exhibit #2 - Division VI - Parallel Operations of Customer Owned Generation