From the Desk Of Town Manager

From the Desk of Town Manager.. Town Manager Weekly Newsletter eNews mobile Friday, December 05, 2008
Issue: 2008-08

Bourne has just signed a contract with the Town of Barnstable for Weights and Measures services. Barnstable now provides all Weights and Measures services on a regional basis to ten towns with two towns receiving partial services. (Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown are under 5000 population and therefore get the services free from the State.) The training and equipment costs for this service are high but when spread across multiple towns there is a savings for Barnstable and the member towns.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Senator O’Leary convened a meeting of interested parties to discuss the homeless situation in the village of Hyannis. Hyannis residents and business owners sat with human service providers and shared their concerns that the neediest individuals among us, those living in the streets, should be safely housed. I’d like to personally thank Senator O’Leary for his leadership on this issue.

On December 1, 2008, I approved the 2009 Fee Schedule which can be seen on the Town’s website.

On Monday I sent Rob Gatewood to the Bidders Conference run by Barnstable County on future use of the County Farm. Approximately 28.5 acres will be offered for bid. Friday is the last day for bidders to ask questions and on Monday all questions will be addressed. Requests for Proposals will be due by Monday, December 22, 2008. The county is receptive to my suggestion that Barnstable staff be a part of the bid evaluation team. There is a conservation restriction on the entire farm and only agricultural uses will be permitted.

The Town Council last night accepted five grants prepared by, and awarded to, the Police Department. The grants totaled $278,393 and will assist with upgrades to the 911 system and provide new bullet proof vests and additional community policing initiatives.

I join with the Town Council in congratulating Janet Joakim for her two years of service as the Town Council President. Councilor Chirigotis read a Proclamation celebrating her civic-mindedness and recognized her contributions to public issues like education reform, public safety, infrastructure needs and responsible budgeting. Councilor Chirigotis was nominated as Council President and Councilor Harold Tobey as Vice-President for 2009.

Today I attended the Annual Employee Years of Service Recognition Luncheon, which honored five employees who retired within the past year and 72 active employees who have reached a five-year increment in their years of service from 5 years through 40 years! The honorees included 7 Town Councilors. John Leite, DPW-Solid Waste Supervisor, is the longest serving employee with 40 years of dedication to the Town of Barnstable. All of the names and years of service will be listed in our January edition of the Barnstable Bulletin.

The FY 2010 budget preparations continue. Each department has submitted both 5% and 10% budget reduction spreadsheets. The cuts include employee reductions and service cuts. I have also received suggestions for increasing revenues based on new initiatives from certain departments. As reported, I have a hiring freeze in place, restrictions on out-of-state travel and other cost saving measures. Unless the economic picture improves at the state and federal level, I am anticipating cuts in local aid and I will implement the 10% reduction plan. I have tried to be conservative with the growth of the municipal budget during my tenure and the structural balance of the budget should assist us with this downturn.

Heroes Among Us: Congratulations to the members of the Hyannis and Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills fire departments for receiving the meritorious group award. Governor Deval Patrick presided at the 19th Annual Firefighter of the Year awards at Faneuil Hall. Honored were Lt. Thomas Kenney, Lt. Richard Knowlton, Lt. William Rex, Firefighter/EMT Barry Pina, Firefighter/Master Mechanic Richard Randall, Firefighter/EMT Gregory Dardia, Firefighter/Paramedic Brian Lawrence, Firefighter/EMS supervisor Michael Medeiros, Firefighter/EMT John Dailey, Firefighter/EMT Richard Alger and Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Master Mechanic David Scott.

It was a classic Barnstable versus Falmouth Thanksgiving day game. Unfortunately our team did not win but it was an exciting game and the future looks bright for the Red Raiders. Congratulations to all!

This Friday, residents are invited to visit our strand of galleries on Pearl Street, from 6:30-9:00PM during the Pearl Street Holiday Art Show. Including, Sarah Holl’s Artspace, the Shirley Blair Flynn Center for the Arts, Gallery at 20 Pearl, Breakdown Alley and the Guyer Barn welcomes artist Sarah Dineen for the month of December, featuring large scale paintings from her ongoing series “Breaking Through”. The galleries are open on Saturday as well, during the 24th Annual Main Street Stroll and Harbor Lighting at Bismore Park.