Minutes

July 14, 2005

Present:                       Daniel Boyer

                                    Henry C. Cobb

                                    John Arrison

                                    Patricia Daniels

Others Present:            Larry Melen, Town Manager

                                    Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary

                                    Sonny Grover, WWVFD Chief

                                    Josh Dauphin

                                    Mark Knight

                                    Ronald Alflen

                                    Richard Ballentine

                                    Rachel Frank

                                    Larry Dingee                        

                                    Raymond Bushey, E-ONE

                                    Barbara Thomas

                                    Jeff Ingalls

                                    James Payne

                                    Peter Korbet

1.  Call to Order: Mr. Cole called the Special Meeting of the Select Board to order at 7:02 p.m. at the West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department.

2.  Review Procedures for Request for Proposal (RFP): Mr. Melen reminded everyone the bid was done as an RFP because items other than the price would determine the purchase.  There was a scoring mechanism in place, which was included in the specs, and there are seven criteria’s other than price to be considered.  The specs asked for price and non-price bids to be submitted. 

There was discussion as to if the price should be disclosed at this meeting.  It was mentioned that if the ten people evaluating the specs knew the price that might be a factor in their decision while scoring the other criteria’s.  Mr. Arrison said he would like to see the dollar amount tonight.  Mr. Cole said he feels price will be a factor if the price is disclosed tonight.  Mr. Boyer said he would like to see the price after the meeting on Tuesday night once the bid evaluation is complete and scored on the other seven items.  Mr. Cobb agreed with not opening the price tonight as did Mrs. Daniels.  Mr. Arrison said he would change his decision.  Mr. Cole said the consensus of the Board is to not disclose the price tonight.

The two bidders were present at the meeting, Mr. Bushey & Mr. Dingee said they did not separate their bids between price and non-price.  The price sheets were included in their bids.  It was decided that as Mr. Melen opened the envelopes he would remove the price pages from all copies before anyone else viewed them.

  Mr. Melen said ten packets were mailed out, he received four back and they are from Desorcie Emergency Products, L.L.C., Dingee Machine Company, Valley Fire Equipment and Vermont fire Technologies. 

Mr. Boyer asked how the mileage factor would be determined.  Mr. Melen said he would put the information into Yahoo and go from the Fire Station to the Street address of the service depot and he’ll forward the mileage to Mr. Boyer tomorrow.

3.  Open Request for Proposals for West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department Fire Truck: Mr. Melen opened the bids, in the order they were received. It was determined that Dingee Machine Company submitted a cost proposal, a certificate of non-collusion, a location of service depot as well as a certificate of insurance.  Valley Fire Equipment submitted a cost proposal however; they did not include a certificate of non-collusion or location of service depot.  Vermont Fire Technologies submitted a letter stating they declined to bid because their request to have some specs revised was not honored.  Desorcie Emergency Products, L.L. C. bid included a cost proposal, certificate of non-collusion, location of service depot as well as payment plan information.

As the bids were opened Mr. Melen put the price information back into the envelopes that the bids were received in.  Mr. Cole asked Mr. Melen what would be done with the price information at this point.  Mr. Melen said he would take them to the Town Office and lock them in the safe until after the evaluation process on Tuesday night. 

Mr. Cole asked Mr. Melen his plan to get the copies to the selection committee for their review.  Mr. Melen said he would photocopy them.

Mr. Ballentine asked for the original specs back, the very first set of specs that were submitted to the Select Board.  Mr. Melen said he doesn’t have an original but he has a scanned translated copy he could give him.

Mr. Ballentine asked the Select Board if they understood this bid.  Mr. Cole said the Board has reviewed and discussed the bid and specs several times and even though they don’t claim to be experts on fire equipment they understand the process.

Mr. Arrison made the motion to go into executive session regarding contracts; Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. 

Mr. Korbet wanted to discuss something other than the fire truck and since the fire truck was all that was on the agenda Mr. Cole asked him to come to the next Select Board meeting to discuss it.  Mr. Korbet then asked if he could submit his comments in writing, Mr. Cole said of course.  Mr. Korbet gave his information to the Board in writing.

Motion to go into executive session carried unanimously.

The Board came out of executive session at 7:37 p.m.  Mr. Arrison made the motion to adjourn.  Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.  The Weathersfield Select Board meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m. on Thursday July 14, 2005.

                                                                        Respectfully Submitted,

                                                                        Lisa Sargent