With a short week, short staff, and a focus on yesterday’s farmer’s market festivities, we’ve still been able to move forward with some great work this week.
I have written the first draft of the building permit fee ordinance and accompanying fee schedule changes. Currently our residential building permit fees are about half of our comparison group ($800 for a $200,000 project vs. $1,500 for comparable jurisdictions) while commercial is about 10% less ($3,000 for a $500,000 project vs $3,250 for comparable jurisdictions). I’ve forwarded the updates to RCI for their review and hope to bring the changes to Council later this month. Our current contract with RCI is expired and I plan on bringing that renewal to Council as well.
Jason and I met with Ron Perryman from National Alert Security concerning our camera system. There are some changes to the system that I would like to make, including the following:
Town Hall Staff access to a front door camera. Currently when the door opens everyone just pops up to see if it’s a guest, a staff member, a delivery man, etc. The only way to see a camera view is from the break room. I’d like for all staff to be able to see visitors. As such, staff is evaluating improvements in the camera system, including expanded monitoring capabilities and access for operational and employee safety.
Manor staff access to Manor cameras. Now that all camera viewing is at Town Hall, Kim and the crew have no access. When they are leaving at night I want them to be able to view the cameras inside and outside the Manor for safety reasons. Also, I have heard that outside of normal business hours the Manor staff would sometimes view suspicious goings-on around the park and be able to alert the police, Jason, or the previous administrators.
Revisiting the maintenance plan. I know that Ed brought the maintenance plan before Council earlier this year, and I understand that there are some concerns with our current vendor. My recommendation is to stick with National Alert and purchase the maintenance plan. The Town has invested over $150,000 in the camera system over the past decade and the maintenance plan isn’t a binding contract that ties us to the vendor for a set length of time. If the Town has a desire to bid out our security needs in the future, we still can, but this would protect our current inventory.
I have asked for quotes on the above work and hope to have an item on the agenda this month.
July 2, 2026 Manager’s Report
Jennifer and I met with Rebecca Meija-Ward from MASC concerning our insurance rates. As you may know, MASC insurance rates are based on the overall market plus a multiplier based on the municipality’s claims history, called an experience modifier. Our experience modifier has been rising over the past few years, so the Town has been put on a WorkSmart program to try to reduce that modifier. We will be scheduling training and working on some policy areas to reduce that expense.
While meeting with MASC’s insurance representatives, we discussed the amphitheater roof replacement. There is still a discrepancy between the contractor’s proposed scope of work and the repairs covered by the Town’s insurance claim. Staff continues working with the contractor and insurer to reconcile the scope of covered repairs so the project can move forward as quickly as possible.
Jason also has a quote on the fence repair at McDonalds and Hardee’s and I have approved the quote.
Finally, we’ve been hard at work moving offices this week. Jennifer has moved to my old office, I have moved to the Mayor’s former office, and the Mayor has moved to Jennifer’s office. My furniture arrived today as well, so I hope to have my office set early next week. Be sure to stop by Town Hall and see how great it looks.