City Manager's Report 6/16/2008
Governor signs HB 1644 in Berlin
On Monday June 9th, Governor Lynch signed HB 1644 which is aimed at giving incentives to companies to do business in Coos County by giving up to a 5 year $750-$1000 break on State business taxes for every job they created at 1.5 to 2 times the minimum wage. The signing took place at Steel Elements in Berlin which is a company that intends to take full advantage of this new law. Mayor Bertrand and pretty much the whole Berlin delegation attended this signing. The bill and the press release are attached for your information.
Master Plan Steering Committee
The Master Plan Committee met at AVH last Wednesday evening to review the Natural Resources Chapter and to begin to review the Transportation Chapter of the Master Plan. There was also discussion of the City Survey which will be available shortly and has had a very good response. Finally, there was general agreement that there should be a chapter on energy which was not originally contemplated but because of the concerns that have developed in this area, that there should be one. The next Master Plan Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday July 16th at 6pm at AVH.
Berlin WWTF Energy Efficient
We are not yet sure why this is the case, but WWTF Superintendent has learned that the Berlin WWTF is very energy efficient. He has been able to utilize a federal database called the Portfolio Manager program to determine that our plant is more energy efficient than 93% of the comparably sized WWTF in the country. This is a pretty astounding figure and needless to say we will be looking into it more carefully to try to get a handle on why it is so.
Berlin Airport now Berlin Regional Airport
We have been notified that the renaming of the Berlin Airport to the Berlin Regional Airport has officially been changed with the FAA. Attached is an FAA data sheet showing the new name as the FAA utilizes it.
Government Paddle Day
Every year for a number of years the Androscoggin River Watershed Council has invited government officials to its Paddle Days on the Androscoggin. Also every year, the Watershed Council has it Annual Androscoggin River Source to the Sea Trek which is a trip from the Errol Dam on the Magalloway River to Fort Popham in Bath, ME or a 20 day kayak/canoe trip for the length of the Androscoggin running from July 6th to July 25th. On the 6th day of the Trek which is July 11th, State and Local Officials are invited to participate on Friday July 11th at 10am at the Shelburne Dam. Interested parties should contact ARWC Chair Fergus Lea at 207-783-9186 or flea@avcog.org to make arrangements.
Liberty Elm Tree Project
Tyler Couture is Boy Scout from Troop 207 who is working on his Eagle Scout Badge. His project is to plan and locate a Liberty Elm somewhere in Berlin as a Liberty Tree Memorial. The trees which are Dutch Elm resistant are supplied by the Elm Research Institute. At the appropriate time Tyler will be approaching the City Council with respect to obtaining approval for a location for the tree. Attached is a fact sheet on the Liberty Elm Tree Memorial for your information.
Time Warner Cable Spinoff
According to the attached correspondence Time Warner will be selling off its 84% ownership of the stock of Time Warner Cable which operates cable service in Berlin. Once completed, Time Warner Cable will still be publicly traded but all of its stock will be owned by the public. Time Warner Cable asserts in this letter that this divestiture of Time Warner Cable by Time Warner will have no effect on cable operations.
North Country Council Meeting and Reception
As indicated in the attached flier, the North Country Council is holding a reception and meeting from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Rocks Estate in Bethlehem. The primary purpose of the meeting appears to be to orient NCC representatives to their role in the NCC and to meet the staff and Board of Directors.
Legislation
The omnibus retirement bill HB1645 made it through the Committee of Conference with the House giving in to the Senate on most items but finally a Committee of Conference report was signed on what passes for a compromise which has been passed now by both the House and Senate.
The Senate version of our bill (HB 1573) on dilapidated burnt out structures has also been passed by both the House and Senate