NEW SHOREHAM WATER and SEWER COMMISSIONS JOINT MONTHLY MEETING. October 15, 2012 Minutes

Transcription

1 NEW SHOREHAM WATER and SEWER COMMISSIONS JOINT MONTHLY MEETING PRESENT WERE Water Commission members: Chair Sandra Finizia, Vice Chair Brad Marthens, Wayne Battey, Tom Doyle, Peter McNerney, alternate Steven Draper, District Clerk Janet Ziegler. PRESENT WERE Sewer Commission members: Chair Peter McNerney, Vice Chair Tom Doyle, Wayne Battey, Sandra Finizia, alternate Steven Draper, District Clerk Janet Ziegler. ALSO PRESENT were Public Works Director Nancy Dodge, Finance Director Amy Land, Water Superintendent Dave Simmons, First Warden Kim Gaffett, Councilors Dick Martin and Ken LaCoste. P. McNerney called the meeting to order at 4:30PM. JOINT WATER and SEWER DISTRICT 1. Request of Plat 18 Lot 2-13 (Boutin) to forgive Sewer Usage. L. Boutin was present to explain that they had purchased a large above ground pool which holds 4,600 gallons. They filled it twice during the summer and never considered that the well water would end up as a charge for sewer usage and asked for relief of sewer charges. Pictures were provided. L. Boutin testified that the plumbing will be corrected so that outdoor use does not go through the meter; plumbing is to be inspected by the meter personnel. MOTION: by P. McNerney to forgive the cost of 9,000 gallons of sewer charges from the summer. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote to forgive was: 2. Request of Plat 7 Lot 47-3 (A. Transue) to forgive Sewer Usage. A. Transue stated that the washing machine hose burst in the basement and was discovered the on July 6. He asked for relief of sewer charges for that event. D. Simmons produced a data log of the metered usage which clearly showed an excessive sewer event that occurred July 5 from 4:00 AM to 1:00 AM the following day; the two day issue equated to ~4,500 gallons. BI Plumbing & Heating also submitted testimony that the basement drain goes to the outside and the water would not have entered the sewer collection system. MOTION: by P. McNerney to forgive the summer sewer usage of 4,500 gallons. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote for relief was: 3. Approve minutes. Regular Monthly Meetings: March 26, April 23, May 21, June 18, July 16, September 17; Closed Meeting April 23; Special Meetings: April 4, April 30, May 31, June 11, September 26. MOTION: by T. Doyle to approve the minutes as received. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. [09:23] 4. Annual Allocation Considerations. Engineer Jim Geremia, in a Memorandum dated October 12, reviewed, calculated and recommended production capacity of the two plants and the Contribution in Aid of Construction based on current debt service. To Determine The Available Capacity For The Next Year That May Be Used For New Or Increased Use. N. Dodge reported that there were no known public projects at this time that would affect the historic division of availability of allocation. MOTION: by S. Finizia to set the available water allocation, based on the recommendation of engineer J. Geremia and the Water Superintendent, to 17,576 gallons for the upcoming year and that twenty-five (25%) of that amount be set aside for public facilities. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. Page 1 of 5.

2 MOTION: by P. McNerney to set the available sewer allocation, based on the recommendation of engineer J. Geremia and Sewer Superintendent, to 159,640 gallons for the upcoming year and that twenty-five (25%) of that amount be set aside for public facilities. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. Cost-Based Allocation of Contribution in Aid of Construction (CAC). The debt service schedule for both utilities was reviewed. Water s current annual debt payment is $95,931 which excludes the 2012 USDA loan which has not yet been set. Sewer s annual debt is $73,602 which also excludes its 2012 USDA loan which is to be determined. Alternate S. Draper recused himself from discussion as he may request additional allocation in the coming year. MOTION: by Sewer Chair P. McNerney to set the price to purchase sewer allocation in the upcoming year at $6.59 per gallon per day based on the recommendation of the engineer. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was: Alternate S. Draper recused himself from discussion as he may request additional allocation in the coming year. MOTION: by Water Chair S. Finizia to set the price to purchase water allocation in the upcoming year at $11.76 per gallon per day based on the recommendation of the engineer. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was: It was noted that since the price of allocation was being raised for both utilities, that customers, especially those that received a penalty this year, be given extra time to purchase additional allocation before the price increase was put into effect. MOTION: by Water/Sewer Commissioner S. Finizia that the effective date of allocation price increases for water and for sewer be moved from November 1 to December 1. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. Allocation Policy and Rates. MOTION: by Water Chair S. Finizia that there were no recommendations for rate changes. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. MOTION: by Sewer Chair P. McNerney that there were no recommendations for rate changes. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. 5. Appoint Public Records Officer. Counsel B. Filippi reported that the State s Open Meeting Act has been amended and requires every public body to appoint a Public Records Officer and adopt procedures for providing the public with its records. Procedures will be considered at the next meeting. MOTION: by Sewer Commissioner P. McNerney to appoint the Clerk of the Sewer District as its Public Records Officer. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. MOTION: Water Commissioner Sandra to appoint the Clerk of the Sewer District as its Public Records Officer. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the unanimous vote carried the motion. 6. RFB Furnace/Boiler Service for Sewer and Water Plants. Both the sewer and water plants installed new furnaces within the last year and need to be serviced annually. N. Dodge stated that the Town s RFB last winter received only one response and suggested that, since neither the sewer nor the water equipment fall into commercial size, the Commissioners may want to put out a Request for Bid separately. The superintendents will send info on their furnace equipment to Dodge s office. MOTION: by Commissioner P. McNerney to have a RFB prepared for services of the boiler/furnace at the sewer and at the water plant. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote for a RFB was: 7. Correspondence. none Page 2 of 5.

3 WATER DISTRICT 8. Execute Ground Lease between State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and The New Shoreham Board of Water Commissioners for use of property located at Plat 9, Lot 7 off Sands Pond Road. D. Simmons stated that the signatures for the lease will be sent to the State Properties Division for their signatures; upon completion the BIWC will becomes official lease holders of the property; next will be obtaining permitting from the Department of Health to establish well 4A. Securing this well field should provide BIWC with enough water resources for the next 50 years. 9. Review and consider Water Superintendent Job Description. There was discussion regarding requiring, instead of preferring, that dual water and wastewater licensing be obtained. MOTION: by S. Finizia to adopt the Water Superintendent job description as distributed. Motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was: AYE: 5 (Battey, Doyle, Finizia, Marthens). NAY: 1 (McNerney). ABSTAIN: Ø. 10. Act on Appointment, Compensation, and Draft Contract for Position of Interim Water Superintendent. A draft Contract for Breunig was distributed at the meeting. With only a month and half left until the current water superintendent departs, the Commission felt an urgency to move forward with an appointment to the position. After a brief discussion regarding Commissioners schedules, a Special Water Meeting will be called for on Monday, October 29 to discuss and act on this agenda item. MOTION: by P. McNerney to set a special water meeting for Monday, October 29, at 9:00AM. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was unanimous. MOTION: by P. McNerney to next hear agenda item 13. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was unanimous. 13. Discuss and Consider Wastewater Operator Training for John Bruenig. J. Bruenig reported that he had passed the Wastewater 1 exam in July 2011; DEM requires associated work before the operator status is acknowledge. The Commission asked Bruenig to continue dialogue with DEM to allow him to sit for the Wastewater 2 exam in November. 11. Update on Water Operator I Job Posting. N. Dodge reported that her office had so far received one application for the job opening; the opening does not have a closure date. 12. Discuss and Consider Schedule Change for Water Principal Operator. D. Simmons reported that the principal water operator currently works hours and recommended that the hours be increased to a 40 hours (Friday Mon); the increase time would be an $8K increase in the budget. MOTION: By P. McNerney to approve the change to 40 hours. The motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was: 14. Water Financials: Aging Report and Payment Plans. A. Land noted that there was not much to comment on, financials were very stable. There are three people on payment plans between the two companies. 15. Water Operations Report. Simmons reported that Sands Pond is very low due to the lack of rainfall and the state of its flora and fauna is very healthy. If the Town wanted to maintain this height, then now would be the time to act to put in a structure at its southern end. A report was sent to the Town Council which outlined actions to be taken. Page 3 of 5.

4 The concentrate line had to be repaired twice and the line from BIWC to the medical center (4-5,000 feet) needs to be replaced ASAP; during replacement there will be no production of water. Planning should begin immediately; it was disconcerting to find this loss of system integrity just a few days ago. SEWER DISTRICT 16. Sewer Financials: Aging Report and Payment Plans. Right on track for revenue. Payments are expected soon from the State for the Energy Grant and USDA will be closing on the 18 th. The Town Audit is scheduled for November Consider RFB to TV Sewer Collection System between Beach Ave. and Bridgegate Square. Engineer J. Geremia advised C. Blane that the State would be re-paving Ocean Avenue (Bridgegate Square to Beach Ave) in the spring of 2013 and recommending videoing the collection line to assess whether there are any structural deficiencies. Once the new pavement is in place, the DOT will not allow any road cuts for five-years. Any deficiencies need to be repaired before spring. C. Blane volunteered that cleaning and videoing might run ~$3,800. Geremia will put together the RFB. Geremia s letter also stated that the State would also remove and replace manhole frames and covers when paving. Replacements need to be purchased ahead of time. Consideration should also be made to install a locking, gasketed frame/cover in the low area adjacent to Harbor Pond. 18. Hiring of Summer Intern to Full-time Operator Position. MOTION: by P. McNerney to hire Joe Cantone as full time operator at $16.50/hour with benefits. Motion was seconded, a quorum was present and the vote was: AYE: 5 (Battey, Doyle, Finizia, Marthens McNerney). NAY: Ø. ABSTAIN: Ø. 19. Sewer Operations Report. C. Blane reported that the Champlin s meter was removed and shipped off for repair. The meter is unusual for a sewer customer since it directly measures sewer flow, however, at times pump hours have also been used. The establishment has multiple wells which are cross-linked over the property and had a salt water intake from the pond for the swimming pool. C. Blane announced that the pump in OA1 needs repair. Dodge recommended that in order to move ahead quickly on the ~$4,500 project an addendum could be added to the existing contract with Process Engineers. 20. Does the Sewer Commission Wish to Reconsider Bids Award for Re-Roofing of Operations and Belt Press Buildings. W. Battey announced that he would abstain from discussion and voting as the award was made to his son; he left the room. The Sewer Chair received a September 28 letter from Geremia regarding the performance of Battey Construction. S. Finizia stated that based on her conversations with Geremia, who would be overseeing and approving the materials, labor, etc., she felt comfortable with the September 17 bid award. The Building Officials office would also be involved in permitting and approvals of the roof project. The general consensus was not to reconsider the bid award. 21. Correspondence. September 28, J. Geremia to Sewer Chair McNerney Recommending Reconsideration of USDA Roofing Bid Award. October 12, Memorandum from Geremia Regarding Security at Sewer Plant. P. McNerney stated that the drawings enclosed with the October 12 letter were preliminary at this time. 22. Announcements and Open Forum. First Warden K. Gaffett questioned why the Management Agreement was removed from the final agenda? November 1 is the deadline for any of the parties of the Agreement to give notice for changes and she formally gave such notice to the Sewer and Water Commissions. Also noted was that an alternate should not motion or vote unless a member was not present. N. Dodge announced an annual signing with Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) who has, in the past, provided free consultation for the Town and to the Water and Sewer Districts. Page 4 of 5.

5 Councilor D. Martin noted that the sewer plant was in need of a skilled operator now that Boucher has retired and Blane promoted to superintendent. The hire of J. Cantone will give C. Blane three operators (two in-training). The water company is also losing superintendent Simmons. With J. Breunig stepping up to that position, only one operator will remain; water will need to hire another person to train. Adjourn. MOTION: by P. McNerney to adjourn the meeting was unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 6:35 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Janet Ziegler Accepted: November 13, The New Shoreham Water District is an equal opportunity provider and employer. every drop counts Page 5 of 5.