Water Development Task Force
Special Meeting
Friday, August 6, 2010
7:00 a.m.
WPCA Plant, Conference Room
MINUTES
1. Call to Order: Mr. Tuttle called this regular meeting to order at 7:00 a.m. Present were John Tuttle, Ted Hintz, Mark Barmasse, Melissa Engel, John Hansen, Judy Isele (7:03), George Pfaffenbach, and Roland Rux.. Also present were Jeffrey O’Keefe, Vin Susco, Jennifer Carducci, Recording Clerk and three (3) members of the public.
Mr. Tuttle welcomed Roland Rux as a new member and stated that Peter Aarrestad had resigned, due to work conflicts, with the thanks of the Task Force.
2. Approval of Minutes – June 18, 2010
A motion was made by Ted Hintz to approve the minutes of the June 18, 2010 meeting, seconded by Mr. Barmasse. Vote: Yes-5, No-0, Abstain-3 (Engel, Pfaffenbach, Hansen), motion passed.
3. Development of Informational Materials for Town Meeting
4. Discussion of Where Water will go in Town
(Items 3, 4, 5, and 6 were discussed together.)
Town Manager O’Keefe passed out the PowerPoint presentation package for the public informational meeting(s) scheduled for this month.
Mr. Tuttle expressed his concern regarding the deadline of 8-31-10 looming without having Town resident approval. Mr. Susco explained that if the Town decided not to go forward, the Town would have to let the State know by August 16, and the State would go ahead and award to the next qualified town/city of the fifty (50) that submitted. In November there would be another package available that the Town would be eligible for, and the process could start over again. The amount given to the State Health Department is decided by Washington. The Town is eligible to reapply each year.
Mr. Tuttle suggested this group should develop recommendations to Town Council regarding the area of need (where the water would go) and what we would expect residents to pay (both those on water and those not on water). The previous planning level costs provide framework for approaching the development for the present proposed project. Mr. O’Keefe stated that four major areas, according to the Water Supply Plan (Village Center/Rte. 66 area; Lake Pocotopaug area; Middle Haddam, parts of Cobalt), have been determined. The public still has questions regarding the locations (that may have been modified), dollar amounts of each phase, etc. Discussion produced agreement among the Task Force that we need to define what we want to do, develop documents, and then inform and educate the public;
which will not be possible in a month.
Mr. Susco stated there is a portion of the Federal STAG grant can be used for developing the technical and financial information to update the plan necessary (not a PR program). Ms. Engel stated that next Wednesday’s meeting should be cancelled and when we get the new numbers, then start educating the public, closer to the beginning of next year. Mr. Barmasse stated publicity/press release should articulate the new direction of this Task Force. (Ms. Engel, Mr. Tuttle and Mr. O’Keefe will work on press release.)
Mr. Susco stated one of the proposals presented in the past (not selected) suggested ten scenarios of where the water was going to go; then proposed to meet with the Task Force to develop six of the options based on those scenarios, then develop funding options based on those scenarios to determine the annual fee charges per equivalent meter unit for customers on the system and residents not on the system. This proposal would address these questions and was about $14,000 in January. It did not estimate the cost to build out. Mr. Susco will go back to the contractor to find out if numbers are still good; and exactly how much is left on the STAG grant.
The Task Force will have meetings every other Friday, starting in September. The next meeting will be Friday, September 10, 2010.
5. Discussion of Informational Meeting Scheduled for Wednesday August 11, 2010 –
Cancelled
6. Discussion of Town Meeting Tentatively Scheduled for Tuesday, August 24, 2010 –
Cancelled
7. Adjournment
This meeting was adjourned at 7:40 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Carducci
Recording Secretary
All handouts are available at Town Hall and WPCA and are made part of these minutes.
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