Members Present: Chairman Douglas R. North, V.Chairman Marshall L. Harris, Clerk Stephen C. Lobik
Superintendent: Craig W. Jalbert
Secretary: Dale Johnson
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
Accept the Minutes: A motion was made by Steve and seconded by Marty to accept the May 11, 2005 meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
Bunyan Road Well Improvements ~ Update:
· Both pitless adapters have been installed, along with the 16” valve and hydrant. The process of pouring the concrete pad for the vault has also begun. The Electrician, who has someone working with him, is busy mounting panels and boxes, due to the water table the vault has to be pumped out daily. Craig expects to meet the June 30 deadline no problem.
Water Tank:
Don Tata from Tata & Howard (T&H) will be coming out Wednesday, June 8th to discuss and look at possible tank sites. This may include meeting with the Assessor to find out ownership of the land for the potential tank sites.
Craig mentioned to the Commission he has been contacted by Leo Cortina, a developer who owns land on Macomber Road and is inquiring information on availability of water and sewer, (elevation for sewer, fees, and tank locations). Discussion has taken place about the possibilities of working something out if the ideal tank location is on land he owns. While he is hard to pin down, Craig explained he wants Leo to understand that once financial commitment has been made for a tank in another area, there won’t be another tank, and therefore there won’t be water where he wishes to develop. Doug questioned what the lot size would end up being for this land, and how it relates to the well and sewer requirements.
The Commission discussed the ideal location (Bunyan Road Mountain) next to the pump station, connecting to 32 and back feeding the 6 inch diameter main on Upper Palmer Road. Having a tank at proper elevation should stabilize the pressure in the immediate area. Further discussion will take place once Don has completed the tank study.
Craig asked why the talk of a possible industrial area located in the South end of town near the Stafford Road Gravel Pit area never developed and informed the Commission Don Tata believes their may be grants available to promote industrial growth. When Craig meets with Don he will discuss this further.
NEW BUSINESS:
Elm Street Water Break: Thursday, May 26th a service line leak was discovered that caused a lot of damage. Craig has never seen a leak appear so quickly and cause such damage, which leads him to believe the leak had been occurring for some time. John Morrell was about to care for what appeared to be a sink hole, when Marty noticed water coming up and alerted Craig. When Craig got there, no water was visible. Apparently the water was following the sewer trench and caused about 100 feet of damage. The road required further attention on Tuesday, May 31st as it had settled quite a bit over the weekend, and more black top had to be removed.
Craig is thinking it may be worth while to approach FINCOM to ask for a transfer from the Emergency Reserve to cover repairs, as it is already expected Fern Hill will require a lot of pavement the new fiscal year.
Craig also mentioned that John Morrell expressed the possibility of overlaying Bethany Road from State St. to O’Connor’s property. It was discussed in the past of replacing the main at some point with a new 8” line and new services (approximately 40 services involved). Craig asked John to give him a chance to look at the existing services as he hasn’t focused attention on the old services, many are the very same that caused the leak on Elm Street.
Marty suggested looking at the budget, realistically after all the settling has taken place John will want Elm Street paved and that will be before the new fiscal year. If it turns out money needs to be transferred from the Emergency Reserve it can be done in the Fall.
Carpenter Road Lots: Craig advised the Commission Ed Stickarz has contacted him in regard to Lot 2 on Carpenter Road He is in the process of purchasing it and had questions with regards to water & sewer availability. His lot must connect to Town Sewer or he cannot build. Craig explained to him he might have to extend the existing line that Keenan did earlier, however he would definitely need a manhole at the end for maintenance. He also asked about water availability to which Craig explained there is the possibility of extending the 2” line for his use subject to Commission approval.
A few possibilities were discussed, while keeping in mind the need to protect the people now served without causing hardship. Although other 2” lines exist it is not a situation that should keep on growing as people above want to hook on, it was agreed a limit needs to be put on 2” lines at some point. Doug commented about not setting precedence and asked about extending the 8” line which Craig estimates to be 500 feet and would cost approximately $40,000; however that is low as materials have significantly gone up. Another point brought up was that this could possibly be a location for a new tank. With the probability of more lots going above, and not wanting to set precedence it was agreed to table this issue for the moment and
discuss this further at our next meeting. Craig will go and get an exact measurement from the end of the 8” line on Carpenter.
NEXT MEETING:
A motion was made by Marty and seconded by Steve to set the next meeting for Wednesday, June 22, 2005. Motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURN:
A motion was made by Marty and seconded by Steve to adjourn at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
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Stephen C. Lobik
Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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