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 meeting minutes of September 28, 2005 and October 12, 2005. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
Bunyan Road Well Improvements ~ Update:
Flood Impact: Craig informed the Commission the wells were not compromised during the flooding that occurred the weekend of October 15, 2005. Fortunately the casings were raised at Bunyan, the meter vault did get flooded, and the dehumidifier got wet from water coming in through conduits and tripped the ground fault outlet which also powered the sump pump. The flow meters were damaged; however modifications were made to make one work. Bruce O’Brien dried out the panel and sealed conduits as best he could. He also installed a separate plug for dehumidifier so the sump pump is on its own circuit. This past rainy weekend, there were no problems. Craig checked the vault this afternoon and everything was fine with the exception of some slight
condensation inside panel.
As a safety measure Marty had reminded Craig to take bacteria tests. Good thing, as the DEP called requesting tests. Samples were taken Monday; Thursday Craig called to follow up on results. Apparently, the lab was a chaotic mess on Monday when Tom dropped the samples and that could explain why we had a glitch on the first Palmer Road sample (count of 1); Craig took a repeat and a duplicate sample and both were clean (count of 0).
Settlement: Bay State Regional Contractors (BSRC) signed the settlement paper. Tata & Howard (T&H) has processed the last change order and is waiting for BSRC to send it back, once received, Craig will send to USDA and it will be done and over. All warranties will be honored.
Lightning Repairs: Craig has a $5,595.00 quote from Shalin Patel at US Automation to repair/replace the damaged equipment caused by the lightning storm on August 5, 2005. The quote includes a new flow recorder, a new analog board for the PLC, and an additional surge protector for the flow recorder. He is also going to install surge protection on the flow and water level signal inputs from the wells. The insurance company will pay the balance after the $1000 deductible is met. Shalin also contacted the flow meter manufacturer to arrange the return of the flow meters, which Craig will send back one at a time. Doug asked if repair costs were covered under Flood Insurance, which they are not. Craig explained there may be some FEMA money available.
Mass Electric Account Status: Craig spoke with Account Representative Sean McGloin at National Grid. He is going to switch the account status for Bunyan from G-1 to G-2 and at Palmer Road from G-2 to G-1. Because of lower usage at Palmer Rd (<10,000kw/month) our cost per kw went from 10 cents to 20 cents because of demand charge. Bunyan is our primary source now, using over 20,000kw/month so we will benefit from G-2 rate class. Currently we are paying 13 cents/kw at Bunyan, after the switch we should be less than 10 cents/kw.
Hospital Road Reconstruction ~ Update:
Railroad: Richard Matte at the Montreal office of Canadian National (CN) was right we do not need their ok, which brings Craig back to where he was two months ago. Staci Korpal (Property Administration manager at Rail America) called to let Craig know they are working on the agreement with Mike Lawyer at NeCR. At this pace Craig is not holding his breath.
Job Status: Palmer Paving has all 12” pipe in, because of the railroad they have to test three separate sections. (MDC section, section between RR and brook and Route 32 section). Palmer Paving did connection at closed bridge today.
Quaboag Heights: Craig sent a letter detailing his comments on the job specs to Dave Loring at Tighe & Bond. Dave will combine these comments with his and submit to Gary Weiner of Ecotech Environmental Associates. The recent flooding caused significant basement damage to one of the houses below the project which filled with mud. Cleanup has begun and is extensive.
Upper Palmer Rd/Macomber Rd: Craig did a little water pressure homework on Macomber and Upper Palmer Road. 9 Macomber was 25-30 psi, 50 Upper Palmer Road 33-40 psi, 130 Upper Palmer Road (next door to new house) 45-51 psi. Readings were taken at 2:00 p.m., and Craig believes they would be lower during peak times (5-7a.m. or 5-7p.m.). Craig suggests that Mr. Cortina should hire an engineer to monitor pressure during an entire week if he feels we are not being fair. Marty agrees and has told the Arooths the same thing. Doug added that if we allowed the connections and if booster pumps were put in the new homes, the homes without them would suffer; Craig agrees, he is worried about the existing houses that already have pressure complaints. The Regulations state 35psi must be
maintained to allow a connection. Ray Blanchette is representing them. Marty suggested the Commissioners send a letter to the Arooths stating what is in the regulations, and informing them what they need to do and why.
Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) Schedule: The Public meeting will be November 30th at the High School. Rebekka McDermott (Mass Rural Water Association) and Craig we be talking to 4th graders at Quarry Hill on the 29th. A meeting with the Science teachers from the Middle School will take place on November 8th to schedule times with the 5, 6 & 7th graders.
NEW BUSINESS:
Palmer Road Well Improvements: Tata & Howard (T&H) is 75% complete for Palmer Road Well cleaning spec. Different scenarios have been discussed and Craig has explained to Karen Pighetti at T&H how we can’t be sure what work the existing pump and motor might require. Craig informed the Commission the pump has been doing weird things, and not pumping as much as it should, this inefficiency is more than likely wear on the pump and not due to clogging. Marty recalls something like this in the past, Johnny Gola’s notes indicate this is the original pump installed at Bunyan which was refurbished and put into Palmer Road. Craig warns it might need to be replaced. There are many unknowns about the abandoned well. The plan is to clean it too, but we will most
likely run out of money on the USDA project because was more than expected. Craig is also not sure if the well seal on the abandoned well is up to current DEP standards. Karen is going to come out to plan the next move. Craig is leaning toward putting the money we have left into the existing well pump and motor and maybe update existing panel a bit for reliability concerns. Discussion took place on options including cleaning old well which was stagnant for 40 years and would be approximately $15,000 or if it would be better to install a new well near it. The priority is to get Palmer Road set; the needs, which include storage for chemicals are known. Craig explained he intends to lump the storage tank, and Palmer Road requirements/improvements into the State Revolving Fund application in hopes to get some money.
Fluoride Debate: Information has been received on a Fluoride Bill that is in the State Legislature now. The bill will remove a city or Town’s right to decide if fluoride is added or not to the water supply. The bill will make it mandatory. Strictly from a water perspective Craig doesn’t like it because the pump stations would require major changes (dangerous chemical). The work that needs to be done would be costly. Craig would like to draft a letter to the Selectmen to ask for their help in fighting this bill.
General Work Projects: Before the cold weather gets here Craig briefly explained some work left to be done in addition to the normal daily tasks:
§ 2 new water services
§ 1 new sewer service
§ 2 donut replacements on Hospital Road
§ Sewer line repairs on Hospital Road
§ Fern Hill work
NEXT MEETING:
A motion was made by Steve and seconded by Doug to set the next meeting for Wednesday, November 9, 2005. Motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURN:
A motion was made by Steve and seconded by Marty to adjourn at 7:45 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
___________________________________
Stephen C. Lobik,
Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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