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 postpone acceptance of the January 11, 2006 meeting minutes as written. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
Hospital Road Reconstruction ~ Update: Town Council correspondence dated January 31, 2006 sent to Guertin Elkerton & Associates, Inc. (G&E) was received and shared with the Commissioners. This letter should result in a response from G&E.
Palmer Road Well: Craig has forwarded pictures of the well casing to Tata & Howard (T&H) to be forwarded to Maher for evaluation and cost estimate purposes.
A branch fell down last week during a wind storm; Craig had Lagrant Electric come out to look at the power panel. Craig took this opportunity to also discus different motor options when the well cleaning takes place. Mass Electric offers a $2,000 rebate towards a new high efficiency unit. Craig contacted Anchor Electric out of Agawam, and McKenney out of Holyoke who had records of the Bunyan motor refurbished in the 90’s; pricing for brand new motors were $8,000-$10,000. McKenney feels the quality of the existing motor built in the 60’s is better then those built afterwards as steps were made to cheapen up the motor which has made them less efficient. A new one would only gain about 1% efficiency, where the existing is 95% efficient. McKenney recommended having the motor cleaned, tested and the bearings replaced vs. a new unit. Anchor quoted $1,000 to do the bearings, McKenney wanted the specs before quoting.
Lagrant gave Craig a price of $3,000 to replace the starter and overload relay inside the existing panel. Discussion took place regarding the need to have reliability at that building. The major building modifications won’t take place for another four or five years and we shouldn’t wait that long hoping nothing will go wrong. The Commission agreed it is worth spending the money now to get the equipment replaced and restore reliability. After the new tank is constructed we can go back and concentrate on the unused well and building modifications.
Upper Palmer Rd/Macomber Rd: Tom Moore owns land on the South side of Macomber which is followed by the last house on that street and then the farm. It is his intent to build one house on that land. Sherman and Frydryk surveyed and suggested extending sewer main with a manhole at the end. Tom Moore requested in writing that we evaluate his plan to extend the sewer main. Craig intends to have Tata & Howard (T&H) look at the plan, increase the size of the drawing, and expand on the spec description as Mr. Cortina is going to want to extend also.
Quaboag Heights ~ Update: Craig has received the latest revised plans and specs, although he hasn’t had time to look them over. Easements are complete and recorded, when it becomes apparent the project is commencing Craig will get price of pipe and materials.
Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) Schedule: Due to unforeseen circumstances the scheduled Selectmen presentation was cancelled. Craig would like to have M-PACT run the narrated Power Point Presentation once it is complete. Rebekah McDermott (Mass Rural Water Association) is scheduled to meet with Craig in the office tomorrow to put the last touches on things.
FY07 Budget: The budget has been completed and submitted to FINCOM. A meeting has been scheduled for the department to discus the budget with FINCOM the evening of Monday February 27th, 7:15-7:30 Water, and 7:30-7:45 Sewer.
NEW BUSINESS:
Annual Statistical Report: Craig informed the Commission he is working on the Annual Statistical Report which must be done in accordance with Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations. Although the report is similar to years prior, it requires more detailed information and has become quite time consuming.
Sewer Station: We are pumping a great deal more wastewater than usual. Discussion took place on abnormally high groundwater level and the probability of its influence on our pumping rate. Tom and Dave have been locating cross country manholes and entering information into a Global Position System (G.P.S.), and have found a couple of problems which need to be addressed. Dick Kilhart from Mass Rural Water Association happened to stop by the office today and offered to do a free camera inspection. Marty recalled Wilbraham had offered the use of theirs in the past if need be. They will keep looking for infiltration as this will affect our bill from Palmer.
NEXT MEETING:
A motion was made by Steve and seconded by Marty to set the next meeting for Wednesday, February 15, 2006. Motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURN:
A motion was made by Marty and seconded by Steve to adjourn at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
___________________________________
Stephen C. Lobik,
Clerk
cc: Selectmen
| 
