Members Present: Chairman Marshall L. Harris, V. Chairman Stephen C. Lobik, Clerk Douglas R. North
Superintendent: Craig W. Jalbert
Secretary: Dale Johnson
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
Reorganization of the Board: Re-elections of Marshall L. Harris and Stephen C. Lobik, made it necessary to reorganize the Board. Doug made a motion to nominate Marshall L. Harris as Chairman, Steve seconded motion, motion passed unanimously. Doug made a motion to nominate Stephen C. Lobik as Vice Chairman, Marty seconded motion, motion passed unanimously. Steve then made a motion to nominate Douglas R. North as Clerk, Marty seconded motion, motion passed unanimously.
Accept the Minutes: A motion was made by Doug and seconded by Marty to accept the Meeting Minutes from March 22, 2006 and April 5, 2006. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
Palmer Road Well: For cost comparisons Craig looked into the Bunyan Road Pump Test which included some extras and found it to be $18,000. Karen at Tata & Howard (T&H) admitted the estimate was high vs. getting caught low; the Commission determined decisions need to be based on realistic figures. Don Tata will be out on the 18th to discuss USDA stuff, in addition to going over the proposed SRF application, which could include a new tank, paint existing tank, additional well at Palmer Rd. plus automatic chemical feed system and a water main replacement project. When it comes to tank location research Craig would like Marty’s assistance.
Quaboag Heights ~ Update: Project is at a standstill, trenching for the Sewer Main has started, however due to the large amount boulders and rocks, the contractor feels that blasting is required. Marty confirmed a permit for blasting has been pulled.
Macomber Road Sanitary Sewer Plan Review ~ Dave Loring at Tighe & Bond (T&B) forwarded a few minor comments. This extension also requires a permit to be filed with the DEP.
Hospital Road Reconstruction: Palmer Paving is in the process of finishing the project on the west side of the brook. Word is that paving will not take place within the next 3 months, MassHighway doesn’t have the money.
Guertin Elkerton & Associates (GE&A) has yet to respond to Craig’s letter with regards to their road profile. However, it has been brought to Craig’s attention that GE&A had scheduled a meeting with the Conservation Commission tonight without John Morrell, or Craig being notified. Town Administrator, Gretchen Neggers confirmed the meeting has since been cancelled and that Town Council is now aware of the occurrence. Craig is concerned with the evident prolonged completion of the project, and in fairness to the homeowners, as they have already been tolerant for some time, would like to give the homeowners better conditions during the interim.
State Avenue Bridge Project: Craig met with Jim Amman from Palmer to review the sketch from the engineering consultant hired by MassHighway to design the State Ave. Bridge. When suggestions were presented to the Engineer, he agreed changes should be made now to reflect our wishes. However, it is now obvious this project will be delayed as Mass Highway first needs to decide the bridge type (steel or concrete) they plan to use before we can tweak the design. Jim did get $15,000 approval. The scope includes paving past Fern Hill, which will require investigating by Craig.
Hydrant and Water Main Flushing: Although the department is still one man short, hydrant flushing is complete. Craig helped days, Jeff Chaffee helped nights, and overtime went from 98 to 70 hours compared to last time. The process went faster and used 75% less water than in the past. Discussion took place with regards to the contributing factors such as corrosion control and general overall improvements made to the system. Craig expects good conditions for meeting summers demand.
Water Capital Bonding: Town Accountant, Debbie Mahar called to see what the departments bonding vision was. The department’s ability to transfer $90,000 from the Water Enterprise Fund has reduced the borrowing amount for our share of costs to Hospital Road Water Main Replacement Project which lowered the overall amount to be bonded to $300,000 ($250,000 Bunyan Road and $50,000 Hospital Road) which also allowed the borrowing years to be reduced to 7 years vs. 10 years. The first payment will be $58,000 and the last $40,000. The Commission agreed this will prove to be valuable savings.
Sewer Easement Clearing: Craig has received permission from Conservation Commission and neighbors for the clearing of the Sewer Easement. After walking the easement with John from J&S, a quote of $12,000 was given for the 3,000 ft. easement (State Street to Chestnut Street). The Commission agreed this was sensible for the reason that if a problem were to arise now it would take us a month to clear the area before we could address any problems. Craig plans to obtain another quote.
Town Meeting: The Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 8th at the Granite Valley Middle School. The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS:
Appreciation: Marty commended Craig for his efforts during these past few weeks. Despite the fact of being down one man, he is still able to stay on top of things at the office while working out of the office with Tom during the day to get what is needed done, and simultaneously balancing a hectic home schedule. Craig admits it is the cooperation of the Commissioners in addition to the commitment of his Assistant Tom Murphy who is a very hard worker who help make his job easier. Hydrant flushing is typically a two man job and is a lot of work; in addition to his daily tasks Tom has been working non-stop nights and weekends and was able to complete the Hydrant and Water Main Flushing process quicker then in the past.
Discussion took place on the Financial Reorganization. The Town Accountant Debbie Maher, and Town Administrator Gretchen Neggers and FINCOM have coordinated very well with the Department Heads. In these tough times this is evident by what they have been able to attain (new trucks, HW & Rescue, additional EMT’s etc), while surrounding communities are not. Marty and Craig agreed the monthly Department Head Meetings also prove to be very informative and helpful. Steve recalls how during the flood, John Morrell and his crew were timely in sending his crew out, other communities went days.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, May 10, 2006.
ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
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Douglas R. North, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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