Members Present: Chairman Marshall L. Harris, V. Chairman Stephen C. Lobik, Clerk Douglas R. North
Superintendent: Craig W. Jalbert
Secretary: Dale Barnes-Johnson
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
Accept the Minutes: A motion was made by Doug and seconded by Steve to accept the Meeting Minutes from June 7, 2006. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
Water Capital Bonding ~ Update: Craig thanked the Commission for stopping by the office to sign the Site Access Agreement which will allow access for a survey crew to establish grades and define potential site dimensions. Mr. Leo Cortinia has also signed and returned the agreement.
Craig spoke with Karen Pheigetti who is now a Project Manager at Tata & Howard (T&H); Don will still oversee the projects, which include the USDA Budget, SRF application, Notice of Intent to work on the exposed Sewer Crossing on Margaret Street.
Quaboag Heights ~ Update: With the water tie in complete, drainage work has begun. Weather has been making things difficult; the latest storm caused a significant amount of run off across to Palmer Road station. Drainage has been put in to prevent future run offs.
Craig has been working to get pricing for water main interconnection to Country Club Drive. Holden Sand and Gravel (contractor on project) has given Craig a verbal estimate of $12,000 (about $34/ft) with the potential of being cheaper if no ledge encountered. Craig will get written quotes from two other contractors for comparison.
Hospital Road Reconstruction: Although the preliminary plans for the country drain option were viewed during the site meeting Craig attended on June 5th, Guertin Elkerton & Associates (GE&A) continues to have a slow response, as final plans still have not arrived. ConCom has a meeting set for July 5th to review same.
Monson Developmental Center (M.D.C.): Craig and Doug attended a meeting Wednesday, June 14th at the MDC Offices with Jane Arthur, MDC Facility Director to discuss the issues at hand. Jane agreed to send a letter to the State Engineering Department notifying them of the inflow situation, which we believe is caused by roof and storm water drains still connected to the sewer system.
With regards to the flow meter, Craig suggested Tighe and Bond be contacted to see what needs to be done to reach a permanent solution.
Since Craig sent the letter the amount of assorted rags, towels and gloves has decreased, however there is no guarantee the problem won’t be back to where it was with regards to the abnormal amount of debris which causes our comminutor and sewage pump to clog and stop. Discussion took place about installing a new grinder, which Craig suggested M.D.C. might pay a percentage of the installation and maintenance. Marty suggested working out a formula as we do with the Town of Palmer. Craig met with a Muffin Monster sales representative, who figured the price to be in the $20,000 range, plus installation (approximately $5,000). Craig is waiting for a solid quote. Hopefully M.D.C. will agree to pay 20% (their flow percentage) of the cost. Craig will also get pricing on maintenance costs for the new unit. Further discussion will take place once more facts and figures are known.
NEW BUSINESS:
Appointment: The Commission need only appoint the Assistant Superintendent as the Superintendent is still on his three year term.
Doug made a motion to appoint Thomas J. Murphy as Assistant Superintendent effective July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007, Steve seconded motion. Motion passed unanimously.
Correspondence: John Morrell, Highway Surveyor sent a letter requesting a meeting be held to discuss issues resulting from property damage due to water line breaks, one being insurance policy coverage, the other being authority for repairs of public ways. The Commission discussed past and recent repairs the Water & Sewer Department has made to public ways after breaks have occurred and feel that they have met and more often exceeded conditions prior to breaks and are unaware of any that have not been satisfactory. The Water & Sewer Department has always conveyed that if for some reason a road repair needed to be readdressed the department would do so.
Craig explained to the Commission the obstacles that occurred during the most recent break on Main Street. William Cadiuex was hired by the W&S Department to proceed with the repairs per the scope of work set forth by Craig, and scheduled to take place Wednesday, June 28th so that they would be complete for Summerfest. When it came time for repairs the contractor was receiving directions from Highway Surveyor John Morrell to perform tasks above the scope of work he was hired for by Craig. It just so happened that Craig stopped by the office on his vacation day as this was taking place. Craig thought it was very inappropriate that John would try to issue orders to a contractor hired and paid by the Water Department. Eventually the
issues were resolved and repairs took place with the same understating that if problems come about in the future, that the W&S Department would see to it that they were addressed. The Commission viewed photographs of the jobsite and Craig pointed out that again we had done more than was needed to insure a quality repair.
In response to John’s letter, Craig drafted a reply for the Commissions approval. The Commission feels it is very important to have good working relationships with all of Monson’s Town Departments and welcomes John to come to the next meeting to address any concerns he has with regards to pavement repairs.
NEXT MEETING: The next meetings have been set for Wednesday, August 2, 2006.
ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
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Douglas R. North, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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