Members Present: Vice Chairman Douglas R. North, Clerk Marshall L. Harris
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 Marty to accept the meeting minutes of August 29, 2007. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
S.R.F. Project ~ Karen from Tata & Howard (T&H) went over the preliminary designs. The FM telemetering communication would require a 40’ antenna on both the Palmer Road station and Bunyan Road station, a smaller antenna would be needed at the Bethany station due to it’s location, as well as at the office. The Department would face the initial expense to buy into the FM frequency which is costly; however, license renewal is cheaper. The proposed Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC’s) at Palmer Road, Bethany Road and the Tank would convert analog signals to digital for transmitting and provide the foundation for a SCADA system in the future. SCADA would take the place of our current alarm system and enhance security and control. $80,000 is estimated to outfit
everything and reprogram Bunyan Road station. Price per year would be approximately $200.00, vs. the $1,000+ currently paid for the existing phone lines. Again this would be the foundation for the future and possible SCADA system. Craig hopes to find a way to afford the telemertering. Craig will check with the town to be sure there are no issues with the 40’ antennas. Final cost estimates on the other projects are still waiting for design completion.
Document Submittals: With the submittal to DEP, a DWSRF application must be included, and to complete that the department must pick a person to sign the paperwork. The Commission agreed to designate Craig as Superintendent to be that person. Along with a Certifying Authority to File form, Certification of Title to Project Site is required, which Town Council has to sign saying we have title to all project property. Craig is in the process of gathering other required information such as, the DOR Identification Number, Federal Employee Identification Number, and Copies of recent water rates.
A motion was made by Doug and seconded by Marty to name Craig W. Jalbert, Superintendent to be selected as the “Authority to File” person authorized to sign required project paperwork. Motion passed unanimously.
New Ely Road Tank: Borings have been completed. Existing rock will be used to build a retaining wall near the driveway of old section; to hold things through the winter, Craig would like have grass seed planted. Tank design is proceeding; discussion took place with regards to the base elevation of the tank. The option to bring in fill to raise the elevation (10 ft @ $10,000/ft) is not only costly, but also raises the risk of settling and cracking in the future.
Bethany Road Pump Station: Design is taking place; Craig is in the process of reviewing a footprint design of the proposed building. Discussion took place on the small stuff, systems, alarms and the possibility of including the purchase of a tow behind generator in the project, as a backup generator would be benficial there. The question of how the building will be heated came up, which Craig will look into.
Fern Hill Road Water Main: Design is complete, waiting on ConCom and the National Heritage with regards to Endangered Species. Con Com meets next Wednesday night.
Sewer System ~ Update: Karen Long from Amethyst Environmental who performs the camera inspections contacted Craig to see if their services were needed. Due to the dry conditions, it does not seem beneficial to proceed with more inspections, Craig is considering rehab, sealing and basically fixing services previously identified as problematic. They will forward a proposal starting at Rays Trailer Park working back.
In anticipation of the November Town Meeting Craig would like to begin planning article requests. To date they would include, re-roofing and painting at the Sewer Station, and tree removal in easements. Marty suggested possibly replacing the aged Sewer Cleaner which has been giving the departments troubles and repairs.
Water System ~ Update: Hospital Road appears to be going no where, Craig is concerned about not having access to manholes and water infiltrating. There is no question they need to be raised, but at who’s cost? Palmer Paving gave a good price quote earlier. Instead of waiting until problems occur, Marty suggested we raise the structures we definitely need access to.
Money appears to be available in the enterprise fund for SRF Engineering, the previously discussed Bunyan Road Well cleaning, and possibly for a new roof at the Palmer Road station. It will be a busy Fall Town Meeting
Water Sewer Position: The interview process has been completed. Seven applicants were interviewed in the first round, applicants were selected based on experience (mechanical, Highway DPW, or water background). Doug and Steve participated in the second round which was narrowed down to two (Daniel Sheldon, and Scott Majka). Doug commented he would have hired either of the two, obviously the applicant who had water experience (Scott) would help the department immediately and would be the one he would offer the position to first. Steve sent an e-mail to be included in tonight’s meeting commenting he was very impressed with Scott and feels he is the highest qualified candidate and due to his experience he believes Scott would make a smooth transition to our department. The
Commission agreed to first offer the position to Scott Majka and if he decides to decline, to then offer the position to Dan Sheldon; either way, Craig stated he would be happy with either of the two.
Delinquent Accounts: All accounts have been paid, with the exception of one which is in the Foreclosure process, which will end up getting paid eventually.
Casino: Jim Amman from Palmer Water contacted Craig regarding the status of the Fern Hill Project and the availability of the emergency connection. He is working on a Casino impact statement for his Town. Craig informed him he could not commit to a gallon figure at this time and any discussion in that regard would have to wait until there were formal meetings between the two Towns. The Commission briefly discussed what the max capacity of all our wells (2 @ Bunyan, Palmer and Bethany), if they ran for a 12 hour period = 972,000 gallons. Our peak day this summer was close to 900,000 gallons.
ROUTINE BUSINESS:
Commission to sign Bill Schedules
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: At 8:00 p.m., a motion was made by Doug and seconded by Marty to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously.
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Marshall L. Harris, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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