Members Present: Chairman Stephen C. Lobik, 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 Steve to accept the meeting minutes of January 23, 2008. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
S.R.F. Project Update ~ Sub-bid openings for electrical and masonry took place Wednesday, February 13th. The General Contractor (GC) bid opening is scheduled for Wednesday, February 27th. Karen from Tata & Howard (T&H) will be present. GC’s are not required to use the low bidder, they have the option. A steel tank manufacturer advises they can not meet the construction schedule provided by DEP. Karen from T&H contacted DEP and they approved an extension. T&H will process an official bid addendum.
Bunyan Rd. Well cleaning is scheduled for March and the Palmer Rd. roof replacement is slated for the spring.
DEP Registration Appeal ~ Craig feels the meeting with the Selectmen went well and expects the newspaper to contact him tomorrow. Tom Warden, a resident from town, shared an e-mail he sent to Senator Stephen Brewer, and Representative Mary Rogeness opposing the mandate. Craig described how the registration renewal included conditions that would mandate outdoor water use restrictions. Restrictions would be active from May 1st to September 30th when a drought advisory was in effect, which happens more than people realize. In fact our region is under a drought advisory at the present time. People interested in learning about our drought status should visit the State DCR Web Site at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/waterSupply/rainfall/drought.htm. Enforcing the restrictions will present a very big problem for this department.
Palmer Bill / Letter ~ The latest correspondence from Palmer seems more receptive and cooperative. Discussion took place regarding DEP’s response to our request for their assistance in this matter. Craig met with Brian Harrington and Mark Schleeweis from the DEP on February 11th where Craig explained the current situation in more detail. The commission discussed the drastic change in Monson / Palmer flow percentage. Craig spoke with Gerry Skowronek the Superintendent of PWPCF and actually had a very productive conversation. Gerry subsequently emailed a list of potential solutions. The Commission agrees that we have a great deal of work to do to solve these problems and we should meet to begin. Craig gave the Commissioners copies of the agreement, amendments
and the suggestions and possible remedies from Gerry for review. After the Commission has had time to review the information Gerry will be contacted for a meeting. Discussion took place on the importance of getting this resolved. It is impossible to budget without knowing what our costs will be; the EPA is also mandating future changes that may impact costs.
Budget ~ Rates need to be set by early April to allow notification of changes to the rate payers. The Water Budget will require a slight adjustment. With regards to the Sewer rate, it is difficult to speculate until the issues at hand are resolved.
NEW BUSINESS:
Gary Pfisterer ~ Craig received another letter from Gary expressing his discontent with the sewer bill for 7 Reynolds Avenue. The long-established Sewer billing policy relies on the Assessor’s office classification for properties, which in this case is multi-family 4 occupancy, thus billed for 4 sewer units. The Commission discussed the rate structure and several circumstances and scenarios that come into play, much thought goes into rate setting and changes cannot be made without a full understanding of their impact. The Commission would like Craig to follow up with a letter explaining the Commission understands his discontent; however the Board is part time and asks for his patience while considering this matter.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: At 8:00 p.m., a motion was made by Doug and seconded by Marty to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing pending litigation and not return to open session. Motion passed unanimously.
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Marshall L. Harris, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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