Members Present: Chairman Stephen C. Lobik, Vice Chairman Douglas R. North, Clerk Joseph M. Prior
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 Joe to accept the June 16, 2010 meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
Chlorination Equipment ~ The 2nd skid should arrive next week; it is expected to be a perfect fit for Bethany Road station since it will be 6”thinner. The motor from the 1st skid unit is back with sensor installed, and the controller is configured as it should be. Bob Flagg has the tablet system installed M.D.C. and reports it is working okay, he will keep Craig informed.
Sewer Inflow & Infiltration (I&I) Remediation ~
Sewer Easement Access Road ~ Job is complete with gate, Tom Gregiore did a little extra work so his bill came in slightly higher then the original price, however it was covered between Sewer Easement Clearing and Sewer Inflow & Infiltration (I&I), this will allow the I&I funds to go farther and test & seal more pipe. Craig is coordinating with Amethyst and After Hours on a mutually open date to start.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) co-permittee terms and conditions ~ Tom Hansen from Tata & Howard (T&H) is still drafting an I&I Plan based on what this Department is presently doing for the Commissions review.
Margaret Street Sewer Brook Crossing~ Craig contacted Northern 3 weeks ago and is waiting to hear back with a start date, he will do so again next week as it was originally targeted to be done while school was out to limit traffic issues, even though work will be done from the bank, trucks will still be in the road; project is expected to take one day.
Mechanic Street Bridge ~ the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Application has been recommended to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (REMA) for funding by the State Interagency Hazard Mitigation Committee, the Director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), and the Commission of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The recommendation was signed by Richard Fitzgerald, former Palmer Town Manager.
PVPC/Park Avenue ~ Complications due to the low bidder not having the required water main installation experience resulted in the next lowest bidder being recommended, Goncalves was awarded the contract ($258,968.30 vs. $237,465). The Commission discussed the quantity of work being done for the money, (800 ft of road, sidewalk, granite curbing, drainage, water – everything). The start date for the preliminary stuff will be next week, this will include some tree cutting, hay bail positioning, and temporary water service. Completion date could be by the end of November.
Department Activity ~
Hydrant Maintenance ~ The factory believes they have fixed the stem problem with a revised upper stem by adding an additional o-ring at the bottom (currently there is one at the top). They propose to supply all the stems and labor to change out over time, which could take multiple years. They also make a stainless steel upper stem which would be an additional cost because it’s an upgrade. Craig has received an e-mail from the hydrant representative, which states they will stand behind their hydrant and claim the revised stem will fix the problem permanently. If not they will provide stainless upper stems at no cost to us. The Commission discussed and decided an agreement would need to be provided that included how long ‘permanently’ would be. Out of the 89
M&H 929 hydrants, only 2 upper stems seals were not split. Regardless if we change hydrants they need to stand behind these. Although mixing stainless and other materials may bring on other problem, the Commission would like to know the price of the stainless.
Billing FY2011 1st Quarter April –June Usage ~ Reading and Billing has been completed. Usage is up as is the rate which equals more unhappy customers, 8-10 calls/visits have been dealt with. We are being proactive as usual by investigating higher than normal usages, site visits have been made, and letters sent to those that we were unable to contact. Vadar billing issues are still present and are being handled the best way possible. Compounding the problem is the 1998-1999 meter reading software and handhelds which we are going to have to budget for an upgrade next year.
Memorial Hall (MH) Service ~ Project is complete, the W&S Dept and Art Council water lines have been separated from MH so in theory they could then close MH for winter. This separation made it necessary for the W&S Dept. and Art Council to have pressure relief valves, which were installed by Kevin Bierman at cost of the parts, no labor. As luck would have it the one day without the pressure relieve valve caused a leak with the heating system upstairs at the W&S Department which damaged the ceiling in the Superintendents office. Heating system repairs have been made; repairs to the ceiling will be addressed in the future.
Buckwell Property Trust ~ The Trust has filed a court appeal of the Zoning Board’s decision. Craig had to provide copies of correspondence along with Water & Sewer Rules and Regulations.
Tower View ~ Craig provided the Commission copies of correspondence to Tower View from Fire Chief George Robichaud requesting they get their fire protection sprinkler system back ‘on line’, ‘tested’ and ‘certified’. Craig informed Chief George he would not be turning the water service on until a back flow preventer and meter is installed if it is a wet system, as stated in the letter from the Commission. Discussion took place how pumping is down because they are off.
MIIA Claim 8 Maple Lawn Drive ~ As a result of the July 10th water main break, basement flooding resulted at 8 Maple Lawn Drive and an insurance claim has been filed.
Upper Palmer Road Service Replacements ~ The Highway department is working on reconstructing the road between the old dump and Macomber Rd., and installing drainage and grinding road near Bill Plante’s. We replaced two services that had curb stops in close proximity to road surface.
NEW BUSINESS:
Longview Drive Resident ~ Craig was approached by the Fay’s who would like to cut off a piece of property near the Water & Sewer Easements and sell for development. After looking at the plot plan provided, the Commission did not think it could be done because of the easements, however, preferred to wait to until the Planning Board is involved before making final decision. Worse case they could file for non-buildable with the Assessors Office for a tax break, or sell it to the department.
Sampling ~ Following MassDEP monitoring requirements, all three wells were tested for Nitrates during the July-August-September period, and Perchlorate at the Bethany Road Well in accordance to the regulations. If results are favorable a waiver would be issued for perchlorate at Bethany, we have never been over the detection limit (possible sources are fireworks, rocket fuel and explosives).
Thursday, July 29 the Nitrate results were received from Spectrum Analytical Lab concerned Craig as the lab results indicated that Nitrate levels were okay at Palmer and Bethany, however the Bunyan result, which is usually 0.7 mg/L, was 7 mg/L (max allowable is 10 mg/L), Craig called the lab immediately questioning the Nitrate results. He received word later that the Lab had made a decimal point error and the actual test result was 0.749 mg/L which is normal for that wellfield.
Thursday, July 29, the Perchlorate results were received from Spectrum Analytical Lab (who subcontract this analysis to ChemServ in NH) and showed a result of 235 micrograms per liter, causing surprise as previous results have always been below the detection level of 0.3 micrograms per liter the last 4 years, 235 would be a record high for the state. Craig called the lab questioning the recent results. The lab director insisted the perchlorate test looks to be okay. Craig contacted Rick Larson at DEP to report what is going on and if there was a need to shut the well down, Rick was not overly concerned, and explained that the test we used was EPA method 314 and that natural minerals in the water have been known to interfere with that test. A later conversation with Sue Steenstrup of DEP advised a
confirmation sample will be needed using the different EPA method 332 which is only done by Alpha Analytical in Westborough. Craig left a message for the contact at Alpha. He received a voice mail at 5:00 pm indicating Alpha would prepare a test kit for him and leave it in the drop off lobby so that the perchlorate sample could be collected in the morning.
Friday, July 30, Craig drove to the lab at 6:30 am to pick up the necessary test kit, came back to Monson, collected the sample following the complicated preparation instructions and drove it back to the lab in Westborough. The only way to get results for Monday was to rush them, doubling the cost as the lab was not working the weekend, rushing them would have results available for the end of business day Monday, which is the best we could do. Craig arrived back in the office at around 11:00 am and helped Tom and Randy working on Upper Palmer Road.
Friday, July 30 Late afternoon we received a call from the MassDEP office advising they had spoke with their Central Regional office who are now mandating the original sample be obtained from ChemServ in Millford, NH (the lab Spectrum subs out to) and be retested using the EPA 332 method. Craig immediately called MassDEP asking them to clarify their request. . . He then called the lab director at Spectrum to contact the lab in NH to verify they in fact still had the original sample. The DEP then alerted Craig at 3:40 that the Bethany Road well needed to be shut down, Randy was called in and instructed to shut Bethany down and only use Palmer and Bunyan.
Monday, August 1, Craig followed up with the Spectrum Lab Director as it was 10:00 and he still hadn’t heard if NH had the original sample, he was not pleased when he learned yes they had it but she hadn’t called. . . She explained it could be shipped however it would take an additional day. Craig knew MassDEP wanted the results ASAP, so he drove to Milford NH, picked up the remaining sample and delivered it to Alpha Analytical in Westborough and had to pay another rush fee to have results for the end of the day on Tuesday August 2nd. The Friday, July 30 sample result came back 0.124 micrograms per liter. Well below the 2 microgram per liter limit; great news.
Tuesday, August 2nd, results on the original retrieved sample were 0.132 micrograms per liter. Very good news; both samples had consistent results and were very low. The EPA method 332 is much more sensitive with a detection limit of 0.05 micrgrams per liter which explains why all previous tests were Not Detected because the previous test (EPA 314) could only go to 0.3 micrograms per liter. What happened is the original bogus result was proven invalid, the Well is fine and we were able to resume pumping operations. Later, Craig asked DEP why it allows the 314 method in the first place if it is unreliable. Their reply was “That is very good question”, but no answer.
Craig explained the next step will be looking for a price list from Alpha Analytical in Westborough to handle VOC, SOC, Nitrates and Perchlorate and continue to use ConTest for routine bacteria samples.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 6:30p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Doug and seconded by Joe to adjourn from open session to go into executive session at 7:50p.m . Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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