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 6:35 p.m.
Reorganize the Board: With the re-election of Douglas R. North, Joe made a motion to nominate Douglas R. North as Chairman, Steve seconded motion, motion passes unanimously. Doug made a motion to nominate Stephen C. Lobik as Vice Chairman, Joe seconded motion, motion passed unanimously. Doug made a motion to have Joseph M. Prior remain as Clerk, Steve seconded motion, motion passed unanimously.
Accept the Minutes: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Steve to accept the March 16, 2011 meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
Chlorination Equipment ~ Installation is 95% complete, equipment is mounted and plumbed at all three stations, and operational if the need to chlorinate were to arise. PLC & alarm programming remain to be done to satisfy DEP requirements. The majority of the work was done in house; an electrician was hired out to do some stuff. It is necessary to replace/upgrade the Operator Interface Terminal at Bunyan Rd to give complete control of the new alarm and interlock features being added for pH and Chlorine monitoring as the existing OIT has been phased out and programming software is no longer available. The new unit will be identical to those in use at Bethany Rd and Palmer Stations. DEP will inspect installation.
Town Meeting Articles ~ no articles other then the standard operating W&S budget request and transfer request for MTBE money received after Town Meeting ($1,582.51) from General Fund into a special Stabilization Fund. Other possibilities included a transfer for Palmer Road as the gpm output is still dropping off however if the pump needs to be switched out money is still available in an encumbered account. Craig explained we should be all set with the amount of money left in the chlorination account.
Mechanic Street Bridge ~ the project application was approved by FEMA and documents have been forwarded to us for review and signature by the appropriate persons including the Selectmen Chair. Once design is complete, project will be sent out to bid. Funds have previously been appropriated.
Department Activity ~
Town Office Sewer Malfunction ~ Tom and Randy were called to investigate why the sewer system was no long functioning on the south side of the building. After the line was jetted collapsing clay pipe was evident. Further camera inspection confirmed the clay portion which hooked to the cast iron pipe 10’ out of the building was failing; the section near the manhole is cracked and pieces are missing. Camera inspection to other connections appeared fine. Bob North has been contacted to oversee the repair. The plan is to dig at the 10’ area where the pipe transitions to clay, remove the clay and replace with cast iron. Highway will do the digging, and the W&S Department will provide labor.
Water Line Repairs ~ one of the two known service leaks (30 Palmer Road) was fixed this week, the other (41 Bethany Road) is schedule to be addressed next week.
Leak Detection ~ quarterly billed usage was at its lowest, leaking water at its highest. Industry statistics show 25% of all leaks are from the main and hydrants, 75% are from services. Tom and Randy have been concentrating on leak detection, going from house to house.
Future Water Line Repairs ~ the list of people requesting their old service lines to be replaced is growing, to date two services on Stafford Road, two services on Bethany Road, one on Wales Road and North Lane and one on Palmer Road.
Road Projects ~ Highway Road projects which require preparations include Bethany Road and Craig just learned John Morrell also plans to work on Margaret Street. John funds these projects through Chapter 90.
Annual Statistical Report (ASR) ~The deadline for the yearly comprehensive report that asks for pumping information, specifics on where water goes, backflow information etc. is drawing near and will require action next week.
Training~ Tom and Randy are scheduled to attend a Work Zone Safety class Tuesday April 19th; they will get contact hours to go towards their license renewals.
Bill Lemon Building ~Bill Lemon Jr. stopped at the office regarding the old Iron Kettle building as they are in the process of leasing the restaurant portion of the building and re-vamping the area for more seating, which triggers a new building regulation requiring fire sprinklers. They are meeting with the Planning Board for an appeal, because this was a restaurant before. The Commission discussed if granted what the impact would be if they were to sell the building, would they then need to sprinkler the whole building. If they are required to install sprinklers on the restaurant side they will need a new larger connection to the main. They are looking to save money, the connection fee for a 6” line is $7,000, and they are looking at a cost of approximately $60,000 to complete the
system. The Commission cautioned if they were to waive the fee it would set a precedent, however they wish to be business friendly for existing buildings being forced into sprinklers by offering a payment plan (2 years $875 quarterly). The current fees are subject to the discretion of the Board of Water & Sewer Commission.
Town Meeting ~ May 9th
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Doug to adjourn from open session to go into executive session at 7:30p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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