Members Present: Chairman Douglas R. North, Vice Chairman Steve Lobik, 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.
Reorganization of the Board: With the re-election of Joseph M. Prior, Doug made a motion to nominate Joseph M. Prior as Chairman, Steve seconded motion, motion passes unanimously. Steve made a motion to nominate Douglas R. North as Vice Chairman, Joe seconded motion, motion passed unanimously. Doug made a motion to have Stephen C. Lobik as Clerk, Joe seconded motion, motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS
MW&S Staffing ~ Friday, May 4, 2012 is the deadline for Water/Sewer Laborer applicants. Approximately 15 have been received to date. Interview logistics were discussed; the Commission is comfortable with Craig’s choice and would like for the process to remain as it has in the past.
Town Meeting Article Requests ~ FINCOM has requested to meet with Craig regarding the truck article. $55,000 is being requested for transfer from the Water Enterprise Free Cash to purchase a new vehicle to replace our 2001 Ford F250 truck. Craig has obtained quotes, $20,000 for the utility body and $33,000 for the one-ton 4x4 cab and chassis.
Portable Generator ~ Craig has been working with Tata & Howard (T&H) finalizing the specification but expects to be finished soon.
Mechanic Street Water Main Relocation ~ the structural engineer requested additional information regarding expansion joints. Plans are being finalized, hopefully it will go out to bid and the project will commence when school is out.
Road Projects ~ Margaret Street awaits final paving. John Morrell advises additional work may be done on Margaret St. extending from Thompson Street to the High School.
Sewer Issue at Lamcotec ~ The Commission would like Craig to alert John Morrell of the circumstances of this problem and how much it is costing the department. We don’t want a repeat of this in future projects. At the last meeting the Commission agreed to credit the account $8,122 for invoices paid directly by the customer to the individual service providers for repair of the damaged/patched pipe located in the street. The customer requested the credit be applied to his water and sewer bills, however credit only pertains to sewer for which their billed approximately $1,600/year and would take up to 5 years to absorb the credit. The Finance Director confirmed that if copies of the invoices and cancelled checks were submitted the customer could be reimbursed by check, therefore a Request for
Transfer from the Sewer Enterprise Reserve Fund was prepared and sent to FINCOM for approval. Once documentation has been received, reimbursement will be processed.
Cross-Connection Control Program ~ Mass DEP advises regulations and responsibilities regarding cross-connection control in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have changed. The purpose is to protect the public potable water supply served by MW&SD from the possibility of contamination or pollution by isolating such contaminations or pollutants which could backflow or back-siphon into the public water system. Craig has prepared the Cross-Connection Control Program, and a flow chart of the approval process. The process starts with a survey; surveys are done already on existing buildings (Commercial or Industrial), or upon change of use or if high risk. If as a result of a survey of the premises, and it is determined an approved backflow prevention device is required a cross-connection
violation form will be issued to said customer to install approved backflow prevention devices. The customer has 30 days to submit a plan which must be approved by the Superintendent and Certified Cross Connection Surveyor, if approved there is a 30 day installation period, and inspection must take place 14 days thereafter, all documentation must be kept. All devices as part of the routine tests are done once or twice a year depending on the device, currently there are 40 devices of which the school has the majority. The new group homes have fire sprinklers, therefore require backflow devices. Craig will e-mail the documents to the Commission so at the next meeting the Cross-Connection Control Program can be adopted.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Monday, May 14, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Doug to adjourn at 7:30 p.m. Motion seconded by Steve. Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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