Commissioners Present: Douglas R. North Chairman, Joseph C Prior Vice Chairman, Paul C. DeMaio Clerk
Employees Present: Superintendent: Craig W. Jalbert; Secretary: Dale Barnes-Johnson
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
Accept the Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Paul to accept the December 4, 2013 meeting minutes, motion seconded by Joe. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS
Annual Town Report ~ Craig prepared the Report of the Water & Sewer Commissioners which included a farewell to longtime Commissioner Stephen C. Lobik who opted to leave when his term expired due to his busy schedule. Paul C. DeMaio was welcomed aboard. Other report topics included the completion of the Mechanic Street Bridge project, inflow and infiltration remediation progress, department activity, service leak repairs, updated and replaced water services, pumping and precipitation information.
FY2015 Budget ~ 2013 set a new low for drinking water pumped, 119,123,000 gallons, which is on track with usage estimates. Decreased pumping will allow reductions to be made in some water operating line items such as electricity; corrosion control will also see a reduction. Less water pumped means not as much chemical is needed. Due to the increase in the number of devices over the last few years we will need to increase the Backflow testing line item. No changes are expected in the Sewer non-labor total. Indirect costs for both Water & Sewer will see
an increase, the past 3 years costs have exceeded the actuals and now a former retiree has opted to receive insurance effective FY2014. We completed the final phase one Sewer bond payment in 2014, Water will continue to pay on the SRF Loan until 2031. Suggestions for Spring Town Meeting requests include the Bethany Rd. Well cleaning (Craig’s estimate $10-15,000, last done in 2008); generator enclosure (approximately $27,000 remains in the generator account). Sewer items include replacement of the 35 year old Sewer Jetter, exterior painting of the pump station building at Hospital Road and replacing pump room isolation and check valves which are also 35 + years old. More information regarding the budgets, rates, indirect costs, retained earnings and article requests will be prepared for the next meeting.
2014 Work Pending (in addition to the above)
~ H.S. Baseball Field Irrigation / Veterans Field Fountain
~ Route 32 Paving Prep, relocate services that are connected to the old main
~ Complete replacement of old Washington Street services
~ GIS check plots; the goal in the spring/summer is to complete that part of the process.
~ Lead & Copper Testing as required every 3 years will take place in August. The DEP Lead and Copper Rule establishes a tier system for prioritizing sample sites based on plumbing age. Homeowners are the ones who take the samples, communication starts one month prior to testing and continues throughout the process, residents must agree to participate, if they do not then others are selected based on the tier system. It’s a very time intensive project.
~Hydrant Flushing will take place throughout September, during the day and evening hours. This usually causes service leaks due to the added stress on old iron pipe services; it is common for us to see higher amounts of leakage after we complete a system flushing. We’ll spend October and part of November detecting leaks and making repairs.
~ Annual Statistical Report is due in February. This detailed 30 plus page report required by the MassDEP includes detailed information on the water system, from Certified Operator and Commission Contact information to Emergency Response Actions, information on Source and Treatment, Connections, Pumping Data and Leakage is reported.
~ Consumer Confidence Report preparation will soon follow, this includes 2013 water quality testing results, information on improvements made to our water system and it must meet MassDEP and EPA guidelines.
~ FY2014 3rd Quarter Water & Sewer Bills were mailed out today.
Hospital Road Pump Station ~ repairs are complete, the motor of one of the duplex sump pumps had shorted out. We cannot be completely sure of the cause. We ordered a new one and installed it. Lagrant Electric replaced the water damaged electrical outlets, all electrical components in the sump pump control panel, main breaker and installed an additional high water level float switch which will be wired into our alarm panel.
Department Activity
Service Line Repair ~ 18 Hospital Road (mobile home).
End of Year Reports ~ Craig tracks electricity usage (kWh) history for each station on an Excel spreadsheet and compares gallons per kWh efficiency and cost per 1000 gallons. Last year we switched Palmer Road from a G2 rate class to a G1 which saved us some money. G1 is a better rate class when your usage is 10,000 kWh per month or less, G2 is better if usage is over 12,000 kWh per month. Now that our pumping is down so low we are under the usage thresholds. Bunyan Road Pump Station will be switched to G1 this month.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at 6:30p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Paul and seconded by Joe to adjourn at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
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Paul C. DeMaio, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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