Commissioners Present: Paul C. DeMaio Chairman, Joseph M. Prior Vice Chairman, Marshall L. Harris Clerk
Employees Present: Superintendent: Craig W. Jalbert; Secretary: Dale Barnes-Johnson
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.
Accept the Meeting Minutes: Joe made a motion to accept the April 8, 2015 meeting minutes. Marty seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
Water & Sewer Personnel~
- Anthony Dart II resigned effective April 17, 2015
- W & S Operator and W&S Utility Maintenance Worker Positions were posted within the union and simultaneously advertised for two consecutive weeks in local paper.
- Only one internal Union employee (Ryan Kiernan – Police Dispatch) signed up for the W&S Utility Maintenance Worker Position, Craig met with him Friday April 24th to explain the position which Ryan accepted and started May 7, 2015.
- W&S Operator position had no internal or external applicants with Massachusetts Drinking Water Certifications.
- Six applications were received for the W&S Utility Maintenance Worker of which four were interviewed. The department’s standard procedures were followed during the interview process. At the conclusion of the interview process Matthew Doyle was deemed most qualified and was offered the position. He accepted and started May 11, 2015. Unsuccessful candidates were notified by mail.
- Mass Rural Water offered a Very Small Systems, Treatment-1 and Distriution-1 three day course in Worcester May 12,13th and 14th to learn about drinking water industry, both Ryan and Matthew attended; books and material fees were included in the $60 cost.
Bethany Road Well Cleaning/Rehabilitation ~ Maher Services began work on May 11th. On their initial well test they also noticed the slight vibration we observed. They removed the motor, head unit, pump column and pump and brought it back to their shop for steam cleaning, disassembly and inspection. They found the bronze pump impellers to be worn, the column pipe threaded ends were chipped and rough, the stuffing box and head shaft were worn. It is unknown why the components were in such terrible shape after only eight years. Maher suggested the possibility of stray current from the VFD drive but another possibility is the very acidic water in that well. Craig and Marty agree that it could also be poor quality materials from the low bid requirement of the original
project. Maher recommended replacing the pump, it is less expensive than trying to replace the impellers and fit them to the existing pump bowls. The new pump will be the same model and design but will be equipped with stainless steel impellers rather than bronze impellers ($6,850). Maher also recommend replacing the column pipe ($1,670), stuffing box and head shaft ($975). The line shafts were in good condition.
The motor which had a vibration during the pre-redevelopment test was inspected at the motor shop. The motor failed the initial mega ohm test, but the motor shop recommended overhauling the motor which includes washing and baking the windings (which hopefully will improve the mega ohm readings), new bearings and balancing the motor (cost $1,800). If the mega ohm reading does not improve the stator will need to be rewound at an extra cost. The original contract price was $10,887 for the redevelopment. The extra work and materials discussed amount to $11,295. Total estimated project cost right now is $22,182 which is over the $14,000 budgeted, if necessary funds could be transferred from Emergency Reserve.
Annual Town Elections ~ Tuesday, June 9, 2015
2015 Public Water System Award ~ Mass DEP Drinking Water Program has chosen the Monson Water & Sewer Department for Regional Recognition for its outstanding performance in 2014 as a public water system. “MassDEP realizes that it is no easy task to keep up with the ever evolving federal and state drinking water regulations. While most systems strive just to comply with the regulations, your system has put forth an extra effort for many years. Mass DEP encourages you to continue this level of excellence in carrying out your work of protecting and supplying safe and fit water to our citizens.” Craig and Dale attended the Awards Ceremony.
Department Activity
Leak Detection ~ Tom and Randy (who initially came over one day a week after Tony resigned) began leak detection.
Water/Sewer Repairs~
~59 Main Street repair leaking water service (Doc Smith’s) letters of appreciation
~63 Wales Road replaced leaking curb stop (T. Gregiore Mini Excavator)
~Relocated Fire Hydrant on State St. behind the sidewalk, this job turned out to be a lot more involved than originally thought; Ryan and Matt were able to see how a lot of things are done, it was a great experience for them.
Valve Book~ with the resignation of Tony, Craig recognized the need to quickly complete the update of our valve book which will be a crucial source of information for our new hires. The project had been put aside because of more pressing concerns but now is complete and includes maps of all our main line street valves which need to be located in the event of a water main break. All drawings were scanned into our computer and then printed out on cards. Roberts and Sons then put together two comb binding books for us. All old documentation has been retained in our archives.
Weekend Coverage ~ with both Craig and Tom being out of town Memorial Day weekend coverage became problematic, regulations require coverage by a Massachusetts Drinking Water Certified Operator. Craig took Tony up on his offer to help during this transition as it seemed a logical solution, otherwise an outside contractor would need to be used at over $90/hr. Craig thanked Marty for also remaining in town during the holiday weekend.
Debt Service Fee Calls ~ The April bill included an explanation of the water billing structure that took effect April 1, 2015; concerned customers have called in for further clarification, Dale has continued to provide excellent customer service in explaining the rational of the rate structure in which the Debt Service Fee is determined by our yearly loan payment, leaving operating costs to be covered by usage and rates.
Hospital Road Pump Station ~ within the current operating budget for FY2015, operating expenses have been overextended due to ongoing issues that have occurred at the pump station, Dale informed the Finance Director who forewarned FINCOM to expect a request for transfer from the $20,000 Emergency Reserve. Recently, the pump room sump pump system has given us trouble again. Lagrant Electric was called in to trouble shoot the problem. The failure ended up being a jammed check valve which caused the sump pump to overheat and blow a fuse.
Hospital Road Pump Rehab Project ~ bid opening was May 21st, Barbato Construction Co. has the lowest bid price ($488,012) followed by Penta Corporation and Delray Contracting, Inc. R.H. White did not submit a bid but did leave a message explaining their workforce was already too extended to take on additional work at this time. References are being checked by Tata & Howard (T&H) who will be preparing a recommendation to award letter and a notice of award. Marty was concerned about the rerouting/bypass aspect of the project as one company had raised questions at a site visit, admittedly Craig was focused on the electrical and pump control portion of the project, however has confidence in what T&H included. The Flygt Pump representative stopped in to inquire on if the
bid had been awarded, Craig explained where we were in the process and feels the project will take 4-6 weeks and will start in October, which is later than what was originally anticipated.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 3:30p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Paul to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
___________________________________
Marshall L. Harris, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
| 
