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.
Reorganize the Board: Due to the fact that Paul C. DeMaio has been serving as the Authorized Signatory on the USDA Hospital Road Pump Station Rehabilitation project presently underway, Marshall made a motion to have Paul continue as Chairman, Joseph seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. Joseph made another motion to nominate Marshall L. Harris as Vice Chairman, Paul seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously. Marshall made a motion to nominate Joseph C. Prior as Clerk, Paul seconded the motion and motion passed unanimously.
Accept the Meeting Minutes: Joe made a motion to accept the May 28, 2015 meeting minutes. Marty seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
186 Main Street ~ Building owner, Stacey Beaudoin, contacted the department concerning their recent water & sewer bill. Evidently, there was a significant toilet leak in one of the apartments for an extended period of time and in conjunction with the usage of the Subway chilling/cooling system, caused the sewer overage cost to be triggered. Dale explained the commercial billing policy (sewer is billed based on 18,250 gallons per quarter x sewer units; any usage above that amount triggers an additional charge of $4.74 per every 1,000 gallons above). 186 Main Street (Act# 0288) is mixed use (commercial/residential) and therefore classified as Commercial MU4. Ultimately, Mrs. Beaudoin was not satisfied with the explanation and it was suggested to her that she submit her concerns directly to the Commission for their review. John Beaudoin later called and spoke with Craig directly. After the commercial billing policy was explained to Mr. Beaudoin he understood why his last bill was
elevated and then discussed with Craig his quandary regarding the Subway usage and the problem it is causing him having the mixed use building on one service. Mr. Beaudoin would like to separate the residential apartments from the commercial units and proposed reactivating the service to Act# 1364 Scrub Board Laundry (off since 2003), to have the commercial units serviced from that line and billed separately from the residential apartments. Craig suggested he bring his request in front of the Commission and in the meantime Dale would put together a spreadsheet for him to determine if it would be cost effective to make the changes he proposed. During this process, Dale received information from the Building Department during a previous routine inspection, that the actual number of residential apartments in his building is 4 and not 2. The Commission discussed Mr. Beaudoin’s request and were in agreement that he should be allowed to move forward with his
plans if he so chooses contingent upon him obtaining a plumbing permit for the work required. Craig informed the Commission that if Mr. Beaudoin proceeds with the separation, the Water Department would have to repair the curb stop for Act# 1364 to make it functional. The Commission also instructed Craig or Dale to inform the owner effective July 1st the billing classification for Act# 0288 would be updated to Sewer MU-6 (Subway, Business and 4 apartments) vs. MU-4.
Hospital Road Pump Station Rehab Project~ parts and equipment submittals are being received and legal documents are being finalized. Unfortunately, the USDA “process” has delayed the project start; the USDA application was submitted prior to Christmas but the USDA contract was not signed until April and the prime bidding time was missed. Craig estimates the project to commence mid-September/October, weather factors may come into play with the colder season.
Bethany Road Well Cleaning/Rehabilitation ~ The new well pump and refurbished motor were installed; bacteria samples were collected and tested clean. This location is back in operation and running well.
Water Infrastructure Planning & Technical Assistant Grant ~ MassDEP awarded Monson a $25,000 Grant to fund planning and technical assistance in developing a water system asset management plan for Monson to assist in identifying areas of the water distribution system in need of rehabilitation, repair or replacement and prioritize improvements. The Asset Management Plan will satisfy a deficiency identified by MassDEP in our 2014 Sanitary Survey.
Stafford Road Waterline Replacement ~ the project is complete, service to 43 Stafford Road has been removed from the water line feeding 41 Stafford Road and now #43 has their own dedicated service off of the new 2” line, (drilled across Rt32), 58 Stafford Road is also connected to the new 2” line and the work area has been graded & seeded.
Department Activity
Hospital Road Pump Station ~ the wet wells have been cleaned with the usual mess that task involves. However, this time the check valve for Pump #2 completely failed. We removed the check valve top cover to inspect and discovered the check disc had broken away from the pivot arm. R.H. White was contacted and they came out and replaced the valve for us; the bill is expected to be $2,400.
FINCOM Transfers ~ Craig attended the FINCOM meeting to request a Transfer of $20,000 from Sewer Enterprise Reserve Fund for the purpose of covering expenses sustained for pump station maintenance due to equipment failures (Cummins Diesel Technician/ 2 incidences, pump start relay and VFD repair, muffin monster motor and check valve replacement), and for a $20,000 Transfer from Water Enterprise Reserve Fund to cover expenses sustained for pump station maintenance and Stafford Road waterline replacement (materials, police, hired equipment, patching and equipment use), equipment failures (Bunyan Pump #2 motor replacement, VFD repair at Bunyan Well #1, PLC Programming/CL2 Pacing, Bethany Road Well pump and parts).
Generator Service / Kinsley / Load Bank ~ load bank testing that was supposed to have been included in the yearly maintenance visit has not yet happened due to a scheduling issue on Kinsley’s part.
Reading Meters ~ Ryan and Matt are having a tough time locating some of the meter touchpads. Understandable on their first time through; it is difficult unless you know where the water service comes in.
Plastic Tubing Coils – All plastic tubing that was previously stored at the shop has been inventoried and relocated to Hillside for storage to free up shop space.
Physical/Vaccine ~ Matts Employment Physical was cleared, both Matt and Ryan received the first of the Hepatitis A vaccine.
Training ~ Craig asked the Commission if they would be willing to approve an additional training class for Matt and Ryan. The class, Technical Training & Drinking Water Operator Exam Preparation, Grade D1, would cost $495 each and give them both additional classroom time before the mandatory class this fall. The Fall class, Concepts and Practices of Drinking Water Distribution (D2) is required by MassDEP before operators can sit to take the D2 test and costs $657 each. It will be held in Middleborough MA September 22 – December 1, 2015 Tuesdays, 1:00 – 4:35 p.m. Craig wasn’t sure if the Commission would want to spend the extra money for the D1 class. The Commission agreed it is beneficial and worth the money to have them both attend the additional training.
Sewer Jetter Sale ~ the 1982 Jetter sold for $1,500 off the Gov Deals web site with the assistance of Town Administrator Evan Brassard.
Veterans Field ~ Town Planner Dan Laroach has begun preliminary discussion/planning for the Veteran’s Field fountain, spray park and irrigation system. The Commission is hoping that other towns with existing spray parks are being consulted to determine what has worked for them so we don’t run into unforeseen problems.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 3:30p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Marshall to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph C. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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