Commissioners Present: Paul C. DeMaio Chairman, Joseph C. Prior 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 July 2, 2015 meeting minutes. Paul seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
Hospital Road Pump Station Rehab Project~ at the September 30, 2015 monthly project meeting it was decided that construction will not begin until spring; start date TBD depending on weather. USDA is okay with the construction being delayed; all that is needed is a change order with new dates (Frank Petrulli from USDA Rural Development was in attendance). Payments will still be made to Tata & Howard (T&H) and Barbato Construction as they will be getting shipments for materials. Shop drawings regarding instrumentation and Controls are currently in review by T&H, the engineer is waiting for by-pass pumping plan.
Special Town Meeting ~ the department has three article requests for the Special Town Meeting to be held November 2, 2015 as follows:
- $10,800 transfer from Water Enterprise Free Cash for the interior/exterior inspections of the Ely Road Water Tanks (last inspected in 2011). Videotaping of the interior of the tank is done robotically to verify structural integrity, condition of mixing system and any sediment is vacuumed. DEP requires this to be done every five years.
- $38,000 transfer from the Sewer Enterprise Free Cash to purchase a new pickup truck to replace the existing 2005 pickup truck for the Sewer Department. The 11 year old vehicle is used for out of town purposes, transportation to trainings, and parts pick up. It has over 100,000 miles and multiple major issues including a cracked exhaust manifold, transmission issues and rust (rotting doors). The Sewer Budget does not have the capacity to absorb the magnitude of vehicle maintenance expenses this truck has experienced the past five years. The Town is a member of the Plymouth County Cooperative Procurement Program for the year and Liberty Chevrolet in Wakefield is the named supplier. Craig will see if Liberty Chevrolet will give us a trade in allowance for the 2005 Ford.
- $2,910.76 transfer from Sewer Enterprise Free Cash to the Sewer Department Maintenance of Joint Treatment account to pay the balance due for the FY2015 4th Quarter Bill.
Water Infrastructure Planning & Technical Assistant Grant ~ Patrick Rogers from Mass DEP contacted the office September 17th to advise us the State has not yet approved the money for the grant. Tata & Howard (T&H) has been contracted to complete an asset management plan as part of the grant. T&H, who has begun work, has been notified. The State Government has not signed the contract yet, therefore they can’t reimburse for services that took place before the signing of the contract. Dale and Craig will follow up.
Department Activity
Leak Detection ~ Tom has found a couple of leaks however he is still searching.
Water/Sewer Repairs
- 11 Cushman Street replaced service
- 16 Old Wales Road replaced original IP service line from main to curb
- 3 Bridge Street addressed leak on customer’s side
- Bliss and Main intersection valve was repacked
Meter Reading ~ completed for July-September usage
Training ~ Ryan and Matt completed Technical Training & Drinking Water operator exam prep, Grade D1 and will be scheduling exam. Ryan and Matt will be attending Concepts and Practices of Drinking Water Distribution D2 classes at Massasoit Community College Tuesdays 9/22 to 12/01.
Closing Inspection ~ a downspout violation was discovered, an elaborate set up including an exterior drainage basin was plumbed into the town sewer. Prior to the sale the realtor took responsibility to have it dug by hand and capped on both sides.
Hydrant Painting ~ hydrants have been power washed in preparation for painting. The boy scouts have volunteered to paint the hydrants as part of an Eagle Scout project. Cameron Dill, the Eagle Scout hopeful, approached Craig regarding the project months ago. The department is providing paint and supplies.
Palmer Annual Meeting ~ meeting has been scheduled the morning of October 19th.
Vadar Utility Dual Purpose Billing ~ changes occurred in the Utility application used for billing Water and Sewer when Vadar attempted to include a Trash billing option for the Town Collector as part of the Water and Sewer Utility billing software. As this functionally was integrated problems began to grow and multiply. A meeting was commenced with Deb Maher Finance Director, Evan Brassard Town Administrator, Dot Jenkins Town Collector, Craig and Dale to discuss the implications that have resulted, emphasizing the fact that the duel use billing cannot continue. Evan requested Craig and Dale send a letter to Vadar summarizing the issues with the current dual purpose setup of the Water & Sewer and Trash Utility billing software and what we want to see happen moving forward to solve the problems. Vadar responded to Craig immediately, a conference call was set up to take place the following day between Vadar, Craig, Dale, Debi and Dot to discuss options for moving forward. Vadar
submitted a proposal to remove the Trash accts from Utility, set up and configure new UTL, POS and CRT applications for Trash, and migration of Trash data to the new application. Debi authorized the Software Proposal to migrate Trash Billing to a separate application suite for a one-time charge of $2,000. It only took two days to implement the change.
Salary and Classification Study ~ the BOS voted to accept the Compensation and Classification Study as presented by Human Resources Service, Inc., the timeframe for implementation for non-union employees is January 1, 2016. Implementation for union employees is contingent upon the collective bargaining process. Concerns about the grade placement and market analysis information for our Department have been brought to the Town Administrators attention. Dale informed the Commission she disagrees with the assessment of the Administrative Assistant position and will be seeking reclassification and would appreciate their support.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday October 28th, at 3:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Paul to adjourn at 4:40 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
___________________________________
Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
| 
