Commissioners Present: Paul C. DeMaio Chairman, Marshall L. Harris Vice Chairman
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: minutes are not available
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
Hospital Road Pump Station Rehab Project~ the first Pre-construction meeting took place August 10, 2015, and will be held the last Wednesday of every month moving forward. The Flygt Pumps are on order; it will take longer for the motor control center as it is still going through the submittal process. Craig, Barbato and T&H met after the meeting in an open dialog regarding start time issues and about bypass pumping during colder weather and possible increased cost associated with that. The plan is to use variable speed pumps to maintain levels in the manhole outside the building, water backing up into connections, submersible pumps handling debris, sampling, flow metering and operations are concerns Craig has. Paul signed an amendment to the Engineering agreement to include additional
services to be performed by the Engineer and modifications of payment to the engineer.
Resurfacing & Related Work on Route 32 ~ Palmer Paving will be micro milling and resurfacing a section of Route 32 in the Towns of Monson and Palmer, Chestnut to the Rt 32 overpass and Fenton Rd. to Fays Bridge, work also includes adjusting and/or rebuilding drainage structures, new highway guardrail, asphalt berm, resetting granite curbing, sidewalk and other incidental items. Work on some items may start now; paving will take place in the spring. Craig wants to address an issue at 96 Palmer Road (former Polymer Corp building) where an additional six inch valve needs to be installed in the street to allow the building to be isolated without disrupting the 12 inch and 6 inch interconnection already in place.
Water Infrastructure Planning & Technical Assistant Grant ~ Karen from Tata & Howard (T&H) has begun work on our water system asset management plan which the grant is funding. However, the GIS info from Tighe & Bond will be crucial to expediting the work on the plan. Craig recently completed all 16 GIS Check Plots and sent them back to Tighe & Bond for incorporation into the map. Craig also sent them the updated valve card maps which are referenced on the check plots. Once the GIS Water Map is finalized Craig will forward that to Karen from T&H and the heavy work will begin. GIS will make the marking of water and sewer services much more simple and efficient; in the future a rugged tablet will be required. Craig and Tom already have the Sewer record
plans and water valve cards on their phones which allow data access while out in the field.
Water Debt Service Fee ~ there have been many visits and calls regarding the fee appearing on bills for the first time. Dale has provided exceptional customer service providing information regarding its purpose to equally share the cost of System Improvements and the process of establishing the fee. Most ratepayers agree with the concept; however, there are also the exceptions. We included an explanation of the new fee with the bill we sent out in April but in hindsight, Craig believes he should have included the same sheet in the latest bill as well.
Brew Pub @ Plaza ~ Craig attended a Planning Board Public Hearing regarding a petition to establish a brew pub/restaurant in the IGA Plaza between Rite Aid and Village Pizza. Prior to the meeting Craig spoke with Ken Lord at the Palmer Waste Water Treatment Plant who did not foresee any issues however, the applicant (Jeffrey Walsh) was advised he will be required to fill out pretreatment application with Palmer.
23 Munn Road (Act# 1164) Judy Van De Geer Petition ~ the owner had petitioned for a Special Permit for a Common Access driveway to her property Acct. 1164 Parcel Identifier 137-022. The applicant proposes to construct a driveway to serve the existing house and an additional residential home (a barn with a family home over the barn). The plans prepared by Donald Frydryk included additional information pertaining to a sewer extension, Craig was present and stated what is shown on the plans for the sewer connection is conceptual, the applicant must come to the Commission with a proposal and engineering specifications that would then be peer reviewed by our consultant at the applicants cost. The Planning Board approved the Common Access driveway.
18 Wales Road (Act# 0466) ~ Dave Mill approached Craig with a request to connect his structure located at 24 Wales Road to the public sewer by easement through the private property of 18 Wales Road. The existing connection for 24 Wales Road (Acct. 0182) which he owns is too high and would not physically work without a pump. Craig checked in with the Building Department regarding the properties and it looks like there are some complications with what Mr. Mill wants to do. Craig emailed Mr. Mill that he should get everything squared away with the Building Department and obtain a plumbing permit before he presents his request to the Commission.
Department Activity
Leak Detection ~ Tom is working on leak detection but to this point has not found anything substantial. Pumping is much higher than normal so we will have to continue looking. Craig informed the Commission about a new leak detection system that uses wireless sensors that are placed on street valves overnight. The sensors listen, record and store the information and then download to a controller driving by. This early warning system speeds up and simplifies the process of leak location and reduces the inherent high labor costs of the process. The system is expensive but it may be something to consider in the future.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has not been set at this time.
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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Marshall L. Harris, Vice Chairman
cc: Selectmen
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