Commissioners Present: Paul C. DeMaio Chairman, Marshall L. Harris Vice Chairman, Joseph M. 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: Marty made a motion to accept the December 3, 2015 meeting minutes. Joe seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
Hospital Road Pump Rehab Project ~ review of the electrical submittal is closer to completion. After reviewing the bypass pumping plan, Craig forwarded comments to Tata & Howard (T&H) concerning the potential impact the plan may have on the sewer system, including how the flooded sewer manholes will impact the connections and piping for 18 Hospital Road which services two separate dwellings. Craig wanted clarification on who has responsibility for any backups should they occur, property liability, and clean up including jetting of lines and washing down the manholes once operations are restored.
FY2017 Budget ~ Craig has requested a deadline extension to allow for a more accurate submittal, it has been past practice to submit the budget after billing of the 3rd Quarter. Dale and Craig will continue to work on the budgets and do not foresee major changes. The current Water and Sewer budgets are fundamentally bare bones; line items should stay close to where they are with the exception of indirect costs, potential contractual obligations, and an increase in the Palmer Capital Maintenance of the Joint Treatment Plant line item.
Potential FY2017 Article Requests ~ Inspections of water pipe crossings on bridges throughout town revealed broken or rusted hangers and missing or deteriorated insulation. Broken hangers and missing insulation were found on the bridge near MDC which is now closed. Repairs were to be done as part of the bridge reconstruction project; however bridge repairs are no longer a priority for the State now that the facility is closed. Craig has T&H looking into costs involved for addressing all the deficiencies found. Additional projects could include easement clearing on Homer Drive and paving the apron at Bunyan Road.
Common Water & Sewer Connection ~ Dan Laroche, Town Planner, is researching the concept to see if other departments have similar language regarding shared connections.
Change in Rules and Regulation ~ Craig would like to further define the customer’s responsibility with regards to laying and maintaining all pipe and fixtures from “premises to the property line” to “from the customer’s place of use up to the curb stop”. The reason being, maintenance to the curb stop is usually, but not exclusively, to the property line. Marty made a motion to amend the Monson Water & Sewer Department Rules & Regulations (Water) as follows:
VI Use of The Public Water System
- The Owner or Water Customer must bear the expense of laying and maintaining all pipe and fixtures on their premises to the property line, and must keep same well protected from freezing and prevent waste of water. They will be held liable for all damage from their failure to do so.
to
- The Owner or Water Customer must bear the expense of laying and maintaining all pipe and fixtures on their premises from the Customer’s place of use up to the curb stop, and must keep same well protected from freezing and prevent waste of water. They will be held liable for all damage from their failure to do so.
Joe seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
Department Activity
Valve Replacements ~ 27 Harrison Ave
Curb Stop Replacements ~ 11 Silva Street
2015 Sewer Pickup Truck ~ the radio and plow controls have been installed and lights will be complete Thursday.
Jetted Upper Palmer Road ~ while installing the new sewer services for 15 & 17 Upper Palmer Road we noticed standing water in the sewer line, further exploration found the cause to be cement debris that was dropped into manholes during the last repaving job. Tom chipped debris out; lines were jetted from Macomber to the old dump and are flowing well. The new jetter is working great. From now on when a paving job takes place, the department will have a representative on site to inspect the workmanship and minimize probable effects to the sewer system.
Bunyan Power Panel Pump #1 ~ Amp Electrical, Inc. was called out to troubleshoot well #1 VFD and burning smell. A loose wire connection was found on the output filter. Connections were retightened and the filter is operating normally but the burning smell still exists, Craig is getting price to replace.
Meter Reading ~ on-going, nearing completion.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday January 20, 2016, at 3:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Paul to adjourn at 4:10 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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