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 meeting minutes of March 23, 2016. Joe seconded and it was unanimously voted. Marty made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of April 20, 2015. Paul seconded and it was unanimously voted.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS:
Hospital Road Pump Rehab Project ~ Bypass pump system is in place, temporary service is installed and ready to go once National Grid activates it, the Thompson Pump representative (supplier of pump system) will be out for the start up. The bypass system operation is the responsibility of the contractor and they will be called by the systems alarm panel if there is a problem. One of the bypass pumps operates on diesel so if power is lost the diesel pump will start. Total project time is estimated to be 13 weeks. Last week Tom and Matt washed down the wet wells and cleared the building of miscellaneous pieces and removed all the cut wood from the easement they cleared there.
FY2017 Budget/Article Requests ~ all article requests for the department passed at Town meeting. Craig is moving forward with the control valve modifications (parts ordered), timing of paving repairs at Bunyan Road is May-June, and work will begin on MassDOT bridge pipe crossing permitting process.
DEP Wastewater Regulations ~ MassDEP now requires all wastewater collection systems to have an approved Inflow & Infiltration (I&I) plan in place. However, a plan that meets DEP criteria requires an I&I study which T&H has quoted us a cost of $103,000 to complete. A large amount of money to tell us what we basically already know. Back in 2006-2007 Tata & Howard (T&H) completed a preliminary I&I investigation that determined the amount of I&I we have does not justify a full study and our money was better spent on inspecting the low lying areas and addressing any deficiencies we find. Since then we have concentrated on easement clearing, camera inspections, testing and sealing of leaking joints on the concrete pipes and repairing manholes. Craig is meeting
with Mass DEP on June 2nd to discuss alternatives, hoping we can bypass the full study and continue to invest money in the actual work that makes a difference.
Customer Correspondence ~ an e-mail from a customer commending the crew for their quick response and doing a great job replacing a curbstop valve and cellar shut-off valve was received. Craig also received a Thank You from the Quarry Hill students for his recent participation in their Career Day activities.
Department Activity
Water Line Replacements ~ completed service line replacements include 1-2 & 6 King Lane, 10 & 11 Pease Avenue. 98 Main Street is scheduled for Friday.
Ely Road Tank Inspection ~cleaning and inspection of the tanks is complete, the interior floor of the tank was cleaned using a vacuum system. MassDEP requires tank inspections every 5 years.
Water Meter Representative ~ water meter replacement will need to take place within the next 10 years. Craig had a meeting with the Zenner water meter representative. They manufacture a multi jet spin turbine design meter which is reputed to be more accurate and durable then the positive displacement meters we have now. Multi jet’s are the meter of choice in 70% of the world. Craig also discussed with the Commission the cost/benefit of a potential automated meter reading (AMR) system. Whereas now we read four times a year and each reading cycle uses approximately 85 man hours. An AMR system would allow us to have the read information transmitted to our office every minute. We would know when a customer had a leak or if a meter failed or was disconnected within hours.
Craig is planning on continuing his research and perhaps changing out some of the bigger 2” meters to try out the new style of meter as they are compatible with our existing system and easily programmed.
D2 Exam ~ Matt has his D2 exam May 23rd
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting has been set for Wednesday June 15, 2016, at 3:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Joe and seconded by Marty to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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