TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION
COUNCIL CHAMBERS March 6, 2006
SOUTH WINDSOR TOWN HALL Time: 7:00 P.M.
1. Call Meeting to Order
Mayor Streeter called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Members Present: Mayor Matthew Streeter
Deputy Mayor Thomas Delnicki
Councillor Deborah Fine
Councillor Edward Havens
Councillor Tim Moriarty
Councillor John Pelkey
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Keith Yagaloff
Members Absent: Councillor Kevin McCann
Also Present: Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan
(No Town Attorney Present)
3. Public Participation –
Town Manager Galligan discussed the meeting that was held with Michele Richards and Bob Conroy of the Avery Heights Water Association. He said that the Association is going to try and make every effort to get this resolved. The Town Manager explained that the connection from Manchester comes in from a dead-end; which needs to be looked into and possibly changed to a y-connection.
Town Manager Galligan explained that the Council has very little power. He said that they are trying to work with the Health Department. The Health Department is still saying that the drinking water is fine, that it has tepidity in it and that there are no carcinogens in it. The Town’s Health Director will continue to work with the Health Department.
Deputy Mayor Delnicki informed everyone that April 4 is the date that the flushing is supposed to commence. He said that 2 to 3 weeks following the flushing there should be a follow up on the status.
Town Manager Galligan explained that the flushing may have to be done more than once because of the well system. After this first step, the next step would be to look for leaks and breaks in the pipes.
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Work Session – Town Council
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3. Public Participation – (Continued)
Ms. Tamara Moskites of 10 High View Road and Mr. Jim Mazzatto of 265 Benedict Drive came forward to speak.
Ms. Moskites explained that they had to replace their house filter after 2 weeks and 3 days; which is supposed to last 3 months. She said that the brown water is still coming through a little bit but it is not as bad since they put the filter in.
Mr. Mazzatto said that when the Health Department has tested the water, they are testing the clear water, which is coming back fine. He said that the brown water has never been tested.
Town Manager Galligan said that when water is tested, they usually do run the water for about 10 minutes before testing it. He said that he could have the Town’s Health Director see about the Health Department testing the brown water.
Mr. Mazzatto said that he didn’t know if it could be done or not, but could the Health Department take a sample from Ms. Moskites trap.
Mr. Mazzatto explained that the last meeting that they had on January 23, 2006, the Treasurer of the Association was trying to locate a listening device, to see if a secondary pipe is broken somewhere. Mr. Mazzatto said that there is a listening device in the pump house, and he volunteered to use it around the neighborhood to see if he could find anything. He has still has not been given the device.
Mr. Mazzatto and Ms. Moskites both said that they are trying to work with the Association but it seems like the Association does not want their help. Ms. Moskites explained that it was suggested that they do a survey; on their own time a group of residents did. When it came time to collecting all of the information, the president of the Association said that she would not use the information.
Town Manager Galligan discussed how when the flushing is done, the Association is to notify every resident and give a procedure on how to check the water. He also discussed how everyone has to work together to resolve this issue.
Mr. Mazzatto said that one of the things that they tried to communicate to the Board, was to let the residents know what the action plan is and to keep them informed. He explained that some people in the neighborhood created a website for the Association to put information on, and they have not used it.
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March 6, 2006
3. Public Participation – (Continued)
Town Manager Galligan asked if the notes that he was given were minutes or Ms. Moskites personal notes. She said that they were her notes. Mr. Mazzatto and Ms. Moskites said that the Bylaws say that the secretary is supposed to keep minutes, but they have not in the past, they may be now.
Ms. Vicki Flannery of 110 Pine Tree Lane said that they have had brown water for almost 2 years. She said that they have called Michele Richards numerous times and that Michelle always gets belligerent and says that there is nothing they can do. Ms. Flannery explained that at the last meeting, she brought in the water and the gentleman threw up his hands and said that there is nothing they can do. Ms. Flannery said that this is why everyone is so frustrated. She said that they should not have to be paying every three months for this water.
Ms. Claire Silverman of 142 Benedict Drive said that some of her neighbors that have brown water live in the upper part of Avery Heights closer to the pump house and a lot of them are trying to say that that is the only place that has brown water. She said that she does not have brown water, but she has a filter that should be changed every 4 to 6 months, that she has to change every month. She said that she is in a totally different area and some people in her area have it off and on and it is all over the place, not just in one area. She asked if the residents have to pay to have the yards dug up to see if there is a break in the pipes or can the Town help them. Town Manager Galligan said that the Town can not help them, but Avery Heights Water would have to hire someone to listen to the pipes.
Ms. Silverman asked what do they do if they don’t get anywhere with them. Town Manager Galligan said that if there is no solution, then it is the Department of Public Utility Control that would make a determination of whether they can continue as an independent water company. He said that the Town Council does not have the power to act on that, it is the State that has to make that determination. Town Manager Galligan explained that they are trying to be an intermediary to try and get people together to do the best for the residents because they are residents of this Town.
Mayor Streeter said that they are interceding on the residents’ behalf to move the process along. Mayor Streeter asked the Town Manager if he would be able to send letters to the State Representatives and State Senators, to let them know about the problem. Town Manager Galligan said that they can do that and he thinks that that would be a good idea.
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3. Public Participation – (Continued)
Councillor Moriarty asked what the website address is that the residents were talking about. They told him that it is averyheightswater.com. He also asked about the water test that was done by Columbia Environmental. Ms. Moskites said that they had a private water test taken of the actual brown water.
Councillor Moriarty also asked why it was going to take 4 weeks for the water company to get out there. Deputy Mayor Delnicki said that from where he works, they don’t flush the water mains when there could be ice on the streets and it could be dangerous. Deputy Mayor Delnicki said that April 4 is a realistic date to start.
Councillor Moriarty asked if it is possible if there are underground leaks by the different meters. Deputy Mayor Delnicki explained that typically underground leaks are detected by a listening device. There is a signature noise that a leak will make.
Councillor Moriarty also asked how the Avery Heights Water Association is set up. Town Manager Galligan explained that they have their own set of bylaws and are a non-profit water company that is overseen by the Department of Health.
Councillor Moriarty suggested that the bylaws be looked at to see how new members are elected. Town Manager Galligan said that it is in the bylaws.
Councillor Pelkey asked if the waterlines that serve the houses are underneath the street. Town Manager Galligan said that he was not sure, but the residents said that they are. Councillor Pelkey said that he is concerned that if there is a leak would the water company be insured if the there was a catastrophe, like the street caving in. Town Manager Galligan said that he was not sure, that he would have to find out.
Councillor Pelkey discussed his concern with the street caving in because of a weak pipe. He suggested that maybe the Town could volunteer or rent their service out to get the particular camera needed that could help check the pipes for leaks. Town Manager Galligan said that he would ask the Director of Public Works if the camera that does the sewer lines could do the water lines. Councillor Pelkey said that this needs to be taken care of quickly before something happens and becomes costly. He said that as he sees it, there are three issues; one, there is dirty water; two, it seems there are some internal issues within the Association, in as far as how they elect people; and three, there is a long term problem facing the Association, in regard to a good capital plan in place.
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3. Public Participation – (Continued)
Councillor Fine said that if something were to happen to the street, she asked who was responsible. Town Manager Galligan said that the Association would be responsible.
Councillor Fine asked the Council if there was an issue with this Association in the past. Councillor Havens said that he thought there was but he could not recall the details. Town Manager Galligan said that there was an incident with a contractor that the Town was using that broke into one of the lines. He said that it was totally different than this situation.
Deputy Mayor Delnicki said that one of the problems with having to try and TV the lines, is that typically when a camera is used in a sewer, it can not be used in clean drinking water pipes because of cross contamination. He also said that the pipes have to be large enough to get the camera through. Deputy Mayor Delnicki explained that during one of the meetings he had asked about the run time of the pumps, because that would be a good indication that there is a leak. He said that the indication that they got, was that that was not the case. He said that certainly, listening on the water mains will indicate quickly if there is any kind of a leak. He also said that if needed, he thinks he knows somebody that could probably borrow a listening device.
Deputy Mayor Delnicki said that the one critical thing to focus on is that April 4 is when the flushing is going to begin. He said that the residents should be paying attention from April 4 on, watch what happens to the condition and discoloration of the water coming out of the faucets. He said that there is a chance that flushing could remediate the problem, if it doesn’t, further interest on the Council’s part will be there.
Councillor Havens asked Deputy Mayor Delnicki when the last time was that the Association cleaned the storage tanks. Deputy Mayor Delnicki said that the last time that was done was 5 years ago, which is in the industry standards. Councillor Havens said that at one time, he was in charge of cleaning tanks and they did it almost yearly.
Deputy Mayor Delnicki said that 2 to 3 weeks after the flushing everyone should be surveyed again.
Councillor Havens said that if the water is clean coming out of the well that means that the problem is in the distribution pipes.
Councillor Fine asked if they had an attorney. At this time they do not.
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Work Session – Town Council
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March 6, 2006
3. Public Participation – (Continued)
Mr. Peter Daniolos of 60 Laurel Street spoke regarding his objection to the hiring of a non-South Windsor resident for the position of Fire Marshal. The Mayor and Town Manager explained how it was not appropriate to discuss personnel matters outside of Executive Session.
4. Executive Session –
Deputy Mayor Delnicki made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters; union negotiations; and pending litigation; the motion was duly seconded, and approved unanimously.
5. Adjournment
A Motion to Adjourn was made at approximately 7:55 p.m.; duly seconded, and approved unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Vanessa Perry
Assistant to the Clerk of the Council
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