TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
WORK SESSION MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL MONDAY, January 19, 2010
COUNCIL CHAMBERS TIME: 7:00 P.M.
1. Call Meeting to Order
Mayor Pelkey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Members Present: Mayor John Pelkey
Deputy Mayor Edward Havens
Councillor Gary Bazzano (arrived at 8:05 p.m.)
Councillor Tom Delnicki
Councillor Janice Favreau
Councillor Kathryn Hale
Councillor Kevin McCann
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Keith Yagaloff
Also Present: Matthew Galligan, Town Manager
3. Public Participation
Mr. Don Gonsalves, 40 Bayberry Trail came before the Town Council. Mr. Gonsalves stated that he hopes the numbers that have been submitted to Council for review regarding the fees that will be charged for sewer usage is correct. Mr. Gonsalves then stated that he feels the only fair way to charge for these fees is to charge each residents based on their usage.
Mr. Tom Berstene, 95 Rimfield Drive came forward and stated that the funds from the referendum that was approved by the voters of this Town to be used for the upgrade to the Water Pollution Control Plant should not be used for anything else.
4. Items for Discussion
- Operation Costs
- Fees
- Sewer Capital Projects
- Bonding
- Long Term Reserve for Placement of Underground Pipes
Mayor Pelkey thanked the WPCA members for attending the meeting tonight. Mayor Pelkey stated that this meeting will be used to try to explore ways to reduce sewer fees and to review and discuss options that may be available.
Mr. Fred Shaw, Superintendent of Pollution Control came before the Town Council. Mr. Shaw began discussions by stating that the operating costs had been presented in the budget session last spring. The budget for this fiscal year is being worked on now. The
Work Session – Town Council
January 19, 2010
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ITEM
4. Items for Discussion (Continued)
fees that have been projected need to be updated. The Town is in the process of finalizing the amount of money that will be necessary for the upgrade of the plant. When that figure is finalized, the impact to the debt service for the upgrade of the plant will be updated as well as the revenue and expenditure projection. There are two capital projects this year which are the upgrade of the Ellington Road pump station and the manhole and pipe rehabilitation. The Town Council received information regarding the current replacement values, life expectancies and current average age for items associated the 130 miles of sewer lines in the Town, eleven pump stations and the Treatment Plant. That information constitutes an important element of how the capital reserve fund is established. Also
provided to the Town Council was backup information regarding the collection system inventory, lengths of pipes, estimated current costs, backup information on the pump stations and the estimated costs or actual costs for the upgrade of the pump stations.
Answering questions from the Council, Mr. Shaw explained that although the referendum failed for the replacement of dry pit pump stations, there is enough in capital projects that the Town can upgrade pump stations one at a time for a number of years. Mr. Galligan added that the funds are appropriated at the time the budget is approved for these items.
Council members discussed at length the age of the underground pipes throughout the Town of South Windsor. Mr. Shaw explained that the oldest pipes in Town are now approximately 42 years old and that is why it is important to set aside funds in the reserve fund to be able to handle an emergency if these pipes begin to fail. Homeowners are responsible for the connection from the main line to the house. The Town spends approximately $45,000 per year on emergencies. Mr. Galligan added that the Town makes sure that there are funds available for emergencies. It is important for WPCA to have a fund balance because in this Town items need to go to referendum and if you have an emergency and the voters say no then that item is not going to get fixed and the Town of South Windsor could have larger
problems.
Council members discussed at great length different methods that could be used to charge individuals for their sewer user fees.
At 8:00 p.m. Mayor Pelkey recessed the Work Session in order to call the Regular Meeting to order. The Work Session reconvened at 8:01 p.m.
After a lengthy discussion it was decided that the Town Manager would request a legal opinion from the Town Attorney related to the powers and authority of the South Windsor Water Pollution Control Authority and the South Windsor Town Council as pertained to appropriations and the establishment of certain charges and assessments for use of the Town’s sewerage system.
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January 19, 2010
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ITEM
5. Executive Session
None
6. Adjournment
At 8:18 p.m. the Work Session adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah W. Reid
Clerk of the Council
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