WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 1
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
Members present: Joseph Carino, Chairman, Tim Moriarty, Robert Dickinson,
Michael Gauthier
Members absent: Richard Aries, Carol Fletterick, Ed Havens, Jr.
Staff present: Fred Shaw, Superintendent of Pollution Control
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Carino called the meeting to order at 7:35.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
January 6, 2004
Chairman Carino stated the sentence on Page 2, under 11 Mountain View Road which reads “Town staff has requested 2 clean-outs be installed at the bends in the pipe”, should read “Town staff has requested 2 clean-outs be installed in the pipe where there is a change in direction.”
Motion to approve the minutes of January 6, 2004, as amended
Motion was made by Mr. Gauthier
Seconded by Mr. Dickinson
The motion carried unanimously
January 13, 2004
Motion to approve the minutes of January 13, 2004, as presented
Motion was made by Mr. Moriarty
Seconded by Mr. Gauthier
The motion carried with Mr. Dickinson abstaining due to the fact he was not present for the meeting.
Chairman Carino announced that Michael Gauthier has been appointed a full voting member of the Authority.
NEW BUSINESS
Berry Patch II, Buckland Rd./Oakland Rd. – Approval to Connect
Karen Isherwood from Design Professionals, Inc. was present representing Metro Realty Group, LTD. The developer is requesting approval to connect to the Town’s sewerage system for Phase II of a senior apartment complex entitled “Berry Patch II” located on Buckland Road.
Phase 1 of this project entitled “Berry Patch I” was previously approved by the Authority. This approval was for 102 units; this phase is currently under construction.
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 2
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
NEW BUSINESS, Continued
Berry Patch II – Approval to Connect
The Berry Patch II phase is a separate parcel consisting of 19.4 acres, consisting of 2 sites connected by a narrow strip of land. Site 1 has 3 buildings with a total of 54 units and will be located on the former Katten property. Site 2 will consist of 2 buildings with a total of 40 units. The sewer connection at site 1 will achieve gravity flow by using an existing easement that was put in place to allow the Katten property to connect to the sewer line that was installed at the thime the Village at Buckland Court Retirement Center was constructed. The present 6” lateral will be replaced by an 8” line a new manhole will be installed. There will also be 7 additional manholes installed on the additional line that runs approximately 1,000 feet. The line has a minimum of ½%
slope and meets all the technical specifications set forth by the Town Engineering Department. This sewer line runs from the Village at Buckland Court and extends to the main sewer line in Buckland Road.
Site 2 will be connected by an extension of the sanitary main previously approved by the Authority for the Phase 1 of the project. There will be 3 additional sanitary manholes installed, with a slope greater than 2% and with laterals extending to each of the 2 building located on the Calvary Church site.
Mr. Shaw asked what the need was for an easement on the Katten property. Ms. Isherwood stated the easement was granted to “now/or formerly Katten”. A short discussion followed regarding the easement. The current property owner is Metro Realty. Mr. Shaw asked who would be responsible for maintenance beyond the point of connection downstream. Ms. Isherwood stated the Village at Buckland Court would have the responsibility of maintaining the line at that point. At this point there was a discussion regarding a conservation easement in favor of the Town. This property is to be maintained by Metro Realty.
Motion was made to approve the connection of senior apartment housing to the Town’s sewerage system by Metro Realty, Farmington, Connecticut to be located off Buckland Road, as more specifically shown on Drawing No. 1823, Sheet 4A, plans entitled “Berry Patch II – Topographic Plan”, Job No. 1823, dated 11-04-03, with revisions dated 12-04-03 and 12-12-03, and Sheet 4B, entitled “Berry Patch II – Topographic Plan”, dated 11-04-03, with revisions dated 12-04-03, 12-11-03 and 12-12-03 and subject to the final technical approval of the Town of South Windsor Engineering Department.
Motion was made by Mr. Dickinson
Seconded by Mr. Moriarty
The motion carried unanimously
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 3
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
NEW BUSINESS, Continued
W.P.C.A. & Pollution Control Budgets FY 2004/2005 – Review & Approval
Mr. Shaw presented the W.P.C.A. and Pollution Control Budgets to the Authority. A copy of both budgets was mailed to the members along with the agenda. The budgets have not been reviewed by the Town Manager; both are presently in “Draft” form (See Exhibit A and Exhibit B).
Last year all departments were asked to look at the current budget and keep a record of any unforeseen expenses that were encountered throughout the year. Pollution Control incurred $49,555 in additional expenditures since the beginning of this Fiscal Year on July 1, 2003. Mr. Shaw went on to explain a number of these unforeseen expenses. Due to the age of the treatment plant and the equipment it was necessary to repair and replace a number of items one of which was the need to replace worn propellers. In the case of the microprocessors if a problem occurs it is necessary to replace the entire circuit board. Last summer a part of the main drive for the pumps had to be replaced at a cost of $6,150. There have been a number of other unanticipated expenses, one in particular is the
increase in the charges from CL & P, in this fiscal year there will be an increase in utilities of over $22,000. This is not the full amount of the 19% increase that CL & P is proposing. Additional money in the amount of $3,600 was needed for the main sludge pumps. There were a number of other items that needed to be repaired or replaced that also are included in the unanticipated expenses.
The Facility Plan which was submitted to the state over a year ago contains a number of recommendations concerning the upgrade of the plant. This Plan is still in the process of being reviewed by the DEP. The approval of the DEP is needed before the Town can proceed to the next step, which is beginning the design phase for the improvements. It will be necessary to seek additional funds for maintenance while waiting for the DEP approval.
There is a Capital Reserve Fund in the budget; this fund is used to cover unanticipated expenses. Last year was the first time this fund was used to cover these expenses.
The Water Pollution Control Authority Budget was reviewed and Mr. Shaw felt the $700 proposed would be more than adequate for the next Fiscal Year. Most of the money in this budget is used for advertising purposes, with the balance used to purchase supplies such as tapes for recording the meetings.
Mr. Shaw reviewed the changes made to the Pollution Control budget. These items are shown in Exhibit B on page 4. A brief description of each follows:
Account Explanation of Changes Budget Amount
All 100 accounts – there is an increase
in manpower, salaries and benefits; 1 $128,259.00
new employee is included in this figure.
Increase in chemical usage; additional
safety equipment 3,116.00
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 4
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
NEW BUSINESS, Continued
Account Explanation of Changes Budget Amount
Increase in uniform quantity;
replacement clothing 1,100.00
Increase in replacement parts for
equipment maintenance 7,502.00
Increase in cost & quantity of
Nitrogen credits; maintenance system;
GIS; UV Indenture Service; also includes
professional services; treatment plant was not
designed to remove nitrogen – credits must
be purchased until such time as the plant is
upgraded to deal with them; there is also
interest in upgrading the GIS system 19,440.00
330 Increase in cell phone service 490.00
Increase in utility costs – this is the full
19% CL & P has imposed, it is a rate
increase only not an increase in usage
42,900.00
371 Increase in maintenance contracts 1,036.00
Additional service calls, increase in
equipment calibrations and electrical
contractors 1,850.00
374 Increase in costs of memberships 272.00
375 Additional training requirements 2,000.00
Increase in quantity of sludge for
disposal; addition of liquid sludge 22,686.00
disposal
Increase for Capital Outlay workstations,
test equipment, replacement of lab refrigerator,
incubator, SCADA equipment 29,800.00
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 5
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
NEW BUSINESS, Continued
This budget represents a significant increase of approximately 14 – 15%. Chairman Carino stated he is satisfied with the explanations of the increases, and feels the increase is a satisfactory request.
Mr. Moriarty asked if it was prudent to hire an additional employee at this time. Mr. Shaw explained the need for the new employee is to allow the treatment plant to maintain a satisfactory schedule for the cleaning of the sewer lines. It has become necessary to reassign the staff to other duties and therefore the maintenance of cleaning the lines has not taken a high priority. In the past year there have been at least four blockages. These blockages have resulted in a number of claims for damages to residents homes. If we ignore the regular line maintenance it will create a problem for residents and also Town staff. The state and federal governments will also be requiring regular line maintenance within the next few years.
Chairman Carino stated he would like the Authority to authorize the proposed budget with a 1% variance that would require no additional approval from the WPCA.
Motion to approve the FY 2004/2005 Pollution Control budget, with a variance of +/- 1% not requiring additional WPCA approval.
Motion was made by Mr. Dickinson
Seconded by Mr. Gauthier
The motion carried unanimously
DEP GENERAL PERMIT – DISCHARGE OF VEHICLE MAINTENANCE WASTEWATER – 90 BROOKFIELD ST. – APPROVAL
Mr. Shaw brought to the Authority’s attention a violation regarding Environmental Services, Inc. located at 90 Brookfield Street. The company has had problems regarding the illegal discharge to the sewer system of volatile organic carbons (VOC’s). This was confirmed by testing and sampling the discharge. There have been meetings with representatives of Environmental Services, the Town and the State DEP in order to resolve this problem. One of the resolutions was to require the company to eliminate an outside truck wash station. The company will also be required to obtain another permit from the DEP. The first permit sent to the DEP was for vehicle maintenance operations. The maintenance operations are tied into the grease interceptor. The second permit required is a
special permit the WPCA must sign off on. Mr. Shaw agrees the special permit is a necessity but should not be approved until several conditions are met. The first would allow the Town of randomly test the discharge from the property. In order to do this a sensor would be installed in a manhole to continuously test the discharge. The company would be required to install the manhole, and to pay for the sensor and system. This unit would be a locked-down sealed manhole cover accessible only by Town personnel.
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 6
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
NEW BUSINESS, Continued
Motion to approve the connection at 90 Brookfield Street subject to Environmental Services obtaining the DEP vehicle maintenance permit and installing a system for the continuous monitoring of discharge from the property by Town staff. The company will reimburse the Town for expenses incurred in the installation and maintenance of this system. A locked-down sealed manhole cover will also be required.
Motion was made by Mr. Carino
Seconded by Mr. Dickinson
The motion carried unanimously
COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS
Mr. Shaw reviewed several ongoing projects with the Authority, they are as follows:
Pleasant Valley Pump Station – the original low bidder for this projected has
defaulted on the bid bond. A new contract has been signed with Kovacs Company.
Approximately 75% of the design of the submersible pump station improvements has been completed. This should be finished by the end of the month. The Town is still waiting for DEP approval in order to obtain loans for payment of the upgrades at all pump stations. The State DEP has to review the agreements and give approval for the design plans, as of this time approval has not been granted. It was hoped the design would be completed by early March and this would enable the project to go out for bid in April. Approval must be obtained from the DEP before this project can go out to bid.
The Avery Heights Water Co. – Last October the information requested by the water company was sent to the president. The Town has heard nothing from the them at this point in time therefore the Town Attorney is researching the matter to find out where it stands. This matter involves the issue of sharing a generator, and an easement on the property. The Town required an easement for improvements that were done on the property and the Water Company requested some help in tying into the generator. The Town Attorney has been working with a land appraiser to determine the value of the property; this is necessary for the easement.
Chairman Carino reminded the members to come prepared next month to discuss the Rules and Regulations of the W.P.C.A., Section 2. There will be discussions in March and April, with changes summed up and prepared for May. This item will then be taken to the Public Hearing in June.
Chairman Carino received a call regarding the property at 497 Buckland Road. This property was previously approved for connection, but the approval has been held up. Mr. Shaw explained the calculations determined by the were incorrect and there was concern about the slopes of the pipes. The engineer stated the slopes were adequate and at the time the Town agreed. The calculations were reviewed again and at that time
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
MINUTES PAGE 7
SPECIAL MEETING MADDEN ROOM FEBRUARY 9, 2004
COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS,
it appeared they were borderline. The engineer was asked to run the evaluations and forward them to the Town. Once this was completed the Town reviewed the calculations again and is satisfied with the slope.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Items not on the agenda) – None
BILLS, CHANGE ORDERS, DISBURSEMENTS – None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None
Chairman Carino asked to have the review of the Rules & Regulations and the Pleasant Valley Pump Station listed under Unfinished Business on the agenda for March.
MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS PENDING CLAIMS – None
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn was made at 9:25 by Mr. Gauthier
Seconded by Mr. Dickinson
The motion carried unanimously
Respectfully submitted
___________________________
Deborah Dumas
Recording Secretary
Date Approved: ___________________________
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