Members Present: Richard Aries, Joseph Carino, Robert Dickinson, Frank Ferrero, Carol Fletterick, Edward Havens, Jr., William Vees
Alternates Absent: Nancy Mulroy and Richard Siedman
Staff Present: C. Fred Shaw, Superintendent of Pollution Control
Ether A. Diaz, Recording Secretary
Chairman Richard Aries called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following actions were taken during the September 6, 2011 Regular Meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA).
B. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
1. July 12, 2011 - Public Hearing
Motion was made to accept the minutes of the July 12, 2011 Public Hearing as presented.
The motion was made by Mr. Ed Havens, Jr.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Frank Ferrero
The motion carried unanimously
C. NEW BUSINESS
1. 494 Abbe Road, South Windsor – Residential connection to sewer (Approval)
Mr. Fred Shaw explained that the sewer system has failed at the property located at 494 Abbe Road, South Windsor, CT. The applicant/property owner has requested connection to the Town’s sewerage system. The members of the Authority were contacted by telephone and were polled for approval of the proposed connection to the Town’s sewerage system for 494 Abbe Road, prior to this meeting. The connection was approved unanimously. The plan was reviewed by Mr. Fred Shaw and the Town Engineer; the plan was also approved by the Town Engineer. The sewer was designed with appropriate cleanouts and made connection to the existing manhole on Abbe Road.
Mr. Shaw also explained that this property would not have been previously assessed because the sewer wasn’t right in front of their house. However, the Town sought a legal opinion sometime ago regarding sewer assessments in the Town, and is still waiting for a legal opinion to be issued. The Town has assessed people in the past that eventually connects to the sewer. In this particular case, the applicant was provided with an idea of what the assessment could be.
As part of this connection, the applicant at the Town Engineer’s recommendation installed a Tee for future connection. Therefore, Mr. Fred Shaw asked the Authority to consider as part of this approval some type of opportunity for the applicant to recover some of their cost in the future should the other person make connection to the sewer. Mr. Fred Shaw explained that the applicant owns the pipe where the Tee is because it was put on his lateral.
Chairman Aries recommended informing the applicant in the approval letter that he may have rights to offset his cost from any property owner who wish to tie in to the Tee that he has installed. Instead, Mr. Joseph Carino recommended the Town obtaining ownership of the section of the lateral from the Tee to the manhole as shown on the plan. He explained that this will allow for the Town to assume the liability for maintaining that section as a public sewer. Otherwise, there is an opportunity for someone to connect into the sewer and then the Town would be unclear who is responsible for maintaining the section of the lateral from the Tee to the manhole.
Motion was made for final approval of the proposed connection to the Town’s sewerage system for the residential property located at 494 Abbe Road, South Windsor; as more specifically shown on plans entitled: “Single Family Residence, 494 Abbe Road, South Windsor, Connecticut”, Prepared for Robert & Betty Warren, Designed by Design Professionals, South Windsor, CT., Project No.: 3106, Dated 8/3/2011. This approval was with a recommendation to the applicant/property owner to transfer ownership to the Town of that section of the lateral from the Tee to the manhole as shown on the plan and for the Town to assume the liability for maintaining that section as a public sewer.
Motion was made by Mr. Robert Dickinson
The motion was seconded by Mr. William Vees
The motion carried unanimously
2. Residential Sewer User Charge Billing (Approval to bill)
Mr. Fred Shaw explained that there have been 33 new residential sewer connections during the past year. The proposed residential sewer billing list includes 8,126 units totaling $2,762,840 in revenue, which is $431,896 more than last year revenue.
Motion was made to approve the Residential Sewer User Charge billing list for FY2011/2012 as presented in the Memorandum from Mr. Shaw dated September 1, 2011 attached hereto as Exhibit A.
The motion was made by Mr. Ed Havens, Jr.
The motion was seconded by Ms. Carol Fletterick
The motion carried unanimously
D. COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS
1. Status Report from the Engineer on the Sewer Evaluation Study
Included with the Agenda, there was a copy of the progress report for the sanitary sewer system evaluation submitted by Wright-Pierce (see Exhibit B.)
Mr. Fred Shaw explained that the Town received notification of grant eligibility from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for the engineering scope of services. The study phase is eligible for a 55% grant. The application for the Clean Water Fund study grant will soon be submitted to DEEP.
Mr. Fred Shaw also explained that sewer manholes were inspected along Chapel Road and other concrete pipes in Town; much of the Chapel Road sewer pipe will need to be rehabilitated. Wright-Pierce is in the process of preparing specifications to hire a contractor to do TV inspections of the lines. They are also making arrangements to evaluate the force main of Clark Street to determine its conditions and make representations concerning its useful life expectancy. Wright-Pierce will provide a more formal report to the Authority in the near future.
Mr. Joseph Carino expressed that in reading the above mentioned progress report, this project started because of the collapse of the Chapel Road sewer pipe. He explained that evaluations to the force main of Clark Street are to be done. He asked how the evaluations to the force main on Clark Street relate to the failure of the sewer line on Chapel Road. Mr. Fred Shaw responded that both of the pipes are made of the same concrete and both were built at the same time. The evaluation to the force main of Clark Street will provide a better idea of what caused the collapsed pipe on Chapel Road.
E. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Items not on the agenda)
None
F. BILLS, CHANGE ORDERS, DISBURSEMENTS
None
G. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Reserve Fund Policy (Review and Approval)
Chairman Aries distributed a revised draft copy of the Reserve Fund Policy (see Exhibit C). As previously discussed at the last WPCA regular meeting the “Reserved Funds” was going to change to “Restricted Funds” The preceding changes will be incorporated in the Draft policy for final approval of the Reserve Fund Policy.
Mr. Joseph Carino asked to raise a concern. Chairman Aries asked for his concern to be raised under Item E – Public Participation (Items not on the agenda); therefore, he ruled to move to Item E.
E. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Items not on the agenda)
Mr. Joseph Carino asked Mr. Fred Shaw what’s the status on the repayment for the substations and the first payment due in 2013 for the Treatment Plant Upgrade debt service. Mr. Fred Shaw responded that it was his understanding from discussions that he has heard between the Town Council and the WPCA that the upgrade to the last three pump stations will be paid through sewer revenue along with the first payment of $1.7 million due in September 2013 for the Treatment Plant Upgrade debt service. However, the Town Council is going to pay for the cost of the bonding for the sewer treatment plant debt service through property taxes.
On another subject, Chairman Aries explained that Mr. Robert Dickinson has sent an email to members of the WPCA regarding the Town of Vernon sewer fees. The message was forwarded to Mr. Fred Shaw and he contacted the Town of Vernon to get a better understanding of what is the average for sewer user rate for Vernon resident. Mr. Shaw is still waiting for a response from the Town of Vernon.
Mr. Shaw reported that with there were no major problems with the Town of South Windsor sewer system from Hurricane Irene. There was power outage throughout the Town and it did affect the Treatment Plant. Generators were running and there was heavy flows at the treatment plant; some Town employees were called in for overtime.
H. MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS PENDING CLAIMS
None
I. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 p.m.
Motion was made by Mr. Ed Havens, Jr.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Robert Dickinson
The motion carried unanimously
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________
Ether A. Diaz
Recording Secretary
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