Wellfleet Board of Water Commissioners
Town Hall Conference Room
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Present: Dan Wexman, Chair; Justina Carlson, William Carlson, James Hood, Lori Vanderschmidt
Also Attending: Town Administrator Paul Sieloff, from Environmental Partners Group (EPG) representative Paul Millett, WhiteWater representative Roy Maher, Water System Coordinator Michaela Miteva
Chair Dan Wexman called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Budget- FinCom Debriefing
Bill Carlson had presented the Water Enterprise Fund Budget at the joint meeting of Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen. The twenty-five per cent reduction that he had reported was well received, Dan Wexman said.
Open Cape
Open Cape had sent a form for licensing communications appurtenances on the water tower.1 Open Cape will be seeking approval of the Board of Selectmen for use of the water tower for their communications equipment. Paul Sieloff said that the lease would have to be approved at Town Meeting. Wexman proposed that the Water Commissioners send a memo to the Selectmen expressing regret that Open Cape will not be paying for use of the tower. The Water Commissioners examined a draft letter to the Selectmen2 which Wexman had prepared. The Board agreed to send the letter to the Selectmen and a copy to Finance Committee.
Base Service Fee
There was a possibility that the base service fee could have a negative impact on the marketing campaign. Justina Carlson said that the Board should get a sense of customers’ concerns through phone conversations before speculating on the impact of the fee.
Water System Usage Rate Changes
Michaela Miteva and Dan Wexman had prepared worksheets on rate changes and sent them to financial consultant Mark Abrahams.
Emergency Protocol Update – Reverse 911
Bill Carlson will be contacting the Fire Chief regarding use of Reverse 911.
Reports
Roy Maher presented his WhiteWater report of January 17, 2012. 3 He included information on the WhiteWater report from Russell Tierney on Flushing and Chlorination Standard Operation Procedures. 4 The Board and Paul Millett discussed simplifying the flushing and chlorination report for the general public. Mayer’s report also dealt with the Coles Neck Pump Station, the Boys Scout Camp gate, freezing conditions inside the storage tank, old meters, a backflow/ cross connection database, hydrants and gate maintenance. He included some photographs of the gates and pump stations. 5
Roy Maher left the meeting at 8:03 p.m.
Water System Management Contract RFP
Environmental Partners Group (EPG) is willing to create the RFP for the water system management contract. The contract needs to be prepared by April 1, 2012. Mr. Millett will contact with Assistant Town Administrator Tim King to decide on the approach to the RFP.
Marketing
Justina Carlson distributed a “To Do” list of January 17, 2012 6 and reviewed her marketing plan with the Board. She gave Board members assignments from the list. Lori Vanderschmidt suggested incentives. She is also going to look into subsidies for homeowners who can not afford to connect to the system. The second part of Justina Carlson’s plan dealt with implementation and administration.
Water System Coordinator’s Report
Michaela Miteva gave the Water System Coordinator’s Report of January 17, 2012. 7 There was discussion of arrangements for the connection to the Pickard property on Holbrook Ave.
Minutes of 1/3/12
Bill Carlson moved to approve the corrected minutes of January 3, 2012. Justina Carlson seconded, and the motion carried 4-0.
Other Business
Paul Millett gave information from Ronald Koontz of USDA8 which he provided and discussed with the Board. Grant and loan funding is available for further expansion of the system if the Board is interested in applying. Board members discussed the possibility of applying for the 75% loan-25% grant for the small streets. Paul Millett will call Mr. Koontz to determine what amount of money might be available. BWC members will contact homeowners to see who is interested in connecting to the system.
Dan Wexman said that a newly formed condominium complex on Kendrick Ave. might have a potential pressure problem for one of the units that lies uphill. The property owners would like to connect the three units closest to the street, but have the unit uphill rely on its own water source. This proposed situation is not in keeping with the Water System Rules & Regulations, which require one water installation for all units. Paul Millett suggested that a connection to the fourth unit might work. He will make a site visit to the property to determine if a connection is possible. The Board will reply to the condo association after Mr. Millett makes his determination.
Adjournment
Hood moved to adjourn. Justina Carlson seconded, and the motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
___________________________ __________________________
Mary Rogers, Committee Secretary Daniel Wexman, Chair
The Water Commissioners approved these minutes at the meeting held 2/7/12.
Public Records Materials from meeting of 1/17/12
1.) Open Cape form for licensing communications appurtenances on the water tower
2.) Draft letter to the Selectmen regarding leasing to Open Cape
3.) WhiteWater report of January 17, 2012
4.) WhiteWater Flushing and Chlorination Standard Operation Procedures
5.) Photographs from WhiteWater by Roy Maher
6.) Marketing “To Do” list of January 17, 2012
7.) Water System Coordinator’s Report of January 17, 2012
8.) Letter from Ronald Koontz of USDA
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