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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 03/09/2016 ° - TOWN OF COHASSET } _ Sewer Commission 41 Highland Avenue Cohasset, MA 02025 COhASSrY N _ ,l ° 781-383-4108 Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Time: 4:00 p.m. Place: Basement Meeting Room,Town Hall Present: Bryan Baldwin, Chairman Bill McGowan, Vice Chair Wayne Sawchuk, Clerk Chairman Baldwin called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 1. Administration a. Next Meeting: scheduled for Thursday, March 24 @ 4 p.m. in the Basement Meeting Room- Town Hall. b. Department Projects Status: no discussion C. Meeting Minutes: Motion by Mr. Baldwin to approve the minutes of 2/18/16 as written, se- conded by Mr. McGowan,and the vote was unanimous (3-0). 2. Wastewater Plant Operations a. Articles for Town Meeting: (In attendance for a portion of this meeting, Chris Senior,Town Manager). Chairman Baldwin distributed a draft of several articles for the Annual Town Meeting warrant. One article is for unpaid bills for FY2015, and one is for the total budget amount and sev- eral transfers from dedicated funds and retained earnings. A sewer rate increase is not to be pre- sented at this time. Mr. Baldwin explained there are unpaid bills from previous years. The current Sewer Enterprise Budget is$2,575,140 which includes a transfer from Sewer Retained Earning for grinder pumps in the amount of$117,140, a transfer from the Sewer Debt Betterment Stabilization Fund of$40,554 and a transfer to the sewer Debt Stabilization Fund of$82,040 to balance the Sta- bilization Fund. At this time the Board isn't seeking a rate increase, and if it is proven that an in- crease is necessary, the Article can be brought to Special Town Meeting. Motion by Mr. Sawchuk for unpaid invoices to Suez for$4,116.24 from Retained Earnings,seconded by Mr. McGowan. The vote was unanimous(3-0). Motion by Mr. Sawchuk for unpaid invoices to Suez for$32,931.00 from Retained Earnings,seconded by Mr. McGowan. The vote was unanimous(3-0). Motion by Mr. Sawchuk for transfer from Sewer Retained Earnings for$117,427, seconded by Mr. McGowan. The vote was unanimous (3-0). Motion by Mr. Sawchuk for transfer from Sewer Debt Betterment Stabilization Fund for$40,554,se- conded by Mr. McGowan. The vote was unanimous (3-0). Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 1 Motion by Mr. Sawchuk for transfer to Sewer Debt Stabilization Fund for$82,040, seconded by Mr. McGowan. The vote was unanimous (3-0). 3. Collection System—no discussion 4. New Business a. Water Department Billing Expense: (In attendance for a portion of this meeting, Rolf Gjesteby and Leanora Jenkins, both of the Water Commission; Chris Senior,Town Manager). Ms.Jenkins asked why the Sewer Commission has not paid the Water Department full amount the monthly in- voices$1,818.00 to date in FY 2016? She stated the Water Commission is offering the Sewer Com- mission a 2%discount. The Water Department is billing and reading the meters and they expect the Sewer Commission to pay its share for the time to read the meters and also administrative pro- cessing. Not all meters are radio reads, meaning, the drivers have to get out if the meter has not been updated (about 40% not radio). Mr. Sawchuk asked what was the basis for determining the expense to process the sewer bills? Ms. Jenkins explained the process but acknowledged that Woodard & Curran performs the work under its base contract for services, and does not provide a breakdown specific to billing. Mr. Sawchuk took exception to the method in determining the expense, and stated that this should not be a profit center for the Water Commission. Chairman Baldwin stated that the Sewer Commission previously recognized that it was receiving a valuable service by the Water Commission processing its billing, and as such should pay for that service. A value of$1,806/month was agreed upon at a meeting in FY 2015. Although Ms.Jenkins believes a yearly escalation should be applied to the cost,the is no record substantiating her claim. Chairman Baldwin asked what the proposed 2017 rate will be? The estimated meter reading hours are 880 hours for the year. The Water Commission requested $15,600 for FY 2017. The cost could possibly increase next year, depending on if the private contractor raises their rates. Motion by Mr. McGowan to approve$15,600 for FY 2017 to the Water Commission to process billing on behalf of the Sewer Commission,seconded by Mr. Baldwin.The vote was not unanimous(2-1). b. Citizen's Petition - King Street (Atty. Richard Henderson): The petitioners did not attend. C. 25 Mohawk Way Connection (Edna Barry): (In attendance for this meeting,Andrew Spath of SitePro Contracting). Since there has been a lapse in Sewer Department administration for the past few months, some required documentation has not been tracked. In January,the Sewer Depart- ment distributed Drainlayer license applications to those licensed in CY 2015.The Board apologized to Mr. Spath for not sending him a letter as he was not on the CY 2055 list. The Board requested the following from Mr. Spath should he wish to be licensed to perform sewer work in town: • Application for 2016 Drainlayer's License and $200 application fee • Performance Bond • Insurance Certificate • Check for$200 Chairman Baldwin stated the Sewer Department was in receipt of the $20,000 privilege fee; how- ever, the Town did not receive the$1,000 application fee nor$7,500 (based on a 3 bedroom home). All sewer connections are required to be inspected and tested prior to backfill which was Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 2 not done. The work was subsequently tested, and Mr. Spath discussed the installation with Cough- lin Environmental Services on behalf of the Sewer Department and determined in unnecessary to have the work excavated and inspected. The Board reiterated its policy that all connections must be inspected by the Town or its agent in the future. Mr. Spath provided photographs of the instal- lation, and was requested to submit an as-built plan as soon as possible as a pre-requisite to the Sewer Department signing the building permits. A letter will be sent to Ms. Barry addressing the fees outstanding. Mr. Spath asked for direction on to whom he should submit documentation. Chairman Baldwin di- rected him to submit documentation to the Town Manager's office until such time as the Sewer Administrator position is filled full-time. The Board reviewed the current Application for Sewer Service Connection form and believes there could be improvements. • On the first page,the last two questions regarding a wetland resource should trigger a Conservation Commission review on the last page • On the second page,the question "Will the water service also be replaced during con- struction?" Mr. McGowan asked how do we bill? Do we notify Water? He suggested a copy of the application be sent to the Water Department • Under the Drain Layer Signature, there should be a line for the printed name Vouchers are no longer used for pumps; homeowners buy their own pumps and panels which come with panels. The cost to install is$1,500. The form For Board of Sewer Commissioners Use, Mr. Baldwin will ask CES about the Sewer Commission Site Specific Site Specific Review Reference Number. The administrative assistant will sign as the Issuer of the final certification. There was discussion on how to keep sewer connections on the departments' radar. Mr. McGowan suggested the Town send a letter quarterly to the drain layers with active work to pin down the work going on in Cohasset. d. FY 2017 Operating Budget: Mr. Baldwin distributed copies of the proposed FY2017Sewer Op- erating Budget dated 3/9/16 for review. He noted that there were several new accounts lighted in graytone. The estimated increase for Suez's variance expenses are included. The expense for Town of Hull is based upon the current flow and estimated rate of$12.80/100 CF. The proposed budget for the Sewer Department is$2,575,140 including transfer of funds for debt stabilization and from retained earnings. Motion by Mr. McGowan to propose to pass the budget of$2,575,140 with no rate increase for FY 2017 to the Sewer Department,seconded by Mr. Baldwin.The vote was unanimous(3-0). e. FY 2017 Rate Increase: There was discussion of the notice of rate increase received from Hull for FY 2017. Chairman Baldwin along with Town Manager Chris Senior meet with Town of Hull offi- cials on March 7, 2016 to discuss the situation and concerns both parties have following the deci- sion made by the Cohasset Sewer Commission to reduce the flow to Hull resulting in less revenue to Hull. Cohasset would like to work with Hull to reach agreement on rates. There is currently no minimum flow requirement. The Board decided to further explore options to mitigate its cost ex- posure within the context of negotiating an extension to the Inter-municipal Agreement as sug- gested by Hull. Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 3 f. 2016 Capital Funds Expenditure Report: Chairman Baldwin distributed a copy of the current report through 2/29/16 indicating the remaining balance of four(4) capital fund accounts. He rec- ommended requesting a close-out of three (3) of the accounts at 2017 Special Town Meeting. He noted that there is a remaining balance of$346,163 for I&I work. 5. Old Business a. Sewer Connections in Progress: Ms. Milligan of 2 Linden Drive has sent numerous questions to Mr. Sawchuk via e-mail regarding a sewer connection for 4 Rustic Drive. Chairman Baldwin re- minded all that a series of questions previously submitted were discussed at the Board's meeting of February 24, 2016 as noted in the minutes. These minutes have yet to be prepared and approved, but these will be distributed to her in draft form as soon as possible. Chairman Baldwin suggested that since the Board was not permitted to discuss her questions outside of a posted meeting, that any further inquiries received from Ms. Milligan should be held for the next posted meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:15p.m. Documents Distributed and Reviewed: Meeting Minutes 2/18/16 Email between Ms.Jenkins and Mr. McGowan regarding FY 2017 Water Fee Proposed 2016 ATM Sewer Articles dated 3/9/16 Letter to Edna Barry regarding 25 Mohawk Way dated 3/8/16 FY2017 Sewer Operating Budget dated 3/9/2016 Email letter from Nancy Milligan, Rustic Dr, Lot 4 Sewer Connections in Progress dated 3/9/16 Sewer Connection Requests dated 2/26/16 2016 Drainlayers Licensed to Work in Town dated 2/22/16 Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 4