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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - WC - 11/12/2015 Cohasset Water D E P A R T M E N T Commissioners Leonora C.Jenkins �_ y S�the Cay�l Sind 1950 T �orsass yc - Rolf N. Gjesteby iz John W. Steinmetz Minutes of the Cohasset Board of Water Commissioners 339 King Street— Water Treatment Plant November 12, 2015 @ 9:30 am Members Present: Leonora Jenkins, Chairman Rolf Gjesteby, Vice-Chairman John Steinmetz, Clerk Recording Secretary: Brenda Douglas Guests Present: Carl Hillstrom, Joe Geary, Mary Gallagher, Motion made by Lee to call the meeting to order at 9:35 2nd by John. Financials Mary stated it looks like the Water Department is on track for the year. She said it looks like they are hitting their budget target. Lee questioned hydrant& distribution it is not being billed till February. At that time private hydrants and public will be billed. Mary requested that the number of hydrants and dollar amount and any reduction be put on the invoice. John asked Mary if Chris had met with Holland Company again. She said that she did not know of any developments. Lee asked Mary if she has heard of anyone complaining about the Capital Recovery Charge. She said that Ed Goff was at a Selectmen's meeting voicing his dismay for the Unmetered Unit Charge. Mary said if he brings an article to town meeting the board will have to have a plan to have a dollar amount that water rates need to increase to cover the shortfall if they veto the Unmetered Unit Charge. Woodard & Curran MOR Weeds & Silt Removal -The bag is being delivered today and the divers will be here on Monday. 30 hay bails will need to be purchased as well as a plastic liner. Lee asked if they would be able to get down to the stone in front of the intake, Carl expected that they should be able to do so. Rolf wanted to know what was going on with the DEP. Carl explained that someone had called DEP and about us moving the fence and put down a new geo bag. Jim McLaughlin from the DEP said that the bag needed to go in the lagoon. Joe stated that Jim thought that we had started processing into the new bag. Also he stated that there was sludge on the ground. Neither of which is true. 339 King Street, Cohasset, Massachusetts 02025 Tel: (781) 383-0057 Fax: (781) 383-2906 www.cohassetwater.org i Carl said last year he met with EPA&DEP permits are linked. They only asked for samples from the bag which was done and they were given a tour of plant and the sludge processing area as well. Lee said that the DEP will probably be called again once the bag for the silt is set up, Carl agreed. Carl said back in 2007 there was supposed to be a P lagoon put in. Lee said they ran out of money. Carl suggested a slab above ground maybe that will help with the drying process. Joe stated that the lagoons are very small. Manchester by the Sea has 3 lagoons that are 3 times the size of ours and their withdrawal permit allows the same as Cohasset. Lee asked if there was a way to sell the sludge. Joe thought that the metals are an issue. There is high aluminum in the sludge. Lee asked if there was any other product for a coagulant. Joe stated that they are all aluminum product based. To get away from it would cost too much money. Insulation of Piping @ Ellms Meadow—Carl is getting prices and will proceed. Carl got a price which he did not like so he is going to purchase the insulation and he and the staff will install. Lime Conversion—Joe presented the board with specs for the conversion. Lee said that the DEP has made this check list mandatory for the last 3 years. Jim McLaughlin had requested more detailed design as to what had already been supplied. The original $12,000 was for the initial filing. The quote now for $13,700 will be for the refiling requirements from Jim @ DEP as well as update the basis of design, develop engineering plans showing process layout and schematics for submittal with checklist. Develop equipment specifications for submittal with the checklists. Additional structural analysis to check floor beams in the actual proposed location of the tank is also necessary. The engineers proposed to calculate weight and loading of containment wall and proposed new equipment. After construction is complete, develop record drawings for submittal to DEP. Lee was concerned with the cost. The board asked that Joe go back to engineers and get more of a detailed report on the cost. VFD replacement- Carl has 2 quotes awaiting 1 more. The current VFD's are obsolete and we cannot even get parts right now. The Approximate cost would be around $3 8,000. Carl said that the cost has gone down; also Joe noted that they are half the size as well. Each cabinet has 2 a/c's and every year there is an issue with them. Lee asked if would save money,but Carl said they are VFD and are very economical already. Filter Media—The operators took core samples at the end of September and the first set was lost by UPS. We just got the results back after town meeting. The results show the media should be good for another 5 years. They recommended cleaning the media and get a quote to do so. Joe said that it should not be that expensive. Lee said the money would just go back to retained earnings that were voted in at Special Town Meeting. Carl suggested turning the money over to convert to radio from Comcast. Lee said that we need to think about town meeting how much money we are going to borrow. Carl said that Bear Hill Tank is the biggest immediate issue. He estimates $400,000-$500,000. Lee asked about the condition of Scituate Hill water tank. Carl said that the inspector said that it is in good shape. Joe then explained that the samples taken of the filter media showed mud balls in the filter media. They are extending the time of 339 King Street, Cohasset, Massachusetts 02025 Tel: (781) 383-0057 Fax: (781) 383-2906 www.cohassetwater.org i backwashing. Lee wanted to know if there had been any water quality complaints. Carl reported that 44 Hillside Drive had a taste & odor complaint. Bruce Meehan has been asked to call and go see customer. Customer says that it smells of chlorine. Lee asked about the tour that Carl did and if any of the kids seemed interested in water. Carl said that it was too large of a group to keep their attention. 80 Aaron River Road—Mr. Morin has requested to replace and paint the Water Department fence which abuts his property. Lee said that if he wants to paint the fence black that would be fine. He can put up a fence on his property in front of our fence. Our fence must remain in place. John felt that instead of sending out a letter that a policy should be put in place. Carl looked at the DEP site and nothing was specific as to the maintenance of fencing around a water resource. Currently the fencing is in the residential area. John asked that I reach out to Mr. Morin and ask him to come to the next meeting. Carl said that the damn needs some work. There is a crack and Brian is going to give Carl a contact to grout and fill the crack. Carl has not heard from DCR, and the distribution staff continues weeding and mowing of the area. Rolf and John suggested having a line item in the next budget for Fence Maintenance. Rolf is going to walk the fencing on our side to look at the condition of the fence on Aaron River Road. Warrants/Abatements/Approval of Meeting Notes Warrants were signed and approved by Lee & John. John made a motion to approve meeting notes from October 7, 2015 2nd by Lee all in favor. Abatements- 98 Summer Street George H. Mealy Post 118 —Motion made by Rolf to abate $746.06 2nd by John all in favor. 17 South Main Street Karen Kirkendall—Motion made by John to abate the Unmetered Unit Charge since there is no apartment this was 2nd by Rolf all in favor. 119 Ripley Road South Shore Art Center—After a lengthy discussion John made a motion to deny the request based on section V of the abatement policy. The board felt that the plumbing was neglected which caused the high bill. This was 2❑d by Rolf all in favor. Motion made by John to adjourn at 11:07,this was 2nd by Rolf all in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Brenda Doug;Jhn Recording cr tary Approved By Date: Steinmetz, Clerkasset Board of Water Comma ' ers 339 King Street, Cohasset, Massachusetts 02025 Tel: (781) 383-0057 Fax: (781) 383-2906 www.cohassetwater.org i