HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - WC - 10/29/2019 O '
Commissioners
cohasset Waiter RolfN. Gjesteby
°'r= IW D E P A R T M E N T Leonora C.Jenkins
'o UH^ LL w^ John W. Steinmetz
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Minutes of the Cohasset Board of Water Commissioners
339 King Street— Water Treatment Plant
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 @ 8:30 am
Members Present: Rolf Gjesteby, Chairman
Leonora Jenkins, Vice-Chairman
John Steinmetz, Clerk
Recording Secretary: Brenda Douglas
Guests Present: Joe Geary, Carl Hillstrom, Jason Federico, Mary McGoldrick, Liaison to
Advisory, Mike Schrader from Tighe& Bond
Rolf made a motion to open meeting at 8:30, seconded by Lee, all in favor.
Sludge Removal—Carl has a contract with Saybrooke Environmental he was quoted
$110 a ton. Last time it was $89 a ton. Carl estimates $200,000. Right now, Carl is
working on the scheduling. The two bags within the lagoon will be removed.
There was then a discussion about the THM results and next testing in November and
February. John would like to expedite the filters sooner than later. Carl said that piloting
needs to be done prior to implementation. He said this would have to be done in the
summer when they are at their highest levels.
Additional Testing for Lead& Copper—2 homes exceeding the lead testing. More
testing needs to be done. Carl said he received a letter from DEP yesterday stating that
we need to do additional testing. We will contact owners and arrange additional testing.
LED Lighting Upgrade—They are currently working at the High School; Jason will
check on status.
Leak Detection Survey—A major leak was found on Howard Gleason yesterday. This is
a 6"main in a swampy area. Lee asked about the one at Nichols @ Atlantic Avenue,
Brendan called that one as well. He felt that work was done there years ago that was not
done properly. There was also a leak at the Bear Hill Tank,currently we are unable to
shut the valve off,we could potentially have to drain the tank. Sestito Landscaping
cleared out vegetation/trees @ Bear Hill Tank on Saturday.
The pump at Ellms Meadow has a leak in the line and may need to be replaced. There is
a drive being replaced on one of the flocculators this Thursday, it is original to the plant
3391Gng Street,Cohasset,Massachusetts 02025
Tel:(781)383-0057 Fax(781)383-2906 www.cohassetwater.org
and the 2nd one will be done thereafter. The contractor wanted to make sure the
replacement parts are correct before the 2nd one is ordered.
Jason then said there was an old rope course up in the area where we are clearing the
storm damaged trees on the alternate easement to the Bear Hill Tank which the students
use as a shortcut to the Middle/High School Jason suggested taking them down. John
said to just remove the ropes, if we are there it would not be an additional expense. Rolf
agreed with John. Lee indicated that this must be the Ropes Course put up by Jack
Buckley when he was a teacher in the Alternative School at the High School. If,by the
pictures, it involves more than the tree that is our responsibility it should be the financial
responsibility of the School Department
Water Treatment Plant Roof—It is out to bid walk through tomorrow 8:30 am,Thursday
November 7th the bids will be opened.
T-Mobil Tank Lease RFP—This is still with legal.
Contracts for Dam Maintenance—Contract for crack repair was started last week and will
continue weather permitting.
10 Year Capital Plan—Jason reviewed his changes with the board. Fiscal Year 2021
includes expansion of sludge lagoons$300K,Elm Street paving$450K, GAC filtration
of WTF engineering,construction&bidding.
Rate Study—Mike presented the board with the model. This was a fact-finding initial
visit. He explained how he comes up with the study; meet revenue requirements,
distributing costs among users, capital improvements. There are 2 primary components
revenue and expenses. Mike will give the board 3 options to review once the study is
complete. Don and Jason were able to give Mike some updated information for the
calculation. Jason asked if the model could show the base rate to cover debt&capital
and fees to cover expenditures? It was discovered that the rate would be too high.
Financials-Don Piatt reported that the Water Department has 1,167,462 in retained
earnings certified by the state. Lee wanted to know where the changing amounts since
July (starting in July @$600+K to$900+K)came from. Don said that the increase came
from the closing out of capital projects. Based on the current debt service another
$365,000 can be used for Capital. Lee also wanted to know if we can expect the interest
amount that increased from a steady $700/yr. for the last several to $17,000 for last year
to continue in the future.
John made motion to approve minutes September 10,2019 meeting this was 2nd by Rolf
all in favor. Warrants were signed off on and approved by all members.
Rates for Development of 390 C J Cushing Highway—Jason reported that the water main
is already in place,without a permit being pulled. The contractor/owner is being required
to loop behind Stop& Shop,when this is done then a fire line can be tapped off of that
line. Jason calculated a cost per gallon per day. Then used Title V flow numbers to come
up with the allocated flow. This equates$15 per gallon per day of flow. Until the board
receives the flow data a valid connection cost cannot be calculated.
339 King Street,Cohasset,Massachusetts 02025
Tel:(781)383-0057 Fax:(781)383-2906 www.cohassetwater.org
Lighthouse Keepers requested to board to rereview their request for the 2/1/19 bill. Lee
reiterated what she previously noted that the 2 quarters prior were very high so they
should have been aware of an issue and that two Garden Clubs were involved in
irrigation systems that apparently were leaking. Motion made by Rolf to deny the 2"d
request for abatement, this was 2"d by John all in favor.
Next Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday November 19, 2019 @ 8:30 am this will be the
interconnect meeting with Linden Ponds and Aquarion water. Rolf made a motion to
adjourn the meeting at 11:14 am this was 2"d by John, all in favor.
Respectfully Submitte
Brenda Douglas, Rec rd' e t c�
Approved By: 1 Date: I 1 l I
Jo Steinmetz, Clerk1/
Crasset Board of Water C4ssion s
339 King Street,Cohasset,Massachusetts 02025
Tel:(781)383-0057 Fax:(781)383-2906 www.cohassetwater.org