Minutes of the April 5, 2017 Water/Sewer Meeting
Present: Jay Spahl, Tom Fournier, Scott Piekarczyk, Scott Zajkowski, John Meehan, Kristin Doyle
Jay called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.
Tom Fournier made a motion to accept the minutes of the Feb. 1, 2017 meeting, Scott Zajkowski seconded. All in favor, unanimously passed.
26 Alton Drive – Replace Water Lateral. Simulous Plumbing presented a letter and drawing to switch out the water service for 26 Alton Drive. There will be no relocation. John asked them to give him a call a day or two before and he can schedule an inspection , at which time they will need to make sure the water is off.
Lot 6 Linda Vista Lane - DariuszZeglen came before the board to request approval to tie into water and sewer for Lot 6 on Linda Vista Lane that he is looking to purchase and sub-divide into two lots. There is water and gravity fed sewer available at the location. John reviewed the fee structure with Dariusz. Scott Piekarczyk made a motion to allow DariuszZeglen permission to tie into water and sewer for the two properties on Linda Vista Lane provided he follow the Town’s rules and regulations, Tom Fournier seconded, it was unanimously passed. Kristin will draft up a letter for Mr. Zeglen confirming this approval to tie into the water and sewer.
24 Oxford Ave- Dave from JD & D Construction came before the board to request to tie into the water and sewer. This property is located within the aquifer radius. Dave stated that they plan to construct a 60x100 commercial building that will be used for storage, offices, and as a contractor lot. John asked if there would be loaders or bull dozers kept on site. Dave said no there would not be. They are looking at mostly siding, window and roofing contractors. It was stated that if there were to be washing of any vehicles there would have a sand/gas interceptor placed on the system. John mentioned that he did not know where the 6” main from the hydrant is fed from. The Town will assist JD &D in locating the water main. John reviewed the fee schedule and application process with Dave. Tom Fournier made a motion to grant JD&D Construction permission to tie into water and sewer at 24 Oxford Ave contingent upon the purchase of the property, Scott Piekarczyk seconded , and was unanimously passed. Kristen will draft a letter confirming this approval for JD&D Construction so that they can move forward with the approval process.
6 Oxford Ave. - Lenny Zurowski and Artie Cournoyer came before the board to request permission to tie into water on 6 Oxford Ave (former Jolda Oil building.) John stated there is a main water line that runs by there. The property is already connected to town sewer. Scott Piekarczyk made a motion to grant permission for Artie Cournoyer to tie into water at 6 Oxford Ave. contingent upon purchasing the property, Tom Fournier seconded, and was unanimously passed. Artie is also looking to put an addition onto the building (20x68 ft. bldg.) Jay instructed Artie to come back before the board with a stamped engineer drawing of the property and proposed water lateral and they will review it at that time. The building is within the aquifer radius so they will need to ensure that the aquifer recharge regulations are being met. All service laterals will need to be inspected. Artie will be having a 21 E completed prior to purchasing the property.
10 West Main Street: Jack O’Leary of SitecEny came before the board as he has an interest in 10 West Main Street . He stated that Bairos Construction was unable to attend tonight’s meeting and has been asked to demolish the building and would like permission from the Board to cut off the utilities before the demolition begins. John has been in touch with Bairos and they will be cutting off the utilities on Friday at 9:00. John stated that there would be a $500 fee to cap the sewer line and a $500 fee to reconnect to a building, and there would be no fee for capping the water. John asked them to call them ½ hour before they are ready for the inspections on Friday. Jack informed the board that he had done the site plan for the site and wanted to speak with them about the application for the permit. Jack stated that he is representing his client, NE Realty Venture, who is looking to build a Dunkin Donuts on the site. They are currently working with the Planning Board and going through the permitting process. He stated that the site is in the aquifer and is currently 94% pervious consisting of mostly building and parking. If approved, the site would be a little less pervious with a little more landscaping. John stated that the site is not in Zone 1 or 2. According to the by-law a special permit is required for 15% or 2500 sq. ft. based on the total lot size, whichever is greater. The current site is over 50% now and will be under this if approved. As such, Jack asked if a special permit will be required. If not, he would like a letter from the board stating that it is not required. The board reviewed the proposed plan. The building would be a drive through only. John stated that the water line doesn’t go down there . It ends at Ardlock with ¾ “ line coming down W. Main St. John stated that if they keep it as a drive through only they should not need the sprinkler system and should not have to go through the cost of digging up W. Main St. The plans do include a grease trap. They do not store or use any hazardous materials on site. The Board decided that a special permit is not needed for this site as the proposed work will not change the current conditions but rather make it slightly better. John asked if a 21E has been done on the site. Jack said that several 21 E’s have been done with the last one stating that no further action needs to be taken. However, if during excavation a concern is raised, DEP must be notified so they can address. Kristin will type a letter stating that a special permit is not needed for this project.
John Meehan introduced Brian Dorval as the new Water Dept. employee. Brian will be replacing Steve who had resigned from the position. The job was posted and Brian was selected as the first choice. He is coming over from the Recycling Center. John has worked it out with Dan that he will work a few hours with them each week during this transition period as they fill the recycling position. Brian has 2 years to get his D1 license.
John provided the Board with the monthly sewer report.
- Met with FR Mahoney in regards to the high water alarms for Lyons Road and Luther Lane
- Shoveled out the stations and hydrants during the last couple of storms and inspected manholes for ground infiltration. Did not find any issues.
- Jetted Lakeview Ave., D’allesandro Ave, and Second Ave.
- Repaired manhole hit by a plow on Barry Ave.
- Camera viewed Linda Vista Lane and went through the generators in all the stations
- Finished the well readings for the upcoming billing
- For water and sewer both: just finished flushing the hydrants, Monday will begin reading the meters again to get everything done before the end of the month.
Tom Fournier mentioned that he had received two complaints about the yellow lines on the manhole covers not lining up. Suggested that they paint the line black and repaint the yellow line as the covers are extremely heavy.
Water Report:
- Repaired the four wheel drive on the plow truck
- Painted the floors on th #3, #6, and main station
- Marked out the water and sewer lines for the gas company (Pine/Mill St. area)
- Repaired lawn mower and trailer
- Ran the generators and reloaded all of the stations
- Flushed hydrants in the high zone and started the low zone today
- Finished reading the well meters today
- Working on the meter repair list and on Monday or Tuesday will start reading the regular water meters
John stated that in the Board member’s packets there is a voucher for Borges Construction which is the last payment for the water main. There is still money retained for doing the asphalt. We have reduced the amount being retained from 5% to 1% as we are using the main and everything is working fine. The project is moving along and Borges and Mark Devine will be meeting with the Highway Dept. in April to see about chapter 90 funds. We may be able to work out a deal that we don’t have to dig our trenches on Pineview and we just give them some money and they will pave entire street. We also have to find out what is going on with the gas company . It is John’s understanding that they have to dig a 2 ft. trench on each side of their trench. It will be interesting in seeing if they will be paving the entire width of the street or only half. We will not be doing any construction until after school gets out. John spoke with Dan Gion and we will not be digging out the old asphalt, it will be grinded with the new asphalt paved over it. It is the plan to begin the paving in July. In May, John, Borges, Mark Devine and Dan Gion will get together to figure out exactly what needs to be done to finish up that project. This discussion will include sidewalks, etc.
Scott P. stated that he feels the water dept. electric bills are really high. He asked if there could be other providers who could provide this service cheaper. John stated that the Town is already doing this. Scott P. also wanted to know if solar panels could be used in addition. John said the only place that they could be installed is on the roof of the Main Station. John said we have switched to energy efficient motors to save money.
Scott P. made a motion to approve the minutes from the executive session of the Feb. 1, 2017 meeting, Scott Z. seconded, unanimously passed. Those minutes will not be released as we are still in negotiation. Greg Balukonis said that he would come to a board meeting to discuss the indirect costs. Scott P would like a list of the charges and what the cost drivers are. Kristin will ask him to provide this information prior to a meeting.
Kristin informed the board that she has given her two week notice to John. She has enjoyed working for the Board but an opportunity has come up that was too good to pass up. The Board thanked Kristin for her service and wished her well. John stated that he will be posting the position in-house and then placing an ad in the Webster Times. Kristin has offered to assist the new Admin. Asst. on Thursday evenings from 5-7.
Tom Fournier made a motion to adjourn, Scott Z. seconded, unanimously passed.