Tri-Town Board of Water Commissioners

TRI TOWN BOARD Of Water Commissioners Braintree, Holbrook, Randolph Braintree Town Hall MINUTES October 9, 2018 Present: Joseph Sullivan, Chair, Town of Braintree; Richard Brewer, Town of Randolph; Tim Gordon, Town of Holbrook. In attendance: Jim Arsenault, Chris Caligari, Lou Dutton, Ben Fehan, Paul Gabriel, Helen Gordon, David Murphy, Lorraine See, Ed Spellman, Nicole Taub, Michael Walsh, Susan Wright, Robyn LaFrance. Mayor Sullivan opened the meeting at 11:12 am. Town Solicitor update: Mayor Sullivan, Nicole Taub Mayor Sullivan said that Tri Town has come a long way and that there are some complexities to getting this done. Mayor explained that he appointed himself to the Tri Town Board when he became Mayor and that it has been a lot of work to get to this point. Mayor expressed appreciation to Rich Brewer and Tim Gordon for serving on the Board and thanked them. Mayor Sullivan said they will determine the best professional path. The minutes from the previous meeting were reviewed and accepted. MOTION: by Tim Gordon to accept the minutes of September 18, 2018 SECOND: by Rich Brewer VOTE: Unanimous Town Solicitor update continued: Nicole Taub There was a discussion led by Braintree Town Solicitor, Nicole Taub. Nicole explained that she looked at the old legislation and compared it to the best current model, which the Tri Town identified as being the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission. She said that the first step would be to get individual town approval and then go to the State House for review. Tim Gordon asked if this would be an entity that will individually bill. Nicole responded that each town will still do billing. Tim Gordon responded by saying that they will still need individual Town appropriation. Mayor Sullivan said that more clarity is needed and he asked Nicole Taub to continue her research. Mayor Sullivan said he would still like to have the Town Council approval involved. Nicole Taub explained that the next steps are 1) she will do a Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission review and 2) she will share the information with the Holbrook and Randolph Town Solicitors who will be in contact with her. There were no specific questions from the board members. Great Pond Dam Phase I Inspection/Evaluation Report: Lou Dutton  Lou Dutton shared the Great Pond Dam Phase I Inspection/Evaluation Report dated August 7, 2018, prepared by PARE Corporation. Lou reported that the overall physical condition of the dam received a FAIR rating. The Board expressed disappointment about the rating after recent improvements and briefly discussed the issue.  The report explained that areas of seepage were noted along the downstream toe of the embankment. It was discussed that the seepage wasn’t noticed in previous inspections but now that the dam repair work was done, the seepage is visible.  Lou explained that he did some testing and there was no phosphate and very limited chlorine.  Lou noted that the Upper Reservoir has had a fair rating for the past 17 years that he has been employed with the Town of Braintree.  It was discussed that the work recently done on the dam was performed due to a “poor” rating report and all agreed that they expected a better than fair rating. Ben Fehan said that it was still a major step forward by doing the dam improvement and clearing the vegetation and installing the concrete block.  Jim Arsenault suggested that the Board send a letter to PARE Corporation in response to the Inspection Report to ask for further explanation. The Board agreed to write a letter and request a meeting to discuss it. Paul Gabriel said it needs to be determined where the seepage is coming from and that PARE should be able to recommend next steps.  Jim Arsenault and Lou Dutton will work together to draft a letter to PARE Corp. MOTION: by Tim Gordon to communicate in a letter to PARE Corporation to dispute the rating and request that they come to a Tri Town Board meeting in person. SECOND: by Rich Brewer VOTE: Unanimous Review of Opinion of Probable Construction Cost: Environmental Partners Group Helen Gordon presented the Tri Town Board with a one page spreadsheet titled Opinion of Probable Project Cost (based on conceptual design by CDM Smith 2010) by email today for their review, and copies were provided at the meeting. Helen reported that Environmental Partners (EP) and CDM Smith met with regard to the differences and she discussed three areas specifically: electrical, plumbing, and process vendor cost. Helen explained that as the project OPM, their task is to look at the project designed by CDM Smith and come up with the cost in today’s economy. Helen described a similar project experience in Saco, Maine and explained how it was resolved. Paul Gabriel said that the differential occurred due to both firms looking at things differently and that it’s an $80-90 million dollar project that they will try to get down to $75 million. He described it as a high quality water treatment plant to move into the future and said they will reset the concept, saying that EP’s role is to review and advise the Tri Town board. Environmental Partners invited Chris Caligari, of Cost Pro, Inc., a construction cost consultant firm, to the meeting and he introduced himself to the Board. He stated that cost escalation is the biggest challenge. He discussed the Top Three Opinion of Probably Cost Discrepancies in greater detail. The areas he elaborated on were: a) Electrical System and plumbing system underprices b) Diesel vs Gas Generator (undersized diesel and current design standards recommend gas generator near water supply) c) Process Equipment vendor quote increases Chris Caligari explained that perhaps some things were missing or changed from the 2010 estimate and that the cost was low. Helen Gordon explained the rationale of switching out item “b”, diesel vs gas generators. Mayor Sullivan asked a question about apparatus and quantity and Chris Caligari explained why it isn’t possible to quantify mechanical light fixtures and such. Helen and Rich Brewer said that the State needs to be informed of the cost increase. Tim Gordon noted that comparing the cost presented to them last September and the new estimate is a game changer and he said that it’s critical that this is communicated to each town. Mike Walsh explained that the position of CDM has been consistent over the past eight years. The preliminary design level cost estimate was done in February 2010 and then the water treatment plant project was put on hold. CDM has applied for SRF funding on behalf of Tri Town each year since then to keep the project alive, and they used the Engineer News Record (ENR) cost index to measure inflation. CDM recommended that a new cost estimate be developed when the project became active again. Mike reported that CDM’s cost estimating group dedicated 100 hours of work to this project and approached it as a clean/new 2018 estimate – the new CDM Smith construction cost estimate is $66 million. Mike Walsh said that the difference between the adjusted 2010 estimate and the current estimate is because water treatment plant-related costs have escalated at a faster rate than the general cost of construction as measured by ENR and other cost indices; in particular, water treatment plant equipment costs have increased substantially since 2010. Paul Gabriel explained that through the eyes of Environmental Partners, many dozens of items are estimated in one particular way and that through the eyes of CDM, the same items are estimated in a different way. He offered the example of using diesel generators which cost less than gas generators, and the fact that EP recommends using gas generators. Mayor Sullivan asked if both firms could share how they came to their respective estimates. Paul Gabriel described it as an academic exercise and that EP will reset the concept plan and reset the cost. Chris Caligari noted that Environmental Partners doesn’t use the ENR cost index and said the ENR website cautions users not to rely on it as a project cost estimator and that they must use something that takes all things into consideration including contractor costs and prevailing wage. It was reported that CDM used a 4% annual increase to get to the new cost estimate. Helen Gordon explained that there is a lot they can share with CDM and that they need to be on the same page concerning all detailed expenses to explain the delta. Jim Arsenault said that one of the estimates didn’t include a scope, for example. Paul Gabriel explained that the issue of cost is the most important matter at the moment and said they will suspend all other work and focus on cost and come back with a better plan next month. Chris Caligari explained that a Value Engineering Study is a lot of what they do and that 15% is the most they get out of it. Helen Gordon said that the cost escalation includes higher hourly wage estimates. Mayor Sullivan mentioned the fact that the Tri Town Board gave a formal presentation earlier this year at the Holbrook, Randolph, and Braintree Town Meeting/Town Council Meeting and that he attended all three. He said during each of the presentations the cost wasn’t highlighted very much and that there were no questions. Mayor Sullivan pointed out that the CDM estimate is $66 million and the EP estimate is $77 million. Mike Walsh expressed that CDM would like to maintain the ability to have input, and Mayor Sullivan responded that CDM should withhold input until there is a designer selection. Mayor Sullivan expressed that they are at an important point and it has become necessary to pause, find the scope, and re-engage a design element. MOTION: by Tim Gordon to have Environmental Partners conduct a revised conceptual plan to look at potential cost savings and refinement to improve efficiency and savings. SECOND: by Rich Brewer VOTE: Unanimous Establish procedures for Water Treatment Plant project payments: Lorraine See  Lorraine See explained that currently the Board approves all payments and she asked if they want to continue to do it this way or if the Board wants to approve each and every invoice individually, due to the magnitude of the cost. Mayor Sullivan asked for clarification on this and Jim Arsenault said that Barbara Mello just wants to be advised  on how to bill. Mayor Sullivan said they will take this under advisement and put this item on the next meeting agenda. Other: Mayor Sullivan asked Sue Wright if she wanted to say anything further after she presented a letter to the Board last month on her way out of the meeting. Sue Wright explained that she recently came across the letter and it reminded her that the work may not have been done because at the time firms kept going out of business. She said that Baird & McGuire was asked or ordered to replace the water and she thinks there may be money available for dredging. Lou Dutton said he will look into this issue. Mayor Sullivan scheduled the next meeting for November 20, 2018 at 11:00 am. Mayor expressed that he is hopeful to get one or two more meetings scheduled before year end. Mayor Sullivan noted the action items are: 1. Nicole Taub will continue her work and report back on November 20. 2. Establish Procedures for Water Treatment Plant project payments will be put on the next meeting agenda. A motion was made by Tim Gordon to adjourn the meeting at 12:50 pm, and seconded by Rich Brewer. Respectfully submitted, Robyn LaFrance Recording Secretary