Tri-Town Board of Water Commissioners

TRI TOWN BOARD Of Water Commissioners Braintree, Holbrook, Randolph Braintree Town Hall MINUTES November 20, 2018 Present: Joseph Sullivan, Chair, Town of Braintree; Bill Alexopoulos, Town of Randolph; Tim Gordon, Town of Holbrook. In attendance: David Ankener, Jim Arsenault, Paul Gabriel, Helen Gordon, Henry Lee, Barbara Mello, David Murphy, Keith Nastasia, Allen Orsi, Chris Pelleteri, Amelia Phinney, Alex Richards, Ed Spellman, Nicole Taub, Michael Walsh, Susan Wright, Yichen Zhang, Robyn LaFrance. Mayor Sullivan opened the meeting at 11:15 am. Mayor welcomed the new board member representing Randolph, Bill Alexopoulos. Bill replaces Richard Brewer. Minutes: The minutes from the October 9, 2018 meeting were put on hold by Mayor Sullivan who said he had not reviewed them yet. This will be put on the next meeting agenda. PARE Corporation Dam Inspection follow up: Allen Orsi from PARE Corporation was invited to attend the meeting to further explain the Fair condition rating on the Great Pond Dam Phase I Inspection Report. He reported that most of the information is detailed in the report including recommendations to correct the issues. Allen made a few comments concerning the embankment and the new mat blocks. He then talked briefly about seepage and saturation at the toe of the downstream slope, and explained that this needs to be evaluated. Allen discussed reports from Office of Dam Safety and explained the rating grades of poor, fair, satisfactory, and good. He said that an Executive Summary sheet is included in the report and that they arrived at the conclusion that FAIR is the correct rating. Mayor Sullivan said that after all the work has been done, the Tri Town Board is disappointed with rating. Comments on Cochato River Diversion Water Quality Assessment Draft Report: Mayor Sullivan  First Mayor Sullivan asked Sue Wright if she had any concerns. Sue replied that she did and she mentioned something that occurs during rain events with regard to the clay bowl and contamination. Sue said the site was cleared to the bottom but there are still strong community concerns.  Next, Mayor referenced the feedback from Lou Dutton via email concerning the Cochato River Diversion Water Quality Assessment Draft Report and then Mayor asked Jim Arsenault if he had anything to add. Jim replied that he did not.   Tim Gordon asked if there was a reason for the November 30 deadline and asked if it can be extended. He said he likes Lou’s idea on dredging and mentioned that the owner has mineral rights for 50 years.  Jim Arsenault discussed options to utilize water that they can look at and find the best solution.  Mayor said they accept Lou Dutton’s emailed feedback and the board will take no further action at this meeting. This item can be added to a future agenda. Establish Procedures for Water Treatment Plant project payments: Barbara Mello  Barbara Mello explained that the current process is that Jim Arsenault reviews all invoices and approves each one and Barbara Mello processes the payments.  David Ankener said that he has an authorized representative who performs this task.  Mayor Sullivan said that he trusts the current procedure and it will remain in place for now. Barbara Mello/Lorraine See and Tim Gordon will provide a summary of payments due for the board to review at each meeting (include this as a standard item on the meeting agenda). Update from Town Solicitor: Nicole Taub  Nicole Taub asked the board how the up-front construction costs will be determined and the board’s response was that after the holidays a meeting will be scheduled with the other Town Solicitors to discuss this. Nicole Taub will reach out to the other Solicitors to set up a meeting.  Mayor Sullivan explained this topic for Bill Alexopolous to bring him up to date on the issue. Environmental Partners update: Paul Gabriel  Paul Gabriel gave a brief introduction prior to the presentation. He explained the background and the meeting that took place with CDM. Paul explained that over the past 5 weeks, Helen Gordon and the Cost Estimating Team have worked on the Findings and Recommendation.  Helen Gordon gave the presentation and provided a copy for the board. The presentation included visuals of the building views. She discussed the general layout and gave an explanation of the pipes.  Bill Alexopolous asked how much water all 3 towns use currently. Alex from Environmental Partners explained that they were looking for 6.1 - 6.3 MGD and room to grow. Helen Gordon said that currently all 3 towns combined is less than 12 MGD.  Bill Alexopoulous recalled that Rich Brewer gave the project update presentation to the Randolph Board of Selectmen at Town Meeting last year.  There was a brief discussion of the use of lagoons. Paul Gabriel said that lagoons are costly and they need maintenance and ongoing maintenance costs.   Helen Gordon explained that the new design version is smaller. Dave Murphy asked how they made it possible financially. Helen Gordon and Paul Gabriel explained that due to the smaller s/f it provided significant savings in site development costs.  Helen explained the updated cost page and Paul Gabriel explained that one month ago they were hoping to get the cost below $75 million. Helen said they eliminated extra administration office space that was included in the original draft design.  David Ankener explained the timeline and said he has concerns about the timing and the process. He noted the DEP Date 1 of appropriations and said they need to know by June 1. He asked when Town Meetings are held and discussed the normal construction schedule. He said the sooner they can get these timelines the sooner they can determine with Steve McCurdy if they can meet the deadline this year or not.  Helen Gordon explained that on the second floor they eliminated some extra people space and recommended that this not be a public building. She said they did not change the unit pricing so they are in comparing apples to apples. Paul Gabriel said this amounts to a 20,000 s/f floor space reduction.  Tim Gordon asked about design/build.  Mayor Sullivan said that a prominent developer informed him years ago that he only built during recessions and never during flat times. Mayor said he isn’t sure of the timing. He said get it shovel ready or 35-40%. Mayor said he isn’t sure this is the time due to current construction costs. He said he was told that next year will be a robust one. Helen Gordon indicated that the municipal construction industry continues to see high volume coming due to the age of infrastructure in this region. And cautioned that there is no indication of prices reverting.  Dave Murphy said they need to balance future escalation costs and expressed concern about signing construction contracts at this time. It was noted that right now is white hot but paying a premium for it. The meeting adjourned at 12:25 pm. No date was set for the next scheduled meeting. Respectfully submitted, Robyn LaFrance Recording Secretary