Water & Wastewater Commission

WATER/WASTEWATER FACILITIES COMMISSION COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2015 A meeting of the City of Fitchburg Water / Wastewater Commission was held on September 9, 2015 at the JA Provincial Building, 1200 Rindge Rd, Fitchburg, MA. The meeting commenced at 4:40 P.M. Members present: Lenny Laakso, Commissioner DPW Rick Healey Michael McLaughlin George Siener Ron Lubianez Members Absent: None Others present: Jeff Murawski, Deputy Commissioner Wastewater John Deline, Deputy Commissioner of Water Mary Jane Franklin ITEM # 1: Approval of last meetings minutes: The last paragraph stated the next meeting would be held on September 9, 2015 at 4:30. This was changed to October 14, 2015 at 5:00. The minutes for the September 9, 2015 meeting were approved by unanimous vote after being amended. ITEM # 2: Public forum: Francis Driscoll of 127 Fitch Hill Rd appeared before the Commission to ask for an abatement. He explained he had a very high bill in July and didn’t believe that he used the water. Mr. Laakso will draft a letter, with feedback from the Commission, and have it available for the next meeting. It was agreed the interest will be abated. ITEM # 3: Wachusett Mountain Ski Area – Rate Increase: Mr. Deline explained that the rates for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area (they are provided raw water) have remained the same for 16 years. They are being charged $600 per million gallons and Mr. Deline is recommending that the fee be increased to $900/million gallons. Mr. Laakso made a motion to approve this and Dr. Lubianez seconded this. It was approved by unanimous vote. ITEM # 4: Water Management Act Permits: Mr. Deline reminded the Commission that the amount of water taken from the reservoirs needed to be reported to the state. After discussing this with Weston & Sampson it appeared there would be a possibility of a grant to help pay for the engineering costs to do this. Unfortunately Weston & Sampson, after further review, discovered this will not be an option. ITEM # 5: Funding Capital Improvements and Water Rates: Mr. Deline reminded the Commission of the back log of projects that need to be completed and wanted to discuss the pros and cons of borrowing money to complete these projects. There will be a loan that will be reduced by $919,000 in 2021 and will decrease again for a total of $1,386,000 in 2027. There was a discussion about the need to determine exactly what projects were needed and the associated costs before raising rates or borrowing money. ITEM # 6: Damage (sewer collapse) in Westminster Street Sewer (Saturday – June 20th). Remaining spot repairs & scheduling for the repairs work is pending. Scope of work is being prepared, with the intention of assigning the work as a task assignment to Blue Diamond Equipment. Mr. Murawski reported that, with the help of Tony Maressa (DPW Civil Engineer) the spot repair designs are being worked on and will be given to Blue Diamond, the on call contractor when complete. Mr. Murawski would like to see this completed before the end of the construction season. ITEM # 7: Brief update on sewer infrastructure damage in the Nashua River. Waiting on Blue Diamond Equipment for both quotation completion (due to sub’s) and scheduling. MBTA Access Permit is in review (and has been reviewed by 2 out of 3 departments). Mr. Murawski reminded the Commission that the damaged manhole has been repaired. There are three other manholes that need to be addressed, two with issues. One of these manholes is located on the property of MBTA and they are requiring an access permit process that requires multiple department’s review. He is waiting for Blue Diamond regarding information for a subcontract price for bypass pumps on the other manhole. ITEM # 8: West Plant Anaerobic Digestion, FINAL Feasibility Report is pending. …..Site Facility Tours were held at the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District’s WWTF AD facility, on September 25th, and was followed by a tour of the digestate drying and pelletizing operation (operated by a 3rd party …. NEFCO). Mr. Murawski reported the site tour went well and appeared to be well received. He mentioned that the impacts to neighborhoods are always a concern and anaerobic digestion tends to have less odor than other treatments. Mr. Murawski reminded the Commission that a long term solution to manage Fitchburg’s sludge is needed. ITEM # 9: SSU Project: Plant upgrades are combined together in a single paragraph of the consent decree. In the POTW optimization report done by Wright Pierce (completed in early 2012) three major projects were identified. 1.CEPT 2.SSU 3. Tertiary Treatment (phosphorous removal) There have been several issues with SSU one being the impacts of the hundred year flood which inhibits the ability to fund this project. Several years have gone by with escalating projects costs as a result of calendar delay, scope increase due to DEP mandated peer review and Chapter 149 (which precludes Wright Pierce’s contract) and necessitated the need for an OPM. This project is the largest one to date in the Consent Decree and has not been prioritized by Purchasing. Mr. Murawski reported he and Mr. Laakso have had extreme concerns regarding this project specifically about potential noncompliant fines from DEP/EPA. They had a meeting with the Mayor, Purchasing and the City Solicitor focusing on two major points that are causing issues: an OPM services agreement and the resolution of bidding and construction administration services for the contract. After consulting with the Attorney General’s office it was decided that Wright Pierce could be used for administration services (with the amended contract). There has been no resolution with the OPM services. There was a lengthy discussion about whether to inform City Council about the issues with purchasing. Mr. Healey will contact the Mayor to inform her that the Commission wants to inform City Council about the Consent Decree violations and possible fines. ITEM # 10: Mill (business) sale in process (FiberMark/Crocker), and is believed that it will close, and not continue business under the new ownership: Mr. Murawski reported FiberMark has been sold and will close by mid-December. Mr. Murawski had a discussion with the representative from the new company regarding the capitol billing ($80,000 remaining). There was a lengthy discussion on how to bill FiberMark (May is the billing month) for annual capitol bills. ITEM # 11: Authorization of funding approval requests: SSES (SOW & Phase 1): Supplemental Appropriation Request of $600,000 from Wastewater Available Funds: Mr. Murawski explained the most urgent project relative to the Consent Decree requirement is the Sewer System Evaluation Survey (a sewer system study to discover where infiltration and inflow is getting into the system). Wright Pierce has broken this project into five phases each costing $500,000. Secondary Systems Upgrades (SSU): Supplemental loan authorization borrowing: Because of the escalating costs of SSU (SEE ITEM # 9) Mr. Murawski explained that what was appropriated for this is insufficient based on current information. He met with Dick Sarasin (City Auditor) who recommended pursuing a supplemental loan authorization to increase funding for this project. Beech Street & Hazel Street Sewer Separation: New loan authorization borrowing (construction and construction administration costs): Mr. Murawski explained that with construction, construction administration and police details this project will cost approximately $4M. He reminded the Commission of the possibility of a developer separating manholes in lieu of sewer fees. There was a lengthy discussion regarding this. A motion was made to reallocate $600,000 in free cash to cover the costs of the SSES project was made by Mr. McLaughlin and seconded by Dr. Lubianez.  It was decided by the Commission to wait until further information is available before making a motion on the loans. Other Business: The next meeting is scheduled for November 4, 2015 at 5:00 P.M. at the JA Provincial Building, 1200 Rindge Rd., Fitchburg, MA. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 P.M. Minutes Prepared by_________________ Mary Jane Franklin