Water & Wastewater Commission

FITCHBURG WATER & WASTEWATER COMMISSION MINUTES May 11, 2016 A meeting for the City of Fitchburg Water/Wastewater Commission was held on May 11, 2016 at the J.A. Provencial Water Treatment Facility Building 1200 Rindge Rd, Fitchburg MA, 01420. The meeting commenced at 5:05 PM Members present: Lenny Laakso, Commissioner DPW Ron Lubianez George Siener Nina Nazarian Michael McLaughlin Others present: John Deline Jr., Deputy Commissioner of Water Jeff Murawski, Deputy Commissioner of Wastewater Jennifer Lambert Principal Clerk Water Office Members absent: Rick Healey Joshua Champagne Item #1 Approval of last meetings minutes: Motion to approve minutes from April 13, 2016 meeting was granted by unanimous vote. Item #2 Public Forum: No public forum comments were received. Item #3 Water Division:  Mr. Deline started off by discussing the FY-17 budget. No changes since last commission meeting. Motion to approve budget and send to council was granted.   John talked to the commission about a possible leak at the Oak hill storage tank. He stated that excavation will start within the next couple of days so we can determine where the leak may be coming from. He will keep the commission updated by sending an e-mail sometime next week.  John informed the commission of the open vacancies within the water division, and the upcoming retirees. We currently have 3 open positions and possibly one more because a current employee has applied for another job at Unitil for higher pay. The reality is that our pay scale is far below other surrounding cities and towns. To obtain a water license it takes approx. 5 yrs., and with the pay scale being so low, we just don’t have many people going into the water fields as an occupation. When we do hire someone, it seems we send them to training and licensure and then they leave the city with their licenses for a higher paying job elsewhere. Meeting is set with the Mayor and HR to discuss the pay scale.  Mr. Deline also discussed the ongoing issue of Hydrant Flushing. He’s looking to flush the system twice a year, one section in the fall and then the other section in the spring. Because the water division is short staffed, we are looking to contract these services out. We have a few calls in to contractors, but have not heard back from any of them yet. Item #4 Wastewater Division:  Mr. Murawski started off by updating the commission on the ongoing SSU project. OPM has reviewed and provided comments and suggestions on the bid phase. A selection committee will be reviewing RFQ’s from sub-contractors as well as general contractors and will establish a list of prequalified contractors for the bidding process. FEMA will issue the final Maps Revision on the flood plan elevation for Fitchburg-Leominster. There will be an appeal period in which parties can submit appeals to FEMA voicing their concerns.  The closed mill FiberMark/Crocker to Neenah Paper has a new prospective buyer. The property will not continue paper mill operation, instead will be used for various commercial business. Preliminary discussions have been held with the prospective buyers to remove or the large amount of inflow (non-sewage) believed to be rooftop inflow that is being discharged into the sanitary sewer.  The Beech Street/Hazel Street combination manholes separation project is ready to bid. We are just waiting for final review and approval from legal and purchasing. Hopefully with the new Chief Procurement Officer being appointed and starting on June 2nd, things will move ahead in a timely manner.  Mr. Murawski handed out copy of FY17 wastewater budget. Pointed out a couple of changes in line items and the cost year splits for the Civil Engineer and Business Manager positions. The Asset Management/Financial Sustainability Plan $26K fee has been removed from the FY17 budget and will be executed from the FY16 budget. The line item for combination manholes separation is not funded for FY17. We are trying to get that project bid through purchasing so the funding will be encumbered from FY16 to FY17 when the contract agreement is executed. Motion to approve wastewater FY17 budget and send to council was granted. Item #5 Other Business:  There was a small discussion about the ongoing paving and new berms and driveway aprons that are being done in the city on certain streets. Mr. McLaughlin has made a few observations and asked if there was any sort of standard when this type work is being done. He stated that a few areas look like the pavers just came by and dropped a bunch of stuff down. Mr. Laakso said that the engineers that are inspecting the job will go out and look at each case and discuss with contractor what needs to be done. He said he would be glad to check any specific areas that Mr. McLaughlin thinks should be looked at.  Mr. Deline informed the commission that we may have to implement water use restrictions. No restriction as of now, but the gauging station at the Nashua River measured 66 cubic feet per second and our threshold is 62 cubic feet per second. Because of the water management act permit, if the measurement drops below the 62 cubic feet per second for three consecutive days then the water restriction will have to be implemented. The next meeting is scheduled for June 8th, 2016 at 5:00 P.M. at the J.A. Provencial Building, 1200 Rindge Rd., Fitchburg, MA. Meeting adjourned at 6:49 P.M.