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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-12-02 Board of Public Works MinutesS R Board of Public.. Works Meeting of December 1905 Pagel. A meeting of the Board of Public Works convened in Room 16, Municipal Building at 7;30 P.M. Present were Chairman Barker, Board Members Griffin and (toucher, Superintendent A.V. Fletcher and Assistant Superintendent. William A. Redford. It was moved, seconded and voted 3:0 to acc..ept the minutes of the Board of Public Works Meeting of November 25, 1905 as written. The Board met with Phil Pacino, Chairman and Messrs. Lynch and Nigro of the Finance Committee to discuss the BPW`s proposed separate budget submittals, one being Water and Sewer Enterprise the other BPW General. Operating Budget. Mr. Pacino asked, under the Water Enterprise portion, are we now fully funded? Superintendent replied yes. Mr. Pacino stated the Sewer portion is now only 90% funded. Superintendent Fletcher responded that we have not picked up all of the bonding costs. Since this would have been a tremendous cost increase, we decided with Beth Klepeis and Russ Graham to do this on a phased basis. Mr. Lynch asked how soon do you think you will pick up 100% of the Sewer funding. Mr. Fletcher replied, probably in FY88. Mr. Pacino asked how are you dealing with the insurance? Superintendent Fletcher stated this could be better answered by the Treasurer, however, we are picking up retirement and unemployment compensation. Mr. Hampson joined the meeting at 7:40 P.M. Mr. Pacino stated I favor what you have donee and would like to fund your operations entirely from the water and sewer rates. r Board of Public Works Meeting of December 2. 1985 Page? Chairman starker asked are you suggesting this Board fund 100% on sewer this year? Mr. Pacino replied the optimum best solution would be 100% in FY87 for sewer, this would be the optimum financial position. Mr. Hampson asked are you telling us to raise the rates? I have a lot of problem with that from the standpoint that money was previously bonded for sewer on the tax rate. Other Towns would not get away with this. Chairman Barker stated if you are suggesting 100% sewer funding the rate would be $1.65 per 100 cubic feet, which would mean a IS% increase over last year. Mr. Griffin stated I am concerned that built into the rate increase is a substantial dollar value for redoing the standpipes. Swallowing all of that in one year is a huge thing to ask. I have some reticence in doing this. Chairman Barker added I think this is too much in one ,year. Mr. Pacino stated the Finance Committee has not discussed this and this is the first time I have heard of the phased Enterprise Accounting System. Superintendent Fletcher stated the Treasurer and Mr. Graham would be glad to meet with all of us to discuss the phasing process. Mr. Boucher stated at the time we spoke of this last year, I believe it was Russ Graham who came up with the numbers, and I do recollect the phasing discussion last year. Mr. Pac.ino stated I have no problem in terms of a two-year phasing process, working toward a Full. Enterprise System, that is my personal opinion. Mr. Lynch stated I think you are going in the right direction. c Board of Public Works Meeting of December 2, 1985 Pane? Mr. Nigro stated I think the sections we talked about this morning are very broad. I think that also the latest update of the General Law even anticipates your building in a surplus. Superintendent Fletcher stated I don't see a surplus ever developing if we have to fix the standpipes, etc. Mr. Pacino asked are you going to set the rates now? Superintendent Fletcher replied no, we will be doing this in the Spring. Chairman Barker stated on the sewer side, many of our sewer pumping stations need major overhauls. The idea of a surplus is not feasible for many, many years. The Board adjourned temporarily at 8;10 P.M. to meet as the Board of Survey. The Board reconvened at 8:45 P.M. The Board next discussed the petition and letter from the residents of Sanborn Lane complaining about the roadway conditions. There were four residents present as well as Jack Rivers, developer of Lilah Lane. Chairman Barker stated regarding the conditions on Sanborn Lane and Lilah Lane we made a visual inspection on Sunday, December Assistant Superintendent McIntire joined the meeting at BOO P.M. Richard Doucette of 102 Sanborn Lane stated the problem we are having is the safety of our children walking to the bus stop. There are at times 10" to 20" of mud on the road. There is heavy equipment there which is also very unsafe. Right now there is a 20 foot open pit and there is nothing there to stop a chile{ from falling in. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 1985 Page4 Chairman Barker stated from a personal point of view, we had no problems on Sunday with the condition of the read. We travelled all the way to the end of the road and there was about - 4" of loose material.. The roadway was not impassible. The remainder of the private way was not in the greatest shape and never has been. There are only certain thingsi. the Board of Public Works is legally empowered to do. Tack River stated we have bedded the roadway out with stone, which gives us a good base. Unfortunately, it has been raining continously. Our number one priority has been to maintain the access road. I am prepared to go forward with any suggestions. Chairman Barker asked is there any way of constructing an access way along the side of the temporary roadway that would give them some reasonable means of avoiding the heavy muck? Mr. Rivers stated I could put out a stone bed on the side of the road or install 2" X 10" planks on the side. Gloria Hulse stated every time you move the road we are going to have the same problem. Chairman Barker stated dir. Rivers is willing to make a reasonable attempt now that he has heard the problem. Under the Superintendent's Report: Superintendent Fletcher reported we had to delay the 1/1 selection process due to the holidays. You will see the candidates next week. It was moved, seconded and voted 4;4 to sign the Sewer Discharge Permit as presented by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Regarding the expenses incurred by Hurricane Gloria, we should be reimbursed in the amount of $666419.50. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 2, 1985 Wages Under Chairman's Comments; Chairman Barker stated he spoke with Ted Cohen regarding the Criterion Road Subdivision and this will be handled by the lawyers. I think the Town's situation is clear and they wi.l.l be meeting with the new attorney for C & C Associates. Regarding the New Facility RFP - Chairman Barker spoke with John Agnew and he plans to schedule a Task Force Meeting two weeks from now. We should he prepared at that meeting to have available the general specifications that we want included in the RFP. The Board next discussed the Eastway Petition for acceptance as a public ways These residents could go before Town Meeting on their own with this petition or they could also petition this Board to sponsor such an article and let them make their own presentation. Chairman Barker stated I would like to be able to respond to these people indicating what they should do. Mr. Redford stated prior to this sponsorship, there will have to be a public hearing. Chairman Barker stated I begin to see the pressures of Proposition 1/2 building more and more. Mrs Boucher stated I got a call from Tom Ryan over the holidays. He stated basically that the abettors have $30,000 that they can come up with. Mr. Griffin stated my suggestion is to pursue the options we perceive we have with legal counsel prior to making a decision. Perhaps that would then warrant a. public hearing and joint support of an article. This would certainly advertise the fact that road acceptance is one of the things we can not do anymore. Mr. Hampson asked isn't this really a cash flow problem? T would rather have the betterments assessed immediately after the work is done. Board of Public Works Meeting of December 1985 Pane6 The consensus of the Board was to check with Token Counsel before proceeding. The Board next discussed the FY87 Budget. it was moved, seconded and voted 4;0 to approve the Dater Division (funded by user rates) proposed funding of `k171©3,601. for FY87: It was moved, seconded and voted 4,0 to approve the Sewer Division (funded by user rates) proposed funding of 241,115.00 for FY87. It was moved, seconded and voted 4;0 that the total Public Works Operations budget for FY87 be funded in the amount of Q688.737.00. The Board sinned the Payroll and the Bill. Roll for the period ending November 29, 1985. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Sec re ry