Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-10-22 Board of Public Works Minutes October 22, 1979 I Meeting of the Board of Public Works convened at 7:30 P. M. in Room 16, Municipal Building. Present were Douglas Cowell , Acting Chairman, Board Members DeHart and Wood, Superintendent Louanis and Assistant Superinten- dent Bergeron. It was moved, seconded and voted to accept the minutes of the previous meetings as presented. Superintendent Louanis read petition for joint pole relo- cation by the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Town of Reading Municipal Light Department requesting permission to relocate pole 54/19 approximately seven feet southerly of its existing location on South Main Street due to the widening of the curb at the corner of Hopkins Street. It was moved, seconded and voted to grant permission to the utility companies to move the pole in accordance with plan marked N.E. T.&T. Co. , No. 4-3314 dated October 3, 1979. 1 Superintendent Louanis read petition for joint pale relo- cation by the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Town of Reading Municipal Light Department requesting permission to relocate pole 85/4 on the southwesterly side of Sumner Avenue approximately twenty feet northwesterly in order that the homeowner at 649 Sumner Avenue may have adequate clearance for entrance to his driveway. It was moved, seconded and voted to grant permission to the utility companies to nave the pole in accordance with plan marked N.E.T.&T. Co. , No. 4-3307 dated September 25, 1979, The Board reviewed petition from the residents of B Street wherein it is requested the Town install sanitary sewer in B Street. Superintendent Louanis indicated that in 1976 the majority of the residents in the area were opposed to this betterment but now many are having septic problems. Mrs. Wood moved, Mr. DeHart seconded and it was voted to put B Street back on the sewer pro- gram and proceed with scheduling the necessary hearing. Read petition from residents requesting that Lots 26 and 27 on Hurlburt Road be set aside as a neighborhood playground. Super- intendent Louanis reported that this is tax title land and recommended that the Board take no action on this until the Ad Hoc Committee report is received. It was moved, seconded and voted to follow the recommendation of the Superintendent. Mr. Cowell recommended that a letter be sent to the committee and advise them of the Board' s action and give them a copy of the petition, and also in- form the petitioners. The Board read letter from the Metropolitan, District Commission signed by Guy A. Carbone, Commissioner calling attention to a public hearing to be held on October 26, 1979 at 11 :00 A.M. on the subject of "Proposed Improvements or Extensions to the Metropolitan Sewer- age System. " Mr. Cowell suggested that the Superintendent research the files sending pertinent information to Representative Barrett in an effort to have some action taken in the interest of the Town of Reading under Chapter 519: 1974. Read letter from Robert W. Tuthill , Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts calling attention to a meeting to be held at the Reading High School Lecture Hall on Thursday, November 8th at 7:00 P.M. At this meeting interested parties will be made aware of the results of the study to determine whether substitution of bottled low sodium MDC water might effect a lower- in g ower-ing of the blood pressure of students using the water. The Board reviewed letter from the law offices of Latham and Latham (copy attached) suggesting that the Atlantic Food Mart con- tribute the sum of $15,000 to aid in the correction of the drainage problem which has caused them severe losses as a result of flooding. Mr. Testa arrived at 8: 30 P.M. The .Board also reviewed the pro- posed drainage plan developed by Robert Anderson Engineers for the Atlantic Food Mart which proposed a system -of a seepage pit or pits on their property with overflow connections to the Town' s drainage system and a sump pump connection. After discussing the pros and cons of this plan with the Town ' s Engineer it was concluded that at best this system would only work in dry periods and not be effective in solving the problem during the wet seasons of the year when it would be most needed. The Atlantic Food Mart was represented by G. Sweetland and Arnold Rubin. Mr. Rubin requested that the Town Engineer cooperate with their engineer during the ensuing week in an attempt to resolve the problem of flooding in their area ' and the Atlantic Food Mart needed to tie their roof drains and surface drainage into some adequate drainage system. The Board /�/s ,/yy concurred with the proposal and advised Mr. Rubin they would recon- sider the matter when a new plan had been developed. Acting Chairman Cowell opened the discussion to a review of the solid waste disposal options and requested the Superintendent to make some remarks regarding the material presented to the Board. The Superintendent stated that the material presented to the Board for their review over the weekend contained material from the Gordian Report which outlined the several proposals indicating their risks and possible costs. This material had been tabulated by Assistant Superintendent Bill Bergeron. The tabulation showed that the lowest cost had the highest risk and the highest cost had the lowest risk. Therefore, it seemed to the Superintendent the decision facing the Board was a business decision to determine how much of a risk the Town should take in obtaining the lowest possi- ble cost. Also, the Superintendent had prepared a rough draft of a report to the Town Meeting regarding the solid waste problem and asked for the Board' s comments and input. David Testa felt that the NESWC proposal was the least expensive and that the regional resource 1 ! recovery seemed to be the porper solution to the problem but the more he read the proposed contract he found it more and more diffi- cult to recommend that the Town should enter into it because the contract was written totally in favor of the contractor and the burden of proof was always on the member communities: . Mrs. Wood felt that the NESWC concept was the proper solution to the problem but the present contract was unacceptable and should be renegotiated, and that the short term solution might be to continue with the pre- sent contract method. David Testa felt that the Resco option was a viable one fod the Town to consider along with the contract method. Mr. Cowell indicated that he had read in the morning paper that the Town of Beverly was seriously considering a new dump site as they felt the Titan project had very little hope of success. Mr. Testa asked the Superintendent to summarize his opinion of the options available to the Town. The Superintendent stated he felt the NESWC option was the best available long term solution except that the risks were extremely high for the Town and the contract favored U.O.P. unduly. The SESWC project is further behind that of NESWC and is not a real option at this time. The Tital project has not completed all its environmental projects and the technology is un- proven and does not appear that it will move in the near future. Resco is an existing resource and recovery plant available for use now with known costs. Charles George is a small company which may not have the financial backing to guarantee all of the Town' s con- cerns. Rubbish collection and disposal by contract is a short term solution. As required by the State Law the Town can not ne- gotiate a contract for more than five years. The Chairman tabled discussion until the next meeting. It was moved seconded and voted to sign commitment letter for sewer house connection laterals in the amount of $540.60 and sewer frontage in the amount of $620.00 as listed on page 5 and 19 respectively and assess betterments accordingly. The Board signed the payroll for the period ending October 19th and the Bill Roll dated October 26, 1979. Meeting adjourned at 10:40 P. M. tful_ly s �e` z!! / e ear JOHN W. PLUM Chairman OFFICE OF DOUGLAS A. COWELJ., See " OWN OF READING DAVID L. TESTA T DON B.L. T BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS GAIL F. WOOD E. ROGER WUANIS, Sapnlala t MUNICIPAL BUILDING :hn READING, MASS. 0I867 nr^n MASSACHUSETTS COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Middlesex, ss. The undersigned, Board of Public Works of the Town of Reading, in compliance with the provisions of the General Laws, Chapter 80, as amended by Chapter 63 of the Acts of 1933, hereby certify that the lists herewith contain the names of persons against whom we have made betterment assessments together with the location of the land benefited by the improvement and the nature and a- mount of such betterment assessment. Sewer House Connections (Laterals) $ 540.60 Sewer Frontage 620.00 Such list is certified to you for the purpose of committing the same to the Tax Collector, as provided by law. WITNESS our hands this twenty-second day of Octo- ber 1979 A.D. Chairman cr tnry ZA See Commitment Sheet For List