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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-08-25 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee MinutesWATER & SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES August 25, 1999 t A meeting of the Water & Sewer Advisory Committee was held at 7:36 P.M. on Wegesd , ~ August 25, 1999 in the Berger Room, Reading Town Hall, 16 Lowell St., Reading, Ma. - i _ p > 70 In attendance were Chairman Gail Wood, Secretary Richard Moore, Committee mnbe William Freeman, Robert Salter, and Jerry MacDonald, and DPW Director Ted McIntire. Meeting Minutes It was moved by Bill Freeman, seconded by Richard Moore to approve the minutes of July 21, 1999 as written. Bob Salter requested that the following language be added to the first paragraph under Water Storage Tank Siting Study: "Woodard & Curran will include the DEP recommended total storage capacity of average daily demand which is 2,000,000 gallons for the Town of Reading." Bill Freemen requested that the following language be added to the end of the fourth paragraph under Water Storage Tank Siting Study: "Woodard & Curran will include total project costs for the Auburn Street Option, as they have for the Lothrop Road Option under table `ES.2-Water Distribution System Tank Costs'." Motion to accept the minutes of July 21, 1999 as corrected were approved by a vote of 4-0-1 (MacDonald abstaining). Water Storage Tank Siting Procedure Gail Wood spoke to Peter Hechenbleikner about the tank siting public meeting process. Peter requested that Woodard & Curran make a presentation to the Board of Selectmen at a public meeting and he recommends that the Board of Selectmen send it back to the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee to make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen at a later date. The presentation by Woodard & Curran is scheduled for the Board of Selectmen meeting on September 28, 1999. It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Bob Salter that an article be included in the Subsequent Town Meeting Warrant in November 1999 to fund the design of a water storage tank in the amount of $80,000.00 with a plan of funding the construction of the tank at the Annual Town Meeting in April 2000. There was discussion as to the benefit of constructing a storage tank prior to doing improvements in the distribution system that would benefit fire flow. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-1 (MacDonald abstaining). Ted will send a memo to Peter Hechenbleikner outlining the requests of the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee. Water/Sewer Rate Study Gail Wood explained the dept exclusion option of putting borrowing costs from the MWRA Sewer Capital Program on the tax rate, and feels this option should be addressed in the rate study. Ted had not received any additional studies, however, staff will be working a Request for Proposals and will submit it to the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee for comments. Other optional tasks for rate study consultant include: block rates, municipal building and condo complexes, stabilization funds, and average billing. Ted will have a draft RFP ready for the Committee for review at the next meeting. Alinutes - 1T'S.9 August 25, 1999. doe Page 1 of 2 Water/Sewer Billing Options Ted contacted the Boston Gas Company and they have retrofitted 95% of there meters to radio read capability. They now read and bill on a monthly basis. The Committee discussed billing option recommendations to the Board of Selectmen to address the increase dollar amount per bill and the current billing issues. Ted will summaries the options and comments by DPW Staff and the Treasurer/Collector to be presented on a single spreadsheet. Selectmen's Policies The Committee comments that Ted McIntire had submitted to Peter Hechenbleikner dated August 13, 1999 regarding Selectmen's Policies related to the Department of Public Works as follows: Section 5.7 - Discussed recommendations as written; Section 5.7.5 - Discussed recommendations as written; Section 5.8 - Approved no changes; Section 5.9 - Water Conservation Program - Discussed the recommendations as written. Recommended the following language be added to this section as a new paragraph - "Current water restrictions are mailed to every household and posted at the Reading Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street."; Section 5.11_ Ted will prepare a document outlining the recommended changes for final review by the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee. Protection of IDSWich River The Committee reviewed the memo from Peter Tassi and the "1998 Ipswich River Basin Water Conservation Report Card" put out by the Ipswich River Watershed Association. The consensus was that Reading has made significant efforts in the protection of the water supply, maintenance of the Town's water system infrastructure and conservation areas. Gail Wood will do further work on the Town's effort with protecting the Ipswich River and the Town's water supply. Water System Leak Detection The Committee reviewed the Leak Detection report prepared by Water and Waste Pipe Testing, Inc. The firm located 14 leaks in the system, which were repaired by DPW staff resulting in a reduction of 127,000 gallons per day. The Department plans to do a leak survey again in FY00 and make a determination as to the benefits of continuing every year or every other year with the survey. General Bob Salter commented on the impressive quality of the 1999 Drinking Water Report. He recommended that the consultant and staff who worked on putting the report together be credited in the report. The next meeting of the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee is scheduled for September 29, It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Bob Salter and approved by a vote of 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 9:45pm. I mutes - WSACAugust 25, 1999.doc Page 2 of 2