HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-11-01 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee MinutesWATER & SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES 1=
November 1, 1997 '
A meeting of the Water & Sewer Advisory Committee was held at 8 05- A-M. on
Saturday, November 1, 1997, at the Louanis Water Treatment Plant, Strout Avenue,
Reading, MA.
In attendance were Chairman Gail Wood, Secretary Stewart Chipman, Committee
Member Richard Moore and DPW Director Ted McIntire.
Water/Sewer Rate Stabilization Program
Richard Moore presented the proposed presentation based on changes made at the
October 29, 1997 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee meeting. Stewart will make the
opening remarks and Richard will present the options and charts. Richard moved to
recommend option 2 for water which would limit the rate to a minimum advance of 2%, a
maximum advance of 6%, no more than 1/3 of the stabilization fund can be used and the
stabilization fund can not grow more than 25% of the budget. The motion was seconded
by Stewart Chipman and approved by a vote of 3-0.
Richard Moore moved to recommend option 2 for the Sewer Stabilization Fund which
limits the advance to a minimum of 4%, a maximum advance of 9%, no more than 1/3 of
the stabilization fund can be used and the stabilization fund can not grow by more than
25% of the budget. The motion was seconded by Stewart Chipman and approved by a
vote of 3-0.
The Committee commended Richard on his hard work preparing the package for the
presentation.
Water/Sewer Capital
Ted presented revised Capital Improvement sheets for upgrading the computer system
within municipal operations. These sheets were revised since the Water and Sewer
Advisory Committee meeting on October 29, 1997. The Finance Department has
proposed the upgrade from FY99 to FY07 and the water and sewer portion of that
upgrade for each year is as follows: FY99 - $10,000; FY00 - $8,000; FY01 - FY07
$6,000 per year. It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Stewart Chipman and
approved by a vote of 3-0 to recommend the water and sewer assessments for the upgrade
of the computer system as proposed by the Finance Department.
It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Stewart Chipman that no money be taken
from the Sewer Reserve/Emergency Fund in FY98 to offset sewer rates this year. The
motion was approved by a vote of 3-0. The Committee felt that the Mill Street and Short
Street sewer construction project was to large a project to fund at this time. The
Committee does not want a large rate fluctuation and feels the need to develop the rate
stabilization fund to be able to have stable rates.
It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Stewart Chipman and approve by a vote of
3-0 to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 a.m.