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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-04-16 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee MinutesWATER & SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES April 16, 1997 A meeting of the Water & Sewer Advisory Committee was held at 7:44 P.M. on Wednesday, April 16, 1997 in the Berger Room, Reading Town Hall, 16 Lowell St., Reading, MA. In attendance were Chairman Gail Wood, Secretary Stewart Chipman, Committee member Richard Moore, and DPW Director, Ted McIntire. Meeting Minutes It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Gail Wood and approved by a vote of 2-0-1 (Chipman abstaining) to accept the minutes of February 19, 1997 as written. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Gail Wood and approved by a vote of 2-0-1 (Moore abstaining) to accept the minutes of March 19, 1997 as written. FY98 Budget The Committee discussed the postponement of the Wakefield Street water main construction ($40,000) and Water Supply Protection ($153,000). It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Stewart Chipman and approved by a vote of 3-0 for Chairman Gail Wood to offer a motion at Town Meeting to reduce the Water Capital Budget by $193,000.00 with the purpose of postponing the above mentioned projects and reducing the projected water rate for FY98. Following discussion by the Committee, it was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Stewart Chipman and approved by a vote 3-0 to instruct Chairman Gail Wood to offer a motion to reduce the Sewer Capital Budget for FY98 in the amount of $275,300.00. It is the recommendation of the Committee to postpone the construction of sewer mains in Mill Street and Short Street in anticipation of a developer constructing a substantial portion of those mains. This would also reduce the projected sewer rate for FY98. Stabilization Fund The Committee discussed the need for a Stabilization Fund in order to develop funding for projects such as repair and painting to water storage tanks and to soften the rate impact of such projects on the water and sewer users. The committee will further discuss a program and prepare a report to be presented to the Board of Selectmen at a future date. Water Quality Ted McIntire informed the Committee that a meeting with our consultants, Weston & Sampson, Engineers Inc. and Battelle Laboratories will be held in the near future to review the data collected to date and to outline the next steps to be taken. Water Supply Ted indicated that the Department had to shut down additional wells because of tasteloder problems. The supply available at this time will not meet the demand that we will experience in the months of May through August. Ted will put pressure on Weston & Sampson to accelerate the sampling and testing program and indicated that if the situation continues, he will be recommending a total ban on outside water use. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Richard Moore and approved by a vote of 3-0 to support the Director of Public Works in his evaluation of the data presented regarding tastelorder status and supply availability and his recommendation to prohibit outside water use if the conditions continue. It was recommended that meeting be scheduled at the High School prior to Town Meeting on April 28, 1997. Open Space Committee Stewart Chipman, WSAC Liaison to the Open Space Committee, reported the following: 1. The Open Space Committee has been cataloging potential sites of desirable open land and have identified the Johnson Egg Farm property on West Street as the prime location. 2. Find the scope of the problem: Is it desirable to have open space; Identify the benefits; Must be able to pay fair market value for the property; Land donations. 3. Land Banks: This would require home buyers to pay a certain percentage of the property cost to the Town to be used for the purchase of open land. There are a number of options that can be pursued regarding the amount of money to be paid, including different percentages depending on the cost of the property, or possibly not including the first one hundred thousand dollars paid for the property. There may also not be a requirement for donations if the property is involved in a foreclosure. Stewart has downloaded information from the Internet related to land banks and will send it to Ted for distribution to other Committee members. Community Day The Committee discussed the possibility of the presentation of a water consumption chart. Ted will put together information for Stewart on water consumption for the past twenty years. If was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Stewart Chipman and approve by a vote of 3-0 to adjourn the meeting at 9:22 PM.