TOWN OF SOMERS
WATER POLLUTION
CONTROL AUTHORITY
P.O. Box 308
Somers,
Connecticut 06071
WPCA Meeting
Minutes
1/10/06 - 7:30
p.m.
Town Hall
Conference Room
I. CALL
TO ORDER:
Chairman Jim Botellio called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Members present were: Jim Botellio, George VanTasel, Jim Faust, Dan Fraro, Elinor Labutis, Steve Getman and Charles Colby (7:50). Also present was Steve Jacobs, Registered Sanitarian.
II. Shaker
Road and Main Street - Gingras Development LLC - Proposed
Age-Restricted
Housing
The applicant has received conditional approval from the State for extension of the sewer line and approval for extension of the water main from Hazardville Water Company. The Authority needs to vote on this issue so the developer can make application to the town commissions. Approval from the WPCA would be contingent upon complying with conditions listed by the Town Sanitarian in his letter to the developer's engineer Kenneth Smith dated 12/30/05 and the execution of agreements for the extension of the water and sewer lines.
Sewer Extension - The connection fee ($2,500) per unit must be paid no later than thirty days after the execution of the sewer agreement. The permit fee of $100 is due when each individual house is built. An escrow agreement for the engineering inspections of the sewer line needs to be written and approved by all parties involved.
The other issue with the sewers is the pump station itself - the ownership and maintenance thereof. Most other towns do not own or maintain pump stations. Ownership and maintenance are the responsibility of the developer's association. Mike Mocko said that the Town Attorney should draw up an agreement whereby the Town does not assume ownership or maintenance of the pump station.
Steve Jacobs had a meeting with Brian Mead of Hazardville Water Company. The water mains are to remain in private ownership and no agreement is necessary. An agreement is needed as to when the WPCA gets its payment - i.e., a connection fee of $2,600 per unit and a permit fee of $200.00 per unit. Based on a number of 80 houses, the total comes to $224,000. The first group of 25 houses will be done in 2007 for a total of $70,000. The second group of 30 houses will be done in 2008 for a total of $84,000 and the final group of 25 will be done in 2009 for a total of $70,000. The developer, Guy Gingras, said this schedule depends on the state of the economy and whether or not these houses sell.
WPCA Minutes
1/10/06
Page 2
The WPCA bond comes due in 2009. The agreement should reflect that the first third of the payment is due 30 days after execution of the contract and the other two payments due by 2008 - before our bond is due. The Town Attorney will be asked to work out such an agreement.
Also, it was the consensus of the Authority to talk to the Selectmen about putting the permit fees into the water fund rather than the general fund.
Charles Colby made a motion to send this information to the Town Attorney, Carl Landolina, for his review and to have the agreements back to us in order to vote on them at our next meeting on 2/7/06. This motion was seconded by George VanTasel and unanimously approved.
Charles Colby made a motion to approve the basic ARH development plan conditional on meeting the requirements set forth in Steve Jacobs letter to Ken Smith dated 12/30/05 and the execution of acceptable water and sewer agreements with the developer. This motion was seconded by Steve Getman and unanimously approved.
The estimate for engineering fees is $28,890.
Mike Mocko asked about the State permit fee for enlarging the sewer plant. It is a flat fee of several thousand dollars. Steve Jacobs estimates the fee to be about $5,000. The developer is responsible for paying this fee.
III. Somersville
WPCF - Expansion Update:
Steve Jacobs sent a letter to Mike Mocko asking that the final plans are available by February 1, 2006. Mike Mocko said he spent half a day with Frank Smith going over pumps and controls last week. These will be incorporated into the pump station design. He also asked for pumps and controls for the Quality Avenue pump station. Frank Smith should have something ready this week, and we can work this into the final plans for that section of the treatment facility. Mike is also reviewing bonding, insurance etc. and going over these costs to incorporate into the final plans. Mike's target date for completion is the end of this month. He will appear at the WPCA February meeting with the final plans.
Mike Mocko brought a small bill with him for services already rendered in the amount of $5,510. Jeff Lipton will have to put more money into the engineering cost escrow account. Charges to date are about $10,000.
WPCA Minutes
1/10/06
Page 3
IV. Goodwin
Drive - Sewer Main Extension:
Steve Jacobs sent a letter out to the people who own the property on the corner - 23 Goodwin Drive and asked if they would be willing to give the town an easement. They have not responded as yet. The Town does not want to put in a pump station and could enforce this easement under the imminent domain law. The owner of the property is listed as Ann Griskus.
Steve Jacobs presented a draft of a letter to be sent to residents of Goodwin Drive asking if they would like a sewer line put in on their street and if they would be willing to pay for a portion of the cost. Authority members reviewed the draft and made quite a few changes. Steve will re-work the letter and present it again for approval at the next meeting.
V. Sewer/Water
Billing:
a. Collection Update:
We liened 20 delinquent sewer accounts, five of which are long-term delinquent accounts.
b. Delinquent Accounts:
We are working with an attorney who is settling up the bankruptcy claim for Lee Pinney's farm. The debtors can only collect 7% of the late fees owed. The bottom line is that we should receive $3,763.44 by the end of this month to settle this delinquency.
There has been no action on the other delinquent accounts. Meyer's Motors has not paid anything lately on his delinquency. We have received a few small payments on the Hocking account. If payments are not made this month, these accounts should be sent to the Town Attorney in preparation for foreclosure.
VI. Correspondence/Audience
Participation:
Received notice from the DEP that 18 Main Street off Sunset Drive is over the potable limit for water, so this address will be hooked up to public water. However, 23 Main Street remains below the potable limit and will not be connected at this time.
Received e-mail from Dave Batten, DOC that the specifications for the sewer line for the prison should be completed in a few days, and the project should be going out to bid within a couple of months. It is interesting to note that neither the Town of Enfield nor the Town of Somers have been kept in the loop for information on the progress of this proposed new sewer line.
WPCA Minutes
1/10/05
Page 4
Quarterly report was received from the DOC on the PCE mitigation. Everything remains status quo, with no significant change in contamination levels. The cost is up to 6.7 million dollars.
Results have not been received from Malcolm-Pirnie on the latest test results on Rye Hill Circle.
Received correspondence from the Board of Selectmen asking us to keep our budget increase for fiscal year 2006-2007 at or under 3.5%. Steve Jacobs presented a copy of the WPCA proposed budget which will be reviewed at next month's meeting.
VII. Bills:
Ward Engineering $5,510.00
Environmental Monitoring $530.00
Wood Construction $715.00
Risers on manholes $253.54
Jim Faust made a motion to approve payment of the bills; seconded by Charles Colby and unanimously approved by the Authority.
VIII. Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn made by Charles Colby, seconded by George VanTasel and unanimously approved by the Authority. The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dan Fraro, Secretary
Connie Carenzo, Recording Secretary
MINUTES
ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.