TOWN OF SOMERS
WATER POLLUTION
CONTROL AUTHORITY
P. O. BOX 308
Somers,
Connecticut 06071
WPCA Minutes
Tuesday, July
3, 2007
7:00 p.m.
Town Hall
Conference Room
I. Public
Hearing – Goodwin Drive – Sanitary Sewer Assessments
Chairman Jim Botellio called the public hearing to order at 7:05 p.m. and read the public notice which indicated a sewer assessment of $6,193.36 on 15 properties on Goodwin Drive. The bills will be sent out for October 1, 2007 with 30 days to pay the full amount without interest. The amount can be financed with the town for ten years at 6.1% interest. Full payment can be made at any time. Jim Botellio asked if there were any questions from the audience:
A. Gagnon, 35 Goodwin Drive:
asked what the charge was for – to fund the sewer plant construction. He was told the assessment charge was to cover the cost of putting the sewer line on Goodwin Drive only.
Virginia Bergstrom, 65 Goodwin Drive:
remarked that Somers has one of the lowest user fees charged in the state. This fee is used only for maintenance of the sewer system.
A question was asked – when the ARH development homes hook up to the sewer system, will the user fee be lower? This will depend on the maintenance costs at the time.
Are there any problems with the overall sewer system? The answer was no.
Harry C. Bergstrom, 57 Goodwin Drive:
asked if the present sewer system will handle the new homes as well as those existing homes. He was told that with the sewer plant expansion, handling the new homes will not be a problem.
A. Gagnon, 35 Goodwin Drive:
asked if the new toilets flush good. He was told yes, they do and these new low water usage toilets are now a state requirement.
There were no more questions and the public hearing was closed at 7:25 p.m.
II. Call to
Order:
The regular meeting was called to order at 7:25 p.m. Members present were: Jim Botellio; Dan Fraro; Steve Getman and Charles Colby. Also present was Steve Jacobs, Registered Sanitarian.
III. Approval of Minutes: June 19, 2007
A motion was made by Charles Colby; seconded by Steve Getman to approve the 6/19/07 minutes, as written. This motion was unanimously approved by the Authority.
WPCA Minutes
7/3/07
Page 2
IV. Goodwin
Drive – Sanitary Sewer Assessment:
The results of the public hearing were favorable. No further discussion was necessary. Charles Colby made a motion to approve the sewer assessment of $6,193.36 for fifteen homes on Goodwin Drive. The billing will be October 1, 2007. At that time, homeowners can pay the entire amount within 30 days or the amount can be financed through the town at 6.1% for a period of ten years. This motion was seconded by Steve Getman and unanimously approved by the Authority.
V. Somersville
WPCF – Expansion Update:
The cost of the sewer expansion has more than doubled from the original estimate of $400,000. Total cost is now estimated to be $884,264 – even with several items being eliminated from the bid – such as fencing that can go under a separate contract. The Quality Avenue pump station is a separate item of $79,034 awarded to Hinckley Construction that will be funded by the WPCA sewer account. The town share will be 50% of the cost or $442,132. Jim Botellio will meet with the Board of Selectmen to see if they will approve requesting this amount from the Board of Finance. The entire project will have to be approved at a special town meeting.
A motion was made by Charles Colby; seconded by Steve Getman to approve a contract cost of $784,264 with half of the cost borne by the town and the other half by the developer. Also, the Quality Avenue pump station as a separate item of $79,034 awarded to Hinckley Construction and funded by the WPCA sewer account. Finally, a total engineering cost of $68,000 and $32,000 for fencing that will be awarded to a separate contractor for a total of $100,000 making a total project cost of $884,264 to be shared equally by the town and the developer. This motion was unanimously approved by the Authority.
VI. WPCA
Health Fees:
The last adjustment of fees was done in 2003. Further discussion of this item will be done at the next WPCA meeting.
VII. Correspondence/Audience
Participation:
Members of the Authority reviewed a letter from the Board of Selectmen regarding joining a regional health district instead of having our own town sanitarian. After a discussion, it was the consensus of the Authority that the following is their opinion on the issue:
1. No further exploration of health districts at this time
2. Members of the Authority wish to keep Steve Jacobs as our full-time sanitarian.
He is highly qualified and we are very lucky to have him. All of the contractors
that work in Somers would much rather have Steve Jacobs on the job as sanitarian
instead of a district where it would take much longer to get their jobs done.
WPCA Minutes
7/3/07
Page 3
3. The Authority will look into more hours for the doctor that we have as health
director or the possibility of hooking up with Johnson Memorial Hospital to
see if they would be able to handle some of the required medical work.
The Invitation to Bid on Maple Ridge septic pumping came in from Skips at $6,011 and Avery Septic at $5,500. A motion was made by Steve Getman; seconded by Dan Fraro and unanimously approved to award the contract to Avery Septic for a total of $5,500.
Charles Robinson, food inspector, has resigned. The 2007-08 grant for the food inspector position should be received in the near future.
The quarterly report from DOC on mitigation of the PCE contamination has been received with very little change noted.
VIII. Bills/Transfers:
Ben Meadows $8,340
North Safety $60.76
EML $825.60
Steve Jacobs reimbursement $20.00
Avery Septic – repair $50.00
Jack Gonsalves – Goodwin $8,875.00
Transfer $507.50 from sewer fund to general fund
Charles Colby made a motion to approve payment of the bills and the transfer of funds, seconded by Steve Getman and passed unanimously.
IX. Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn made by Charles Colby; seconded by Steve Getman and unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dan Fraro, Secretary
Connie Carenzo, Recording Secretary
MINUTES
ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.