WPCA Minutes 04/06/2017
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
SPECIAL MEETING
APRIL 6, 2017
“Subject to Vote of Approval”
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Paul Gilmore called the special meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Simsbury Water Pollution Control Facility Conference Room, 36 Drake Hill Road, Simsbury. The following members were present: Michael Park, Loren Shoemaker and Lucian Dragulski. Also present were Anthony Piazza, Superintendent; Alison Sturgeon, Clerk, as well as other interested parties.
2. SAFETY BRIEF – Mr. Gilmore gave a safety brief noting the exits in case of an emergency. He also cautioned homeowners to look at their sump pumps to make sure they are working properly.
Dr. Park made a motion to take the agenda out of order and hear the presentation for Cambridge Crossing next. Mr. Shoemaker seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
3. PRESENTATION – HOSKINS ROAD DEVELOPMENT (CAMBRIDGE CROSSING)
Joseph Perugini, Professional Engineer with Weston & Sampson, stated that the developer, Sunlight Construction, has broken this site into quadrants because of the size of the parcel. He stated that this is a proposed mixed use development with 88 total units. Of those units, there will be 52 single family dwellings, 12 patio homes / duplexes and 24 multi-family / apartment units. They will be constructing 3 apartment buildings on the east side of the parcel and the single family dwellings will be constructed throughout the west side. The middle and northern portions of the site will consist of the patio homes. This development will be served by 8’ PVC gravity sewer; there will be approximately 3,300 linear feet of roadway on this 28 acre parcel of land. At the high point of the site, the sewer splits and will join the single sewer down the road, again, by gravity, and will tie into the existing sewers on Hoskins Road.
Mr. Perugini stated that this development has already gone through the Planning and Zoning process, as well as the Conservation Commission, and has been approved by these three Land Use Commissions. He stated that they have also submitted, to CT DEEP, an application for the stormwater discharge permit. They are hoping to get a response from the State soon. Sunlight Construction would like to begin construction as soon as possible, if approved.
Mr. Piazza stated that he wrote a letter in November 2015 to Sunlight Construction regarding sewer design comments. In this letter, it stated that the laterals need to be connected to the main lines; any lateral that exceeds 100ft would need a clean out installed; further detail is needed as to how the developer would tie into Hoskins Road; gasketed covers are required; and making sure the gas and sewer lines are in separate trenches for future maintenance. He stated the other considerations were that each lateral would require a WPC connection permit; the FCC for each residence would be payable before a connection permit is issued unless other financing options were pursued; and that the WPCA requires a letter from the engineer stating that the sewer has been designed and installed in accordance with TR16 guidelines. Mr. Perugini stated that all of these comments have been addressed.
Mr. Piazza stated that a capacity review was done for this development back in 2015. It is a 28 acre site in an I-1 zone. Total capacity for the site is 91,800 gpd; the proposed use is 34,200 gpd.
Mr. Piazza stated that the developer will need to have a Developer’s Agreement and associated bonding in place prior to the start of any construction.
Mr. Shoemaker questioned if there would be retention pools for water runoff. Mr. Perugini stated that there is an area in the center of the homes for water runoff, which meets Town requirements.
Mr. Shoemaker made a motion to approve the request for Cambridge Crossing development to tie into the Simsbury sanitary sewer system subject to the execution of a Developer’s Agreement as well as having the bonding requirements in place prior to construction. Mr. Dragulski seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
4. PUBLIC HEARING: SEWER USE FEES FOR FY 2017/18
Mr. Gilmore read the legal notice.
Mr. Shoemaker made a motion to open the public hearing. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Mr. Piazza stated that there are 3 developments being constructed in Town, which calculate to approximately 350 new connections. The FCC charges for these developments total approximately $1.6 million and will most likely be paid in 2019. Revenue will increase during this period but then stabilize. He showed the WPCA members graphs depicting revenue as well as the Reserve Fund. If some or all of the FCC charges are financed over a ten year period, the revenue and Reserve Fund will steadily increase.
Mr. Piazza stated that the Town just received notification from the State of the potential changes regarding the phosphorous requirements. He stated that the Reserve Fund could be impacted if the phosphorous limit changes.
Mr. Piazza recommended a 5% increase in the sewer user rates for both residential and non-residential customers.
Dr. Park made a motion to close the public hearing. Mr. Shoemaker seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Dr. Park made a motion to approve a 5% increase to the sewer user fees for FY 2017/18 to $352 per EDU for residential customers and $4.46 per CCF for non-residential customers. Mr. Dragulski seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
5. HIGHCROFT APARTMENTS – REQUEST FOR FCC FINANCING
Mr. Piazza stated that this is a request to finance the FCC for 64 units and clubhouse within the Highcroft development. The total FCC to be financed is $410,489 over a ten year period.
Mr. Shoemaker made a motion to approve the FCC finance request for Highcroft Apartments. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
6. TOWN CODE – DISCUSSION
Mr. Piazza stated that he has looked at Simsbury’s Town Code as well as Codes for the surrounding Towns. He stated that some are more detailed and some are less detailed than Simsbury’s Code. He will prepare an updated draft of the Town Code for the WPCA member’s review prior to their summer recess.
Dr. Park made a motion to take the agenda out of order and review the March minutes next. Mr. Shoemaker seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
7. MARCH 9, 2017 MEETING MINUTES – POSSIBLE APPROVAL
Mr. Shoemaker made a motion to approve the March 9, 2017 minutes as written. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
8. STATUS REPORT ON SEWER EXTENSION PROJECTS, ETC.
Mr. Piazza stated that Dorsett Crossing is looking to extend their development beyond the Specialty Housing. They have already received approval from the Wetlands Commission. They are now redesigning the sewers to the south side of the property instead of running under the watercourse. Mr. Piazza stated that they have received the easements documents for Garden Homes. The final air test and video inspection has been completed. The Meadowood Development is requesting an updated approval letter for their sewer capacity. Also, the project that the WPCA approved for 80 Climax Road was recently denied by the Planning and Zoning Commissions.
Regarding Town projects, Mr. Piazza stated that final pavement for Andrew Drive will be completed this spring.
The design for Bushy Hill Road sewer extension was done in-house. The Engineering Department will be reviewing it prior to sending it to the State. Regarding Maple Court, easement documents for the Old Mill Townhomes were sent out again since the first documents were lost in the mail. Mr. Piazza stated that the plan and profile was recently received from the surveyor for Massaco Street. This will go out to bid and will hopefully be completed prior to the end of this construction season. Also, 560-573B Hopmeadow Street will be completed once the asphalt plants are open at night.
9. TREATMENT FACILITY REPORT
Mr. Piazza stated that all permit requirements were met for March. Regarding the plant process, he stated that the phosphorous analyzer and UV disinfection system have been put on-line for the season. Pump # 1 at Longview pump station failed; the pump is 12 years old and was rebuilt 3 years ago. A replacement pump has been ordered which will be more efficient and provide a higher capacity. Also, a power supply for the Wolcott pump station SCADA repeater failed. A replacement unit was installed. Spare modules will be ordered for the system to ensure continued monitoring and operation of the system is maintained.
Regarding the sewer allocation process, Mr. Piazza stated that staff will be meeting with David Prickett Consulting to discuss the actions / direction determined by the WPCA for further analysis of the system. Work will continue on developing an updated plan for the flow allocation review process.
Mr. Piazza stated that staff continues with cleaning of the system and that the truck driver position remains open.
After a short discussion regarding the continued work by David Pricket Consulting regarding the allocation study, the WPCA members agreed to have David Prickett come to an upcoming meeting to give them an overview of what has already been done as well as what he can do and the limitations of those options.
10. CORRESPONDENCE
The Authority members reviewed a letter from Griffin Industrial Realty regarding an update of the sewer approval for the Meadowood Development as well as a request for capacity review. They also reviewed a second letter sent to Old Mill Town Homes regarding sewer easement documents.
The Authority members reviewed and agreed for Mr. Piazza to send out a letter to SL Simsbury, LLC regarding sewer allocation for the north site at 200 Hopmeadow Street.
11. ADJOURN
The meeting ended at 7:48 p.m.
______________________
Paul Gilmore, Chairman