WPCA Minutes 03/08/2018
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
REGULAR MEETING
MARCH 8, 2018
“Subject to Vote of Approval”
1. CALL TO ORDER
Paul Gilmore called the regular meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Water Pollution Control Facility, 36 Drake Hill Road, Simsbury. The following members were present: Michael Park, Lucian Dragulski, Jay Sheehan, Tom Hickey, and Ed Kelly. Also present were Thomas Roy, Director of Public Works; Anthony Piazza, Water Pollution Control Superintendent; and Alison Sturgeon, Clerk.
2. SAFETY BRIEF – Mr. Gilmore gave a safety brief noting the exits in case of an emergency.
3. PUBLIC HEARING – ASSESSMENT FOR 560-573B HOPMEADOW STREET
Mr. Gilmore read the legal notice.
LEGAL NOTICE
TOWN OF SIMSBURY
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
The Simsbury Water Pollution Control Authority will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room at the Simsbury Water Pollution Control Facility, 36 Drake Hill Road, Simsbury, CT. The purpose of the hearing is to review and possibly vote on the proposed sewer assessments for 560-573B Hopmeadow Street. This will be the one and only hearing of the Authority on these assessments. Any affected property owner may appear and be heard.
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
Paul Gilmore, Chairman
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to open the assessment public hearing for 560-573B Hopmeadow Street. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Mr. Piazza stated that the overall cost for the mainline for this project was $80,879, which was approximately $9,000 over cost due to the changes in State permitting. This amount includes the additional work that was involved for the installation of laterals to Benny’s and Green Tea, which totaled $20,167; this was charged out to those individual property owners. He stated that 573A and 573B Hopmeadow Street assessments will be deferred since there is currently no access to the sewers at this time. Mr. Piazza stated that Brookside Bagels has already tied into the sewers; 571 Hopmeadow Street would like to tie in as soon as possible. All affected property owners did receive letters with these costs as well as offering financing through the Town.
Mr. Sheehan stated that the reason those properties have deferred assessments is because they do not have access to the sewers at this time. He questioned if he was correct. Mr. Piazza stated that the sewer has not been run up the street in front of these properties; the assessment will be deferred until that line is run for them to connect. Mr. Piazza stated that there is a project, which is in the initial stages, for Dyno Nobel to upgrade their sewers on Woodland Street. As part of that project, a line may be run in front of these properties, although he is unsure of that at this time. There may be, at that time, an additional assessment for those properties. Mr. Gilmore questioned if, when the initial project analysis was done, it was explained that the sewer extension would not be extended in front of these properties. Mr. Piazza stated that yes, it was explained at that time.
Attorney Fortgang, 573 Hopmeadow Street stated that he is one of the owners of the north building. These buildings are part of a condominium association, which currently maintains the septic system, having it cleaned on a regular basis. He stated that none of the property owners want to hook up to the sewer system nor do they want a lien on their property. Attorney Fortgang stated that the only letter he received was a certified letter telling him how much money he would owe as a result of this assessment. Mr. Gilmore asked if Attorney Fortgang ever received a certified letter regarding notice of the initial public hearing. Attorney Fortgang stated that the only material he received was the certified letter regarding this assessment hearing. Mr. Piazza showed a certified letter receipt for the initial public hearing from 2016 addressed to Attorney Fortgang, although the signature postcard was never returned.
Mr. Gilmore questioned how deferred assessments are recorded. Mr. Piazza stated that they get noted on the land records. It is not a lien on the property at the time.
Mr. Harris, 573B Hopmeadow Street, questioned how the math works for each property owner’s part of the assessment. He feels that their complex having to pay for 44% of the total project cost is unfair. Mr. Piazza stated that condominiums, by Town code, need to have separate laterals. Each condominium got assessed their fair share of the project. Each address is being assessed the same amount.
Attorney Fortgang stated that there is one water meter for each building and yet each condominium needs a separate lateral. Mr. Piazza stated that in these cases, it is up to the owner of the property to distribute the allotted amount of the sewer bill to each tenant.
Mr. Sheehan reviewed the three different fees that generate revenue in order to run the treatment plant including: the Facility Connection Charge (FCC), which is $4,095 per property, payable to the Town, when connecting to the sanitary sewer; the project cost, which is the cost of running the sewer pipe in front of each property; and the annual sewer use fee. The project cost is assessed to those properties that are a part of the project. This assessment will be deferred for 573 A and 573B Hopmeadow Street; it is not a lien on the property. The FCC and sewer user fees are not due until the time of connection to the sewer. The other cost to the property owner would be hiring a private contractor to connect the building to the street via a lateral.
Mr. Kelly questioned if this project could have been done without including 573A and 573B Hopmeadow Street. Mr. Piazza stated that even if they excluded these properties from this project, the Town would still need to notify potential benefited property owners of a possible deferred assessment on their property.
Mr. Harris reiterated that he does not believe the math for this project is fair. Their property would not generate a lot of flow. Although he understands the benefits, he does not believe 44% of the project cost should be assessed to them. Mr. Piazza stated that State Statute allows WPCAs to determine how they want to define the benefit. Simsbury divides the cost of construction equally between the benefited property owners.
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to close the public hearing. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Mr. Kelly questioned why 573A and 573B Hopmeadow Street were assessed when they do not have the ability to hook up to the sewer. He feels that this should be a downstream assignment instead of an assessment. Mr. Sheehan asked how downstream assignments are tracked. Mr. Piazza stated that they are very difficult to keep track of.
Mr. Gilmore suggested deferring the decision tonight in order to inquire of the Town Attorney regarding their options.
Mr. Kelly made a motion to defer consideration of the assessment for 560-573B Hopmeadow Street in order to seek counsel from the Town Attorney. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
4. FLINTLOCK RIDGE / HAWK’S LANE / MUSKET TRAIL SEWER EXTENSION – DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION
Mr. Piazza stated that at the last meeting, the Authority members asked staff to come up with alternatives and costs for this project. He reviewed the following options, including: gravity sewers with a Town owned pump station for approximately 10 homes on Musket Trail would cost approximately $660,000; gravity sewers, which would require a 20foot deep cut in Musket Trail, would cost approximately $730,000; in keeping the line shallow on Flintlock Ridge, which would require low pressure systems for 9 and 11 Flintlock, would cost approximately $690,000; and individual low pressure systems for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 Musket Trail with the rest of the neighborhood being gravity is approximately $506,000 (adding on 9 and 11 Flintlock would bring the cost down to $470,000). Also, doing this sewer extension as individual projects for each street would cost $129,000 for Hawk’s Lane; $226,000 for Flintlock Ridge; and $382,000 for Musket Trail. Mr. Piazza stated that the lowest cost that would encompass the entire project would be $470,000 to $506,000. Mr. Sheehan stated that the cost per homeowner would decrease from $21,400 to $13,700 using low pressure sewers. Mr. Piazza stated that there would be an additional cost of approximately $4,000- $5,000 for the pump with an additional cost of $1,000-$2,000 for installation. Mr. Gilmore stated that, taking the mid-point range on these additional prices, the economic cost to each homeowner would be approximately $19,700. He feels that having the low pressure pump would just be shifting the burden.
There was a short discussion regarding the septic systems in this neighborhood. Mr. Roy stated that no one knows the history of each septic system and how long they might possibly last. He stated that each lot is of substantial size and septic systems could be rebuilt if necessary.
Mr. Gilmore stated that when a straw poll was taken at the last meeting, those residents who were in favor and those not in favor of this project were evenly divided.
Mr. Dragulski made a motion to approve the sewer extension for Flintlock Ridge, Hawk’s Lane and Musket Trail. Dr. Park seconded the motion.
Mr. Sheehan stated that there are no failed septic systems currently in this area. Also, people can come to this Authority again in the future, if they decide. He stated that he is not comfortable moving forward with this project.
By a vote of one in favor and five in opposition of this motion, the motion to approve this project was denied.
5. BUDGET TRANSFER – BOILER REPLACEMENT
Mr. Piazza stated that the total cost for the boiler replacement was $30,794, which was not a part of the budget for this year. He is asking to transfer these funds from the reserve fund to the operating budget.
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to approve the budget transfer of $30,794 from the reserve fund to the operating budget. Mr. Dragulski seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
6. LOW PRESSURE SEWER – DISCUSSION
Mr. Piazza stated that there are pros and cons to low pressure sewer systems, which he reviewed with the Authority members. The advantages include: no infiltration; eliminates pumping and cleaning of septic tanks; cost effective where gravity sewers are expensive to install due to terrain; fewer cleanouts and valve vaults are used rather than expensive manholes; hydraulic loadings on the plant are reduced since there will be less infiltration. Disadvantages include: the increased energy costs to the homeowner to operate the pump; possible electrical panel upgrades; O&M costs would be higher; the need to educate the public on low pressure systems; potential odor issues; and a higher cost for the Town to install the systems. He stated that there would need to be a discussion regarding if the Town is responsible to service the pumps or provide insurance for servicing them once they are installed.
7. FCC FINANCING – HIGHCROFT PHASE II
Mr. Piazza stated that Nelson Construction has already financed the facility connection charges for the initial phase of this project. He would like to do the same for Phase II.
Dr. Park made a motion to approve the financing of the Facility Connection Charges for Highcroft Phase II. Mr. Sheehan seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
8. SEWER USE FEES FOR FY 2018/2019 – DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLY SET PUBLIC HEARING DATE
Mr. Piazza reviewed the current fee structure with the Authority members. He recommended that the fees remain the same for FY 2018/19.
Mr. Kelly made a motion to maintain the fees for FY 2018/2019. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
9. STATUS REPORT ON SEWER EXTENSION PROJECTS, ETC.
Mr. Piazza stated that the Bushy Hill Road and Massaco Street projects will be going out to bid within the next week or two. Also, Aquarion Water will be starting their project in April. Town staff will be in communication with them to make sure the roads are restored to Town standards.
10. TREATMENT FACILITY REPORT
Mr. Piazza stated that all permit requirements for February were met. Staff and AECOM have submitted the application for the NPDES permit renewal; it has been accepted by the DEEP. He stated that Operators found a wiring issue with the anoxic zone mixers. The alarm points for the motor moisture sensor and thermal overload were wired incorrectly since the plant upgrade. Staff has fixed this issue and has started to test every alarm to ensure proper notification.
Regarding the lighting energy audit, Mr. Piazza stated that staff met with representatives from Graybar electric. The company performed an audit of all interior lighting. The audit included recommendations to improve the existing lighting with energy efficient LED fixtures. The report also included the payback on investment with rebate incentives and expected energy savings.
11. CORRESPONDENCE
Mr. Piazza stated that there is a request for capacity review for 1225 Hopmeadow Street.
12. FEBRUARY MEETING MINUTES – POSSIBLE APPROVAL
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to approve the February 8, 2018 minutes as written. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was approved. Mr. Kelly abstained.
13. ADJOURN
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
______________________
Paul Gilmore, Chairman