WPCA Minutes 05/09/2019
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
REGULAR MEETING
MAY 9, 2019
“Subject to Vote of Approval”
1. CALL TO ORDER
Paul Gilmore called the regular meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority to order at 7:10 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Water Pollution Control Facility, 36 Drake Hill Road, Simsbury. The following members were present: Jay Sheehan, Michael Park, Tom Hickey, Ed Kelly and Jacques Brignac. Also present were Thomas Roy, Director of Public Works; 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 HEARING MAPLE COURT/OLD MILL LANE UPGRADE
LEGAL NOTICE
TOWN OF SIMSBURY
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
The Simsbury Water Pollution Control Authority will hold a public hearing on Thursday, May 9, 2019 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 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 Maple Court; 1, 5 & 9 Old Mill Lane; 82, 86, 88 & 90 West Street; and 17 Firetown Road, Simsbury, CT. 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. Gilmore read the legal notice.
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to open the public hearing. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Mr. Roy stated that this project was to replace and upgrade the main sewer lines and laterals in this area. As part of this project, the roadways that were disturbed by the construction were repaved, curb to curb. The sewers will now be owned and maintained by the Town of Simsbury. Mr. Roy stated that originally, the construction was anticipated to happen in the summer of 2016, with the preliminary costs estimates for the survey, easements and main line construction at approximately $150,000. The estimated assessment for each of the 14 properties was $10,650, at that time. He stated that during the design phase, Aquarion Water and the Town discussed replacing the water main, although Aquarion could not commit to the Town’s construction schedule.
Mr. Roy stated that the contract for this project was awarded in August of 2017 and completed in December of 2017. The project bid came in at $179,350; the bid market was poor at that point in time and Simscroft was the only bidder. After construction was underway, Aquarion Water elected to install new water mains. Aquarion agreed to pay the Town $20,407 for pavement restoration. Mr. Roy stated that during construction, several unexpected issues did arise, including: the private roads were not constructed to modern standards, leading to roadway failures during construction; rock excavation; unmarked drainage, conflicts with utilities; repairs to damaged pipelines and electrical; lateral installations with tight areas and landscaping; and installation of water service by Aquarion Water.
Mr. Roy stated that the total project cost was $170,514, which includes the total project expenditure of $190,921 and the $20,407 that Aquarion Water paid to the Town. The project costs will be equally assessed among the 14 properties at $12,179.57. The first assessment will be billed in November of 2019. Homeowners can elect to finance with the Town over a ten year period.
Mr. Hodkin, 7 Maple Court, asked if the repaving costs on Old Mill Lane were borne by the Town or by the homeowners. Mr. Roy stated that the total cost for milling and paving was approximately $41,000. The additional cost of $13,660 was for the expanded restoration area, based on 1/3 of the total area (the value is conservative as this area did not need milling work). Adding in the payment of $20,407 from Aquarion Water, the net project benefit was $6,746.
Mr. Cook, 3 Maple Court, stated that 4 Maple Court is currently on the market and that homeowner was wondering, if approved tonight, when the assessments would go into effect. Would it be immediately or at the time of billing? Mr. Gilmore stated that he is unsure of the effective date. Mr. Roy stated that this would be a question for the Tax Collector.
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to close the public hearing. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Mr. Kelly questioned if the FCC would need to be paid, as well as sewer user fees. Mr. Roy stated that this project was an upgrade, not new construction. These houses paid an FCC when they were originally connected to the sewer and have been paying sewer use fees on a yearly basis.
Mr. Kelly made a motion to approve the assessment for the Maple Court / Old Mill Lane upgrade as proposed. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
4. HOP MEADOW COUNTRY CLUB – DE MINIMIS DISCHARGE WAIVER REQUEST
Mr. Roy stated that Hop Meadow Country Club is constructing a pavilion bar area. The sink in this area will be for glasses and normal handwashing and drink service. They are requesting a de minimis discharge waiver so they do not need to install a grease trap. He stated there will not be any impact to the sanitary sewers.
Mr. Kelly questioned how Town staff would know if there was a change of use at some point in time. Mr. Sheehan stated that a permit is needed when a change of use occurs. Mr. Roy stated that when the grease trap on the property is inspected, they could look at this area as well.
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to approve the de minimis discharge waiver request for the Hop Meadow Country Club with the condition that the property owner send a letter to the WPCA on a yearly basis stating that no food prep of any nature is taking place at this outdoor facility and Town staff will need to certify, on an annual basis, that this remains the case. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
5. WPCA FLOW ALLOCATION POLICY – DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION
Mr. Sheehan stated that the WPCA decided to draft this policy when a restaurant in Town was expanding and out of capacity. At that point in time, they made a side deal with another property nearby to trade capacity. He stated that there have been several drafts to this policy, with some changes coming from legal counsel as well. He stated that this policy is an important tool for the WPCA.
Mr. Roy stated that what they had was very outdated, prior to drafting this policy. He stated that when the sewer system was laid out in the 1970’s, they looked at all of the large neighborhoods and separated them into zones, which is what built the core, or the trunk lines, of the sanitary sewer system and set the capacity. Also at that time, every lot was assigned a value of capacity; the value has changed over time. He stated that bartering with another property owner has put a reduction of allocation on a property, which may mean at some point, that property is less valuable to the Town. This policy is based upon actual field measurements, which determined how much capacity is in each of the ten sewer shed areas; how much committed capacity there is. If someone has paid into Simsbury’s system, they are guaranteed that capacity. If someone has not paid into the system, they will be notified when their sewer shed gets to be about 70%. At that point, they can make a decision on what they want to do. This will also allow a business that might have a considerable discharge in an area that originally was not anticipated to have, it gives the WPCA the ability to look at that sewer shed to see if there is capacity within the pipes and then sell off or give away that additional capacity.
Mr. Kelly commented on the paragraph under Allocation Overage on Page 11, where it states, “To prevent available capacity from being depleted by a single project, no more than fifty percent (50%) of the unallocated capacity for any sewer service sub-area may be allocated to any single project during any calendar year”. He would like to add a statement that the WPCA can increase it from 50% upon request on a case by case basis.
Mr. Gilmore asked if there was currently any projects pending that could benefit by having this policy in place. Mr. Roy stated that there were currently no projects pending. Mr. Gilmore recommended that the WPCA defer action on the Flow Allocation Policy until next month for further review.
Mr. Hickey questioned if it would be easy for the WPCA to make modifications to this policy as an overall document. Mr. Roy stated that it would need to be put on the agenda for the following meeting with possible action; with a motion to approve the changes, this could be done.
6. SEWER USE FEES FOR FY 2019/20 – DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLY SET PUBLIC HEARING
There was a short discussion regarding industrial general permits, which are currently processed by the State. The State will be handing this process over the each community by October of 2020. Permit fees will need to be put in place in order to hire outside sources to do some of the analysis. An Ordinance will also need to be put in place prior to the October 2020 date.
Mr. Roy stated that the WPC will be in good shape if they hold their fee this year; there is a proposal to increase the user fee next year to from $352 to $370 for residential users. This will put the sewer reserves in line with what consultant’s recommendation. Mr. Kelly recommended “softening the blow” by going up 2% this year and 3% next year. Mr. Sheehan suggested increasing the user rates on a yearly basis because of cost of living increases as well as the consumer price index (CPI).
Mr. Kelly stated his concern regarding several upcoming expenditures in the capital projects that will take funds out of the reserves. Mr. Hickey questioned what the dollar amount is that should be held in the reserve fund. Mr. Roy stated that the target, which are recommended industry standards, is $3.9 million, which is based upon the total operational budget.
Mr. Kelly suggested raising the user fees approximately 2% over the next 3 years. There was a consensus among the Authority members to raise the residential user rates to $360 and the non-residential user rates to $4.56/ccf for FY 2019/20. These rates were last raised in 2017. After a short discussion, there was a consensus among the Authority members to raise the septage fee to $80/1,000 gal, which was last raised in 2007; the labor rate to $50/hour; and the mileage rate to the Federal rate.
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to set a public hearing for the sewer use fees for FY 2019/20 on June 13, 2019. Dr. Park seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
7. STATUS REPORT ON SEWER EXTENSION PROJECTS, ETC. – There was no report.
8. TREATMENT FACILITY REPORT
With the issuance of the new NPDES permit, a delay in receiving the permit on March 5th created a violation in the reporting of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Previous reporting required CBOD, which included a nutrient inhibitor. The CBOD test was performed on March 1st. All other permit requirements were met for the month of March.
The UV disinfection system was put on line for the season.
The NPDES permit was received by the Town and took effect on March 1, 2019. Town staff completed all changes required to forms and procedures for the new monthly reporting requirements.
Staff has finalized the policy to distribute to the commission for review and comment with possible approval at the April meeting.
Two positions are currently open, an Inspector position and a truck driver position. The Inspectors position has been advertised and should be filled in the month of May. We are currently working with the Personnel Sub Committee to change the truck driver position to an operator position. All operators are required to have a commercial driver’s license and this would allow for training of new operators before the expected retirement of several operators in the coming years.
9. CORRESPONDENCE
The Authority members reviewed a letter from Mr. Piazza to SL Simsbury, LLC regarding the decision made by the WPCA to credit their FCC from 200 Hopmeadow Street to be applied to the new development at 250 Hopmeadow Street. Also reviewed was a memo to Mr. Glidden, Town Planner, regarding the Henry James Memorial School Phase III alterations and additions.
10. MARCH MEETING MINUTES – POSSIBLE APPROVAL
Mr. Sheehan made a motion to approve the March 14, 2019 minutes as written. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was approved. Mr. Kelly abstained.
11. ADJOURN
Dr. Park made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Mr. Hickey seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
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Paul Gilmore, Chairman