===PAGE 1=== Minutes of 4/11/23 Sewer Commission meeting– via Zoom (Video Conference) Attendees: Chair- John Reynolds, Vice-Chair- Brett Ramsden, Members: Dave MacDonald and Mike Nault, DPW Director- Bill Bernard, Business Manager-Paula Bertram, Minutes Clerk- Jane Ranley Absent: Clerk- Mike Deveikis Guests: Carlene Baily and Mike Mohammed – Il Forno John opened the meeting at 6:01pm and did a roll call of attendees. The Commission began the meeting by saying the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENT- Dave thanked all who attended the town caucus and those who are running for a position. He also thanked Brett for re-running as a Commissioner. Brett thanked Dave for running for water commissioner. ANNOUNCEMENTS - none CURRENT BUSINESS State Earmark request- Paula noted the Sewer Pump station upgrade request for $300K is on the State Earmark list that the Town Manager sent to the Legislature on 3/22. The list consists of security upgrades at Turkey Hill Elementary and the Primary schools ($374.5K), Marshall Park ($250K), Library exterior painting ($36K) and $300K for Sewer Pump stations. Paula clarified this is not the ARPA funding. Change/Expansion of Use Fees- Paula said they will be considering a request for expanding the number of bedrooms at an existing property. She looked at what Leominster does when a property expands. Leominster charges a fee when a bedroom is added. The fee is part of the building permit process and is sent to their Sewer Commission. Paula would like the Commission to consider implementing this fee also. Lunenburg’s regs does state they can charge for expansion and calls it a Privilege Fee. Paula will be meeting with Town Counsel on 4/26 to discuss the fee. The Commission discussed and agreed to consider the expansion fee. Paula confirmed it would be a onetime fee and John suggested voting after Paula talks to Counsel. APPOINTMENTS Carlene Baily and Mike Mohammed (Il Forno)- Mike M. reported they are replacing the tent with a 30 x 50 3-bay building, with sliding doors and climate control. The building has been approved by the ZBA and Planning Board. He said they are doing outside seating for the spring and summer but the seating capacity will not be changing. Dave noted the grease trap capacity will be the total of seating inside and outside as a max. He added they had this issue before and his concern is the capacity of grease. Mike M. agreed and said he had a plan with Grease Trappers. They have cleaned the external grease trap and are now on a 3-month schedule to clean both the internal and external traps. They have a 3-bay sink with the old grease trap which they use just for cleaning vegetables. Mike M. noted they shut down one of the old dishwashers and now have a new 3-bay sink with a new grease trap, which was inspected by the plumbing inspector. His staff will clean it every other week and Grease Trappers will come quarterly. Dave requested they get a letter from Gary (Grease Trappers) for their records. Mike M. added that Gary will seal the old trap. He noted the FOG level was 15% at the 2-month pumping and 25% at the 3-month, with an average of 8% per month. Paula stated the trap was pumped on 2/15, per the Commission, since the FOG level was 25%. On 3/23, Paula, Al Packard and Bill visited the establishment. They observed the old trap which was not used and would need replacing. The inlet and outlet to the interceptor had a lot of buildup and they were jetted. Al wants to know the seating capacity for outside because he is not sure if the interceptor is large enough. Mike M. stated the seating capacity of 130-140 will stay the same. Customers will sit outside to take advantage of the spring and summer. John asked who controls seating capacity in town and Dave replied either the Planning Board or the Building Department. Paula noted Gary Williams (Plumbing Inspector) is reviewing it. The Commission will wait to see Gary’s report and the reports when the interceptor is pumped. Providing Gary Williams has no concerns, Paula will sign off on the building permit. She noted the Commission needed to vote on the expansion of use. Motion: Dave M. Second: Mike N. To approve the use change at Il Forno on Electric Ave., pending the approval from the Plumbing Inspector. Roll Call Vote: Dave- aye, Mike N.- aye, Brett-aye and John-aye. Mike M. thanked the Commission and said he was glad to be in Lunenburg. ===PAGE 2=== CURRENT BUSINESS RFP-O&M Contract for Pumping Stations & Generators- Paula screen-shared the RFP and noted both contracts expire on 6/30/23. Bill suggested putting both into one contract and essentially the generator company is working for CTE. Dave stated it was split in the past to not have everything done by 1 company and designed to get more vendors involved. If a company falls down, you don’t lose everything. Mike N. added it was cost effective to have 2 contracts out for bid. He also noted the generator reports are very thorough. Brett asked Bill if he talked to Al about the contracts and Bill replied no but Al plays a big role in the maintenance of the generators. The Commission discussed doing 1 or 2 contracts and agreed to go with Bill’s idea. Dave suggested having Chad Empey (CTE) come to the next meeting. Paula will add CTE to the next agenda but they need to do the RFP now. Paula stated the timeline: Pre-proposal virtual conference - 5/10, Proposals due – 5/31 and the award on 6/13. She reviewed the minor changes, such as changes to dates and names. Bill suggested having a 2-hour maximum for remote call-outs, outside of 6am to 6pm. Mike N. said they had worked 2 calls/month into the contract, with no charge for remote callouts during normal business hours. Paula noted they had not received any reports from Al for a year. The Commission discussed obtaining the reports and will talk to Al’s boss. The Commission also discussed putting a cap on the call-outs and agreed with 10 hours/month. In regard to exterior maintenance, Bill stated the DPW plows at the stations, but the contractor may need to shovel at the door. Paula noted the generator list in the RFP was different than the models listed by Weld Generator and she will check with AL. Parts and materials – Bill asked to limit the markup to 10%. The Commission discussed the Rate Schedule and made edits. Bill suggested rental equipment would be cost plus 10%, the contractor would need to get 3 quotes and get approval from DPW Director. Paula clarified it is a 1-year Contract, that can be extendable to 2nd and 3rd years. Dave suggested rates not increase more that 2% per year. Paula suggested rates for 2nd and 3rd year will be identified during contract discussion and the Commission agreed. The Commission discussed potential bidding contractors and their experience with wastewater. The Commission discussed situations when there could be 2 contractors on site. Bill said he wanted to see the prime contractor there when a subcontractor comes in, to make sure the work is done. The generator reports state they were not tested under load because the main contractor was not present. The Commission discussed the wording under Miscellaneous for having the Contractor stay onsite with subcontractors and added “at the discretion of the DPW Director”. Bill and Paula will work on the wording and confirm the generator information. Motion: Dave M. Second: Mike N. To approve the RFP as adjusted at the 4/11 meeting to be sent out for review by the Chair and Vice-Chair. Roll Call Vote: Mike N.- aye, Brett-aye, Dave- aye and John-aye. Leominster Inter-municipal Agreement- Dave asked Paula to set up a meeting with Leominster, Mike N. and himself. Paula reached out to Jacob Fleming to let him know they wanted to start discussing the IMA. Jacob needs to determine who will be on Leominster’s team. They want to address the connection fees per dwelling and the rate structure. Currently, Leominster charges $1,000 for connections, but only $750 to Lunenburg. They want to increase the charge to $1,250. Bill said he could also be part of the negotiating. Assistant Business Manager Position- Paula reported they have done 3 interviews and have 1 more later in the week. They have a couple candidates that would be good possibilities, but do not have a final candidate yet. Julie (HR) has forwarded applications but has not attended interviews. Manhole Funding- Bill stated they cannot use Chapter 90 funding, especially if they want to raise the level of the manholes on 2A. Minutes of 3/21/23 meeting- Motion: Brett R. Second: Dave M. To accept minutes for 3/21/23. Roll Call Vote: Mike N.- aye, Brett-aye, Dave- aye and John-aye. FY24 Budget- Paula screen-shared the FY24 revised budget and stated the Commission will need to vote to revise the Budget. She said Barb had budgeted 4% increase for Fitchburg Usage but they will probably be increasing rates ===PAGE 3=== 7% per year for the next 5 years. Paula added $6,600 to Fitchburg Usage and $8,631.53 for health insurance/retirement benefits for Barb. She had to take $15,231.53 from Capital Expenditures to plug into the Fitchburg Usage and Fringe Benefit line items. Also, Barb did not submit an Article for $8K transfer to one of the Reserve Funds, so they cannot do that. Changes to the Budget are as follows: Expenditures & Indirect costs- $1,439,402.82, Deficit-$218,690.42, Retained Earnings transfers- $1,000 to OPEB and $36,621.37 to Capital Reserve. They will need to appropriate $419,718.07 from Retained Earnings, which is the figure published in the warrant. The Town Manager requested the Commission vote on the revised budget. Paula noted that expenditures are higher and fees have increased. She stated Retained Earnings are used to supplement the budget and they have ended the last few years with a surplus, which went back into Retained Earnings. Capital planning – Paula asked Al Packard for a list of what they would need for future capital planning and she sent the Commissioners a Proposal to spread that cost over several years. There are numerous cranes and upgrades needed, so the Commission will need to look at capital planning. John suggested making the next meeting about the budget and capital expenditures. Dave asked how much they have in reserved fund accounts. Paula replied the following: Retained Earnings – $2,329,780, Reserve Capacity-$ 28,023.32, I/I fund- $9,943.73 and Capital Reserves- $ 141,210.66. As noted earlier, Paula moved $15,231.53 out of Capital for FY23 to cover the increase of Fitchburg Usage and fringe benefits. The Town Accountant requested figures to do a summary budget for the warrant and the Town Manager requested the Commission vote for approving the changes on the FY23 budget. Dave noted the ARPA was originally for water, sewer, stormwater and broadband. The Commission submitted a request for $300K from ARPA funds. John added it appears they will not receive any ARPA funds and the Town Manager did not want it listed in the FY23 budget. He said the ARPA money was originally for water, sewer and broadband but later the Treasury Department changed it to anything else but debt service, if the town was receiving less than $10 Mil. Paula noted the planned Capital expense for FY22 was $78K and they have spent $15K of that money so far. Al is looking at a significant amount of money needed for capital expenditures, spread out over several years. His estimate is $35K for the current year, $96K for next year, etc. up to FY38 with a projection of $1.2 million total. Paula screen-shared a proposal for the Commissioners to discuss at the next meeting, which shows an average spent of $100K per year. For this year, Al wants to replace some cranes and panels. Dave noted money was budgeted to carry out the Maintenance plan. Rate Increase- With rate increases from Fitchburg and potentially in Leominster, along with Capital Expenditures, Paula stated they will need to look at a rate increase. Paula did up a worksheet to look at different scenarios, with a breakdown of average costs to users and businesses. The average residential unit bill is $181 and for a business unit - $1,786. Paula screen shared the spreadsheet and will send it out to Commissioners to review. Motion: Dave M. Second: Mike N. To revise the FY24 Budget by reducing Capital Expenditures to $80,760.07, increase Fitchburg Usage to $226,600, increase Fringe Benefits to $62,323.59, not transfer $8,000 from Reserve Capacity, with an anticipated draw on Retained Earnings of $419,718.07. Roll Call Vote: Brett - aye, Mike N.-aye, Dave- aye and John-aye. Business Manager Report-Paula reported she will have a more updated FY23 Budget for the next meeting. They needed to change the dialer at Meadowwoods and she is still waiting for pump station reports. The Commissioners received the Generator inspection reports which found them in good shape and hoses were replaced as needed. It was suggested to replace block heaters, but Al will discuss this with Bill. John suggested testing the generators under load and Bill said Al could do that during normal hours. Action Items- Dave asked Paula about the SKADA program and she replied Al uses it quite a bit. He mentioned an App which they could use to access it. Dave asked if they are interested in looking into our own wastewater treatment plant. John replied they probably should but it would be very expensive and no one would want it in their backyard. Dave suggested asking their engineers about the cost of moving everything to Leominster or the cost of a treatment plant, priced out over 30 years. John noted the next meeting will focus on the FY24 budget, a rate increase and capital planning. Paula added they will have an appointment for an expansion of use. ===PAGE 4=== Public Comment – Dave thanked Bill and Paula for their input and it was very good meeting, although long. UPCOMING SCHEDULED SEWER COMMISSION ACTIVITIES: April 25, 2023 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation May 6, 2023 @ 9am – Town Meeting May 9, 2023 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation May 30, 2023 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation Motion: Brett R. Second: Dave M. To adjourn at 8:35pm. Roll Call Vote: Mike N.- aye, Brett-aye, Dave- aye and John-aye. Respectfully submitted, Jane L. Ranley Minutes Clerk Handouts: The following were screen-shared: FY24 Revised Budget RFP Revised Contract Capital Planning Worksheet Rate Increase Spreadsheet