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Minutes of 1/30/24 Sewer Commission meeting– via Zoom (Video Conference) 
Attendees: Chair- John Reynolds, Vice-Chair- Brett Ramsden, Clerk- Mike Nault, Member-Dave MacDonald, 
DPW Director- Bill Bernard, Business Manager-Paula Bertram, Minutes Clerk- Jane Ranley 
Absent: Member-Mike Mackin 
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 & ANNOUNCEMENTS - none 
 
CURRENT BUSINESS -  
Minutes of 1/9/24-  
Motion: Dave M.                                                                                                                         Second: Brett R. 
To accept the minutes for 1/9/24.             Roll Call Vote – Mike N.-aye, Brett-aye, Dave-aye, and John-aye. 
 
Minutes of 7/18/23 
Motion: Mike N.                                                                                                                         Second: Brett R. 
To accept the minutes for 7/18/23.             Roll Call Vote – Mike N.-aye, Brett-aye, Dave-aye, and John-aye. 
 
Warrant Articles – Paula noted that the warrant is open until early March and she will be submitting the usual ones 
but wanted to know if the Commissioners had anything they wanted to add. They can discuss any changes to the 
regulations or processes at the next couple of meetings.  Bill said the presentation to the Finance Committee will be 
on 3/15. Paula looked at last year’s presentation and she would like to make changes, talking more about Capital 
Planning and their existing operation.  
Annual Report- Paula stated that she will mimic reports from past years and asked if there were any highlights the 
Commissioners would like to add. The report is due in February and John mentioned that Jane had written the report 
in the past. Paula and Jane will work on it. 
APPOINTMENTS – Philip Arcidiacono (Landlord), Chris Garcia (GGD Consulting Engineers) and Al Wernick 
(Tenant) – 1 Main Street -Philip thanked the Commission for giving them the extension. He reported that in 
November he hired Rooter Man to do a scope with the camera of the system and gave the footage to Chris Garcia, 
so he could prepare a report for the Commission.  He stated that a neighbor downstream had a backup and the 
Commission was concerned about grease on their site. The Commission had proposed an exterior grease trap and 
Philip replied he wanted to get a professional engineer’s opinion on whether the interior grease trap is working or not. 
Chris Garcia reported he went to the site last week and reviewed the interior installation of an existing 3 compartment 
wash sink as well as 2 hand sinks all connected to an interior interceptor, discharging to the sanitary drain.  The 
interceptor is rated at 25/gal/minute and based on their calculations, the 3 compartment sink requires 19 gal/minute, 
so the interceptor is adequately sized. The video did show some grease downstream in the cast iron pipe and some 
evidence also in the sewer line, but in his opinion it did not appear to be an excessive amount.  The interceptor was 
installed in 2016. Chris noted Al Wernick had completed logs going back to 2020, which noted the trap had been 
serviced and cleaned every 3 months.  There wasn’t excessive FOG taken out each time and in his opinion the trap 
is working as it should. Based on the age of the trap and rust on the interior, he recommended the trap be replaced 
with one of the same size. He also recommended that the owner video inspect downstream every 6 months to insure 
the trap is operating properly, along with maintaining the trap every 3 months. Dave asked when Al moved into the 
space and Al replied in 2015, when he started the renovation. Chris added that metal traps can rot out quickly and he 
recommends they install a new fiberglass one. Dave asked if Chris would recommend installing an external grease 
trap going into the abandoned septic out back and Chris replied it would take a lot of work to get it back into that 
area. Dave asked if there are floor drains and Chris no, they are not required. Dave asked Chris if he was 
comfortable that if a new internal trap is installed, there will be no grease going into the system. Chris stated his 
recommendation is to install the new internal trap, clean it every 3 or 6 months and video inspect every 6 months.  
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Brett asked if the camera work was just for that property or did they look at other lines. Chris replied that they did 5 or 
6 videos, entering the manhole near Mass Ave and the clean out near the retaining wall and the towards the bank, 
along with the old septic areas. Chris added that there were no blockages but they saw evidence of grease on the 
sidewalls. Dave asked if they had cameraed when the incident happened and Paula said unfortunately, they did not. 
They had 2 people on site, including herself and John and just have a simple statement from the pumper that there 
were heavy blockages. There was not an official report.  Dave noted that there is a problem at 1 Main St. and they 
just want to fix it. John told Chris the history of the site and noted they cameraed in 2015, which found no grease in 
the line. A year ago there was a back-up on the street with grease logs in the manhole and did not know where else it 
could be coming from. Paula added that their technician has noted heavy amounts of grease in the wet well at the 
Mass 2 pump station. Philip stated the grease trap is old and will be replaced. Additionally, Al can present his 3-
month cleanings and they will camera every 6 month, jetting anything they find. Dave stated they are here to help 
them and thanked him for getting an engineer. Mike N. commented that this was not the first time there was grease 
there and for first year, he would want to see multiple cameraing to make sure the trap is working. Bill asked Chris for 
information about his engineering firm. Chris noted they are located in Dartmouth, with 15 employees and his father 
started the business in 1973.  He added that 90% of their business is public bid work in Massachusetts. Chris will 
send business information and his report. Al said he would like to put in a trap twice the size, so they won’t have a 
problem. Right now they are cleaning grease out weekly and putting it outside in the grease pit. Dave suggested 
listening to Chris because a bigger trap may create problems and Chris agreed. Paula asked for the camera videos 
to be forwarded to the Sewer Department. 
Motion: Dave M.                                                                                                                                Second: Mike N. 
To accept engineer’s recommendation of replacing the existing grease trap with a new plastic grease trap,  
every 6 months cameraing is required and a copy of the video must be sent to the Commission for review; 
property owner and engineer to meet with the Commission in 6 months to provide a status update.  In one 
year, the Commission will evaluate the property to confirm that no blockages or excessive grease have 
occurred.   
Roll Call Vote– Mike N.-aye, Brett-aye, Dave-aye, and John-aye. 
Dave thanked Philip for getting his crew together with the engineer and Philip thanked the Commission. Paula said 
she will notify them for the 6 month meeting and they will need a plumbing permit for the new trap. When the 
plumbing inspector signs off on the permit, a copy should be sent to the office and Paula will schedule the 6 month 
meeting. Philip noted that Rooter Man did the cameraing. Dave asked when they would install the new grease trap. 
Al replied once he gets the proper size, he will buy it and get a plumber to install it. John asked Al and Philip to keep 
Paula informed.  
Leominster Intermunicipal Agreement Negotiation – Paula reported that the team met with the representatives 
from Leominster today. The major changes they were looking for were to have Leominster provide a set amount of 
regular maintenance and assistance in emergency situations. Unfortunately Leominster is not able to provide that 
service because their equipment is consistently in use.. Paula noted the majority of the other changes they were 
amenable to. The only other change they did not agree with was the increase in flow from 500,000 to 800,000 
because Lunenburg is not using all the capacity they have now. The average usage now is 214,000 gals/day but 
there is language in the agreement for future discussion on increased flows. She noted that the rate did come down 
from the projected $6.46. Currently the rate is $5.32 and will go up to $6.18 for FY25 and $6.37 for FY26. After FY26, 
the rate will increase penny for penny. There are no capital infrastructure projects on the horizon and the treatment 
plant has been updated. Paula stated that they made some recommendations for identifying sources of I/I such as 
looking at the phasing of the sewer to see where they saw the increase in flow. As a side discussion, they talked 
about potentially upgrading the sewer line servicing Pioneer Dr. and improvements on Rt 70. That line is currently 
managed and paid to Leominster but Lunenburg may want to discuss taking it over. Dave noted they talked to Roger 
Brooks about coming to a meeting and also talking to Wright Pierce. Mike N. noted that Roger said Lunenburg’s flow 
should be about 170,000 – not 215,000- which points to a lot of I/I. He gave a lot of good ideas to start looking for it. 
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Mike suggested they should meet once a year – they always learn a lot. Paula noted in section 19.2 -debt services, 
the wording will be that Leominster will provide their forecasted debt service in January and be payable by July 30th. 
She added that when she gets the wording from Leominster, she will send it to the Commissioners  
Capital Planning – Paula suggested having a workshop to discuss the budget. She screen-shared her spreadsheets 
and reviewed figures. Paula met with Robert L. (CTE) to discuss the capital planning worksheet and they are looking 
at about $95K-100K each year. The majority of the cost is for upgrading the pumps and generators. These costs 
need to be incorporated into the budget for the next few years. She explained the worksheet for looking at potential 
rate increases from the current rate of $13.66 and how it would affect transfers from Retained Earnings. She also 
noted that the Green Energies Taskforce is looking at potential projects, with one being grants for sewer pumps. 
Robert estimated the pumps for Dana Street, Leominster Rd and Mass 1 could be $40K each. The pumps are very 
old and showing signs of having issues. New pumps would be more efficient and there is grant money available.  Bill 
said the Green Communities Taskforce met with a representative from Dept. of Energy who told him that they would 
fund pumps and the drive systems. If it fits, they would apply in April and Paula added that if they could get a grant, it 
would cut their capital costs and potentially drop the rate increase too. Paula suggested talking about this in the 
workshop. Dave said to look at what you have – not the ifs and Mike N. stated they still need to do a rate increase. 
Paula noted that she has changed how they do the budget and read the balances on the funds. She suggested 
putting money into each account going forward, rather than drawing on it.  Dave asked about the I/I fund and Paula 
replied the funds come from certain connections. She explained the numbers for I/I remediation and noted there is a 
problem with sump pumps. When they popped the manholes, they saw water going in at a very high rate of velocity, 
indicative of sump pumps. Robert has been great about identifying I/I sources and where they should focus. Paula 
got rid of extra line items not needed and explained the Capital Expense figures. John stated when Rob Oliva was 
there, they gave him $100K to work on the Maintenance Plan, but he did not spend it all. The Commission discussed 
funding the Capital Reserve Stabilization Fund and withdrawals. Paula noted the withdrawals need to be done with a 
vote at Town Meeting. If a pump needs to be replaced, it comes from the Capital maintenance line item, which she is 
proposing at $95K.  Infrastructure Maintenance for $47,600 would be for replacing parts. John asked the 
Commissioners to review the worksheets and have a workshop to discuss it. Paula noted they can put in an article 
for pulling from the Stabilization Fund and she will talk to the town accountant and town manager. Paula suggested 
looking at whether they want to pull from Retained Earnings and they need to decide their goal amounts for each 
fund. The Commission discussed and will have a budget workshop on 2/13 at the DPW at 6pm, in place of the 
regular meeting.   
Business Manager Report – 
--Update on System Maintenance & Upgrades- Paula reported they are still waiting for prices on the pumps for 
Dana St. and Mass 1. She anticipates the cost will be higher than they thought. There was a clog from rags in the 
pump on Leominster Rd. Foreign objects in the system continues to be a problem.  
--Billing/Software Issues- Paula stated the saga still continues! She is hoping the billing issues will be fixed so the 
bills can go out 2/7. Munis had to create a custom form in order for the numbers to be correct, which is ludicrous. 
They did a proof and the data was incorrect. Paula sent a list of the missing information, such as the Boston address, 
sewer rate and interest rate. Munis sent her a sample that had interest on it that should not have been there but she 
will send data files to work with and hopefully get a correct proof. When a correct proof is received she will run 
through the billing and training. Paula and John discussed doing a public announcement about the status of the 
billing issues. She forwarded the draft to the Town Manager and there were some changes. John said he thought 
Paula’s draft was great, but it came back with edits from the Town Manager, which he read out loud. John was 
concerned about the statement about the impact to property/real estate. The Commission discussed the wording and 
agreed the announcement should not include verbiage in regard to the property tax impact. Dave recommended that 
Paula read her original announcement.  Paula noted only .6% of bills were incorrect and the majority were correct. 
Dave stated that Paula has put in 500 plus hours to deal with this issue and he is very upset they are at this point. He 
thanked Tom Alanzo for stepping in. Brett and Mike N. agreed that the property tax has nothing to do with sewer. 
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Paula read her original statement about the software upgrade’s impact on the billing and the delayed mailing for the 
February bill.  Bill suggested the Town Manager could issue the statement with the property tax information in her 
name. Paula and Bill will talk to the Town Manager. 
--Sewer Business Manager Job Description- Paula, John and Bill attended the last Personnel Committee meeting. 
The prior score for her position was 495 and after they went through the revised job description, which they accepted 
with 1 minor modification to the experience level, the score was raised to 655. Paula stated she was happy with the 
score and the Personnel Committee hope to have something for the May Town Meeting. Dave thanked the 
Personnel Committee for their help.  
PUBLIC COMMENT – none 
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULED SEWER COMMISSION ACTIVITIES: 
February 13, 2024 @ 6pm – Budget Workshop, at DPW building.  
February 27, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation  
March 12, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation 
March 26, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation 
 
Motion: Brett R.                                                                                                                               Second: Mike N. 
To adjourn at 7:53pm.                                     Roll Call Vote– Mike N.-aye, Brett-aye, Dave-aye, and John-aye. 
 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
Jane L. Ranley 
Minutes Clerk