Minutes of 7/30/24 Sewer Commission meeting– via Zoom (Video Conference) Attendees: Chair- John Reynolds, Vice-Chair- Brett Ramsden, Clerk- Mike Mackin, DPW Director- Bill Bernard, Business Manager-Paula Bertram, Minutes Clerk- Jane Ranley John opened the meeting at 6:15 pm. and did a roll call of attendees. The Commission began the meeting by saying the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENT & ANNOUNCEMENTS - none APPOINTMENTS – Ryan Proctor (Dillis & Roy) –Extension Request 12 Kimball St. – Ryan, representing Richard McGrath, screen-shared the site plan and noted they had previously done an extension with a manhole installed in front of 4 Kimball St. They also put in an 8” stub which they will tie into and are proposing 132’ of 8” sewer main. They will add a stub at 8 Kimball St., a manhole at the end and another stub for future expansion up the street. Ryan noted that they reviewed the plan with Mr. Bernard and that there would be a condition to re-pave the street, manhole to manhole. Bill said he is satisfied with the plan and that the road was paved over 5 yrs. ago but is still in good condition. He suggested they repave the area disturbed side to side. Motion: Mike M. Second: Brett R. To accept this plan for 12 Kimball St. with the recommendations by Bill Bernard. Roll Call Vote: Mike M.-aye, Brett-aye and John-aye. CURRENT BUSINESS – --Minutes of 4/30/24 & Minutes of 6/25/24 – will vote on at next meeting. --Q4FY24 Billing – Late Notices/Delinquent Accounts – Paula stated they have been unable to send demands so on July 9th she sent a letter to anyone owing over $1,000. On 7/17 they were able to do demands and the amounts were correct but the due date was the same as the send date. She and Jane put on labels to correct that. Paula noted that she is waiting for the FY24 year to close out so she can give an overview on where they are with Revenues. Mike asked how many delinquencies there are and Paula replied about 253. --LUFA Farms –361 Mass Ave- Paula stated that several years ago there was a project by Bright Farms for indoor farm at the property near Walmart but it didn’t go forward. There is a similar proposal by Lufa Farms for a 2 story building with 400,000 sq ft on each level. Paula and Bill had a short meeting with the building inspector, proponents, conservation agent and water district. It is not clear what the proposal will be from a usage point but they are talking about using rain water as much as they can. Bill said they didn’t know how much water they would use and were not sure how much water will go into the sewer. --ARPA Funding – John reported that the town manager sent a letter stating there is $313K left in the ARPA funding and they are looking for requests from department heads. He asked for any thoughts for a request and Paula stated she suggests trying to recoup some of the $10K in lost demand revenue. In addition, Paula has been working with a consultant for the Munis issues and his rate is $1,425/day. She will need 1 or 2 more sessions and would like to request ARPA funds to cover those costs. John agrees that Sewer should not be paying for consultant fees. Brett suggested upgrading pumps. Paula stated that they need to replace the suction line on Mass 1 and there are problems on Dana St. She has asked Robert (CTE) for estimates for those repairs. Robert told her that if the suction line goes at Mass 1, the station ceases to work. Bill noted they will need to excavate to the pipes so it would be more than $40K. John noted the deadline to submit is 7/31. He suggested going with the cost of repairing at Mass 1 and Bill figure excavation cost. Paula suggested putting in 3 requests – Demand request, consultant fee request and the work on Mass 1. --Leominster IMA- Paula reported that the Selectmen voted to accept the IMA and it will be recorded. --EOY FY24 Commitment- Paula will email the final total to the Commissioners but they need to vote to approve it. Motion: Brett R. Second: Mike M. To approve the EOY FY24 Commitment. Roll Call Vote: Mike M.-aye, Brett-aye and John-aye. --Public Notification Advertisement- John noted that Paula sent out 2 versions of ads regarding clogs. Paula stated that a ½ page ad is $350 and a full ad $400. John said that the Select Board suggested just saying “Only flush toilet paper” rather than a list of what not to flush. The Commission discussed the ads and John noted that there have been 31 clogs since September, (10 months). Motion: Mike M., Second: Brett R. To have the Sewer Department pay $400 for a full page color ad regarding clogs. Roll Call Vote: Mike M.-aye, Brett-aye and John-aye. Paula will have it put in the townwide issue. --Manhole Inspections & IFB – Bill said he will be looking at it this week and Paula added that they want to get them down before the cold weather. CTE did inspections at the end of June and they got a lot of good information. Paula is looking at IFBs from other towns to make sure all the specs are right. --Business Manager Report – Billing Software Update – Paula noted that before the upgrade, the billing was a simple procedure. She stated that the consultant-Randy Mercier- came in today and he was very helpful. They can now print a PDF of the bills and can streamline the input process for data from Lunenburg Water. In the midst of doing a refresh on data, the whole system went down. Randy was concerned about who configured the server and questioned why they do not have an on-prem contract. They will work again remotely on Thursday and do the bill test run. Hopefully she can run the bills on Thursday and she and Jane will be able to fold bills on Friday. John suggested that the contract should be a town-wide contract – not just Sewer. Brett said he was glad to hear there has been some progress. Paula thanked Ezekiel (Town Finance) for finding the consultant and John added that Ezekiel understands the pain they have been going through. OLD BUSINESS – Paula noted that they could not get the grant because the new pumps would be too low savings but in October, Green Communities will do another grant process. PUBLIC COMMENT – John announced he will be stepping down from the Commission at the end of August. Paula noted that John has been a valuable volunteer for Sewer Commission and he will be missed. Brett added that he has been a great leader and thanked him for all he has done. Mike said he will be a great loss. John replied that it has been great working with everyone. UPCOMING SCHEDULED SEWER COMMISSION ACTIVITIES: August 13, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation August 27, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation September 10, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation September 24, 2024 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Remote Participation Motion: Brett R. Second: Mike M. To adjourn at 7:04 pm. Roll Call Vote: Mike M.-aye, Brett-aye and John-aye. Respectfully submitted, Jane L. Ranley Minutes Clerk