Minutes of 6/24/25 Sewer Commission meeting– via Zoom (Video Conference) Attendees: Chair- Brett Ramsden, Vice-Chair- Scott Dall, Clerk- Dan Proctor, Member: Arthur Katis, Sewer Business Manager: Andrew Valliere, Minutes Clerk- Jane Ranley Absent: DPW Director- Bill Bernard and Joe Hurley Brett opened the meeting at 6:15pm. 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 from 6/10/25- Motion: Dan P. Second: Arthur K. To approve the minutes of 6/10/25. Roll Call Vote: Dan-aye, Arthur-aye and Brett-aye. ---DPW Director/Sewer Business Manager Updates– i. Dana Street Repairs – Andrew reported that Pride Environmental worked on the station last week to check that the by-pass piping would work. They dug down to the pipe coming out of the pit and installed thrust-block on it . They are waiting for delivery of 2 parts before they can actually start the work, which is tentatively scheduled for June 30th. ii. Manhole Repair IFB- Andrew noted that Insituform has submitted most of their required forms and Bill will review them when he returns on Monday. The forms are for compliance and specifications. The work is scheduled for July. iii. TC Passios File Cleaning – Andrew reported there were 48 boxes and Jane stated she previously had gone through most of them to retrieve some files for Paula. Andrew added he went through them with Bill to label boxes, noting there were a lot of item numbers from years past. He sent the Commissioners a list of what the state approved for items to destroy. Brett asked how far back the files go and Andrew replied 1994. Brett inquired if everything important has been saved digitally. Andrew replied they will keep anything important and will store those. The records they are destroying are items past their prime and no longer needed. (Scott Dall joined the meeting.) Scott apologized for being late but was having an issue logging on. Andrew said he would send an email with the hyper-link for future meetings. Andrew stated that the Commission did not need to vote on the destroying of files- it was just for their information. The section of Passios that is being used for file storage will be decommissioned soon and Bill wanted to clear out the sewer files. iv. Quarterly Demands – Andrew said the Munis system was updated and he has an email out to Randy, their tech support. He is able to print the demands on the proper billing sheets but the system is adding strange numbers to the bills- adding more than the $10 late fee. Once that issue is corrected, he will be able to send the demands out. Brett stated they appreciate his efforts. v. ADU Guidelines – Andrew reported the Lunenburg By-laws has information about ADUs, as well as Fitchburg’s by-laws. Currently, the sewer by-laws do not have any wording on ADUs, so he and Bill will work with Town Counsel on how to incorporate that wording into the by-laws. He pointed out there was a section in the Lunenburg guidelines that could be used to incorporate for that purpose. Andrew was able to find wording in Fitchburg’s guidelines but was not able to find anything from Leominster. The wording in Lunenburg said it would not be treated as an accessory and Arthur noted it would be an individual unit of at least 1,200 sq. ft. They could get some information from the State’s guidance, which they would need to at least meet. Scott pointed out that with the easing of the restrictions, there could be 2-3 bedroom units added. The Commission would need to consider whether to have flat fee or a sliding scale based on the size of the ADU, which would be extra use on the system. Dan added this would be the time to get the extra money for them. Arthur stated the units are required to have their own kitchen and bathroom, which would justify charging a second fee. Brett noted the by-law states the ADU would need to be smaller than 50% of the gross dwelling area. Andrew added the fee goes by bedrooms and Scott said it would make sense to look at a sliding scale. Scott asked if the size of the pipe draining from the house would need to be increased when adding these units. Dan replied the standard hook-up for sewer is a 4” pipe coming out of the house and then it up to a 6” pipe, going to the stub left by the town. The 6” pipe would handle the 2 or 3 extra bedrooms. Dan suggested if the ADU is 50% of the size of the house, could they charge 50% of the cost of originally hooking up the house as a fee. Brett suggested they look at what the hook-up fee would be currently for that property and base the 50% on that figure, rather than the original fee. Also they could consider a stipulation that if the pipe that goes to the main in the street needs to be replaced, the extra cost would need to be addressed by the homeowner. Dan noted the system was designed for a large amount of expansion in regard to the main in the street. The main is 10” with 6” stubs, which will handle a lot of water. Dan offered to check with other sewer departments about what they are doing with ADUs. Scott noted they should be pro-active and get the fees in place sooner than later-even if it is a flat fee. He suggested checking on how the Water District is handling this and Dan said he will talk to them. ---Future Agenda Items- Dana St. work, minutes, Manhole IFB, demands, and ADU guide lines. PUBLIC COMMENT – Jane noted Joe Hurley had emailed that he has been sick and was sorry to miss his last meeting. Brett said they wish him well. UPCOMING SCHEDULED SEWER COMMISSION ACTIVITIES: July 8, 2025 @ 7pm – Regular Meeting, Hybrid Meeting at DPW July 29, 2025 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Zoom Meeting August 12, 2025 @ 7pm – Regular Meeting, Hybrid Meeting at DPW August 26, 2025 @ 6pm – Regular Meeting, Zoom Meeting Motion: Scott D. Second: Arthur K. To adjourn at 6:50pm Roll Call Vote: Scott- aye, Dan-aye, Arthur-aye and Brett-aye. Respectfully submitted, Jane L. Ranley Minutes Clerk