Lunenburg Water District, February 9, 2022

The town has published neither minutes nor an agenda for this meeting. The recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

budgetcapitalcontracts and unionsdebtexecutive sessiongrantshealth insurancewarrant articlewater sewer

Present: Mr. Rogers (Dave Rogers) (commissioner); Fran (superintendent); Christy (business manager / treasurer); Brandon (staff); John (commissioner); Mark (commissioner). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

No substantive votes heard. 2 procedural.

The money

1. ▶ 4:17FY22-23 water district budget

   Staff presented a preliminary projected budget next to the prior year's estimate; the salaries figure is a placeholder pending executive session.

   as heard:1.506

2. ▶ 7:25Budget versus revenue margin

   A commissioner worried the projected budget is very tight against last year's actual revenue, which was depressed by a wet season.

   as heard:a couple thousand dollars

3. ▶ 5:40New garage loan

   The new garage's principal and interest payments are the biggest change; later the debt line was found not to match a straight 30-year schedule and needs correcting.

   as heard:160 0008043450

4. ▶ 6:02Health insurance line

   Budgeted health insurance well exceeds what was actually paid. Commissioners debated trimming it versus budgeting for five eligible family plans, and concluded it should be fine-tuned before the final budget.

   as heard:156 000103 00027 000135 00010 percent

5. ▶ 13:42Water tank loan

   The water tank loan makes its final payment in 2022, freeing that amount the following year, before the water main loan is finished.

   as heard:55 000

6. ▶ 17:50Equipment replacement line

   A small equipment replacement line exists in the budget; larger items are funded by annual meeting articles from the connection and equipment accounts.

   as heard:10 00050 000242

7. ▶ 33:39Reserve and special accounts

   Cell tower revenue, water service connection, and equipment and mains accounts are separate reserves from the operating budget.

   as heard:6541.4 million242 000250 000

8. ▶ 36:23Surplus

   The auditor previously cited a surplus; commissioners favored putting any extra into water main or other funds.

   as heard:235 000

9. ▶ 40:32Projected revenue

   Projected revenue is somewhat above the budget, a cushion of roughly fifteen thousand.

   as heard:1.515 000

10. ▶ 45:30Pickup truck replacement

    The superintendent wants an article to replace a pickup with a utility body truck. Bids may be better than the state bid.

    as heard:60 000

11. ▶ 47:55Computers, SCADA server and meter software

    The SCADA system is 12 years old and needs a server and software upgrade; meter reading software is reaching end of life.

    as heard:12 000

12. ▶ 49:57Existing water debt

    An older loan from 2010 at a low rate with partial forgiveness runs to about 2031.

    as heard:two percent

13. ▶ 52:50Maintenance line

    A commissioner asked what the actual figure behind the maintenance line is; staff said earlier miscoding inflated it, and it will be reviewed before the final budget.

    as heard:200 00027535

14. ▶ 57:45Hickory Hills PFAS pilot study

    A pilot study is a prerequisite for grant funding; earlier estimates were far lower and are expected to be higher now. Commissioners want cost and odds clarified before an article.

    as heard:fifty thousand25 000five million dollar grant

15. ▶ 1:06:19State revolving fund

    The state revolving fund provides low-interest loans, historically near zero, prioritized among applicants.

    as heard:two percent

16. ▶ 1:07:42Truck plow and utility body

    Options discussed: straight plow versus V plow, steel versus aluminum body, diesel versus gas.

    as heard:64779900ten thousand versus seventeen thousand3500

17. ▶ 1:14:38Loader and excavator replacement

    Possible article for a used loader to replace the aging backhoe, paid from the water service connection account.

    as heard:50 grand

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 2:30Cell tower RFP bid opening postponed to March 9th after consulting the attorneys; letters sent to the two parties that pulled the RFP.
• ▶ 12:59Budget vote deferred until after executive session finalizes salaries; the board will review and vote at the next meeting in two weeks.
• ▶ 15:43Health insurance line to be fine-tuned before the final budget rather than cut to actual-plus-10 percent.
• ▶ 54:18Maintenance line and other items to be reviewed and cleaned up for the next meeting.
• ▶ 1:07:20The superintendent will contact the engineer firm about the PFAS pilot study cost and process before any article is drafted.
• ▶ 1:13:56The superintendent will draft annual meeting articles with pricing for board review: pilot study, utility truck, computers and software.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• budget36 min · 46%
• water sewer31 min · 40%
• capital25 min · 32%
• health insurance15 min · 19%
• debt13 min · 17%
• warrant article12 min · 16%
• grants12 min · 16%
• facilities2 min · 3%
• contracts and unions1 min · 2%
• executive session0 min · 0%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:03Opening, signing warrants, roof repairinformational · 2:27 long · facilities
2. ▶ 2:30Cell tower RFP postponement and approval of minutesvoted · 1:24 long · contracts and unions
3. ▶ 3:54Preliminary FY23 budget review and revenue tightnessinformational · 9:48 long · budget, water sewer
4. ▶ 13:42Water tank loan and health insurance lineinformational · 4:08 long · debt, health insurance
5. ▶ 17:50Equipment replacement line and capital funding via articlesinformational · 3:07 long · capital, warrant article
6. ▶ 20:57Health insurance budget debatereferred · 10:43 long · health insurance, budget
7. ▶ 31:40Debt, maintenance, reserves and surplusinformational · 8:52 long · debt, water sewer
8. ▶ 40:32Revenue outlook, spending caution, truck and equipment plansinformational · 12:18 long · capital, budget
9. ▶ 52:50Maintenance line reviewreferred · 2:51 long · budget
10. ▶ 55:41Superintendent items and Hickory Hills PFAS pilot studyreferred · 12:01 long · grants, water sewer
11. ▶ 1:07:42Annual meeting articles: truck, plow, loaderinformational · 9:18 long · warrant article, capital
12. ▶ 1:17:00Executive session for non-union contract negotiationsvoted · 0:20 long · executive session

What the captions could not carry

• Executive session vote count at the end
• Exact salaries figure and several budget totals garbled
• Exact debt schedule for the new garage

Reports this meeting suggests

Our reading of the discussion: questions where numbers were in play and a page laying them out would have helped. Every meeting’s suggestions are merged into one register.

• ▶ 57:04Hickory Hills well treatmentWhat would a PFAS pilot study cost and what grant or loan funding could follow it?
• ▶ 7:25Water rate increaseIs projected revenue enough to cover the FY23 water budget given last year's wet season?
• ▶ 13:42Water building loanHow do the new garage loan and the maturing water tank loan change debt payments?

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