TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN
- BOARD OF SELECTMEN
SPECIAL MEETING WASTEWATER
MONDAY– JANUARY 22,
2006 [4:30 PM]
JUDGE WELSH HEARING ROOM
Excused
Absence: Sarah Peake
Other
attendees:
Town Manager Keith Bergman, DPW Director David Guertin, DPW, Financial /
Administrative Coordinator Dana Faris, Austin Knight Water & Sewer Board, Ron
Adams of Metcalf & Eddy and Facilitator John Goodrich
The
following are minutes, in brief.
1. WASTEWATER
FACILITATED MEETING
Chairman Cheryl Andrews turned the
agenda over to Facilitator John Goodrich.
Introduction
The
January 22nd Facilitated Meeting of the Board of Selectmen was
designed to provide the Board with the information needed to move forward with
the implementation of Phase 2 as authorized by the November 2006 Special Town
Meeting and the Board’s actions at the December 11th meeting.
The
primary focus of the meeting was on the allocation of the available capacity
for Phase 2 to both interested property owners and to the important Town priorities
of affordable housing and year-round economic development, and a review of the
proposed Phase 2 construction schedule. Looking ahead to the next meeting with
the Board on February 26th, the Wastewater Team provided the Board
with a list of recommended topics for discussion at either the February or
other future meetings.
The
following notes summarize (i) the presentation of any new information not
contained in the Packet Report, (ii) the discussion, including comments and
policy direction from the Board, and (iii) the action items and other
information from the Wastewater Team’s follow-up discussions held on January 23rd.
ALLOCATION OF
PLANT CAPACITY FOR PHASE 2
The
Wastewater Team provided the Board with an update on the outreach program and a
review of their revised recommendations for allocating the Phase 2 capacity.
Despite a six-month long intensive outreach program for the Shank Painter
Basin, only 142 properties or about 75% of those who initially said they were
interested in a connection are now confirming that they will hook up. The main
reason property owners give for not wanting to hook up: they feel the user
rates are too high. Therefore, the Town has a dilemma: more connections and
more flow are needed to reduce the user rates, but not enough people are
willing to sign up at the current user rates.
The
Wastewater Team reported that they were looking at several ways to make sure
that Phase 2 can move ahead as planned even with this shortfall in committed
users in the Shank Painter Basin. These include the following:
• A successful outreach program to the
Seashore Point neighborhood which has resulted in confirmed interest from 13
property owners totaling over 5,000 GPD. The Wastewater Team is continuing to
focus on any larger users that can be encouraged to connect, including
municipal and other public service uses.
• The updated number for the
“breakeven” gallons needed to cover the construction costs for both the Shank
Painter Basin and the Seashore Point areas is 5,000 to 10,000 less than the
number that was estimated earlier.
• Specific “decision windows” have
been proposed to ensure that betterment revenues will be forthcoming for the
affordable housing and economic development (EDP) placeholders at the time that
construction begins and pre-construction betterments are issued.
During
the discussion, the Wastewater Team provided the following clarifications and
the Board provided the following guidance:
• The Wastewater Team confirmed that
the Betterment is seen as reasonable by potential users, in comparison to the
cost of complying on site – the issue is the user rate.
• The Board requested that the
Wastewater Team look at possible ways to reduce the user fees as soon as
possible, and to determine what a reasonable user fee would be. Some members of
the Board did not favor reducing the fees before the additional flows and
revenues occur. The Board agreed that whatever approach is recommended and
adopted, the WWEF must be financially healthy.
• The Board suggested that a review of
the user fees could include the option of revisiting the original political
decision to have the users pay 100% of the costs for the sewer system. This
option might result in a request to Town Meeting to provide funding from the
General Fund – such as request might require a Prop 2-1/2 override vote since
the Town is at its levee limit.
• At the Wastewater Team’s follow-up
meeting on January 23rd, the user rate issue was discussed on a
conference call with the Town’s financial consultant Mark Abrahams, and it was
agreed that a review of this issue will be provided to the Board at the March
meeting, to be attended by Mr. Abrahams.
• The Wastewater Team explained that
the outreach program in the Manor neighborhood has resulted in confirmed interest
from those that can be served by the proposed Pump Station and that if any
additional properties that can be served cost-effectively do come forward, they
will be included as well.
• The Board agreed that the Wastewater
Team should immediately begin an outreach program to those property owners
along the West Main who have previously indicated an interest in a sewer
connection in response to the two town-wide mailings. The outreach program will
focus on properties adjacent to West Main 2 and the Bradford West Main where
capacity will be freed up.
• The Board proposed a motion and
voted 4-0 to have the Town Manager file an application with the Community
Preservation Committee for CPA funds to cover the betterment for two years for
the 20,000 GPD affordable housing placeholder for the Shank Painter Basin, as
proposed by the Town Manager and the Wastewater Team. The Board deferred to the
Town Manager to develop the specific numbers to be requested. The Wastewater
Team confirmed that the placeholder includes the proposed Cumberland Farms
site, as well as additional gallons for yet-to-be-determined housing proposals
that proponents may bring forward. The Board felt that there is sufficient
information available concerning the benefits of a potential sewer connection
in the Shank Painter Basin to encourage housing proponents to come forward with
specific proposals.
• As a part of the discussion and in
response to a question raised by Water & Sewer Board representative Austin
Knight, the Wastewater Team explained that (i) the proposed request for CPA
funds is specifically targeted at the Shank Painter Basin, but since the funds
would be repaid into a revolving fund once the housing project comes on-line,
the funds could then be available for other housing projects in the future, and
that (ii) the discussions with the CPC will confirm that additional funding
opportunities will be available again in the Fall should other housing projects
be ready to move forward and need a sewer extension then.
• The Wastewater Team also explained
that in situations such as the proposed Area E-10 and E-9 affordable housing
sites - where no construction will need to occur until the housing is ready to
go - there would be no need for revolving funds to cover the betterment prior
to the housing project coming on line. In such situations, the sewer extension
would be built when the housing is ready for it, and the housing would cover
the betterment payments from the beginning. Present information indicates that
the need for a sewer connection for Areas E-10 and E-9 is at least two years
away.
• In contrast to the affordable
housing placeholder, the Board felt that there was not sufficient information
available to encourage business and property owners interested in an economic
development permit (EDP) to come forward with specific proposals for the use of
the 5,000 GPD placeholder reserved for this use. The Board subsequently
scheduled a discussion of the permit procedures and other issues for this topic
for their regular February 12th meeting.
• In preparation for the February 12th
meeting, the Wastewater Team has prepared a map and a description explaining
the locations where business and property owners can request additional flows
for approved EDP gallons – either on the new Shank Painter Sewer Extension
gravity sewer system, or along those portions of the existing downtown vacuum
collection system where capacity will be freed up once the new sewer extension
is constructed. The description also clearly explains the end of April deadline
for a “decision window” for this placeholder.
• The Wastewater Team confirmed that
in Phase 2, any EDP requests along other portions of the existing downtown
vacuum collection system will need to rely upon gallons released from
“discontinued uses”, as reviewed with the Board at the December 11th
meeting. It is anticipated that some of the “discontinued use” gallons may be
released as early as November 2007.
UPDATE ON THE
SCHEDULE FOR PHASE 2
Rob
Adams of Metcalf & Eddy met with Brian Dudley of the DEP on the morning of
January 22nd and confirmed that the DEP has just issued new
regulations that will simplify the permit requirements for sewer extensions and
connections. In the future, the paperwork that the Town will need to submit and
the approval process will be much simpler. In summary:
• The governing decision for the Shank
Painter Sewer Extension will be the approval of the design specifications
submitted last week for the SRF approval, rather than a separate approval for a
Sewer Extension Permit. The former requirement to submit a Permit for approval
is exempted by the new regulations if the project is subject to SRF review.
• In addition, the Town cannot proceed
until the Ground Water Discharge Renewal Permit has been approved. This Permit
has already been submitted and is being reviewed by the DEP.
• For the Seashore Point neighborhood,
the already-approved permit will need to be modified to add the additional
properties in the neighborhood to be served – since this area is not part of
any SRF submission, the requirement to submit a Permit for approval is not
exempted by the new regulations. The additional review will not delay the
schedule for the Seashore Point project.
The
bottom line: the proposed May 1st 2007 construction start date is
still aggressive, but is more achievable under the new regulations.
In
response to questions, Rob Adams of Metcalf & Eddy explained (i) the cost
savings associated with the proposed “horizontal directional drilling” approach
to be utilized under the cemetery, (ii) the fact that the sewer pipe tunnel
will be located some 30 feet under the cemetery, and (iii) the questions asked
by the Mass Historical Commission are simply because they are unfamiliar with
this approach and were interested in receiving a technical explanation of the
process.
DPW
Director David Guertin reviewed the proposed Shank Painter Basin Sewer
Extension construction schedule with the Board. The construction to be
undertaken during the May to July timeframe will involve (i) the sewer main on
Shank Painter Road, (ii) the sewer mains on Bradford Street, (iii) the new Pump
Station to be located next to the Fire Station, and (iv) the force main
connection to the treatment plant. Mr. Guertin explained the phasing of
construction from July to December for the side streets in the Shank Painter
Basin, and the rationale for the proposed schedule, based upon the experience
learned from last year’s Laundromat Sewer Extension, as well as the Phase 1
construction, and the desire to ensure that Phase 2 is affordable by hooking up
properties as quickly as possible.
Mr.
Guertin explained that:
• The successful Laundromat outreach
program will be used as a model, including notices, coordination with the
Police Department, and with the Council on Aging regarding elderly residents.
• Multiple construction crews will be
used to accelerate the construction.
• One lane will be kept open at all
times and dust control will be employed.
• The contractor can do 100 or more
feet in a day, so no one location will experience disruption for more than one
day.
He
also explained that, since the sewer extension will be a gravity sewer, once
the work is done in a particular area, properties can be hooked up immediately
and both flows and user revenues can begin, unlike the experience with the
Phase 1 vacuum sewer where the entire system needed to be completed for flows
to begin.
In
response to comments and questions from the Board, Mr. Guertin explained that
the amount of disruption will be the same whether the work begins before May 1st,
on May 1st, or at a later date. During Phase 1, no construction was
permitted from May 15 to September 15, and the same will be true for the area
between Bradford and Commercial Street for Phase 2. However, the proposed
schedule does call for construction during this time period for other portions
of the Shank Painter Sewer Extension area. If the Board were to require a halt
to the construction during certain peak periods, there will be an additional
cost incurred – the Wastewater Team will provide this information to the Board
at a later meeting.
Mr.
Guertin reassured the Board on the following issues that they raised:
• A single point of contact will be
named and their phone number made available. The Board suggested the Chief of
Police as the point of contact.
• Metcalf & Eddy will provide an
excellent Clerk of the Works, who will work with the Town’s representatives on
all outreach and scheduling issues.
• If there is an outcry, construction
will be shut down until the issue is resolved.
• One lane will be kept open at all
times, and the roads will be maintained in “good shape” for the Memorial Day
and July 4th weekends.
TOPICS FOR
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The
Facilitator summarized the topics that are proposed for the upcoming meetings
and asked the Board if they had other questions concerning the Report.
In
response to questions and comments concerning the written updates in the
Report, the Wastewater Team provided the following clarifications concerning the
recent grease-related failure:
• The vacuum system experienced its
second grease-related failure, which has been reported to the DEP. A pump
failed because it was impacted with grease – due to inadequate pumping of the
grease – and the pump had to be replaced.
• Of the 26 grease generators on the
sewer system, 18 have good grease management practices and the Town needs to
focus on the other ones. The Wastewater Team has reviewed with Metcalf &
Eddy the type of enforcement program and costs that would be needed to ensure
that all of the grease traps are managed properly.
• Ensuring that all of the grease
traps are managed properly is of concern not only from an enforcement
standpoint, but it also has a direct impact on mass loading which has been shown
to be a limiting factor for making any unused capacity at the treatment plant
available for additional connections. Therefore, it has financial implications
as well.
The
Board provided the following guidance:
• Each of the grease generators is
responsible for managing their own grease trap properly in the same way that
they were responsible when they had an on-site system – it is not the Town’s
responsibility.
• The Board requested that the
Wastewater Team bring forward an enforcement program at the next meeting,
including consideration of large enough fines to deter any bad behavior. The
Wastewater Team plans to provide the Board with recommendations at the February
26th Meeting.
At
the Wastewater Team’s Follow-Up Meeting held on January 23rd, the
following schedule of meetings and topics was developed, based upon the
availability of Mark Abrahams, as well as a determination of the dates that
either information will be available or that decisions are needed in order for
the Wastewater Team and Metcalf & Eddy to move ahead with the schedules
that have been established for Phase 2. All of these dates are regular meeting
dates for the Board.
February
26th
• Phase 2 interest, permitting, and
construction schedule updates, including any policy decisions that are needed
by the Wastewater Team.
• Update on the CPA funding request
for the affordable housing betterment and the allocation of the EDP
placeholder.
• Recommended grease management
program.
• Metcalf
& Eddy review of the plant improvement options and a proposed “Roadmap”
with timelines for future phases.
March
12th
• WWEF
Financial Analysis, including a discussion of user rates – Financial Consultant
Mark Abrahams will attend this meeting.
April
23rd
• Finalize Phase 2 allocations and construction
schedules and contracts
• Policy decisions for WWEF and for
the timeline for future phases.
MOTION: Move that the Board of Selectmen vote to
instruct the Town Manager to file the appropriate application for betterment
fees for the Shankpainter Basin on behalf of the Board of Selectmen.
Motion
by: David Nicolau Seconded by: Michele Couture Yea
4 Nay 0
Motion to adjourn by Michele Couture at 5:45 pm.
Minutes
transcribed by: Vernon G. Porter and John Goodrich