Town of Provincetown
Meeting of the
Water & Sewer Board
Members present: Jonathan Sinaiko, Chair; Anne Lord; Sacha Richter
Members absent: None
Other attendees:
DPW Director David Guertin; DPW Staff Ron Gamella, Ryk Tyszka; Health
Agent Jane Evans, members of the public
Call to Order
Mr. Sinaiko called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.
Minutes
Ms. Lord moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to approve the minutes for the meeting of February 2, 2005. The motion carried 3-0.
Abatement Applications
Staff presented the following recommended abatements of FY 2005 water charges:
|
Bill |
Name |
Sewer Charge |
Reason for Abatement |
|
1009 |
Joyce Bailey |
$3,736.33 |
500% policy |
|
7116 |
Pauline Saunders |
$681.83 |
500% policy |
|
5413 |
Ruth O’Donnell |
$542.83 |
500% policy |
|
4217 |
Muriel Coill Rev. Trust |
$3,838.00 |
500% policy |
|
8018 |
St. Mary of the Harbor |
$971.33 |
500% policy |
|
885 |
Race Point Road RT #1 |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
886 |
Race Point Road RT #2 |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
887 |
Race Point Road RT #3 |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
888 |
Race Point Road RT #4 |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
895 |
Race Point Road RT #11 |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
896 |
Race Point Road RT #12 |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
690 |
Barbara Murchison |
$5,565.83 |
500% policy |
|
6215 |
Provincetown Airport |
$6,000.00 |
Misread |
|
9845 |
Donald Cote |
$1,223.00 |
Misread |
|
9000558 |
Bluelight LLC |
$18,331.50 |
New meter not at zero |
|
710 |
Brotchie Family RE Trust |
$87.00 |
Meter calibrated in cubic feet, not gallons |
|
167 |
Susan DiRusso |
$37.50 |
Smoothing due to underreads |
|
897 |
Theodore C. Rodes |
$50.00 |
Not connected |
|
493 |
Whalers Wharf LLC |
$896.00 |
Meter calibrated in cubic feet, not gallons |
|
7607 |
Off Front Street Cd. |
$1,780.00 |
Clerical error |
Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to grant these abatement applications. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.
Staff presented the following recommended denials of abatement of FY 2005 water charges:
|
Bill |
Name |
Reason for Abatement |
|
|||
|
169511 |
Bay Colony Cd., Bldg. 16 |
Does not meet 500% policy threshold |
|||
|
2411 |
Mark Melen |
Does not meet 500% policy threshold |
|||
|
477 |
Robert Winge |
Does not meet 500% policy threshold |
|||
|
3613 |
Ann Cartwright |
Does not meet 500% policy requirements for non-fixture leaks |
|||
Ms. Lord moved, seconded by Mr. Sinaiko, to deny these abatement applications. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.
Request for Sewer Hook-up – 5 Pearl
Street
Brian DiLaurentiis presented to the board his reasons for seeking a sewer hook-up.
Anne Lord recused herself because her husband was the owner of the property for the timeframe in question; she left the room.
Mr. DiLaurentiis based his argument on whether the
submission by the previous previous owner, on April 25, 2001, was timely. He
says the statute enabling the sewer allows a connection only if the owner
signifies an intent to connect “prior to the commencement of final design and
construction of the sewer system.” He
displayed the June 28, 2001 edition of the Provincetown Banner that said, in
part, that the selectmen signed the contract for the final design and
construction of the sewer on June 27, 2001.
Further, Mr. DiLaurentiis said that according to the Sewer Regulations
§4-C, “Property owners who have issued written requests to the Town to connect
to the sewer system and have not issued a written retraction of that request to
the Board, by July 18, 2002 shall not be allowed to opt out of participation in
the sewer system or payment of the betterment assessed by the Town.” and
furthermore §5-A says that, “The
submission of an owner response form to the Water and Sewer Board indicating
that the owner wished to connect created a contract between the Town and the
property owner whereby the property owner must connect to the sewer and must
pay the betterment assessment to be assessed by the Town.” [Emphasis in the original.] Mr. DiLaurentiis opined that a
“quasi-political” deadline of February 1, 2001 designed to help the town gauge
the interest in the sewer system going into town meeting. Town meeting approved the system in April
2001.
Mr. Sinaiko asked
for Mr. Guertin’s opinion on the matter.
Mr. Guertin suggested that the matter be taken under advisement and that
a written opinion be issued.
No motions were made.
Ms. Lord returned
to the meeting.
Laundromat Update
Mr. Guertin reported that Mr. Boggess has met with his architect and
been working to correct building, sprinkler and electrical deficiencies in the
building. Despite his best efforts he
will not be able to open April 1, but he continues to work to get all the
necessary work completed. Based on
reports, and the demonstration of Mr. Boggess’ good intentions, Mr. Sinaiko
moved, seconded by Ms. Lord, to grant to Mr. Boggess a six-month extension of
his date to perform under the original contract.
Public Statements
John Drews, 6 Gosnold Street appeared to
dispute the Title V flow assigned to his property, based on the number of
bedrooms. He asserts he has four
bedrooms, whereas a January 2005 inspection revealed six bedrooms. Ms. Evans will do an additional inspection
walkthrough with Mr. Drews to resolve the matter.
Richard Murray inquired about the number of
Phase I properties and how many are connected.
He also complained about the sewer rate. He said that he has been unable
to pay the bills, which accrue interest.
He says he doesn’t want to “turn the Crown into condos.” Discussion ensued.
Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Ms. Lord, to
revisit and study the dates of the “old” peak period, and examine them and see
if we can go back to those dates without jeopardizing the fundamental elements
of the system. The motion carried 3-0.
Adjournment
There
being no other business to come before the board, Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded
by Mr. Richter, to adjourn the meeting.
The motion carried 3-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
_________________________
Sacha
Richter, Clerk