Town of Provincetown

Meeting of the

Water & Sewer Board

Thursday, July 26, 2006

Grace Gouveia Building, 26 Alden Street, Provincetown

Members present: Jonathan Sinaiko, Chair; Austin Knight; Sacha Richter

Members absent: Anne Lord (excused)

Other attendees: Rick Tourgee and Matthew Weider representing Century 21 Real Estate; Health Agent Jane Evans; DPW Director David Guertin; DPW Staff Dana Faris, Ron Gamella, and Anna Michaud

Call to Order

Mr. Sinaiko called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m.

Laundromat Update

Mr. Knight briefed the Board on the progress of the laundromat. He reported that Mr. Silva had applied for and had received a building permit, that the machines were on order and were “in transit,” and that contractors were lined up to do the work Mr. Knight committed to following up with Mr. Silva in another two weeks.

Matthew Weider and Rick Tourgee, representing Century 21 Real Estate, informed the Board that they have entered into a lease to operate a real-estate office on a portion of the second floor at 68 Shank Painter Rd. The new office use would increase Title 5 flow at the property by 70 gpd. Mr. Knight explained that, because the subject of an office use at 68 Shank Painter Rd. had not been raised during the original negotiations and because the total gallons for this discrete sewer extension were already fixed per DEP permit, it was not possible for the Board to increase the total flow to accommodate this new use. It was further explained that, because the Board had understood that the laundromat would occupy the entire second floor of the building at 68 Shank Painter Rd., there was concern whether the laundromat could be accommodated in the reduced space while still complying with building codes. Mr. Knight then moved, seconded by Mr. Sinaiko, to authorize staff to enter into negotiations with Mr. Silva to achieve some workable compromise with the understanding (1) that the total number of gallons would not increase and (2) that the number of community-housing bedrooms, as well as the number of washing machines, would not decrease. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Mr. Knight then moved, seconded by Mr. Sinaiko, to request that Mr. Silva provide the Board with copies of the order for washing machines and a timeframe for the project so that the Board would be able to respond to public inquiries with confidence. The motion carried by a vote of 3‑0.

Water Abatements

Ms. Michaud presented the following applications for abatement of water charges:

Acct#	Property Address	Applicant	Billed Amount	Staff Recommendation
7417	2 Baker Ave	Claire Sprague	$142.50	No leak identified by water dept or by plumber. Meter bench tested – no defect. Meter read monthly to monitor. Recommend denial
6111	6 Winston Ct., Bldg. 3	Fred E. Sateriale	$4,205.50	Old style meter with horns removed by customer at request of W&S Board. Recommend abatement of $1,309 per 500% rule.
3818	638 Commercial St.	Marilyn Kearney	$1,709.50	Undetectable external leak caused by delay in plumber doing interior work. Abate $672 per 500% rule and in final settlement of ATB appeal.
109689	75 Province Lands Rd., #10	William Glass	$188.99	No leak detected. Changed out meter; again no leak detected. All subsequent reads reflect typical use. Recommend denial.
5602	202B Bradford St.	Michael Donovan	$1,630.00	No leak detected. Meter is accurate. All subsequent reads reflect typical use. Recommend denial.

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to accept staff’s recommendations and grant or deny abatements as indicated above. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Sewer Abatements

Mr. Gamella presented the following applications for abatement of sewer use charges:

Acct#	Property Address	Applicant	Billed Amount	Staff Recommendation
7417	2 Baker Ave.	Claire Sprague	$629.00	No leak detected by water dept or by plumber. Meter bench tested – no defect. Meter read monthly to monitor. No basis for granting an abatement. Recommend denial.
3818	638 Commercial St.	Marilyn Kearney	$2,719.50	Undetectable external leak caused by delay in plumber doing interior work. Abate $2,331.00 per Board policy and in final settlement of ATB appeal.
782	165 Commercial St., #2	Brad Liebmann	$150.00	Clerical error – misclassified as commercial property. Abate to $75.00
784	165 Commercial St., #3	Wayne Schmyer	$150.00	Clerical error – misclassified as commercial property. Abate to $75.00
12118	11 Arch St.	James Anderson et al.	$259.00	Data-entry error; actual usage is 0. Abate to $75.00 minimum charge.

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to accept staff’s recommendation and to grant or deny abatements as indicated above. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Sewer Use Deferrals

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to grant the following deferral for 2005 peak period sewer use.

Map & Parcel	Address	Acct#	Amount Deferred
11-3-068	3 Webster Pl.	2909	$198.35

The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Flow Revisions

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to revise the Title 5 flow for 213 Commercial St. from 379 gpd to 485 gpd. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Betterment Assessments

Mr. Knight moved, seconded by Mr. Sinaiko, to issue an order assessing sewer betterments and to execute a notice to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds for the following properties.

Address	Assessor’s Map
56 Shank Painter Road	07-3-002
68 Shank Painter Road	07-3-003
14 Mercantile Way	07-3-004
33 Ships Way Road	07-3-009-A
39 Ships Way Road	07-3-009
41R Ships Way Road	07-3-004-A

The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Sewer Connection – Cape End Manor

Mr. Faris presented a sewer connection permit for the Cape End Manor care campus. Mr. Knight moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to grant the sewer connection permit. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Knight, to approve the minutes of the meetings of June 8, 2006 as printed. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Other Business

The Board expressed concern that there is not adequate signage to direct the public to available restrooms. Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter that the Water & Sewer Board request (1) that the Banner and other publications include, as part of their public service listings, a directory of public restrooms in town and (2) that the DPW install appropriate two-sided signage in front of PAAM and other public restrooms to alert the public to the existence of said restrooms. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to adjourn the meeting. The vote carried by a vote of 3-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

__________________________

Sacha Richter, Clerk