Town of Provincetown

Meeting of the

Water & Sewer Board

 

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Grace Gouveia Building, 26 Alden Street, Provincetown

 

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

Members absent:  Anne Lord (excused)

Other attendees:  Harbormaster Rex McKinsey; DPW Staff Dana Faris, Ron Gamella, and Anna Michaud

Call to Order

Mr. Sinaiko called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.

Flow Revisions

Mr. Faris presented the following flow revisions. 

Map & Parcel

Address

Orig Flow

Rev Flow

Net Chg

Final Betterment 1-15-04

Revised Total Betterment

Net Betterment Increase (Decrease)

Reason for Change

06-4-007

151 Commercial St.

440

470

30

$14,819.20

$15,829.60

$1,010.40

Revision to account for 600 sf retail space.

12-2-022

361 Commercial St.

88

144

56

$2,963.84

$4,849.92

$1,886.08

Revision in accordance with Health Agent inspection.

12-2-023

361A-C Commercial St.

388

507

119

$13,067.84

$17,075.76

$4,007.92

Revision in accordance with Health Agent inspection.

 

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Knight, to approve the flow revisions.  The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Recommitment of Unpaid Water and Sewer Bills

Mr. Faris presented the Board with lists of unpaid water and sewer bills provided by the tax collector.  Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Knight, to recommit these unpaid charges to the Board of Assessors for inclusion on the fall tax bills.  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

16112

6 Winston Ct., Bldg 2

Frederick Sateriale

$546.00

Abate $496.  Meter marked backwards in system in error.  Off-peak usage for past three years has been 0.

9000396

104 Shore Rd.

Frederick Sateriale

$483.00

Abate $28.  Owner says water was shut off so bill should be $50.  However, the off-peak reading included 10/18/05-11/4/05 when water was still on.   A leak was found this past spring, which may have increased usage for that period last fall.

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

Review of Emergency Water Restrictions

Mr. McKinsey explained that a complaint had recently been made regarding the washing of boats at the courtesy float.  While it is clear the boat owners need to be able to wash boats, because the Harbormaster’s office is located at some remove from the water spigot for the courtesy float, it is not possible for the Harbormaster to exercise regular oversight to ensure that unauthorized and wasteful use does not occur.  Mr. McKinsey suggested that the Pier Corporation, which has jurisdiction over the courtesy float, could install a coin-operated meter on the courtesy float spigot to serve citizen and transient boaters.  After some discussion, Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Knight, to request that the Pier Corporation bring back a proposal for managing water use at the courtesy float.  The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Laundromat Update

Mr. Faris reported that Mr. Silva had advised staff that the washing machines had arrived on August 14 but, in answer to question, said that there had been no verification of this yet.  The Board expressed frustration that, although the summer season is nearly over, there still does not appear to be any effort on the part of the laundromat permit holder to move forward with getting the laundromat operational.  There was some discussion of what sanctions could be imposed to ensure that the laundromat is operational by a certain date.  It was explained that the Board could always revoke the sewer connection permits for noncompliance. 

Other Business

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Knight, (1) that the Water & Sewer Board express its concern to the Selectmen about the lack of enforcement of grease-trap compliance owing to the Health Agent’s being only part time and (2) that the Board recommend that the Selectmen take steps to remedy the situation on account of how the presence of high grease levels serves to compromise the amount of plant capacity available for new connections.   The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Richter, to approve the minutes of the meetings of July 26, 2006 as printed.  The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Mr. Sinaiko moved, seconded by Mr. Knight, to adjourn the meeting.  The vote carried by a vote of 3-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

__________________________

Sacha Richter, Clerk