Provincetown Water and Sewer Board Meeting of October 18, 2001

The October 18, 2001 meeting of The Provincetown Water and Sewer Board was called to order by Chairman Anne Lord at 5:05 PM. Present were: Chairman Anne Lord, and Board Members Lucille Plante, and Jonathan Sinaiko. Also in attendance were: Banner Reporter Marian Brag, Water Superintendent Craig Wiegand, and D.P.W. Director Dave Guerton.

The First item discussed was that of the approval of the minutes for the meeting of September 20, 2001. Lucille Plante suggested that having just received the minutes, that she and the other Members of The Board read the minutes after which she would then approve and sign and “initial that she approve.” The other Board Members then agreed to the suggestion unanimously.

The second item of discussion was that of the statis of The Hardship Clause and its definition. After a short explanation of documents in The Board Member’s information packets and their interpretation and meaning in the opinion of Town Counsel, by D.P.W. Director Dave Guerton, as well as a question from a member of the audience, Lucille Plante made a motion to defer the discussion of The Hardship Clause in order to read and understand the documents and the opinion of Town Counsel, until the next meeting. The motion also called for a Special Meeting of The Board to be attended by The Board, The Water Superintendent and The D.P.W. Director to assist The Board with the definition and guidelines to follow when invoking The Hardship Clause. The motion was then seconded by Jonathan Sinaiko. After a brief discussion, the motion was carried unanimously three to zero.

The third item up for discussion was the abatement appeals. The Board deferred discussion on the appeals until the Hardship Clause and it’s definition and guidelines could be determined.

The fourth item discussed was that of new Board Members and the Alternate position. Water Superintendent Craig Wiegand told The Board that it consisted of five 5 Members and one 1 alternate, and that one applicant was waiting to be appointed as a Board Member and another applicant had been accepted to become a Member. Mr. Wiegand also told The Board that there was an applicant to fill the Alternate position.

The fifth item up for discussion was the topic of having The Citizen’s Advisory Committee to become a part of The Water and Sewer Board. After a lengthy discussion, Lucille Plant made a motion to have The “Selectpeople” discuss the issue of providing a Subcommittee for The Water and Sewer Board made of The Citizen’s advisory Committee in order to combine the meetings. The motion was then seconded by Jonathan Sinaiko which then passed unanimously three to zero.

Before moving on to the sixth item of discussion, Dave Guerton told The Board that Mr. Wiegand had decided to take the Water Superintendents position in Harwich. The Members of The Board thanked Craig Wiegand for the job he did and told him that he’d be deeply missed. Craig Wiegand in turn told The Board that this had been the best three years and that he was taking a great deal from the community and that he wouldn’t trade it for all the tea in China.

The sixth item on the agenda was the Superintendent’s update. Craig Wiegand told The Board that because of the electrical fire incident in late September at The Knolls Crossing Well Field, that The Knolls Crossing Pumping Station had to be taken off line in order to make necessary renovations, and that The Parks Service allowed the use of The North Truro Air Force Base for the interim period while repairs were being made at Knolls Crossing. He explained that he believed that one of the things that was shown was that there is a dire need for alternative sources because of The Parks Services reluctance to have the Town use it’s wells. Mr. Wiegand told The Board that he hoped that the system would be back on line by December 1^st and that some modifications were being made to The Knolls Crossing Well Field in that the vacuum system was being removed and submersible pumps would be put in it’s place. Lucille Plante then expressed her concern as to the running of The Water Department. Mr. Wiegand explained that The Department would be running as it is running currently and that it would remain in capable hands. Mr. Wiegand also told The Board that the billing cycle had just begun and that he hoped that all the bills would be out by December 14^th. Craig Wiegand also explained that there were three handouts that were being sent with the water bills. The handouts dealt with The Rules And Regulations on (Payment OR Pavement… I’m not sure.) D.P.W. Recycling, and the notice for The recommended Flushing of The System.

On the topic of other business, Lucille Plante told The Board that she had some issues that she wished to put on the agenda for the next meeting. The issues Lucille Plante wanted to discuss were: The Hardship Clause, The two abatements of Case numbers 4212 and 6318. Chairman Anne Lord then stated that The Board would also be looking at The Waste Water Regulations. Lucille Plante also wanted to discuss any information from the Town Administration regarding The Board’s C.A.C. Subcommittee Proposal. Anne Lord also wanted clarification on what a reasonable time was for getting a plumber in to make any repair.

Lucille Plante then made a motion to accept the minutes for the September 20^th meeting as written which was seconded by Jonathan Sinaiko. The motion was carried unanimously three to zero.

A motion was made by Lucille Plante to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Jonathan Sinaiko. The motion was passed unanimously three to zero.