Water and Sewer Commission Meeting - 6/6/23 - OBSERVER REPORT

WATER & SEWER COMMISSION - June 6, 2023 

Remote access available on Zoom. Meeting will not be interrupted due to problems with remote access. Meeting recorded, audio only.
LWVM Observer – Steven Levy

Commissioners present: F. Carlton Siegel, Chair; Gregory Bates, Thomas Carroll,
Thomas L. Murray.  Staff present: Amy McHugh, Superintendent Dianne Rodgers , Office Manager, and Bethany Spangler, Assistant Superintendent via Zoom

The meeting started at 7:00 PM. The minutes from April 4, 2023, and May 5, 2023, were approved.

Superintendent Report for Water. - Contract 185, Loring Ave, is essentially done. New water main installed and in service. Contractor is working on landscaping and fencing.

Superintendent Report for Sewer
-Repair on Elm Street due to a pipe settling,  excavation went from 7 ft in depth to  17 feet.
- The Resump  project is an effort to locate private sump pumps connections to the sanitary sewer system and have the homeowner fix the problem. Sump pump water can overwhelm the sanitary sewer system during storm events. More than 400 sump pumps were found connected to the sanitary sewer system during the 80’s. records do not confirm if these connections were removed. Through RESUMP FY 24 effort will be made  to investigate those connections and confirm they have been removed from the sanitary system.
- Contract 183 Green Street Pump Station Rehabilitation- Work to start mid-June.
- Sewer Regulations review – South Essex Sewerage District has updated their regulations.  Marblehead will need to review and update to be in compliance with SESD Regulations

Superintendent Report for Admin
- Account Receivable update. 9 customers got collection letters with accounts overdue by 270 days and warnings with door tags were delivered to those customers with accounts overdue by 180 days.  

Report on Massachusetts Water Authority (MWRA).
- MWRA Loan update. MWRA loaned $3,059,400 for the Humphrey Street project was closed out and the earlier loan for $2,200,000 for the Tedesco street was also closed out. The projects were completed under budget by $771,300 which can be applied to future eligible projects. The Loring Ave project will be submitted for approval of this remaining funding. 

The Commission decided not to apply for additional loan appropriation at this time.  

Report on South Essex Sewer District (SESD)
Infiltration and Inflow project:  There are funds available for a sewer lining project in SESD Budget.  The Commission opted to hold prior to issuing use of these funds until the awards for Congressional Directed Funding were known.  Funding should be awarded to winning projects Mid July.

Contract 188 - ABC (Asphalt, Brick and Concrete) Material Processing Contract was publicly bid and awarded to N Granese and Sons for materials processing at $599,000.

Contract 185 - Loring Transmission Water Main Replacement change orders 1, 2 and 3 were approved.

GIS Field Technician appointment was made. Duties will include maintaining and operating the GIS (Geographic Information System). Samuel Lippmann, the appointee, has an Industrial Engineering Degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.

Rate Study Public Hearing and July Regular Commission Meeting were set for June 26, 2023.

The meeting ended at 9:50 PM.