East Lyme Water and Sewer Commission

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REGULAR MEETING    Tuesday, JUNE 24th, 2008

EAST LYME WATER & SEWER COMMISSION

MINUTES

The East Lyme Water & Sewer Commission held a Regular Meeting on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at the East Lyme Town Hall, 108 Pennsylvania Avenue, Niantic CT. Chairman Formica called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

PRESENT:                 Paul Formica, Chairman, Mary Cahill, Joe Mingo, Dave Bond, Dave Murphy, David Zoller, Steve DiGiovanna

ALSO PRESENT:       Attorney Edward O'Connell, Town Counsel

                                 Brad Kargl, Municipal Utility Engineer

                                 Michael Giannattasio, Director of Public Works

ABSENT:                   Roger Spencer

1.       Call to Order

Chairman Formica called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2.       Approval of Minutes

à    Regular Meeting Minutes – May 27, 2008

Mr. Formica called for discussion or any corrections to the Regular Meeting Minutes of May 27, 2008.

**MOTION (1)

Mr. DiGiovanna moved to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of May 27, 2008 of the Water & Sewer Commission as presented.

Mr. Zoller seconded the motion.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

3.       Delegations

Mr. Formica called for anyone who wished to speak under delegations.

There were no delegations.

4.       Approval of Bills

¨       S.B. Church - Invoice #82 - $7,982.00

**MOTION (2)

Mr. DiGiovanna moved to approve payment of the S.B. Church Invoice #82 in the amount of $7,982.00.

Mr. Zoller seconded the motion.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

5.       Water Bill Adjustment Request

¨       4 Attawan Road

Mr. Kargl explained that the ‘1 in 10’ policy does not allow staff to make decisions on non-owner occupied homes and that this is one of them. He then explained how this was calculated and that the excessive water usage was due to a pipe that failed under a slab. Information was also submitted regarding the repair of this situation.

Mr. Murphy said that he is assuming that the water did not go into the sewer and asked if that was correct.

Mr. Kargl said that was correct.

**MOTION (3)

Mr. DiGiovanna moved to adjust the water bill for 4 Attawan Road from $1009.72 to $597.94 under the 1 in 10 adjustment.

Mr. Murphy seconded the motion.

Mr. Bond asked if this is a rental.

Mr. Kargl said yes.

Mr. Bond asked if they were still charging for the sewer.

Mr. Kargl said yes.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.   Motion passed.

6.       Communications

à         See Correspondence Log

Mr. Kargl said that several of the correspondence items had to do with a DEP error.

7.       Zoning Referral – Application for 11 Industrial Park Road, Paradise Properties Management LLC

Mr. Formica said that this is similar to last months’ referral.

Mr. Kargl said that there is a draft in their folders that they can look over.

Mr. DiGiovanna asked if they are suggesting that they should drill a well for irrigation or other purposes.

Mr. Kargl said that they are suggesting that it should be for everything.

Mr. Giannattasio explained that by suggesting that; they are not denying them the use of their property.

Mr. DiGiovanna asked if there is a sewer extension to just one property.

Mr. Kargl said that it is more a matter of how they would want to see this constructed in the proper way.

Mr. Mingo said that it is to their advantage to call it a sewer main extension due to the assessment factor.

Mr. Giannattasio said that they would have to hold a Public Hearing if and when they come back to apply to them.

Mr. Murphy asked if they would be pumping water from the same wells as the Town if they drilled their own and how they would be charged on the sewer fee.

Mr. Giannattasio said that it would be charged by a sewer usage chart or a flat rate and that with reference to the water – it is not appropriate to analyze that at this point.

Mr. Kargl said that with regard to the drilling of their own well that it is better to spread out the draw.

Mr. Mingo said that he would guess that they would have minimal impact on it and that it would not require a diversion permit as it would be less than 50,000 gpd usage. He also asked for an update on the sewer capacity and what they have if they take out those that have been granted it.

Mr. Kargl said that he would get them an update on that and added that it is not as critical a demand as they have kept up with what they have granted so that they would not get into a situation where they have less than they thought.

**MOTION (4)

Mr. DiGiovanna moved to issue the memorandum from the Water & Sewer Commission to the Zoning Commission on the Zoning Referral – Zone Change Application for 11 Industrial Park Road, Paradise Properties Management LLC as presented.

Mr. Zoller seconded the motion.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

8.       Sewer Benefit Assessment Committee Report

¨       Schedule Public Hearing Dates for Sewer Assessments – Pine Grove, Boston Post Road and Orchards Subdivision Sewer Extensions

Attorney O’Connell reported that they had held a meeting of the Committee and had discussed the various assessments. He noted that they generally have the ‘opt-in’ system whereby they set the assessments now but the homeowners either ‘opt in’ to pay the assessment and only start paying when it becomes necessary for them to be a part of the system. The flat fee for homes was $7800 and for condos it was three-fourths of that or $5800. However; condos in the late 80’s were similar to apartments and many, in fact, were converted apartments so when the Commission considered Smith Ave & Smith St. they decided to consider them all ‘dwellings’ and assess them the same. He said that they then come to Boston Post Road where they have the older type of converted condos and if they were to go by the Smith St. /Smith Ave. option – they would hook in when it became a health issue. He noted that this would come up again with respect to 38 Hope Street. The other type of hook-up is mandatory – such as Pine Grove where the system was put in for public health reasons. They have to hook up and there is a plan in place where they have instituted a COLA for the hook-ups. These are basically a $9800 flat fee plus the COLA which as applied would currently be in the area of $13,000-$14,000 as the Town has paid for the Pine Grove upgrade and the property has been improved by the sewers. He noted that this has and will hold up in the Courts. He said that Brad and he felt that Pine Grove should be up first for the Public Hearing as they will not generate many commercial assessments. He suggested that Boston Post Road should be after Pine Grove and then the Orchards which they would treat in the same manner as Old Stone Way at some $13,000+ assessment. After that they would be dealing with 38 Hope St. where the sewer line comes in via Methodist St. He asked that they authorize the Chairman to set the Public Hearing date for Pine Grove and then said that the subcommittee may also want to report on the meeting they had.

Mr. Zoller noted that Ms. Cahill and Mr. Mingo made up the majority in the subcommittee and that he was the minority party with respect to treating the condos as ‘dwelling units’.

Mr. Mingo explained that what they are doing here is a ‘benefit assessment’ and that when discussing Hope St. that without the sewers Hope St. would not be there nor would it have been allowed to be developed as dense as it is – so that meets the criteria of ‘benefit assessment’. He said that he thinks that the Williamsburg condos on Boston Post Road should also be assessed as a dwelling unit and that if they are not in agreement then they can take the issue to the Courts.

Ms. Cahill said that Hope St. is listed as having town homes and flats for unit types and that Mr. Zoller has said that he thinks that condos have less people in them and that is why he thinks that they should be assessed differently. She said that Black Point has 600 homes and from them – only 88 kids go to the schools and that many of those homes have just one person in them and they were assessed as ‘dwelling units’ and therefore, she feels that 38 Hope St. should pay like everyone else does and not be treated different.

Mr. Zoller said that his logic is that the multi-family has less sales value than a single family home and he thinks that they should be differentiated in that way.

Mr. Bond vehemently disagreed and said that he personally went through the Court system and lost and does not agree with the assessment.

Mr. Zoller noted that they cannot ignore the cost of living and that they have to keep up with it.

Mr. Mingo explained that historically the only people who are getting ‘screwed’ here are the taxpayers as they put up the money to get the sewers and he does not see why 38 Hope St. should pay less as it is a benefit assessment and taxpayers put a lot of money out for this and the benefit assessment makes it so that the users are only paying what they should to be a part of the system.

Mr. Giannattasio explained that there is still a lot of money due out there to pay for the infrastructure so they have to differentiate how things are charged and paid.

Attorney O’Connell said that if the $60M system was not put in then no one could hook up. He also noted that the bonds have built-in millions to tie into the New London sewage system.

Mr. Mingo said to Mr. Bond that he has a misconception that the benefit assessment has everything to do with the line going in and that is totally incorrect. The property value is enhanced with sewers.

Mr. Giannattasio said that based on the value that Mr. Zoller is speaking about that what was $7800 in the 1980’s is equivalent to some $13,000+ today and is the same dollar impact based on the government figures and is consistent with the inflationary increases.

Mr. Formica said that the formula was based on value and that it has been consistent for some 20 years and that has set the precedent.

Mr. DiGiovanna said that the primary goal is to be consistent and that he was on the subcommittee when it was first formed and the numbers are fair and this is more than the right thing to do.

**MOTION (5)

Mr. Mingo moved that they assess all of the common interest dwelling units at the same rate as the single family dwellings.

Ms. Cahill seconded the motion.

Mr. Formica noted that they expect the figure to be in the $13,000 range –

Mr. Mingo said that the number is irrelevant as they have used the court test and that tit withstands that and the notion that multi-family vs. single family benefits differently is unfounded as 38 Hope St. could not have been built without sewers and unfortunately the Boston Post Road units are a catch 22 – they are an opt-in situation and he said that he would guess that a septic being installed would cost even more to do than hooking into the sewers.

Attorney O’Connell said that he would have to check into the Affordable Housing issue as he is not aware of anything being different but would need to check. He said that he would like to put together a graph assessment type of set up for them to look at in analysis. He noted that a common interest ownership unit is a ‘style of dwelling’ rather than anything else and that it would be treated the same as a single family dwelling.

Mr. Mingo maintained that for example – the sots of a community septic system for 38 Hope St. would be in the millions of dollars and would net down to being more expensive per unit than the sewer hook-up. He asked why the sewer department should subsidize Hope St. and then charge a single family more when the original formula is fair and should not be diminished.

Mr. DiGiovanna said that things can go both ways as they have houses in the beach associations that are smaller than some of the condos and town homes.

Vote:  4 – 3 – 0.  Motion passed.

For:  Mr. Mingo, Ms. Cahill, Mr. DiGiovanna, Mr. Murphy

Against:  Mr. Bond, Mr. Zoller, Mr. Formica

**MOTION (6)

Mr. Murphy moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the necessary notices to set the Public Hearing for the Pine Grove benefit assessments.

Mr. DiGiovanna seconded the motion.

Mr. Zoller asked about the connection date.

Mr. Kargl said that the sewers were made available and accessible in 2007.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

Attorney O’Connell noted that the Motion (5) would be what would be followed until such time that it was changed.

9.       Review of Water conservation and Water Supply Emergency Response Measures

Mr. Kargl said that there was a package on this included in their yellow folders and that it was a compilation package of what they saw last year. He then went through the stages of the water conservation notices and the procedure that would be followed.

Mr. Mingo suggested that they put a water conservation sign in the Flanders section of Town also.

10.   Water Supply Improvement Project Updates

a.  Well 5 Draft diversion Permit

Mr. Kargl reported that the DEP is allowing them a diversion permit and to change from the consent order system and that the water main prohibition in the consent order will also go away however it does not allow for the drawing of water any differently from what they have been doing.

Mr. Mingo asked if they legally could extend the water main.

Mr. Kargl said that technically once the permit goes into effect that it is okay.

b.  Replacement Well 2A

Mr. Kargl reported that he gave the specs to Pettini on this and that they are waiting to hear back from them.

c.  Replacement Well 3B   and -

d.  Regional Interconnection

Mr. Kargl reported that they sent a letter to the DPH to answer David Cooley’s letter noting that the replacement Well 3B; regional interconnection and Darrow Pond are tangible updates and objectives.

Mr. Formica said that they are continuing to provide the DPH with information on how we are being pro-active to solve the water issues.

Mr. Kargl also reported that the meeting with Groton Utilities went very well.

e.  Darrow Pond

Mr. Kargl said that they are actively looking at this as an emergency back-up supply.

f.  Level A Mapping

Mr. Kargl reported that this has been completed and has been sent to the CEP for approval and that once it is approved there would be a set of land use regulations enacted by the Zoning Commission probably within the next six months to a year.

11.   Chairman’s Report

Mr. Formica said that the main focus is to improve the water supply and that they have been taking a shotgun approach to it to see what they can come up with. They have been working with COG, other Towns and it all boils down to implementation. In the meeting with Groton, they asked him to take the lead on this and he said that he would gladly do so.

12.   Staff Updates

a.   Conservation Measures

Mr. Formica recalled that they have targeted the fourth of July as water conservation time and are promoting that as it is traditionally a heavy-use weekend.

b.   O & M Building Renovation

Mr. Giannattasio updated the Commission on this and said that they have estimates in and that the insurance company has determined that this was due to ‘wear and tear’ and they are not sure of what will be covered as it was based on an accident/failure. He said that he ahs sent all of the information as requested and that they are waiting to hear back on this.

c.   Point O’ Woods Sewer Connection

Mr. Kargl reported that the agreement is pretty much ready to be signed by Point O’ Woods.

Attorney O’Connell noted that Point O’ Woods are the ones who are under the gun here.

Mr. DiGiovanna asked if they would start right away once this is signed.

Mr. Kargl said that he thinks that they would start this summer.

d.   Pine Grove Sewer Extension Project

There was no discussion.

e.  Orchard’s Subdivision

This was discussed previously.

f.   Boston Post Road Tank Painting Project

There was no discussion.

g.   Crossley Court Sewer Extension

There was no discussion.

h.   Saunders Point Sewer Extension

There was no discussion.

i.    Darrow Pond Project

This was previously discussed.

j.   Camp Rell Readiness Center

There was no discussion.

k.  Maguire Group Monthly Status Report

Mr. Kargl noted that this was in their packets.

l.   Water Department Monthly Report

There was no discussion.

m.   Sewer Department Monthly Report

Mr. Kargl updated the Commission regarding the New London sewer capacity and said that Tri-Town has agreed to move forward with the RFP’s for the design study on the upgrade of the plant and that July 11, 2008 is the due date for them.

n.  Regionalization Issues  

This was discussed earlier.

o.   Rates/Capital Improvement Plan

There was no discussion.

**MOTION (7)

Mr. Mingo moved that they add under Item 13. New Business – To authorize the Chair to enter into a wastewater agreement with East Lyme Housing Ventures, LLC.

Mr. DiGiovanna seconded the motion.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

13.   New Business

¨       Authorize the Chair to enter into a Wastewater Agreement with East Lyme Housing Ventures, LLC

**MOTION (8)

Mr. Zoller moved that it be resolved, to authorize the Chair to execute, in the name and on behalf of the East Lyme Water and Sewer Commission, an agreement with East Lyme Housing Ventures, LLC regarding a temporary wastewater transmission agreement pertaining to lots in the “Orchards” subdivision, and to sign such other documents and take such action as may be necessary or desirable to implement and effectuate said agreement.

Ms. Cahill seconded the motion.

Mr. Mingo asked why they need to do this.

Attorney O’Connell said that they have accepted the road for the first 28 lots but others are still being built.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

14.   ADJOURNMENT

**MOTION (9)

Mr. DiGiovanna moved to adjourn the June 24, 2008 Regular Meeting of the East Lyme Water & Sewer Commission at 9:00 PM.

Mr. Mingo seconded the motion.

Vote:  7 – 0 – 0.  Motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Zmitruk,

Recording Secretary