SC Minutes

Burrillville Sewer Commission

Regular Meeting of May 8, 2018

Board Room of the BWWTF

Members Present: William Andrews – Chairman

                                      Richard Nolan – Vice Chairman

                                      Russell Fontaine – Secretary

                                      Wayne Barber – Commission Member

                                      Gary Rouleau – Commission Member

Also Present:  Timothy Kane – Attorney for the Commission

                            James J. Geremia – Consulting Engineer

                            John E. Martin III – Superintendent

                            Donald Shurtleff – Senior Operator

                            Jacqueline Batalon – Financial Aide

Mr. Andrews opened the meeting at 6:40 PM.

Agenda Item – The question of accepting the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 10, 2018, and the question of dispensing with the reading of said Minutes.

Voted – Mr. Fontaine made a motion to accept the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 10, 2017 and to dispense with the reading of said Minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Rouleau. All in favor, so voted.

Public Comment – None

New Business:

Letter from William A. Andrews, Chairman, authorizing 100 hours of overtime for Donald Shurtleff.

Mr. Andrews explained that Mr. Shurtleff will be training with Mr. Martin to prepare for the interim period between Mr. Martin’s retirement and the start of a replacement Superintendent. Mr. Fontaine made a motion to accept the letter and to authorize one hundred (100) hours of overtime for Donald Shurtleff. The motion was seconded by Mr. Barber. All in favor, so voted.

Retirement date for John E. Martin III, Superintendent, and compensation amount for accrued vacation time and longevity.

Mr. Kane stated that Mr. Martin must take a forty five (45) day complete separation from the Town once he retires. After the forty five (45) days, Mr. Martin may work up to seventy five (75) days per year, with no set compensation limit. Mr. Martin presented an estimate of the vacation and longevity amounts that would be paid out upon retirement based on the dates of 6/3/2018 and 9/2/2018. The amounts are as follows:

Figures for Retirement Date of W.E. 6/3/2018

                Vacation Hrs. Accrued                    Vacation $                           Longevity                            Total to Pay

                                              579.30                     $27,337.02                           $5,813.81                             $33,150.83

Figures for Retirement Date of W.E. 9/2/2018

                Vacation Hrs. Accrued                    Vacation $                           Longevity                            Total to Pay

                                             634.68                      $29,950.62                           $8,060.05                             $38,010.67

Mr. Andrews made a motion to accept a resignation date from John E. Martin, III of September 2, 2018 and to compensate Mr. Martin $33,150.83 on June 3, 2018, which represents 579.30 hours of accrued vacation time at $27,337.02 and $5,813.81 in longevity and an additional $4,859.84 in compensation on September 2, 2018, which represents 55.38 hours of accrued vacation time at $2,613.60 and $2,246.24 in longevity. The motion was seconded by Mr. Fontaine. All in favor, so voted.

Post retirement part time employment and compensation for John E. Martin III, Superintendent.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion that the Burrillville Sewer Commission enters into a post retirement work commitment with John E. Martin, III to commence forty five (45) days after September 2, 2018, which would be October 18, 2018. The commitment would include Mr. Martin working three (3) days per month, for a total of twenty four (24) hours per month at the rate of $59.00 per hour. In addition, the BSC would authorize mileage and travel compensation at the current IRS per mile rate of $0.545, subject to adjustment per IRS regulations. The motion was seconded by Mr. Rouleau. All in favor, so voted.

Memo from Stacey Richard, Office Manager, regarding the 2018 Tax Sale Update.

The memo states that in January 2, 2018 one hundred ninety eight (198) Preliminary Tax Sale letters were mailed to customers with accounts that were more than one year in arrears. Of those one hundred ninety eight (198) customers, forty (40) signed payment agreements and one hundred eleven (111) brought their accounts current. This leaves forty seven (47) accounts remaining on the Tax sale list. The tax sale is scheduled for June 21, 2018. Mr. Fontaine made a motion to receive and file the Memo from Stacey Richard. The motion was seconded by Mr. Barber. All in favor, so voted.

Letter from NWPCA informing Mr. Martin that the Wastewater Treatment Facility has been selected as the winner of the NWPCA’s Gold Award for Complete Permit Compliance in 2017.

Mr. Andrews suggested that the office staff draft a letter from the Commission to the operations staff thanking them for their hard work.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to receive and file the letter and to authorize the office staff to draft a letter to be signed by the Chairman. The motion was seconded by Mr. Rouleau. All in favor, so voted.

Correspondence:

18-05-01 – Correspondence from Michael Sabitoni, RI Laborers’ District Council, requesting to     begin Union contract negotiations.

Mr. Andrews suggested that all Commission members review the current union contract and contact Mr. Andrews with any issues. Mr. Andrews will meet with the Town Manager, Michael Wood, at Mr. Wood’s request, to review the contract.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to receive and file the correspondence from Michael Sabitoni. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to appoint Mr. Andrews, Mr. Kane and Mr. Martin to a negotiating team on behalf of the union members. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

Invoices:

Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC Invoice #38044 in the amount of $4,077.47 for Professional Services – Fund 8300.

Mr. Kane stated that there is an updated invoice from Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC. Mr. Kane distributed copies of Invoice #38525 in the amount of $11,364.41 to all Commission members.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to approve and pay Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC Invoice #38525 in the amount of $11,364.41 from Fund 8300. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

RI Infrastructure Bank Account #BURR-CW-2006A in the amount of $15,610.02 for loan interest – Fund 8300.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to approve and pay RI Infrastructure Bank Account #BURR-CW-2006A in the amount of $15,610.02 from Fund 8300. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

RI Infrastructure Bank Account #BSC-06A in the amount of $12,832.45 for loan interest – Fund 8300.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to approve and pay RI Infrastructure Bank Account #BSC-06A in the amount of $12,832.45 from Fund 8300. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

James J. Geremia & Assoc., Inc. Invoice #27 in the amount of $5,311.92 for services rendered in connection with Phosphorus/Copper Upgrades – Fund 8300.

Mr. Nolan made a motion to approve and pay James J. Geremia & Assoc., Inc. Invoice #27 in the amount of $5,311.92 from Fund 8300. The motion was seconded by Mr. Barber. All in favor, so voted.

James J. Geremia & Assoc., Inc. Invoice #4 in the amount of $667.95 for services rendered in connection with House Lateral Inspections – Fund 8100.

Mr. Barber made a motion to approve and pay James J. Geremia & Assoc., Inc. Invoice #4 in the amount of $667.95 from Fund 8100. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

Engineer’s Report:

Phosphorus/Copper Project Status Report of Construction

Mr. Geremia stated that as of today, the contractor is approximately 95% done with the skater system. Mr. Geremia is waiting for the O&M Manual from the skater system company. There is an on-site meeting scheduled on Friday to perform some testing on the valve alignment. Nexom has been made aware of the testing. Mr. Geremia stated that VPN access will be granted to Nexom as needed, based on issues that arise and the development of a correction plan, to be approved by Mr. Martin and Mr.Geremia.

Mr. Nolan made a motion to accept the Engineer’s Report. The motion was seconded by Mr. Fontaine. All in favor, so voted.

Attorney’s Report:

Mr. Kane stated that he would like to defer the Attorney’s Report until closed session.

Superintendent’s Report:

Report for the month of April, 2018

OPERATIONS:

Influent to Treatment Facility :                           M.G.                                      Date Occurred

    Average daily flow                    1.1167                                                N/A

Maximum daily flow                    1.4330                                             17-Apr

Minimum daily flow                     0.8850                                             14-Apr

Biochemical Oxygen Demand  :              Percent Removal                               Average

Concentration

                                   E.P.A./ D.E.M. requirement                 >85.0%                                       <30.0 mg/1

                                                        Facility achieved                     99.5%                                                1.2

Total Suspended Solids  :

          E.P.A./ D.E.M. requirement                  >85.0%                                       <30.0 mg/1

                              Facility achieved                       99.5%                                                1.6

Total Phosphorus  :

   E.P.A./ D.E.M. requirement                     N/A                                         <0.100 mg/1

                       Facility achieved                        98.3%                                            0.065

Total Ammonia  :

   E.P.A./ D.E.M. requirement                     N/A                                          <31.5 mg/1

                       Facility achieved                        40.1%                                               10.6

Total Copper  :

                                   E.P.A./ D.E.M. requirement                     N/A                                            <8.0 ug/1

                                                         Facility achieved                      97.9%                                               4.8

Disposed Sludge  :

                                Dry Tons disposed of                      29.66

                     Number of loads removed                        24

                            Average dry tons/load                       1.24

COLLECTION SYSTEM OPERATIONS:

There were four calls for the month. One each at Rock Avenue, Oakland, Beach Road and Glendale stations. All the alarm conditions were corrected and stations returned to normal operation.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to receive and file the Superintendent’s Report. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.          

Sewer Use/Sewer Assessment Write-Offs – None

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to adjourn the meeting to Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

Attorney requests Executive Session of the Commission, pursuant to Rhode Island Open Meeting Law 42-46-5 (a) (2) to discuss potential litigation.

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to seal the Minutes of the Executive Session, no votes were taken. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

Adjournment:

Mr. Fontaine made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Nolan. All in favor, so voted.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jacqueline Batalon

Financial Aide