Minutes of NVC Meeting of October 3, 2003

The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m.

Members Present: D. Crofoot, R. Brockway, J. Metcalf (by telephone conference call), J. Fancy.

Absent: Spollett, Fleming

Guest: James Fitch, Jr.--Engineer for Woodard & Curran

Also Present: M. Brockway, R. Stein, A. Badershall, T. Merolla, W. Paige

Minutes: Approval of last month's minutes were deferred since members present had had trouble to read them from e-mail attachments.  Copies will be mailed with these minutes.

1.      James Fitch, Engineer for Woodard & Curran, presented work to date on the needs and design issues for a wastewater treatment plan, elucidating their printed report and answering questions.  Questions were answered on a broad range of subjects.  Whether or not funding for capital costs can be obtained by grant monies, the fixed costs of operation and maintenance of a plant are a limiting factor for a sewer department whose customers currently number 220 and which is not likely to see more than ten percent growth.  Questions about assumptions for flow rates were answered.  Various types of plant design were discussed and will be appended as a separate document.  Estimates of the impact on user fees of a large capital project were questioned by Dick Brockway, and Mr. Fitch said that he would recalculate them to see that they were accurate.

2.      A site visit to the Low Flow Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Facility in Waldoboro will take place on Sunday, October 12 in the afternoon.

3.      Estimates of funding needs for Phase III (wastewater treatment design and DEP compliance) were discussed.  The Overseers need to discuss budget requirements for this year and next year including legal fees, payment of DEP fine, site identification and testing, obtaining an option to purchase a site, and the costs of a Stage II facilities plan.  Identification and testing of subsurface soils at a site may cost as much as $4,000-$6,000 each.  Including fines, this year's costs are in the range of $50-60,000.  A realistic assessment of these costs should be available to present to the DEP in December as we look into the larger prospect of funding a large capital project.

4.      There were no construction meetings for either Phase I or Phase 2.  Bills which need to be paid will be reviewed by the Chairman and John Fancy on Tuesday, October 7.

5.      Water Meter Installation:  There are still 22 meter installations left to do.  The contractor who had been doing them has been unsatisfactory.  John Fancy recommended that, in order to conclude this contract, he negotiate with Ti-Sales to furnish the Water Company with an additional 24 new meters.  We would then pay Larrabee Brothers or another local plumber to do these final installations.  There is $4,000 left in the project to pay for this.

6.      Judy Metcalf will draft a letter to local plumbers and contractors regarding the removal of seasonal water meters, customer responsibilities, and the need for the Village to store the meters.

7.      Five separate water meters will be installed in the Bayside Hotel condominium to allow for separate billing of separate customers.

8.      Water Billing: John Fancy recommended that we move from a quarterly to a 3-times-a year billing schedule for both water and sewer--in May, September, and January--with hopes of less confusion, better cash flow, and cost savings by avoiding a billing cycle.  Bills should include the period being billed as well as the amount of water used.  The Committee recommends this to the Overseers for approval.

9.      A letter from John Fancy to Patricia Lojek was reviewed and approved.  The substance of the letter is that multiple separate dwelling units in the same building or property will receive multiple utility bills.  A separate dwelling unit within a property has been defined as a living unit with water, sanitary facilities, and a kitchen which is separately occupied or rented.

10.    Next meeting: Friday, November 7, 2003 at 2:30 in the Utility Office.

Adjourned at 4:20 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,