Minutes of NVC Utilities Committee Meeting of January 16, 2004

Due to unsafe air quality (furnace exhaust), the meeting site was transferred from the basement of the Community Hall to 800 Shore Road .

Present: David Crofoot (Chairman), Suellyn Fleming, Richard Brockway (by telephone), John Fancy, Bill Paige.  Absent: Judy Metcalf, Peter Spollett. Also in attendance: Beverly Crofoot.

1. Meeting called to order at 2:30 p.m.

2. Minutes of meeting of December 5, 2003 were approved as amended.  (Attached.)

3. Financial Reports of Water & Sewer: Presented by John Fancy.  The only major overruns compared to budget related to secretarial/office expense, repair of structures (the rehabilitation of a building behind the reservoir for water meter storage), and operating expense (related to the extra pumping of the tanks this summer), and costs related to implementation and planning for Phase III (Wastewater treatment replacement-preliminary design and legal costs). Billing for 3rd trimester went out on schedule in January.

4. Public hearing regarding increase in sewer rates took place on Saturday, December 13, 2003 .

5. Infrastructure Upgrade Project (Phase I):  With the installation and connection of three pump stations on Shore Road , Lynch Construction has substantially completed their work.  Since there is still considerable clean up to be done, no retainage will be paid until spring.  Although new sewer pipe has corrected much I&I problem, there are still substantial flows in several collectors suggesting that sewer pipe beneath cottages or on private property is still contributing to excess I&I flow.   These areas include Shore Road in the remaining unreplaced pipe (Gray's, Granston's, Norton's), and at the Main St. and Park Row manholes.

6. Water line extension project (Phase II):  The Shore Road extension is completed, all but one prospective new user service have been installed, and a 2 inch base coat paving of the road has been completed.  A final road surfacing will be the responsibility of the Town of Northport .   Work on the Bluff Road deep line extension by Sargent & Sargent will likely start in April once the roads are unposted.

7. Wastewater Treatment Replacement (Phase III):

a. Discussions with Belfast resulted in some decrease in the amount Belfast would require to let us tie into their plant (4.7 million‡3.7 million), but no agreement could be reached as to how operating costs would be proportioned.

b. John Fancy  with Engineer Jim Fitch will meet with representatives of the DEP and Rural Development at the end of January regarding the treatment plant replacement, and how much public funding is realistically likely to be available.  This will have impact on what designs we can consider.

c. Five U. of Maine graduate students will be exploring our project this term and space will be made on the Agenda for the February Utilities Committee to hear their initial report.

8. Water Usage: John Fancy presented the historical water use for the last 15 years.  After four years of steady increase in water use since Bayside connected to the Belfast water source, there was a decline this year from7.8 million gallons to 7.3 million gallons.  Whether this is due to correction of leaking pipes or to better conservation and usage with water meters is uncertain.

9. Management Plan for a Utility Department.  John Fancy presented an initial draft of an ordinance which would set up a utility department for the NVC.  As envisaged, it would set up a five member utility board with staggered terms to guarantee stability and continuity, and with a minimum 60% composition of Overseers to ensure cooperative function.  The three Utilities Committee members present today felt that this was an appropriate project to pursue which would define a management plan and set up a department with a businesslike organization and would serve as an alternative to a Utilities District which has not found favor with the Board of Overseers.  This document will require substantial review and input both from the Committee and from the Board of Overseers in order to be proposed for adoption this summer.

10. Wastewater License. We have received the preliminary draft wastewater license for the next five years operations from the EPA/DEP.  Many small inconsistencies and outdated information must be corrected.  It is felt that we will be able to operate our wastewater treatment facility within the scope of this license without violation although increased requirements for frequency of testing may lead to some increase in operational costs. John Fancy will resubmit this document with corrections and amendments.

11. Meeting Adjourned at 4:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

David D. Crofoot, Chairman