[gview file="http://69.89.31.68/~vdoenhor/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CM061614.pdf"]VILLAGE DISTRICT OF EIDELWEISS
COMMISSIONERS MEETING
June 16, 2014
The Board of Commissioners met at 8:00 am on Monday, June 16, 2014. In attendance were Commissioners Ron Sandstrom, Mike Smith and Larry Leonard. Also in attendance was Kelly Robitaille (highway), Treasurer Dinah Reiss, residents Gloria Aspinall, Ralph Lutjen and Mark Graffam. Ralph Lutjen and Mark Graffam entered at 8:20. The meeting was taped for Madison TV by Tim Hughes.
At 8:00 am the meeting was called to order by Chairman Ron Sandstrom. [expand="More Text"]
1. Agenda
Mike Smith makes a motion to approve the agenda minus the scheduled appearance on the water report and to schedule a date for this appearance. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion. Mike Smith states that he is not ready this week for this discussion. Ron Sandstrom states that he would like to meet with the group to formalize the research into a committee going forward. Larry Leonard states that he does not have his notes with him on this report. Mike Smith reiterates that he would like to schedule this appearance so that all parties are properly prepared. Mike Smith asks Dinah Reiss if the appearance is to discuss the submitted water operations strategy report and is informed that it is. Motion is called to a vote and the motion failed 1-2 with Ron Sandstrom and Larry Leonard voting against removing the appearance. Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Larry Leonard seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
The Action List is reviewed and discussed.
2. Highway Department Report
Kelly Robitaille reports that all equipment is in good shape. Oak Ridge Road review done last week with Engineers Paul Fluet and Nick Sceggell is discussed. Kelly Robitaille questions if the Department should proceed with the work discussed for the upper section of Oak Ridge near and below the S-turn, at the intersection with Upper Lakeview drive along the property for #59 Oak Ridge, in front of the property at 23 Oak Ridge and across from 68 Eidelweiss Drive. Placing of a catch basin across from 68 Eidelweiss Drive is discussed. This will not be done at this time. Mike Smith outlines the discussion with the Engineers; 3 check dams will be placed prior to the culvert entrance. Mike Smith makes a motion to proceed as outlined by Engineer Paul Fluet. Larry Leonard seconds the motion. Discussion on stopping silt prior to the first culvert to benefit the remaining culverts in the sequence is held. Motion is called to a vote and the motion passed 3-0. The lower portion of the S-turn on Oak Ridge is discussed. The rip rap along the edge of the road is in the way of the plowing. The Engineers recommendation is to remove the rip rap and pave the swale directly onto the exposed ledge. Kelly Robitaille will obtain a quote for the paving. The intersection with Upper Lakeview Drive is discussed. Rip rap stone will be placed along the property edge of 59 Oak Ridge Road to the paved driveway and then below the driveway to the rock, approximately 40 feet. 23 Oak Ridge Road is discussed. The Engineer’s recommendation is to place rip rap stone in the swale along the property and request a culvert design should the homeowner desire to place a culvert under the driveway. Mike Smith makes a motion to send a letter to the homeowner stating the results of the review and request a culvert design. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0. The bottom of Oak Ridge Road is discussed. Mike Smith makes a motion to defer discussion for receipt of a report from Fluet Engineering Associates. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0. The meeting last Friday with NH DOT grader operator Tony Eldridge is outlined. Mr. Eldridge will train the DPW on use of the grader to grade roads and clean ditch lines. Following the meeting with the Board, Kelly Robitaille drove Tony Eldridge through the District to view the roads. The roads will need to be prepared for grading. Trees will need to be limbed on many roads and the ditch lines will need to be cleaned. Mike Smith questions the amount of ditching to be done. Kelly Robitaille states that ditching the roads properly will take most of the summer. The grader will be used to remove the debris from the ditches and then debris will need to be picked up with the backhoe, put into a truck, and disposed of. Once the ditch lines in an area are cleaned, the road will be graded. Roads can be raked in the interim to help with pothole control. Low limbs will also need to be cut over the roads so as to not damage the roof of the grader. The pole cutter will be used to limb where needed. A third person would be beneficial during portions of this process. No part time help is currently available for day time hours as the current part time employee works days. Mike Smith makes a motion to produce an ad for part time help. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion. Discussion on effective use of part time help is held. Motion is called to a vote and the motion passed 3-0. Budgets and timing for projects to facilitate the road grading are discussed. Mike Smith discusses cutting back limbs prior to bringing the grader onto a road to clean ditches. The need for ability to dispose of the debris is outlined. Contact with the Town of Madison will be made for access to the Transfer Station. The line painting quote has been received. Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to approve the quote for line painting at $275. Mike Smith seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0. Beach signs are in process for pricing. Road signs and speed limit signs needed within the District will be quoted. Mike Smith makes a motion to obtain an update on the delivery of the grader. Larry Leonard seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0. A trash dump occurred on the dead end section of Bristenstock. Madison Police have been notified and examined the scene.
Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to move to Scheduled Appearances next. Larry Leonard seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
3. Water System Planning
The installation for the new 25 HP pump at Jungfrau is scheduled for tomorrow. The crane has been scheduled. Jason Roache of Northeast System Controls, the SCADA programmer, has reported that he expects the VFD control panel to be ready today. Installation is scheduled to begin at 9 am tomorrow. Water operator Ray Seeley will be asked if the old pump is ready for removal. Discussion on disposal of the old pump is held. Kelly Robitaille will be informed to bring the old pump for recycling. Water outages are not expected with the install. Ray Seeley will be asked if the Jungfrau tank will need to be emptied during replacement of the leaking valve as water outages would need to be posted for that work. The estimate to replace the valve is reviewed. Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to approve $881 for replacement of the valve at the Jungfrau pump house. Mike Smith seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0. Ray Seeley will be informed. Verification that all connections needed for the installation will be requested. The closure of Jungfrau Road while the crane is on scene will be posted and emergency services notified. The electrician will be followed up with as to the status of the removal of the old control panel. The date for the startup of the new pump is to be determined. The target time frame is currently the end of this week. A communication failure of the Muddy Beach pump station last Friday is discussed. The station was manually run Friday night and Saturday by Nancy Cole. The communication level of the station rose back to 100% Saturday and the station was put back on SCADA control Saturday night. Discussion on having a backup radio in the District is held. Mike Smith makes a motion to purchase a radio for backup. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion. Discussion is held on the ability to replace the current radios with the new technology radio purchased for Muddy Beach. Ability to put the radio in any station which suffered a radio failure is discussed. Jason Roache could be asked about the compatibility of the radio styles. Mike Smith moves to table the motion on the floor for additional information. Pumps and water movement within the system to meet the average daily water usage was put into a spreadsheet Friday by Ron Sandstrom. This table showed that to meet the usage demands, Muddy Beach booster pumps would need to be run for 14 hours per day while Jungfrau pump station is running only the 10 HP backup pump. Ron Sandstrom thanks Nancy Cole for her efforts in running the station manually. Mike Smith and Larry Leonard also say thank you.
4. Administration
A safety meeting is scheduled for 12:30 Wednesday.
An Asset Management Committee meeting is to be scheduled. Ron Sandstrom discusses the need to have accurate locations for all isolation valves within the system. Once the location is identified, knowledge of the area isolated by the valves is critical to be mapped out. Mike Smith makes a motion to contact Iron Mountain to get a cost for review of isolation valves in the system with Larry Leonard. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
Work orders are discussed. Establishment of a procedure for use of the work orders is needed. The forms will follow all work through completion. Mike Smith makes a motion to use the work orders for all work going forward. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
Ron Sandstrom is working on the PBX system connections.
The application for the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) for water system work is discussed. The projects to be listed are outlined as follows:
Second 25 horsepower pump at Jungfrau $30,000
Replacement of booster pump at Oak Station $20,000
Booster pump and hydro tank SCADA controls
at Summit station $20,000
Muddy Beach Well #2 rehab $30,000
Tank inspections and lining at Reinach $80,000
Pipe replacement within the system $70,000
Pre-application for the SRF will be filed at $250,000.
Notification has been received on an available Leak Detection Grant. The details will be reviewed to determine if an application will be filed. The due date for applications is July.
The water usage daily report for May has been completed and distributed.
5. Accounts Payable
16 checks for $5,814.75 are presented. Mike Smith makes a motion to approve 16 checks for $5,814.75. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion. Checks and invoices are reviewed and discussed. Motion is called to a vote and the motion passed 3-0.
6. Minutes
The minutes of 6/2 will be redistributed.
7. Commissioners Reports
Mike Smith makes a motion to send a letter to the EPOA and Ralph Lutjen for a great job at the entrance garden. Ron Sandstrom seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
8. Signature Items
9. Correspondence
The Property-Liability Trust has sent notification of the restructuring of the organization under the PLT agreement with HealthTrust. PLT will now function as a separate entity.
Resident John Cooper of 23 Oak Ridge Road has sent a request information regarding the engineer’s review of the area at 21 and 23 Oak Ridge Road be left in the mailbox tonight so that he may pick it up. The area is discussed. The outline of the engineer’s review will be left as requested.
10. Scheduled Appearances
Gloria Aspinall informs the Board that the Appenvel Way and Eidelweiss Drive intersection road sign is missing. Gloria Aspinall requests placement of “No Fireworks” signs for the summer. Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to place No Fireworks signs at the Huttwil Bulletin Board and all beach kiosks. Larry Leonard seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
Dinah Reiss reviews Warrant Article 10 and the unanimous recommendation to pursue an alternate water operations strategy. Dinah Reiss outlines the ability to save money by implementing the proposed strategy. The proposed training of employees Nancy Cole and Kelly Robitaille for licensing this fall is discussed. The report outlines the availability of local licensed system operators willing to mentor and train the employees. The model for the next step would be for the choosing of the person to be hired by the VDOE as the licensed operator. The ability to increase availability of mutual aid is an additional benefit and a backup for assistance should it be needed. Knowledge of the system and working relationships with NH DES staff, Granite State Analytical staff, local contractors and the SCADA system are all benefits to the VDOE. An outline of the system needs and requirements are discussed. The closeness of a staff response for an emergency is also beneficial. The employees are motivated by what is best for the District. The equipment upgrades authorized by the voters this year will also help with using employees for water system work. Dinah Reiss outlines that the discussions held with local system operators were preliminary in nature. Moving forward to obtain additional details would require Board of Commissioner approval. Ralph Lutjen states that he feels the report understates the potential savings. Overtime for employees is factored into the report analysis. With the reduced amounts within the Capital Reserve Fund there is an inability to fund projects without voter approval. The inclusion of additional volunteers, one or two, to also become licensed water operators will increase the ability to handle emergencies. Ralph Lutjen adds that should the plan fail for some reason, the Board would have the option to contract with a licensed third party company. Savings that occur by handling work at a lower cost could result in greater fund availability for the system. The service level for the system would increase with an in house licensed water operator. Ron Sandstrom discusses the level of interest of the residents that took time to produce this report. Ron Sandstrom adds that he would like to formalize this group into a Committee and continue work to bring the proposal to the next level. Handling of emergency response should be detailed. Water monitoring and use of VDOE equipment for service work is already being looked at by the Commissioners. Potential conflicting duties and sustainable coverage going forward would be beneficial for inclusion. Ralph Lutjen states that information from the Board on specific items to be addressed would be beneficial. Mike Smith states that he thinks the report is flawed and he does not believe the cost savings are accurately represented. The 30 hours of work included with the monthly fee to the current water operator is not included. Mike Smith adds that he feels the report is biased. Ralph Lutjen asks Mike Smith to forward a work up of the numbers for discussion. Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to formalize the group as a Committee. Larry Leonard seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0. Ron Sandstrom makes a motion to appoint Dinah Reiss, Ralph Lutjen, David Maudsley, Mark Graffam, Nancy Cole and Mike Smith to the Committee. Mike Smith seconds the motion. Mike Smith moves to remove Nancy Cole from the list and approve the list as amended. Larry Leonard seconds the motion to amend. Motion is voted and the motion, as amended, passed 3-0. Meetings of the Committee will be scheduled and posted.
11. Other Business
The Driveway Ordinance proposed updates are discussed. A new draft highlighting the requirements of RSA 231 will be sent to the Board for review. A requirement for proper line of sight for approval of a driveway and the requirement that property owner’s maintain drainage system and culverts using the wording from the RSA will be included. Following the Board’s review of the proposed changes, the draft will be sent to the Attorney for review prior to scheduling a Public Hearing.
12. Public Comments
At 10:19 am Mike Smith makes a motion to adjourn the meeting. Larry Leonard seconds the motion and the motion passed 3-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy E. Cole
Administrator
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