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HomeMy Public PortalAboutTri-Town Groundwater Protection District -- 2011-05-11 Minutes ORLEANS, BREWSTER, EASTHAM GROUNDWATER PROTECTION DISTRICT BOARD OF MANAGERS MEETING MAY 11, 2011 Board of Managers Present: John Kelly,Chairman,Orleans; Charles Sumner, Brewster. Others Present: Jay Burgess,Chief Operator; Cyndi Bachman, District Secretary; Beverly Carney, Orleans resident; David Burnie, David Burnie Septic Service. 1. Meeting called to order at 9:00 a.m.. 2. A motion was made by Charles Sumner to approve the Board of Managers Minutes dated April 13, 2011. This motion was seconded by John Kelly and unanimously approved and passed. 3. Haulers questions for the Board: • David Burnie, David Burnie Septic Service, stated when pricing at the plant changes and fluctuates, the flow changes and fluctuates. He currently brings most of his pumpings to Tri-Town, but sometimes it gets re-routed to Yarmouth, or Chatham. When the price is right, it ends up at Tri-Town. Today his truck went to Yarmouth because there was about a $90 savings for that one truck load. If he picks up a load from Chatham, and his next call is in Dennis, it now makes sense for him to go to Yarmouth because there is a substantial savings: $20 on a 1,000 tank; $30 savings on a 1,500 tank. What may have been dumped at Tri-Town, winds up somewhere else. He stated his bigger concern as a hauler, is the plants' financial ability to keep its head above water. If Tri-Town shuts down, the immediate impact is on the three towns that are in-District. There is also an outlying impact from here to Provincetown. I know the outlying towns are not the Boards concern, because you represent Orleans, Brewster and Eastham. If this plant folds, what happens when he gets a call on a day when the Yarmouth plant is closed and there is sewage on the ground somewhere. Some emergency calls are minor and some large. His recollection is that when the plant was being built, there were a lot of questions whether it would be self-sustaining, and if it was not, the Board was to go back to their towns for funding. Is that an accurate statement? • John Kelly stated the Board of Managers works under the Intermunicipal Agreement which does have a provision to go back to the member towns for funding. I don't think the towns have ever funded the operation of the plant. The plant has been self-sufficient, but on a shoe string budget. Unfortunately, we need to raise our rates in order to cover our costs that continue to go up. We understand that the haulers will go where the best price is, but part of your costs, I'm assuming, are being passed on to your customers. We looked at the budget, and looked at the fact that flow was not as heavy this year. People were not pumping as frequent, and our costs continue to go up. We don't relish the thought of trying to get any money from the three towns for the operation or capital for the plant. It's not going to happen. At this point this Boards' main goal is to keep the plant running and to continue to do so on operating revenues without relying on the towns, and that is what we are continuing to do with Jay's help. We understand that the septage can go anywhere, but from our standpoint we believe that the rate increase that we have done will hopefully be the last one that we will have to look at for a couple of years. We have no plan to close the plant. The Intermunicipal Agreement runs through 2015, so if everything runs smoothly, we will be here until 2015. • Dave Burnie asked what happens if the plant cannot sustain itself on the income it receives? • John Kelly stated the Board would have to go back to the three towns to ask for funding. There is a section in the Intermunicipal Agreement which states if one of the three member towns does not fund their portion, then they are out of the agreement. Our goal is not to go back to the three towns for funding. • Charles Sumner stated he has been in Brewster for 25 years and was here when the plant was built. He has been on the Board of Managers on and off over the years. The District employees do a fine job and I don't know how they pull it all together. I will say that I was on the Board when the plant had financial problems in the past and we talked about going back to the member towns for subsidy . I think if it went back to Brewster, it would be rejected at town meeting. Not a penny can be spent without a town meeting. We would have to have a separate article for the operating deficit at the Tri-Town Septage Plant. The Town of Orleans is working their way to a long term solution. Brewster is trying to hang on because we want to have access to the plant, and we are trying to catch up with evaluation of long-term comprehensive wastewater issues in our community. Our vision is to cooperate here on a reduced level, but the question we have is, can we keep this plant going, and that's what we need to figure out. These guys are stressed here trying to keep this plant .r.rr..mrr operating with the revenues versus budget issues. If in fact we needed to appropriate money for capital to help out with repairs, I think that might be a better possibility from Brewster's perspective to give us a few more years here, rather than funding an operating expense. • Dave Burnie asked if the plant has the ability to sustain itself if there is no flow from outside of the District? • John Kelly stated that 50% of the flow volume is from out-of-District. • Dave Burnie stated that is exactly his point and has a hard time understanding that it costs this plant more to treat Chatham waste than it does to treat Brewster waste. When you raise rates for out-of District flow, you are actually directing that flow away from Tri-Town. As a business man, I cannot pick up a $90 difference and bring it here. It doesn't make any sense to me. You are right that we can pass it on to the customer, but the hauling business is a very competitive business. I can pass it on to my customer but my competitor might say they can take it to Yarmouth for a cheaper price. In both scenarios, it doesn't come to Tri-Town. If you raise the price in the outlying areas, you are actually driving that flow away. • John Kelly stated what is different now than in the 1980's, is there is no consent order to abandon the lagoons, which was the whole reason that Tri-Town was able to come together. This plant was built 90 cents on the dollar with federal and state monies. What has happened since that time is DEP does not care where it goes, as long as it is treated. When the subject comes up about isn't it less expensive for the towns to continue to off-set the operation than it would be not to have the plant here and have the individual homeowner pay more, the response sometimes around this table has been, well that's not the towns' issue. It's up to the individual property owner, and if it affects some people once every three years when they pump, the additional costs are minimal versus bringing several million dollars of tax money into this facility. It's a hard argument to get passed. We do not have an operating budget in Orleans that pays anything to the plant, so there isn't any way that you could make that subsidy. It would be difficult to add a line item to the town operating budget and it would be subject to town meeting approval. This plant struggled for many years. We never could get the outside towns to ever want to help finance this plant, so why should we give them any discount. The three member towns have the liability of the plant, between the insurance, the property and the carrying costs of the plant. Years ago this Board tried to expand the Intermunicipal Agreement to the other seven towns, and they refused. The other issue is we have no ability to control flow. How many people in Brewster or Orleans know that they get a discount when they tell the hauler to bring it here. • Dave Burnie stated there are haulers that pass the discount on to the customer, and I am one of them. There are haulers that advertise in the newspaper. The reality of pumping a residential tank when there is six inches of snow on the ground or it is seven degrees outside, it just doesn't happen, so we try to schedule our commercial accounts. I understand exactly what you are saying, but I still disagree with the thought that whatever took place in the past whether Chatham would join, or Harwich join, the bottom line is, it sounds like this treatment plant is fighting for it's life and when you raise the rates on the perimeter of the District, you are cutting your own flow. Jeff Wall, Wall Septic Service, called me this morning to say he could not attend today's meeting but to let the Board know that nothing he pumps from Chatham, Dennis, Harwich or Yarmouth will be coming to Tri-Town because he cannot afford it. I think this is a reflection of every contractor. I understand your point and problem, but I simply ask you to re-consider the perimeter areas, do the math, and I think you will find you will attract the gallons from outside towns and hit your flow numbers. If it remains an in balance of$20 to $30 on a 1,000 to 1,500 tank, it's not going to come here. I have brought flow here in the past two years, even though it has cost me a little bit more, because I want the plant here. I can pass on the increased costs a little bit to the homeowner but I cannot pass on $20 to $30. You hit the nail on the head that the people here at Tri-Town work hard and do a great job. They are always extending a helping hand and Jay is running a great operation here and I hope that it manages to stay in place. • Charles Sumner stated his goal would be to transition into the next phase of the new plant so these employees can also transition into that plant. They have a career here and a lot of years of service, and we have to find a way to make that happen. • Jay stated his big concern is the finances. Mechanical equipment can be fixed but you need the money to buy the parts. Our average now is 11 cents a gallon, which is what it will cost to run the plant and breaking even. We are giving a 1 cent discount under what it actually takes to run the facility to the member towns. 4. The Board reviewed the Draft Budget and deferred it to the next Board of Managers Meeting for approval. 5. Chief Operator Updates—Jay Burgess: • Process—Nitrate is 25 mg/1. All others are single digits. • Historical Process and the States Non-Compliance—Jay stated he and his staff researched 20 years of data for the Return to Compliance for the State. We are only required to maintain three years of data. Jay also reviewed the final reports from Wright-Pierce Engineers with the Board. He suggested asking Brian Dudley, DEP, to attend the next Board of Managers Meeting in June for discussion on the reports. • Maintenance— The scada system has been repaired by Woodard& Curran. They have informed me it would cost approximately $3,000 to upgrade the software. Hopefully, the current software will run until the plant is renewed. • No. 2 Primary Clarifier Drive— We have installed a new motor on the No. 2 Primary Clarifier Drive, which also needs some metal work and the main shaft may need replacement in the future. • Filter Press- Jay has been in contact with a plant in North Carolina who also have filter presses and routinely purchase parts from a company in England. They have offered to include our orders with theirs, saving the District shipping costs from England. We would only pay shipping costs from North Carolina. • Dave Bennett—Jay received a call from Dave Bennett requesting the information on Hurley's Bog and discharge nitrate numbers. Jay sent him the information in PDF format, which he replied that he would like the information re-sent in Excel form. Jay informed him that he would need permission from the Board to forward the information in a different format. • Charles Sumner stated he has no problem sending the information in the Excel format, as long as Jay receives a copy of whatever Mr. Bennett enters on that spreadsheet. • John Kelly stated that he also has no problem sending the information in the Excel format, as long as at any time Mr. Bennett makes reference to that information, it be known that he has re-entered the numbers. • Grease Pricing Rates—Jay stated that from time to time we receive unscheduled grease and he would like to recommend an unscheduled grease rate of 18 cents in-District and 20 cents out-of-District be implemented. 6. A motion was made by John Kelly to authorize the District to charge the following for unscheduled grease: 18 cents per gallon for in-District and 20 cents per gallon for out-of- District. This motion was seconded by Charles Sumner and unanimously approved and passed. 7. A motion was made by John Kelly to authorize Jay to submit the Return to Compliance Plan to DEP today as proposed . This motion was seconded by Charles Sumner and unanimously approved and passed. • Jay stated the District has spent $2,700 on the Return to Compliance which does not include any future expenses that may involve Wright- Pierce going to a meeting or anything else. • John Kelly stated the current permit for the plant expires 2012. It was suggested the District begin the renewal process six months prior to expiration. The District does not have anything in the budget for engineering for permit renewal and we need to get a proposal to account for that expense. 8. The Board reviewed the Districts' bank balances. 9. A motion was made by Charles Sumner to approve Treasury Warrant No. 12 for payment. This motion was seconded by John Kelly and unanimously approved and passed. 10. The Board reviewed the Districts' flow. 11. A motion was made by Charles Sumner to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 a.m.. This motion was seconded by John Kelly and unanimously approved and passed. Respectfully submitted, Cyn i Bachman District Secretary I.1. I:i I ORLEANS, BREWSTER, EASTHAM GROUNDWATER PROTECTION DISTRICT BOARD OF MANAGERS MEETING MAY 11, 2011 AGENDA 9:00 A.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF BOARD OF MANAGERS MINUTES: • April 13, 2011 3. CITIZEN'S FORUM 4. HAULERS QUESTIONS FOR BOARD 5. REVIEW OF DRAFT BUDGET 6. CHIEF OPERATOR UPDATES- JAY BURGESS 7. FINANCIAL UPDATE: • Bank Balances 8. APPROVAL OF TREASURY WARRANT NO. 12 9. OLD BUSINESS 10. NEW BUSINESS ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY LEGALLY COME BEFORE THE BOARD