HomeMy Public PortalAboutTri-Town Groundwater Protection District -- 2016-08-10 Minutes ORLEANS, BREWSTER, EASTHAM GROUNDWATER PROTECTION DISTRICT
BOARD OF MANAGERS MEETING
AUGUST 10, 2016
Board Present: John Kelly, Chairman, Orleans; Martin McDonald, Eastham;
Michael Embury, Brewster.
Others Present: Jay Burgess, Chief Operator; Cyndi Bachman, District Secretary;
Jim Nowack, District Accountant;Tom Parece AECOM, Jacqueline Beebe, Eastham Assistant Town
Administrator;Alan McClennen, Orleans Selectman; Charles Harris, Eastham Water Management
Committee; Beverly Carney, Orleans resident; Harold & Heidi Boas, Orleans residents.
1. Meeting called to order at 9:05 a.m..
2. Discussion on Transition of District's Financial Responsibilities—Jim Nowack:
• John Kelly stated he is currently checking with Cape Cod Municipal Health and Barnstable
County Retirement to try and understand the Towns obligation at the end of the District's
dissolution on December 31, 2016, and how are we going to handle the transition. My
understanding from the Orleans Financial Director, who contacted Barnstable County
Retirement, is we cannot have anyone on payroll after September 11, or the District will be
assessed for an additional year of retirement charges because they always go back a year from
September 301h of the prior year. I don't see any of the towns taking over any responsibility of
the District at this point, but what we would like to do is we are going to have needs for
treasury, clerical, and security, and we would end up having a contractual agreement with
those people.The facility will be here and will not be demolished until the Fall of 2017.We are
going to have ongoing responsibilities, and the Board of Managers are going to have to meet
beyond that time because we are ultimately responsible for the demolition and the
restoration of the site.That is the staffing issue.The other issue is the Special Act, and how do
the towns assume their responsibility under the Special Act that was created in 2012, which
states the three town meetings approved a Special Act that went through the legislature with
the understanding that the District was going to dissolve at some point, and that we had an
obligation to the retirees of the District and we didn't have the legal way to meet that
obligation. The three towns created a Special Act which was approved by the three Boards of
Selectmen; approved at all three town meetings; the House of Representatives of the State
and Senate approved it, and it was signed into law and is Chapter 327 of the Acts of 1988
which created the District and was amended by the following section: Section 5 states upon
the dissolution of the Orleans, Brewster, Eastham Groundwater Protection District,the
retirement benefits, including without limitation of retirement and health benefits of vested
District employees, shall be paid by the towns of Brewster, Eastham and Orleans in equal
amounts with each town paying one third share pursuant to dissolution provisions of the
Intermunicipal Agreement.This was approved January 2013. Last week I met with Orleans
Town Counsel, Michael Ford, Orleans Finance Director Cathy Doane, and Dave Withrow.We
are going to have to draft a successor to the Intermunicipal Agreement. The Orleans Board of
Selectmen can sign an agreement for up to five years.The IMA will spell out the
responsibilities of the three towns to the retirees of the District starting January 1, 2017.We
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understand how do we implement this because the employer,which is the District, is
dissolved as of December 31, 2016, so there will be no employer and could one of the towns
take over the administration, and how would that be handled. What we were told is that if
there is no employer,the members who are in the Cape Cod Municipal Group who worked for
the District and who are retired from the District will be no longer able to continue and be
part of Cape Cod Municipal Group. That means anyone who is currently employed by the
District.at the end of August 2016, can go on COBRA if they are not going to retire, but the
COBRA benefits will only be available for four months because you have to have an employer
in place in order for COBRA to continue. The employee would pay 100%for health coverage.
What's going to end up happening is the five employees that are eligible to retire should retire
prior to December 3111, collect your retirement, maintain your eligibility for retiree health
insurance and then we are going to have to set up a third party administrator who will be in a
position to process the paperwork.The District employees are going to have to secure their
own health insurance carrier, and then the towns would contribute 50%of the costs.We will
have to meet with the employees and help them through this transition, but the IMA will
allow,through the third party administrator, to pay one-third, and the employees would sign
over their 50%responsibility with Barnstable County Retirement, and instead of coming to the
town,the bill would go to the third-party administrator.The employee would not see a lot of
change other than through the Health Connector to secure insurance as a private individual as
opposed to Cape Cod Municipal Health Insurance Group. I am meeting with Attorney Michael
Ford next Thursday and I have also communicated with Sheila Vanderhoef and Mike Embury
laying out what the responsibilities of what the towns are, post closure. I want to have a draft
IMA for circulation for the three towns by the end of this month, and get it on the Selectmens
Agenda in the three towns in September so we have the implementation in place and have a
smoother transition for the employees.The District currently has two retired employees and
there are five employees that are currently vested. Once December 31St comes,there is
technically no employer for the District so that's what we have to figure out.This is a Regional
District created by a Special Act of the Legislature. The Orleans, Brewster, Eastham
Groundwater Protection District is a legal entity. The Intermunicipal Agreement that governs
the District expires on December 31, 2016 and the District is dissolved.
• Jim Nowack asked what the difference is between this District and other Districts.
• John Kelly stated there is probably a dissolution provision in the Nauset Regional School
District that would negotiate how it would dissolve. Barnstable County Retirement stated
there has never been another District that has dissolved. We went to Group Benefits, Cape
Cod Municipal Health to see if they would be the administrator of post closure and we don't
have a commitment from them at this point.
• Jim Nowack stated if they retire, they will have a 50/50 split.
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• John Kelly stated until they are Medicare eligible. Unless an employee retires,there will be no
payments after December, so they have to be retired.The Cobra will get them through
December but they have to pay 100%. If they choose not to retire, they can retire at a later
date but they will have no future health insurance.There can't be a break in coverage.There
is a Health Connector through the Affordable Care Act website where they can sign up for
health insurance.
• Jim Nowack stated you are giving the employees two weeks to make one wrong step and
there will be no one paying their health insurance.The Board needs to make it very clear to
them.Their last paycheck is August 315'. The employees knew the Plant was closing but were
not informed until recently that there would be a change in the health insurance coverage
and that they would be responsible for finding their own insurance carrier and no longer part
of the Health Group.
• Cyndi Bachman stated the employees are trying to gather answers before making their
decisions.
• Jim Nowack stated it does not make sense on my part mostly because the employees, in good
faith, worked here as municipal employees and now all of a sudden you are telling them they
have to go out to the Health Connector two weeks before the Plant closes.
• John Kelly stated all of the District employees are eligible for retirement. So if they want to
continue with health insurance with 50% paid by the District, they all have to retire by the end
of December.As Carol Cormier indicated,there is no legal way for towns to continue with
health insurance of former employees of the District who are not retired.Two former
employees,Joe Martins and Paul Southwick are currently retired from the District.
• Jay asked if Paul Southwick and Joe Martins have been notified of these changes and sent any
information regarding the health insurance changes.
• John Kelly stated no,we are just talking about it today.
• Martin McDonald asked if the Board could get a list of the employees who plan to retire.
• Jay stated so far, it is just himself and Bill Grant.
• Cyndi Bachman stated she has not made a decision due to unanswered questions regarding
the health insurance issue.
• John Kelly stated the District employees would not have to change their health insurance
providers until the IMA dissolves December 31, 2015. He spoke to Carol Cormier at Group
Benefits, Cape Cod Municipal Health, and she stated as long as there is an "employer" Cobra
stays with the employer.
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• Jay stated our vacation days affect our retirement date according Barnstable County
Retirement. Our retirement would not go into effect until the day after our last vacation day.
Are you going to continue to take our health insurance payments out of those vacation
paychecks?
• John Kelly stated we will have to figure out how we do that. Barnstable County Retirement
indicated that there cannot be anyone on payroll September V.
• Jay stated, but yet they still considered us on the payroll in counting our vacation days as last
days worked.
• Jim Nowack stated we could withhold a lump sum from your last check to cover your health
insurance payments through December 31, 2016, and the District would pay their share.
• John Kelly asked Jim Nowack how the District pays him now as an outside contractor.
• Jim Nowack stated he is paid hourly.
• John Kelly asked Jim to send him an email on what he gets paid now and what he would
accept in the future to stay on. He also stated another issue will be security at the Plant and
avoiding the vandalism that we have had historically, and trying to make sure we continue to
protect what we need to through the final demolition of the Plant.
• Jim Nowack asked if this District is a Regional District.
• John Kelly stated it is a District by law. We created a Special Act in 1988 for insurance
purposes,the District is the employer.
• Jim Nowack asked why one of the three towns couldn't take on the employees administration
of their retirement and health benefits.
• John Kelly stated right now the employer is the District. The three towns created the District.
Legally I am not sure how you would do that. Barnstable County Retirement was with the
District not with any of the towns.The Cape Cod Municipal Health Group is with the District
and not with any of the towns. I did ask if one of the towns could be the administrator and I
was told by Group Benefits, No,that unless there is an employer the District employees are no
longer eligible.The three Town Counsels and the three town Boards have to agree. Right now
there is no employer so that once December 31St gets here, everything ceases.
• Martin McDonald stated the IMA has to go to Town Meeting for approval.
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• John Kelly stated, no State Law states the three Boards of Selectmen can sign it as long as if
does not exceed five years. Orleans has to go to Town Meeting if it exceeds five years. So as
long as the Agreement is five years or less,the Board is authorized to sign it. What I was
thinking of is a five year successor IMA which lays out the responsibilities of the three towns
to the retirees of the District, and we would be looking for a third party administrator. We
have asked Group Benefits to do that and they are considering it, and they would be the
account manager and they would interface with Barnstable County Retirement so that the
payment of the 50% health insurance would come out of the retirement check and it would go
to Group Benefits and the administrator would bill the three towns for one-third of the
balance which is what we would be responsible for paying.The towns would be responsible
for budgeting that amount each year throughout how many years of the retirees of the
District and it would meet our obligations under the Special Act 2013. It is very important that
the three Town Administrators understand what needs to be done so they can advise their
Boards of Selectmen and Town Counsels will have to sign off on it.
• Jay stated his name is currently the signature on file with the District's bank account and he
would like it removed prior to his exit from the District.
• Jim Nowack suggested one of the Board members become the Treasurer for the District's
ongoing responsibilities through December and someone be the Assistant Treasurer.
• John Kelly stated to place this on the Agenda for the next Board of Managers Meeting on
August 24th. He also asked Jay if he would be available as a contractor after he retires and
would talk to him privately about that.
3. A motion was made by Martin McDonald to approve the Board of Managers Minutes dated
July 13, 2016.This motion was seconded by John Kelly and approved and passed.Vote: 2-0
4. Discussion on Bid Proposal—Tom Parece is here from AECOM. I did send him a request for
follow-up information where the board has already voted to proceed with the design and
bidding of the demolition.We had asked for the bid phase proposal once they complete their
permitting and other requirements.
• Tom Parece stated there was a draft operating procedure prepared and we had a couple of
meetings with Jay and his staff and we met with Brian Dudley of DEP.The only concern DEP
had was relative to some safety items and security of the facility, and those have been
addressed in the final operating procedure.Jeff from our office has contacted Jay several
times and had discussions with him and he will be coming to the Plant this afternoon to
review the list to see what has been completed and if there are any loose ends.There are
about three outstanding items that were part of our original operating procedure. Originally
the fire department requested keeping the water system on because they believed there was
a sprinkler system here, but there isn't one, so we don't see a reason to keep the water
system on. We can also shut off the heating system.There are several vehicles on this site and
there has been no discussion as to what is going to happen with those vehicles,whether you
want to deal with them with the three member towns.The Compost Shed that is being
demolished as part of the project and has an existing sump that will have to be maintained.
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• John Kelly stated he was waiting for a list of equipment so that we can see if there is interest
in the three towns. We would like to have that list for the Board meeting on August 24th for
discussion. If we were to surplus them and sell them we would have to assign a value to each
item.We would have to secure seal bids or an auction.
• Tom Parece stated that design has been ongoing, the hazardous waste environmental site has
been completed,the 130 asbestos samples have been taken and 1 am expecting those results
by the end of this week. We are not anticipating anything regarding lead paint.
5. Chief Operator Updates—Jay Burgess:
• Carbon Removal—Jay stated Calgon will take the carbon back if you want.
• Tanks-Jay stated the tanks should be dry by the middle of next week.
• Plant Security—There is intrusion security, fire security, and the Scada System.
• Hazardous waste disposal- We have about 2600 gallons of hazardous waste.
• Polymer—Our Polymer salesman came and took back what we had left in storage.
• Florescent lamps—We had them disposed of.
• Lab— We have small amount of chemicals are left, and two 55 gallons of polymer which
may or may not be considered hazardous.
• Cape Cod Community College-Someone from the college will be coming to the Plant
to see if there are any lab supplies they can use.
6. The Board reviewed the District's bank balances.
7. A motion was made by Mike Embury to approve Treasury Warrant No. 2 for payment.This
motion was seconded by Martin McDonald and approved and passed.Vote: 3-0
8. A motion was made by Martin McDonald to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 a.m..This motion
was seconded by Mike Embury and approved and passed.Vote: 3-0
Respectfully submitted,
Cyn Bachman
District Secretary
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