UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
MARCH 2, 2020
Mayor Cerino called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m. In attendance were Council members David Foster, Thomas Herz, Ellsworth Tolliver and Meghan Efland, Bob Sipes (Utilities Manager), Jennifer Mulligan (Town Clerk) and guests.
Mayor Cerino asked if there were any additions or corrections to the Utilities Commission meeting minutes of February 3, 2020. Rev. Tolliver moved to approve the minutes of February 3, 2020 as submitted, was seconded by Mr. Foster and carried unanimously.
Mayor Cerino stated that cash on hands for the Utilities Commission was $2,048,427.95 with $1,015,600.00 set aside for capital projects.
Mayor Cerino asked for a motion to pay the bills. Ms. Efland moved to pay bills as submitted, was seconded by Mr. Herz and carried unanimously.
Mr. Sipes stated that the fourth cycle of toxicity and biotoxicity monitoring was performed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Town had a 100% survivability rate, meaning that there is nothing in the discharge to the river that is toxic to anything that lives there.
Mr. Sipes stated that the leaks on Campus Avenue were fixed. He said that temporary patches were done on Campus Avenue and Greenwood Avenue and would be permanently fixed as soon as the blacktop plant opens.
Rev. Tolliver asked if the leaks on Campus Avenue were due to the fiber installation. Mr. Sipes stated that the leak was caused by a fire hydrant, after a fire on David Drive, resulting in a chain reaction to other valves along Campus Avenue. It did not have anything to do with fiber installation. Mr. Sipes stated that he had to give credit to his department because the slowest they could get the water flowing was 300 gallons a minute while replacing the last valve, so it was not an easy fix.
Mr. Herz asked if Talkie was still making payment according to their agreement. Mr. Sipes stated that that they were still paying the bill and said that their balance was now around $12,000.00.
Mr. Foster asked the status of Think Big in the area. Mr. Ingersoll stated that Think Big will not overbuild where another utility company has already built. He said that the plans submitted by Talkie were approved for Byford Heights and Talkie would be moving forward with the work. Rev. Tolliver stated that having communication from both businesses at the last meeting seemed to help. Mr. Ingersoll agreed.
Mr. Herz said that he toured Talkie’s facility and were taking steps not to cause issues. Mr. Ingersoll stated that he was relieved to know that Think Big would not be going into College Heights and overbuilding there (where Talkie had already built). Mr. Ingersoll stated that the size of the handholds was also being minimized in the residential areas such as Byford Heights.
There being no further questions or comments, Ms. Efland moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:18 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Foster and carried unanimously.
Submitted by: Approved by: Jennifer Mulligan Chris Cerino
Town Clerk Mayor