Commission Meeting
Monday, January 12, 2009
8 a.m.
The meeting was called to order at 8:13 a.m. those in attendance included Commissioners Salerno, Demko, and Spath; Jim Dow, Kate Lathrop, Susan and Hugh Kilmartin of 4 Kent’s Lane; Dan Quaile of 38 Thaxter Street; Susan and Erroll Ahearn of 53 Thaxter Street. Julia Flynn of 37 Thaxter Street arrived a bit later.
• Discussion of possible town projects in lower Central Street and Thaxter Street.
The first order of business was to discuss the possibility of sewering that portion of Thaxter Street between the end of the gravity line near number 31 Thaxter to the property line of number 53 Thaxter. All but one of the affected neighbors has signed a letter requesting that the Sewer Department undertake the project, to be repaid by the residents through betterments. The Sewer Commission requires that need for the sewer extension be established before considering taking this on as a town project. A discussion ensued regarding the high water table in the area, the problems with run off from the Baker Hill project, the amount of ledge in the area, nearby wetlands and other conditions that make new septic arrangements unfeasible. The Commission will meet again before the January 20 deadline for warrant articles to consider the documentation the proponents will provide.
Costs of the proposed project were discussed. Due to presence of ledge, a rough estimate from CDM puts the cost of the gravity line at the $220,000. Costs of borrowing could run as high as $50,000. Each resident would be responsible for their own tie in to the main and for the abandonment of their existing septic (worst case scenario puts that cost at about $2500).
No one appeared at the meeting to represent the group of residents from lower Central Street who have requested a similar arrangement. Russel McLoud, the spokesperson for the Central Street group will be contacted.
• New personnel policies.
Jim Dow presented the Board with several written department personnel policies. While past practice has sufficed to date for implementing personnel policies, recent grievances by Union members (all of which were denied) have highlighted the need for written policies. Policies presented and approved included: Policy on the distribution of overtime calls; Use of the washer/dryer at Mill Street; and Allowing members of the public into pump stations or other department property. Once these policies have been approved by Human Resources they will be presented to the Commission for final approval. Approved policies will be posted and crew members will be required to initial same to indicate that they understand procedures.
In addition, Jim is working on pump station checklists. When completed, these will also be posted and crew members will be required to comply with each item. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
• General office business
Jim Dow reported that a draft Grease Trap program should be completed by the end of the month for presentation to the Board of Health. Hingham’s policy is being designed to agree with MWRA and DEP regulations and to be consistent with the policies adopted by other towns.
Jim reported that he has cancelled the Department pager as it is no longer needed. This will save about $300 per year. He has also cancelled Patriot Alarm’s monitoring of Malcolm Street as the new system there takes care of the problem. This will save the department $540 per year. He has already begun in-house monitoring and loading of the two BiNutrix dispensers saving $2600 per year. Kirk Brown is coming out to check the dispensers as there have been problems with both. If the current pilot program proves to be unworkable it may be more cost effective to discontinue use and simply pay to have stations pumped and cleaned as needed.
Jim will be out of work for the month of February due to back surgery but will continue to serve as Supervisor by phone. It is necessary that one of the crew members carry the back-up cell phone at all times during that period. Jim will post a calendar for that month and require that the crew fill in the days each one will be responsible for.
Chairman Salerno asked that we look into charging fees for various services. Jim Dow has been asked to check with other towns to find out what they charge for.
It was reported that the Mill Street station has been running for 3 weeks and 3 days and the pump hours are down. The emergency generator should be in next week. Landscaping was discussed briefly.
The railing and grates at South Street are being done by Enterprise Equipment. This should take care of the safety issues raised for that station. Jim has contacted DPW 3 times in the past 3 months to schedule the next Safety meeting. It is now in their hands. The Sewer Department will send a formal letter requesting same.
The repair of the dip in the North Street line was discussed briefly. Final paving of North Street is due in the spring so this work must be completed before then. Dave Polcari will be consulted regarding this.
The next meeting of the Sewer Commission is scheduled for Friday, January 16, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
Minutes prepared by Kate L. Lathrop
This summary does not include every item discussed by the Board, nor the full extent of the discussions. The full meeting is available on tope in the Commission Office.