[0:04] Good morning. My name is Robert Almy. I'm the chair of the Dartmouth Board of Public Works. I'd like to call to order our meeting of December 11, 2025. This meeting is being held by Zoom and is being recorded.

[0:28] We have today a quorum of two Mr. Gagne, your present. The chair is present.

[0:38] All right, our first order of business is to approve and accept warrants for Bill's payable.

[0:45] Do I have a motion?

[0:47] I have motion by Mr. Gagne to approve and accept warrants for the Bill's payable period ending

[0:56] December 1, 8, and 15, 2025.

[1:00] The chair seconds the motion.

[1:02] All in favor, Mr. Gagne?

[1:04] Yes.

[1:05] Chair votes, yes.

[1:06] Yes, item is approved.

[1:08] Next item is approved and accept payrolls.

[1:11] Do I have a motion?

[1:13] So will the chief set the payrolls as presented?

[1:18] We have a motion by Mr. Gagne to approve and accept the payrolls for the week's ending November 15, 22, 29, and December 6, 2025.

[1:30] Chair seconds the motion, Mr. Gagne, how do you vote?

[1:33] Yes.

[1:34] Chair votes yes, item is approved.

[1:35] Next item is approved and accept meeting minutes for the following dates June 4th, 2025, June 24th, 2025, September 18th, 2025, and October 23rd, 2025.

[1:54] I would move and accept the minutes as presented by the Chair.

[1:58] I have a motion to approve and accept meeting minutes by Mr. Gagne, second by the chair.

[2:11] Mr. Gagne, how do you vote?

[2:13] I vote, yes.

[2:14] Chair votes, yes, the item is approved.

[2:17] Next item is old business, water enterprise rates, and orderly billing.

[2:23] Mr. Barber.

[2:26] Yes, so due to the former expenditure of the water budget due to having to purchase excess water from the city of New

[2:34] Betsy, we are facing a budget deficit again this year and an effort to reduce deficit. We are proposing a mid-year water rate increase.

[2:47] I don't see

[3:05] him with us right now, I think we'll move on down the agenda, wait a minute,

[3:12] who's that?

[3:13] No, I don't see Mr. Hadad with us.

[3:17] We were provided a presentation yesterday, but I would prefer to wait until he's with us to make the presentation.

[3:31] So with that, we'll move down to all business.

[3:36] Be comprehensive wastewater management plan and update Tim.

[3:42] The comprehensive wastewater management plan requests for qualifications has been advertised.

[3:50] And the treatment facility walkthrough is actually scheduled for this morning at 10.30,

[3:56] after the meeting.

[3:57] If any other board members or anybody would like to join us for the walkthrough, you're welcome.

[4:03] and then the RFUs are due to be submitted by January 13th at 10.30am.

[4:13] I know that this has been a lot of work for the staff.

[4:18] I'd like to thank Dennis and Sandy and Tim

[4:23] and also the town administrative team for the work they've done on this.

[4:29] So do we have any questions from the board?

[4:32] I was quite an effort putting here.

[4:35] Mike, do you have any questions?

[4:37] I don't.

[4:38] All right, Chair has no questions.

[4:40] Let's move back to item all business A, water enterprise rates

[4:46] and quarterly billing.

[4:47] Mr. Headad, good morning.

[4:50] Good morning. How's everyone doing?

[4:52] Good morning.

[4:53] We're here.

[4:54] Right here, Lee.

[4:56] That's right.

[4:57] No better way to start my day.

[4:59] Yeah, really anyway, I'm not sure how bright,

[5:01] but we'll see. All right. I'm going to share my screen and be

[5:16] able to see my screen. Yes.

[5:19] So as you know, I'm joined by our finance director, Derek Guerrero. We've been working diligently.

[5:29] So, you know, we ended the last fiscal year in the water enterprise fund in a deficit.

[5:34] that we have really made a concerted effort of a team as a whole to making sure we're reviewing

[5:42] that because we don't want that to happen again in the current fiscal year or fiscal

[5:46] 26. As we looked through basically Q1 of the fiscal year, expenses and revenue, we became

[5:56] pretty concerned that that was going to happen again.

[6:00] Again, so we brought forward to you a couple of meetings ago, the expectation of a mid-year

[6:06] rate increase.

[6:08] I had mentioned at the last meeting that we anticipated it being around 18%.

[6:12] The good news is we've been able to refine those figures and we are going to be recommending

[6:20] a 13% increase to you today, but I'm going to go through a give you some background and

[6:25] then we'll have an opportunity to open it up for questions.

[6:28] So, again, I know the board is familiar with what an enterprise fund is, but for the public,

[6:35] right, an enterprise fund is really a business-like municipal service provided entirely, and mostly

[6:40] by user fees and independent revenue.

[6:43] It keeps the finances separate from the general fund, a tax-levy funded budget, surpluses stay

[6:50] in, within the fund, right, that becomes retained earnings to fund future capital improvements,

[6:55] It's authorized under Massachusetts General Law, and in the key here, while we're talking today, right, annual revenue

[7:02] Must meet or exceed operational expenses. Ideally, you exceed operational expenses to build up your reserves to allow for capital improvements

[7:12] Just wanted to start off by here's the operating budget over the last five years for the water enterprise fund

[7:18] What you see is significant increases in the operating budget from fiscal 22

[7:25] right, to fiscal 26, $4.8 million and $22, we're up to almost $7 million in fiscal 26.

[7:34] This is probably the most telling piece. If you take anything away from this presentation,

[7:41] this is probably one of the most important things that we really talk about.

[7:46] In the dark blue, we have the percent budget increase year over year by fiscal year.

[7:53] In the light blue, you have rate increases.

[7:58] What do you notice?

[8:00] You notice the rate increases have not kept up with budget increases.

[8:06] Over pretty much the last four years, the physical 22 was a bit of an anomaly.

[8:13] But in it's significant.

[8:14] If you look at physical 23, we had almost a 12% increase in the budget.

[8:18] rates only increase 4%. Again, fiscal 24, almost 11% increase in the budget, 5% rate increase,

[8:27] fiscal 25, you know, we did, we had a 3.7% increase in the budget and we were able to

[8:33] recoup some of that, right, with a 7.5% rate increase. But back to that this year, with

[8:39] almost a 12% increase in the budget, and a 7.5% rate increase. So if you take one thing

[8:47] away. You can see rates have not kept up with our necessary budget increases over the last

[8:54] five years, fiscal years. And this is a trend in retained earnings. So you heard me

[9:05] mention earlier retained earnings is basically surplus revenue. Obviously being a water enterprise

[9:12] fund. We have lots of capital needs for those that were able to tune in and watch the long-term

[9:18] capital planning the presentation that Tim put on regarding DPW. We have

[9:24] significant capital needs for the water enterprise not only now but we also

[9:29] have future capital needs you know in the rain 16 to 20 million dollars over the

[9:33] next few years. Again what you see going back over the last five six fiscal

[9:40] years right retaining earnings was close to $1.8 million in fiscal 21. And you've

[9:47] seen a steady decline in retained earnings.

[9:51] Again, we're basically, and we don't have as much physical flexibility.

[9:55] We're not building reserves because rates have not kept up with the budget increases.

[10:01] In fiscal 25, we had retained earnings of about $240,000, but you recall we had a deficit

[10:11] where we had to pull 100,000 approximately from that.

[10:14] So right now we're team learning since about $140,000 that that's concerning when five years ago. We were close to two million

[10:23] So where are we now giving you some context?

[10:26] You know why are we here today? I mentioned it earlier

[10:29] We ended up but in fiscal 25 with a budget deficit of about a hundred thousand dollars our team

[10:36] projects that if we do not make any adjustments to rates for the current fiscal year

[10:41] We will have a deficit of approximately $500,000.

[10:46] Now we never want a deficit, but the bigger concern this year would be we don't have

[10:52] the retained earnings necessarily to cover that deficit, right?

[10:55] Last year in fiscal 25, we may have transferred, you never want to have to do that, retained

[11:00] earnings should really be used for capital, but if you need to, it was available.

[11:04] We do not anticipate having that flexibility this year, hence with the need to bring forward

[11:09] this mid-year rate increase.

[11:11] why, right, what's happened over the past few years,

[11:14] particularly in fiscal 26, we've talked about it multiple times,

[11:18] but reliance on New Bedford's water.

[11:21] To give you some perspective, we budgeted $1.6 million

[11:25] in the purchase of New Bedford water.

[11:27] When I ran a report earlier this week,

[11:30] we've spent almost $2 million on New Bedford water

[11:33] thus far this fiscal year.

[11:35] So right there, you can see, right,

[11:37] that's almost $400,000 that we did not,

[11:40] our account for. DEP restrictions, you know, as we get into peak water season, we have

[11:47] various restrictions, particularly with the past massive river levels. If the river levels

[11:53] get below a certain point, we have to shut down some of our wells. That reduces the ability

[11:58] for us to produce, and that increases our alliance on New Bedford Water.

[12:09] We're fortunate that

[12:10] produce. And the other big piece of this which we'll get into is we have annual water restrictions

[12:18] and we are seeing increased water consumption from the community that we are not able to

[12:25] keep up with again, which makes us be more reliant on nuclear water, which comes at a much

[12:31] more significant cost than the water that we produce here in darkness. And there's also

[12:38] of other factors, such as energy.

[12:40] I mean, you all see it, our residents see it.

[12:42] Energy costs have gone up significantly, you know,

[12:47] our wells in the facilities that we have

[12:49] with the water enterprise fund use a lot of energy.

[12:53] So when we see those things increase,

[12:56] that's something that we're seeing increased

[12:58] in our budgets there.

[13:00] Chemicals for the water treatment have significantly increased.

[13:03] And again, we also saw, I believe it was an 8% increase

[13:07] in the feed that New Bedford was charging us for water this year.

[13:11] So again, right off the bat, that increases 8%,

[13:14] we only increased our rate 7.25%,

[13:17] or we're at a disadvantage once again

[13:19] with the purchase of water at such a significant rate.

[13:25] You heard me mention water conservation

[13:27] and how much water we've been using as a community,

[13:31] and I think this is an important piece.

[13:33] This compares 2024 and 2025.

[13:36] So not a lot of historical data, and this is millions of cubic feet and it's a little

[13:42] over seven gallons per cubic foot.

[13:46] So we're talking millions and hundreds of millions, right, of gallons of water here.

[13:53] And what do you see?

[13:54] The dark blue is 2025, the light blue is 2024.

[13:59] Now, don't pay attention to December because obviously we only have through when we ran

[14:04] this report.

[14:04] So December really isn't a good comparison, but we're using pretty much a lot more water

[14:13] this year than last year, right?

[14:15] And in particular, during those peak months, during your summer months, June, July, August,

[14:22] when you can see it doesn't look significant, but when you're talking cubic feet in the millions,

[14:28] which equates to millions and millions of gallons of water,

[14:32] this is significant.

[14:35] And this really is one of the major

[14:37] contributory factors of why we're in the place where we are today.

[14:41] We're using a lot more water, but we've not had an increase

[14:45] in our supply portion.

[14:47] So we really need to work on

[14:50] making sure the community is aware

[14:52] of water conservation efforts and restrictions

[14:56] which, you know, we'll get into, but we plan to heavily enforce it.

[15:00] All those restrictions going forward.

[15:04] All right, you have background, you have an idea of how we got here, why we're here. Now, you know, what does this mean, right, for the average user? We're proposing a 13% increase to all what tiers, right? So we have a tiered water structure here in Dartmouth or 13% increase across the board. Minimum usage right now per quarter, you get 600 cubic feet included, basically.

[15:32] in that tier one minimum usage charge, we're proposing to reduce that to 400 cubic feet.

[15:38] We've been talking about transitioning to quarterly billing for quite some time now.

[15:43] We're going to be implementing that in January of 2026.

[15:48] All customers would go to quarterly billing.

[15:50] As you know right now, residential is twice a year.

[15:53] the average bill would rise from $186.66 to $228.81 per quarter, which equates to about $14 per

[16:03] month increase. And we are also with the meter replacement project. We have this ion water. You

[16:11] can show you've heard Tim and the team talk about this. It's a great tool. But we have there's a fee

[16:16] for that. We're required to pay the cellular fee for each meter. So we are looking to add a $3 per

[16:23] meter fee per quarter, essentially just to cover our cost.

[16:27] This is exactly what it costs us.

[16:30] So we need to recoup that cost.

[16:33] And as a note, you can see, ion water is not just beneficial in the fact that as a user,

[16:42] I can have the mobile application in log-on and see my water usage.

[16:45] but it allows us to go to quarterly billing, right, which allows for greater

[16:52] budgetary flexibility with our residents. They're able to better plan, get a

[16:58] bill every quarter, that would be lower, right, than one they get every two,

[17:02] every six months. And then also, this, and I think this is key, there, it allows us

[17:09] in the community to detect the leaks sooner, right? So if you have a leak

[17:14] potentially, when you don't have access to the live water usage, you may go until a whole

[17:20] other bill cycle until you get a huge bill and you realize, wait, something's wrong here.

[17:26] Do I have a leak in my sprinkler system? Do I have a toilet that's running? I just have

[17:30] it noticed it. This is something we're able to see in our community and residents are able

[17:36] to log in and see, hey, I have water running not stop. Something's wrong here.

[17:40] and hopefully nip this in the bud, which, again, not only conserves water, but will result

[17:45] in hopefully a lower bill for our residents who are experiencing some sort of issue

[17:50] leak in their water system in their home.

[17:55] You know, we recognize this is not ideal.

[17:59] We never want to come forward with a media rate increase.

[18:02] We certainly never want to come forward with a 13% media rate increase.

[18:07] This is unprecedented and we recognize that this is, you know, it's not great, we don't

[18:13] want to have to do this, but we wanted to put together some comparable water districts

[18:20] in what that average bill looks like based on 56 hundred cubic feet and this is some data

[18:26] that was provided by Tim, the team.

[18:28] And so you see New Bedford and Fall River, their outliers, right, their bills are on the lower

[18:34] side of things.

[18:35] And then you see there's kind of a significant jump, right?

[18:39] But Dartmouth is next at, you know, a little over close to $425 for $5600 cubic feet.

[18:47] And then it goes up.

[18:48] You see Totten, you see Bridgewater out of the door, and it was $500.

[18:52] So again, we recognize the increase is not ideal.

[18:56] We want to provide high quality services at the lowest cost possible.

[19:01] But I think this shows the board and the community what we're looking to do, you know, it's not unprecedented in the fact that this is what other water districts are having to do to provide quality water to their community.

[19:19] A few other things that we want to mention because this is not sustainable, right? We cannot come forward with large increases like this annually.

[19:28] And we need to sustain the operation, we need to sustain the finances.

[19:32] So you've heard we mentioned a lot about water conservation, and we need to focus

[19:37] on that, right?

[19:38] Efficient use of water, the tail's responsible design with landscaping, appliances, irrigation

[19:43] equipment, and all the devices in your home that use water.

[19:48] And it really is incumbent on our individual users to use water wisely and minimize waste.

[19:55] We do have water restrictions that, you know, we post every year, we're going to do a better job this year getting that information out there and we will be finding people.

[20:04] We are going to be taking an aggressive approach to violations of those restrictions.

[20:09] We are legally allowed to find up to 300 dollars per offense and you will see the water department out there enforcing that strictly going forward, particularly as we get into the spring and summer.

[20:22] And a lot of this, again, it really is the irrigation, right?

[20:27] That's the biggest thing when there's certain times of day that we ask you to use your irrigation.

[20:32] We're actually, we're pretty liberal in the sense that there's some communities

[20:37] when they have water restrictions. You can only use your irrigation system on certain days

[20:42] or there's some that even you can't use it at all during peak season.

[20:46] and where our restrictions are not at that point yet,

[20:50] we just have certain times of the day

[20:52] where we require that you use it,

[20:55] which are essentially out of peak demand times.

[20:57] So we can provide the water that's necessary

[21:00] rather than relying on new bedfurt water.

[21:03] So we'll get more information out on that,

[21:05] but I just wanna make it a point,

[21:07] water conservation is key here

[21:08] and we're gonna be really working towards that

[21:11] going into 2026.

[21:14] We're reviewing our supply costs.

[21:15] You saw me in the average bill, New Bedford has one of the lower water bills, right, for

[21:22] a resident in the region.

[21:24] We want to work with New Bedford to get that breakdown for the town of Dartmouth.

[21:30] We buy a significant amount of water.

[21:32] You heard me say, we purchased almost $2 million this year in New Bedford Water alone fiscal

[21:36] year, I should say.

[21:38] We need to negotiate a rate that works for both communities.

[21:43] So Tim, in the team, or in the process of working with New Bedford on updating our agreement,

[21:48] which likely would include the rate itself.

[21:52] We have several wells that are down currently, you know, existing wells in the community

[21:58] from one reason or another, whether it's lightning strike, whether it's issues, or making

[22:04] sure quality is there in some wells.

[22:08] We have wells that are down, well, we are working to get those wells back online.

[22:11] and we have three key wells that we anticipate being back online before the end of this fiscal year.

[22:17] So again, that is relief that we expect in the next fiscal year.

[22:21] Doesn't necessarily help us now, but we are planning and working towards a solution.

[22:26] And then there's a few other wells that we need to make upgrades to and work through

[22:32] and we'll be doing that over the next several fiscal years to get those online

[22:37] and also increase production where we can to provide water for our community.

[22:45] And then we've heard this, we need to look at investigating further opportunities for water

[22:51] supply and the community. It's how and has relied on the water from the city of New Bedford

[22:57] for some time now. That's not a new thing, right? It hasn't been to this level last year. It was

[23:05] almost 50% of our water was coming from New Bedford at some times. Historically it was around

[23:10] 20, maybe 30. But we want to look at opportunities to provide our own water to our community and not

[23:17] have to rely on another community on a regular basis. So we are in the feasibility stage of looking at

[23:24] an interconnection with the City of Allrue, Westport, some of our work there, so that may be an opportunity.

[23:29] And we need to go for funding at future town meeting to really conduct an analysis on how we can't produce more water in our own water.

[23:43] And just as a note, I've said it a few times, but we recognize the significant financial burden that this may have on some households in the community, particularly on our elderly and low income.

[23:58] and so we are looking at programs and opportunities to provide reduced billing, starting in fiscal year 2027.

[24:07] That's something that we do not offer right now with our water bills.

[24:10] You may be familiar with the smart billing, the trash billing, but we do not offer with water bills and sewer,

[24:16] so we are going to be investigating that to see if it's something that we can offer.

[24:21] And I expect him and the team to bring something forward to the Board of Public Works, hopefully sometime in the spring.

[24:29] Again, timeline, this, the rates as approved by the board and structure would be effective

[24:37] with the first billing in 2026.

[24:40] We have developed an online bill calculator for our residents.

[24:45] So with the updated percent increase, proposed 13% increase, we will be launching that on

[24:51] the water department page.

[24:53] It allows you to essentially go in.

[24:57] You have to select your meter size, which most of our residential meters are one inch to him, right?

[25:03] Yes, most of us, some old meters are five, eight, and three core, but yes

[25:07] Yeah, so but your bill, if you have a previous bill, your bill will tell you what your

[25:10] Peter size is and then you can put in your usage and you can again, you can get that from previous bill

[25:16] This is based on monthly usage, so if you're looking at a bill, a semi-annual bill,

[25:22] divide that by six right and put that in here and this will give you an idea of

[25:28] what your build look like or you could even plug in. If I use more water in

[25:32] the summer, what would my build look like? So kudos to the team for putting this

[25:36] gather, I think it's a valuable tool to provide your community and then after the

[25:42] Board of Public Works proves a rate increase, Tim and the water team will be

[25:48] sitting down with DCTV, putting together an informational video, which we will plan to launch.

[25:53] We want to make sure that residents are aware of this, and this is not just a one-time

[26:00] approach. We need to work on water conservation and long-term stability of the water and

[26:05] enterprise fund, because right now, we need to bring that stability back. And lastly,

[26:11] before I open up for questions, this is what you can expect a revised bill to look like

[26:16] with the 13% increase, so the back of your bill has basically the breakdown of what the bill charges are based on your meter size, and then there's the tiers on the right side for the wire usage.

[26:35] So with that, I know that's a lot of information.

[26:38] I hope this gave you an idea of how we got here, why we're here, but we can open up to

[26:44] questions.

[26:45] I appreciate Tim, Gary, and Steve have been instrumental in working long hours to make

[26:53] sure we put forward something that is least impactful to the community, yet makes the water

[26:59] enterprise bond solid and financially stable going forward.

[27:03] Thank

[27:17] you, Cody.

[27:18] Great presentation.

[27:25] Oh, you're muted, Rob.

[27:28] Yep.

[27:29] Mr. Gagne, any questions?

[27:31] Not so much questions, but a comment.

[27:35] The retained earnings at $140,000 is extremely concerning because the department of revenue makes recommendations

[27:44] on what you should have in your service and it's based upon generally what the budget is.

[27:52] Similar to what they do with the levy and the regular tax-funded annual budgets.

[28:00] That an 8 million dollar budget, $140,000 and retained earnings is extremely concerning,

[28:06] and well below the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's recommendation for that.

[28:10] So that would be the first point I would make.

[28:12] The second point is, generally, since you do have a substantial amount in cost of capital

[28:21] improvements that must be done to meet DEP and federal drinking water standards, the

[28:29] matter becomes very concerning because generally you would put up some of your retained earnings,

[28:35] but since the projects are so expensive, you don't fund all of it from retained earnings

[28:42] generally you go out and you borrow the money under a debt service, which the

[28:47] debt service is funded by the sewer enterprise fund, and you're going to have

[28:52] to make the annual payments on that debt service. And there's no way you're

[28:57] going to do that with any kind of retained earnings and the tight budget that

[29:01] you're seeing right now. The forecast that Cody and Gary and Tim came up with, even

[29:07] at that I'm concerned and I would ask them to watch that on a monthly

[29:12] basis because that's very concerning. It's necessary. It probably should have been done

[29:20] some time ago, but I think these individuals had done a good job with an excellent presentation,

[29:26] and I would ask that they probably encourage the Dartmouth News reporter to view the presentation,

[29:33] and then that way they can write an appropriate story with all this information and a link to this

[29:41] presentation. But like I would say the presentation is exceptional. Thank you.

[29:49] I'd echo Mr. Guineas comments. Excuse me. I'd like to add one of my own and then a suggestion.

[30:00] The first is that the cost of purchasing water from New Bedford is roughly 10 times the cost of producing our own water. And therefore, when we purchase more water from New Bedford, and we have estimated it, very quickly throws our budget out of balance. And I think that's...

[30:34] Our piece here is that in the past, New Bedford has modified or raised its water rates

[30:49] after the adoption of our budget.

[30:52] And I think as we move forward, there needs to be embedded in our agreement with them

[30:58] for water purpose purchases some mechanism to have them indicate the cost of water

[31:11] well before we adopt our budget.

[31:14] That seems prudent and fair and so those are two comments.

[31:21] The last is, when I look at the excess use charges in the proposed billing, I notice that

[31:29] the highest water use is above 2,125 cubic feet at nearly $90 per 1,000 cubic feet.

[31:40] I suggest that at some point in the future there be an additional step added that increases

[31:53] a new top rate with a much higher cost per thousand cubic feet to recognize that higher

[32:06] level of water use is likely to be included or to trigger additional purpose purchases

[32:15] from New Bedford. And also is likely to be associated with irrigation and controlling

[32:26] irrigation in the summer. I think is something that we need to focus on. Cody, you mentioned

[32:34] that in your presentation, I couldn't agree with you more, but I still think we should

[32:40] have an additional top rate that is specifically set up to encourage conservation of outdoor

[32:54] water use through financial means. That seems to be effective. It's proven to be effective

[33:02] over many decades and other parts of the country, and I think we ought to take a hard

[33:07] look at that for next year's rates.

[33:10] Anyway, those are my comments.

[33:13] Any comments from the public?

[33:17] Any questions from anyone else?

[33:25] Am I allowed to speak?

[33:27] Absolutely.

[33:28] You're a member of the public, sir.

[33:29] Thank you.

[33:31] First of all, I was shocked by what I heard.

[33:35] I had no idea where we were in such dire straits in regards to our water uses.

[33:41] And in his comments, I think it was an excellent presentation, by the way.

[33:46] And it's unfortunate that the entire community couldn't hear it, but in any case, he brought

[33:54] up a lot of factors that I just wasn't aware of.

[33:58] And it's interesting because in our community, country way, and

[34:06] pay near makers, we are considering putting in wells because we recognize the

[34:12] irrigation issues that we're having there and the results of the water bills.

[34:21] The pandemic case, my point was going to be that as much as that information

[34:26] that could be made to the public, I think, the better off the entire community would be.

[34:32] And I don't know how to effectively do that, but if there are ways to, again,

[34:38] communicate that to this entire community, I think it would be helpful.

[34:43] For the records, sir, could you state your name?

[34:46] Ron Winnick.

[34:48] Okay, Mr. Winnick, thank you very much.

[34:50] I think you saw in the presentation there was a slide about getting the word out to the public.

[34:59] One of the key presentations will be to the Select Board Monday evening.

[35:05] And as hard as it is to compete with media these days, hopefully the local newspaper will pick this up.

[35:16] And we have discussed ways to get it out on the town's cable network as well.

[35:25] So I absolutely agree with you that this is, it's very important to get this out.

[35:30] And it's probably a message that we'll have to continue with all the way through the spring and into the summer.

[35:38] Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more.

[35:39] The more often you can spread the word, I think the better off you'll be.

[35:43] Absolutely. And may I make a comment as well? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Winick and Tim Bauer. So, also, you mentioned possibly going to Wells, I'm

[35:56] sawing Wells at Crunchy Way. And while the restrictions that we impose are imposed on on private Wells, they should, but the

[36:08] recessions should be followed. As a drawing peak water, we're all pumping out of the ground,

[36:14] and we're restricted during May and September to restrict some of our wells to allow the

[36:23] ground water to recover from the draw. So I always encourage private well users to follow those

[36:31] restrictions as well on irrigation times, so you're not irrigating during peak usage time

[36:37] and also hot times of sonic exposure, which helps evaporate water rather than allow it to

[36:45] get back into the ground. Yeah, I think that information needs to be more widespread.

[36:54] For example, I couldn't tell you what the best times to irrigate are, although we try to do it at night,

[37:01] And in regards to how frequently you should water, I think that would be helpful as well.

[37:08] And typically our restrictions are, you can water between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m., so non-essential

[37:18] water use should be restricted during between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

[37:28] All right.

[37:28] Are there any other questions or comments?

[37:32] Mr. Haddad, thank you very much. Excellent presentation. And I think we can have a conversation

[37:40] about the presentation to the select board as well. Anyway, thank you very much.

[37:49] Okay, thank you. Just as I know, so we're going to present this to the board on Monday night,

[37:55] if the Board of Public Works is available, it's certainly going to be great for you, I think,

[38:00] to attend, and also it would be great for you to take a vote on a recommended rate in

[38:07] the structure here as proposed.

[38:12] Well, as to your first comment, I have it on my calendar, and then if there are other board

[38:19] members that are there, we will attend the select board as individual members.

[38:26] so that we won't run into problems with the noticing unless you recommend we

[38:36] attend as a board but you think about that and have a conversation with Mr.

[38:44] Barber about what you think the right way to do it is. Rob, one of the things

[38:50] you might want to consider, as since Cody did make, you know, a mention of the recommendation.

[38:58] If you post that, if you post that meeting for Monday night, after the presentation to the

[39:06] psych board and our recommendation, we could actually then take the vote. I think it would be nice to hear

[39:14] the comments and thoughts of the select board and my feeling is as a board we would then be able

[39:21] to take a vote after hearing that. So just an idea.

[39:27] Mr. God, do we have time to post a Board

[39:33] of Public Works meeting for Monday evening? Yes. Yeah, just you would need to get a post

[39:41] and then Mr. Ganya, are you available?

[39:44] I will be there.

[39:46] Okay, so we will have a quorum and if you want to post our meeting

[39:52] and perhaps what we could do is call our meeting to order

[39:57] at either at the beginning of the select board meeting

[40:00] so we don't get in the way of process

[40:03] or just before this item comes to the select board.

[40:08] Yeah, absolutely.

[40:10] All right.

[40:12] Okay, now with that, I believe we are not going to formally approve a 13% increase in the rates at this meeting that we're going to defer that until Monday evening after we hear any comments from the select board and any additional comments from the public.

[40:36] Is that correct?

[40:37] I think that's a good way to approach it in that way.

[40:40] You know what the slide board members have to say and that they see the presentation.

[40:46] And I certainly take the coverage of the slide board meetings is quite good.

[40:52] And the public will certainly be made aware of the concerns and the items identified in that presentation.

[41:00] Thank you.

[41:01] Yeah, I agree.

[41:01] All right, so then we will defer action until our next meeting and that is tentatively

[41:11] planned to be Monday evening in association with the Select Board, Tim.

[41:16] You and Mr. Hadad can figure out the posting and take care of that.

[41:24] Yes, we'll take care of the posting today.

[41:27] All right.

[41:28] Anything else on this item?

[41:29] No.

[41:31] Okay, I'd like to thank the administrative team in the past.

[41:38] There have been some questions about the level of cooperation, I think, with the new team on board.

[41:47] Things, at least from my perspective, are much better.

[41:55] So, thank you. I appreciate it.

[41:57] Thank you.

[41:58] Like you said, it takes a team, so we appreciate it.

[42:00] We appreciate the opportunity and we will, you know, if you're fortunate, you get to go through

[42:06] this twice.

[42:06] You get to hear the presentation again on Monday.

[42:08] Well, I have some ideas.

[42:11] Maybe it won't be exactly the same presentation.

[42:14] No, okay.

[42:15] Well, we look forward to any feedback that you may have.

[42:17] Okay.

[42:17] Thank you.

[42:18] All right.

[42:19] Take care.

[42:19] Have a good day.

[42:20] All right.

[42:21] And then we will move on to item C, an update on the operational study, Tim.

[42:32] So I did have a chance to sit down with Mr. Gagne to discuss the operational study and potentially working on the scope due to the cost of the extensive scope.

[42:54] This may have to be advertised as a request for qualifications or request for proposal, so I, you know, I recommend we can work on the scope to tighten it up a bit to get that cost down.

[43:07] Unless, unless we choose to advertise on our institute.

[43:18] Mr. Ganyane, any questions or comments?

[43:20] I had a good meeting with Tim on this. I gave Tim a set of notes that I had come up within

[43:27] trying to scope the degree in nature of what the Dartmouth Public Works Department does

[43:35] because I think it's extremely important to cover all of the facets. Our Public Works Department

[43:42] covers a lot more than many municipalities, public works departments. I think it's important

[43:49] that the consultant that selected has experience with the type of a community we are in public works and has that information that I think it would provide a better steady outcome.

[44:05] Thank you.

[44:09] If there are, I have no questions, does anyone else have any questions about this?

[44:18] The only thing I note is that we've been working on the scope for a while and trying to

[44:23] get this done and this is a priority of the select board.

[44:27] So Tim, whatever you can do to keep it moving, I think is appropriate.

[44:33] We had requested some quotes on the scope and they were exceeding some of the procurement

[44:40] limits.

[44:41] I guess I would maybe have to tighten that up a bit so we can meet procurement.

[44:46] Okay.

[44:47] If there are no other questions on the operational study, item D storm debris management, Tim.

[44:54] At this time, there are no updates on the storm debris management plan.

[44:57] We plan to have more of this.

[45:02] Item E, 33, Sagamore Drive. This item was completed last meeting and was placed on the agenda

[45:10] in error.

[45:13] Okay. Next item, item F, Water Pollution Control Composting.

[45:20] As an update to the board on our ongoing Water Pollution Control Composting Filesolids

[45:28] There has been some recent correspondence from DEP in regards to the completion of a recent

[45:35] study that included sampling, effluent, influent, and sludge at all massachusetts, it's a lot

[45:43] of pollution control facilities that discharge to surface waters and in regards to tube

[45:52] and the study is available in the way that it was in their packets.

[46:00] And Sue of this study also included future options and associated costs for disposal of, you know,

[46:12] slides and waste lot of biosolids.

[46:15] There's also a link to that report, and we had touched based on some options, you know,

[46:21] including trucking, incineration, and other options that are all extremely expensive.

[46:31] And if you look at the costs in that report, it's pretty alarming.

[46:35] So we plan to continue to work on alternative options for file solids disposal,

[46:41] including working with our consultants and our vendors for the best options and hopefully

[46:48] least amount of costs.

[46:54] Mr. Guineany, any questions?

[46:57] You know, I just want to probably reiterate a comment I made on the previous meetings

[47:02] is that that plan was upgraded in 1995, specifically encompassed that composting measure and operation

[47:12] into that and knowing what communities are paying to have like with sludge trucked away to

[47:22] various incineration facilities. I think it makes all the sense for us to consider doing a

[47:31] solicitation for the same material that used to be taken by Kassala and I think it was Kassala and

[47:38] And I did happen to go out of this area and looked at a couple of facilities that actually

[47:46] produce a mix for the materials that they sell.

[47:53] And I think there is a market out there, maybe not with the company we've used for years,

[47:58] but I think you would be surprised because you're going to need those revenues that you get

[48:03] for that material and have a revenue coming in versus an expense going out.

[48:11] It really should work very, very hard to continue the whole model

[48:16] why we did the plant where we did in 1995.

[48:19] So I think there's an opportunity there.

[48:22] And if we can avoid additional expenses by another company select in this material,

[48:26] I think it would be great for the revenue you need.

[48:29] And it might be a company that's not based on Massachusetts because of the regulations

[48:35] that are coming down are regarding, you know, weighing use of the biosolids.

[48:40] So, I think that's a good idea and we're looking to move forward with soliciting the biosolids

[48:52] disposal for compost.

[48:58] Any comments from the public?

[49:01] Tim, I think if you could keep us surprised of what's going on and we're entering now

[49:08] a process for evaluating wastewater disposal overall for the town and I think this is

[49:17] an important element of that and I think we'll as we go through the conference of wastewater

[49:25] management plan.

[49:27] And I think this will be a piece that will make a big difference from the standpoint of

[49:34] the finances, as you point out, but also the design of the upgrades or replacement of

[49:40] the facility.

[49:42] Yeah.

[49:43] We plan to see some recommendations in the comprehensive way thought I made the plan, but that's a little

[49:50] So I think looking at estimating trucking costs, we're looking at around $1.3 million

[50:00] increase in our budget for those costs.

[50:05] So if we can, you know, if we can disguise these for cheaper costs

[50:13] and it would work in the beneficial, hopefully maintaining our composing process

[50:19] because it is a great process and it allows you know us to use the residents brush for the compost

[50:28] which is at at no cost for the residents and and then we produce a grade A product that you know

[50:34] that's been used the years.

[50:38] Yeah just make sure the consultant's got a good crystal ball and they

[50:41] need it.

[50:42] Correct.

[50:44] Okay.

[50:45] Thank you.

[50:46] With that, we'll move on to new business item A, wastewater consulting agreement.

[50:55] Mr. Chairman, I know we're going into new business.

[50:59] Mr. Winnick is, he wasn't just here for the presentation.

[51:02] He's also here because he had filed for a water and sewer payment request.

[51:08] So I recommend if we can take this out of order to move Mr. Winnick's

[51:17] abatement request along since you've been here since through the meeting.

[51:21] That would be item C, Tim.

[51:24] That would be item C, yes.

[51:26] Yeah, okay. If you're going to introduce that, please.

[51:29] Item C is water and sewer abatement application, the 65-country way.

[51:36] Mr. Winnick has stated that the usage through April and May of 2025, as far as seated, they

[51:44] typically usage from previous years, Steve Sullivan concluded that this may have been a

[51:50] toilet leak issue, as I guess the volumes were kind of estimated at that type of use.

[52:01] The prop, Mr. Winnick also noted that during this increase in use, the house was vacant until

[52:10] June 1st and somehow the floor stopped on its own.

[52:15] The usage is shown on the graph in your packets.

[52:20] I can bring up a graph as well.

[52:22] If you'd like to see it, the usage from April 1st to 2025 to October 28 was

[52:30] was $20,732 feet with a total bill of $2,712,773 with $1,173,997 from sewer and $1,538,776

[52:49] from water. Looking at last year's usage for this time period, it looks like the usage was about

[52:59] 13,720 cubic feet, or a total bill that included water in sewer for $1,630 from 92 cents.

[53:12] I have a question, I'm sorry, in the request it refers to an MBR toilet, can you give us

[53:22] a little bit of background on what that is and how it functions?

[53:27] I may ask Mr. Winick, if you could speak for that.

[53:33] Mr. Winick, could you help us with that?

[53:35] Yeah, it's the massive bedroom toilet apparently yeah apparently there was something that was in the I guess the structure of the toilet

[53:47] But I'm not disputing that with the water was used. I mean the meter is the meter and I'm not disputing that I just I wasn't

[53:57] We go to Florida from October to June and so the house was vacant and

[54:04] And I have no idea why it started, I have no idea why it's got.

[54:10] And I assume that, you know, in the structure behind the ball, there's all kinds of different

[54:17] fish that control the flow of water.

[54:21] Something must have gone screery with that, I would assume that it caused the flow of water.

[54:27] Again, I guess my timing on this couldn't be worse because of the issues with water and

[54:33] community, but the bill, as you can see, is extremely high and I was looking for some relief.

[54:40] Right. The reason I asked about NBR is it turns out NBR is shorthand for a very specific kind

[54:48] of toilet that has higher treatment. And I wanted to make sure that we were talking about a standard

[54:57] toilet. Oh okay. One of these real fancy. No. It's your best. Yeah. Okay. Thank you.

[55:07] Jim, anything else on this for us? No, it looks like you know after that usage and you know

[55:15] when you ride back home there was that was an increase in usage, not near as much as the usage through

[55:22] may. So I assume this is irrigation. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Mr. Ganya, any questions? I'm

[55:34] sorry. Curious if we apply the same principle that we did with the gentleman from Emerald

[55:41] Drive a couple of meetings ago. Where would the number arrive at Tim?

[55:50] I think what we did

[55:52] on that one as we looked at the sewer portion and then we abated on only the sewer portion but not

[56:00] the actual water consumption. Right.

[56:06] Yeah and I also think there was consideration of what

[56:10] normal water use for that period of time was and that was subtracted out as well.

[56:20] So Tim, can you get that information for us?

[56:25] Yes.

[56:26] I did list the usage of the last year's billing period,

[56:34] at this time as well, which was about 7

[56:41] ,000 to the key less.

[56:44] I can, I can work up the costs associated with last year's use based on this year's rates.

[56:59] Yeah, not the new rates, Tim.

[57:01] No, no, no, that's why 25 but July.

[57:05] Right.

[57:05] One 25 rates, yes.

[57:07] Okay. And then can you bring that back to us?

[57:09] And the payment is held in a payment, is that right?

[57:13] Yeah, we do. We do recommend that name. It's a made. They can be refunded based on the payment so, you know, but

[57:23] The just so, you know, there are interests and the man's place on the account

[57:28] And then and we can work with the we work with the collective office as well on that. Yeah, I paid the bill. Okay. All right

[57:35] Right so so it this is important because we get these requests from time to time and

[57:43] We need to be consistent so we're fair with everyone that we that comes before us.

[57:51] And there's also a wide range of reasons this happens in the next item.

[57:59] It was an irrigation system and that raises different issues there.

[58:05] All right, are you comfortable, sir, coming back next month and when we have more information

[58:13] in front of us and we can actually make a decision on this?

[58:16] Sure.

[58:17] Okay.

[58:19] And I can reach out, Mr. Winnick, once we have a

[58:21] mad calculation to inform you of it.

[58:25] Yeah, that'd be fine.

[58:26] Okay. I appreciate you work.

[58:27] Yeah, thank you.

[58:28] Absolutely.

[58:29] Yeah, Mr. Winnick, we want to get this right.

[58:32] You know, there's a fair amount of money involved and we,

[58:34] as I say, we try and treat these kinds of requests

[58:39] consistently and fairly.

[58:40] So. Very good. Thank you. All right. Thank you. We'll hopefully we'll see you next month. Yes, sir. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Right.

[58:54] Tim is the owner of 15 Puritan street with us. Do you see?

[59:03] I don't see them here. We were unable to get in touch with them. We didn't have any email

[59:11] just so we can continue to try to contact them and I can put this on the next meeting unless

[59:18] they view show up later in the meeting. Yeah, I'd like to have the property owner here when we

[59:26] talk about this in case there's anything else that comes up all right and then Tim this by the way

[59:34] this item 15 period in street looks a little bit like the one we did last month or in terms of

[59:44] it's an outdoor water use and so there wouldn't be any implications to the sewer so it would seem

[59:55] appropriate to handle that pretty much the same way as the other one so if you could come back

[1:00:00] We're back with a specific recommendation. Yeah, the only difference is, is that just time to send you back to the sewer. So we have you, right? We have to be also with you. Right. Can you and is that that stands for separate process? Yes. Can you initiate that process and make that part of the report back? Yes. Okay. Thank you. All right. Let's go back to item.

[1:00:29] new business, A, wastewater consulting agreement?

[1:00:37] So this agreement is specifically for the consultation review and analysis of proposed

[1:00:44] discharge to sewer from the over on Sherwitz company facility located on Fonskontrol

[1:00:52] Road and Dartmouth.

[1:00:53] The facility has an overflow on their cooling tower system that currently discharges to the

[1:01:00] outside the facility, which was found by MAST-CEP by routine inspection, which was followed

[1:01:06] up by correspondence with us regarding this issue and request the resolution in the

[1:01:15] form of possibly connection to sewer. Due to this charge being from an industrial facility,

[1:01:26] We involve our consultant stand-tech to analyze their process and sampling to determine

[1:01:38] what nutrients or metals or any chemicals, anything, or NPH levels that are in that

[1:01:44] discharge to make sure that they do align with our human facility requirements and the cost

[1:01:51] for this it is $4,200 and I have also given this agreement to Oberon

[1:02:00] Sherwer's for their review and payment. We would not enter into this agreement

[1:02:07] with Pantek until Oberon does pay the funds that we can put into a 53G account

[1:02:15] and use that for fun the concomitant work.

[1:02:19] Okay. Mr. Gagne, do you have any questions?

[1:02:23] Oh, I would make the motion that we approve the agreement for consulting services of

[1:02:29] Sure Work's standard for $4,200.

[1:02:33] Motion for approval by Mr. Gagne, the chair seconds the motion.

[1:02:38] Tim, before we actually take a vote on this, when was this facility built, roughly?

[1:02:44] Well, the facility is located in the old Vinny Fair building on Ponce, Cona Road.

[1:02:55] It was typically with a change of use when landlords leased to tenants including commercial

[1:03:07] and industrial usage.

[1:03:08] It's, they've been around for quite a few years and sometimes, you know, this, this step

[1:03:18] of notification gets missed from, from when it's permitted through, say, like the building

[1:03:24] department for zoning to come and to, as it's changing use, where it's not a new construction.

[1:03:32] So sometimes we don't, you know, we don't get those notifications.

[1:03:36] So, that's one of my notes said, this is important that we get notified on any change

[1:03:47] of views, because it could have an impact on our sewer system, and whether it's, whether

[1:03:56] it's this type of industrial use or a restaurant with fat soils and greasers, you know, so we know

[1:04:04] So all these, all these viscars has impact our sewer.

[1:04:07] So we really do need to need to modify it.

[1:04:10] Yeah, and I am uncomfortable that the change in use occurred

[1:04:17] and there was an actual surface discharge.

[1:04:21] You know, a wastewater discharge at the surface

[1:04:25] and it was caught by a state inspection.

[1:04:29] That suggests to me

[1:04:31] that whoever was responsible for inspecting this project and the permitting really did

[1:04:39] miss something.

[1:04:41] And I just hope that the discharge isn't so serious as to require a site cleanup.

[1:04:50] Anyway, okay.

[1:04:54] So we have a motion and a second for approval, Mr. Gagne.

[1:04:57] How do you vote?

[1:04:59] Yes.

[1:04:59] Yes. Mr. Ganya votes yes. Chair votes yes. Item is approved.

[1:05:05] And just one last comment. We've, you know, I've recommended numerous times to the company

[1:05:13] in the interim that they provide some containment for the discharge. It's not a lot of discharge

[1:05:20] so and they don't know the volume. So sometimes to figure out the volume and contain it would

[1:05:27] be beneficial.

[1:05:31] So they're also working on that as well.

[1:05:35] Okay. All right. Moving to item B, sewer

[1:05:40] betterment notice, Tim?

[1:05:43] Yeah, so this is a sewer betterment notice,

[1:05:46] lean discharge for 56 lakeside avenue.

[1:05:50] So the requested for the notice, a sewer

[1:05:54] betterment, which was estimated prior to the

[1:05:58] construction of the sewer project at $11,998.7, which is separate from the order of

[1:06:07] betterment, which is recorded out for the project. We need a exact betterment amount of $11,017.7,

[1:06:15] as shown in your board packet. So typically the order of betterment includes the lien which is

[1:06:25] which had paid off typically either paid off at the time or it taxes through the assesses office

[1:06:31] and they would discharge that wing. The order of adamant, the notice of adamant is us

[1:06:37] notifying all residents that there will be a adamant coming in and you know if there are any

[1:06:44] transfers of property that goes with the deed. So this property is going through a transfer

[1:06:51] in there are requesting the release of the notice, which I recommend.

[1:06:57] All right, so you included a form.

[1:07:04] Do all board members need to sign that form?

[1:07:08] I think at least two.

[1:07:10] All right.

[1:07:14] Any questions, board members?

[1:07:16] Mr. Gagne?

[1:07:17] I would move that we follow the recommendation

[1:07:19] the situation of the superintendent on the discharge of the lane on Lakeside Avenue.

[1:07:25] I have a motion to approve by Mr. Gagne, Chair Seconds.

[1:07:33] Mr. Gagne, how do you vote?

[1:07:35] Yes.

[1:07:36] Chair votes, yes, item is approved.

[1:07:40] We have already dealt with item C. We've continued item D.

[1:07:46] The next item is item E, a discussion of the FY 2027 operating budget and CIP, Tim.

[1:07:55] Yes.

[1:07:56] The Finance Committee and Finance Director has set the required submittal date for fiscal

[1:08:01] year 27 operating budget and capital improvement plans to be submitted no later than December

[1:08:09] 26th.

[1:08:10] So, all of our department heads are currently working on proposed operational budgets in capital

[1:08:18] plans, senior capital plans, and I'm scheduling to meet with department's beginning on tomorrow

[1:08:26] and morning and early next week to move to finalize the budgets.

[1:08:34] Once the proposed budgets and CIPs are finalized, we'll also submit them to the boardroom here

[1:08:41] and they will hopefully be on the next meeting.

[1:08:46] All right. Mr. Ganya, any questions?

[1:08:49] The only thing I would ask Tim and those budgets are extensive.

[1:08:53] You showed me a copy of the budget book for the current fiscal year.

[1:08:59] I would just ask if the department heads would just make a one sheet on the most significant items

[1:09:06] that have changed in cost and value for their department,

[1:09:12] not interested in the issue of the salary,

[1:09:15] so as a contractual,

[1:09:17] I'm more interested in looking at what expenses are rising significantly.

[1:09:23] It gives us a better opportunity to put into a focus such things

[1:09:28] as we mentioned in the previous presentation on the cost of chemicals,

[1:09:31] electricity, those items there.

[1:09:34] So I think a sub-reshape would be very helpful and we also put it we do have a summary notes at the bottom

[1:09:41] That I request from any any departments that are requesting an increase in a line item

[1:09:47] As to why that item of being increased or being requested for increase

[1:09:52] For the same reason. So yes, thank you. We can do that

[1:09:58] All right, so Tim we expect that on our next agenda. Is that right? Yes, sir. Okay

[1:10:04] Okay, you might, since we're going to be talking about budgets, make sure that the public

[1:10:18] is noticed.

[1:10:21] We're talking a lot about large financial issues at this board, and I'm not entirely

[1:10:31] sure that the public is well aware of the scope of what we're talking about here. So if you

[1:10:44] could coordinate with the town administrator and the finance board and have somebody just pick

[1:10:53] up the phone and tell Dartmouth weekly that we're going to start talking about budgets if they want

[1:10:58] to listen in. I think I believe that the financing meetings are public and

[1:11:06] televised as well. Yeah. Yeah. If if but we need to somehow we need to get the

[1:11:12] word out and be sure that the people who have any interest at all are aware and

[1:11:21] and remind them that we are we're meeting and discussing these issues. As I say I'm

[1:11:28] I'm not entirely sure that I don't know how to put this politely.

[1:11:34] I'm not sure that the public is really paying attention to what's going on

[1:11:37] from a budgetary standpoint at this time of year.

[1:11:41] In other words, it all seems to come to a head at town meeting.

[1:11:49] But all of the work is done starting now.

[1:11:53] And the best time to have input or comment or raise issues

[1:11:58] is now, as opposed to a town meeting, which is a lot harder to make changes or influence

[1:12:04] the direction of things that are going on.

[1:12:07] All right, thank you, Tim.

[1:12:11] Next item is water connection fees?

[1:12:16] So, kind of in line with the discussions on water reading increases.

[1:12:20] I was just kind of pulling the board to see if there's interest in the review of our existing water connected fees.

[1:12:29] This was done back in 2023 when we also compared sewer connection fees.

[1:12:37] And while sewer connected fees were dated and lower than a lot of comparable communities,

[1:12:45] a water to seem more in line at that time but you know it's a couple years old

[1:12:54] and they want to research that again and see if we need to update any of our water

[1:12:59] connections as well.

[1:13:02] Mr. Ganya.

[1:13:05] My interest is not so much in the area of the

[1:13:10] residential. I think it would certainly be helpful to see what other communities get

[1:13:16] on the residential connection fees. I really would like to see some research done on

[1:13:23] communities that are having substantial apartment complex developments and

[1:13:31] what they are charging for those apartment complex units. We're seeing some

[1:13:40] and very, very significant growth in that particular area.

[1:13:46] And I really would think it'd be beneficial for us

[1:13:50] to know probably around the Metro Boston area

[1:13:53] and some of the suburbs,

[1:13:56] what are departments and sewer departments

[1:13:58] at getting for those particular types of units?

[1:14:04] I agree completely.

[1:14:06] I think it, I have also an interest in understanding the purpose of the connection fees and if we are limited by any regulations as to the amount of connection fees and how they relate to the actual work of say inspection.

[1:14:36] in the meter itself, or whether the fee can also be applied toward future capital projects

[1:14:46] that might be necessary additional water supplies in the case of water.

[1:14:51] I'd like to know that, and also whether a portion of the fee can be of the sewer.

[1:15:00] Connection fee be put toward future waste water treatment facility upgrades. So if you could bring that information back to us, that would be very helpful. I'd also like to know if we do adopt new fees when they would be effective. And importantly, if there are any projects that are in the pipeline that would be affected by the new fees.

[1:15:30] We did have a discussion with a developer a few months ago about a fee increase and I'd

[1:15:39] like to make sure that we understand whether we would be facing that kind of a discussion

[1:15:44] again.

[1:15:46] Yes.

[1:15:47] I think the other fact that you've got to take into consideration, I believe Tim said to

[1:15:52] me based on the projects we know that our apartment or condo projects that were somewhere

[1:15:59] in the range of about 1400 units in Dartmouth. One thing that's going to do is it's going

[1:16:07] to trigger those capital items that you just spoke about in that presentation to have to

[1:16:13] be put into place a lot sooner than you know a house built here and a house built there.

[1:16:19] I mean, we're on a very accelerated schedule

[1:16:24] with these permitting for these units.

[1:16:27] And I think it's, we're gonna have to deal

[1:16:29] with a substantial capital cost.

[1:16:32] And you're gonna have to have the revenues

[1:16:34] to meet that debt zones.

[1:16:37] Great, absolutely.

[1:16:39] Okay, tall order, Tim, but we know you can do it.

[1:16:45] All right, anything else on this item?

[1:16:47] All right, so next item is committee updates, Tim.

[1:16:55] I don't have any other than the Finance Committee request for budgets.

[1:17:02] I have no updates. Mr. 98, do you have any updates?

[1:17:07] No. All right, next item is the Director Update?

[1:17:13] I can see 5.79 for us, board, road, reconstruction product, our upgrade project is still underway.

[1:17:24] The CT-Piple fall-on pipework has been completed on the X-area and they're working on interior

[1:17:31] work.

[1:17:32] We're looking to expedite getting that fully connected, tested, sampled in the operational

[1:17:39] as soon as possible to be able to work with DEP to get those three wells back turned online for the near future.

[1:17:51] Tim, what is the actual role of DEP in bringing those wells back online?

[1:17:59] They, you know, since they were shut down due to a bacterial pit, they'll need to know

[1:18:10] that those wells are connected to a CT pipe infrastructure and also, you know, sanitized

[1:18:22] and we'll have the test and we'll report our analysis on our samples.

[1:18:32] So is there role simply to look at samples and sign off on the sampling system?

[1:18:41] Or do they have to come out and do physical inspection?

[1:18:44] question.

[1:18:47] He would know that but I don't think they come out into physical inspection.

[1:18:51] It's more on our reporting and basically being permitted to turn those wealth back online.

[1:18:58] Okay. So then it sounds to me like this is a matter of a few days or weeks as opposed to

[1:19:07] some kind of longer process.

[1:19:12] I'm hoping it's a short process. Once we get everything

[1:19:16] Everything's sampled, connected, sampled, and ready to turn back online.

[1:19:22] Okay.

[1:19:23] Yeah.

[1:19:24] All right.

[1:19:28] It's also the Hawthorn Street Reconstruction Design Project is currently under view by MassDOT's

[1:19:36] intersection control team to see if control upgrades are needed at the Silicon Road intersection.

[1:19:46] So we worked with our consultant to put that into our scope and submit that to ICE or

[1:19:55] intersection control evaluation from ASDAW.

[1:19:58] So that partly underweighed and will be planned to meet with our design team in the near future.

[1:20:08] Any questions, Mr. Gagnier?

[1:20:10] All I can say is that hot thoughts look and road intersection is one scary intersection.

[1:20:15] action. If you're coming westbound on Hawthorn Street, you're going to make a left turn

[1:20:22] on to Soakum Road. Take a deep breath because the two lanes coming at you from the north on

[1:20:29] Soakum Road and you're not always sure one of them is going to take a left turn. I avoid

[1:20:34] that constantly. I just experienced that as well the other day. I tend to go through there,

[1:20:41] maybe now an end to look at the traffic in that intersection.

[1:20:48] Absolutely.

[1:20:50] So, you know, in the...

[1:20:52] And we had done a SERP head signal war analysis.

[1:20:58] And their analysis did meet, you know,

[1:21:04] intercession control, so that's what triggered us to also submit that to the Master Start.

[1:21:13] I've become very concerned with parents that are picking up children at the Quinn School

[1:21:19] that are coming up on the hearth on, and it needs to be addressed, I think specifically

[1:21:27] from a safety standpoint.

[1:21:28] moving

[1:21:35] on to the cross-road reconstruction project, so that project has moved into the 75 percent design phase, so we're working towards that with our consultant and hopefully we're going to expedite this design and get that expedited on the tip as well for future construction.

[1:22:07] As you know this year, we did overlay a little into the project area because of the flooding

[1:22:21] in that area and in the road conditions.

[1:22:25] So we did some temporary stormwater work to alleviate some of that and as well as the

[1:22:37] I'm telling the project is underway.

[1:22:40] I'm glad you did that Tim, because that curve that's there hices up because of the water

[1:22:47] that lays on the pavement and I agree, I mean, it's a measure, you know, temporarily

[1:22:53] for you're getting in the water off that road, but I was very glad to see that, because that

[1:22:58] is one scary curve if you're heading east on crossroads and you come to that curve and it's

[1:23:05] I see you're gonna go right into the westbound lane.

[1:23:08] Yeah, especially during the winter when you have,

[1:23:10] you know, you have any precipitation

[1:23:12] then it freezes.

[1:23:13] So, you know, our highway crew did a great job

[1:23:17] out there constructing the snow water

[1:23:19] to get that functioning.

[1:23:22] So we can, you know, hopefully have a safe winter

[1:23:25] and move forward towards this construction.

[1:23:28] Thank you.

[1:23:34] Lastly, staffing, we continue to work

[1:23:36] with human resources department, they've been really working

[1:23:42] hard with us throughout the whole town.

[1:23:46] You know, there's been turnover and stuff.

[1:23:49] So I think we've had a lot of ebb and flow lately with staff

[1:23:55] leaving and new staff coming on board and we're working

[1:23:58] to on board everybody and train everybody.

[1:24:02] and hopefully move forward with our operations.

[1:24:09] We have a new associate engineer coming on board on Monday,

[1:24:15] which is specifically exciting news.

[1:24:18] And then we also did offer the assistant superintendent of water

[1:24:24] and sewer position to a candidate who were looking to get on board

[1:24:28] by the end of the year.

[1:24:32] That's good news. Tim, if you have time to read the Boston Globe, there have been some

[1:24:43] interesting articles on town financing over the last few weeks.

[1:24:50] And there is a theme, a recurring theme of difficulty in bringing people on board because

[1:24:58] of pay scale and medical insurance costs, so it doesn't necessarily make us feel any better

[1:25:08] to know that other people have the same problem, but clearly other towns have the same set of problems.

[1:25:15] Yeah, and the town is working on a committee to evaluate the health care cost and medical

[1:25:26] insurance and look at possibly other programs to reduce the cost.

[1:25:35] So that's their focus currently and also, you know, we're going through a compensation

[1:25:41] and reclassification study, which was originally scheduled

[1:25:51] to be completed by the end of the year,

[1:25:53] but it looks like it's been extended at least a month.

[1:25:57] So, we'll be looking forward to getting that information that we're reviewing next.

[1:26:02] Moving forward with that as well, and then coming into this next year,

[1:26:08] You know, union negotiations will have to kick off as well for the fiscal, the new fiscal year.

[1:26:18] Tim, going back to the reclassification study, I recall that the last time the town did a reclassification study,

[1:26:29] there resulted some systemic problems in how the study was implemented.

[1:26:39] And I also recall that it seemed impossible to correct those problems.

[1:26:47] Can you give some thought about how the board could be most effective in helping the town

[1:26:59] develop any changes that make sense because some of the stuff just didn't seem to make any sense, but I also got the feeling it was kind of locked in and there was a lot of shoulder shrugging about making changes.

[1:27:18] So that's a request.

[1:27:20] Absolutely.

[1:27:21] And hopefully it's not rushed.

[1:27:23] Even though we need to get it done and expedited it, we need the time to review it as well.

[1:27:29] And make sure that all the information is correct and done properly.

[1:27:35] Yeah.

[1:27:35] There's an old saying, if you don't have time to do it right, when you're going to find time to do it over.

[1:27:40] Correct.

[1:27:42] 100%.

[1:27:44] One of the things that you really should ask them to look at is two communities that

[1:27:49] I've been working with, and one of the problems is your senior long-term employees get

[1:27:56] debt-ended, have a scale compensation scale that's short, let's say 10 steps.

[1:28:04] You really should ask them because there's a problem with that because for one an employee

[1:28:10] debt ended. It's a core, the core covers or doesn't cover the cost of the insurance increases

[1:28:18] that are running double digit year after year. You should ask them to maybe if they're not doing

[1:28:24] it but at least do a 12 or a 14 step so that those valued top scale employees feel like they're in

[1:28:34] In fact, continue to be recognized.

[1:28:37] I know a couple of communities in fact have lost long-term employees because they were

[1:28:44] dead ended at a step 10 on their particular classification.

[1:28:51] It's very beneficial because if you can keep that employee for another four years, especially

[1:28:58] if they're essential valued employees, from going to another community.

[1:29:03] I think a longer number of steps is helpful.

[1:29:08] And as long as those steps aren't just, you know, the same, I guess, increased, extended

[1:29:18] over a longer period of time because what if small increases aren't?

[1:29:23] No, I'm not talking about that.

[1:29:24] You take the incremental increase between the existing 10 steps and you make that incremental

[1:29:30] mental increases for three or four more steps.

[1:29:33] No, I could be with you.

[1:29:35] Don't stretch it.

[1:29:38] I think that's what's been done in the past.

[1:29:40] So, you know, I hope that's all right.

[1:29:43] Nope.

[1:29:45] I'm on an app.

[1:29:46] We're working on hiring a, you know,

[1:29:49] a couple more workers at highway drivers.

[1:29:54] And also we are.

[1:29:57] Admin Clark, Stephanie Robello has started.

[1:29:59] and head.

[1:30:00] Given the specific details, it will not accept any questions

[1:30:00] so due to the Pfizer trials, by the way, has anybody that wants to

[1:30:00] She's been a great job catching up in on oil and getting trained, it's a

[1:30:09] really task oriented and demanding position. So it's just doing a big job and working out well.

[1:30:23] Any other questions, Mr. Gagne?

[1:30:28] One question I have to have the connection application for Delano apartments. That was for 50 units.

[1:30:49] It looks like it is a second building going up, and it's an LSH building, so it's all one

[1:30:56] building.

[1:31:00] Typically, you don't see that many units in a single building, but so this is a

[1:31:05] I think they built the front section and now they're building the back side.

[1:31:11] Okay. Thank you. You're welcome.

[1:31:16] All right. If there are no other items and if there are no other comments,

[1:31:22] I will entertain a motion to adjourn the meeting.

[1:31:26] I make the motion that we adjourn the Board of Public Works meeting.

[1:31:30] Mr. Gagnier has moved the adjournment. The chair seconds the motion. Mr. Gagnier, how do you vote?

[1:31:37] I vote yes. Chair votes yes. Thank you very much. All of you for being part of this and

[1:31:45] all the work you guys do in providing necessary services to the town. I appreciate it. I really do.

[1:31:53] Okay. With that, the meeting is adjourned.

Board of Public Works Meeting - December 11, 2025

Transcript