[0:05] Good good evening everyone. Uh my name is Damon Garrett. I am the president of

[0:10] Metro Consulting Associates and the Highland Park water director. And so

[0:16] first I'd like to thank everyone for taking uh a little bit of time this

[0:20] evening to join us to discuss uh lead service line replacement. Um just want

[0:27] to tell you a couple things here. So, what I'm going to do is uh a little

[0:31] brief intro. Um maybe cover some of the history of lead service line replacement

[0:37] in Highland Park. Um do a little housekeeping and I'll hand it off to

[0:41] Elen. So, um we've been replacing lead service lines in Highland Park since

[0:47] 2018. And one of the things that we wanted to

[0:51] continue to do uh was improve our uh uh public engagement. And uh we've replaced

[0:58] about 750 lead service lines since 2018, but we really haven't got to

[1:14] » Oh my god, >> got muted.

[1:16] » Oh my goodness. That was That was okay. Good. Okay, let's let's uh take two.

[1:20] That was mute. So [laughter] Oh my goodness. So I'm sorry. I'll run

[1:24] that back. So, good evening everyone. My name is uh Damon Garrett. I'm the

[1:28] president of Metro Consulting Associates and the Highland Park Water Director.

[1:33] So, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for taking a little bit of time

[1:37] out of their evening to join us to talk about uh lead service lines. Um, and one

[1:43] of the things we've been we've been replacing lead service lines in Highland

[1:46] Park since 2018. And one of the things that we want to

[1:50] continue to do uh was improve on our community engagement. So, we've had

[1:54] several town halls over the years uh covering a multitude of topics, but we

[1:58] really haven't focused on lead service lines. So, this evening today, we're

[2:03] going to talk about that. I'm going to share just some just some history about

[2:07] what we've been doing since 2018. Um I'm going to go over a couple of

[2:13] housekeeping items and I'm going to hand it over to Elen. So, um, just to kind of

[2:18] set the stage for, uh, for those on the call, um, there's approximately about

[2:23] 3,500 lead service lines in Highland Park. Um, as I just said, um, we've done

[2:30] about 750 since 2018. So, that leaves us with roughly 2,800

[2:37] service lines to go. So uh this project uh that we're

[2:43] currently uh doing constructing right now has a thousand lead service lines

[2:48] associated with that. So if you look at uh what we've done in the past seven

[2:53] years and what we're about to do in the next year, that'll take us to about 50%

[2:57] of the lead service lines being replaced in Highland Park, which is um that's

[3:03] that's that's amazing. That's that's a large number. Um, but obviously with the

[3:07] project this large, we wanted to make sure that we um heard from the people,

[3:12] uh, do our best to answer questions and share what information we have. Um, so

[3:17] our goal is to replace those remaining 1,700 lead service lines by 2041, which

[3:25] we're uh, which we're required to do by statute. Uh we're hoping that will be

[3:30] done much sooner as we have some other legal obligations to replace all of the

[3:34] water man in H Highle Park by 2031ish. So we're we're hoping if funding allows

[3:39] that we'll be able to get the distribution line replaced and we'll be

[3:44] able to finish well ahead of the 2041 deadline.

[3:49] So um and after so what we were doing um before um this year was about 107 lead

[3:57] service lines a year but after this project's complete that average will go

[4:01] up to 218. So those are some robust numbers for uh for Highland Park and I I

[4:06] just wanted to share those. Um, so my housekeeping items are I know there's a

[4:12] lot of people there's a lot of always a lot of water things to discuss, but for

[4:15] our time so that we're efficient tonight to keep all the questions to lead

[4:19] service lines. Um, we will be having a water not a water but we'll the city

[4:24] will be having a town hall at the rec center on November 20th at 700 p.m. over

[4:31] uh on Pitkin from 7:00 to 8:30. So, if there's other things that you want to

[4:35] discuss, which I know there will be, um you can uh bring those uh questions to

[4:40] to that uh event and we'll do our best to answer them there. Um the only other

[4:46] housekeeping item I had was um to to try to keep us on task and stay organized is

[4:52] if you could please get those comments in the chat um it would be greatly

[4:56] appreciated and uh myself and one of our other team members are going to be

[5:00] monitoring that and our goal is to kind of compile those comments and be able to

[5:04] answer them with the appropriate people um whether it's myself, Ken, Elen or any

[5:09] other members of the team. So with that I'll hand it over to you Elen. Yeah,

[5:14] thank you very much, Damon. Uh, I'm Elan Betanzo and I am the president of

[5:19] Safewater Engineering. I assist the city of Highland Park with Safe Drinking

[5:24] Water Act compliance and helping out with the lead service line replacement

[5:27] program. We are recording this conversation today and so we will post

[5:32] it on the city's YouTube channel and it will the link will also go up on the

[5:36] water department website. Um the slides that we're going to use today will also

[5:42] be available on the water department website and if you want to get a copy

[5:46] you'll have an opportunity to request that at the end of the meeting today and

[5:50] we can email that directly to you. And we also request that you remain on mute

[5:54] for the presentation portion of this and then you can come off mute for some

[5:59] discussion um when we get to the question and answer section. So, as as

[6:04] Damon said, put those questions in the chat as as we go, as you think of them

[6:09] because that'll help us. Okay. So, I am going to uh introduce the members of the

[6:17] team that you'll see here at our meeting today and that you'll see working on

[6:22] this uh in your neighborhoods.

[6:27] So

[6:32] as the slide comes up there

[6:37] we go

[6:44] that work. That slide just disappeared again.

[6:50] [clears throat]

[6:52] Well, why don't we start with um >> maybe I have the view wrong just um No,

[7:01] sorry.

[7:05] Okay. Um so, well, um if you can figure out the slides,

[7:12] I'll keep going. So, today we have you've already met Damon. We're going to

[7:16] have uh Ken who is the field operations manager is also going to be presenting

[7:21] and we have the work department supporting us here as facilitators and

[7:25] they have developed all the outreach materials for the lead service line

[7:28] replacement program. So we have Fatima, Libby and Denise supporting us today. So

[7:34] then on the next slide we have the faces of the folks that are working in the

[7:38] neighborhoods. They are going to be the people on your street, sometimes in your

[7:43] house when you're getting a lead service line replaced. So, we have Winston, Ken,

[7:48] Eugene, and Kobe. And they are all with the Highland Park Water Department, and

[7:53] Eddie is with the contractor that is doing the construction. Um, so Eddie has

[7:59] been knocking on a lot of doors, scheduling uh appointments for lead

[8:03] service line replacement. So, you might see his face as well. But um Winston,

[8:08] Ken, Eugene, and Kobe are the people who are going to be most frequently on your

[8:13] street and in your neighborhood. We have some more supporting folks on the next

[8:18] slide. Uh we have Derek, Doug, Jordan, and

[8:23] Jaden who are also supporting the program. So these are also faces that

[8:27] you might see in your neighborhood when lead service line replacement is

[8:31] happening. Okay. So, let's talk about lead service

[8:36] line replacement. It kind of starts off with what is a service line. So, we have

[8:41] water manes that run down the streets. They pretty much follow the grid pattern

[8:44] of all of the streets in Highland Park. And uh we've got so we've got water

[8:49] manes that are taking large quantities of water, but then we need a small pipe

[8:53] to connect that water mane to individual homes, individual buildings. So, um what

[9:00] we the service line in Highland Park because of when they Highland Park was

[9:06] built, most of them are made of lead. Um the service lines, uh we are in the

[9:15] process of replacing all the water manes in Highland Park and as Damon said, we

[9:19] have new requirements to replace all of those lead service lines in the city of

[9:24] Highland Park. Um, lead is a potent neurotoxin that can

[9:30] cause learning and behavior problems in children. It has reproductive and

[9:33] developmental health effects. And lead has also been associated with heart

[9:37] disease, high blood pressure, and kidney problems in adults. So, we want to get

[9:43] the lead out of the drinking water. It will make the water safer for everybody.

[9:47] So, that's a really important project for Highland Park. And we, you're

[9:53] probably wondering, do you have a lead service line at your own home? We do

[9:58] have an inventory that we have published on the website. And so, uh, we're

[10:04] navigating to it right here. This is the Highland Park Lead Service Line

[10:07] Replacement Program website. And if you scroll down on this page, we can find

[10:12] the inventory that's posted. There is a map here of Highland Park. and it'll

[10:19] come up. And we see a series of red lines and blue lines in here. And you

[10:25] can see in the chat, Libby dropped the um the URLs. So, you can click on that

[10:30] and you can navigate this on your own while you're here for this meeting. But

[10:35] the the red lines that you see on this are where there's lead service lines and

[10:40] the blue lines are places where uh a lead service line has already been

[10:44] replaced or we have confirmed that a non-LED material is at that location. So

[10:50] then to show you how you can use this yourself, there's a search bar you can

[10:54] see here. Um and we're going to type in an address. Let's type in um 1250

[11:02] Woodward Avenue. That's the municipal building there.

[11:06] And so you can see the address pops up. It zooms in and then you can see that

[11:11] parcel and then there is that line that's um coming from the street to that

[11:17] building. So we see it's a red line uh here. So we're anticipating that there's

[11:21] a lead service line there at the municipal building. So, this is how you

[11:27] can use the um the inventory to see if you have a lead service line at your

[11:33] home. Um you can share the site with your friends and your neighbors and so

[11:37] they can search up their sites. Uh and so then obviously the next thing is how

[11:43] do we get rid of that lead service line? So, um, going back to the slides here,

[11:51] uh, I'm going to hand it over to Ken to walk through the process of what you can

[11:54] expect when your lead service line is being replaced.

[11:58] » Good evening. I hope everyone is having a wonderful evening. My name is Kenneth

[12:02] Miller. I'm with uh, Metro Consulting Associates. Uh I am the uh operations

[12:10] manager uh of uh Highland Park, the Highland Park Water Department. So let's

[12:16] get right into the meat of the of the discussion because I'm sure many of you

[12:20] are wondering what you can expect to happen when the lead service line is

[12:25] replaced. So I have a grouping of slides that will help you understand that a

[12:29] little better. Before the lead service line is replaced, the contractor will

[12:35] knock on your door to schedule an appointment or our customer service

[12:39] staff will be calling you for an appointment. Their number is

[12:43] 313-8651876.

[12:47] We invite you to give them a call if you would like more information or if you'd

[12:52] like to schedule 313-8651876.

[12:57] Then the inspector will provide a six-month supply of certified lead

[13:02] reducing water filters. We are asking you as the resident to sign a service

[13:08] line replacement agreement. This is very important for tracking purposes as well

[13:13] as it is the law. Also, before the lead service line

[13:17] replacement, uh uh it we we're going to ask you to

[13:23] make sure that there is a clear path to the water meter in your basement or

[13:28] crawl space. Very important. We don't want to disturb any of your items. So,

[13:32] we would like for you to move them. Also, we were going to ask that you move

[13:38] items out of your yard that may get damaged during our construction.

[13:42] And also, please arrange for an adult, someone 18 or older, to be at the home

[13:48] during the entire appointment. The appointment is about four hours.

[13:55] During the lead service line replacement, there are several things

[13:58] that we want to make sure you know. The contractor will turn off the water

[14:04] before the construction begins on the day of the appointment. So, what we're

[14:10] asking, what I normally ask is that you fill a bathtub full of water or several

[14:15] buckets for toilet flushing and the like.

[14:19] The contractor will dig a 3ftx 3 ft square in front of your yard to

[14:24] determine the service line material. Well, what uh what what will we find?

[14:31] Well, we will find either that your service line is copper or plastic, lead

[14:35] or galvanized. If it is copper or plastic, your service line will be

[14:40] connected to the new water mane uh and your property will be restored.

[14:47] If we find that your service is lead or galvanized steel, we will replace that

[14:52] lead or galvanized steel line and your your property will be uh restored.

[15:01] Also during the service line replacement, the Highland Park Water

[15:06] Department inspector will flush water through the household plumbing to remove

[15:12] any particles that may have released during the construction. This is very

[15:17] important. Please allow us to do the flushing or the inspector will provide

[15:22] flushing instructions for you to complete the steps yourself. We would

[15:27] much rather do the flushing. Please allow us to do so.

[15:31] The in the the inspector though will provide written notification that the

[15:36] new service line was put in. Please sign. This is also for tracking purposes

[15:42] and it is also the law. The contractor will restore water service to your home

[15:47] that same day that we turn it off. Let me go go through the flushing

[15:54] instructions though while we're here together. It's important to flush the

[15:58] plumbing after the lead service line is replaced. Uh first to remove the first

[16:04] what we would like to do is have you the homeowner remove the air raators from

[16:09] all faucets in your home. Then allow all cold cold open all cold

[16:15] water taps in the house starting at the lowest level of your home perhaps the

[16:21] basement or crawl space. Continue opening the cold water taps throughout

[16:27] the house, opening the highest uh or furthest faucet last.

[16:34] You will let the water run for 30 minutes to flush any sediment or

[16:39] particles. Turn off each tap starting with the

[16:44] first faucet you opened, perhaps at the basement or crawl space,

[16:50] finishing at the top floor. You will brush and rinse all the air

[16:56] raators before you screw them back on. Do not flush uh at taps where air

[17:02] raators cannot be removed. Why are we saying that? Well, there has there is

[17:08] there are some findings. A water research foundation study from 2021

[17:13] looked at the lead levels before and after flushing.

[17:18] Lead levels were up six parts per billion. PPB while the lead line was

[17:25] still in place. Similar but a little higher than Highland Park uh levels.

[17:33] After replacing the line, lead spiked in these testings to 79 parts per billion.

[17:42] Removing the air raators and flushing the pipes brought lead levels down to

[17:46] two parts per billion to under two parts per billion. Within two months, lead

[17:52] levels drop to nondetectable, and that's what we want. No level of lead is

[17:57] acceptable. Let's talk about after the replacement.

[18:02] The Highland uh uh park water department will notify you when the construction is

[18:08] complete. This action sets the oneyear guarantee. The one-year warranty will

[18:17] start at that point. Restoration will begin when construction

[18:21] is complete in the construction zone and the uh and be completed ASAP, weather

[18:28] permitting. Sometimes we get pretty decent weather for doing restoration in

[18:33] the months of December and maybe even January, but that is not a guarantee.

[18:39] The restoration will include seeding and mulching, landscaping disturbed areas

[18:45] where we had to dig during the service line replacement.

[18:49] replacing disturbed pavement with similar surfaces according to the

[18:52] engineering standards. So for example, if we had to dig in the

[18:57] street and there was ashalt street, we would try our very best to put back

[19:03] ashalt streets, replacing damaged flowers, shrubs, and

[19:07] the and trees of any kind

[19:14] after our lead service line replacement. Also, the Highland uh park water

[19:19] department will notify you when the restoration is complete. After one year,

[19:25] you will be responsible for the replaced water service line from the curb stop to

[19:31] your home. Well, what is a curb stop? The curb stop is the little control

[19:34] valve that we that you see people stick a key in at your property line. From

[19:41] that point to the water man, you will be responsible. No, from from that point to

[19:47] the home, you will be responsible. From that point to the home.

[19:55] Now, the question may be asked, when will my service line be replaced? Some

[20:00] of you have this this process has already begun, but you've been invited

[20:05] to this meeting because Highland Park is replacing lead service lines within your

[20:10] neighborhood. What we have done here is provided a map that will show you the

[20:15] project areas that are coming very soon or are taking place right now. This

[20:22] information will be shared uh so that uh you may view it later on.

[20:29] I'd like to uh oh before I turn it back on turn it back over to uh another

[20:35] presenter uh I would like to talk to you about why

[20:39] you should participate in this program. There are three reasons in particular.

[20:45] It removes the biggest source of lead in your drinking water, lead contamination.

[20:51] Also, it avoids a $10,000 expense

[20:56] and keep your water on. And the third and most important reason,

[21:01] it will allow us to partner with you to work together for a safer Highland Park.

[21:08] Now, I'd like to turn it back over to one of the other presenters.

[21:14] » Thank you, Ken. That was really helpful. Um, Elen, did you have the polls? Are we

[21:21] going to do the polls? Yeah. Okay. So, if everyone We're going to run a little

[21:25] Zoom poll really quickly. Um, if you see that pop up on your screen, um, it'd be

[21:30] great if you could answer that, just kind of understanding who's in the room

[21:34] and how much work has been done on y'all's property already. Um, so we'll

[21:40] give that a few minutes. I see some questions in the chat, so please

[21:43] continue with those. We're going to move to that in one second. Um, and after we

[21:48] do the things in the chat, I'll open it up for um, voice questions um, for

[21:54] anyone that's on the phone or maybe doesn't have access to that chat. But

[21:58] we'll do those chat ones first. >> Libby, do we have the uh, raise your

[22:02] hand for those for the voice or No. >> Um, I believe we do.

[22:08] So, if anybody um, yeah, has a question that's on the phone, try to raise your

[22:13] hand. Um, and I will watch out for that. There's a

[22:20] lot of people on the phone. So, um, yeah, we'll try to facilitate that after

[22:24] we answer these ones in the chat. All right. Should we

[22:31] » keep that open? Oh, there's sh the results there.

[22:36] » All right. So, we've got um the majority of people who responded have not yet had

[22:43] their lead service line replaced, but we've got um some some one yes and two

[22:49] I'm currently in the process. Um and then have you received a

[22:56] certified lead reducing water filter? We we have one yes and the majority nos.

[23:02] So, is everybody able to see those poll results? Are you able to see those,

[23:07] Libby? >> Yep.

[23:09] » Great. Thank you. All right. Well, I'm going to start at

[23:14] the top. We'll just go in order of the questions that were asked. Um, I have a

[23:17] couple for construction. So, that might be you, Ken. Um, will all the line

[23:23] replacement be done outside or is there going to be digging in our basement?

[23:29] Most of the service line has to be replaced outside, but there will be some

[23:35] digging in basement to uh complete the process and put in the new water meter.

[23:44] » Great. Thank you. Um, also we have a question um about the

[23:51] air raators and assuming that a lot of people might not know what an airator is

[23:56] or how to remove their air raator when we're talking about that very important

[24:00] flushing um process. Will there be people on site that can show folks about

[24:05] the air raators and how to remove them and um assist with that?

[24:10] » Yes, there there will be an inspector for every lead service line replacement.

[24:16] So, if you have uh trouble understanding what an air raator is, our inspector

[24:21] will help you do so. We will uh show you where the air raators are in your home

[24:28] faucets and uh we'll ask you then to remove them. Yes.

[24:33] » Great. Um then we have a couple comments and kind of questions. Um thank you for

[24:39] attempting to be transparent. You mentioned the website so casually as if

[24:43] it was common knowledge. maybe it had been shared widely. So now folks are

[24:47] glad to have that URL. Um I'll put it back in the chat again. Um and then

[24:53] we'll have a little place at the end of this call where you can send put your

[24:57] email in. Um and we'll send you a copy of these slides so you'll have all of

[25:01] the URLs that were in these slides as well. But um maybe Elen, you could

[25:07] answer this one. These slides will be important to share, but also handouts or

[25:11] printed materials to reference. Will there be any of those available for

[25:16] residents? >> Yes. So, there are printed materials

[25:20] that will are being delivered for every home. Every time, every place where

[25:23] there's going to be a lead service line replacement on this project, those

[25:27] materials are being delivered directly to that home. Um, we also will have some

[25:32] at the customer service center uh for people to pick up copies if they're not

[25:38] on the current project. And uh we do also plan to have some future community

[25:44] meetings in person where we'll have copies of those available.

[25:49] Thank you. Um all right. So in those three

[25:53] important points that we said these are the most important things um about this

[25:56] program and we mentioned the $10,000 expense. We have a question around what

[26:00] is that $10,000 expense? Um define this please.

[26:05] Well, we as well as the contractor do a awesome job in trying to contact

[26:13] everyone on the block when we are replacing lead water services. Uh first

[26:19] the the very first thing that the contractor is doing is replacing the

[26:23] water man. So that that kind of signals to our neighbors that uh something else

[26:29] is coming. What we do is we hand out printed materials so that uh folks know

[26:35] that the lead service line replacement is coming. According to the law, we have

[26:40] to make three attempts to contact the individuals uh that are getting new

[26:47] water services. Unfortunately, what we have found is that after all the

[26:54] attempts have been made, there have been there's been uh customers that are

[26:58] nonresponsive. Uh our contractor has to move on to

[27:03] another part of the city at that point. And that's where sometimes a $10,000

[27:10] uh expense is incurred by a customer after we have left for more than a year

[27:15] or uh after our contractor is on another part of the project.

[27:22] So they have to so in long story short at that point we have to turn it back

[27:27] over to that individual to replace their own lead water service to copper.

[27:34] And so it's not like someone's ticketing anyone. No one's getting penalized. It's

[27:37] just that would be the approximate cost to do this yourself. Whereas this

[27:41] program is covering it for the resident. >> That is correct. Correct. And uh uh if

[27:47] you if you uh work through us, all the permits and everything are taken care

[27:53] of. If you have to do it yourself, you have to get permits and everything and

[27:57] do restoration yourself. So that's where the $10,000 cost comes in.

[28:03] Great. Thank you. Um, thank you for the service line replacement program. How do

[28:08] you determine the order in which houses are served? There's a couple

[28:11] multi-question here. So, what's the order? How does the rate of replacement

[28:16] in Highland Park compared to other cities? And how is this program funded?

[28:22] And is there additional funding that would maybe speed up the number of

[28:25] replacements or the rate of replacements?

[28:29] So I will uh I will answer the first part and then I'll turn the other parts

[28:35] over to other people on the panel. Okay. >> Okay.

[28:38] » All right. So uh our contractor is working along with us in scheduling

[28:43] these lead service uh replacements and uh like I said, we've been doing a great

[28:48] job. Our customer service staff is making phone calls. Our contractor is

[28:54] knocking doors. And so, uh, what we try to do is to do them all in a row if

[29:00] possible. That's not possible 100% because we understand that we miss

[29:05] people and we have to do multiple attempts. So, then we come back around

[29:10] and do do houses again. So, our goal is to do them all in a row, but sometimes

[29:17] we can't. So, um, that that that is the the order in which we go if we can

[29:23] completely in a row. >> Thanks, Ken. Um, I'll take a shot at the

[29:30] remainder of that question. Um, so I think the requirement is um for 5% of

[29:37] the service lines to be replaced annually. Um, where Highland Park has

[29:42] fallen uh in the past is uh a little bit below average on that. Um as I mentioned

[29:48] in the beginning of the call um just since 2018 we had replaced a little

[29:54] around 110 for our system size 5% would be

[30:01] 175 and so now you know if you just look at the average over over the years um it

[30:08] looks slightly under but there have been years where we have exceeded that in

[30:12] that particular year. So um and the lack of us being able to maybe hit that

[30:18] average has been uh mainly because of funding. So after this project is

[30:23] complete, our average is going to almost go up and double. So um you know I

[30:29] talked about around 218. So 218 would exceed uh the 5% minimum requirement and

[30:36] that's partially because uh the state of Michigan uh has dedicated earmarked a

[30:43] significant amount of funds for uh infrastructure replacement in Highland

[30:47] Park water man and um service line replacement. So that's kind of where we

[30:53] stand. Um we uh are always looking for additional funding to accelerate that

[30:59] time um frame. But what people also have to realize is right now I mean this

[31:05] summer we had more construction than we've ever had and we had boil water

[31:10] alerts. We had water mane breaks everywhere. We had people complaining

[31:14] about dust and you know so it's one of these things where we've been trying to

[31:17] ramp up the level of activity of replacement. a one what the funding it

[31:22] would allow, but two, you know, it's it, you know, we didn't do very much

[31:26] construction in Highland Park 7 years ago, and now you've got construction

[31:30] happening on every street. So, you know, we're doing our best to to get them

[31:35] replaced as fast as we can. Uh we also are, you know, trying to do the best job

[31:41] we can at uh managing the chaos that comes with construction and the

[31:45] coordination of people being everywhere on on every street. So, um

[31:51] I I would love to I would love to say we could get it all done in two years, but

[31:54] I mean even if we could and we had a contractor on every street, I think it

[31:58] would drive us all crazy. So, I think we're on a pretty good pace. I think we

[32:02] we were, you know, under slightly under average, but I think that with this

[32:07] project and moving forward that we're going to be over average. And like I

[32:10] said, if we're able to get all the water mane done, all 60 miles replaced by

[32:16] 2031, which would mean we would have replaced 60 miles of water mane and we

[32:21] started doing that in 2018. So that that's that's pretty good. And the

[32:25] majority of all of that or at least the last several years have have been state

[32:30] funded. So no additional cost to the customers. That's just been the state

[32:34] that's given grants. um the the first project maybe the first two were loans

[32:39] which um you know was are loans so th those are additional expenses but the

[32:44] projects uh in the last several years have been all grant funded.

[32:50] » Thank you that was helpful. Um folks just uh for folks dialing in if you want

[32:56] to raise your hand to ask a question you can press star 9 um or use the app if

[33:01] you're there. Um Joshua, I see your hand and we'll get to you in one second. We

[33:06] have a few more from the chat. Um what size are the replacement lines going

[33:12] into the homes? >> Uh per the law uh we put in 1 in water

[33:19] services uh to the homes and uh that that is a standard practice throughout

[33:26] the country, one inch. So you you will more than likely get a larger service

[33:31] because many of the homes are either 3/4 or 5/8.

[33:37] » Thank you. Um in the restoration process, the

[33:41] contractors came 5T past the sidewalk onto my property and damaged some

[33:45] lighting and some specific plants. I'm concerned it might just be a

[33:50] compensation check for that because um how do they get the labor costs for

[33:55] replacing something like that covered? Well, during the contract, uh, they are

[34:00] responsible for replacing in kind any shrubbery that is damaged. So, that more

[34:07] than likely would be replaced. Uh, the the type of shrub uh that was damaged

[34:13] will be replaced. Uh before the the project begins, we do a uh video to make

[34:21] sure that uh we capture all of the damage that might be uh there at the

[34:28] properties or in the sidewalk or in the right away. And so we will have captured

[34:32] that there at your home. So we know what type of shrubbery we need to replace. Uh

[34:37] and uh we will do so. the 5-ft pasture sidewalk. Um where some lighting was was

[34:46] damaged. Um I'm going to ask that one of the facilitators perhaps get this

[34:51] person's information so that I can look into this and uh we'll do so.

[34:57] » Sure. If you can put that in the chat, um we can uh forward that along.

[35:05] » Um okay. Why would we be responsible for the waterline replacement after one

[35:10] year? It's not like we can know if it was installed correctly.

[35:15] So, uh I want to make sure I'm very clear on that. So, after one year, it's

[35:21] it's really very basic water construction protocol. The uh the water

[35:28] man and the water services are warrantied for one year. So now after

[35:34] that one year mark uh the customer is responsible from the their property line

[35:39] up to the house. The city is responsible from the property line back to the water

[35:45] man. And so that is very standard practice that has been practiced for

[35:49] many many years. So at some point we do have to turn it back over to the

[35:54] property owner and that is after the one-year warranty is over.

[36:01] » Thank you. Um, please share where the customer

[36:05] service center is. Um, can we talk just inform folks about

[36:10] what how that customer service pro process is working?

[36:15] » Yes, they can they can walk right in at 12 050 Woodward Avenue right at the

[36:21] corner of Woodward and California. Uh, we have a parking lot on the California

[36:26] side and they can come right up to on the first floor as soon as they walk

[36:31] into the lobby. we are directly to the right and uh they can ring the bell and

[36:35] our our fine customer service staff will ask them what they can do for them and

[36:40] and and and uh process any issues they have.

[36:45] » Great. Um there's also the phone number that will that are in the slides and

[36:50] it's also on the website that um that we put in the chat and we'll put that in

[36:54] there again for folks. Um, since underdeveloped properties are charged a

[36:59] water ready fee, which would be the lines

[37:03] which would be the lines and of course a runoff fee. Will underdeveloped

[37:07] properties have the new lines installed and capped until construction is done?

[37:13] » We have no and the the the uh the reason is for uh because of funding and other

[37:20] common sense reasons. uh we we that property may never get developed. Uh

[37:26] someone may come and knock down a an existing home and build a much larger

[37:31] home. So uh if a property is not developed or there is no home there,

[37:38] there will be no service placed there. >> Got it.

[37:43] If someone does not allow the current contractors to replace the lead line,

[37:47] will they still connect that line to the main or will they be without water until

[37:51] it's replaced? >> Well, they they have to uh we have to

[37:56] disconnect any lead line. We will not connect any lead services to our new

[38:03] water man. Uh we will be out of compliance. It would be against the law.

[38:07] And so a a person is encouraged to please join this program so that they

[38:13] can get a new copper service so that we will all be in compliance. I would have

[38:18] to turn the water off and that home would be without water.

[38:23] » What will our water pressure be like after all the lines are installed? The

[38:27] pressure has been very low since this project started.

[38:31] » I'm concerned about that question. could you please have that person uh put

[38:36] something in the chat so that I can find out uh when they experience this low

[38:42] water pressure to answer the question though the water pressure should be much

[38:47] improved uh for in in my line of work there's something

[38:53] that's called C factor and not to get so involved in it it is actually the

[38:57] roughness of the pipe inside of the pipe and so with brand new pipes

[39:03] there will be very little C factor. There'll be a a number of about 60 which

[39:08] is non-existent roughness and so the pressure will be improved.

[39:14] » So so Libby I can I can expand on Ken. So

[39:17] » um we have had uh a number of fluctuations in the

[39:22] pressure um over especially this year uh in the spring uh we were disconnecting

[39:28] emergency connections. We had the master meter project under construction and so

[39:33] pressures were kind of all over the place. Um the master meter project was

[39:38] complete. Two of the three meters were complete in July. The last one was

[39:41] completed uh about a month ago or mid October. And what we're seeing now that

[39:47] we're have a master meter, those pressures are much more sustained than

[39:50] they ever have been in the city. Probably up I don't know five, six,

[39:55] seven, eight, 5 to 10 PSI in the system as a whole. Um that does not mean there

[40:00] are not streets that may still experience plush pressure fluctuations

[40:05] and that could be due to a number of reasons. We're still isolating mains to

[40:09] construct new mains um uh closing valves to do different things. So those

[40:15] pressures are over are are fluctuating and varying but overall I can say since

[40:21] being here since 20 2016 as the water director they're as good as they have

[40:27] been. And part of it is what Ken talked about is the new uh C factors. It's not

[40:32] perfect, right? But it's if you looked at the history and the trajectory, we

[40:37] are much better off than we were several years ago.

[40:42] Thank you. Um what is the project that's happening right now? The step um I think

[40:47] this when we were talking about the steps of the process, the step related

[40:50] to someone knocking on the door and sharing information did not happen.

[40:55] Um well uh I'm I'm going to say that we

[41:01] have complied with all of the city with the state and federal directives. If

[41:06] that person did not get uh have contact made uh please reach out to us either at

[41:14] that number or you can leave your information in the chat so that we can

[41:19] find out what may have been the problem. >> Great. Can can you also put up the

[41:25] schedule the the map that has a schedule on it um just to review the project

[41:30] that's going on right now? >> Yeah, that might be helpful.

[41:38] » Yeah, this one. So, the section that's west of Woodward Avenue is ongoing right

[41:46] now with lead service line replacements. And to the east of Woodward, there's

[41:52] been water main replacements already, but no lead service line replacements

[41:55] yet. So, if you're on the east side of Woodward, uh you wouldn't have had a

[42:00] door knock yet, but you should have received information at your door about

[42:04] this meeting and about the water main replacement happening.

[42:13] All right. Once you contact the homeowner to replace the line, how much

[42:16] time do they have to reply if they're not home?

[42:20] » We we give a uh I I'm not going to say that we uh a a definite number. We have

[42:31] get we have actually given at least a month uh lead time for those who have

[42:38] not responded at least a month. Um Elen or Damon might want to chime in on this.

[42:44] Um we are we are responsible for the 45day

[42:48] notice. So 45 days before the first excavation for the very first lead

[42:56] service replacement is done. we have to notify the entire area. So they get at

[43:02] least 45 days and then several weeks after that to comply.

[43:13] Okay. Um let's see. Right now 1-in connections

[43:18] cost more than a 5/8 in or a 3/4 inch. Will everyone with a 5/8 or 3/4 inch get

[43:24] an increase in their bill um once they have the 1- inch connection?

[43:30] » So, I know Ken would not like to touch that question. So, I will touch this

[43:34] one. So, this has been um an ongoing question and it's been out there for a

[43:40] while. So, I'll just start by saying in the past it was a straight yes was the

[43:45] answer. Yes, it would be uh an increased size meter and it would be an additional

[43:50] ready to serve charge. So, I know people have been not very excited about that.

[43:55] Now, that was prior to all the things that have been happening currently. And

[44:01] so, that was prior to having master meters constructed, right? And why

[44:05] that's important is because right now we are in the process of trying to

[44:10] renegotiate our contract with our water service provider which is GLWA. So the

[44:16] short of that is we have master meters in the ground. We have a more accurate

[44:20] reading of water. So the charges to the city should go down. Okay. So what that

[44:25] means is as you start to look at those charges and those ready to serve charges

[44:31] and this and the charges as a whole, we should be able to provide some relief

[44:36] moving forward. So So I, so really where I sit right now, I would probably answer

[44:42] that question is probably not. The other thing that we got to take into account

[44:47] is the number of aggregate lead service lines being replaced along with the w

[44:53] the the water man. So the ready to serve charges, you know, we're replacing 10

[44:58] miles a year, 14 miles a year. So that as the new water man is constructed, the

[45:06] the in theory the expense with the ready to serve should be going down because

[45:10] you have newer water mane in the ground. So the old answer was yes, it's going

[45:15] up. The new answer is we are trying to work through these things and I'm hoping

[45:21] that by the time that we need to do rate setting um in the next several months

[45:26] that we will be able to not uh increase those uh that ready to serve charge for

[45:31] the 1 in installation. So, it's good news, but in the past it

[45:36] was, yeah, it's going up. And, you know, we've spoken to a number of people. Our

[45:40] our um customer service um specialists have have talked to people about it and

[45:45] and they probably get calls on that all the time. Probably at least several

[45:50] handful a day. But, um you know, we you got to give us time. You know, we we

[45:55] were in this legal battle for 10 years. Now we're in this battle of now that we

[46:00] have more factual information, we need our bill to look different. So we're

[46:05] kind of going through that process now both on the water and sewer side. So

[46:09] when we get through that, um obviously those savings would be shared with the

[46:13] residents. >> Great. Thank you. Um so once we put up

[46:18] the map, there was a question of what's happening on the east side. Um is there

[46:23] any lead service lines happening right now? Um, Barisford to Connecticut. Is

[46:28] that maybe not the same project? >> That's That is actually the same

[46:33] project, but there are not right now any lead service line replacements being

[46:38] done from Beersford to Connecticut. Right now, our crews are concentrating

[46:43] on replacing water manes. And then that's when the after that is completed

[46:49] then the new lead uh the new copper services will be installed. Uh all these

[46:56] properties have gotten 45day notices though. Uh so there has been uh a lot of

[47:04] painstaking processes going taking place to get make

[47:09] sure every home got a 45day notice so that uh team so that the uh neighbors

[47:15] know that we um are coming to replace their water services.

[47:21] » Um and I know I said we were going to save the phone calls to last but Joshua

[47:24] has been very patient. So let's go to take Joshua's call. Um

[47:30] if you want to unmute Josh and go ahead and ask. Thanks.

[47:33] » Uh yeah, so I have a pardon me for my raspy voice. Um but so I've got a few

[47:38] questions. So in terms of notification documentation to a customer three times,

[47:44] three attempts. Uh so the people who are attempting to notify us, so like for

[47:48] instance, this Zoom call uh has a plastic bag with a door handle spot on

[47:53] it, but it was thrown in my yard instead of on my door. Are the people who are

[47:58] notifying us or supposed to be being documented that they came to each

[48:04] property? >> Yes, sir. We are taking pictures of door

[48:09] hangers at on on doors. >> Okay.

[48:13] » So, uh what I'd like you to do, Joshua, is leave your uh address and your phone

[48:19] number so that we can make sure that uh we did document.

[48:23] » Yeah. Well, but for privacy sake, I'd rather not put that in a chat with a

[48:26] bunch of people. You know, I am a Highland Park resident, but

[48:28] » that's no problem. >> So, for the next one, so um like right

[48:31] now, I live on the corner. Well, I'll just I live on the corner right there at

[48:34] 94 Rhode Island on John R. All like this giant hole that's been in

[48:40] front of my property since May that now we're about to hit freezing territory

[48:45] with snow this Sunday. Are they going to fill that with cement or inkind that's

[48:50] not going to set properly? that's going to have to be redug up in the spring.

[48:56] » So, so Joshua, any any restoration that needs to be done during temperatures

[49:01] that are not favorable will be called temporary restoration, right? So, we

[49:06] would not put down concrete that should harden or ashog that should that should

[49:12] be tested during these unfavorable temperatures. So the answer to your

[49:16] question though is that we will fill any holes that are uh unsafe to the motoring

[49:22] or pedestrian public. >> Um so and along that too so like on my

[49:26] property like you know vegetation wise plant-wise you know like I don't just

[49:31] have like mums that are bought from the store. So people, the person who took

[49:34] the video of the property that you had mentioned, who is the professional

[49:38] that's going to be able to identify each plant to do a replace with inindation?

[49:45] » That's a great question. I don't think that we have any horiculturists that are

[49:50] taking the pictures. So what we would do is share that video uh with several

[49:57] people and do our very best to replace what you had there in kind. So I'm

[50:02] assuming you would be part of that process.

[50:05] » Thank you. And then lastly here um so all the documents on the website I

[50:09] noticed were all published on September the 3rd and uh you know like granted

[50:14] notification was supposed to be mentioned but um you know here we are

[50:18] like months months months later after this has started. But on the document

[50:23] page one of them says final notice and it says by June the 18th if you don't

[50:28] respond you're responsible for $10,000. But it does not state the year of June

[50:32] 18th. So is that June 18th of 2025 or is that an open-ended June 18th because

[50:38] some of us haven't been notified?

[50:42] » I'm not Go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Libby. I mean,

[50:45] » no, I was just going to say Elen, if you want to speak to that one really quick.

[50:48] » Yeah, I'll explain that. So, we have drafts of these documents to let

[50:53] residents know the types of information that they should be receiving, but we

[50:59] the ones that are up there right now aren't edited for the specific

[51:02] construction date. So, that that is an error. We will take that down. We'll

[51:06] correct that. That June 18th was not a real date. Um, so that's that

[51:17] » placeholder dates on those documents that are supposed to be updated with

[51:21] each project and street. So like when it would be delivered to your house, you'd

[51:25] have one with an appropriate date. That's just the version that got saved

[51:29] online, unfortunately. Yeah,

[51:31] » that's why I need the clarifier. And lastly,

[51:34] » um, so on Halloween on Friday around 2300, so 11 p.m., uh, so I guess my

[51:40] neighbor's water wasn't on, um, so someone

[51:44] from the water department was asking to come my property to help them out. So

[51:49] I'm wondering if that's more so like the DTE Rochester Hills scam that's going on

[51:52] or if someone from the water department would be available and or contacting me

[51:57] at 11 p.m. on a Friday night. >> So Josh, that could happen. That could

[52:02] happen. We we have a 24-hour group that uh responds to emergencies. So, if your

[52:08] neighbor was having a water emergency, perhaps no water or something like that.

[52:13] Yes, we have we uh we have a group that responds 24/7 to emergencies. So, that

[52:19] is a possibility. Yes, sir. But they should have a badge. They should have a

[52:23] badge. >> Uh yeah, thank you. I appreciate that.

[52:25] And that's all the questions I have. I appreciate your time. Thank you very

[52:28] much. >> Thank you, Joshua. Thanks for your

[52:30] patience on that. Oh, thank you. >> Um, we had another raised hand on the

[52:34] phone, 3132312249.

[52:39] If you still have a question, you can um come off mute and ask

[52:48] » or can we unmute that line? >> I'm looking for it in this long

[52:54] list here. Let me see.

[53:05] I know I don't see it. Um I'll move on to asking another

[53:10] question that was in the chat and then we can try to come back to that one.

[53:14] Um so let's see. I've not had many questions about the

[53:20] why the lead and water manes need to be replaced, but um the historical and

[53:24] educational content was helpful and appreciated. My question is about how

[53:28] the schedule for these activities I think is working. The current um on the

[53:34] ground day-to-day process is not transparent enough. Um knowing when the

[53:38] service teams are coming. Um there's large equipment and portaotties in front

[53:43] of homes and they're placed not very strategically. Um when should we move

[53:47] cars and when not to. Um you know there's just like a lot of things going

[53:52] on. Gas smells, uh dug up driveways. um all these important logistics uh the

[53:59] citizens need to be aware of. >> So we we do our very best to be as

[54:05] transparent as possible. Um, I have a direct line to the mayor's office, uh,

[54:10] where I email almost daily what the activities will be, what water, uh, what

[54:15] streets will have water interruptions because of what we call tie-ins that is

[54:21] connecting the, uh, the the new main to the water source. And so, uh, there are

[54:28] glitches, I'm sure, where, uh, there are parked cars that have to be moved and

[54:34] someone may have to knock on the door or whatnot, but we do our very best to be

[54:39] transparent. If there has been uh reoccurring issues, please uh feel free

[54:46] to contact the water department uh the customer service team and I as the

[54:51] manager will address these as much as as best as possible.

[54:58] » Thank you. Um thanks for raising your hand again on the phone. Um 2249 you can

[55:03] go ahead and um ask your question.

[55:21] I see you went off mute but we can't here.

[55:39] All right. Um maybe try to do the chat or if you can um come off mute. We still

[55:44] can't hear anything. I'm going to move on to the next one. Um is there a

[55:48] strategic reason why the water mane digging started at the beginning of

[55:51] winter?

[55:56] Um I'm not familiar with the the process

[56:00] prior to my coming on board which is which is uh July 1st. I'm going to defer

[56:06] that um uh that to Dana. >> Okay. So we have um been constructing

[56:14] water mane um at we typically so there are there are

[56:21] deadlines and funding requirements that require us to construct water mane in

[56:26] what I call nonoptimum times which would be which would be winter time but if it

[56:32] is um if it is a lighter winter um you know we have been able to continue to

[56:39] construct during the winter with restoration taking uh starting in the

[56:43] spring. So the question earlier was can we accelerate timelines of construction

[56:48] and and and then you know and now you're we have questions about why are we doing

[56:53] in the winter if we only if we didn't do um if we didn't have seasonal

[56:59] limitations on the winter it would take us substantially a substantially longer

[57:03] time to replace the water man. Now granted it's water man so water man has

[57:07] to be tested it has to be pressure tested hydrants have to be flushed so we

[57:12] do have to take all those things into account uh when constructing water mane

[57:18] in colder temperatures um so I mean we wouldn't normally go hardcore on

[57:24] construction in the starting in the winter um winter technically is we still

[57:28] have some time I know we're get starting to get winterlike conditions but we

[57:32] still haven't hit the winter yet So, um, obviously we'd want to do it in the

[57:36] spring, summer, and fall, but we also want to minimize the impact to the

[57:41] residents as soon as possible and take advantage of the funding that we have.

[57:48] » Thank you. Um, 2249, why don't you try again?

[57:53] » Okay. Can you hear me? >> We can. Thank you. Go ahead.

[57:58] » Oh, finally. [laughter] >> Okay. I live on Rhode Island.

[58:04] I'm a senior. I own my home, but I am uh disabled.

[58:10] And so I'm asking what arrangements have been made to service the disabled

[58:19] on these various um uh uh requirements. In other words, uh if some if an

[58:26] appointment is being made, then uh I obviously uh because I am wheelchair

[58:34] bound am not necessarily able to get to the door before somebody leaves

[58:40] and I certainly need to have explanation of a number of things when you're saying

[58:46] that as the uh occupant I need to turn off

[58:52] uh certain um parts of the water system and uh for

[58:58] instance then and in my basement uh I have had weatherization and so uh

[59:06] because some construction will be going on there. I need to be able to speak to

[59:11] someone about that and get get u a complete understanding and uh be able to

[59:18] schedule to have someone here to do the things that need to be done by the of

[59:24] the property owner. And so that is my question. H what is being done or what

[59:31] arrangements have been made to interact with the disabled? And the other thing

[59:37] is I already have a 1-in line. and I've already always had it. It's probably

[59:42] lead, but but uh if it's going to be replaced, you know, that's fine. But

[59:47] these are the kinds of questions uh and and and discussion that I need to have

[59:52] with a representative from um from from this project.

[1:00:00] » Yes, ma'am. And thank you for your question. uh we will do everything in

[1:00:04] our power to make sure that we service you and that we get you a new water

[1:00:10] service uh even if you are disabled. So this is what I'm going to ask that you

[1:00:15] do. Please call our customer service line. You live on Rhode Island, so the

[1:00:20] project uh will move toward your street at a later time. Uh but in the meantime,

[1:00:26] we will make sure that the resources are made available so that we can service

[1:00:31] you and get your line replaced and get your line flushed properly uh and uh and

[1:00:38] do a good job for you. So, please call our customer service line. That will

[1:00:42] probably be forwarded to me. >> All right. Thank you very much. And and

[1:00:47] your name again, please? >> My name is Kenneth Miller.

[1:00:52] » All right, Mr. Miller. Thank you very much. My name is Margaret Lewis.

[1:00:56] » Thank you, Miss Lewis. We'll make sure we take care of you.

[1:01:00] » Thank you very much. >> Thanks for asking the question. Thanks.

[1:01:04] Um, we have someone that is on Massachusetts and has not received the

[1:01:09] 45day notice. Um,

[1:01:14] can we speak to that? >> Yes, we can speak to that. Massachusetts

[1:01:18] was one of the streets that, well, all streets got a 45day notice. Perhaps the

[1:01:23] 45day notice blew off of the door that I have been uh getting some uh some issues

[1:01:33] uh that that where that has been happening. Uh if that person calls our

[1:01:38] customer service line, I will address that as well. I'll make sure that they

[1:01:42] get all of the information that is needed and uh we will do uh uh what we

[1:01:47] need to do to make sure they get a copper service line.

[1:01:51] Thank you.

[1:01:55] All right, let's see. Is there anything else?

[1:02:03] Um, I don't see any other questions. If I missed anything. Oh, wait. Um, who do

[1:02:10] I need to contact for dated um

[1:02:15] for the field representative putting notice on the doors? Um, I'm gonna put a

[1:02:19] link in the chat right now that is um the form where everyone can put their

[1:02:26] contact info without it being public and on this chat. If you fill out this form

[1:02:31] here, um, this should take you

[1:02:38] take you there. I hope that was the right link.

[1:02:43] And it's also asking if you'd like to join any more listening sessions.

[1:02:49] Um, if water manes are replaced on the street and resurfacing is being done,

[1:02:53] your items definitely would be looked into. Oh, thank you, Damon. Sorry, that

[1:02:56] was you. Um, all right. Anything else? Um, Ken, I

[1:03:01] have folks asking for your email.

[1:03:06] » Certainly, they can have my email. K Miller K as in Kev. K. Miller M I L L E

[1:03:13] R at Metro M- T R Oca.net.

[1:03:23] k Miller at metroca.net.

[1:03:28] » I just put that in the chat for folks as well. Oh yeah, a couple of us did.

[1:03:32] » Okay. >> Um let's see. Who should a person call

[1:03:35] if they need a metal plate over their driveway that has been dug up?

[1:03:40] You should give us a call. Just go ahead and give us a call in in customer

[1:03:44] service >> that customer service line.

[1:03:47] » Yep. >> Hi Michelle 8651876.

[1:03:53] » Hi. >> Go ahead.

[1:03:54] » I have a couple questions. Um first of all, you mentioned the 1- inch

[1:04:00] line that's coming into the house. It may change the pricing for the

[1:04:05] um new water that we're going to be getting. Mine has already been done. I'm

[1:04:09] on tennis. But my question is this because my rate did go down even though

[1:04:14] the pipe is larger. I want to know is any of this these funding going to be

[1:04:20] retroactive because we've been paying bills that are hundred over $100 for

[1:04:26] years now since we have not had our own water plant. So now what is going to

[1:04:32] happen that we got this new stuff in and my bill dropped to under, you know, it's

[1:04:40] like 89 now. It's like all those years we've been paying $20 extra a month. Is

[1:04:46] anything going to be done to for us to recoup those monies? Because we weren't

[1:04:50] using that water. And as much as we complain, no one ever addressed that.

[1:04:56] » So no. Um, unfortunately not. Um, we I don't know how much you know about this

[1:05:02] lawsuit that we were in since I don't know 2014.

[1:05:07] And so there are several things that were going on over that 10 11 year

[1:05:11] period that impacted what you said. Um, so I can't there's not any retroactive

[1:05:16] or refund available uh that I know of. And you know what we're doing trying to

[1:05:21] work through right now is uh still address that in um what we're calling a

[1:05:27] credit um and with with GLWA because we do we can now accurately because rates

[1:05:35] were said there was all kinds of things that were going on based on these

[1:05:38] estimates that um they perceived our water use to be. So now that we have

[1:05:43] accurate readings by the minute of what our water use is, we'll be able to

[1:05:48] address it in the present, but we will not unfortunately be able to do anything

[1:05:52] about the past. >> Okay, that does and see and that's where

[1:05:58] I have a real issue because Gleewood is charging us. You guys are charging us

[1:06:04] and no one is saying to the customer that we're going to refund any of this.

[1:06:09] You're saying for all of these vacant properties, cuz there are several on my

[1:06:13] block, that if someone decides to buy those properties that they're not going

[1:06:17] to they're going to have to spend at least $10,000 to have a hookup. So,

[1:06:22] you're basically saying to anyone, come into Highland Park, buy a vacant lot,

[1:06:27] and add on 10 grand to whatever it is that you want to put on there if it

[1:06:31] happens to be a property. And I don't mean to be, you know, the the devil's

[1:06:36] advocate, but I am, you know, because I think that this is wrong and that these

[1:06:40] houses had lines that went there. If nothing else, you should have been able

[1:06:43] to set up a line so that it would be capped and a person could connect

[1:06:48] without costing them that much money. I'll let that go. My other question is

[1:06:52] regarding um the the timeline because I went to a couple

[1:06:59] meetings with uh Elen and a lot of the notifications were not provided to

[1:07:05] residents on this block. Um so I don't I hope that that can be

[1:07:10] improved for the those people who are getting new services. I don't have any

[1:07:15] problem with the service outside of the fact that I had someone come in to do

[1:07:18] the inspection. I told them while the process was going on that I

[1:07:24] had a leak that was coming into my house. They came, they put some extra

[1:07:27] stuff in on the wall portion of it. It's still leaking. When the gentleman, first

[1:07:33] name is Doug. I don't have his card right in front of me now, but he came in

[1:07:37] and said that he would address that. No one has contacted me since. So, I still

[1:07:42] have a leak that's coming into my basement. It's not as bad as it was

[1:07:45] originally, but it's still there. So, can someone contact me about that? Um,

[1:07:52] at the other my last point is they replaced our grass and they've covered

[1:07:57] it and the grass seeds appear to be growing in some spots where the netting

[1:08:02] has come off, but it is like peach fuzz. First of all, the grass is the seeds

[1:08:08] that they put down. It's like you're putting them down in the winter. I mean,

[1:08:12] basically fall winter. and the potential for them to grow and survive, I think,

[1:08:17] is going to be slim to none. So, are they going to do anything about that

[1:08:20] next year if we don't have grass on our properties?

[1:08:26] » Uh, thank you for the question, Michelle. Um, I'm familiar with Doug.

[1:08:30] So, let me ask answer the first part um the first question that that you asked

[1:08:35] about uh the the leak on your property. Do you live what street do you live on?

[1:08:40] » I live on Tennyson between Woodward and John.

[1:08:43] » All right. we will have that contractor returned to make sure that they take

[1:08:48] care of that leak. What I need you to do, Michelle, is to call our customer

[1:08:52] service line and um I'm hoping that you have that number and we have it

[1:08:57] available in the chat so we can get that taken care of. Is the water getting

[1:09:01] away? It is not damaging anything. Correct.

[1:09:04] » I don't know. >> All right. We'll make sure we we'll make

[1:09:09] sure we'll handle the leak. >> All right. Um, as far as the grass is

[1:09:14] concerned, uh, we leave, uh, we we do our very best to, uh, Michelle froze up.

[1:09:22] I don't know if she's still able to hear me.

[1:09:24] » I hear I can hear you. Fine. >> All right. As far as the grass is

[1:09:27] concerned, uh, we do what is called, uh, seeding and mulching. And, uh, we we

[1:09:33] we're asking our our our, uh, neighbors to partner with us and to water that,

[1:09:39] uh, during the summer months. um we will not we will not place seeds that will

[1:09:45] not grow during the winter months. So there is a cut off date for the seeds uh

[1:09:51] that that are put down. So it it will not be put down uh during the winter or

[1:09:58] even the late fall. There's a cut off date.

[1:10:00] » Okay. What is the cut off date since you're saying you didn't put them down

[1:10:03] and we just had this stuff done within the past month?

[1:10:07] » Yeah, October 15th is the cut off date. Okay. So, if it if it was put down

[1:10:13] before October the 15th and it doesn't grow, then who do we we contact you

[1:10:16] again as well? Is that correct? >> You can you can give me a call. We'll

[1:10:20] we'll talk about it.

[1:10:25] » Okay. Uh, the other thing that I I wanted to

[1:10:30] address is signage needs to be improved significantly because, you know, to wake

[1:10:36] up in the morning to have a truck blocking your driveway, you know,

[1:10:39] because they're going to do work on it and you not be have no any clue that

[1:10:44] this is what's going to happen is, I think, unconscionable. You know, you

[1:10:49] have to wait in order to go somewhere because you got to you got to get a guy

[1:10:52] to move a truck that they parked and just left, but it's in front of your

[1:10:56] driveway. So yes ma'am we we can we can improve that process. Yes ma'am. And uh

[1:11:02] I will I will I I know the contract that it works on tennis and and I will uh

[1:11:07] address that uh that as well but I mean now that it's over but I'm saying for

[1:11:13] future reference if you guys need some pointers about you know kind of give

[1:11:19] people an opportunity to get out of their driveways and notify them that

[1:11:22] you're going to be working on XYZ date. Uh the other thing is you said that

[1:11:26] there going to be other meetings because some of the residents that I notified

[1:11:30] were not able to connect via the um information or the barcode that was

[1:11:35] provided. So, are when are those meetings supposed to be scheduled? And

[1:11:40] um will they still just notify those people to inform? Like I was a former

[1:11:45] block club president, so I notified everybody that I had uh contact with on

[1:11:49] my block, you know, but will there be some sort of notification that goes out

[1:11:53] to all of the citizens who are being affected by this? because I don't think

[1:11:57] that it's the responsibility of a black club president unless they are active to

[1:12:03] be you know given this this task even though it's like okay I had I have most

[1:12:08] of my the most of the members on this block between Woodward and John are I

[1:12:13] had information for them so that I could contact them but you know uh this is

[1:12:17] something that really should be you know publicized more uh for the residents to

[1:12:23] participate in >> I understand I will defer to others to

[1:12:27] talk about the future uh meetings. Uh it was uh communicated on this the

[1:12:33] beginning of this meeting that there will be future meetings and uh I'll

[1:12:36] defer to others to uh give you some detail about that.

[1:12:40] » Thank you. >> Yeah, we're going to be we haven't

[1:12:44] scheduled those yet. we're kind of working with the contractor to figure

[1:12:48] out their schedule to make sure that we're um syncing with their their

[1:12:52] schedule um moving forward so that we're addressing the neighborhoods where

[1:12:58] they're going to be working. So um those dates are not yet announced. Um we

[1:13:03] delivered invitations to each of the homes on the current project for this

[1:13:08] meeting. um try to push out to social media and uh share through the mayor's

[1:13:15] email list. Um we will do that again for the next meeting. If you have

[1:13:19] suggestions of other of places where we've missed that we need to get it out

[1:13:24] to, we would love to hear from you. Um so please please let us know um where we

[1:13:30] should be sharing that that we haven't gotten already.

[1:13:33] I don't know if you put a notice on the city hall water department because that

[1:13:38] would have been one of the starting places. I was there last week and I

[1:13:41] didn't see anything regarding this meeting.

[1:13:44] » Okay, good point. Well, we'll make sure we get that.

[1:13:49] » Thank you, Michelle. >> Thank you.

[1:13:53] » Um I had a hand raised from 31330

[1:13:58] 8355. Sorry, I missed a number in there. um if

[1:14:02] you want to go off mute or I can try to unmute you and um go ahead with your

[1:14:06] question.

[1:14:18] » Go ahead. >> Yes. My question I came in late. Um,

[1:14:23] » I wanted to know is there a fee that we were supposed to pay so we wouldn't have

[1:14:27] the $10,000 uh bill for putting up that lead line from the street to the house?

[1:14:36] Thank you for your question and uh I would like to say to you that uh we will

[1:14:41] re be replacing your lead service with a new copper service for free and doing

[1:14:50] all the restoration and taking all the per taking care of all the permits. Uh

[1:14:54] if you are fall if you fall within our program area, um do you mind me asking

[1:15:00] you what street you live on and what are the boundaries?

[1:15:05] » Connecticut between Rush and um Oakland. >> This will be 100% free. Please uh follow

[1:15:15] through with uh the customer service or with the contractor that knocks your

[1:15:20] door. Thank you.

[1:15:25] » Um, William McKini, I see your hand. If you want to unmute and go ahead,

[1:15:43] » sorry about that. Um my question was uh I I my car had dropped earlier and uh I

[1:15:51] was wondering if if that included I know unimproved properties but what about

[1:15:55] properties with vac the house is vacant but um livable I have my mother's house

[1:16:01] is on Connecticut also and uh that's a property I don't have anybody in but um

[1:16:07] I don't you know I'd like to have the lead line changed.

[1:16:12] Thank you for your question, Mr. McKenna. Um, we are replacing the the uh

[1:16:19] lead water services on Connecticut free of charge. So, yes, you would fall

[1:16:24] within this uh program as long as your uh account is uh still active. Um we

[1:16:34] will do the replacement. >> I don't have I don't have That's what

[1:16:38] I'm saying. I had the I had the water turned off a few years ago because I

[1:16:42] didn't feel I should pay $75 a month just for for no service.

[1:16:47] » Understood. Understood. But the account is still active. You just have the water

[1:16:52] turned off. Please respond. Yes, please respond to our uh to us reaching out to

[1:16:58] you and we're going to replace that water service.

[1:17:01] » Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. And I had one more thing in

[1:17:07] the chat that I didn't ask. Um, if you own multiple properties on different

[1:17:10] streets, how does the 45 45day notification work? I've only received

[1:17:15] notice on a property that I live in, but not the others. A tenant is not going to

[1:17:19] know what's going on. Um,

[1:17:23] » well, um, we have we have issued 45day notices to everyone in the project. Um,

[1:17:31] so if uh and and and that is at every residence. So, um, what I would do if I

[1:17:38] were you is uh please contact customer service first of all to make sure that

[1:17:43] your tenant knows that uh if they fall in the project area, we will be

[1:17:48] replacing the water service. Um, and uh because you received the notice, then we

[1:17:54] are hoping that you also respond uh so that we can replace yours. Um,

[1:18:02] I am hopeful that the tenant is in our project area because there have been

[1:18:06] areas that we have left and so that area would possibly

[1:18:12] uh would have to be replaced uh at the owner's cost. I don't and I I don't have

[1:18:18] any information on where the where the tenant may live.

[1:18:26] » They're saying yes, they're in the project area.

[1:18:29] Okay, we we will we will reach out to uh more than likely uh we have the owner's

[1:18:37] uh information. So during the call uh we would contact the owner about both

[1:18:43] properties.

[1:18:49] » Um all right, I see your hand from uh phone number 2249. if you want to uh

[1:18:55] unmute and go ahead.

[1:19:04] » Can you hear me? >> Yes.

[1:19:08] » Okay. I just want to ask a question regarding mail that I have been

[1:19:13] receiving from two or three companies saying uh that they offer a um uh like

[1:19:22] an insurance for the um the uh the line coming to the

[1:19:28] house and uh uh asking for like $14 a month to to uh uh ensure the uh any work

[1:19:41] that has to be done on the line. And my question is

[1:19:47] um number one if these are are are just scams and number two will if we want to

[1:19:56] have insurance on the line it should we wait until after the one-year warranty a

[1:20:04] a uh has has expired.

[1:20:10] So uh to answer your very first question, Metro Consulting Associates is

[1:20:16] not sponsoring any insurance or insurance company for the replacement of

[1:20:22] these lines uh or to ensure these lines. Uh if you choose to get insurance, it

[1:20:28] would uh wholly be up to you. Um I will also just say this based on experience.

[1:20:35] I've been doing this for some time. very very very few brand new services leak.

[1:20:43] So take that into consideration. >> Thank you very much.

[1:20:52] » All right. Anything else? Um if I miss anything, if you'd like to put it back

[1:20:56] in the chat, go ahead. Um or raise your hand.

[1:21:06] » And I have some final poll questions. I can put those up right now.

[1:21:09] » Yeah, why don't you go ahead and put those up.

[1:21:12] » Okay. So, um, two questions here. Um, how well

[1:21:18] informed do you feel about what to expect during your lead service line

[1:21:21] replacement and what type of format would be best for future community

[1:21:25] meetings?

[1:21:29] » Um, we also have the question, does the city of Highland Park get paid um like

[1:21:34] make a commission when residents sign up? I think that's about the um home

[1:21:39] serve insurance. Um but you're saying no, Highland Park

[1:21:44] is not connected to them in any way. Okay.

[1:21:46] » Metro Consulting Associates is not endorsing anyone's insurance.

[1:21:52] » Thank you. And another note on that, if you are

[1:21:56] interested in service line insurance, you can also contact your current home

[1:22:00] insurance and ask for what it would cost to add a rider for your service line

[1:22:04] because sometimes that is available and less expensive.

[1:22:11] » You repeat that, Elen. So, if you are interested in service line insurance, um

[1:22:18] you might be able to contact your current home insurance provider and get

[1:22:21] an extra rider um instead of going to the separate company for that insurance

[1:22:26] policy. Um so, I do that at my house and it

[1:22:31] costs less than that home serve uh insurance policy.

[1:22:39] So, I'm going to end that poll and share the results. Um, so we've we've got a

[1:22:47] mix here that it seems like people have learned something here, but um we're

[1:22:51] we're going to keep working on uh doing better informing the community about the

[1:22:55] program. And um we've got a a mix of in person um and online for future

[1:23:02] meetings, but we are we will definitely be having at least one inerson meeting

[1:23:06] and possibly more online. Um so we've uh if you have more questions about the um

[1:23:15] lead service line replacement program um call the customer service center. So

[1:23:20] that number is up here again. Um, our blood service line replacement uh

[1:23:25] website is also here and um there's that Google form that was uh in the chat.

[1:23:33] Maybe we can drop it. Yeah, right. One more time in the chat. Uh we are going

[1:23:39] to be having some more um listening sessions in the future with small groups

[1:23:44] in person. If you think you might be interested in participating in that, you

[1:23:48] uh let us know through that uh form. just fill that out and we'll contact you

[1:23:52] about scheduling those future meetings. >> Um Joshua's hand went right up at the

[1:23:59] end. Um did you have something to add Joshua?

[1:24:02] » Uh yeah, I just have a question. So in regards to the home serve that the um

[1:24:06] you know like we're getting letters from this company like insure your house park

[1:24:11] XYZ get a discount when you sign up for six months and then pardon me uh to not

[1:24:18] slaughter your last name. So, I'll just say Miss Aaron, you know, and you're

[1:24:21] like, that's what I do through my home insurance is I add the service line

[1:24:26] thing. Like, why isn't that being communicated to us? Like, hey, there's

[1:24:30] this thing that you could do possibly through your own home insurance, but if

[1:24:34] not, then you could be like, sign up for this. Like, why is it being sent to us

[1:24:39] and making us feel like we're receiving scam mail?

[1:24:44] Is it spam mail or is this is it just like marketing mail from a insurance

[1:24:48] company? >> It's marketing mail from an insurance

[1:24:51] company. So like MCA Damon, correct me if I'm wrong. You

[1:24:56] there there's not you can't stop them from advertising their product.

[1:25:04] I think >> that's all right. So I mean I'm sure

[1:25:07] that uh you know those whom live in hiring park if anybody does who works

[1:25:10] for anybody on this ad in the administration of this call you know you

[1:25:15] would understand that that's happening but you know like it's genuine inquiry.

[1:25:18] So we would have not known that we could have contacted our homeowners insurance

[1:25:23] to even ask to add a line replacement because nothing is being communicated.

[1:25:28] None of those documents are on the website until September the 3rd. Nothing

[1:25:33] is like there's none. So, how would we know, you know, and like as there people

[1:25:37] have inquiried about is like it's like we're being robbed for real. Like it's

[1:25:42] like you want that $10,000 to pay for the Gleewa insurance like lawsuit going

[1:25:46] on. And I'm going leave it at that. Thank you.

[1:25:53] Yeah, I can feel the frustration. Um, yeah, just clarifying that that's

[1:25:59] marketing mail. the the insurance thing is not a necessary thing that anyone

[1:26:03] would need. It would be for your own peace of mind and you know um a total

[1:26:09] optional thing. Um but maybe it's fair to put on um the FAQ. We can add things

[1:26:15] to the FAQ to be like we are in no way affiliated with home serve. Um that

[1:26:20] would be helpful to add to the FAQ and we can add that to the documentation.

[1:26:26] Um William McKini, do you have final thoughts as well?

[1:26:42] No disrespect to interrupt, but like Janice that's a great question like why

[1:26:45] is it on Highland Park letterhead if it's marketing mail home surge

[1:26:49] insurance? >> Good question.

[1:26:56] » I don't know if anyone can speak to that.

[1:26:59] So this this so home serve is there are people in the city who are insured by

[1:27:05] homes serve. Um they have come to uh council meetings and presented what

[1:27:12] they're going to do. So it's not truly just like hey I went to the mailbox and

[1:27:17] it's just random. Okay. So there are there are options if you want to ensure

[1:27:20] your your sewer lateral if you want to ensure your copper service line your

[1:27:24] lead service line or your new copper service line. They are a legitimate

[1:27:28] company. They do this. They do this across the country. You can sign up for

[1:27:31] them. You can say, "Don't don't mail me anymore. I want to do it through my

[1:27:35] home, my own homeowners insurance." So, there are options to you. And you're

[1:27:38] right. No. Um, we did not or have not communicated to to residents that they

[1:27:44] can do it through their own homeowners insurance. So, note well noted there,

[1:27:48] but it's not this um it's not this out of the blue company that's showing up,

[1:27:54] you know, sending scam mail. So, I I just want to clarify that it is a

[1:27:57] legitimate program. People do sign up, but you have to weigh your options. Is

[1:28:01] it cheaper to do that or is it cheaper to do your homeown insurance? I I don't

[1:28:04] know what your personal situation is. >> Well, listen, I I understand that, but

[1:28:07] it still doesn't answer the question. Why is Highland Park letterhead on it?

[1:28:10] And I actually contacted the president of city council who live across the

[1:28:13] street from me to ask, yo, what is this and why am I getting this? So, please

[1:28:17] answer that question. Why is Highland Park letterhead on the initial

[1:28:20] documentation from Homeserve? The answer that I have for you is that

[1:28:26] is that it may have been um supported by the it's first of all it's it shouldn't

[1:28:32] technically probably shouldn't be on Highland Park letterhead because we

[1:28:35] Highland Park does not offer the insurance program. Okay. So that's

[1:28:39] number one. Um I'm not I don't I don't really know why it's on that on the

[1:28:44] letterhead but Highland Park is not offering that insurance. I think it has

[1:28:48] something to do with they came in and the water department is supporting that

[1:28:52] as a way for people to get their service lines and not have to bear the the cost.

[1:28:56] I mean, I think the the spirit of that is where it's at. So, that's that's my

[1:29:01] answer to the question. We're not Highland Park Water Department

[1:29:05] is not an insurance company, so we can't offer insurance programs.

[1:29:12] Um, Juan is maybe this is helpful what Juan's saying in the chat that um the

[1:29:17] city of Highland Park authorized the usage of the info and usage of the

[1:29:20] Highland Park logo years ago um under a former administration um

[1:29:27] I can't speak to that or if that's true but um Juan is very well connected and

[1:29:32] longtime resident. Um how long is the information in the

[1:29:37] chat available after the Zoom meeting is over? There are multiple links, emails,

[1:29:41] and info that people may want. Um, this link with the the bit.ly link that I'll

[1:29:48] put in here again. Um,

[1:29:53] that's the way if you put your info there, we'll give you the slides and all

[1:29:57] the um links for your reference. >> And we'll also post it on that the lead

[1:30:04] service line replacement website. Yeah, everything will be there as well, which

[1:30:08] I can put in again here as well to bring that back to the bottom.

[1:30:18] All right. Anything else? Um, before we end it for the night,

[1:30:30] 2249 has their hand raised.

[1:30:35] Um 2249, you want to add anything else? Go for it.

[1:30:40] » Can you hear me? >> Yep. Go ahead.

[1:30:43] » Okay. I just want to um support the the uh young man's statement, I

[1:30:50] think it was Mr. McKenna that some of this um marketing insurance

[1:30:57] um um letter lettering has been on the

[1:31:04] Highland Park letterhead. Mhm.

[1:31:08] » So, you know, this since it is not uh from from Highland Park, I do think that

[1:31:16] uh the program uh ought to take it to council and make sure that this

[1:31:22] marketing is not on Highland Park letterhead, making us Highland Parkers

[1:31:29] think it is coming from the city. >> I agree.

[1:31:34] Thank you. Mhm. Thank you.

[1:31:41] » All right. I dropped those last two links. The website um where you can

[1:31:45] download all the information um the FAQ which we'll update um after this meeting

[1:31:50] to add any of these questions. We can add those there. Um fill out the form if

[1:31:55] you want to ask any other questions or get any slides sent to you. You can also

[1:32:00] uh sign up for any listening sessions. We'll do some smaller group listening

[1:32:04] sessions in the future. Um, and that's also a way just to add your email to the

[1:32:10] list and make sure you get notified for future meetings. Um, when is the next

[1:32:13] meeting? We don't have one scheduled just yet. There is the town hall on

[1:32:17] November 20th. Um, which will just be a general town hall. Um, but that would be

[1:32:24] the next time that you could um be in person.

[1:32:30] Otherwise, um >> I'm sorry, Miss

[1:32:33] » Customer service number. Go ahead, >> Miss Co. I have one last question. So,

[1:32:37] um just like with the June the 18th, the placement date that you have on the

[1:32:41] final notice documentation currently, when is that going to be changed?

[1:32:48] » Good question. Elen, can you speak to that?

[1:32:50] » Can we on this call and Highland Parkers have the dates changed and like insert

[1:32:56] here be placed where a placeholder date is instead of actual date? So we're not

[1:33:00] confused. >> Totally. Yes.

[1:33:03] » Yep. Yep. Those were templates and we'll work on getting the project specific um

[1:33:09] documents on the website >> within the next week.

[1:33:12] » I feel like work on is still too long. You know what I'm saying? Like can you

[1:33:15] right now guarantee me that by next Friday it's going to be changed.

[1:33:19] » That's what I just said. Next week. >> Thank you.

[1:33:29] All right,

[1:33:33] thanks everyone. Um, >> thank you.

[1:33:38] » Thanks. Um, yeah, fill out those forms if you want to be in touch. Um, that

[1:33:43] customer service line is the way to ask any questions in the meantime. And then

[1:33:47] November 20th is the town

11/6 - Highland Park Virtual Lead Service Line Replacement Community Meeting

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