[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