Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLIGHTCOMM MIN01262009 Mansfield Municipal Electric Department Minutes of Light Commissioners Meeting January 26, 2009 ,~~ [1 ~- ,:., ,- '-\ C E , ur r l C] /\ C: Li 1 Present: Chairman Ann Baldwin; Vice Chairman Jess Aptowitz; Clerk Kevin Moriln; Commissioner George Dentino; Commissioner Sandra Levine; Director Gary Babin~ El1gineer Chris Cox; Engineer Ann Langille; Line Foreman Gary D'Ambra; Staff AccountantKen Thomson; Financial Assistant Jacqueline Lee and Town Manager John D' Agostino Light Commissioners Meeting The meeting was called to order at 7 :00 PM followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Response to Citizen Complaint Chairman Baldwin stated that the Light Commissioners would be addressing the customer complaint made at the December 15, 2008 meeting regarding work that was done at the site of Clinical Science Laboratory. Clerk Moran reiterated the fact that he has a relative who is employed by Clinical Science Laboratory and that he has filed the necessary disclosure. Director Babin stated that at the December 15 Light Commissioners meeting, William Clemmey filed a complaint, voicing his concerns about work that he believed to have been inappropriately done for Clinical Science Laboratory. At the January 14, 2009 Light Commissioners meeting, the MMED staff responded with an executive summary. On January 15, a full report was released and made available at the library to the public. Director Babin addressed a prior question as to why the report was unsigned. He explained that it was prepared by the MMED staff just as the monthly Board packages are. He noted that none of the information submitted in the Board packages is signed and have not been since he started working for the town in 2004. He indicated that the report was being submitted on behalf of the staff who prepared it. Director Babin then explained that although it appeared that parts of Attachment 16 were blacked out, they were not. They were actually parts of highlighted text and that is the way they came out when they were copied. Director Babin then reviewed Attachment 2 which showed 51 Francis Ave. prior to the work being done and Attachment 3 which showed the facility after the work had been completed. He said it was determined during site work that the switch and high voltage cable were on Turner Brothers property. MMED did ultimately get an easement that included the switch but not the cable because the switch was integrated into the design to supply Cedar Heights. Director Babin told the Board that in 2002 the Light Department notified Clinical Science Laboratory that the transformer serving the building was going to be replaced due to a ~.~.,....,.....,_"...,.,,,o_,_,...,,"..~..,..__,.__......-.._...,_..._-"'~~....._~,.,.__ " 1 ..._".____~~_,_,_..._"'_""'"'~".'_"."'~~_..,.._,...'O"._,.,,"-"" .,,---"- ---- problem with rodents causing outages but that the work was never done (Attachment 13). He also said there was no violation of Article 300, as was stated in the complaint, because Clinical Science Laboratory never requested a new service or an upgrade to the existing service. Director Babin also pointed out that the electric service going into the Clinical Science Laboratory building is exactly the same now as it has been for the last several years. Director Babin said once it was determined that MMED had no easement for high voltage facilities on Turner Brothers property, that MMED requested one but that the Turner Brothers would not grant an easement to MMED. The switch, however, eventually became integrated into the design for Cedar Heights and MMED did procure an easement that included the switch. Director Babin told the Board that MMED was required to obtain three permits to facilitate the work: a Utility Plant Extension permit, a Street Opening Permit and a Negative Request for Determination of Applicability from the Conservation Commission, all of which MMED did obtain. Director Babin explained that the overall design that MMED had adopted in cooperation with the Cedar Heights personnel addressed both the service requirements for Cedar Heights and for the transformer replacement at Clinical Science Laboratory. He noted that three customers had been affected by the design; National Lumber, Cedar Heights and Clinical Science Laboratory. He said that when the transformer supplying Clinical Science Laboratory was relocated it was downsized from a 225 kVa to a 150 kVa, which is much more efficient, to more properly serve the load. He said that MMED also had access issues with the Clinical Science Laboratory transformer, then located behind the building, which were addressed by relocating the transformer to the property line. Director Babin then explained that MMED and Cedar Heights agreed on the design that required a second switch. A significant advantage of the second switch is that it gives MMED the ability to serve any future load additions on Francis Avenue without adding additional switching equipment. The design also created spare conduit capacity from the relocated transformer to accommodate a future streetlight upgrade on Francis Avenue. He reiterated that the existing service into the Clinical Science Laboratory building, which is comprised of the customer owned cable and conduit from the old transformer pad into the building, is the same as it always has been. Director Babin reminded the Board of the Quad 3 projects MMED had performed. He stated that based on the close proximity of the transformer to the Clinical Science Laboratory building, the transformer could also have been moved based on the criteria used in assessing Quad 3 locations. He noted the project was not done by MMED for this reason, however. Director Babin explained that Clinical Science Laboratory had worked with MMED on three things; land clearing, granting of an easement and coordinating the outage to switch over to the new transformer. 2 "II ..... 'm'.._-....._~_."._,"""'~~,~........_. Director Babin then told the Board that Bay State Piping performed the trenching work associated with the project but never invoiced MMED for the cost of the work. This mistake was realized at the end of2008 when the staff was pulling together the cost of the project after Mr. Clemmey filed his complaint. Director Babin believed MMED didn't pick up on Bay State's error because MMED had processed numerous Bay State Piping invoices for other work done under the contract and MMED did not realize this invoice had not been submitted. Once the error was found, MMED contacted Bay State and inquired as to why they had never received a bill. Bay State provided a letter to MMED (Attachment 19 to the MMED report) indicating that due to a changeover in Bay State's billing system for how they handled MMED projects under the contract, this project was not billed because of Bay State's internal accounting error. Director Babin pointed out that a mistake on Bay State Piping's part doesn't mean that MMED did something improper. With regard to why MMED performed the project, Director Babin reiterated that if a property owner does not wish to have MMED facilities that serve an adjacent customer on their property, they have the right to request that MMED remove its facilities if there is no easement legally allowing those facilities to be located there. Director Babin said that the staff who prepared the report agreed that no impropriety occurred in the performance of the work and that they stand by what they did. Commissioner Levine thanked Director Babin for making the report readable and understandable. She said that she read it from cover to cover and thoroughly understood it. She doesn't believe that anything was omitted. Clerk Moran commented that in December 2002, a quote was issued to Clinical Science Laboratory for work to be done to their service but this was not the work that MMED ended up actually doing. Director Babin clarified that it was not a quote but a range of costs for work to be considered. He stated that the work being considered was adding a second transformer and a second separate service into the building but that Clinical Science Laboratory never followed up and the work outlined in the December 2002 letter was never performed. Clerk Moran questioned how much work Bay State Piping did during that time. Director Babin said they had actually won a public bid and were awarded a contract for construction services over a 2 year period, during which time they performed numerous projects for MMED. Clerk Moran stated that the original work at Clinical Science Laboratory was done 25 years ago. He wondered if there were any records from that time showing that the power line was located on that portion of the property. Director Babin answered that the staff could find no information about the original project in their files. 3 " Clerk Moran said he did have concerns about the low voltage cable that had been installed on Clinical Science Laboratory's property. He then commented that Director Babin had given other examples of locations where MMED did this very type of installation at their own cost (Attachments 20, 21 and 22 of the MMED report). Vice Chairman Aptowitz referred to Attachment 4 (Article 300) which made references to Section 309. He pointed out that the Board should have been given the entire Article 300 and that what they had been given was not complete. Director Babin said that he would make copies of the entire section and would distribute them to all the Board members. Vice Chairman Aptowitz noted that in the date which was written on Attachment 12, a lineman's outage report, the year had been omitted by the lineman. Director Babin said that "2003" had been penciled in at the top by Engineer Cox based on his research. Vice Chairman Aptowitz then referred to Attachment 13 which was a letter to Lou Amoruso from former Light Department Director Jack Beliveau. Vice Chairman Aptowitz pointed out that it did say there would be no charge for the transformer but that Mr. Amoruso would be responsible for the service entrance, a new main switch and any other work within the building. Vice Chairman Aptowitz asked if he had a piece of commercial property, if it would be the responsibility of MMED to bring in the power. Director Babin answered that it was the responsibility of the developer if they were requesting service from MMED. Vice Chairman Aptowitz said he would have like to have seen an opinion from the Building Inspector on the installation. Director Babin said that MMED staff will be meeting with the Building Department to clarify MMED's authority to perform the work it had done. Commissioner Dentino questioned the part of the Executive Summary which said MMED was "required" to relocate the facilities. He wondered who required that. Director Babin said that the facilities serving Clinical Science Laboratory were on Turner Brothers property and that MMED did not have an easement. The owner wanted MMED's facilities off the property so they had to be moved. Commissioner Dentino stated that this situation was created by an owner who subdivided his own property. He did not believe that it was MMED's obligation to see that there was an easement. He believed that to be the responsibility of the buyer and the seller. Director Babin said that MMED routinely pursues customers for easements. He said that since his arrival in 2004, MMED has been responsible for preparing and recording all easements for MMED equipment because MMED owns the facilities. Commissioner Dentino asked if there had been any plan proposed by Turner Brothers that had been reviewed by the Light Department. Director Babin said he was not aware of one. Commissioner Dentino said that the report mentioned that significant benefits had been gained. He wondered what those were. Director Babin said one benefit was that the transformer serving Clinical Science Laboratory was replaced as it had been planned to do 4 ~ since 2002; another benefit was that the Clinical Science Laboratory transformer was moved closer to the property line to eliminate MMED problems with access; a third benefit was that there was spare switch capacity created from which MMED could feed a future load on Francis Avenue and finally, that conduit availability was created which could be used later for a possible streetlight upgrade on Francis Avenue. Commissioner Dentino then questioned the last paragraph on page three of the Executive Summary where it referred to a "fundamental change". Director Babin explained that it referred to Switch I where Cedar Heights initially wanted the switch removed. Based on a design agreed upon with Cedar Heights representatives, however, the switch was incorporated as part of the design to supply Cedar Heights. MMED was allowed to keep the switch on the property and was granted an easement that included the switch. Commissioner Dentino noted that Article 300 was for new development and that this wasn't new construction. Director Babin agreed that this section did not apply to the Clinical Science Laboratory situation. Commissioner Dentino referred to Attachment 13 which was the December 2, 2002 letter from Jack Beliveau to Lou Amoruso. He said that it appeared that Clinical Science Laboratory had contacted MMED because there had been a problem and the Light Department Director went there and said the transformer should be replaced. Commissioner Dentino pointed out that there was one outage prior to the letter being written and one afterwards. He said that at that time the suggestion was made to put in a single phase transformer, not to relocate it, just change it. The letter indicated an estimated cost of $10,000 to $20,000 to put in a single phase transformer. Director Babin clarified that adding a second transformer that operated at a different voltage was suggested in the letter, meaning that 2 transformers would supply the building to address the problem. He thought that was the quoted cost for the work of the Light Department as well as the cost of the interior work. Commissioner Dentino was not in agreement with that. He said that some of the Light Department work was free and that the $10,000 to $20,000 was the cost ofthe modification of what was needed inside the building. Commissioner Dentino referred to page 5, paragraph 2, noting that MMED got the permit after the work was done. A representative of the Conservation Committee went down to investigate after a complaint had been made. Director Babin noted that a negative determination had still been issued. Commissioner Dentino requested an itemized breakdown of Bay State Piping's work and MMED's work. Director Babin referred him to Attachment 17 which is an estimate from Bay State Piping from April 26, 2006 and Attachment 18 which shows MMED's costs. He believed them to be very detailed. Commissioner Dentino questioned how MMED received an estimate from Bay State Piping but not an invoice simply because Bay State Piping changed billing codes and had an accounting problem. Director Babin reiterated that Bay State Piping said they made a mistake but that didn't mean MMED did something wrong. Commissioner Dentino noted that the Clemmey complaint generated the search for this invoice but wondered why MMED didn't pick up on it earlier. He asked what MMED's process is for paying invoices. He wondered if 5 , there shouldn't have been a purchase order. Director Babin said he didn't believe a purchase order had been issued because the work had been done in accordance with unit pricing set forth in a public bid that had been awarded to Bay State. Commissioner Dentino firmly believes the relocation of this service was related to the subdividing of the property and to give the owner the ability to continue using the switch, utilizing it for the primary service to the building. He stated that the person selling the land created this problem. Director Babin said that the facilities involved were owned by MMED and it was MMED's responsibility to get the easement, as it has been in numerous other cases. He believes that what MMED did was consistent with past practices, policies and procedures. Commissioner Dentino pointed out that he could subdivide some land, sell it then demand that MMED continue to provide service. He wondered if anyone could provide another example of this. He couldn't understand how MMED put this entire system in without having an easement. He also wondered if MMED should have even used Bay State Piping. He asked who put the wires in. Director Babin said that MMED installed the cable and Bay State performed only the excavation work. Chairman Baldwin asked why Attachment 18 didn't have an invoice number or a date. Director Babin explained that was the form MMED uses to summarize job costs but that Attachment 18 wasn't actually sent as an invoice. Chairman Baldwin inquired as to why this was recently prepared and not done at the time the work was actually done. Director Babin again said it was not an invoice, just a summary of the cost of the work at 51 Francis Ave in response to the Clemmey complaint. Commissioner Dentino then pointed out that Director Babin had been saying that there was no upgrade involved. Director Babin stated that the document they were looking at was created by staff in response to the complaint and then reiterated that there was no upgrade performed to Clinical Science Laboratory's service. Chairman Baldwin said she wanted to confirm that there were no new lines run from the old transformer pad to the building. Director Babin said there weren't any new cables run into the building and that the service into the building was exactly the same as it had always been. Chairman Baldwin suggested that going forward there should be a date and number on all invoices/estimates. She also suggested that going forward the easement should be in hand before MMED does any work. She said the fact that MMED was just now getting an easement for Clinical Science Laboratory is surprising because that is what prompted the problem. Director Babin admitted the staff had dropped the ball on obtaining the easement and was now in the process of obtaining one. Chairman Baldwin said she would also like an opinion from the Wiring Inspector. Lou Amoruso, owner of Clinical Science Laboratory, then addressed the Board. He said that in regards to the easement issue, he was unaware that the power came in at an angle across the property or he would have made sure there was an easement. He said there was no paperwork showing where that switch was and Turner Brothers was unaware as well, even after they had done extensive work. Mr. Amoruso stated this was human miscommunication not a scheme. He said that Mr. Beliveau's letter was initiated by Mr. Amoruso but that the proposal for the 6 ~ two transformers was not what Clinical Science Laboratory wanted or needed so they didn't pursue it. Chairman Baldwin then said that the next step was to have the Wiring Inspector weigh in on this issue. Commissioner Levine questioned past practices as to whether the Wiring Inspector does look at MMED's work. When Director Babin answered that the Wiring Inspector does not approve MMED work, Commissioner Levine asked what makes this situation different. Vice Chairman Aptowitz answered that it will give a fresh perspective, at no cost to the Board, from someone who doesn't work for MMED. He would like to see someone who is not a part of MMED staff take a look at it. Director Babin pointed out that the Wiring Inspector's scope of work in this case is very limited and deals with the propriety of MMED performing the work that was done on Clinical Science Laboratory's land but nothing else. He felt the Wiring Inspector would not go beyond that issue and make a comment on the report itself. Town Manager D'Agostino pointed out that there has always been a jurisdictional tug of war between MMED and the Wiring Inspector. Commissioner Dentino believes that MMED is making a mistake by claiming ownership of the low voltage wire on Clinical Science Laboratory land as it is a liability that MMED does not need. He asked if MMED was going to start taking responsibility for secondaries. Director Babin said that it would if MMED owns it. He said that they were not starting a precedent and that it had already been done in other locations as illustrated in the report. Motion: To get an opinion from the Town of Mansfield Electrical Inspector as to whether secondary work falls under the jurisdiction of the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department; whether a permit is required and whether inspections are required from the transformers to the buildings. (Dentino! Aptowitz) Commissioner Dentino said that MMED doing secondary work that the ratepayers are paying for and that MMED has to maintain does not make sense and leaves MMED open to liability. He then asked who paid for the secondary going into Turner Brothers property. Director Babin said Turner Brothers did but that Commissioner Dentino was mixing apples and oranges because Turner had requested service while the work on Clinical Science Laboratory land was done at MMED's initiative as part of an overall design. Commissioner Levine said that she believes the report shows the accusation is erroneous. She said that money has already been spent preparing this report and she couldn't see that the Electrical Inspector is going to come back and say this is wrong. She believed this to be a waste of time, effort and money. Clerk Moran said he wants to further investigate the question of secondaries and proposed an amendment to Commissioner Dentino's motion which Commissioner Dentino found to he acceptable. 7 Motion: To get an opinion from the Town of Mansfield Electrical Inspector as to whether secondary work falls under the jurisdiction of the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department; whether a permit is required and whether inspections are required from the transformers to the buildings. Further, to have the Electrical Inspector look at the particular instance of 51 Francis Avenue while clarifying later the larger issue of all secondary installations. (Dentino/Aptowitz) Passes 4/1 (Levine against) Chairman Baldwin asked who Director Babin would recommend to review the report if the Electrical Inspector couldn't. Clerk Moran suggested a land lawyer. Vice Chairman Aptowitz stated that the Board needed to do their due diligence by having someone else look at it. Director Babin, however, said he was opposed to having someone else review the report. He stated that the MMED staff was hired to perform work of this nature, that they are professionals and he didn't see any benefit to having someone else, like a consultant, look at it. He reminded the Board that the Town is trying to cut expenses and he believes that the report should stand on its own. Vice Chairman Aptowitz told Director Babin that the Board has an obligation to the ratepayer to make an informed decision and that as he didn't understand the report, he would like someone else to take a look at it. Commissioner Levine said that she understood the report. Director Babin asked whether Vice Chairman Aptowitz doubted the contents of the report. Vice Chairman Aptowitz said he was not accusing anyone of anything. Town Manager D' Agostino reminded the Board that the MMED staff was paid to assemble the report. He then said that he was going to come up with a total dollar amount of staff time spent on the report. He believed a thorough job was done and asked the Board if there were any questions that had not been answered. Chairman Baldwin attempted to interpret Vice Chairman Aptowitz's concerns. She said that although he respected the Light Department's report, MMED staff are the ones who actually did the work so he would like another set of eyes to review the report. Chairman Baldwin then said she wanted to confirm with Director Babin that whoever put the report together, as she was unsure as to which staff members were involved, supported the report. She also wanted to know if Director Babin is taking responsibility for the whole report as the Director. He responded yes. It is his belief and the belief of the staff involved with preparing the report that MMED did not do anything wrong and that he doesn't know how to say it any simpler than that. Chairman Baldwin said that she wanted to get it out there that the staff is in agreement with the report. Clerk Moran stated that this situation could repeat itself so it should be looked at in its entirety. He said he was satisfied that the report was very comprehensive. 8 r " Chairman Baldwin said that Mr. Conley, the Electrical Inspector, would give his opinion and the Board would go from there. Motion: To adjourn the Light Commissioners meeting at 9:35 (Levine) Passes 5/0 Respectfully submitted: Jacqueline Lee 4/13/09 1L It? 6/J/ot Date of Approval Signature of Clerk 9 "