Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCapital Improvements 11/20/2012Capital Improvements Committee Minutes November 20, 2012 ; c� OFF ICE Present: Scott Feely and Michael O'Brien, Finance Committee; Kevin 19��n'�1}dl George Dentino, Board of Selectmen; Mike Trowbridge and Jean Miller, e o'o S A I I 115 Committee, Beth Ashman -Collins and Michael Feek, Planning Board; Bob Bal ry, Municipal Building Committee William Ross, Town Manager; Lee Azinheira, DPW Director; Kurt Gaffney, Water Operations Manager; Mark Cook, DPW Highway; Mike Ahern, DPW Public Buildings; Ken Hackett, Wastewater Operations Manager, Dave Young, CDM ,was called to order at 6:00 p.m 6 =: Correspondence= November 8, 2012 Minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Trowbridge -Miller) All in favor. PASSES 7 -77771 77 7-;'_ Departmenf'of Pubhrc Works Requests Water Mr. Azinheira explained the department is wrapping up the large water projects and will spend $11.3 of the $12 million approved. Mr. Azinheira said item #2 on his list, Prescott Wells 8 & 9 Engineering Design Services, will come out of capital and $50,000 be put into the Engineering operating budget. Construction on the Prescott wells is expected to begin in 2015. Motion: To approve $50,000 out of the Engineering operating budget for engineering design services for Prescott Wells 8 & 9 (Trowbridge -Moran) All in favor. PASSES 1. Water Main Improvements (Water Enterprise) $136,000 —Mr. Azinheira said he plans to design and bid the water main replacements, with construction planned for 2016. He said the department's reserves are about $1.75 million, and he would like to fund as much as possible out of the operating budget and to spread the costs out as much as possible. The work should be done in one construction season. Mr. Gaffney said there have been three water main breaks on Spring Street in the last four years, and he is planning to replace the old line with a 12 -inch line. There have been a lot of complaints about brown water from West Mansfield, and Mr. Gaffney said part of the problem is an old cast iron main. He said he plans to disconnect customers from that line and tie them into the existing, newer 12 -inch main. He is also planning to loop the existing water main on West Street at Black Pond Road because of dead ends. Mr. Azinheira said they plan to replace the West Street bridge and culvert in 2015-16, along with the old cast iron main under it; he said construction could happen sooner if conditions warrant. Mr. Gaffney said they have submitted a Master Plan to the state, so the town is in a good position if funding becomes available sooner. Mr. Azinheira said the town has attempted to loop as many water lines as possible, which helps improve water quality. Mr. Gaffney said with the treatment plans coming online, the town will no longer have to add iron and manganese to the water. Mr. Dentino asked how new hookups are funded. Mr. Azinheira said town work is funded through the enterprise fund, and the town charges a connection fee for private construction. The residential charge is based on bedrooms and commercial is based on the size of the meter. 2. Prescott 8 & 9 Engineering (Water Enterprise) $72,000 — removing from capital plan and moving into Engineering operating budget Meter Reading Hardware (Water Enterprise) $45,000 — Mr. Gaffney said the equipment is seven years old, but the manufacturer will no longer service it. He said they are converting the whole system to monthly billing rather than quarterly, and the new system will allow them to read the whole town in four days. 4. Meter Replacement (Water Enterprise) $80,000 — The existing equipment has a 15 - year maximum life span, and this request would allow them to replace about 500 meters. He noted there are around 7,500 meters in town, so this will be an ongoing program. The cost per household is about $150. 5. Vehicle Replacement (Water Enterprise) $27,000 — Mr. Azinheira said they try to replace their trucks on a regular basis, and if there is any life left, they turn them over to Highway. Mr. Gaffney said the truck has 80,000 miles on it. Mr. Dentine asked how many meter readers there are; Mr. Gaffney said there is one part-time meter reader, who is also a water technician, services the equipment and helps digging crews. Mr. Azinheira said most residences are now on quarterly billing, and the goal is to bill monthly. He said it would be a benefit to the residents to receive bills more regularly. Mr. Feely asked if the benefit of increased cash flow will outweigh additional staff time. Mr. Azinheira said MMED is converting to similar remote readers; Mr. Ross said there will be a retirement in that department that will not be filled. Mr. Trowbridge suggested this issue may be beyond the committee's scope. Public Buildings Mr. Ross said a long-range plan was prepared last year for municipal building upkeep. Mr. Azinheira said he has the report in electronic version and would send it to the committee. 1. DPW Facility Design/Bid $900,000 — Mr. Azinheira said he is working with the MBC on a preliminary design for the new facility and to evaluate alternatives. He said he expects the final report soon. He said the report includes a list of expenditures for the Highway Garage, Fire and Police Stations; he said the goal is to move the Highway Garage to the former composting site on Fruit Street and build new public safety facility at the existing DPW garage on East Street. To that end, improvements to the DPW, Police and Fire buildings have been postponed. 2. Building Improvements — Library $117,000; Town Hall $216,000; Plymouth Street $49,000 Mr. Azinheira said building maintenance has not been funded much in the past, and not doing maintenance on things like boilers can cost more money in the long run. Mr. Feely said the public works facility is an important item and asked if the town could get any additional use out of the existing building; Mr. Azinheira said the building wouldn't have room for more than vehicle storage. Mr. Ross said because the existing highway garage and salt storage shed are in different locations, the salt has to be loaded into trucks ahead of time, which corrodes the truck bodies. Mr. Trowbridge said even though this is a large project, a lot of the town's debt service is about the come off. Mr. Moran said the town has to start putting money into Fire, Police and DPW buildings, either the existing buildings or new buildings. Mr. Feely said a new DPW building would provide a cost benefit to the town in increased efficiency and service. Mr. Barry asked what will be done at the Library/COA building. Mr. Azinheira said the bathrooms have been done, but there are still a number of issues like emergency lighting, parking lot, carpeting, painting that must be completed. The fire alarm work will be postponed, and the requests will total $525,000 over the next three years. Mr. Ross said the roof will also have to be replaced, and the carpeting could become a safety problem. Mr. Azinheira noted the building also houses the Council on Aging. Mr. Ross said he has spoken with the School Department about combining the school and public libraries. Highway 1. Roadway/Bridge Maintenance $825,000 - Mr. Azinheira said this is the third year of this program, and the town has to invest in roadway and bridge maintenance annually. He said they have to be able to use the entire construction season to keep up with the work. The three-year plan will be updated this winter and put on the town's website so residents can see what is planned. Mr. Trowbridge said the department has done a good job combining repaving with other roadwork. 2. Memorial Park Tennis Court Refinishing $30,000 — Mr. Trowbridge said the courts were redone at the same time the high school track and field were done, around 2000. Mr. Cook said he has the courts inspected regularly and they are ready to be redone. 3. Roadside Brush Tractor $125,000 - Mr. Azinheira said the town is behind on brush clearing work, and they are evaluating type of tractor and may change model to a less expensive one. Mr. Cook said the existing tractor is from 1974. Mr. Azinheira said he will submit supplemental information in the next few weeks. Mr. Feely noted the committee's final meeting is scheduled for December 18. Mr. Trowbridge said there are safety issues developing because of overgrown brush, especially in intersections. Mr. Feely suggested looking at combining the brush cutting with the Light Department's tree trimming work. 4. 1 -Ton 4x4 SUV/Pickup $32,000 — The request is for a 3/4 ton to replace Mr. Cook's 10 -year old vehicle. He said Mr. Cook puts very low mileage on his vehicle, and his truck is rotated into the Highway Department fleet to get more life out of it. 5. 1 -Ton 4x4 SRW Pickup with Plow $36,000 — The truck is used mainly for Parks maintenance, towing trailers, trash pickup and plowing in the winter. 6. 1 -Ton DRW 4x4 Flatbed with Plow $55,000 — This truck is a flatbed with a lift gate used at construction sites and to carry things like steel plates. It is also front line snow equipment. Parking 1. Parking Deck Study (Parking Enterprise) $150,000 — Mr. Azinheira explained Town Meeting funded $125,000 in 2012 for repaving the Winthrop Street parking lot, which has been repaired and crack sealed. He said the town has been working on a long-term evaluation of parking in the train station area, town meeting has approved some funding and there may be more available from the state. Mr. Barry asked about the increase in parking; Mr. Ross said would be part of the study, along with elevators and walkways to cross the tracks. Mr. Ross said the parking deck would be necessary for the redevelopment of the area and one part of moving ahead with that would be working with private developers to help fund the deck. He said the state has been emphasizing this type of development as a priority. Mr. Trowbridge said the town has been talking about revitalizing the downtown area for 15-20 years. Mr. Ross said there is $200,000 in the state budget allocated for train station area work in Mansfield, but it has not been released yet. Mr. Dentino said there is going to be a traffic problem in the area until Route 106 is widened. He said the towns that have done this type of development successfully have done it through Transit Oriented Development. Mr. Feely said the town has to show the state it is serious about the redevelopment; Mr. Azinheira said they have met with the state twice, and the representatives were encouraging. Mr. Dentino asked if anyone is working on grant funding; Mr. Azinheira said Mr. Burke has been working with SRPEDD. Mr. Ross said he has been working with the Department of Transportation, which recommends the town set its priorities. Mr. Dentino said the town has to work with the private owners in the area to accomplish any changes. Wastewater 1. Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase II Design/Bid (Wastewater Enterprise) $3,250,000 Mr. Azinheira said he would like to have the flyover survey done in March. The Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan began in 2003, and 2007 Annual Town Meeting approved the first phase of construction. Mr. Azinheira said they have been working with Norton and Foxboro and are closer to purchasing the second piece of property. He said the EPA has been looking at all plants discharging to the Taunton River watershed, which will impact the level to which the water has to be treated, which may in turn will change the plan. Costs were based on 1 million gallons per day, which Mr. Azinheira said he recently found out did not include 120,000 gallons per day for Wheaton College. He said Wheaton has its own treatment plant, but it would be very costly for them to upgrade. Mr. Young said they have run a model based on including that in our plant expansion. Mr. Azinheira said the original plan had been for 1.5 million gallons per day, but that has been reduced to 1 million gallons per day. He explained Mansfield's wastewater expansion is mostly for infill rather than new development; most of new plant use will be redevelopment rather than new large residential development. Mr. Feely said if Wheaton is included, Norton's share will increase; Mr. Azinheira said that is true, but each town determines how to pass the cost on within the community. Mr. Azinheira said this work has to start soon or a moratorium will have to be placed on sewer connections at some point soon. He said that would be counter to the town's goals for commercial development and redevelopment. Mr. Trowbridge said the delay is partly due to the agreement with the other towns not being signed. He asked if the other towns can be eliminated from the plant; Mr. Young said those towns own capacity in the plant, so they cannot be eliminated. Mr. Ross said the alternative to the intermunicipal agreement may be for Mansfield to use the additional capacity if the other communities do not want to pay for it. Mr. Azinheira said one of the reasons for pushing the effluent discharge permitting is because of the slow progress with the other towns. He said the current intermunicipal agreement guides how the towns are charged based on the percent allocation of flow. Mr. Ross said revolving funds have been used for this work, but noted that at some point, that money will no longer be available. He said federal budget cuts and increasing EPA regulations will also impact towns. Mr. Young said there are significant cuts proposed to the federal revolving loan program at this time. Mr. Azinheira said the long-term goal is to collect costs from future connections, which would stabilize the rates. 2. Inflow & Infiltration (Wastewater Enterprise) $100,000 4;Ad�onru�uent , , Motion: To adjourn at 7:45 p.m. (Miller -Trowbridge) All in favor. PASSES Date of next eeti g: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. / C of Chair Da of ppr val