WEST WARWICK TOWN COUNCIL ACTING AS

SEWER COMMISSION

 

MEETING MINUTES

 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2021 @ 6:00 P.M.

 

 

A.        Meeting called to order at 6:11 p.m. by Town Council President Gosselin

 

B.        Prayer led by Councilman Messier

 

C.        Pledge of allegiance led by Councilman Licciardi

 

D.        Roll Call

Members present:

Council President Gosselin

Council Vice President Williamson

Councilman Messier

Councilman Licciardi

Councilman Bourget (Absent)

 

Participating communities:

Town of Coventry

Town of Scituate

City of Cranston

City of Warwick

Town of West Greenwich

 

E.         Commission Clerk determined a quorum on record.

 

F.         Minutes of previous meeting

SC2021-25: 

 

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the September 21, 2021 Town Council meeting, acting as the Sewer Commission, is hereby accepted.

 

Resolution SC2021-25 was moved by Council Vice President Williamson and seconded by Councilman Messier.  All in favor, none opposed and unanimously voted to accept.

 

G.        Reports

 

G-1: Plant Manager

The following is taken from the Plant Manager’s report data from September 2021.

 

·  Average daily flow was 5.1 mgd with a maximum of 15.99 mgd and a minimum of 2.2 mgd.

·  CBOD removal was 97%.  DEM requirement is 85%.

·   TSS removal was 97%.  DEM requirement is 85%.

·   Total Nitrogen was 5.3 mg/l.  DEM requirement is 7.62 mg/l. 

·   Total Phosphorus was 0.06 mg/l.  DEM requirement is 0.1 mg/l. 

·   Sludge to Synagro was 471.8 tons. 

·   There were no public line block ups.

 

·   There were 3 private line block ups:

1.   2 on Wakefield Street

2.   Spring Street

 

·   There were 9 odor complaints:

1.   5 from Providence Street

2.   3 from Fernwood Drive

3.   Walker Street

 

·   There were no facility violations. 

·   The Superintendent’s position is still open and we will be posting an Operator’s position. 

·   Councilman Licciardi asked about the progress of the inventory.  Mr. Chapdelaine said they are purchasing the industrial storage containers in store the inventory.

·   Councilman Licciardi asked if there is a current inventory.  Mr. Chapdelaine replied minimal, once they have the containers and shelving they will begin labeling the inventory.

·   Councilman Licciardi asked about the status of the private pump stations.  Mr. Geremia replied it is an ongoing process.  We have billed about twenty so far.

 

G-2:     Industrial Pretreatment Program – September 2021

 

Significant Industrial Users

 

·   Noramco submitted their self-monitoring report and all limits were in compliance.

·   An annual inspection was conducted at Warwick Ice Cream.  They have been in the program since the beginning and very few changes have been implemented in the facility.  They are in compliance for the most part.  Occasionally their oil and grease exceed the limit but we have been working with the owner.  During our inspection we found the pH levels were a little high due to a pump not working correctly.  Parts for the pump were ordered and the pump is operational again. 

 

Private Wastewater Treatment Facilities

    

·   We had a conference call with Sager Environmental, representing the owners of 1600 Division Street, to work on resolving the ongoing issues at this property.

·   We are working with Marketplace Center on their private system.

 

Food Service Inspections

 

·   At the Mexican Grill on Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick we found there were no cleaning records and a copy of the permit was sent to the owner.

·   At Silver Crystal Restaurant on Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, we found one of the grease recovery devices was not working.  The unit was repaired and re-inspected.

·   Khoo Restaurant was in general compliance however their permit had expired.  They were given a new application and are now back in compliance.

·   Miss Cranston on Quaker Lane in West Warwick could not produce any cleaning slips for the grease facility.  The owner was allowed additional time to generate those lists but as of the end of September we have not received that information.

·   Mings on Providence Street in West Warwick had no record of cleaning and one of the grease recovery devices was not operational.  The other grease recovery device was poorly maintained.  We issued them a second Notice of Violation and a fine of $100.

·   Upon inspection of Morse Tavern in Coventry we found the grease recovery device was overloaded and they had no cleaning records.  A Notice of Violation was issued.

·   943 Main Street and Boneheads Wings on Washington Street were both found to be closed.

·   Matos Bakery is under new ownership and the new owners were given a renewal application.

·   Renewal applications were submitted for Backyard BBQ in Coventry.

 

New Connections

 

·   A new connection was made at Sandy Motors on Sandy Bottom Road in Coventry.

 

 

Plan Reviews

 

·     37 Washington Street was a strip mall now being converted into medical facilities.  Plans have not been approved but we are working with them to resolve the issues.

·     Plans were reviewed for Tradesmen Park off of James P. Murphy Highway.  This will be three buildings with 26 units for construction storage.  Plans were approved and we issued them a letter of approval.

·     The floorplans were incomplete for Thundermist on Washington Street.  Once the plans for the dentist office have been completed they will resubmit. 

·     Ripples Swim School on Legris Avenue submitted plans to replace their existing pump.  The plans were not approved and we sent back comments.

 

Other

 

·   Dunkin Donuts on West Warwick Avenue is remodeling and putting in a new grease recovery device.

·   The contractor was not present for the final inspection of Anthony Fire Station in Coventry so we could not complete the inspection.

·   We found a beauty salon operating without a pretreatment permit at 71 Tiogue Avenue.  We have asked the business owner to submit plans.

·   R.I. Vinyl and the Photography Studio at Centerville Mill has been approved. 

·   Councilman Messier stated a business owner called him and would like to know if an underground grease trap needs to be cleaned every 60 days or every 90 days.  Mr. Geremia replied quarterly unless they have extensive grease problems or buildup then they will be asked to do it more frequently.  The size of the tank does not matter.

 

G-3:  Director of Administration

 

·     Year-to-Date Operating and Debt Expenses for Fiscal Year 2022 as of September 30^th totaled $4,010,835 which is 42% of the annual budget.  

·     Fiscal Year 2022 Sewer Usage collections through September 30^th totaled $2,861,785 which is 43% of the total billed. Of the total collected, $20,492 represents interest.

·     Fiscal Year 2022 Sewer Assessment collections through September 30^th totaled $146,894 which is 63% of the total billed.  Of the total collected, $571 represents interest.

·     Cash and Investments through September 30^th totaled $3,239,096.

·     Council President Gosselin stated the Ms. Suvajian, the Director of Administration has moved out of state and he wishes her good luck in her endeavors.  He asked if her position has been posted.  Mr. Chapdelaine replied Ms. Suvajian will be staying on until the end of the year so her position will be posted later this month.

 

H.        Resolutions

 

SC2021-22:  Purchase of New Town Vehicle - Tabled at 9/21/21 Sewer Commission meeting

 

RESOLVED, per recommendation of the Acting Superintendent of Sewers, to purchase a new AWD Four-Door SUV Vehicle from Liberty Chevrolet of Wakefield, Massachusetts (Rhode Island State MPA) in the amount not to exceed Twenty-Nine Thousand, Two Hundred Four and 00/100 Dollars ($29,204.00).  This purchase was included in the approved FY22 Capital Budget and funds will be designated against Account No. 1-200-20-2000-5909 (Capital Projects).

 

Resolution moved by Council Vice President Williamson and seconded by Councilman Messier.

 

·   Council Vice President Williamson stated this came before the Commission last time and was discussed again at the last Sewer Subcommittee meeting. 

·   Mr. Chapdelaine stated we budgeted $35,000 in the Capital budget and the price right now is just over $29,000.  We also sold three vehicles this year which totaled approximately $17,900 so the cost of the vehicle will be around $11,100 which is a good deal for a new vehicle.

·   Council Vice President Williamson stated the concerns at the last meeting were due to the fact that it looked like we were in a deficit position from the previous fiscal year which is not the case.  She explained that certain projects from the previous fiscal year were moved up but the funds did not get moved.

·   Finance Director Benoit stated she chatted with the accountant Mr. Civetti about this.  For FY21 the Sewer Department did come in at about a $200,000 deficit.  The Centrifuge project budgeted for $700,000 came in at $794.000.  Sludge removal was budgeted at $555,000 and came in at $711,000.  Chemicals budgeted at $470,000 came in at $548,000.  There were also some other Capital expenses that were over a bit.

·   Ms. Benoit stated there is a deficit for FY21 but if there is money budgeted in FY22 that’s not going to get spent that will replenish the ending FY22 fund balance.

·   Mr. Geremia stated the overage on the Centrifuge was taken from the reserve and put into Capital via a Change Order.  In the past when this has been done it was never considered a deficit. 

·   Ms. Benoit said she would have to go back and look at what the reserve account was in June of 2020 and see if it was reduced.

·   Council Vice President Williamson said this was discussed at the Subcommittee meeting and the net cost of $11,000 due to other vehicles being sold seems reasonable.

 

All in favor, none opposed and unanimously voted to accept.

 

SC2021-26:  Purchase of Industrial Storage Containers

 

RESOLVED, per recommendation of the Sewer Subcommittee and Acting Superintendent of Sewers, to purchase two (2) Industrial Storage Containers from Eagle Leasing Company of Orange, Connecticut (Connecticut State MPA) in the amount of Sixteen Thousand, Three Hundred, Fifty-Eight and 00/100 Dollars ($16,358.00).  This purchase was included in the approved FY22 Capital Budget and funds will be designated against Account No. 1-200-20-2000-5909 (Capital Projects).

 

Resolution moved by Council Vice President Williamson and seconded by Councilman Messier.

 

·   Mr. Chapdelaine stated they budgeted $20,000 to purchase two industrial storage containers and these came in at a little less.  We’ll be getting some shelving and begin stocking stuff in there and keeping better track of what we have so we’ll have better organization for the future.

·   Councilman Licciardi stated he’s all for the containers but he doesn’t understand the whole inventory process.  There is minimal inventory there yet we don’t know what we have.  He doesn’t understand why this hasn’t been put in place and he doesn’t feel we need a container to know what inventory we have.  He said he brought this up over a year ago and the plant was down-staffed so he let it go but now we have a full staff and he doesn’t understand why it hasn’t been done.

·   Mr. Knott stated this deficiency was recognized early on during the study and step number one was to get the proper facilities for storage.  Once that was set up the assets were to be moved to that facility and entered into the computerized asset management system at the same time then carrying forward and setting par levels and ordering what is needed,

·   Councilman Licciardi asked what is the inventory.  Mr. Chapdelaine replied various sizes of pipe fittings, pipes, motors, pumps and things of that nature.  We don’t have a lot of this stuff now because we only have about a 12x12 area for storage.  Once we get these containers we can start organizing and keeping better track through the asset management system. 

 

All in favor, none opposed and unanimously voted to accept.

 

SC2021-27:  Headworks Boiler Repair

 

RESOLVED, per recommendation of the Acting Superintendent of Sewers, for the repair of a boiler located at the West Warwick Wastewater Treatment Facility located at 1 Pontiac Avenue, West Warwick, Rhode Island to Automatic Temperature Controls, Inc. d/b/a C.H.A.C. of Cranston, Rhode Island (Rhode Island State MPA) in the amount of Fifteen Thousand, Three Hundred, Twenty-One and No/100 Dollars ($15,321.00). 

 

Resolution moved by Council Vice President Williamson and seconded by Councilman Messier.

 

·   Mr. Chapdelaine stated we did a cost analysis to see if we should repair or replace this boiler and decided it would be cheaper to repair it.  We budgeted $80,000 for the two boilers.  It cost $43,000 for the new boiler and about $16,000 to repair this boiler, totaling about $59,000. 

 

 

·   Councilman Licciardi asked if there will be a warranty on how long the repaired boiler will last or would it be better to spend the money and buy a brand-new boiler. Mr. Chapdelaine replied it costs $43,000 to buy a new one and only $16,000 to repair it so the cost is less than 50% to repair it.

 

All in favor, none opposed and unanimously voted to accept.

 

I.          Consent Agenda

 

SC2021-28: 

 

RESOLVED that the consent agenda, having been posted, all matters having been referred to proper departments and being disposed of or awaiting recommendations the same is hereby approved.

 

Resolution moved by Council Vice President Williamson and seconded by Councilman Messier.  All in favor, none opposed and unanimously voted to accept.

 

J.         Public Comment

            None

           

K.        Adjourn

 

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Messier and seconded by Council Vice President Williamson.  All in favor, none opposed and unanimously voted to accept.

 

 

 

To view this meeting go to:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6a5AKkU_XWQPoV26Xmc0qA