WEST WARWICK SEWER COMMISSION
REVISED SEWER SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
DATE: JUNE 4, 2020 TIME: 3:00 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Councilman Licciardi
Councilwoman Williamson
Town Manager Ernie Zmyslinski
Superintendent Harrison Songolo
Assistant Superintendent Michael Bedard
Director of Administration Christine Suvajian
James Geremia, James Geremia and Associates
Jennifer Ludwig, Town of Coventry
A motion was made to approve the May 7, 2020 minutes by James Geremia and seconded by Councilwoman Williamson. All in favor none opposed.
The following is taken from the Plant Manager’s report data through May 22, 2020.
· Average daily flow was 6.9 mgd with a maximum of 11.9 mgd.
· CBOD removal was 98%. DEM requirement is 85%.
· TSS removal was 96%. DEM requirement is 85%.
· Total Nitrogen is not yet available.
· Total Phosphorus was 0.07 mg/l. DEM requirement is 1.0 mg/l.
· Sludge removal was 527 wet tons which is approximately 123 dry tons.
· There were 3 private line blockups:
1. Tiogue Avenue
2. Pawtuxet Terrace
3. Newell Street
· There was 1 public line blockups:
1. The manhole on Vincenzo Drive was overflowing.
· Due to Covid-19 all trainings are postponed.
· There was one odor complaint from a house directly above the WWTF. Due to a Monday holiday, the sludge sat a day longer in the tanks and it began to smell.
· There were no facility violations.
· Assistant Superintendent Bedard has completed and past his Grade 4 exam with DEM.
· Councilwoman Williamson asked about the sludge wet tons to dry tons. Mr. Songolo responded the sludge is dewatered by the Centrifuge then transported to Synagro. The wet and dry totals indicated were for the month of May.
· Year-to-date operating and debt expenses as of May 31st totaled $6,738,099 which is 74% of the annual budget.
· Sewer Use and Sewer Assessment Revenue collected as of May 31st totaled $6,663,789.
· I will report the updated Cash and Investment balance as of May 31st at the next Sewer Commission meeting.
· We are still looking for replacements for the Sewer Use Appeals board. We currently only have one member and no alternate. We still have two Sewer Use Appeals waiting to be heard from the last billing statement. Also, on the Town’s website, other board vacancies are currently being advertised but not the Sewer Use Appeals board vacancies.
· Councilwoman Williamson asked how many people are waiting to have their appeals heard. Ms. Suvajian responded two are still waiting to be heard.
· Councilman Licciardi asked with only two months left in this fiscal year, will we be in the black or the red? Ms. Suvajian responded we should be in the black. She said she will supply the board with an up to date report to show where we are.
· Councilwoman Williamson said when you do the math on the numbers on the Financial Report in shows us in a loss position.
· Councilman Licciardi asked what would happen if we’re in the red at the end of the fiscal year, where would the money come from to pay the bills. Ms. Suvajian responded we do have money in our reserves in the general fund.
· Councilman Licciardi asked how much we have. Ms. Suvajian responded she doesn’t know at this time because the auditor has not been able to come in due to Covid-19.
· Councilman Licciardi asked for an estimate of what we have. Ms. Suvajian responded she believes it just under $2,000,000.
Significant Industrial Users
· Rhodes Technologies submitted their self-monitoring report and all was in compliance.
Private WWTF
· Showcase Cinemas cleaned their private line.
· Starbucks was allowed to tie into the system even though final inspections were not completed. There were several issues that were found in the collection system that need to be corrected. The Program is working with the contractor to complete that work.
· Construction continues on the 1200 Quaker Lane development. Final approval is pending Showcase Cinemas’ private collection system O&M manual upgrade.
· The O&M manual for the Wasserman line at 1600 Division Street was reviewed and found to be unacceptable. A letter was issued asking them to revise the plans accordingly.
· Councilwoman Williamson asked why it’s called the Wasserman line. Mr. Geremia responded because Wasserman was the developer who bought the MetLife complex.
· The force mains for East Greenwich Square and 1149 Restaurant were cleaned however the line for 1149 was not cleaned as the restaurant as gone out of business. When someone does occupy that space, the line will have to be cleaned.
· Bald Hill Realty submitted a draft O&M manual. The plans were complete except for the as-built drawing. The engineer is finishing the as-built.
Food Service
· Li’l Rhody Ice Cream in Coventry was put on a compliance schedule to correct their sewer lateral. They will do the work in the Fall.
· Filippou’s Twisted Pizza in West Warwick submitted cleaning logs for their grease recovery system and they were in compliance.
· Fired Up Nutrition in West Warwick submitted applications and they are currently under review.
Other
· Bald Hill Kia was inspected and found to be in compliance pending their O&M manual.
· Rising Tide Tattoo in West Warwick was inspected and found to be in compliance.
· The developer at 87 Centre of New England Blvd. contacted us regarding their building which was built in 2005. This site was originally approved for one unit however the original builder installed a ten unit building without any approvals. The Program has been working with the new developer for months trying to come up with a solution so they can utilize all ten units.
· Mr. Geremia stated in April, 2020 DEM sent the Town a new permit with a consent agreement asking that the agreement be signed by April 10, 2020.
· Mr. Geremia said he wrote a letter to DEM on behalf of the Town requesting an extension to the April 10th deadline.
· Mr. Geremia stated he has reviewed the consent agreement and has prepared a letter requesting modifications to some of the deadlines within the agreement.
· Mr. Geremia stated part of the consent agreement requirements are to sample instream at two locations, upstream of the WWTF Providence and River Streets and downstream at Ford Avenue and Jefferson Blvd.
· Mr. Geremia stated requests for bids were advertised and also sent to local analytical firms for collecting and analyzing the samples and preparing plans to be submitted to DEM. Unfortunately, no bids were received.
· Mr. Geremia stated he did contact our current analytical firm (Microbac) to ask why they didn’t bid and he was told they didn’t have enough staff to handle the work.
· Mr. Geremia stated since the WWTF does not have lab technicians certified to do the instream sampling he contacted the Warwick Sewer Authority to see how they were dealing with the new DEM consent agreement. The Warwick Sewer Authority said they were doing their own sampling because their lab is certified to do all of the instream testing. He said they are also using RI Analytical Lab for analytical testing. Mr. Geremia inquired if they would be interested in doing the WWTF sampling and analytical testing and sharing the costs since the sampling plans will be the same for Warwick and West Warwick
· Mr. Geremia stated he will submit this request in writing to the Warwick Sewer Authority with the Sewer Commission’s approval.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if there is money in the budget for this. Mr. Geremia said yes, it is in the budget for the new fiscal year.
· Councilman Licciardi and Councilwoman Williamson both stated working with Warwick to share the costs was a great idea and they thanked Mr. Geremia for coming up with it.
· There was some additional discussion about the limited options available and the upside of sharing the costs with Warwick.
· Mr. Geremia said he will send a letter to the Warwick Sewer Authority tomorrow and report back to the Sewer Commission.
· Mr. Songolo stated he would like to buy a new or used generator for the plant. He said in the past when a generator was needed we would borrow one from Warwick. Now, because of Covid-19 they are unable to loan us their generators so we currently do not have a backup generator.
· Mr. Songolo stated the plan to purchase a new generator was put in the FY20 capital budget but with everything that is happening now he thinks we should expedite the purchase.
· Mr. Songolo stated he’s been looking into buying a used generator from CAT but every time one becomes available it is quickly sold. There is currently one available and he has asked CAT to hold it pending approval from the Subcommittee and Sewer Commission.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if we have the money for this. Mr. Songolo responded we have $50,000 allocated to refurbish an influent pump from Clyde Pump Station but we can postpone that, get the generator instead and refurbish the pump in FY21.
· Councilwoman Williamson asked what the cost of a new generator would be. Mr. Songolo responded about $80,000.
· Councilwoman Williamson asked if we would be better off getting into a finance or lease agreement and just buying a new one. Mr. Songolo responded he will look into that.
· Mr. Zmyslinski stated they are currently proposing a lease purchase agreement through the Town to purchase a new rescue. He said the generator can be included in this agreement. He stated there are tax benefits to purchasing this way so it is the cheapest way to finance it.
· Councilwoman Williamson and Councilman Licciardi recommended leasing a new one and just financing the $30,000 difference.
· There was additional discussion regarding the financing and how long it might take to receive the generator. Also, the size of the generator and what it will be used for.
· Councilman Licciardi asked the condition of the generators that are at the pump stations now. Mr. Songolo responded most of them are in good condition, the one at River Farms is questionable. We’ve never had any problems with it but it has an older engine. He feels we can get another three to five years out of it.
· Mr. Songolo explained if any of the generators broke down the new generator would serve as a backup while the other generator was being repaired.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if the generator at River Farms broke down would it be worth repairing it. Mr. Songolo said yes, unless there was an upgrade at that facility then we would need to replace the generator.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if we should be making a plan now to replace the generator at River Farms.
· There was discussion about the ownership and the responsibility of the River Farms pump station. Mr. Songolo stated he’s going to look into that further and he will also work with Mr. Zmyslinski regarding the best options for purchasing a generator.
· Ms. Suvajian stated the Lime bid opening is tomorrow. So far, we have only received one bid.
· Ms. Suvajian stated we also went out to bid for Uniforms. That bid opening will be on June 12th.
· Councilman Licciardi asked about the bid process. Ms. Suvajian responded bids are received by the Finance department in sealed envelopes then the Finance department conducts the bid openings and opens the bids at that time.
· Councilwoman Williamson asked if Ms. Suvajian is part of the bid opening. Ms. Suvajian responded normally yes but right now the Finance department is conducting the bid openings with just the Deputy Finance Director and a Finance Clerk.
· Ms. Suvajian stated as the bids are opened the Finance Clerk records the bids then all the information is forwarded to the WWTF for the final decision.
· Councilman Licciardi said he doesn’t understand why the Finance department is even involved it the process. Mr. Geremia responded this is standard for every community. Mr. Zmyslinski stated there are also Town Charter requirements.
· Mr. Songolo stated our contract with Synagro is expiring. There is an option to extend it for one more year which we will need to do since there are almost no options for companies who do sludge incineration and the other options are substantially more expensive.
· Mr. Songolo stated Synagro has informed us that they will be dropping some of the facilities they take sludge from because they have too much inventory. Mr. Songolo said he had noticed this past year that Synagro sent 40%-50% of our sludge to the landfill for incineration.
· Mr. Songolo stated our deal with Synagro is that they pay the difference in price if they have to send our sludge to the landfill because the landfill’s rates are higher. With this new contract Synagro will no longer be paying the difference in price consequently there will be an increase in our sludge removal expenses until FY22 when this contract expires. At that time, we will need to request an increase in the sludge removal budget.
· Councilwoman Williamson said we’re at their mercy. If they only incinerate 10% of our sludge and send the rest to the landfill our costs will go up drastically. Mr. Songolo stated he asked Synagro for a guarantee that they will process a certain percentage of our sludge. They refused to give us any guarantees because they are undergoing upgrades at their facilities until August. They did say after August they will be able to process the majority of our sludge.
· Mr. Geremia discussed some of the processes and systems of sludge incineration.
· Ms. Suvajian stated the Warwick Director has been questioning the cost of filing lien agreements. She explained that all out of town residents that tie into the West Warwick sewer system are required to file a lien agreement with the Clerk’s office in the city of town in which they reside. The cost of said filing is $50.00. The Warwick Director feels West Warwick should be paying for these filings, not the residents.
· Ms. Suvajian stated she informed the Director that this requirement is in our ordinances as well our municipal agreement.
· Ms. Suvajian said she just wanted to make the board aware of the situation because the O’Donnell project in Warwick is being completed and many of the residents are now connecting to sewer.
· Mr. Geremia stated these lien agreements protect West Warwick in case an out of town resident(s) defaults on their bill.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if there has been any response to the letter sent to the Coventry Town Manager. Mr. Songolo replied no, nothing.
· Ms. Ludwig asked what was the request to the Coventry Town Manager was. Mr. Geremia responded we were asking for the status of the meter upgrades at Pulaski Street and Wood Estates. Coventry was supposed to have fixed these meters over a year ago then give us monthly readings and calibration reports.
· Ms. Ludwig stated she will look into it.
· Mr. Songolo said he will forward the letter to the Subcommittee.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if the WWTF is fully staffed going into the summer. Mr. Songolo responded no, we are still short two mechanics. He said he talked to Human Resources yesterday and she was going to advertise the jobs in the newspaper.
· Councilman Licciardi asked where we are with the plexiglass, panic button, security systems, etc… at the WWTF. Mr. Songolo responded the plexiglass was installed but not the panic button.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if the electrician could install the panic button. Mr. Songolo responded yes.
· Councilman Licciardi said since there is only one person on third shift, should an alarm system be installed or a second person be put on that shift for safety reasons because of everything going on in the world right now. Mr. Songolo replied if there is something going on a second person is called in. Other than that, he feels one person on is sufficient.
· Councilman Licciardi asked if there is a plan to compensate the essential employees that had to work full time while the rest of the employees were working part time due to Covid-19. Mr. Zmyslinski responded what happened was an emergency situation, a pandemic. He said the reason split shifts were implemented was to separate staff in case someone got sick, that way they wouldn’t infect the entire workforce. He said essential employees are required to work.
· Mr. Zmyslinski stated this issue was brought up in a conference call with the League of Cities and Towns. He said to his knowledge no cities or towns are giving any additional compensation except for Coventry who have a clause in their contract for employees who work in emergency situations. Therefore, he doesn’t feel any additional compensation is warranted.
· Councilwoman Williamson said she agrees with Mr. Zmyslinski.
· Councilman Licciardi said he disagrees.
· There was some additional discussion regarding this situation.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by James Geremia and seconded by Councilwoman Williamson. All in favor none opposed.
To view this meeting go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRURxFKAuN4