WEST WARWICK SEWER COMMISSION
SEWER SUBCOMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2021 @ 3:00 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Councilman Licciardi (Absent)
Council Vice President Williamson
Town Manager Mark Knott
Assistant Superintendent Jeff Chapdelaine
Director of Administration Christine Suvajian
James Geremia, James Geremia and Associates (arrived 3:35 p.m.)
ALSO PRESENT
Steve Buckley, Fusion Environmental Solutions
Eli Hannon, Fusion Environmental Solutions
A motion was made to approve the September 9, 2021 minutes by Council Vice President Williamson and seconded by Town Manager Mark Knott. All in favor none opposed.
The following is taken from the Plant Manager’s report data through September 27, 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 96%. DEM requirement is 85%.
· TSS removal was 98.5%. 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 1.0 mg/l.
· Sludge to Synagro was 471.8 wet tons. No sludge to Landfill.
· There were no public line block ups.
· There were 2 private line block ups:
1. 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.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if the five odor complaints on Providence Street were all from one residence. Mr. Chapdelaine replied yes and the three complaints on Fernwood were also from the same residence.
· We still have the Superintendent position open and two union positions open, an operator and a mechanic.
· Regarding the new vehicle request, we are under the budgeted amount by approximately $7,000 and we also sold three vehicles which totaled approximately $17,900. By putting the $17,900 towards the new vehicle purchase we’ll only be spending a little over $10,000.
· Council Vice President Williamson told Mr. Chapdelaine to bring it up at the next Commission meeting and to be prepared with all the numbers, what needs to be transferred, etc…
· Ms. Suvajian stated she will be meeting with the accountant next week to go over everything including the transfers that were approved by resolution then the bottom line will show they’re not overbudget.
· Mr. Knott stated he supports getting the new vehicle.
· There was a brief discussion about the benefits of getting a new vehicle and the information needed to present it to the Council.
· FY22 Year-to-date operating and debt expenses as of September 30th totaled $4,010,835 which is 42% of the annual budget.
· FY22 Sewer Use and Sewer Assessment Revenue collected as of September 30th totaled $3,008,679 of which $21,962 represents interest.
· Cash and Investment balance as of September 30, 2021 will be reported at the next Sewer Commission meeting.
· We still have an opening for one Sewer Use Appeals Board Member and two alternate members. We currently have two Board members but we still need a third member. For a couple years we only had one member so we didn’t have a quorum and couldn’t hold Sewer Use Appeals meetings. She recommends changing the ordinance to allow the Commission to act and vote on Sewer Use Appeals in the event we don’t have enough Board members. She said even after an Appeal is heard and voted on it still goes before the Commission for approval. She asked who she should consult about this.
· Mr. Knott asked about the debt service payment. Ms. Suvajian stated that September is the time that the infrastructure debt service is paid.
Significant Industrial Users
· Noramco submitted their self-monitoring report and all was in compliance.
· An annual inspection was conducted at Warwick Ice Cream. They have been pretty consistent. They continue to struggle with their oil and grease and the pH levels were on the high end due to their acid pump not working. The owner will be upgrading the system.
· We continue to work with Marketplace Center.
Private Wastewater Treatment Facilities
· We had a conference call with Sage Environmental who is representing the owners of 1600 Division Street. We are working with them to resolve the ongoing issues at this location.
Food Service Inspections
· Upon inspection of 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.
· Upon inspection of Crystal Restaurant on Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, we found one of the grease recovery devices was not working. The unit had been repaired when we re-inspected.
· Khoo Restaurant was generally in compliance although their permit had expired. They were given a new application.
· Council Vice President Williamson stated the Khoo owners said they were told they’d have to have their grease trap inspected and cleaned six times a year which seems excessive. Mr. Geremia stated yes, if it is a grease trap outside of the building. If we see extensive grease build up over a short period of time we require them to clean it more frequently.
· Miss Cranston in West Warwick could not produce any cleaning slips. We gave the owner some additional time to provide the records but as of the end of September they had not been submitted.
· Fu Ming on Providence Street did not have any grease cleaning records. They have already had two other Notices of Violation. We issued another Notice along with an Administrative Fee of $100.
· Upon inspection of the Tavern in Coventry we found the grease recovery device was grossly overloaded and they did not have any cleaning records. A Notice of Violation was issued.
· Both Boneheads and Sabor in West Warwick were found to be closed.
· Matos Bakery is now under new ownership. We sent the new owners an application.
Food Service Permits
· Khoo in West Warwick
· House of Wu in West Warwick
· Backyard on Tiogue Avenue in Coventry
New Connections
· Sandy Motors in Coventry completed construction this month.
Plan Reviews
· Plans were incomplete for 37 Washington Street but after today should be resolved.
· Plans and applications were submitted for Tradesmen Park on James P. Murphy Highway. This will be three buildings with 26 units.
· We’re working with the engineer for Thundermist at 1 Washington Street in regards to the floorplan layout for the dentist office.
· Ripples Swim School which is located on Legris Avenue in West Warwick behind the Cumberland Farms is a very popular indoor swimming pool for kids.
· 608 Tiogue Avenue submitted plans that were generally in compliance and a letter was issued.
· 1180 Tiogue Avenue submitted plans.
Other
· Dunkin Donuts at 88 West Warwick Avenue is upgrading their facility and is installing a new grease trap as part of the upgrades.
· The contractor did not show up for the inspection of Anthony Fire Station so we were unable to inspect inside. The exterior inspection showed that the septic system had not been properly closed so that still needs to be done.
· Diamond in the Ruff is a new pet grooming business. A letter was issued to the Assistant Superintendent regarding it.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if it was approved because the business permit was approved at the last Council meeting subject to other department’s approvals. Mr. Geremia said he doesn’t think so but he will follow up.
· There is a beauty salon going in Tiogue Avenue in West Warwick. This was previously a tenant building so we gave the business owner an application to submit.
· R.I. Vinyl and the Photography Studio at Centerville Mill has been approved. We’re still waiting on the Granite company.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if there were any problems with the photo studio. Mr. Geremia replied no, it’s all digital.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated the new pump is still on order and hasn’t come in yet and the pump that was repaired came in yesterday. We just need to schedule the rigging company to come back and the pump should be in within the next couple of weeks.
· Council Vice President Williamson said she thought the repaired pump was going to be a backup and the new pump was being put in. Mr. Chapdelaine said the third pump will be taken out and replaced with the new pump then the third pump will be serviced and eventually replaced when money can be budgeted for it.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if the money for the rigging has been budgeted. Mr. Chapdelaine replied no, it’ll be approximately $3,500.
· Council Vice President Williamson stated they’re not working on this section of Phenix Avenue but if and when they do we definitely need to address this issue.
· Mr. Knott asked for the projected cost of this project. Mr. Chapdelaine replied he didn’t have it but Mr. Geremia may.
Discussed under Old Business.
· Mr. Geremia stated we budgeted $167,000 for the screw conveyors and it came in at $200,000. We budgeted $150,000 for the Water Meter and it came in at $185,000. We’re about $75,000 overbudget and we need reassess what we’re going to do.
· Mr. Geremia stated he and Mr. Chapdelaine looked at the amount budgeted for FY22 and FY23 for the primary clarifiers. We could take the $75,000 out of that line item for now then re-budget additional funds in FY23 for the primary clarifiers.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked what the clarifiers do. Mr. Geremia said they take out the heavy particles.
· Mr. Geremia said there is also the Maisie Quinn interceptor project which will be more than $137,000 just for the cleaning, that doesn’t include constructing the access road. Mr. Knott asked what the projected construction cost would be because sewer infrastructure is a permissible expense under the American Rescue Plan but we need to figure out how to write it up.
· Mr. Geremia stated the Water Meter is an infrastructure, it is utility work.
· Mr. Knott stated there is some money available for projects that qualify but it is very restrictive. He’d like to start to chip away at it. Mr. Geremia said he will prepare the criteria because the meter is an infrastructure improvement, it is a code requirement and it’s two years overdue.
· There was some further discussion about which Capital projects should be done.
· Mr. Geremia asked about awarding the Water Meter contract and reallocating $35,000 from the clarifiers or somewhere else. Mr. Knott said he hopes to have more information and guidance on the criteria by November.
· There was additional discussion regarding what will be needed to justify the Capital projects expenditures. Mr. Geremia said he will put something together. There was also talk about the exorbitant costs of materials and products.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated they went out to bid for storage containers and received one bid but Ms. Suvajian found a lower price online using a Connecticut MPA. The containers have been ordered and are a result of the CWL report regarding asset management.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked where they’ll be located, how many are there and what the cost was. Mr. Chapdelaine replied by the compost building, two containers and we budgeted $20,000 and the containers cost approximately $16,500. We’ll be using the extra money to put shelving and lighting in the containers.
Discussed under Proposed Change Order for New Screw Conveyors.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated this is regarding cost savings using Fusion.
· Mr. Hannon stated he looked at the number of truckloads going out post-treatment as well as flow which increased dramatically in 2021. There should be a savings of approximately thirteen truckloads annually at about $2,000 per load based on the increased flow and the amount of sludge being produced. We combined these savings along with the cost savings on Biotriad, scrubber chemicals and scrubber maintenance and we came up with an annual savings of $60,840. The annual cost of Fusion is $47,388 leaving you with a minimum annual savings of $13,452.
· Mr. Buckley stated that H2s has serious safety concerns for the people onsite. Concentrations above 10 can really smell, at 30 it can numb your senses and if it gets much higher than that it can actually do serious damage to your body in many ways. He said the average H2s that was coming into the plant before Fusion started was around 69-70. It is now about 2 or 3. H2s also creates tremendous corrosion problems in equipment such as steel, pipes and concrete. Mr. Geremia concurred.
· There was a brief discussion regarding the increase in flows and the weather as well as recent odor complaints.
· Mr. Buckley stated they have meters in place at the plant which they service so they have constant data and it’s been fairly consistent.
· There was some additional discussion regarding blowers, equipment and the prevention of H2s in the plant as well as talk about how odor control has evolved and the benefits of Fusion’s products and system.
· Mr. Buckley and Mr. Hannon will be putting together a report to present at the next Commission meeting.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated two of the eight sections on the boiler need repair. The cost is approximately $15,000. We budgeted $80,000 for this repair and the replacement of another boiler which will cost approximately $42,000 so we still have some left over.
· There was a brief discussion about the information needed to present it to the Council.
None
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by James Geremia and seconded by Council Vice President Williamson. All in favor, none opposed.
Please refer to audio recording for detailed information.