WEST WARWICK SEWER COMMISSION
SEWER SUBCOMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
DATE: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2022 TIME: 3:00 P.M.
LOCATION: WWTF ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
1 PONTIAC AVENUE
Members Present
Council Vice President Williamson
Town Manager Mark Knott
Superintendent Jeff Chapdelaine
Office Manager Tony Corrente
James Geremia, James J. Geremia & Associates, Inc.
Also Present
Finance Director, Kristen Benoit
Budget Workshop
· Mr. Corrente said it was a tough budget due to inflation. The chemical bids came in higher than anticipated at 24% to 60% over current year pricing and are making up over 53% of our budget increase request.
· Mr. Corrente stated Synagro is putting together a price for us which they said will increase 10% to 15% range. For the purpose of this budget I budgeted at a 15% increase. If it comes in at 10% we will see a $30,000 decrease in this line item.
· Mr. Corrente said a lot of it is fixed costs with salaries and meeting our contractual obligations with the bargaining unit. We are requesting an increase in overtime based on prior and current year spending and the unpredictability of Covid. As of today, we are over on the overtime budget for the current year.
· Mr. Geremia asked if we can identify how much of the overtime was related to Covid and if it could be reimbursed by ARPA funds. Some discussion followed about submissions to FEMA and public safety and maintenance and deciding what percentage should be submitted to ARPA at the end of the year.
· Mr. Corrente said longevity will decrease next year due to the retirement of an employee. FICA went up as a result of wage increases. Sick bonuses went up slightly because one more employee will qualify next year.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked about the health insurance being budgeted for less than it is this year. Ms. Benoit replied the increase is in there but it’s based on the actual staffing and what plans people have right now. She said it’s right on the cusp and she is watching it closely.
· Mr. Corrente said ICMA increased due to an employee retiring who went from one pension plan into another. I’m still waiting for a final number from The Trust but they said to estimate an 8% increase for Workers Comp premium.
· Mr. Corrente stated we are currently paying KCWA .50 cents per account for water records. I sent them a letter asking them to reduce it to .25 cents per account. I have not received an answer yet but I will follow up with them.
· Mr. Corrente stated the requested increase from $20,000 to $70,000 in severance buyback is due to two employees who are eligible to retire next year. This increase would cover their buy-outs for sick and vacation time.
· Mr. Corrente said safety, clothing and shoes are contractual obligations. Per The Trust, property liability will be an 8% increase.
· There was some discussion about the increased amount for clothing and shoes. Mr. Knott said he noticed it in other departments as well. Mr. Chapdelaine said at the plant we have uniforms plus the union contract obligations. Further discussion followed about trying to make changes in the contract regarding uniforms.
· Mr. Corrente said the chemical bids were opened and the lowest bids came in higher than we had projected. Council Vice President Williamson asked how we stand for chemicals this year. Mr. Corrente replied there will be an influx in chemicals usage in the Spring. Mr. Chapdelaine stated as of the end of this month we are going to start using a lot more chemicals than we have in the previous three months. Council Vice President Williamson said we’re going to double the current amount and Mr. Chapdelaine said yes, we have thousands of gallons of chemicals coming in over the next two weeks.
· Council Vice President Williamson stated one of the selling points of Fusion Odor Control was to reduce our chemical costs. She asked for some sort of comparison regarding how many gallons we’re using. Mr. Chapdelaine replied we do have less sludge going out.
· Mr. Geremia said that is part of what Fusion said they would do. You have to compare the caustic and sodium hypochloride use going back to 2018 or 2019. Mr. Corrente stated we keep a spreadsheet of chemical usage from year to year.
· There was a brief discussion about keeping digital vs. hard copies of documents and when we starting using Fusion.
· Mr. Corrente stated last year there was a big increase in the water line item because KCWA implemented a fire hydrant fee that has since been eliminated so that line item has been reduced. Also, KCWA is in the midst of applying for an 8% decrease so there will be a decrease in that line item.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked about the fire hydrants being replaced and asked how many we have. Mr. Chapdelaine replied there are five hydrants that need to be replaced. Mr. Geremia replied there are eight hydrants in all and they’re about 25 years old. They all use plant water not city water. Mr. Chapdelaine stated the company we hired believes they can just replace the internal parts for four out of the five hydrants.
· Mr. Corrente stated we are increasing Training and Licensing because DOT has changed the requirements for CDL licensing resulting in an additional cost to us.
· Mr. Corrente stated the Consent Agreement Sampling was increased based on information from Mr. Geremia about our costs for next year. As for the Safety Equipment and Testing increase, the cost of latex gloves has tripled.
· Mr. Corrente stated the preliminary budget for Sludge is based on a 15% increase. We’re hopeful it will come in at a 10% increase which will reduce the line item by $29,000. Mr. Chapdelaine stated it’s tough to predict because as of this week Synagro couldn’t take our sludge so we have to go to the Landfill. Synagro is also sending sludge to the landfill right now. There was some additional discussion about trying to identify the actual amount of sludge that will go to the landfill.
· Mr. Corrente stated the Industrial Pretreatment line will need to be adjusted based upon our contract.
· Mr. Geremia stated right now the permits generate $130,700 and you pay $123,000 for monitoring. The difference should pay for the pretreatment sampling fees. We need to define what those fees are so we can adjust the permit fees because residents should not be paying for those fees.
· Mr. Corrente said this year we didn’t spend any of the Easement Maintenance budget so we decreased that line item for next year. Mr. Geremia said none of our easements have been cleaned in the last ten years and there are several easements. It won’t be able to be done in one year but we should start chipping away at it. Expect to spend at least $100,000.
· Mr. Geremia stated the Maisie Quinn Interceptor is the last of the ARPA money that we want to use. That will be the big easement that we want to clear.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if we could apply for Infrastructure money for this project instead of using ARPA funds because of the cost of the project. Discussion followed regarding other funding sources as well as applying through other towns since the Maisie Quinn Interceptor services multiple communities. Council Vice President Williamson said this project should qualify for other funding besides ARPA given its regional nature and we shouldn’t wait to apply.
· Mr. Corrente stated we decreased the Pump Station Maintenance budget from $40,000 to $28,000 based on the four-year average.
· Mr. Corrente said there was nothing spent out of Legal this year and we were unsure if this was a shared amount divided amongst the departments. Ms. Benoit said if the Solicitor gets involved it gets billed to the General Fund but we should probably expense it over.
· Mr. Corrente stated the Capital budget may be decreased for next year based on the use of ARPA funds. Our Debt Bond Expenses will be decreased about $9,000 next year. The AWT Bond will be paid off as of FY24.
· Mr. Geremia asked if the Sewer Commission will be reimbursed the last payment when that bond gets paid off because the Commission had to put the last payment in reserve. Ms. Benoit stated she did see part of the fund balance had been restricted for debt. Mr. Geremia said the last bond payment for each of the SRF bonds should be broken down. Mr. Corrente said the final year payment for the AWT Bond was about $1,011,000. There was some further discussion about the auditors and the breakdown of Restricted Funds.
· Ms. Benoit said she’s concerned because in 2018 we had $6,900,000 in Unrestricted Funds and in 2021 we’re down to $3,000,000 in Unrestricted Funds. In 2019 you used $1,300,000, in 2020 you used almost $1,000,000 and in 2021 you used $702,000. There’s a little difference of about $150,000 in depreciation and the Pension and the OPEB costs make up a small part of it.
· Mr. Geremia stated the assessments coming in are supposed to offset the budget. Ms. Benoit said she thought half of the assessments were being put aside. Mr. Chapdelaine said it’s been going down every year which is a problem. Mr. Geremia said if you can save money in Capital using ARPA funds that will go a long way. Ms. Benoit said that will offset the Unrestricted Funds revenue line.
· Ms. Benoit asked how much we normally collect in assessment revenue. Mr. Corrente replied we’ve already exceeded this year’s budget, we’re at 104%. There was discussion about how the assessment revenue has been used in the past and how the percentages have been split over the past few years.
· Council Vice President Williamson said what’s being explained right now has not been explained in the two previous budgets. Mr. Geremia said he remembers money being used from the Unrestricted account for the Centrifuge, the generator and another project. Mr. Corrente stated FY20 was the last time the assessment was budgeted at 50%.
· Ms. Benoit said $967,694 in FY20 and $1,300,000 in FY19 was taken from Unrestricted Funds. Mr. Corrente replied in FY20 we had budgeted $500,000. Ms. Benoit said part of that could be over expenditures too.
· Ms. Benoit recommended eliminating the use of Unrestricted Funds to balance the budget and stated the rates have to go up, they haven’t gone up in six years. She said some of the other communities could kick in their ARPA funds towards Capital projects that benefit the plant as a whole. Mr. Geremia replied the Intermunicipal Agreement says Capital expenditures are based on usage so their shares would be based on their individual usage.
· Ms. Benoit presented her spreadsheet for Admin. fees. She lowered the Manager to 20% and the Finance Director to 15%. She increased the Tax Collector based on the amount of work that is being done. The number is going up based on the salaries going up. She took off electricity and computer services because they are separate line items in the budget. Ms. Benoit stated she also talked to Narragansett who does a similar spreadsheet with percentages based on actual cost and she talked to a few other communities as well.
· Council Vice President Williamson recommended that Ms. Benoit put together a packet with a brief cover memo explaining her process along with all the backup documentation.
· Ms. Benoit said in comparison to the Civic Center, the WWTF is more of a business where the Civic Center is more of a service. A brief discussion followed regarding the Civic Center, regional sewer users share and the breakdown of costs.
· Mr. Corrente said there is going to be a full audit of the billing before it goes out this year because I found several problems with the spreadsheet we received from Vision.
· Mr. Corrente thanked Ms. Benoit and the Deputy Finance Director for all their help. He asked Ms. Benoit if she had any concerns with the line items on the expense side.
· Mr. Geremia said because you have overspent in Engineering fees related to inspections, he would like add an inspection charge that should not affect the public and have it put into the ordinance. We need to look at why Engineering is over and fix it if we can.
· Mr. Geremia said expenses for the last two years for private pump stations is $9,000 and the current billing is $20,000. Mr. Corrente said we’ve collected $18,000 so far.
· Mr. Knott stated he is going to look into safety clothing, the CDL course and the infrastructure funding options. He asked about the Capital. Ms. Benoit asked what part of the Capital is on the ARPA list.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated out of the $500,000 we have right now, $380,000 could be ARPA related. If we’re going to use all the ARPA funding for the four items that Mr. Geremia listed we’ll have to use Capital for the other items.
· Mr. Geremia asked about the pumps. Mr. Chapdelaine replied we still have to repair the third pump. Mr. Geremia said don’t spend the money doing that, you only need two pumps to run the plant, just rotate them. Start putting money aside in the budget so if in five or ten years from now you need to repair or replace a pump you have the money.
· Ms. Benoit asked about Collection System Improvements. Mr. Geremia replied it’s the budget for cleaning the lines. Each year we should go out to bid to have a section of the lines cleaned. We should divide the Town into districts then TV and clean one district at time. These reports can help you prevent any catastrophic failures.
· Council Vice President Williamson recommended we put together a five-year plan. Mr. Geremia said the interceptors haven’t been touched in ten or fifteen years and we don’t need to replace the sewer lines because there’s no additional flow. A brief discussion followed regarding outsourcing the cleaning or doing it in-house and the costs involved.
· Mr. Knott said lets consider SCADA not a Capital expense and just a one-time project. There was some discussion regarding which pending projects fall under Capital vs. other funding sources.
· Ms. Benoit summed up the updated numbers for the budget and said to take out the Unrestricted from the revenue, trim down the Capital and raise the rates. Mr. Corrente said even at the 4.25 rate it will only be a $28.00 increase per year.
· Mr. Corrente asked what number is everyone is comfortable with for budgeting non-ARPA projects in FY23 Capital budget. Council Vice President Williamson said to take out the $100,000 for SCADA. Mr. Corrente listed some items to remove or keep in the Capital.
· Council Vice President Williamson said she’s concerned about the amount overbudget for this year in that it’s a huge increase. She said the projected actual is coming in just under $9,000,000. Mr. Corrente replied the saving grace is going to be the ARPA funds. There was some further discussion about this year’s budget, the projected capital and what’s been spent so far.
· Mr. Corrente discussed revenue projections. He said the bills are based on previous year water consumptions and the summer of 2020 was hot and dry so we benefited in sewer usage. He’s waiting for numbers to be imported from Vision and for Bev to audit them. He based the revenue projection using two prior fiscal years billing that were consistent with water usage and water consumption and he based it with the rate increase. The number without the rate increase would be $4,082,500. There was some additional discussion regarding projected revenues and current year deficits. Council Vice President Williamson said she has never known about any deficits.
· Ms. Benoit discussed depreciation and a discussion ensued regarding the Unrestricted and Restricted balances and budget deficit.
· Mr. Geremia discussed some of the new developments in West Warwick, the assessment money they will generate and past use of assessment money in lieu of raising rates.
· All were in agreement to invite the auditor, Mr. Civetti to the next budget workshop.
A motion was made to approve the February 3, 2022 minutes by James Geremia and seconded by Council Vice President Williamson. All in favor none opposed.
The following is taken from the Plant Manager’s report data through February 28, 2022.
· Average daily flow was 7.1 mgd with a maximum of 12.8 mgd and a minimum of 2.6 mgd.
· CBOD removal was 98% at 2.0 mgd.
· TSS removal was 98% at 2.5 mgd.
· Total Nitrogen is out of season.
· Total Phosphorus was 0.52 mg/l. DEM requirement is 1.0 mg/l.
· Sludge to Synagro was 484 wet tons. No sludge to Landfill.
· There was 1 public line block up:
1. Winthrop Avenue
· There were 4 private line block ups:
1. 2 on Providence Street (same residence)
2. Woodside Avenue
3. Intersection of Tampa & Noxon Streets
· There were no odor complaints.
· There were no facility violations.
· Mr. Chapdelaine said the Assistant Superintendent’s position is still open. We are working with DEM to see if we can hire someone with a Grade 3 license instead of a Grade 4 license with stipulations involved. We have a meeting next week about that. We just hired a new maintenance person.
· Year-to-Date Operating and Debt Expenses for Fiscal Year 2022 through February 28th totaled $6,037,126 which is 64% of the annual budget.
· Sewer Collections for the month of February total $393,737.39 of which:
§ Sewer Assessments: $3,275.45 of which $1027.07 represents interest
§ Sewer Usage Fees: $161,274.22
§ Industrial Fees: $299,187.72
· In February the delinquent notices were mailed out to the eight private pump stations who had not paid their invoices from November. One percent interest was added for each month that they were delinquent. We also mailed out 2,107 delinquent notices totaling $1,071,896 to ratepayers who were past due on their usage bills. In previous years those notices were only mailed to accounts that were delinquent $200 or more. This year we followed what the Tax Collector does and mailed out to anyone who was delinquent $5 or more. It was a minimal increase in postage that could result in and additional $97,795.
· Budget Workshops are scheduled for March 10th and April 7th with the Public Hearings scheduled for April 12th and April 26th.
· Council Vice President Williamson said she’s had people complain that they got two years worth of delinquent bills. Mr. Corrente explained that they changed the past due amount to anything owed over $5.
· Council Vice President Williamson said she saw a boat-load of sewer assessments on the Tax Collector’s delinquent list that she had not seen before. She hopes that it didn’t go back to previous years when it was lowered from $200 to $5 and those got sent out too. Mr. Corrente replied the delinquency notices are strictly handled by the Sewer Billing Clerk. She just choses the dollar amount, prints off the delinquent notice and mails them out. Council Vice President Williamson replied this may have caused some PR problems. If we’ve always used $200, we can’t just go back and say now it’s $5 on something that’s two years old. She wants to make sure that didn’t happen. Mr. Corrente stated he will look into it.
· Mr. Knott said I think we can do it because if you’re delinquent, you’re delinquent. It’s not like these were advertised. Council Vice President Williamson said the people she spoke to were unaware of it and both of them had two years. Yes, we can do it but we were forgiving it before. Mr. Geremia said it was never forgiven, we just weren’t sending a notice out. Discussion ensued regarding the delinquency notices and how interested is accrued and if interest appears on the bills. Mr. Corrente said he will research this further.
Significant Industrial Users
· Noramco submitted their self-monitoring reports and all permits were in compliance. They are going to be moving and getting out of the business and that’s going to impact the industrial flow.
Food Service Permits
· A new permit was issued to Applebee’s due to an ownership change.
· A permit was reissued to Filippou’s in West Warwick.
Plan Reviews
· Plans were reviewed for 113 Tiogue Avenue. It’s an eight-unit building and some of the areas have been previously connected. The plans were generally consistent with the requirements and a letter was issued.
· Plans were received for Neon, a gas station and convenience store going into East Greenwich Square at 1149 Division Street. They were in compliance and a letter was issued.
· Keyes Storage on Keyes Way submitted plans that were not consistent and a letter was issued.
Other
· A cannabis testing lab at 1745 Main Street was inspected. They were not in compliance and did not provide us the information and a letter was issued.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated this is still in the works, we are waiting on one part. We have $5,000 more to pay on it and this repair will be complete.
· Mr. Geremia said nothing has been done on this.
· Mr. Geremia stated the shop drawings are presently being reviewed, we should be through in a week or so.
· Mr. Geremia said we are reviewing the shop drawings. We received a notice from KCWA stating they are reimbursing about $7,000 and we’ll pay for the meter.
· Mr. Geremia stated this has been executed and a notice to proceed has been issued.
· Mr. Geremia stated we are receiving bids on March 14th and I want to put it on the March 15th agenda. Last month Mr. Chapdelaine reported a catastrophic failure on one of the clarifiers. We ordered the drive which is due in the end of April to mid-May. If we award the contract in March we’ll have time to get all the paperwork and insurances in and be ready for the contractor to begin the work in April. If we wait until April to award the contract it will delay the installation of the drive.
· Mr. Corrente stated the Commission Clerk has asked about submitting a resolution in the initial packets without the dollar amount then forward the amended resolution once the bid is opened which would be about 24 hours before the meeting.
· There was a brief discussion about the open meetings act and it was decided to go forward with the resolution on March 15th.
· Mr. Geremia said he referenced the ARPA funds on the resolution.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked what the cost of this project will be. Mr. Geremia replied the budget was $750,000 to $800,000 and the engineering fees should be a separate line item under ARPA.
· A brief discussion followed about what fees to include on the ARPA resolutions and how to properly record these payments.
No discussion at this time.
· Mr. Geremia stated we are not collecting enough on inspection fees. We need to up the fees and he will put together a proposal for a rate increase by the end of the budget.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated the tanks failed DEM regulations. To remove both tanks would be over $17,000. To remove one and repair one would be $31,000. To remove both and add one would be $53,000 to $63,000.
· Mr. Chapdelaine said we should be able to access the diesel and fuel at DPW with our equipment so I’m thinking we should just remove them.
· Mr. Knott asked if this would be an RFP. Mr. Geremia replied yes and he will put a bid package together.
· Everyone agreed to move forward with the RFP and get rid of the tanks.
· Mr. Geremia stated he is developing a list of who fits the criteria of a private pump station and who the billing should go to. We may remove some of them from the list if it’s just a collection system.
· Mr. Geremia used an example of a new six-lot subdivision that is going to be putting in a pump station. He said who is going to maintain it and who do you bill. If there is a homeowner’s association, who is going to be responsible. We have the same trouble with condo associations.
· Mr. Knott stated there is a lot of discussion at the planning meetings about associations which our attorney needs to approve so we can strengthen the language. Mr. Geremia replied that’s why he makes sure it gets into the deeds when he’s reviewing town drainage but it is extremely difficult to administer.
· Mr. Corrente asked for approval to bring the chemical bid awards before the Sewer Commission on Tuesday night. It was approved.
Moved to beginning of meeting.
· Mr. Geremia referred to the list he submitted to the Subcommittee.
· Mr. Knott stated he hasn’t discussed this with the solicitor yet but he hopes to have an answer on this before next month’s meeting. As we’ve discussed, there was nothing that truly established a Subcommittee. We can still maintain agendas and minutes but he doesn’t think the extra steps are necessary.
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.