VILLAGE OF MORRISVILLE WATER AND LIGHT DEPARTMENT

                                                                     July 2, 2007

                                                                             

 

MONDAY                                                                                                6:00 PM

                  Water and Light Office

 

The meeting duly noticed and warned was called to order at 6:00 PM.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:                  Chair:        Bourne

                                                        Trustees:  Wildes, Sargent, DeBor, Thompson

                                                        Staff:         Craig Myotte, Jim Fontaine, Penny Jones, Linda Osgood

 

GUESTS PRESENT:                       Dave Yacovone

                             

1)      PUBLIC MEETING

 

Dave Yacovone has been working on behalf of the hungry lately to inform people of programs that are available to help them.  He is asking MW&L to do a bill insert to help him in this important cause. The Board discussed the request and agreed to allow a bill stuffer to go into the August billing but also requested staff to prepare a policy to document criteria for allowing a stuffer for the August 6th meeting. The Board also discussed using the message section of the bill and paying for an ad in the Transcript.

 

2)      EXECUTIVE SESSION:

 

On a motion by Trustee Wildes, seconded by Trustee Sargent and unanimously approved, the Board voted to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel at 6:04 PM.

 

The Board came out of Executive Session at 6:55 PM.

 

Trustee DeBor left the meeting at 7:00 PM.

 

3)   OLD BUSINESS:

 

Response to Issues raised in letter from ANR – An e-mail has been the only correspondence from ANR.  The e-mail states the Village should consider replacement of critical components, refurbish the entire motor control center and develop a contingency plan for the aerators. The Board expressed concern about spending additional money now on items that will not be needed once the new wastewater treatment facilities are constructed at a cost of $6.2 million. The Board directed staff to meet with the ANR after we receive their response and discuss their recommendations and provide them with an update on our plans and schedule for constructing new facilities.

 

Copley Golf Course – Tad Lamell has indicated that the CCC’s Board had no issues with the draft agreement and planned to sign it at their next regular meeting on July 9th.

 

4)      MANAGEMENT REPORT:

 

Jim discussed work at Cady’s Falls. The vertical unit at Cady’s Falls has been torn down and is awaiting an inspection by James Leffel Company before we remove what we believe the problem to be.  Bill Clewes recommended Mr. Leffel because the bearings need to fit exactly.  The Board will begin their next regular meeting with a tour of the Cady’s Falls plant at 5:00 PM.

 

No word on RDA loans yet.

 

We do not have the July reading from the country club’s water meter yet to see what first month of usage was.

 

Penny reviewed the financial reports with no questions from the Board.

 

Staff informed the Trustees that they are close to reaching an Agreement with the DPS that our residential customer charge will be $9.04 under deseasonalized rates.

 

The 108C filing (electric bonds) has been approved and the funds should be in the accounts by the end of July.

 

Trustee Wildes asked if the accounts receivable was growing.  Penny replied she did not know off hand and would look into it.

 

On the Lamoille Country Project (115 KV line), Stowe wrote VELCO to defer the project until the allocation of the costs could be settled.  VELCO replied they are not deferring the project. Settlement discussions will continue in parallel with the FERC hearing.

 

Craig received a call from our insurance carrier as a follow-up to the recent vehicular accident.  He will be drafting a response to address their concerns.

 

5)   APPROVE MINUTES OF MEETING HELD JUNE 18, 2007:

 

On a motion by Trustee Wildes, seconded by Trustee Sargent and unanimously approved, the Board approved the minutes of the June 18, 2007, meeting.

 

6)   DISCUSS PROPOSALS AND AWARD WWTF ENGINEERING DESIGN CONTRACT:

 

Staff recommends to award the WWTF engineering design contract to Forcier Aldrich & Associates. Staff reviewed costs and timelines, experience, qualifications, checked references, reviewed plant operator comments and discussed lessons learned with the Johnson WWTF operator. Staff also considered the number of entities making up the team for each bidder. All of the proposals were excellent.

 

On a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee Wildes and unanimously approved, the Board accepted Management’s proposal to award the WWTF Engineering Design Contract to Forcer Aldrich & Associates.

 

7)   DISCUSS STATUS OF PRIVATE OWNED SEWER LINES:

 

Gary Nolan had some discussions with Howard Manosh on the Board’s latest proposal.  Howard is willing to sign an Agreement with the Town for 1,450 feet of sewer line. Craig has made numerous calls to Mr. Nolan inquiring on the status of signing the Agreement and he will continue to do so until the Agreement is signed.

 

8)   REVIEW STATUS OF 2007 GOALS:

 

Craig reviewed the summary of goals included in the Trustee’s packets. Overall, we were doing fairly well on most goals with only a few weak spots.  Craig hopes to submit a revised game plan at the second meeting in August.  The Trustee asked for an electronic copy of the goals to be distributed before the August 20th meeting.

 

9)   PROPERTY MANAGEMENT:

 

MW&L has received several letters of interest in the Bugbee Springs property. The Trustees discussed the water resource on the property. The Chairman directed Craig to get the appraisal and then we can begin talking to some of the interested parties.

 

Someone recently approached Jim with the idea of a restaurant in the Gristmill and a local produce market in the Creamery Building.  The Chairman suggested leaving that on the backburner at this time.

 

9)      OTHER BUSINESS:

 

The Trustees reviewed Jim Pease’s request for financial assistance in moving an overhead line underground. MW&L gave him a cost estimate of $5,200. Trustee Wildes stated that this was a stormwater issue and stormwater was the Town’s responsibility. The Trustees asked Craig to inform Mr. Pease to approach the Town for help.

 

Craig attended the Planning Commission meeting held on June 21st.  The focus for MW&L in the future planning will be broadband and providing data on the services we provide.

 

10)  ADJOURNMENT:

 

At 8:04 PM, on a motion by Trustee Sargent, seconded by Trustee Thompson and unanimously approved, the Board adjourned the meeting.

 

 

                                                                        ___________________________________

Dana Wildes, Clerk