Water and Sewer 1/21/25

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Water and Sewer Minutes 01-21-25 151 KB

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Town of Richmond
Meeting of Water and Sewer Commission

Minutes of January 21, 2025

Members Present: Jay Furr, Erin Farr (iPhone), Bard Hill, Morgan Wolaver
 

Members Absent: Lisa Miller

Staff Present:  Superintendent Steve Cote; Town Manager Josh Arneson; Assistant to the Town Manager Duncan Wardwell.

Others Present: The meeting was recorded for MMCTV Erin Wagg, Jeff Forward.

MMCTV Video: MMCTV Erin Wagg
https://youtu.be/ZpQFjncGq5s?si=k1LfpAdyyinhma8Y

Call to Order:  6:01 pm
 

Welcome: Wolaver

Public Comment:  None

Additions or Deletions to the Agenda:  None

Approval of Minutes, Warrants and Purchase Orders

Minutes:

People who participated in discussion: Wolaver

Hill moved to approve the Minutes as written on 01/06/2025. Furr seconded.

Roll Call Vote: Wolaver, Hill, Furr, Farr in favor. Motion approved.

Purchase Orders:  None

Warrants:

Hill moved to approve the warrant as approved # 22506, for $19,884.43. Furr seconded.

Roll Call Vote: Wolaver, Hill, Furr, Farr in favor. Motion approved.

Items for Presentation or Discussion with those present

Update on staffing changes
Timestamp: 0:02
 

People who participated in discussion: Wolaver, Cote, Furr

Cote reported that Operator in Training Robert Connolly has resigned. Cote will go back through the pile of resumes and see if anyone else is interested. Furr asked if Snow had passed his test yet, to which Cote replied that he is rescheduling the test for Feb. Snow has finished his apprenticeship program for Sewer.

Consideration of approval of the Step 1 Engineering Service Agreement for flood mitigation for the force main and pump station
Timestamp: 0:05

https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Water_Sewer_Commission/Meetings/2025/01/4b1_Richmond_Bridge_St_PS_and_FM_ESA_-_Step_I.pdf

https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Water_Sewer_Commission/Meetings/2025/01/4b2_DEC_CERTIFICATION_-_Richmond_PS_and_FM.pdf

https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Water_Sewer_Commission/Meetings/2025/01/4b3_LOE_for_Bridge_St_PS_Step_1.pdf

https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Water_Sewer_Commission/Meetings/2025/01/4b5_Richmond_WW_Project_Summary_2024-09.pdf

People who participated in discussion: Wolaver, Cote, Arneson, Hill

Cote explained that this motion is giving Holt Tanner the ability to pursue either relocating the pump station or relocating the force main under the bridge that we've had issues with. Arneson added that this should be 100% subsidized through CWSRF, this is the design part and the preliminary design. As we get into final design and construction, they'll probably be subsidizing more. Cote added that Dan Pratt is scheduled to raise the pedestal with all the controls on it, which we had talked about that will cost around $5,800. Arneson added that this is considered a mitigation project so FEMA should be covering 75% of the cost of raising the control panel. Wolaver wanted to know how high the panel is presently, to which Cote explained the panel will be raised three and a half feet higher, making the top the bottom. Hill advised that it’s important to keep in mind that lately the voters have not seemed to want to pay for large scale repairs around Town, and that the Board should go into any future planning with Hoyt Tanner with their “eyes wide open.” Arneson said this project is probably a few years out and there may be more funding at that point.

Hill moved to approve the Step 1 Engineering Service Agreement for flood mitigation for the force main and pump station and to appoint Town Manager Josh Arneson as the duly authorized representative. Farr seconded.

Roll Call Vote: Wolaver, Hill, Furr, Farr in favor. Motion approved.

Review of water tank inspection report and discussion of next steps
Timestamp: 0:16

https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Water_Sewer_Commission/Meetings/2025/01/4c_Richmond_Water_Tank_-_Report_Heritage_Engineering_01-03-2025_Reduced_File_Size_for_email.pdf

People who participated in discussion: Wolaver, Cote, Arneson, Hill

Arneson included the engineers report and stated that the main engineer who authored the report, Todd Henninger, is available to attend the Feb 3, 2025 Selectboard meeting to answer any questions. In summary, Arneson continued there is some cracking, but all the cracks are small in width. So they might be long, but the width is small, and about the same size and the number of cracks are what you might expect in a tank that's made of concrete. Henninger does not see any concrete that's in distress or deterioration, and he doesn't have any concerns about the structure of the tank, so he doesn't feel like it's going to have a major failure of any sort. We had asked about epoxy and he replied that typically in a water tank, you won't put epoxy on the rebar. He had some recommendations that are akin to good maintenance practices. He came back to the roof quite a bit, saying that putting a membrane on top of the roof would be a good step to take, and should have been done when we started the project, but we opted not to at that time. He also noted that typically when pouring concrete, there's a third party that will do testing, and they'll get a sample of the concrete, do a strength test, and see if it lives up to the number of psi’s that is in the design. We do not have the results of such concrete tests, but it is included in the contract. Cote added that you can make a tank that is 100% watertight and never cracks, never has any problems, but to get there, the cost exponentially increases. He states that he is happy the tank is the size that it is, so that we don’t have to boil water when it floods. Wolaver said that a good rubber membrane should give another 30 years to the roof. Hill added that having the engineer present at the next meeting will be useful.

Update on installation of water meters

Timestamp: 0:30

People who participated in discussion: Wolaver, Cote, Arneson

Cote said they have installed 212 new meters right now and have another 115 to go. Even with the cold they continue to install meters. These meters will significantly reduce the time it will take to compile the water bills every quarter. The online portal for the new meters will be set up soon.

Review of design options for new Water Resources Department logo

Timestamp: 0:36

People who participated in discussion: Wolaver, Cote, Arneson, Farr, Furr, Hill

Cote said his stepdaughter is a design major in Texas and she has made 3 new logos. Many of the board members liked the first logo and the last one the best. All logos have a misprint on Water Resource Department where it should say Water Resources Department. Farr and Furr think the first logo looks like female genitalia and suggested changing the colors. The second choice looks too much like the Fire Department logo. The third choice might look better with a different colored water drop. Everyone liked that the Round Church steeple is featured and think the designer is quite creative.

Superintendent’s Report
Timestamp: 0:46

People who participated in discussion: Cote

Cote elaborated that the septage screen PLC has been installed. They are currently taking septage at a low rate, but Milton is not taking septage now, so just recently we have been taking a bit more from there. The amount of tonnage and money he has spent to get rid of the biosolids is down, because now he has had drier solids and bigger loads, he has only spent $48,000 of the budgeted $100,000 from July to Dec. He will have to rebuild the distribution auger which distributes solids across the tractor trail, it has worn too small. It is now plugging up and spins all the time like a screw. It doesn't keep up with the amount of material so Cote has to run the press at a little slower speed not to overload it. He has called a few places for new augers. He is hoping to get some cheaper prices, because he compared this with the time he was able to get the clarifier fixed for $3,500, when the cheapest bid prior to that was $10,000. He says this screw has never been changed and it’s now worn down, the other screw was changed when he started in 2022. Cote says they can regularly do more preventative maintenance around the plant, which is great.
 

Discuss Items for Next Agenda:

The water tank and engineer visit

New influent pump made in Oregon

Adjournment

Furr moved to adjourn. Farr seconded.

Roll Call Vote: Wolaver, Hill, Farr, Furr in favor. Motion approved.

Meeting adjourned at: 6:58 pm

Chat file from Zoom:  None

00:58:30          iPhone:            I am really impressed by the options

00:58:40          iPhone:            This is Erin by the way

00:59:43          iPhone:            I like the first image the best, I saw the opposite organ. I would suggest making the church roof longer

01:06:56          MMCTV Studio (Richmond): I just talked to Angelike - she will be at the library at 7 pm if you need help w audio - she told me Duncan fixed the room audio output at his last meeting on the laptop settings. I can hear you okay on Zoom

01:07:48          Richmond Town Host:            Thanks but I figured it out. The cord from the laptop to the speakers was unplugged. I plugged it back in and we are all set now.

01:09:48          MMCTV Studio (Richmond): Angelike suggests it might not be a bad idea to restart the laptop at the meeting break.