Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCapital Program Committee Minutes - 11 01 2011_201402121340305225Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 1 of 7 Town of Nantucket Capital Program Committee www.nantucket-ma.gov MINUTES Tuesday, November 1, 2011 4 Fairgrounds Road, Second-floor Meeting Room – 9:00 am All or a portion of this meeting is being recorded. If you plan to record this meeting yourself, please check with the chairman of the board before you begin. Called to order at 9:00 a.m. Staff: Diane O'Neil, Mohamed Nabulsi, Kara Buzanoski Attending Members: Peter Hoey, John Tiffany, Patty Roggeveen, Peter Boynton, Linda Williams, Carol Dunton, Phil Stambaugh Absent Members: Late arrival times: Williams arrive 10:19 a.m. Early departure time: Roggeveen depart 10:43 a.m. I. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 1. Approval Minutes – October 25, 2011 Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation N/A Discussion Discussion about a question that was taken care of. Send out final copies to committee members. Action Adopted by unanimous consent 2. School projects up Nov. 8 at 9 a.m. followed by Madaket wind turbine, Energy Study Committee Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Hoey – Have asked Frank Kaminski to sit in on presentation by Energy Study Committee. If we want to send the questions by Thursday, need the presentation as soon as possible. Discussion O’Neil – They might not be done with the presentation. Normally as things work, it might not be ready till Monday Afternoon. Dunton will not be in attendance. Action None 3. Procedures – submitting questions to presenter Thursday before meeting. Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Hoey – Would like for formalize the procedure, of sending questions the Thursday before the meeting. We need a copy of the presentation, not the one-pager; but need presentation by Monday a week previous. Discussion None Action Hoey will send email to Libby Gibson in May or June with a draft of this recommended procedure. Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 2 of 7 II. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS (DPW) 1. Road Maintenance - $1.130M Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Kara Buzanoski, Director DPW – Chapter 90 Massachusetts Highway reimbursement fund. Authorization to use monies is available immediately as soon as it is announced in April. Mohamad Nabulsi – Chapter 90 is a Massachusetts State program adopted 1973 for community funding from a state bond, which fluctuates every year. Each April, each community in the state gets a statement of how much is eligible. This year’s bond totals $150M; Nantucket expects to receive about $500K. Cannot spend the money unless the Selectmen approve the project. Of $900K already spent $786K. Polpis and Madaket Roads have been identified as needing re-paving. Will continue with the complete re-working of Madaket Road down to grinding and four inches of new paving. We are one year ahead in the paving projects. Discussion Hoey – So we can spend up to about $1.7M. Tiffany – We have $635K but DPW is assuming they will receive a comparable amount in April. Stambaugh – We are being asked for $1.130M Tiffany – Once you find out if you have more in April you will be asking to do more work, correct? Buzanoski – Yes. Nabulsi– Need to do at least 500 feet of work, funding will not pay for anything less. O’Neil – Will send commissioners a link to the web site about Chapter 90. Action No action at this time. 2. Salt Shed Roof Replacement - $100K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski – Storage for winter salt usage; by state requirement we must protect the adjacent wetlands from contamination. Salt is a contaminate. Nabulsi – Roof work includes new plywood sheathing as well as new shingles. Discussion Tiffany – A lot of communities have stopped using salt, will Nantucket? Roggeveen – No, not on the screen to stop using salt. Buzanoski– It comes down to cost. Brine and other chlorides can be used, but it is cost prohibitive to do anything more. Can add a wetting solution that allows use of less salt. Stambaugh – How about using a material for the building that is not corrosive? Buzanoski– Have looked at cement base; but don’t know if HDC will allow use of plastics on construction. Dunton – Have you looked into using other than asphalt on the roof? Nabulsi – No, this is a 35-year-old shed and the roof has never been replaced in that time. As for other than salt, in the past, have looked into using only sand, but that only gives the sense of driving safely. Only salt melts the ice. The BOS will look at do we continue to buy sand at $30 $50 a ton and keep sanding and sanding and sanding; or do we continue to by 30 or 50 tons of salt for a season. Roggeveen – Recovered sand is quite profitable. Nabulsi – Used sand dredged from children’s beach and other such sources. Dunton - $100K for an asphalt roof that size seems high. Boynton – Aren’t there two grades of sand? Buzanoski– Washed sand is used in septics. Nabulsi – Sand used on the road must be less than 1/8th inch grains. Hoey – Is there a possibility that $100K won’t be enough? Buzanoski– It will have to work. O’Neil – Roof on old garage, started with $125K and didn’t spend it all. $75K went back into town. It is a real mess when you don’t have enough to start with. Action No action at this time. 3. Millie’s Bridge: Repair/Re-decking/Reconstruction – $115K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Nabulsi – Did not need engineering study, so don’t need $100K of original request. Discussion Tiffany – Talking about $115, long term shows $215. O’Neil – It got changed and was not reflected on proposal. Need to remove $215. Action No action at this time. Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 3 of 7 4. ‘Sconset Foot Bridge Restoration - $90K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Nabulsi – Originally did not realize it would need removal of lead paint so cost jumped as a result. Discussion Hoey – DPW might want to talk to ‘Sconset Trust about sharing the cost. Action Not recommended 5. Bobcat Skid Steer Load with Attachments - $70K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Does not have a plate so does not have a date. Used a lot more than anticipated: edge of road, bike path, snow removal, brush cutting, loading etc. Presently have two, one is 15 years old; this is much older. Between the two, used about 30 hours a week. One is tracked and one is rubber tires. Will sell this. Nabulsi – Used digging holes, mowing, going onto the beach, fork-lift, sweeping, getting snow off sidewalks. Would like to have track system for maneuvering on the beach. This past year, used the bobcat to pull the whale off the beach at Smith’s Point; used to pick up beach trash. Discussion Dunton – Bobcat useful life is five years? Buzanoski– That must be a typo, it is at least fifteen years. Action No action at this time. 6. Catch Basin Cleaning Truck - $95K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Model 1985, goes hand in hand with VacCon truck. Can lift most of the debris out and protect the VacCon from getting sand. One thing Nantucket has not been affected by is larger communities have to implement a storm water program through the EPA to keep stormwater system in full functioning form. Coming down the road will be the requirement to maintain storm system and the entire island, public road catch basins, twice a year. In season between March and October, can be used up to 30 hours per work. Most advantageous to stick with a new vehicle; will try to get a trade in on the old. Discussion Roggeveen – Can be used for Mosquito control, which has been allocated $100K. Action No action at this time. Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 4 of 7 7. VacCon Sewer Cleaning Truck - $250K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Priority, it is broken and need it to keep grease out of sewer. Looked at cost of replacing with new. Purchased 1992. Chose a vehicle that has only the parts we need. Existing to bring up to speed is $80K but could not guarantee it would work. Catch-basin cleaner is not working and VacCon has been used in its stead. Nabulsi – Has a jet that keeps pushes cleaned sewage back into the system and uses water to loosen dirt in catch basin. Refurbished truck about four years ago for $82K. Have rebuilt the pump more than five times. Fan is gone and tank needs to be replaced. This piece of equipment is necessary in keeping the sewer system working right. Discussion Tiffany – You say it is used quite a lot. What is “quite a lot?” Buzanoski– Each piece of equipment is used upwards of 30 hours a week. Stambaugh – Is there a way to reduce the amount of grease going into the system? Nabulsi – Restaurants are supposed to use grease traps and other; but it still gets into the system. Buzanoski– Enables DPW to virtually eliminate sewer back-ups. Will attempt to get a trade in on the old truck. Tiffany – On the sheet funding sources are enterprise and general fund. On the Capital Summary sheet under General Fund. Which fund will it come from? Buzanoski– Across the entire department between the Sewer Enterprise Fund and the Highway. Hoey – I would rather see it out of the Enterprise Fund. Tiffany – I would not. I think that if you look at what’s being done in the sewer and you look at the debt, anything you do in the sewer is going to create probably an increase in fees. Our FY2013 debt cost, was going to drop if we do nothing. In my estimation, we can do a certain amount of capital this year above and beyond what we have in the past without raising taxes. Hoey – We just seem to have a vast amount of projects up to $12, $13 million. Roggeveen – If you look at this piece of equipment, and its versatility, I don’t think it’s fair. The sewer rates have gone up 50, 60 percent in the last two years and the taxes don’t even come close to that. Yeah, it’s used for the sewers, but its core to the DPW. Stambaugh – You will have more room in the General Fund in the sewers. Roggeveen – Yeah, an increase in sewer rates is going to cause a revolution. Dunton – Does DPW have written maintenance schedule? Buzanoski– Not written, but one point is to put DPW policies in writing. Hoey – Want commissioners to receive a full Vehicle Inventory Summary sheet of the maintenance schedule to include: utilization (hours/year), condition and maintenance schedule of all vehicles, plated or not. Action No action at this time. Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 5 of 7 8. Consue Springs: Harbor Outfall Stormwater Improvement Construction - $3.5M Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Williams, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Part of stormwater management plan. Nabulsi – Part of stormwater improvement, design money is available but construction money is not available. This is for the construction. Discussion O’Neil – The design was started late, haven’t seen anything back yet. This is the next phase. Williams – Is $3.5M all for construction? O’Neil – No, it includes design. Nabulsi – Three parts: design, construction, and bike path with culvert replacement. Does not include lake in front of Fooods. Buzanoski– Study of Nantucket harbor talked about contaminants and by not moving forward on this one small piece, it will limit improvement on the harbor. Roggeveen – Feeding ducks white bread is not good for the harbor; it comes out the back end of the duck as a contaminant. O’Neil – Not only intertwined with harbor but also road project at widening corner at Lightship Basket Museum. Williams – Is this coming out of Enterprise or General fund? Buzanoski– General Fund. Stambaugh – Why not do this and find out how much it helps the problem? Do one thing at a time to see what the effect is. Hoey – That is a good point, but if we get this done in FY2013 and take new measurements in FY2014, maybe we will find don’t need sewer in Monomoy. Dunton – Is there any way to put the cost benefits and consequences on paper? Tiffany – There is a lot more to it than is written here. The question is not will this help. The question is which of the many actions gives us the biggest bang for the buck. Has this project been included in the modeling? Buzanoski – John Daniels from Woodard and Curran is stepping in to shepherd the whole process and make it a package so everyone can see how it works together. Action No action at this time. 9. Landfill Mining FY2013 - $660,230.00 Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Roggeveen, Boynton, Williams, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) requires all landfills be capped and monitored when closed out. Given that Nantucket has critical need for space, evaluation was done to determine whether to cap and monitor or to mine. Determined mining was the way to go. Waste Options awarded contract; three years into five-year contract. Have met all the landmarks. Continuing with project for another two years. It was anticipated of the 34 acres, 14 would remain to be capped and monitored. Discussion Roggeveen – Recall an administrative consent order that noted the ponds are being helped by the mining. Hoey – Do not see a FY2014. Buzanoski– It will be re-evaluated and could end up adding something for FY2014. Tiffany - Cell was left out. Why? Buzanoski– Weren’t getting as much mining done and didn’t get the $100K. Tiffany – A cell is not an answer. We could ship off island. Stambaugh – Why not mining the additional 14 acres? Buzanoski– As time goes on, it is under evaluation. Have not had time to go over all the details yet. Roggeveen – Estuary just came out and it will make a difference on if we centralize treatment. There are alternatives. Gas technology is an option. Nabulsi – One of the companies sent bio-degradable bags for use in the gas technology. Ran it through compactor as a test and it did not work. None of them broke down. Action No action at this time. Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 6 of 7 10. Membrane Filtration System FY2013 - $520K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Williams, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– DEP requires plans be made for replacing this item. Have opted to set up a reserve fund to bring in money for replacement. Total replacement cost is $1.3M. We are asking for $130K a year for 10 years. Nabulsi - $520K reflects past three years and this year. Bringing it to attention now instead of waiting for last minute. Discussion Tiffany – The question is, ‘Is this the best way to accumulate case?’ A mechanism to pay for the replacement is being changed; that is more for the Selectmen on how they want to deal with this. Buzanoski– Trying to smooth out revenue impact of the cost of replacement by spreading it over 10 years. O’Neil – Selectmen have approved this methodology. Action No action at this time. 11. Update to Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP) - $750K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Williams, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski – CWMP looks at the entire island and how waste flow should best be handled. Will be working with Woodward and Curran. Discussion Tiffany – Seems like an exorbitant amount of money for an update. Buzanoski – It is not just looking at sewer, but also what areas should be on and stay on septic, what areas need special treatment, and what areas on septic need to go to sewer, cost, defining areas that flow into a location. Have looked at Madaket and Surfside. Need to look at ‘Sconset. It is a planning tool for everything. Tiffany – What are the odds of getting full amount from the SRF? Buzanoski– Very good. State evaluates each application every year. Hoey – Who is going to pay for it right now? They loan us the money then we pay it back from the Enterprise fund revenue? Buzanoski – It is structured so that the bills from the consultant are paid by the State Revolving Fund (SRF). We have a loan from the SRF that has a payment schedule and we pay that back to the SRF, who in turn loans that to someone else. Have not yet made application for this year. Hoey – We want to see the rate increase information by late November. Action No action at this time. 12. Stand-by Emergency Generators - $97K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Williams, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Sunday night we had three pump stations down and only one generator. We need the flexibility of additional generators to have them available at the most problematic pump stations. We are asking to purchase three; we have one that is in good shape. One at a time going down is not a problem, it is when there are power outages. Nabulsi – We have 11 pump stations. We have been very lucky. We have not had a disaster that put the DPW or the town into a situation where there was the question of why we do not have a generator for those pumping stations. Discussion Tiffany – We have functioned with one for a long time. What are the odds of losing power to three or more pumping station? Buzanoski – It just happened. Nabulsi – The probability is based on the question of how you want to run the business. We have been very lucky. It had not come up until recently. Out of the 11, we can only rely on 5. Main ones have generators on site. Three pump stations have dedicated generators, which leave eight that need mobile generators. Buzanoski– Different pumps require different generators. Dunton – What would been the consequences if the power doesn’t come back on? Buzanoski – If power had not come back on Sunday with only one generator between three stations, we would have had ended up with raw sewage in the streets. Williams – That would be a public health emergency. Action No action at this time. Minutes for November 1, 2011, adopted Nov. 29 Page 7 of 7 13. Financial Assurance: Landfill - $250K Sitting Hoey, Tiffany, Boynton, Williams, Dunton, Stambaugh Presentation Buzanoski– Cell 2B is for the existing landfill. For Cell 2C, which will be needed next year at the rate Cell 2B is being filled. Money comes out of the Enterprise Fund. Discussion Stambaugh – If we are mining it, the mined stuff goes into Cell 2B; what happens to it? Buzanoski– Cell 2B has bales of mostly plastics that are not recyclable. In the end, it needs to be covered over with filter fabric then soil then capped according to engineering standards. Hoey – This must be for Cell 2C, which we have not built and might not build. Not sure we should as mining has proven to be much more successful than anticipated. Not sure this is a good time to go forward with this. Buzanoski– It is advantageous to do it this year in case something comes up; we would have it available. We would not spend the money unless necessary. We can rescind and go back into the Enterprise Fund. Tiffany – This does not make us money. Setting up a reserve for something we might not do is not good. Buzanoski– An alternative to not putting into a cell is to ship off island, which is a significant cost. Tiffany – There has not been a financial study done. Would like to see a cost comparison study on cell versus shipping off island. Bio-degradable bags account for 89% of residual. Buzanoski– There are a couple of different possibilities for utilization of non-recyclable residuals. Gasification is one. Tiffany – It isn’t going to do anything. For a million years, it is going to sit there and hopefully not leak. Nabulsi – State wants liner at bottom and cap at top. Williams – Want clarification on allocation of funds for Cell 2B. Nabulsi – As I recall, the $250K is for Cell 2C. Shipping off island cost $10K a month before we had Cell 2B. Tiffany – It is cheaper to ship off island that to build Cell 2C. Hoey – Where did the figure for $250K come from? Nabulsi – The figure of $250K came from George Arunson, Commonwealth Resource Management Corp. Action Buzanoski to come back to Capital Program Committee explaining if $250 already exists for Cell 2B VIII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS/CONCERNS 1. None Adjourned: 11:20 a.m. Submitted by: Terry L. Norton