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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-03-14-WSAB-min,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair, and Maria Constantinides and Jim Osten, Members. Staff: Bill Hadley, DPW Director, Erik Gitschier, Water and Sewer Superintendent, and Elizabeth Tucker and Robin Fullford, Utility Billing. Chair Loren Wood called the meeting to order at 4:33 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Status Report of Abatement Requests Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 57 To be heard tonight 38 To be heard in May 35 On hold for more history 22 Incomplete /Pend i nq 152 Total Review Minutes of the Meetings for Approval It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and approved unanimously to accept the minutes of the November 29, 2012 minutes as amended. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and approved unanimously to accept the minutes of the January 10, 2013 minutes as presented. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and approved unanimously to accept the minutes of the February 14, 2013 minutes as presented. Disposition of Abatement Requests Leaks 3 Aaron Road The homeowners called about bill #733051. Staff found and adjusted a toilet leaking in overflow and the homeowners provided an invoice for the replacement of 3 toilets. The average fall usage is 57 therefore we recalculated all but 17 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $180.63. 37 Barberry Road The homeowners detected an outside leak, had it repaired and provided a receipt for the work done. The 3 year average usage is 168 therefore we recalculated the excess of 183 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $572.79. 31 Bertwell Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #725326. They provided an invoice for the repair of a toilet leak and a faucet leak. The average fall usage is 68 therefore we recalculated all but 28 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $128.84. 11 Dawes Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #693892, the first bill on their new irrigation meter. They believed they had a leak in their irrigation system and made a good faith payment. Their spring bill also showed considerable usage occurred after we took the fall read on 9/15/11. They made a good faith payment on that bill as well. We waited until after the fall 2012 billing to establish average usage. I was ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 unable to reach the homeowners however, until recently when their daughter called me. She now has power of attorney and has provided repair bills and paid bill #721732. With a new fall average of 31 we recalculated bill #707785 with the excess usage at tier one rates and recalculated all usage on bill #693892 at tier one. Staff recommended an abatement of - $468.16. 14 Douglas Road The homeowners called about bill #726510. Staff found a leaking toilet and the homeowner subsequently provided a repair receipt. We established the 3 year average fall usage at 52. Bill #698643 was omitted in the calculation because it had been abated due to a leak. We recalculated all but 12 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $144.00. 2 Drummer Boy Way This is a rental property. The owners called about bill #730587. Staff found a toilet with a broken handle that was running. The owner subsequently provided a receipt for repair dated 12/14/12. The average fall usage is 32 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff installed a radio read device and on 1/31/13 the read was 0018 indicating a usage of .33 per day on the new meter. Staff recommended an abatement of - $680.51. 32 Edgewood Road This is a rental property. The tenants called about the last two high bills. Staff found a leaking toilet. The tenants had the toilet repaired and provided a receipt for the work done. The average fall usage is 36 therefore we recalculated bill # 727457 with all usage at tier one rates. The average spring usage is 50 therefore we recalculated bill # 713496 with all but 10 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $395.80. 22 Estabrook Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #728669 due to a leak. However, because the usage is within tier one rates, there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommended no abatement and recommended waiving interest on the unpaid balance. 135 Follen Road The homeowners called about bill #723620. Staff found and adjusted two toilets leaking in overflow. The average fall usage is 47 therefore we recalculated all but 7 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $325.89. 4 Hastings Road The homeowners had two new toilets installed in November 2012 and provided receipts. The 3 year fall average is 36 hcf therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $552.62. 9 Loring Road The homeowners detected a toilet leak they called a plumber to make the repair. They provided receipts for the work done. The leak seems to have affected bill # 717807 as well. The spring average usage is 65 and the fall average usage is 80, therefore we recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,294.87 2 ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 311 Lowell Street The homeowners detected a toilet leak and they called a plumber to replace two toilets. They provided receipts for the work done. The 2 year average fall usage is 55 therefore we recalculated all but 15 units of usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $562.09. 1475 Massachusetts Avenue This is a 71 unit residential condominium. The management company applied for an abatement on bill # 723934. After receiving the bill they performed a leak survey and found a toilet in one unit had been running continually. One resident complained that it had been running for six months. We first redistributed the usage that had been estimated going back to the A read on 10/9/2009. We then established a 3 year average usage based on the redistribution. However, because there are 71 units, this account is billed at tier one for the first 2840 hcf. All billings are accurate. Staff recommended no extra charge and abatement of all interest associated with this bill. 17 Partridge Road The homeowners called about bill #731081. Staff found and adjusted two toilets leaking in overflow. The average fall usage is 47 therefore we recalculated all but 7 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $60.00. 12 Paul Revere Road The homeowners hired a plumber after receiving bill #715281. A running toilet was repaired and the homeowners provided a receipt. The 3 year average spring usage is 36 hcf therefore all usage was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $724.44. 26 School Street The homeowners detected a leak in their swimming pool. They called a pool service to make the repair and provided receipts for the work done. The average fall usage is 85 therefore we recalculated the excess usage of 39 units at tier one rates with no sewer charge. Staff recommended an abatement of - $824.85. 5 Sherburne Road The homeowners detected a toilet leak and called a plumber to make the repair. They provided a receipt for the work done. The average fall usage is 43 therefore we recalculated all but 3 units of usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $102.00. 61 Simonds Road The homeowners called about bill #725398. Staff found and adjusted a toilet leaking in overflow. The average fall usage is 54 therefore we recalculated all but 14 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $212.84. 23 Solomon Pierce Road The homeowners detected a toilet leak and called a plumber to make the repair. They provided receipts for the work done. The average fall usage is 40 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $216.00. 3 ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 21 Suzanne Road - Domestic The homeowners detected a toilet leak and called a plumber to make the repair; they provided receipts for the work done. The average usage is 36 however; the disputed usage did not exceed 40 units. Therefore there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommended abatement of interest only. 21 Suzanne Road - Irrigation The homeowners returned from a trip to find leaks in the irrigation system that had filled their basement. They had the leak repaired and provided a receipt for repair. Their average fall usage is 87 therefore we billed the excess usage of 48 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $150.24. 25 Theresa Avenue The homeowners requested a leak survey. Staff found and adjusted a toilet leaking in overflow. The fall average usage is 43 therefore we recalculated the excess usage of 1 unit at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $6.00. 47 Turning Mill Road The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #730998. They state they had a new lawn installed and have asked for an abatement. They understand this is a one time only abatement for irrigation on a domestic meter. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $46.29. 21 Valley Road The homeowners detected a toilet leak, made the repairs and provided receipts for the parts purchased. The average fall usage is 16 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $90.00. 45 Ward Street The homeowners detected a leak in their irrigation system and provided a repair receipt. Their average fall usage is 41 therefore we recalculated the excess usage of 82 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $256.66. 80 Westview Street ACS New England (American Camping Association) applied for an abatement on bill #730476, an irrigation account, citing two leaks that required repair. They provided two receipts. The 3 year average usage less the zero usage in 2009 is 93 hcf. We recalculated the excess usage of 144 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $450.72. 29 Whipple Road The homeowners detected a toilet leak, made the repairs and provided receipts for the parts purchased. The average spring usage is 66 therefore we recalculated the excess usage of 15 11 ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR OVED 6/27/13 hcf at tier one rates. Bill # 693059 was previously abated for the same leak. Staff recommended an abatement of - $94.75. 37 Wyman Road The homeowners detected a toilet leak and they called a plumber to make the repair. They provided receipts for the work done. The leak seems to have affected bill # 711313 as well. The spring average usage is 38 and the fall average usage is 34, therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $383.91. It was moved by Mr. Wood, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for leak based abatements. Meter /Billing Issues /Redistributions 15 April Lane The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #694896, an estimate of 100 hcf. We had estimated the usage since 2008 when the homeowners installed a deck over the pad so that we were unable to obtain readings. The meter was changed on 6/6/12 with an outread of 1080 indicating that we had grossly under estimated the usage. Staff had made several attempts to gain access to change the meter, run a new wire, and install an accessible pad. No postcard reads were returned by the homeowner. A staff visit on 6/6/12 revealed a toilet with new components that the homeowners said they repaired last fall. The redistribution evenly apportions the total usage and the usage is recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $8,286.43. 450 Bedford Street Bill #729833 was estimated as we were unable to read the meter. The meter was changed on 2/5/13 with an outread of 5766. We established ADU and derived the usage for bill # 729833. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,987.22. 22 Columbus Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 728609. On 12/24/12 the meter was replaced with an outread of 1092 indicating we had over estimated. We established ADU and derived usage back to the postcard read on 11/14/11. Staff recommended an abatement of - $791.89. 311 Concord Avenue The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #722715 which is a "catch -up" bill following four estimates after a new meter was installed. The total usage is redistributed after establishing ADU. Staff recommended an abatement of - $522.30. 31 Fletcher Avenue The new homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #728300. Staff found no leaks on 11/21/12. However, this account had been overbilled in the past because the meters were mislabeled and this account was billed for the usage at Unit 6 until 7/30/12. At 31 Fletcher 5 ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 Avenue, a 13 unit condominium, we began to suspect that some of the meters were reversed. The Town did not install these meters which are located together in a utility room. We were obtaining readings from the outside. July 2012 we gained access to each unit and we were able to determine that the meters for units 4 and 6, among others, were reversed. Each meter in the utility room was labeled with a unit number and staff observed in July that some of the unit numbers had been crossed off and changed. We do not know who changed the numbers, when it was done nor do we know why. We do know that Unit #4 was overbilled. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,264.80. 165 Lincoln Street The homeowners were away for an extended period of time and we estimated usage. This abatement has been on hold until they came home and we got in to change the meter. The outread was 130 confirming that we over estimated usage. We went back to the postcard read on 5/10/11 and redistributed the usage. Staff recommended an abatement of - $282.84. 397 Lincoln Street This is an irrigation account with a pit meter that is removed each fall. We were unable to obtain a reading for bill # 732679 because the meter had been removed early. We estimated usage of 50 hcf. The homeowner applied for an abatement for over estimation stating the meter read is 496 and they do very little watering. We recalculated based on one unit of usage. Staff recommended an abatement of - $310.17. 288 Marrett Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 722188. On 11/27/12 the meter was replaced with an outread of 835 indicating we had over estimated. We established ADU and derived usage back to the final read on 3/16/12. Staff recommended an abatement of - $516.30. 30 Shirley Street The homeowners filed an application after receiving estimated bill # 729874. On 12/13/12 staff replaced the meter with an outread of 365 which verified that we had over estimated. We established ADU from the last postcard read and redistributed the actual usage. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,363.44. Smith Farm Lane This is the irrigation account for Old Smith Farm Condominium. The meter failed at 11045 some time after 5/13/2011. The management company changed the meter on 11/29/2011 with an outread of 11045. We were unable to get in to read the new meter and estimated bill #733010 at 1,000 hcf. The Management firm applied for an abatement for over estimation. However, we were able to read the new meter on 1/17/13 at 98608 which indicates that the meter was installed backwards. 99999 -98608 = 1391 hcf. The balance will be captured in the spring bill. The representatives from the management firm understand that bill #733010 was actually under billed. They further understand that in the spring they must reverse the backwards meter and call us in on ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 to confirm the reading. Staff recommended abatement of all interest associated with bill # 733010. 8 Summer Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #720571 believing the bill to be erroneous. The old meter had been removed on 7/13/2011 for tear down at 993 leaving an unbilled usage of 14 hcf. The account was inactivated until a new meter was installed at zero on 5/23/12. On 9/10/12 the new meter was read at 2 hcf for the fall bill. Added to the 14 units on the old meter resulted in a correct billing for 16 units. Staff recommended abatement of interest only. 17 Tower Road - Domestic Unable to obtain a reading since a new meter was installed in 2003, this account has been estimated for years. The meter was replaced on 11 /10 /11 with an outread of 1117 causing a large catch up bill. This calculation establishes ADU and redistributes usage. The excess 20 units were captured in bill #707971. Staff recommended an abatement of - $7,640.28. 17 Tower Road - Irrigation Unable to obtain a reading since a new meter was installed in 2003, this account has been estimated for years. The meter was replaced on 11/10/11 with an outread of 2279 causing a large catch up bill. This calculation establishes ADU and redistributes usage. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,864.28. 10 Utica Street This application is a redistribution of usage from the last postcard reading to a meter change on 10/17/12. The Trident meter was unreadable and the homeowner did not return any further postcards. We established ADU and applied it to the number of days in each billing period. The 4 replaced units will be captured in the spring bill. Staff recommended an abatement of - $810.36. 19 Washington Street We activated the sewer charge on this account because we couldn't find it on the BOH septic system list. It turned out that this does not have a septic system as its purpose is irrigation only. Rather than recalculate we simply removed the sewer charge from the revised bill. Staff recommended an abatement of - $552.10. 7 Wisteria Lane - Domestic This property was new construction on 8/6/08. The meter failed at a read of 76 sometime after bill # 637977. The meter was removed on 1/3/2012 after being estimated on 10/7/11. The abatement has been on hold to establish average fall usage. We used the actual usage on bill # 728309 (35) and established ADU for fall bills. We used the actual usage on bill # 624520 and established ADU for spring bills. Staff recommended an abatement of - $579.23. 7 ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 7 Wisteria Lane — Irrigation This property was new construction on 8/6/08. The irrigation meter failed at a read of 1 sometime after installation. The meter was removed on 1/3/2012 after being estimated on 10/7/11. The second meter also failed at less that 1. That meter was changed on 7/24/12. The abatement has been on hold to establish average fall usage. We derived usage on bill #728310 (137) and applied the ADU to all of the fall bills. Staff observed expansive, green lawns. Staff recommended a positive adjustment $ 285 Woburn Street This abatement recommendation corrects two billing errors. The sewer tie cards for this account are ambiguous and we activated the sewer charge code for the fall 2012 billing. The homeowner provided us with proof of a septic system and we added the account to the septic system list. Staff recommends abating the sewer charge on bill # 726058 in full. Also, bill # 712095 should have been for usage but erroneously was change to zero. We redistributed the usage over the two billing periods. Staff recommended an abatement of - $474.02. 20 Woodcliffe Road — Domestic This property was rebuilt after a tear down and new meters were installed on 6/12/12. The homeowners called after receiving their first bills and staff verified that the meters were reversed. The meters were read again on 2/26/13 and the irrigation meter still reads 198 as expected. This recommendation assigns the usages to the appropriate accounts and recalculates correctly. Staff recommended an abatement of - $3,630.44. 20 Woodcliffe Road — Irrigation This property was rebuilt after a tear down and new meters were installed on 6/12/12. The homeowners called after receiving their first bills and staff verified that the meters were reversed. The meters were read again on 2/26/13 and the irrigation meter still read 198 as expected. This recommendation assigns the usages to the appropriate accounts and recalculates correctly. Staff recommended a positive adjustment of $ It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Meter /Billing Issues /Redistributions abatements as presented. Irrigation on Domestic Meter 126 Burlington Street The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill # 725503. They state they had a new lawn installed and had to water heavily. They understand this is a one time irrigation on domestic abatement and that they can have a second meter installed to get the irrigation rate. Their average fall usage is 23 and 70% of the excess usage of 52 hcf (36) is recalculated at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $347.16. P ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 7 Doran Farm Lane The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #726981. They state they did some outside watering this summer and have asked for an abatement. They understand this is a one time only abatement for irrigation on a domestic meter. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $113.16. 2 Frost Road This property was purchased by a developer on 11- 17 -11. The meter was removed for tear down on 12 -9 -11. A new meter was installed on 6/2/12 (they did not install an irrigation meter). On 10/4/12 the new meter was read for the fall billing at 396 which created awater /sewer bill of $ The developer filed an abatement for irrigation on domestic and stated that virtually all of the water was used to establish a new sod lawn and that at future sites he will install an irrigation meter. Staff recommended an abatement of - $6,239.12. 23 Locke Lane The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #720963 citing irrigation on a domestic meter. A staff visit also revealed a toilet leaking in overflow and the homeowner was shown how to adjust it. This calculation establishes 88 as 70% of excess usage and that is recalculated at the irrigation rate with no sewer. To apply a leak based abatement as well, 38 units are in excess of the average usage and are recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,986.17. 21 Lincoln Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #731104 due to excessive irrigation usage. They had an irrigation system and new lawn installed and were unaware of the policy allowing irrigation meters. The owners are aware this is a one time only abatement and will have a separate meter installed. We recalculated with 70% of the excess usage of 61 (43) at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $659.92. 739 Massachusetts Avenue The Waldorf School filed an application for abatement after receiving bill # 719742. They state they did some outside watering last summer and have asked for an abatement. They understand this is a one time only abatement for irrigation on a domestic meter. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. The owners are looking into having a separate meter installed. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,027.14. 34 Peacock Farm Road The homeowners applied for an abatement based on irrigation on a domestic meter. They understand it is a one time only abatement opportunity. The average fall usage is 34. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage of 8 at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $34.86. I ,ors MOR N, Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street z 3 'S Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19 ING� March 14, 2013 �FX APR 0VED 6/27/13 36 Turning Mill Road The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #730998. They state they had a new lawn installed and have asked for an abatement. They understand this is a one time only abatement for irrigation on a domestic meter. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. The homeowners understand this is a one time only irrigation on domestic meter abatement. Staff recommended an abatement of - $46.29. 2 Wildwood Road The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #729210. They state they had an irrigation system installed but were unaware that the Town allows separate meters. They understand this is a one time only abatement for irrigation on a domestic meter and plan to have one installed. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,857.66. 36 Woburn Street The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #725952. They state they had an irrigation system installed but were unaware that the Town allows separate meters. They understand this is a one time only abatement for irrigation on a domestic meter and plan to have one installed. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $735.20. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Irrigation on a Domestic Meter abatements. Schedule next meeting The board will next meet on Thursday April 18, 2013 Adjourn It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:38 PM. 10