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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-18-WSAB-min(`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT April 18, 2013 �� APPROVED 5130113 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair, and Maria Constantinides, Member. Staff: Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, Erik Gitschier, Water and Sewer Superintendent, and Elizabeth Tucker and Robin Fullford, Utility Billing. Chair Loren Wood called the meeting to order at 4:32 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Status Report of Abatement Requests Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 33 To be heard tonight 33 To be heard in May 32 Incomplete /Pending 98 Total Appeal Review Members of the board and staff reviewed appeal requests from 4 Hastings Road and 17 Tower Road Appeals On March 14, 2013 the board voted to recommend a reduction to bill # 728561 in the amount of $552.62. Mr. Ira Goldman of 4 Hastings Road met with the board and requested a larger abatement. He cited hardships he and his family encountered due to the Town's construction project in his area. Chairman Wood explained the board has no latitude to recommend abatements on the basis of hardships. He stated that there is no conflict regarding the amount of water used and leaked water is recalculated and payable at tier one rates. Mr. Addelson stated that the Town pays MWRA for the water and recalculating at tier one is an effort to capture the cost of the water. He told Mr. Goldman that he could contact the Treasurer /Collector and discuss a payment plan. Mr. Goldman thanked those present for meeting with him. Ms. Karen Duperey met with the board to appeal their decision to recommend an abatement on her domestic account in the amount of $7,640.28 and an abatement on her irrigation account of $1,864.28. Both meters were installed in 2003 but never worked and usage was estimated for several years until the meters were replaced in 2011. The out reads indicated that much more water was used than had been billed. Ms. Duperey presented a time line of events stating that the Town did not do enough to alert her to the trouble with her meter. She asked that the board consider confining her responsibility to 2009 to present because, prior to that, her ex- husband handled the bills and she was unaware of the many estimates or their ramifications. Further she stated that she replaced a leaky toilet in 2009 and that she had a soggy area in her yard that she paid to have diverted. She feels the Town owns some of the responsibility and asked for further review. The board agreed to take a second look. Disposition of Abatement Requests (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19'" INGT April 18, 2013 APPROVED 5130113 Leaks 5 Blossom Street The owner called about bill #723169. He subsequently provided a receipt for repair of a leaky toilet. The average fall usage is 57 therefore we recalculated the excess of 7 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $42.00 15 Carville Avenue The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 721396. Staff reported the meter dial spinning but could not find a leak. The homeowner was advised to hire a plumber and she subsequently provided a receipt for parts and repair of leaks. The average fall usage is 28, therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $18.00. 25 Downing Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 732000. Staff reported a leaking toilet and the homeowner provided a repair receipt. The average fall usage is 39, therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $367.89. 30 Fairlawn Lane The homeowners called about bill #706920. Staff found and adjusted 4 toilets leaking in overflow on 2/4/2013. With limited history, we have taken bill # 679286 at 45 hcf as the average fall usage. We recalculated all but 5 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $906.29. 53 Harding Road The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill # 725141. Staff found a toilet that was not shutting off and advised the homeowner to hire a plumber on 12/26/2012. The homeowner provided a receipt for the repair. The 3 year fall average usage is 24, therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $538.41. 523 Lowell Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 726411. Staff found and adjusted a toilet leak. The 3 year average fall usage is 45 therefore we recalculated all but 5 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $131.12. 193 Marrett Road The homeowner filed for an abatement after receiving bill # 722155 for 60 units. Staff identified and adjusted a leaking toilet and a toilet in need of a fluid master. The homeowner provided a plumber's invoice. The 3 year fall average usage is 27 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $120.00. 823 Massachusetts Avenue — Withdrawn 2 (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT April 18, 2013 �� APPROVED 5130113 1099 Massachusetts Avenue The homeowner contacted us after receiving bill # 719821. A chaser revealed a leaking toilet. The homeowner bought repair parts and provided a receipt. The 3 year average fall usage is 18; therefore we recalculated all of the usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $78.00. 1822 Massachusetts Avenue This is a commercial property. Liz read the meter on 4/2/2012, found it was spinning rapidly and notified an employee that there was a leak. We calculated the 3 year average spring usage at 18 but omitted bill # 620289 as it appears anomalous. We recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $14,769.25. 2198 Massachusetts Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #728460 citing a leak. They provided a plumbers receipt for repair. The 3 year average fall usage is 80, therefore we calculated all but 40 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $667.87. 5 Middle Street his is a rental poperty. The owners applied for an abatement on bill #731462 stating they had had an outside leak during the summer that was repaired by the tenant. No receipt for the repair is available. On 2/16/2012 WSAB approved an abatement recommendation for a redistribution after a series of estimates and the resulting usage is listed under "Usage" in the "Revised Bill" section. The three year average fall usage is 53 hcf. We applied the irrigation rate to the excess usage of 31 hcf. Staff recommends an abatement of - $336.95. 103 North Hancock Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 725094. She states she had a toilet leak and provided a plumber's invoice to repair it. The 3 year fall average usage is 40 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $150.00. 6 North Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 725094. She states she had a toilet leak and provided a plumber's invoice to repair it. The 3 year fall average usage is 40 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $102.00. 75 Outlook Drive The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 732081. Bill # 718104 had previously been abated because of leak. The plumber had to special order parts and the leak continued into the next billing period. The three year average fall usage is 72 therefore we recalculated all but 32 units at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $545.35. 50 Parker Street (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 s Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 11 April 18, 2013 INGT�� APPROVED 5130113 The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 724706. Staff found and adjusted a toilet leaking in overflow. The 3 year average fall usage is 55 therefore we recalculated all but 15 units at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,372.06. 17 Peachtree Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 720813 Staff found and adjusted a toilet leaking in overflow and observed another toilet that had been turned off because it was leaking. The homeowner provided a receipt for parts. The three year average fall usage is 23 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $495.78. 15 Phinney Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 731447. He stated that he found an outside tap running one day and presumes it had been set off by children or a raccoon. The 3 year average fall usage is 5 but bill # 731447 is under 40 therefore there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommended abating interest only. 150 Potter Pond The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 722967. A staff visit revealed that a toilet had recently been repaired and the homeowner provided a plumber's receipt. The 3 year average fall usage is 28, therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $48.00. C lei wFT 0 i1a tT'I The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 711492. Staff found and adjusted two toilets leaking in overflow. The two year average fall usage is 31 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $72.00. 19 Redcoat Lane The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #725718. They stated they had a plumber replace an old toilet after receiving the bill but could not find the receipt. Due to prior estimates on an old meter we used bill # 697846 to establish their average fall usage at 21 and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $779.98. 15 Russell Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 720905. Staff found and adjusted a toilet leaking in overflow. The three year average fall usage is 40 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $180.00. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for leak based abatements with the exception of 823 Massachusetts Avenue. Irrigation on Domestic Meter 113 Hartwell Avenue This is a commercial account that had been empty. A new meter was installed on 9/30/2011. The ID number was changed on 7/27/2012 and due to an error, the account was overbilled by M (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 s Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL II April 18, 2013 INGT�� APPROVED 5130113 34 hcf on bill # 730454. Meanwhile, an irrigation meter was installed on 7/23/2012. Up until that date, the domestic meter was used for irrigation. The owners have applied for an Irrigation on Domestic Meter Abatement. The irrigation meter used 531 hcf in 101 days for an ADU of 5.26 hcf per day. Irrigation was done on the domestic meter for 83 days. At 5.26 hcf per day that totals 436 hcf. The domestic account was billed for 938 units. We have deducted the overbilled 34 units and the 436 units used for irrigation leaving 468 hcf to be billed for water and sewer and 436 to be billed at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $8,684.62. 659 Lowell Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #726444 citing irrigation on a domestic meter. We used bill # 698575 as the average fall usage. This calculation establishes 92 as 70% of excess usage and that is recalculated at the irrigation rate with no sewer. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,657.84 34 Peacock Farm Road The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill # 723307. 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 - $34.86. 40 Robinson Road The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #732890. They stated they did some outside watering this summer and have asked for an abatement. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $973.09. 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 Meter /Billing Issues /Redistributions 26 Patterson Road We were unaware that this house had been demolished until the owner /developer came in for new meters. Nor did the owner know that we had continued to estimate the usage as he did not receive any bills. A demo permit was issued on 12/22/2011 and the meter was removed with no outread. The usage on the old meter had been estimated since 2003. This calculation negates bill #s 729188 and 715236 which were estimated while the meter was out and the property being rehabbed. Staff recommends a full refund to the developer who paid the bills in order to close. Staff recommended an abatement of - $2,086.10. 7 Lothrop Circle The homeowner was unaware of the abatement process and did not apply for an abatement on bill # 695613 until recently. We suspect the manual reading on 9/26/2011 was in error and it caused a negative usage on 3/20/12. This calculation redistributes the usage over the three billing periods. The excess 24 hcf have been captured for the spring billing. Staff recommended an abatement of - $426.95. (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19'" INGT April 18, 2013 APPROVED 5130113 343 Marrett Road Unable to obtain a reading since a postcard read on 11/07/2005, this account has been estimated for years. The meter was replaced on 6/07/2012 with an outread of 460 causing a large catch up bill. The outread was changed to 484 to capture the usage from 976 to 1000. This calculation establishes ADU and redistributes usage. Staff recommended an abatement of -$6,447.98. 1 Maureen Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #728460 citing a leak. They provided a plumbers receipt for repair. The 3 year average fall usage is 80, therefore we calculated all but 40 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,101.42. 153 Old Spring Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 732702 which followed two estimates. The meter was changed on 6/18/12 with an outread of 677. We redistributed the usage from the last A read on 5/9/2011. Staff recommended an abatement of - $10.42. 5 Russell Square Unable to obtain a reading since 2010, this account has been estimated several times. On 11/7/2012 we replaced the meter with an outread of 3531 indicating we had over estimated usage. This is a redistribution of the actual usage from the last A read until the meter change. Staff recommended an abatement of - $3,621.49. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Meter /Billing Issues /Redistributions abatements Schedule next meeting The board will next meet on Thursday May 30, 2013 Adjourn It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:38 PM. 0