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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-30-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 May 30, 2013 �� APPROVED 7118113 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair, and Jim Osten, Member. Staff: Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, Bill Hadley, DPW Director, 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: 22 To be heard tonight 85 pending 107 Total Review for approval Minutes of the April 18, 2013 meeting It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve the minutes as presented. Disposition of Abatement Requests Leaks 127 Concord Avenue Staff alerted the homeowners to a possible leak and a chaser was scheduled. Staff found a hose that had been left partially on all winter. The hose was not discovered earlier because it was concealed in the bushes. Once the outside faucet was turned off the meter stopped spinning. The three year spring average usage is 24 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one water rates and because the leak did not enter the sewer system, we recalculated only 24 units at tier one sewer rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $3,526.19. 16 Fair Oaks Terrace This application has been on hold until spring when it could be determined if there was an irrigation leak. The homeowners informed us that their irrigation company found a leak in a rarely used faucet. The water was leaking into a bed of gravel under a rock wall and was virtually undetectable. The cracked valve and faucet have removed entirely to prevent future leaks. The three year average fall usage is 26 therefore we recalculated all but 26 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $626.00. 214 Follen Road Bill # 722078 was previously abated. The homeowner provided invoices from November 2012 referencing the repair of leaks that caused a sewer backup into the basement. Because the leaks continued into the next billing period the homeowner is requesting further abatement. Having established the 3 year average usage at 19 hcf, we recalculated all water usage at tier one rates and 19 units at tier one sewer rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $650.44. 15 Locke Lane The homeowners applied for an abatement on irrigation bill # 720954 citing leaks in the irrigation system. He states that this spring he repaired the leaks himself. He monitored the usage and is confident the (`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 19'" 1NCII May 30, 2013 INGT�� APPROVED 7118113 leaks have stopped. The 3 year fall average is 140 therefore we recalculated the excess usage of 62 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $194.06. 380 Lowell Street The homeowners filed an insurance claim for a pipe burst and caused severe water damage. They did not include the water bill in their claim. The 3 year average fall usage is 22 therefore all usage is recalculated at tier one water rates. Because the leak did not enter the sewer system, only 22 units are calculated at sewer rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $3,730.42. 736 Massachusetts Avenue This is a 2 family property so the first 80 units of use are calculated at tier one rates. A pipe burst and flooded the basement. We first used ADU to derive bills 705801 and 691925 because one had been estimated. The derived usage on bill # 705801 was used as average spring usage. Therefore all usage was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $42.00. 823 Massachusetts Avenue This is a 2- family rental that was not designated as such. We have recalculated 3 years at the 2 unit rate. In addition, a leak was found by staff and adjusted by the tenant. We established the 3 year fall average at 88. Bill # 691939 was omitted because the previous bill # 678193 was abated due to a leak and we believe the leak continued into the next billing period. Also, on bill # 678193 we used the "Revised BIII" amount to reflect the previous abatement. Applying the average usage of 88, bill # 719755 was recalculated with all usage but 8 units at tier one rates because of the leak. Staff recommended an abatement of - $2,075.65. 859 Massachusetts Avenue The homeowners filed for an abatement after receiving bill # 733490. A chaser revealed that a toilet had been repaired and a receipt dated 4/24/13 was provided. The meter was replaced with an outread of 1421. The 3 year spring average usage is 55 therefore we recalculated all but 15 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,201.54. 1039 Massachusetts Avenue This is a condominium association's irrigation account. Last fall leaks in the system were identified and scheduled to be repaired in the spring. The representative provided a receipt for the repair. The 3 year fall average usage is 506 therefore the excess usage of 476 hcf was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,489.88. 371 North Emerson Road The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #727964. Staff found and adjusted a leaking toilet. The three year average spring usage is 50 hcf therefore we recalculated all but 10 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $243.68. 21 Oxbow Road The owners called about bill #729312. Staff found a toilet with a broken handle that was running. The owner subsequently provided a receipt for repair dated 1/11/13. The average fall usage is 47 therefore we recalculated all but 7 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of - $150.00. 32 Tower Road 2 (`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 19 1NC1.. May 30, 2013 INGT APPROVED 7118113 The homeowner filed for an abatement on bill # 735664. A staff visit revealed that a toilet had recently been repaired. However, because the usage never exceeded 40 units, there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommended abatement of interest only on bill #735664. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for leak based abatements Redistributions 3 Milk Street We were unable to read this meter and estimated usage for 2 years. We received a postcard read of 1953 on 5/8/12 which resulted in a large catch up bill. We went back to the last T" read on 10/26/09, established ADU and redistributed the usage. Staff recommended an abatement of - $1,035.35. 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 #70797. Staff recommended an abatement of - $12,956.42. 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. The current homeowner took responsibility for the water /sewer charges in 2009. This calculation establishes ADU and redistributes usage since 2009. Staff recommends an abatement of - $7,797.32. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Redistribution abatements Billing /Meter Issues 199 Grove Street This is a staff generated abatement recommendation. Due to a staff error, the former owner of this property was overbilled on the final bill. The final read should have been 351 and the final usage 25. The seller paid the correct amount at closing and the abatement goes to the account. Staff recommends an abatement of - $717.00. 27 Locke Lane We were unable to read this meter and estimated the usage on bill #s 734706 and 720969. The meter was replaced on 4/1/13 with an outread of 1327. We established ADU and derived usage. The unbilled 2 units have been captured for the fall bill run. Staff recommends an abatement of - $314.34. 265 Lowell 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 19 1NC1.. May 30, 2013 INGT APPROVED 7118113 This account was estimated on 9/11/12 and misread on 3/12/13. The meter has a pad but the pad drops a digit. Usually when digits are dropped we add a zero to the right to compensate. This particular meter however has a red digit to the far left that the pad drops. We established ADU from the last M read to the picture read sent by the customer on 5/21/13 and derived usage. The 77 units will be captured in the fall. Staff recommends an abatement of $14,902.20. 3 Patricia Terrace After the fall 2011 billing it was discovered that some accounts had not been charged for sewer. A consultant was hired to identify those accounts and do a special billing. The billing is dated 1/20/12. This account was identifies and charged for sewer but should not have been. Sewer was charged on bill #692741. Staff recommends abating bill # 705368 entirely. Staff recommends abatement of - $144.25. 9 Whittier Road We had been unable to obtain a reading from this meter going back further than 1990. We had several dialogues with the homeowner regarding changing the meter as far back as 2007. The basement is finished and she refused to allow us to run a wire. Until recently she had also refused to allow us to install a radio read device. In the fall of 2012 we estimated the usage. The homeowner did not respond until March. We have since changed the meter and installed a RR device. We used the postcard read from 4/10/12 and the meter outread from 4/17/13 to establish ADU and derived a usage of 16 for bill #725559. 14 units will be captured in the fall billing. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Billing /Meter Issue abatements Interest Only 24 Douglas Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 726526 citing excessive irrigation usage. The 3 year average fall usage is 57 therefore 70% of the excess usage is recalculated at irrigation rates. However, because this property was not connected to the sewer system, this resulted in a higher charge. Therefore staff recommended an abatement of interest only. fife ■■ - CaiF1:Z:fT'I A final bill was requested for this property on 3/22/12. However, the broker erroneously listed Coldwell Banker as the buyer. The new owner did not receive two bills, one of which went to lien and both accrued interest before the error was discovered. Staff recommended abatement of all interest associated with bill numbers 731677 and 717708. 350 Massachusetts Avenue (`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 May 30, 2013 APPROVED 7118113 The homeowners had a leak and provided a receipt for repair parts. However, as a 2 family property, this account is billed at tier one for the first 80 units. Therefore, there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommended abatement of interest only on bill # 719696. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Interest Only abatements Schedule next meeting The board will next meet on Thursday June 27, 2013 Adjourn It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 5:26 PM.