Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-16-WSAB-min 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 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 4:30 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Status Report of Abatement Requests Ms. Fullford presented the following status report: 32 To be heard tonight 2 Appeals to be heard tonight 178 To be heard in the future 210 Total Appeals: 23 Richard Road Mr. Stephen Sheehan, owner of 23 Richard Road, met with members of the board on appeal. The board had previously voted to recommend to the Board of Selectmen a leak-based abatement on his domestic account in the amount of $113.01. Mr. Sheehan stated that he was satisfied with that recommendation but was concerned that he had missed an opportunity to file an application for abatement on his high irrigation usage. He was told that if in the spring when he reopens his irrigation system he finds and repairs any leaks, he will be eligible for an abatement on that account. Mr. Sheehan thanked the board. 430 Concord Avenue Mr. John Sellars, owner of 430 Concord Avenue, met with the board on appeal. The board had voted to recommend to the Board of Selectmen a one time only irrigation on a domestic meter abatement in 2013. They denied a second application for the same type of abatement on the same account. Mr. Sellars explained that most of the water is used to irrigate vegetation but installation of an irrigation meter would require a second service live and the cost would be prohibitive. Mr. Wood told Mr. Sellars that they had no authority to waive the service requirement nor could they grant a second abatement. Mr. Sellars was told he was free to go to the board of selectmen to make his case for a waiver of the requirements. Mr. Sellars thanked those present for their time. Disposition of Abatement Requests 1 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 Leaks 140 Adams Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #765022. He detected and repaired a leaking toilet and provided a receipt for the part. The three year average fall usage is 37 therefore we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $170.52. 6 April Lane This is a 10 unit residential building and tier one rates apply to the first 400 hcf. The management firm filed for an abatement on bill #759920 and provided an invoice for the repair of leaks. The average fall usage is 321 therefore all usage is recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,242.36. 5 Barrymeade Drive The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #768595. They identified and repaired a toilet and provided a copy of the receipt. Their 3 year average fall usage is 50; therefore we recalculated all but 10 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $283.57. 26 Earl Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #767588. They had faucet and toilet parts replaced and provided receipts. Their 3 year average fall usage is 51 therefore we recalculated all but 11 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $109.62. 43 Laconia Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 763514. On staff advise he identified and had repaired several leaks. He is 91 years old, lives alone and could not see or hear the leaks. Staff suspects the leaks started some time ago and recommend abating the last three bills. The spring and fall averages are 45 and 42 respectively so we recalculated the spring bills with all but 5 units at tier one rates and the fall bills with all but 2 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $786.12. 1749 Massachusetts Avenue This is a downtown coffee shop. Staff notified the manager after seeing the elevated usage. The corporate office filed an application and provided copies of plumber’s receipts to identify and replace a leaking water closet. The 3 year average spring usage is 268 hcf therefore we recalculated the excess usage of 351 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $5,057.91. 22 Tufts Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #768751. He detected and repaired a toilet leak and provided a receipt for parts. The 3 year fall average usage is 56 therefore we recalculated all but 16 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $492.00. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for leak based abatements as presented 2 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 Over Estimated 18 Albemarle Avenue The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #757154. The meter was replaced with an outread of 1023 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 22 hcf. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,335.98. 2 Barrymeade Drive The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill# 768520. The meter was removed 12/31/13 with an outread of 651 indicating we had over estimated usage. We went back to the "F" reading from 9/6/2013, established ADU and derived usage of 10 for bill # 768520. The additional 13 units will be captured in the spring bill run. Staff recommended an abatement of $298.99. 545 Bedford Street The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #767156. The meter was replaced with an outread of 821 on 12/9/13 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 32 hcf for the billing period. The excess usage will be captured in the spring bill run. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,232.88. 17 Dane Road The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #761575. A new radio read was installed and the meter read was 0143 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU back to the last manual read on 10/1/2012 and derived usages of 47 and 45 hcf. The additional 17 units will be billed in the spring. Staff recommended an abatement of $954.90. 31 Eaton Road The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #762571. The meter was replaced with an outread of 263 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 30 hcf. The additional 6 units will be captured in the spring. Staff recommends an abatement of $1,253.50. 24 Fairland Street The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #766031. A radio read device was installed on 12/20/13 and the meter read 335 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 12 hcf. The excess 4 units will be captured in the spring billing. Staff recommends an abatement of $1,439.08. 90 Grant Street The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #763962. The meter was replaced with an outread of 408 indicating we had over estimated their usage. A radio read device was installed. We established ADU and derived usage of 19 hcf. The remaining 7 units will be captured in the spring billing. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,366.91. 153 Grant Street This account was over estimated on bill# 763997. A new wire & pad were installed on 11/14/13 and the meter reading was 0624. We went back to the "P" reading from 10/11/2012 established ADU and derived usage of 114 over the 2 billing periods. Staff also adjusted 3 toilets. The average fall usage is 3 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 45 therefore we recalculated all but 5 units on bill #763997 at tier one rates. The average spring usage is 42 therefore we recalculated all but 2 units on bill #745054 at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $893.31. 9 Holmes Road – Domestic The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #764329. They had returned post cards reads that staff had not used. Radio Read devices were installed on 1/13/14 and the readings were verified. In this calculation we used the postcard read to revise the bill. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,305.05. 9 Holmes Road – Irrigation The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #764330. A radio read device was installed on 1/13/14 and the meter read 0077 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We recalculated based on the postcard read of 77. The homeowners provided a receipt for the repair of leaks in the swimming pool. The average usage is 8 therefore we recalculated the excess 7 units at tier one rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $340.60. 28 Middleby Road The homeowner filed for an abatement on bill #769356. The meter was replaced with an outread of 750 on 12/20/13 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 22 hcf. The excess 6 units will be captured in the spring billing. Staff recommended an abatement of $185.58. 24 Revere Street After having just replaced a meter that we believed had failed, we obtained a zero read on the new meter. We estimated usage based on past years. The homeowners filed an application for abatement stating they did not use their irrigation at all this past summer. This calculation negates bill # 762055 entirely. Staff recommended an abatement of $327.50. 5 Turnburry Road The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #770165. The meter was replaced with an outread of 2166 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 26 hcf. The remaining 7 units will be captured in the spring billing. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,294.74. 338 Woburn Street The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #763367. A radio read device was installed and the meter read 404 indicating we had over estimated their usage. We established ADU and derived usage of 14 hcf. The excess 5 units will be billed in the spring. This 2004 meter could not be changed due to space issues as the house is on a slab. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,418.46. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Ribich and voted unanimously to approve staff recommendations for all abatements based on over estimation. 4 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 Irrigation on Domestic 12 Barrymeade Drive The former homeowners filed an application for abatement on bill # 768603 for irrigation on a domestic meter. Their average fall usage is 33 and we recalculated 70% of the excess usage at irrigation rates. The homeowners understand this is a one time only abatement of its kind. Staff recommended an abatement of $131.81. 2 Bates Road The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #729058 citing irrigation on a domestic meter. They understand this is a one time only abatement of it's type and have had an irrigation meter installed. We waited until after the fall bill run to establish average usage. 70% of the water used in excess of the average is recalculated at irrigation rates. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,904.83. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all staff recommendations for Irrigation on Domestic abatements as presented. Billing/Meter Issues 5 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 172 Bedford Street This account had not been billed since the meter was installed in 2004. It was recently discovered and billed its entire usage on 10/23/2013. We established average daily usage and derived usage going back three years. Staff recommended an abatement of $22,878.98. 12 Calvin Street – Domestic and Irrigation This is a staff generated abatement for switched meters. The domestic and irrigation meter serial numbers were switched in Munis. In these calculations we have substituted the correct usage on each of the accounts. Staff recommended a net credit to the homeowners of $238.61 Depot Square on Massachusetts Avenue This is a duplicate Town account for irrigation at Depot Square. This account was set up as Massachusetts Avenue and the other as Depot Square. Staff has determined that this account is the duplicate and recommends abating all billings. Below is the correct billing for the account. Staff recommended an abatement of $1,105.30. 8 Douglas Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #763710. He just purchased the property on 8/20/13 and soon turned off the irrigation for the season. On closer examination, it was discovered that staff misinterpreted the meter reading at the time of the final and under billed the previous owner. The final read should have been 150, instead 15 was used. This recommendation recalculates the new owners' usage at 15 hcf. Staff recommended an abatement of $884.25. 227 Follen Road The homeowners failed to respond to several requests for a meter change and staff overestimated their usage. The meter outread on 11/18/12 was 266 indicating the meter had failed sometime in 2009. We calculated ADU from the readings taken since a new meter was installed and derived usage for the 6 billing periods which results in a positive adjustment. Staff recommended a positive adjustment of $150.76. 9 Fulton Road The readings that were obtained for bill #s 763670 and 763671 had to be hand entered into Munis because recent meter changes were not recognized. Staff made an error and switched the readings. These calculations correct the usage. Staff recommended a net abatement of $430.70. Journey’s End The president of the homeowners' association applied for an abatement on bill #770504. It is the first full season bill they have received for irrigation because the original meter failed at 86. In July the management company asked us to estimate the usage. We obtained a reading of 318 on 7/18/13 that indicated a projected usage of 464 units. However on 10/29/13 the meter indicated 1204 hcf had been used. On 1/7/14 we obtained a reading of 01241. The association has asked for consideration on the bill because they would have made different decisions had they know the bill would be so high. However, in the absence of a leak staff recommends denial of an abatement. If in the spring they find leaks in their 6 2014/01/16 WSAB min Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 January 16, 2014 APPROVED 4/24/14 irrigation system they can reapply for an abatement. The bill in question was paid in full so there is no interest to waive. 100 Lexington Ridge Drive This is a residential condominium with 198 units. Their first 40(198) = 7,920 units are billed at tier one rates. An error was made when staff entered the manual reading causing an over billing. The meter is in a 15 foot deep pit; readings are difficult to obtain and it is incompatible with our reading equipment. The customer has promised and is motivated to replace the meter with one that can be read from a touch pad. Staff recommended an abatement of $97,622.78. 1039 Massachusetts Avenue This is the irrigation account for a condominium association. The previous reading was 20208 and the fall reading was 20385. This should have created a usage of 177 hcf but Munis billed zero. The treasurer of the association requested a hand bill. This calculation results in the appropriate billing for 177 units at irrigation rates. Note: Bill number 728387 was previously abated for a leak which is why the "Water Charge" differs from the "Total Charge". Staff recommended a positive adjustment in the amount of $1,159.35. 18 Revere Street It was discovered that this account has not been charged for sewer although it is tied in. This calculation goes back three years and results in a positive adjustment recommendation of $1,163.93. Schedule next meeting The board will next meet on Thursday February 20, 2014 with a snow date of February 27, 2014. Adjourn It was moved by Mr. Ribich, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 5:41 PM. 7