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Home My WebLink About2018-08-09-WSAB-min Accepted Minutes of the Meeting 8/9/18 Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chairperson, and Jim Osten, member. Staff. Beth LeBlanc, Utility Billing. Customers/Residents of the following addresses: 15 Benjamin Road—Mr. Venkateswaran 17 Fuller Road—Mrs. Ryan 9 Goffe Road—Mrs. Caira 125 Worthen Road Unit 4 3 —Mr. Aiken 8:00 am Call meeting to order Mr. Wood called the meeting to order at 8:00 am. Status Report of Abatement Requests • 21 Prior cases for review • 22 Recommendations to be reviewed • 0 Recommendations pending WSAB members reviewed appeal cases in order of appearance: 125 Worthen Road Unit 4 3. After a site visit with several Water/Sewer staff, no apparent cause was found for the high usage bill. Staff researched historical reading documents and found several discrep- ancies in readings against those entered in the billing system. Actual readings were used and bills recal- culated: net increase of$11,934.17. Mr. Aiken accepted this adjustment value and thanked staff for their help in correcting account. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve this abatement as noted. 17 Fuller Road. The homeowner requested a brief overview of the calculation used in determining ad- justment to her bill. Mr. Wood outlined the process by which staff calculates abatement requests. Ms. Ryan thanked the panel for their assistance and accepted original adjustment value of$(1,940.06). It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to make no change to the prior decision of this board. 15 Benjamin Road. The homeowner requested a brief overview of the calculation used in determining adjustment to his bill. Mr. Wood outlined the process by which staff calculates abatement requests. Mr. Venkateswaran thanked the panel for their assistance and accepted original adjustment value of $(2,994.37). It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to make no change to the prior decision of this board. 1 Accepted Minutes of the Meeting 8/9/18 Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 9 Goffe Road. The homeowner asked that 20 years of usage be reviewed as she felt her usage was ab- normally high. Mr. Wood outline the process by which staff calculated abatement requests, stating that reviews are confined to the past three years of usage history. WSAB members could not find a correla- tion between a new meter being installed to a significant drop in usage. Additionally, no leaks were cited, and no service call or repair slips were presented. WSAB members again denied this request for abatement. Customer asked that this matter be sent to the Board of Selectmen for further review. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to make no change to the prior decision of this board. The following appeal cases were again reviewed by WSAB members: Original hearing date - July 19, 2018 56 Blossomcrest Road 24 Carriage Road 5 Cushing Street 33 Sherburne Road 450 Woburn Street It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to make no change to the prior decision of this board. Original hearing date - July 26, 2018 24 Adams Street—tabled 21 Crescent Hill Avenue 1 Frost Road DOM* 6 Gerard Terrace DOM & IRR—tabled 93 Laconia Street—tabled 559 Lowell Street 526 Marrett Road 443 Massachusetts Avenue* 1770 Massachusetts Avenue—tabled 4 Robbins Road 17 Turning Mill Road - tabled 39 Wood Street—tabled It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve 526 Marrett Road, and 4 Robbins Road as noted and to deny* abatement requests for 1 Frost Road, and 443 Massa- chusetts Avenue. No change to the prior decision of this board for cases concerning 21 Crescent Hill Avenue and 559 Lowell Street. 2 Accepted Minutes of the Meeting 8/9/18 Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 Leaks 30 Grant Street It was moved by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to deny this abate- ment request. Irrigation on Domestic Meter 1 Frost Road It was moved by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to deny this abate- ment request. Billing/Meter Issues 27 Oakland Avenue 39 Sherburne Road* 8 Slocum Road 131 Woburn Street 80 Worthen Road 229 Worthen Road* 32 Cliffe Avenue 29 Fairlawn Lane 43 Golden Avenue* 18 Hastings Road 72 Kendall Road 87 North Hancock Street 40 Oak Street 50 Oak Street 13 Partridge Road 106 Potter Pond 20 Victory Garden Way 9 Vinebrook 20 Waltham Street 52 Waltham Street It was moved by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to approve all `Bill- ing/Meter Issue" abatements as noted, except for 39 Sherburne Road, 229 Worthen Road, and 43 Golden Avenue which were denied*. Policy and Procedure Review—tabled due to time constraints 3 Accepted Minutes of the Meeting 8/9/18 Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 • Review for approval Minutes of the Meetings from July 26, 2018 It was move by Mr. Wood, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of July 26, 2018 meeting as presented. Adjourn It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and approved unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 10:08 am. Next Meeting Date Thursday September 13, 2018 8:00—9:30 AM 4