Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-23-WSAB-min Minutes Water/Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street September 23, 2010 Attendance: Board Members - Loren Wood, Chair; Maria Constantinides, Member; Jim Osten, Member; Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Bill Hadley, Director of Public Works; Dennis Meehan, Water and Sewer Superintendent; and Robin Fullford and Elizabeth Tucker, Water/Sewer Enterprise The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm. The order of business was as follows: Minutes of the August 19, 2010 meeting were reviewed and amended slightly. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted, with Mr. Osten abstaining, to approve the minutes as amended. Minutes of the September 9, 2010 meeting were reviewed. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted, with Mr. Osten abstaining, to approve the minutes as tendered. Abatement request for consideration 521 Bedford Street – Nida N. Nagle Trust This application for abatement was filed on June 28, 2010 as a result of a high estimate of 19 hcf on bill #656935. The owner passed away and the house, empty since 2009, is on the market. The application was presented to the board on August 19, 2010 at which time the board asked that staff replace the faulty meter before presenting the application. On September 10, 2010, staff obtained a meter reading of 165, indicating that one hcf has been consumed since the last actual reading of 164 on May 10, 2010. Staff recommended to fully abate bill #656935 and charge for the one FCF used, resulting in a net abatement of $155.52. After a brief discussion, it was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and approved unanimously to recommend a full abatement on bill #656935 in the amount of $164.16 with the knowledge that the one HCF used will be billed in the Cycle 3 Fall billing. Appeal: 75 Winter Street – Yishan Cheng Mr. Addelson presented the history related to this appeal. Ms. Cheng applied for an abatement on May 28, 2010 on bill #657722 due to excessive usage. A staff visit to the property identified leaking toilets and the owner subsequently provided an invoice for the purchase of parts to repair them. Staff determined a three year average usage of 43 hcf and recommended a leak-based abatement of $96.71. Ms. Cheng requested an appeal indicating she had new information. Mr. Wood made introductions. Ms. Cheng asked for further consideration due to the fact that the water leaking into the public system was free of pollutants. Mr. Wood explained that the Town of Lexington is charged for the volume used regardless of the quality of the effluent and that the Town did not get a discount on her leaked water. Ms. Cheng stated that she and her husband are retired and paying the bill creates a hardship for them. Mr. Wood informed Ms. Cheng that she could contact social services, however it was determined that, as a non-resident, Lexington’s services are not available to her. It was recommended she contact the collector of taxes to establish a payment plan. Ms. Cheng asked if the Board would consider another $50.00 abatement. Mr. Wood explained that, in the absence of new information, the Board is only authorized to recommend the abatement as presented. Mr. Addelson informed Ms. Cheng that the Board’s recommendation would go before the Board of Selectmen (BOS) for approval on October 4, 2010. Shortly after that, she will receive a letter informing her of the BOS decision and she will have 30 days from the date of the letter to pay the balance due on bill #657722 at which time 1 interest will begin to accrue. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and approved unanimously to recommend an abatement on bill # 657722 in the amount of $96.71. Appeal: 44 Greenwood Street – Ken and Gail Flowers The appellants were not present. Mr. Addelson presented the history of this case. At its meeting of April 22, 2010, pursuant to an appeal by the Flowers, owners of 44 Greenwood Street, the WSAB amended its February 11, 2010 recommendation of an abatement of $1,492.13 to $2,558.50. On May 3, 2010, the Town Manager, in a letter to the Flowers, notified them of the WSAB’s revised recommendation (see Exhibit 1). In response, the Flowers sent a letter to Mr. Addelson dated May 19, 2010, contesting the April 22, 2010 recommendation. In response to the Flowers’ May 19 letter, Mr. Addelson, via email, suggested that he and the Town Manager meet with the Flowers. On June 28, 2010, that meeting was held. In response to that meeting, Mr. Addelson mailed a letter via email to the Flowers on September 2, 2010 in which he recommended a revised abatement of $3,900.08. In response to Mr. Addelson’s letter of September 2, the Flower’s responded with an email dated September 2, 2010 @ 8:51 pm contesting an assumption reflected in Mr. Addelson’s letter of September 2, 2010. On September 7, 2010 @ 5:03 pm, Mr. Addelson responded via email defending the assumption. On September 16, 2010 @ 4:28 pm, the Flowers responded. Based on that response, Mr. Addelson made a minor adjustment to his September 2, 2010 analysis resulting in a recommended adjustment of $4,053.27. This was transmitted in an email to the Flowers dated September 20, 2010 @2:20 pm. It is recommended to the Abatement Board that it revise its April 22, 2010 recommendation to $4,053.27. Mr. Addelson pointed out that the Flowers returned a postcard reading for the 5/1/08 billing which staff overrode because it was so high. He stated the Town should accept some culpability because, had the postcard reading been used, the leak would have become evident at that time. However, the Flowers contended that because of a series of six estimated bills beginning on November 12, 2004, they had no way of knowing they had a leak. They contended that their normal usage could not be derived from that time span, but that one had to go back to “pre-leak” usage in 2003. They insisted that their history be used to derive usage rather that the standard 15 hcf per person. Mr. Addelson said he believed this extraordinary circumstance warranted some deviation from the Board and he recommended a revised abatement of $3,900.08 based on the Town’s shared responsibility. A discussion ensued. Ms. Constantinides opined that to deviate from the policy that every rate payer is responsible to pay for all water consumed at some rate would be a mistake. She proposed that the Board not accept the recommendation and leave it to the BOS to make the ultimate decision. Mr. Osten stated that all other applicants have been held to this policy regardless of the circumstances. It was generally agreed that the Town’s culpability may have started when staff disregarded a postcard reading in 2008, but that the Flowers failed to return postcards from 2004 through 2007. It was further agreed that, regardless of culpability, the Board’s charge does not include usage forgiveness; that decision must be made by the BOS. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, and seconded by Mr. Osten, that WSAB reaffirm its decision of April 22, 2010 and recommend to the BOS an abatement to the Flowers of $2,558.50. Rather than schedule the next WSAB meeting, it was decided to wait until there are more applications to review. Ms. Constantinides offered a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Jim Osten and approved unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:04 pm. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Utility Manager 2