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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-08-04-WSAB-min Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 August 4, 2011 APPROVED 9/8/2011 Attendance: Board Members – Loren Wood, Chair; Maria Constantinides, Member and Jim Osten, Member Staff: Bill Hadley, DPW Director; Erik Gitschier, Superintendent, and Robin Fullford, Water/Sewer Enterprise Chair Loren Wood called the meeting to order at 4:34 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Minutes of the Meeting It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the July 14, 2011 meeting as tendered. Status Report Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 21 To be heard tonight 1 Appeal 16 To go the BOS 8/1/11 12 To go to BOS 8/26/2011 27 Pending 14 On Hold 91 Total Discussions Members of the board briefly discussed the issue of standardizing the number of billing periods to be redistributed and agreed to hold this discussion later. The board reviewed the file of 27 Paul Revere Road in preparation for appeal. Abatement requests for consideration: APPEALS 27 Paul Revere Road - Approved Dr. Bimalangshu Dey met with the board to appeal their 2/24/2011 decision to deny an abatement on a high irrigation usage. Staff had confirmed the accuracy of the reading and an inspection revealed no leaks. In the absence of proof of a leak, there is no basis for an abatement on this irrigation bill. Staff recommends this application be denied. Upon review of this calculation on appeal, staff upholds its original recommendation to deny this appeal. Chairperson Wood explained the board’s authority and responsibility. He reiterated that Dr. Dey’s appeal must be denied because there is no evidence of a leak and the meter reading was correct. Dr. Dey stated his disagreement with the board’s decision and thanked them for their time. 1 Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 August 4, 2011 35 Middle Street - Postponed by homeowner 43A Woburn Street - Postponed by homeowner DOMESTIC LEAKS 300 Bedford Street - Approved The homeowner was abated on bill #670443 due to a leak which persisted into the next billing. She has now applied for further abatement on bill #688116. However, since the usage, though higher than average, did not exceed 40, there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommends denial of the abatement and a request to waive any interest that has accrued on bill #688116. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 17 Emerald Street - Approved The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #687740 for excessive usage. Staff found a toilet in need of a new fluid master. However, because the usage did not go over 40 hcf, there is no basis for an abatement. Staff recommends denying this application. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 15 Field Road - Approved The homeowner filed an application for abatement on bill #690871. She stated she had 2 toilets replaced and provided a plumber's invoice. Because her average seasonal usage is less than 40 hcf, all usage was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $206.40. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 17 Longfellow Road - Approved The homeowner filed an abatement application on 2/14/2011 after receiving bill #666339. A staff visit on 1/25/11 revealed two leaking toilets in need of fluid masters. The homeowner provided receipts for repairs that took place in 2009. Due to lack of history, the application was on hold. However, after receiving bill #683932 which was lower but still high, another chaser was requested. On 7/25/11 staff found two toilets still in need of fluid masters. The homeowner said it slipped her mind and she would arrange for immediate repair but based on the reading obtained, the usage is down to a projected 54 hcf. She did, however, provide receipts for toilet parts purchased on 12/19/10, 1/15/11, and 2/11/11. She also stated that a second floor bathroom was leaking within the wall, but there is no way of knowing how much of the leaked water did not enter the sewer system. In this calculation, staff used the read obtained on 7/25/11 to establish current ADU and derived usage. The derived usage was averaged with past usage to obtain average usage of 45 and tier one rates were applied to the excess. Staff recommends a leak based abatement in the amount of - $702.61. 2 Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 August 4, 2011 It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 1061-63 Massachusetts Avenue - Approved The homeowner applied for an application after receiving Bill #660687. Staff visited the residence and adjusted the overflow on a toilet. They had a toilet replaced and provided a copy of the invoice. Subsequent usage has returned to normal. A three year average of 69 was established and the excess water was charged at the tier one rate. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of -$2,169.12. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. BILLING ISSUES 3 Appletree Lane, Domestic - Approved The homeowner approached us believing that their domestic and irrigation meters might be swapped. A site visit revealed that to be true; the irrigation and domestic usages have been reversed since their installation in 1996. In this calculation, the correct domestic rates have been applied to three years of domestic usage resulting in a recommended positive adjustment in the amount of $2,2789.19. Combined with an abatement of -$1,278.31 on the irrigation account results in a net charge of $1,001.36. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 3 Appletree Lane, Irrigation - Approved The homeowner approached us believing that their domestic and irrigation meters might be swapped. A site visit revealed that to be true; the irrigation and domestic usages have been reversed since their installation in 1996. In this calculation, the correct irrigation rates have been applied to three years of irrigation usage resulting in a recommended abatement of -$1,278.31. Combined with a positive adjustment of $2,289.19 on the domestic account results in a net charge of $1,001.36. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 1 April Lane - Withdrawn 7 Carmel Circle - Withdrawn 32 Middle Street - Approved This account was over billed due to an incorrect postcard reading which staff did not use but rather estimated the usage. Subsequent readings confirm the account was over estimated. We calculated average daily usage and applied that to the number of days in the billing period deriving a usage of 54 hcf. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of -$195.30. 3 Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 August 4, 2011 It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 17 Sutherland Road - Withdrawn 37 Wachusett Drive - Approved This account was over billed due to misinterpreted postcard readings at rollover. The postcard readings have been entered directly below and they create the correct consumption. We recalculated using the correct usage resulting in a staff recommended abatement in the amount of -$894.54. A staff visit revealed two leaking toilets however, in the recalculation of usage, all usage falls within tier one rates. There is no basis for a leak based abatement. Staff recommends denial of an abatement. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. REDISTRIBUTIONS 91 Bridge Street - Approved The homeowner applied for an abatement because of a series of estimates after the wire was cut during remodeling in 2006. On 6/14/2011 the inside meter was read at 0637 indicating we had overestimated. We went back to the last actual read on 11/7/2005 and redistributed the usage based on average daily usage. This results in a staff recommended abatement of -$474.02. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. Dane Road - Approved A postcard read was submitted in October 2004 and again in October 2008. All readings in between were estimated. The homeowner says he applied for an abatement after receiving bill #607517 for 577 hcf, although no application can be found. Staff visited the home, confirmed the reading, observed a toilet leak, offered to check all toilets, and the homeowner declined. Customer has not supplied proof of having fixed any toilets. For some reason, he seems reluctant to acknowledge that he had any leaks. Therefore, the calculation is a redistribution only. By establishing average daily usage for the period in question derived usages are obtained and redistributed. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of ($3,212.51). It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 74 Fifer lane - Approved The homeowner is appealing the abatement calculation approved on 6/23/2011. Staff recalculated all of the usage on the new meter since its installation on June 22, 2009 using the post card reads submitted by the homeowner (see "Corrected Read" and "Corrected Usage" in calculation below). 4 Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 August 4, 2011 Because no reading was obtained for bill# 671177, we have redistributed the usage from 5/6/2010 to 5/2/2011. Staff recommends a revised abatement in the amount of -$285.24. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 35 Hartwell Avenue, Domestic - Withdrawn 35 Hartwell Avenue, Irrigation - Withdrawn 15 Lawrence Lane - Approved This application was originally filed 12/17/2008. A staff visit on 12/15/2008 revealed no leaks; the meter reading was 0592 indicating the account had been over estimated for years. WSAB asked to have the meter changed on 6/9/09 before processing this abatement. The meter wasn't changed until 8/30/10 with an outread of 634. This indicates the meter was recording usage and presumably in working order. The house was vacant for several months and the owner is often away. He has occupied the house since before 1990 and has lived alone since his elderly mother passed away. All of the bills since 10/1/2002 have been over estimated and need to be reversed with the exception of bill #7056 which represents an over billing of 37 hcf (671-634 the outread+37). Please note that the ADU on the old meter is similar to the ADU on the new meter, confirming staff findings and very low water usage. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of $5,387.94. This account was liened in error and the owner is anxious to settle with WSAB so that he can settle with the Revenue Office. Also, staff had many indications over the years that this account was being overbilled and did not resolve the issue. Given the facts, staff does not believe that the old meter ever rolled over. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 594 Marrett Road - Withdrawn 7 Massachusetts Avenue - Approved When the 3/25/10 reading was taken, it was discovered that prior reads, going back to the installation of the meter in 2002 were misread or misinterpreted because the meter was obscured by debris and equipment. The correct reading yielded usage of 793 HCF, some of which is attributable to prior periods. That usage is redistributed back over prior periods based on the calculation of average daily usage between the most current read of 1579 and the 9/4/2002 read of 14. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of ($301.70). The irrigation status of this account came into question and this meter has since been removed and now all water used at the site is subject to sewer rates. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. 5 Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 August 4, 2011 10 Muzzy Street - Approved This is a commercial account. The customer changed their meter and the configuration of their sub meters. Bill #682951 is the result of reading the wrong meter. Staff obtained pictures of the new meter and sub meters and verified the reading as of 6/1/2011 at 491. We established an ADU of 2.28 hcf and derived a usage of 375 for the billing period. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of -$11,909.17. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to accept and confirm staff recommendation. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:43 PM. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Fund Manager 6