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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-05-WSAB-min,OV '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxIN61o� April 5, 2012 APPROVED MAY 31 2012 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair, Jim Osten, Member, and Maria Constantinides, Member. Staff: B i l l Hadley,, DPW Director,, Erik Gitsch ier, Water /Sewer Superintendent, Elizabeth Tucker, and Robin Fullford, Utility Billing, Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance was not present. Chair Loren Wood called the meeting to order at 4:37 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Status Report Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 32 To be heard tonight 41 Pending Fall billing 73 Total Review of Appeal Recalculation: The appeal requested by Mary Megson, owner of 142 Wood Street was reviewed. She had asked the board to consider abating the sewer charge on bill # 669695. The new calculation resulted in a staff recommended abatement of - $2 It was moved by Mr. Woods, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to approve the appeal recalculation. Approval of minutes: It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the January 26, 2012 meeting as presented. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 16, 2012 meeting as amended. Abatement requests for consideration: Domestic Leaks 8 April Lane — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving b i l l #694890 for 256 hcf. The house is empty and on the market and the owners have moved to the West Coast. Their broker scheduled a staff visit, but two of the toilets were shut off and could not be tested for leaks and the third clearly had a new fluid master. Fifty days later, we scheduled a second visit and had asked the broker to turn the water back on in advance. The meter had advanced one unit but no leaks were found. We are satisfied that there had been a leak and it has been repaired. We ,OV '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxIN61o� April 5, 2012 established the fall average usage at 20 hcf and therefore recalculated all usage at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $2,641.04. 48 Balfour Street — Approved The homeowner filed an application after receiving bill #701620 for 170 units. A staff visit confirmed the reading and revealed four toilets leaking in overflow. All toilets were adjusted by staff and are no longer leaking. We established their three year fall average at 63 and recalculated all but 23 hcf at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $(1,330.53). 97 Cedar Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #701547 for 81 hcf. A staff visit revealed two leaking toilets. The homeowners hired Sweet Plumbing and provided a repair receipt. We established the fall average usage at 59 hcf and recalculated all but 19 hcf at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $154.88. 4 Demar Road — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #703127 for 51 hcf. They state they discovered a toilet leak and had it repaired promptly. They provided a receipt from Kirkland and Shaw. We established the fall average usage at 35 hcf and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $63.69. 36 Earl Street — Approved as amended The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #705046 for 68 hcf. In August they discovered the timer on their sill cock was leaking and malfunctioning. They threw the timer away and did not replace it. We established their three year average fall usage at 44 hcf and because the leak did not enter the sewer system, we recalculated the excess of 24 hcf tier one rates with no sewer charge. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $299.28. 177 East Emerson Road — Withdrawn 15 Frances Road — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #700903 for 61 hcf. Their tenant informed them of a leaking faucet. The owner hired a plumber to repair the faucet and provided us a copy of the receipt. The three year average fall usage is 48 hcf; therefore all but 8 units have been recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $75.27. 22 Harbell Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #701479. The previous bill had prompted them to pursue leaks in their house. They had a plumber in who did quite a bit of work in June but in January staff detected a toilet leaking in overflow and adjusted it. Since the leak persisted into two billing periods, we established 3 year average uses for spring and fall, 2 ,OV '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxINCJVon April 5, 2012 billing the excess usage at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $477.07 14 Hastings Road — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #700686 for 187 hcf. A staff visit confirmed leaking toilets and the homeowners provided a repair receipt. We established their average fall usage at 41 hcf and recalculated with all but 1 unit at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $1,690.64. 9 Munroe Road — Withdrawn 156 Reed Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #702300 for 73 hcf. A staff visit revealed a toilet in need of a fluid master. The homeowners purchased parts at Home Depot and provided a receipt. We established their three year average usage at 49 and recalculated all but 9 units at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $138.96. 82 Spring Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #704544 hcf. A staff visit confirmed the reading but revealed no leaks. It was confirmed, however that the customer had replaced a fluid master in one toilet and they provided a copy of the packaging. We established average fall usage at 35 hcf and recalculated the entire usage at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $300.05. 58 Turning Mill Road — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #703116 for 65 hcf. A staff visit revealed 2 toilets leaking and in need of fluid masters. The homeowner purchased parts and provided a copy of the receipt. Their average f a l l usage was established at 44, therefore, all but 4 units were recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $121.59. 132 Vine Street — Approved as amended After receiving bill #698252 for 101 hcf, the homeowner filed an abatement. A staff visit revealed a toilet leaking and in need of a fluid master. The homeowners had the toilet repaired and provided a receipt. Meanwhile, an investigation established that the house is serviced by sewer AND is a 2 family that was not so designated. The sewer service has been activated and the house designated as 2 family for future billings. This calculation also applies sewer and 2 family status and results in a net charge to the homeowner. The board approved an additional charge on the account in the amount of $548.44. 16 Webb Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving b i l l #698338 for 100 hcf. They state that during the summer of 2011 they had problems with their pool liner and had to drain and f i l l 3 ,OV '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxIN61o� April 5, 2012 the pool twice. They provided an invoice from PoolPro for the replacement liner and installation. Based on the size of the pool, they estimate they used an additional 48,000 gallons or 64 hcf. We established a fall average usage of 44 hcf and recalculated the excess usage of 56 at tier one rates because the leak did not enter the sewer system. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $856.32. 29 Whipple Road — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #693059 for 90 hcf. A staff visit revealed toilets leaking in overflow, all of which were adjusted by staff. We established a three year fall average of 54 units and recalculated all but 14 units at tier one rates. Note: The current billing is for 81 units and we have a concern that one or more toilets may still be leaking as their spring average usage is 66. The customer will be contacted. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $287.44. 16 Williams Road - Withdrawn Meter /Reading Issues Cambridge Research — Approved This abatement is staff generated at the request of Hanscom AFB to abate bill #696016 in its entirety. In September Hanscom discovered they had installed a 1,000 gallon meter in June, changed the meter head to hcf and appropriate bill adjustments were made. However, staff erred on bill #700497 by taking the reading from zero rather than 2422 as previously billed on bill #696016 resulting in an over billing. Hanscom asked that we negate bill #696016 and leave bill #700497 as is. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $11,141.20. 4 Candlewick Close — Approved The homeowner filed for an abatement on bill #702257. A manual reading of 280 had been obtained for the fall 2011 billing. Staff interpreted it as 2808 when it should have been 2280. On 1/17/12 the old Trident meter was removed at 29987 which confirmed the misread. Prior to removal, staff checked the old meter and it was registering usage. The meter had been cemented into the basement floor and we had been unable to replace it until recently when the homeowner hired someone to chip it out of the cement. She was anxious to change the meter after receiving a $14,,000 bill. Staff did not find any evidence of a leak. In the calculation below, we substituted the reading of 2280 and this resulted in a usage of 112 hcf. The board approved an abatement in the amount of - $12,402.72. 15 Loring — Approved This account was over estimated based on past usage. The homeowner read the meter on 12/27/11 at 259 and staff confirmed that reading at 266 on 2/16/12 when they tried unsuccessfully to change the meter. The meter is positioned in a cabinet on an inside wall and cannot be wired either. This is a Radio Read candidate and has been placed on the list. We 11 ,OV '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxINCJVon April 5, 2012 established ADU using the homeowner's reading and derived a usage of 35 hcf and recalculated bill #703882. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $1 ,142.40. 48 Lowell Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #692578. We were unaware that in November 2010 they removed the meter from a second unit when they converted their property to a one family. They returned the meter to us recently with an outread of 825 indicating we had over billed the account. This calculation simply negates the estimated bill #692578. This account is on the low income discount list and Munis subtracted 30% off both water and sewer despite the fact that the consumption report shows all 30% being subtracted from the sewer. Once brought to a zero balance, the account will be deactivated. The configuration of the meter removal must be approved. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $171.50. 1787 Mass Ave — Approved as amended This is a commercial account. The meter was changed on 5/19/11 because it had stopped working at 4778. The spring 2011 bill was estimated at 597 based on average past usage. The meter change interfered with the fall billing and the account was billed for only 31 hcf. This calculation establishes the fall usage at 600 and the board approved a positive adjustment in the amount of $ 45 Middle Street — Approved The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #703589 for 48 hcf. A staff visit revealed no leaks; however it was found that the customer postcard read from the 11/3/11 billing was over stated. On 1/25/12 the reading was 514. That date and reading were used to calculate the ADU which was applied to the number of days in the billing period. A usage of 19 hcf was substituted and recalculated. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $330.52. 41 Preston Road — Approved This account was over estimated due to a keying error. The homeowner read the meter on 11/29/11 at 2240 and staff confirmed that reading at on 2/2/12 when the meter outread was 2247. By applying ADU to the elapsed days in the billing period, we derive a usage of 53. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $ Irrigation on Domestic Meter 430 Concord Avenue The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill # 704784 due to excessive irrigation usage. We recalculated 70% of the excess of 144 hcf (101 hcf) at irrigation. The homeowner understands this is a one time abatement opportunity and is exploring the feasibility of separating irrigation usage from domestic. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $888.39 5 ,OV '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxINCJVon April 5, 2012 151 Old Springs Road The owners of the Chinese Bible Church applied for an abatement on bill #704781. Last year they had planted a border of trees and watered them through the summer. They requested a one time only irrigation on a domestic meter abatement. The building itself is barely used; a monthly meeting and a Sunday school. As the usage during the f a l l of 2010 was zero, we used the spring 2011 usage of 2. We recalculated 70% of the excess of 203 hcf at irrigation rates and recommended an abatement of - $2,321.96. However, the board approved a recalculation of all usage at tier one rates, no sewer which results in an abatement of $2.689.05. 2195 Mass Ave The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #705877 due to excessive irrigation usage. A staff visit revealed no leaks and confirmed the previous reading. We recalculated 70% of the excess of 78 hcf (55 hcf) at irrigation rates and the board approved an abatement of ($921.55). Redistributions 63 Reed Street The homeowner called for an abatement after seeing that his meter was reading less than we had billed. We were then able to change the meter after 4 estimated readings. Going back the last postcard read, we established ADU and applied that to the number of days in each billing period. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $658.50. 19 Revere Street It was established in 2010 that this is a 2 family residence. The homeowner received a 2 family abatement going back to 2007. However, staff neglected to change the account's designation to 2 family and the next three bills were calculated as a one family. This calculation applies the two family rate and the board approved an abatement of - $660.50. 3 Spencer Street This LEXHAB account was misread on 4/12/11 causing over billing on bill #695924. We established ADU and applied it to the number of days in each billing period. The board approved an abatement of $794.16. 11 Tidd Circle The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill # 700130. It was a bit high due to a low estimate for the previous billing. We confirmed the accuracy of the meter and redistributed the usage based on ADU. The board approved an abatement of $99.24. Schedule future meeting date: The board will next meet on May 31, 2012. Adjourn on ,OVS '" Minutes o Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 TH �FxINCJVon April 5, 2012 It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:15 PM. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Fund Manager 7