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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-16-WSAB-minoVS MORN, Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V February 16, 2012 � APPROVED 4/5/12 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair, Jim Osten, Member, and Maria Constantinides, Member. Staff: Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, Bill Hadley, DPW Director, Erik Gitschier, Water /Sewer Superintendent, Elizabeth Tucker, and Robin Fullford, Utility Billing Chair Jim Osten 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: 26 To be heard tonight 20 Pending Fall billing 65 Pending 26 Incomplete 137 Total Approval of minutes: It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Ms. Constantinides and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the December 8, 2011 meeting as amended. Approval of the minutes of the January 26, 2012 meeting was tabled until the next meeting. Abatement requests for consideration: Domestic Leaks 147 Burlington Street — APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #697647 for 72 hcf. He states that he discovered a leaking toilet and purchased parts (receipt attached) for the repair. The average fall usage is 41 therefore, all but one unit have been recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $179.49. 11 Dawes Road — APPROVED The homeowner's health aide applied for an abatement after receiving bill #693891 for 212 hcf. A staff visit revealed a leaking toilet that the residents were not aware of. We established a 3 year fall average usage of 53 and recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. WSAB rejected this recommendation in January for lack of proof of repair. We have since received an invoice indicating that Sweet Plumbing replaced the toilet. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $2,080.86. 10 Doran Farm Road — APPROVED The owner lives in Israel for 11 months of the year and rents the house while she is away. Until recently this had been one of three units on one meter. On 6/15/10 when Ms. Koplow purchased the unit, a new separate meter was installed for her unit. The spring 2011 bill # 686648 was unusually high and that prompted us to pursue the owner. After mailing a letter to the owner, we eventually heard from Ms. or MoRH Minutes 1775 tic m Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board F o Z~ D 201 Bedford Street nW 3 Q � o �► Lexington, MA 02420 APRILI9 i NGT V February 16, 2012 Koplow, the owner's mother. She told us there had been a leak and provided us with a plumbing receipt dated 8/30/2011. WSAB approved a leak based abatement on bill #686648. This application requests a leak based abatement on bill #689119 because the leak persisted into that billing period. A staff visit in January confirmed that there are no more leaks at this address. Staff used the 60 hcf used in the fall of 2010 as the average usage and recommend an abatement in the amount of - $266.39. Based on the reading taken 1/10/12. the usage projects out to 47 hcf for the current billing period. 14 Douglas Road — APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #698643. A staff inspection revealed three toilets leaking in overflow which staff adjusted. The three year average usage is 52 hcf and the overage of 61 has been recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $613.89. 9 Gould Road — APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #702996. She states that during the October snow storm a branch hit the outside faucet causing it to break open. She didn't discover the leak until the next day. She has provided a hand written bill for the repair. We established an average fall usage of 64 hcf. In doing so, we have substituted 60 hcf for the fall 2010 usage because that bill was abated and the three year average usage was established at 60. Because the leak did not enter the sewer system, we have recalculated the overage of 29 at tier one rates /no sewer. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of -$464.33. 24 Hilltop Avenue — APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #694571. On 10/13/2011 she had a leaking toilet repaired and provided a receipt from Kirkland and Shaw, Inc. This calculation established average usage for fall to be 33; therefore, all usage has been recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $75.27. 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 provided several repair bills and parts receipts that were incurred in pursuit of these leaks. Bill #666339 was previously abated and this abatement request represents leaks that persisted into the next billing period. In this calculation, staff used the ADU from bill #652902 and derived usage of 67 and billed the overage at tier one rates. Staff recommends a leak based abatement in the amount of - $346.30. 532 Lowell Street — APPROVED The homeowner called after receiving bill #698544. A staff leak inspection revealed a toilet leak. The homeowner had the leak repaired by Kirkland and Shaw and provided a receipt. Note that bill #667168 was removed from the average usage equation because it was previously abated for one time irrigation on a domestic meter. Average fall usage was established at 46 hcf therefore, all but 6 units are recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $40.53. 2 or MoRH Minutes 1775 tic m Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board F o Z~ D 201 Bedford Street nW 3 Q � o �► Lexington, MA 02420 APRILI9 i NGT V February 16, 2012 1265 Massachusetts Avenue — APPROVED PENDING VERIFICATION OF AMENDED RECOMMENDATION (subsequently verified) This recommendation is the culmination of two years of dispute with Shemin Nursery. Pat Greggo, the manager, did not believe that his irrigation system was using the amount of Town water that we billed. A meter test proved the accuracy of the meter. Erik Gitschier was able to prove to them on 8/26/11 that their irrigation system was indeed using Town water. The manager is asking that the usage in excess of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasonal usage be recalculated at tier one rates. The result is an abatement in the amount of - $16,392.54 and another in the amount of - $30,577.29. 60 North Street — APPROVED The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #699977. This is an account that does not have Town sewer. The homeowners state that a tap broke in an old, unused greenhouse on the property. They only discovered the leak when they heard water running from the garage. The valve to the line has been shut off in the house. A staff visit confirmed. They will probably not have the tap replaced as they do not use the greenhouse. This calculation establishes 53 hcf as the 3 year fall average, therefore all but 13 units are charged at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $337.00. 27 Sherman Street — APPROVED - Send letter to encourage installation of an irrigation meter. The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #699372 citing irrigation on a domestic meter. A staff visit also revealed four toilets in overflow; all were adjusted. This calculation establishes 43 as 70% of excess usage and that is recalculated at the irrigation rate with no sewer. To apply a leak based abatement as well, 62 units are in excess of the average usage and are recalculated at tier two rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $895.29. 164 Woburn Street — WITHDRAWN DUE TO LACK OF PROOF OF LEAK REPAIR Irrigation on Domestic Meter 3 Richard Road — HOLD TO CONFIRM PROPER INSTALLATION OF IRRIGATION METER Redistributions 34 Clarke Street — WITHDRAWN TO DETERMINE HOW MANY PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLD 22 Charles Street — WITHDRAWN TO RECALCULATE AS A 2- FAMILY 14 Courtyard Place — APPROVED The homeowner took possession of this condo unit before the wire and pad had been run therefore we were unable to get a reading for the spring 2011 bill. The homeowner called after receiving bill #700433 and asked that the usage be redistributed from the day they purchased the unit on 4/7/11. This calculation results in a staff recommended abatement in the amount of - $34.00. 2210 Massachusetts Avenue — APPROVED This account had been estimated since 1991 with only an occational A read. On 2/8/12 we replaced the meter and ran a wire and pad. The resulting outread of 7552 triggered a redistribution back to the last A read on 4/29/2010. We established the ADU and applied to the elapsed days in each billing period. The result is a staff recommended abatement in the amount of - $206.17. 3 or MoRH Minutes 1775 tic m Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board F o Z~ D 201 Bedford Street nW 3 Q � o �► Lexington, MA 02420 APRILI9 i NGT V February 16, 2012 36 Laconia Street - APPROVED; DETERMIN HOW MANY PEOPLE IN HOUSE AND FLAG FOR SPRING BILLING (Two people) The homeowner applied for an abatement because of a high estimated usage on bill #698443. A staff visit revealed the meter had been installed in an inside room with no access to the outside to run a wire. This was explained to the homeowner who will continue to return postcards until we can install a radio read meter interface unit. Meanwhile, the reading on 12/21/11 was 67. ADU was calculated from 4/22/11 to 12/21/11 and derived usage of 13 for the billing period was obtained. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $264.60. Upon BOS approval, this abatement will be achieved by changing the usage on bill #698443. 1666 Massachusetts Avenue — APPROVED This commercial account was over estimated. Staff read the meter on 12/9/2011 at 15520. This redistribution goes back to an A read on 10/12/2010 and results in a staff recommended abatement in the amount of - $3,998.70. 5 Middle Street — APPROVED This account had been estimated and when we changed the meter a large catch up bill resulted. The outread was 4236. Going back to a postcard read on 11/9/2009 we established ADU and redistributed the total usage over the elapsed billing period. The result is a staff recommended abatement in the amount of - $583.77. 7 Patriots Drive — BOTH DOMESTIC AND IRRIGATION ACCOUNT WITHDRAWN. MR. WOOD WILL REVIEW CALCULATIONS. 12 Revere Street — APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement because, after a series of estimates, staff estimated high to encourage the homeowner to contact us. On 12/5/2011 staff attempted to replace the Trident meter and found the service to be too fragile. The homeowner agreed to return postcards in the future. We went back to the last actual read on 9/28/2005 and redistributed the usage based on average daily usage. This results in a staff recommended abatement of - $2,458.55 which is greater than the current balance, therefore a payment was not required. 100 Laconia Street — APPROVED This is an irrigation account. This calculation was presented to the board on 1/26/12 and withdrawn because of date issues. The homeowner returned a postcard reading of 845 for the fall 2010 billing. It became clear this was a misread when the meter was replaced on 10/12/2011 with an outread of 607. This calculation establishes usage of 106 hcf from the last A read to the outread. We recalculated the usage based on ADU and added spring and fall reads to more closely replicate an irrigation meter. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $1,416.00. Meter Issues 1460 Massachusetts Avenue — APPROVED This is a new irrigation account The meter was installed on 6/13/11 at zero and the touch pad reading obtained on 9/27/11 was 9974 which staff took as 99. The homeowner contacted us on 12/20/11 having 11 oVS '" Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V February 16, 2012 � read his meter as 9973 86.07. It was then clear that the meter had been installed backwards and in fact only 26 hcf had been used. On 2/13/12 staff reinstalled the meter with an outread of 9973. Irrigation Leaks 1 Sunset Ridge — APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #695754 stating they had a leak in the irrigation pipe. They supplied a maintenance invoice that included "fixing irrigation pipe in front". The summer of 2010 was the first time the irrigation account had been used since 2008, therefore, that usage of 156 became the average usage. 162 hcf in excess of the average was used and that was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommend an abatement in the amount of - $492.48. Schedule future meeting date: The board will next meet on March 15, 2012. Adjourn It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:34 PM. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Fund Manager 5