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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-26-WSAB-minor 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 January 26, 2012 APPROVED 4/5/2012 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair, and Jim Osten, Member, 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 Loren Wood called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Status Report Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 26 To be heard tonight 9 Going to BOS 1/23/12 95 New 10 On Hold 22 Potential Abatements 162 Total Minutes of the Meeting It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. November 17, 2011 meeting as tendered. It was moved by Mr. Osten, seconded by Mr. September 8, 2011 meeting as tendered. Wood and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the Wood and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the Abatement requests for consideration: Domestic Leaks 67 Baker Avenue - $86.85 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #693497. A staff visit revealed a leaking toilet and the homeowner provided a receipt for repair parts. This calculation establishes average fall usage at 32, therefore the entire has been recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $86.85. 4 Bryant Road - 5327.78 - APPROVED The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #693174. They said they checked all sinks and toilets, etc. and found an outside sill cock to be leaking. They said they repaired the faucet but did not keep a receipt. This calculation established their average usage for fall to be 32; therefore, all 62 hcf have been recalculated at tier one rates. Additionally, because the leak was outside and did not enter the sewer system, only the average usage is charged at the sewer rate. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $327.78. This bill is paid in full. 11 Dawes Road — Withdrawn — must obtain proof of leak repair or MoRH Minutes 1775 tic m Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board F o Z~ D 201 Bedford Street nW 3 Q � o �► Lexington, MA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 January 26, 2012 104 East Emerson Road - $461.88 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for a leak based abatement on bill #686384. He states that he discovered his sill cock leaking and was unable to shut it off. He turned off the main valve until he could get the faucet repaired on May 16, 2011 (see receipt) and he has not used outside water since. Having just purchased the property in August, there is no established usage so we opted to wait until the fall billing and his usage was 57 hcf. The excess usage of 34 was recalculated at tier one rates with no sewer charge. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $461.88. Another Rockwell replaced! &� 55 Fifer Lane -50.00 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement based on irrigation on a domestic meter on the spring 2011 bill. The property is rented and was granted a leak -based abatement on 2/24/11 on bill # 657607 due to a toilet leak. This abatement request is for bill #688838 for usage from 11/13/10 through 5/2/11. Typically, not much if any outside watering is done during that time frame. Staff recommends denial of the owner's request for an abatement based on irrigation on a domestic line. 1 Judges Road -50.00 - APPROVED This is a 16 living unit complex. They reported their meter was leaking and filed an abatement on 6/17/10. Dennis Meehan confirmed the leak was on their side of the meter but had to wait for parts to make the repair. The adjustment was inadvertently created when, unable to get readings for the spring and fall 2011 billings because the pit was full of water, we estimated usage based on the average past usage. Note that in the blocks below we established a two year, pre -leak average that is actually higher than the three year average using the billing periods during the leak. Since this is the same format we would have used to calculate an abatement, staff recommends denying an abatement. Another Trident has been changed! & 4 Milk Street - 5461.31 - APPROVED Customer applied for abatement on bills #656978 and 670529. These new owners only recently discovered that they had a leaking toilet which they have had repaired and supplied a copy of the repair bill. However, they purchased the property on 9/22/2009 and had no history without a leak so the abatement was on hold until after the fall 2011 billing. Bill # 702000 established their usage at 39 hcf, therefore all usage on bill #s 670529 and 656978 was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $461.31. 4 Paul Revere Road - $654.36 - APPROVED The homeowner contacted this office after receiving bill #687546. Staff performed a leak inspection in June and found a toilet leaking badly. The homeowner said he shut the toilet off as the family was about to leave on travel. They later fixed the toilet themselves and provided a picture of the new part installed. The homeowner misunderstood the abatement procedure and was waiting for a corrected water bill. This accounts for delayed recognition. This calculation establishes a two year average usage of 52 and the excess usage has been recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $654.36. South Ridge Avenue - 51,152.10 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #664238. A staff visit revealed a first floor toilet leaking which staff were able to adjust and stop the leak; subsequent usage had gone down to pre- 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 January 26, 2012 leak levels. A three year average usage of 52 was established and water usage in excess of the average was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $1,152.10. Another Rockwell replaced! &� 66 Winter Street - $204.27 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #702741. A site visit revealed a leaking toilet and the homeowner subsequently provided an Ace Hardware receipt for toilet parts. This calculation establishes average fall usage at 65 and charges the excess usage of 24 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $204.27. 142 Wood Street - $153.32 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving a second large bill. A staff visit revealed that a toilet had been replaced on 8/10/10 and the homeowner supplied a repair invoice from Sweet Plumbing. Because the usage had been estimated for years and it appears the meter had stopped working at some point, this abatement was on hold until average usage was established on the new meter. This calculation uses the new averages and charges excess usage at tier one rates for bill #s 669695 and 656146. It also adds sewer charges to bill #656146 as the unit was tied in to sewer in 2007. Additionally it was discovered that the usage from 5/10/2007 through 11/1/2009 was underestimated and that the customer used 522 hcf but was only billed for 463 hcf. This calculation adjusts those bills but does not add sewer charges to that period of time and results in a recommended abatement of - $153.32. Mr. Osten asked that the record reflect that the board has the right to charge sewer charges on a11522 hcf used. Irrigation Leaks 21 Baskin Road - $205.80 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after finding and fixing a significant leak in his irrigation system. He has a supplied an invoice for the repair of the system. This year the homeowners' outside usage was 24 which we took as an average usage. Bill # 672452 was recalculated using tier one rates for the excess usage of 70 hcf. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of - $205.80. 1265 Mass Avenue - $28,030.00 — Withdrawn for further review 1265 Mass Avenue -$16,392.54 — Withdrawn for further review 27 Vine Brook Road - 51,151.11 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #665262. He states that when they got home from vacation they found their irrigation system had failed and water was spraying unrestrained for an undetermined length of time. Since this was their first full summer on the property, we agreed to wait until after their fall 2011 bill. This calculation assumes usage over 73 hcf was leaked and is charged at tier one rates and assumes the leaked amount did not enter the sewer system. Staff recommends an abatement of- $1,151.11. Irrigation on Domestic Line 14 Cutler Farm Road - $583.83- APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement on Bill # 672854 after irrigating on the domestic meter every other day. A site visit confirmed the usage and no leaks were found. Staff suggested having an irrigation 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 January 26, 2012 meter installed. As there was no history with which to establish average usage, the abatement request was put on hold and a good faith payment received. After reviewing the 2011 fall bill, it is clear that the homeowner has yet to install a separate meter for irrigation making 13 8 hcf the average fall usage. Applying the formula to derive excess usage to be billed at irrigation rate only, staff recommends a one time abatement in the amount of $583.83. Mr. Osten asked that the minutes reflect this is a one time abatement only. Redistributions 107 Adams Street - 5725.55 - APPROVED After five billing periods that were estimated, the homeowners received a "catch -up" bill for 133 hcf. They filed an application for abatement on bill # 699909. Staff replaced the meter and confirmed the reading. This calculation redistributes the usage back to the last A read on 10/7/2008 resulting in a staff recommended abatement in the amount of - $725.55. 5 Butler Avenue - $400.44 — Withdrawn to establish ADU on new meter 14 Courtyard Place - $90.80 — Withdrawn 26 Hancock Street - $372.76 - APPROVED We were unable to read this meter while the house was under construction and estimated low on bill #684139. The wire and pad have since been replaced and bill #697919 is a catch up bill. We established ADU and applied it to the number of days in the two billing periods. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of $- 372.76. Billing /Reading Issues 55 Coolidge Street - 5706.5- APPROVED This is a church with a 2" Trident meter that was misread by staff. The Treasurer contacted us stating that on 12/4/11 he read the meter at 2956. A staff visit confirmed the reading and the meter was changed. ADU was established and applied to the number of days in the billing period, resulting in a usage of 42 hcf. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of $706.57. The meter has been changed. 21 Courtyard Place - $29.40 - APPROVED This is new construction. The real estate agent provided a final reading of 31.46 which staff took as 3 hcf when in fact it represents zero usage. Staff recommends abating the entire bill in the amount of - $29.40. 34 Fairlawn Lane - $313.60 - APPROVED The homeowner contacted us stating that on 11 -30 -11 he read the meter at 0888. A staff visit confirmed the reading and that we had over estimated the usage. ADU was established and applied to the number of days in the billing period, resulting in a usage of 8 hcf. The other 4 units will be billed in the spring. Staff recommends an abatement in the amount of $313.60. The wire and pad were replaced. 100 Laconia Street -S1,424.44 — Withdrawn due to calculation error 665 Lowell Street - 59,806.72 — There was a discrepancy as to whether or not this was approved. It will be brought back to the board for approval on March 15, 20120 11 oVS '" Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V January 26, 2012 � This irrigation account was over billed on bill #700257. Although the pad reading was 9611, in Munis the meter was entered as having 5 dials and 3 stationary zeros causing Munis to interpret the read as 11,000. Management applied for an abatement on 11/29/11 stating the reading was 9611. The old meter was replaced on 12/29/11 with an outread of 9611 confirming the owners reading. Using that read we established ADU and applied that to the number of days in the billing period. This results in a usage of 681 hcf and a staff recommended abatement in the amount of - $9,806.72. Revisit after Appeal 43A Woburn Street - 53,124.42 - APPROVED The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill # 684304. When the meter was changed on 1/25/2011 it was discovered that the inside read was higher than the outside visual read causing the account to have been under billed 189 hcf. It also came to our attention that this is a two family home and this was verified through the Assessor's database. Mr. Kefalas appealed the board's original abatement recommendation and asked that the redistribution be taken back more than 3 years. This calculation takes redistribution back to 2003 and accounts for the two family status. It results in a recommended abatement of - $3,124.42. A second meter was installed 1/25/11 in the second unit and the 2 family designation has been removed from bill #684304 and from the account for future billings. Board members discussed the recalculation presented and agreed that it should go back to 2003 when Mr. Kefalas purchased the property and no further. Ms. Constantinides asked that Mr. Kefalas be given a detailed explanation of this decision. Schedule future meeting dates The next meetings were scheduled for February 16, 2012 with an alternate snow date of March 1, 2012 and March 15, 2012 It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:25 PM. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Fund Manager 5