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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-03-15-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 March 15, 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 4:33 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: Status Report Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 32 To be heard tonight 40 Pending 34 Incomplete 106 Total 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. Approval of the minutes of the February 26, 2012 meeting was approved as amended. Review Appeal Request — 142 Wood Street This abatement request involved a leak, readings switched with another living unit, and sewer not being billed. On 6/2/11 the board approved an abatement in the amount of $153.32. Ms. Mary Megson and her husband met with the board and asked the board to consider abating the sewer that was charged in the revised bill # 669695 and 656146. Mr. Wood told the Megsons the board would consider their request and staff would let them know of their decision. Abatement requests for consideration: Domestic Leaks 11 Clematis Road — Domestic The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving b i l l #695737 for 61 hcf. A staff visit did reveal a leaking toilet in need of a fluid master. However, since the average fall usage is 64, there is no basis for an abatement. The board approved a recommendation to deny abatement. 11 Clematis Road — Irrigation The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving b i l l #695738 for 312 hcf on her irrigation account. Staff verified the reading but was unable to test the irrigation system for leaks because it had been shut down for the winter. The usage is well over the average usage, oVS '" Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V March 15, 2012 � but staff find no basis for an abatement. If a leak is discovered in the spring, the homeowner may then apply for an abatement. The board approved no abatement at this time. 24 Estabrook Road The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #700790 for 82 hcf. A staff visit verified the reading and that the homeowner had replaced a leaky faucet for which he provided a receipt. In calculating average fall usage, the homeowner asked that bill #669337 be excluded because they had done some landscaping that year and it was very hot and dry. With an average usage of 64, all but 24 units are recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of - $120.02. 31 Fletcher Avenue The owner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #700412 for 166 hcf on a rental account. Staff verified the reading and found a leaking toilet. On 2/14/12 they had the toilets repaired and have supplied an invoice. The owner subsequently asked that the abatement also cover bills 686634 and 669055. However, those bills were not paid and were committed to lien in December rendering them ineligible for abatement. The owners maintain that they had made several requests for their mail to address to be corrected but this was not done. Therefore they did not receive the bills that went to lien. Since the fall average usage is under 40 hcf, all usage has been recalculated at tier one rates resulting in a staff recommended abatement of - $1,408.94 on b i l l #700412. It was discovered that the meter we had been assigning to Unit 11 was actually the meter for Unit 10. Unit 10 was recently sold and the usage below was not captured on the final bill. However, the owners were responsible for both units during the period of time being reviewed in this application, and can be held responsible for the usage in Unit 10. The board approved an abatement of $1,408.94. 203 G rove Street The homeowner's daughter applied for an abatement after realizing her mother had two high water bills. Staff verified the reading and identified a leaky toilet. The daughter had the repair made and provided a receipt. Since both spring and f a l l average usage is under 40 hcf, the entire usage has been recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement of $134.04. 1 Park Drive The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving b i l l #702360 for 85 hcf for a leak that persisted into the next billing period. The board recently recommended a leak based abatement on bill #688566. The three year fall average was established at 21 hcf; therefore, all 85 units were recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $300.05. 2 oVS MORN, Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V March 15, 2012 � 4 Peacock Farm Road The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill numbers 695433 and 681686. They state they tried repeatedly to fix a leaking toilet themselves but the leak persisted into the new billing period. They eventually had a professional repair the toilet and provided an invoice. They ask that the board abate both bills. Since their 3 year average spring and fall bills are less that 40 hcf, both bills are recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement of $588.59. 38 Somerset Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #686009 for excessive usage. Staff found a toilet in need of a new fluid master and a leaking faucet. The homeowner had the leaks repaired and provided an invoice. The average seasonal usage is 43. Therefore all but three units are calculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $215.20. 1 Spenser Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #692351 for 79 hcf. They state that during the summer of 2011 they renovated their second floor bathroom, removed the toilet to lay new flooring and reinstalled the same toilet with new "interior flushing mechanism." The homeowner was not aware of any leaks and did not keep the receipt. We established a fall average usage of 40 hcf and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement of $225.81. 34 Tower Road The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #694087 for 144 hcf. A staff visit revealed two leaking toilets for which the homeowner has provided an invoice from Sweet Plumbing. The average fall usage was established at 44; the estimated usage of 20 on 9/27/10 was eliminated. The usage was recalculated with all but 4 hcf at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement of $ 32 Vaille Avenue The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #702234 for 85 hcf. This account had previously been abated on bill# 688438 because we had overestimated (a copy of that calculation is provided). A staff visit on 1/23/12 revealed three toilets leaking in overflow; all were adjusted by staff. At that time the meter was changed with an outread of 1105. The 3 year fall average usage is 43 hcf; therefore all but 3 units were recalculated at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement of $282.68. 16 Webb Street - Withdrawn 164 Woburn Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #698149. A staff visit revealed a leaking toilet in need of a new Fluid Master. This calculation establishes 41 hcf as the fall 3 oVS MORN, Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V March 15, 2012 � average, therefore all but 1 unit is charged at tier one rates. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $458.54. Irrigation on Domestic Meter 8 Carol Lane The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #696973 due to excessive irrigation usage. They purchased the property in 2009 with an irrigation system. Last year they added on to the home and the irrigation system was damaged during excavation. They watered from an outside s i l l cock and after they received their bill,, they realized the s i l l cock was connected to the domestic plumbing, not the irrigation. They are seeking a one time only irrigation on a domestic meter abatement. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $ 220 Follen Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #694244 due to excessive irrigation usage. Since there is no fall usage history, we are using the spring usage of 64. We recalculated 70% of the excess of 112 hcf (34 hcf) at the irrigation rate. The Board approved an abatement recommendation of $666.44. 32 Muzzey Street The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #696740 due to excessive irrigation usage. We recalculated 70% of the excess of 128 hcf (15 hcf) at the irrigation rate. The board approved an abatement recommendation of $259.95. 3 Richard Road The homeowners filed an abatement after receiving bill #694023 citing irrigation on a domestic meter. They state they hired a landscape contractor to install an irrigation system and he failed to properly install a separate meter. Unknowingly, the homeowners irrigated through their domestic meter until the irrigation meter was installed on 9/9/11. They understand this is a one time only abatement. We recalculated 70% of the excess usage at tier one rates, no sewer. The board approved an abatement recommendation in the amount of- $807.89. Billing Issues 665 Lowell Street 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 11/27/11 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. The board approved recommendation of an abatement in the amount of $ 11 oVS MORN, Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V March 15, 2012 � 0 Park Drive This is a seasonal, municipal account with no sewer (it is serviced by a septic system). In the fall of 2010 the meter was misread at 918. On 10/24/11 staff obtained a reading of 0451. It is possible the reading obtained in the spring was actually for a different location. We used the 10/24/11 reading of 451 and the 10/14/2010 reading of 388 to establish an ADU of 0.168 hcf per day and applied the ADU to the number of days in the billing periods. The board approved a recommended abatement of $912.35. 22 Peachtree Road The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #692994 because sewer was charged in error. Staff misinterpreted the tie cards as indicating the property was serviced by sewer. Upon further investigation and confirmation by the engineering department staff agrees that the property does not have Town sewer. This calculation simply abates the sewer charge on bill # 692994. The board approved a recommended abatement of $485.40. 27 Normandy Road This is an irrigation account. The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #704432 which was estimated at 20 hcf. The homeowner states they do not use irrigation at all. A staff visit confirmed the reading at 0383 and the board approved an abatement of the entire charge of $123.20. 39 Rindge Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #692131 for 114 hcf. The account had not been billed any usage in the spring 2011 billing because the A reading came back less than the previous reading. On 6/3/2011 the meter was changed with an outread of 1046 which can only indicate that the meter had been removed and replaced backwards. Therefore, the customer should be charged from 1104 down to 1046 = 58 plus the usage of 56 on the new meter. This calculation redistributes the usage based on ADU. The board approved an abatement of $573.40. 36 Vaille Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #688440 due to a series of over estimates. Staff replaced the meter on 6/15/11 with an outread of 4993. The last estimated read was 5007. When the BOS approved an abatement, that reading was changed to achieve the adjustment (see abatement approved 9/8/11). When the meter change was posted to Munis, however, because the reading had been changed, it erroneously created a Replaced Usage of 56 hcf. Upon receiving bill #702236, the homeowners applied for a further abatement for the over billing. Only 6 units should have been carried over into the fall 2011 billing for a total usage of 25 hcf. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $692.65. Redistributions 7 Bloomfield Street 5 oVS MORN, Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V March 15, 2012 � The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #696321. That bill is for a total of 60 units, 22 on the new and 38 on the old meter. The homeowner read his meter after receiving his bill at 22 and assumed we had missed billed his account. We redistributed of the usage back to the last postcard read. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $144.08. 5 Butler Avenue The homeowner filed for an abatement on bill #693504 which was acatch -up bill resulting from an outread after estimates since the meter was installed in 2000. WSAB rejected the 3 year calculation presented on 1/26/12 for lack of an anchor. This recalculation goes back the anchor of the meter installation at zero. The board approved an abatement of - $105.20. 22 Charles Street This account is a 2- family residence that had been estimated since 4/12/2006. The last A reading was 580 on 11/8/05 and the 11/19/11 outread was 045. Two people occupy the house and we are operating on the assumption that the meter rolled over once using water as follows: 1000 - 580 = 420 +45 on the rollover for a total usage of 465. We established ADU and applied it to the number of elapsed days in each billing period and recalculated as a 2- family. The board approved an abatement of $ 34 Clarke Street After estimating this account since 1996, we were able to replace the meter on 2/22/11 with an outread of 966. This was a Trident meter which only has three live digits, therefore we know the far left digit was added by staff to avoid a rollover. We waited to establish ADU on the new meter to calculate an abatement recommendation. The homeowner requested that we go back to 2002. The ADU has been applied to the number of days in each billing period resulting in a recommended abatement in the amount of $ This application was withdrawn by WSAB on 2/16/12 to determine how many people occupy the property. The owner states that only two people have occupied this property since 2000. The board approved an abatement of #3,077.54. 6 Crawford Road The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving "catch up" bill #697301 after a series of estimates. On 2/21/12 the meter was changed with an outread of (2)364. This calculation redistributes usage from the last "A" read on 9/4/2007 to the "M" read on 9/30/11. The replaced usage of 22 hcf will be captured in the fall billing. The board approved an abatement of $680.69. 7 Patriots Way — Domestic - Withdrawn 7 Patriots Way — Irrigation - Withdrawn 11 Smith Street on oVS MORN, Minutes Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board m 'p �W D 201 Bedford Street 3 Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19T ING V March 15, 2012 � The homeowner called after an estimated reading. The account was estimated since 2008 and the meter outread was 1549 indicating we had over estimated. By establishing ADU back to the last A read we derived usage and recalculated. The board approved an abatement in the amount of $ 57 Taft Avenue The homeowners filed an application for abatement after receiving bill #693315, a high estimate. The meter was a Trident that we had estimated for years with an occasional postcard read from the owners. The meter was replaced with an outread of 3771 indicating we had over estimated the usage. We went back to a postcard read on 10/16/2008 and established ADU, The board approved an abatement of $1,,683-55. Schedule future meeting date: The board w i l l next meet on April 5,, 2012. Adjourn It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Osten and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:19 PM. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Fund Manager 7