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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-28-WSAB-min(`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT June 28, 2012 �� APPROVED 7/26/12 Attendance: Board Members: Loren Wood, Chair 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 Loren Wood called the meeting to order at 4:32 pm. The order of business was conducted as follows: 2 Hayes Lane — VFW Mr. Addelson summarized the appeal filed by the VFW. He reconfirmed the calculation he and Arnold Lovering prepared for the 5/31/2012 meeting for an abatement in the amount of $1,231.61 plus accumulated interest. 7 Patriots Lane Ms. Fullford summarized the appeal filed by Richard Murray on behalf of his father -in -law for high irrigation usage. As no mitigating factors had been brought forward, she recommended denial of the appeal. Status Report Ms. Fullford provided a status report as follows: 46 To be heard tonight 2 Appeals 70 Pending 118 Total Appeals: 2 Hayes Lane Mr. Martin and Mr. Hatfield questioned the accuracy of the staff calculation. Mr. Hatfield opined that the VFW had made double payments that were not accounted for and he disagreed with the historical usage from 2002 -2007. Mr. Wood stated the board would take their concerns under consideration and report their decision. A discussion ensued and Mr. Addelson agreed to take another look at the calculation. 7 Patriots Drive The homeowner did not attend the meeting Approval of minutes: It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the May 31, 2012 meeting as presented. Disposition of Abatement Requests: Domestic Leaks 67 Baskin Road (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT June 28, 2012 �� This application is for a leak that continued into the next billing period. The homeowners received a leak -based abatement on bill #703998. We established the three year average spring usage at 69 and recalculated the excess of 8 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of $- 46.32. 260 Bedford Street We thought this meter had stopped working at 31. Staff put notes on bills that the meter was not working and finally estimated bill #715831 at 100 hcf. The homeowner called recently and told staff the house has been empty since October 2010 when he entered an assisted living facility. This is a staff generated total abatement recommendation on bill #715831 of - $1,485.40. 305 Bedford Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 696921. They identified a leaking toilet and provided an invoice from K &S. We established their 2 year average spring usage at 28 hcf and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $81.06 196 Burlington Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill # 711582. A staff visit revealed 2 toilets leaking in overflow; they were adjusted and no longer leaking. We established their 3 year average spring usage at 53 hcf and recalculated all but 13 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $144.75 11 Carol Lane The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #710875. At a staff visit a new fluid master was identified as proof that a leak had been repaired. We established 3 year average usage for spring at 33 hcf and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $52.11. 5 Clematis Road — Domestic At this property it was recently discovered that the irrigation and domestic usage have been reversed since a meter change in 2007. In this calculation, the correct domestic usage has been calculated at domestic rates for a 3 year period. In addition, a staff visit revealed toilets in need of fluid masters. The homeowner provided a repair receipt. The average spring usage is 69 hcf and the excess usage was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $3,185.70 5 Clematis Road — Irrigation At this property it was recently discovered that the irrigation and domestic usage have been reversed since a meter change in 2007. In this calculation, the correct irrigation usage has been recalculated at irrigation rates for the past three years. Staff recommends an additional charge of $933.29 178 Concord Avenue The homeowner applied for an abatement on bill #708718. Her application states they had a "plumber fix their kitchen pipes when they didn't drain. He told us that we weren't running the water long enough after using the garbage disposal." I informed the homeowner that in the absence of a leak I did not see a basis for an abatement. The meter was replaced with an outread that supports the billing. Staff recommends abating interest only. 31 Fairbanks Road The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #717425 for 122 hcf. The homeowner provided a plumbing receipt for the repair of a toilet. We established the average spring usage at 70. All but 30 hcf were recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $632.88 2 (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19'" INGT June 28, 2012 6 Foster Road The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #710453 for 92 hcf. The homeowner provided a plumbing receipt for the repair of 2 toilets. We established the average spring usage at 37 and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $395.88 31 Grove Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #711649 for 75 hcf. A staff visit revealed a toilet leaking in overflow; it was adjusted. We used the only other spring bill to establish the average spring usage at 57. All but 17 hcf were recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $104.22. 179 Grove Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #716894 for 128 hcf. A staff visit revealed a toilet in need of a flapper and the homeowner subsequently supplied a receipt for repair parts. In retrospect the homeowner requested we include bill #702958 to the abatement. We established 3 year average usage for both spring and fall usage and recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $989.26 16 Hickory Street The homeowners called after receiving bill #716132 for 80 hcf. A staff visit revealed a toilet in need of a fluid master and the homeowner subsequently supplied a receipt for repair parts. We established 2 year average usage for spring and recalculated the all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $231.60 37 Highland Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #710254 for 82 hcf. A staff visit revealed three toilets leaking in overflow; they were adjusted and no longer leaking. We established derived usage for bill #651566 for 180 days at 70 units and the 2 year average spring usage is 66. We recalculated all but 26 units at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $108.44 60 Ledgelawn Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #710977 for 42 hcf. A staff visit revealed a toilet in need of a fluid master. The homeowners provided a receipt for the parts. We established the 3 year spring average at 13 hcf and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $11.58 500 Lowell Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #712436 for 65 hcf. A staff visit revealed a leaking toilet for which we received a repair receipt. We established the average spring usage at 49 and recalculated all but 9 hcf at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $92.64 2 Mill Brook Road The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #713923 for 78 hcf. A staff visit revealed two toilets leaking in overflow; they were adjusted and are no longer leaking. The two year average usage was established at 57 by deriving the usage on bill #655092 which was 49 hcf for 144 days at 61 hcf for 180 days. Bill #713923 was recalculated with all but 17 units at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $121.59 9 Munroe Road The homeowner called after receiving bill # 704453. A staff visit revealed two toilets leaking in overflow. They were adjusted and no longer leaking. Staff included bill #690632 into the abatement and established 3 year (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19'" INGT June 28, 2012 average spring and fall usages. We recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,062.19 15 Oakland Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #713416 for 180 hcf. A staff visit revealed two toilets in leaking and in need of new fluid masters. The homeowners promptly had both toilets replaced and provided an invoice. The average spring usage is 54 so all but 14 hcf were recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,519.54 45 Parker Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #710734 for 62 hcf. A staff visit revealed three toilets leaking in overflow; they were adjusted and are no longer leaking. We established 3 year spring average usage at 40 and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $127.38 28 Partridge Road — Domestic The tenant applied for an abatement after receiving bill #703192 for 128 hcf. A staff visit in January revealed a toilet in need of a flapper and the homeowner subsequently supplied a plumber's receipt. Staff opted to include bill #s 717127 and 689387 into the calculation. Spring and fall average usages were established and the excess usage was recalculated at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,524.49 28 Partridge Road — Irrigation This is an irrigation account at a rental. The tenant applied for an abatement on bill #703193 after the irrigation system was opened this spring and found to have been leaking. The tenant provided a receipt for the repair of the system. We established the three year average usage at 161 and recalculated the excess at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $185.44 26 Peacock Farm Road The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #709347 at 58 hcf. A staff visit revealed that two toilets had been repaired in April and the homeowner subsequently supplied a receipt for repairs. We established 3 year average spring usage and recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $104.22 95 Potter Pond The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #709003 at 133 hcf. A staff visit revealed that two toilets had been repaired in April and the homeowner supplied a receipt for repairs. We established the 3 year average spring usage at 10 hcf and recalculated the all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $957.17 106 Potter Pond The homeowner applied for an abatement after receiving bill #709014 for 58 hcf. A staff visit revealed a toilet leaking in overflow; it was adjusted and is no longer leaking. We established 3 year average spring usage of 23 hcf and recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $104.22 35 Sylvia Street The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #707162 for 126 hcf. A staff visit on 6/1/12 revealed no leaks, however it was clear that one toilet had replacement parts in it. The homeowner provided a receipt dated 5/24/12. The average spring usage is 31 so we recalculated all usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $861.34 M (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT June 28, 2012 �� 55 Taft Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #707203 for 96 hcf. Staff observed that one toilet had recently been replaced and adjusted another that was leaking in overflow. In retrospect the homeowner requested we include bill #693312 to the abatement. We established 3 year average usage for both spring and fall usage and recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $494.36 132 Vine Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #712157 for a leak that continued into the next billing period. We established 3 year average usage for spring at 52 hcf. Because this is a 2 unit rental, the first 80 hcf are calculated at tier one rates. Consequently, a leak based abatement is not available. Staff recommends no abatement but does recommend abating any interest that accrued on bill #712157 8 Winter Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #701953. Staff opted to include bill # 688156 in the calculation. They had toilet leaks which they fixed and provided a receipt for parts. The spring usage is back down indicating the leak has been repaired. We established 3 year average usage for both spring and fall usage and recalculated the excess usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $940.32 20 Winthrop Street The homeowners applied for an abatement on bill #716894 for 25 hcf on their irrigation meter. A staff visit revealed the line underground to their pool was leaking. The line was shut off. Typically this account has zero usage for the spring billing so we recalculated the usage at tier one rates. Staff recommends an abatement of - $76.00 It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all leak -based abatements as presented. Redistributions 207 East Street This is an irrigation account. The homeowner filed an abatement application after receiving bill #712983 which was estimated because we were unable to obtain a reading. In May we replaced the meter with an outread of 295, confirming that we over estimated. We calculated ADU and applied it to the elapsed days. Staff recommends an abatement of - $203.68 2 Forest Street The homeowner called after receiving a "catch up" bill from prior estimates. We went back to an "A" read on 9/30/09 and established ADU which we applied to the number of elapsed days in each billing period. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,181.22 44 Tyler Street The homeowner called after receiving bill #706735 which was estimated at 100 hcf. On 5/10/12 the homeowner read his meter at 0071. The accuracy of the reading was confirmed at a site visit on 5/23/12 when staff read the meter at 0077. We established ADU from the date of the meter change to 5/23/12 and derived usage of 65 for those two billings. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,025.70 390 Woburn Street (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT June 28, 2012 �� This application is a redistribution of usage from the last "A" reading to a meter change on 12/21/11 and an "A" reading on the new meter on 4/9/12. The Trident meter was unreadable and the homeowner did not return any postcards. The outread indicated we had under estimated usage. We established ADU and applied it to the number of days in each billing period. Staff recommends an abatement of - $1,372.15 It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all redistribution abatements as presented. Irrigation on Domestic The homeowner applied for an abatement based on irrigation on a domestic meter on bill #708917. He states that during the mild winter of 2011 -2012, he attempted three times to create a skating rink. He filled an area of 20 x 40 x 1 foot which equals 8 hcf times 3 fillings equals 24 hcf. We recalculated 24 units at irrigation rates with no sewer. In this case, where we know the amount used outside, staff opted to abate 100% of the usage rather than the typical 70 %. Staff recommends an abatement of - $226.32 It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve this irrigation on domestic abatement as presented. Meter /Billing Issues 15 April Lane The homeowners filed for an abatement on bill #694896, an estimate of 100 hcf. We had estimated the usage since 2008 when the homeowners installed a deck over the pad so that we were unable to obtain readings. The meter was changed on 6/6/12 with an outread of 1080 indicating that we had grossly under estimated the usage. Staff had made several attempts to gain access to change the meter, run a new wire, and install an accessible pad. No postcard reads were returned by the homeowner. A staff visit on 6/6/12 revealed a toilet with new components that the homeowners said they repaired last fall. The redistribution evenly apportions the total usage but cannot show spiked usage from a leak. In view of that, we recalculated 694898 and 681148 at tier one rates to acknowledge the leak. Staff recommends an additional charge of $7,482.04 20 Fletcher Avenue The homeowners applied for an abatement after receiving bill #713243. We were unaware that the house was empty and slated for tear down. The homeowner returned the meter with an outread of 1021 and we had estimated the spring usage at 30 units. We recalculated bill #713243 at zero. Staff recommends an abatement of - $294.00 47 Grapevine Avenue Domestic and Irrigation At this property it was recently discovered that the irrigation and domestic usage have been reversed since a meter change in 2007. In these calculations, the correct irrigation usage has been recalculated at irrigation rates for the past three years and domestic usage has been recalculated at water /sewer rates. Staff recommends an addition charge to the domestic account of $1,601.97 and an abatement to the irrigation account of - $917.16 20 Hathaway Road The homeowner called after receiving bill # 712711 believing the reading was incorrect. We were unable to obtain a reading from the outside device and had relied on the customer's postcard for the billing. During a staff visit a wire and pad were installed and the reading was confirmed at 128. Staff recommends no abatement, but waiving all interest upon Board of Selectmen approval. 0 (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 1 9'" INGT June 28, 2012 �� 271 Lincoln Street This is a case of the outside, visual device failing to keep up with the actual meter inside at a commercial account. When the meter was replaced the outread was 6070 which caused a billing of $15,227.05 for 668 hcf. This recommendation establishes the 3 year average usage as billed at 50 hcf and recalculates bill #717223. The cause of the catch up billing is faulty equipment and the customer had no way of knowing that years of "A" reads were incorrect. Staff recommends an abatement of - $14, 679.15 390 Lowell Street This request involves removing a sewer charge from one account and charging it to another. In the spring of 2011 some water /sewer bills were issued without sewer charges in error. The sewer billing was made up on 1/20/2012. The property at 390 Lowell Street had changed ownership so the new owners received the bill and paid it in error. The previous owners are now the owners of 4 Jonas Stone Circle. Staff recommends a net zero transaction to remove the charge from 390 Lowell Street and add the charge to 4 Jonas Stone Circle. 1 Maguire Road — Domestic This is a commercial account with a 1000 cf meter. Staff took a picture, but the photo did not capture all of the digits, causing us to drop a digit and under bill the account for two billings. The outread of 2644 confirmed the under billings . In this calculation we use the four digit outread and add zeros to the readings for bill #704980 and bill #691153. Staff recommends an additional charge to the account of $3,904.53 1 Maguire Road — Irrigation This is a commercial irrigation account that had a 1000 cf meter that we were under billing by a factor of 10. The outread of 15177 confirms that. In this calculation we use the five digit outread and add zeros to the readings for bill #704981 and bill #673477. Staff recommends an additional charge to the account for those 2 billings. Staff recommends an additional charge to this account of $7,143.76 14 Payson Street This irrigation account was misread by staff who added a digit to the reading on bill #704267. Staff reread the meter at 119 confirming the misread. Further, the homeowner returned the meter to us with an outread of 119 stating that he now irrigates from a well on his property. This abatement recommendation recalculates bill # 704267 at the usage of 6 hcf. Staff recommends an abatement of - $6,622.00 80 Worthen Road This is a municipal account that has been misread since 2008 by dropping a digit. The digit was picked up in the fall 2011 billing but staff was uncertain and unable to access the meter until 6/1/12 when we were able to take a picture of the meter outread at 41809. We recalculated 3 years of usage by adding the digit. This would result in an increase in the amount of $3,498.12. However, because this is a Town department and the amount is not in the budget, staff recommends abating the entire bill of $7,608.17 It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve all Meter /Billing Issues as presented with the exception of 390 Lowell Street. It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to approve the abatement of 390 Lowell Street but the board did not approve of applying the charge to 4 Jonas Stone Circle. Instead, the board recommended sending a hand bill to the homeowner. Schedule future meeting date: The board will next meet on July 26, 2012. 7 (`OJ51 MOgryi'Y Minutes g o y r7s c Lexington Water and Sewer Abatement Board w 201 Bedford Street 3 x Lexington, MA 02420 APRIL 19'" INGT June 28, 2012 Adjourn It was moved by Ms. Constantinides, seconded by Mr. Wood and voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:17 PM. Respectfully submitted, Robin Fullford Fund Manager