The Board meets on the first and third Monday of each month. Meetings begin at 1:00 p.m. and are held in the department conference room at 65 Lafayette Ave, Littleton. Board meetings are open to the public and time is allotted for public comments at each meeting.
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The regularly scheduled business meeting of the Littleton Water and Light (LWL) Board of Commissioners (BOC) began at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
January 16, 2024 in the LWL conference room. Present were Commissioner Linda MacNeil, Commissioner Ralph Ross, Commissioner Peter Cooper, Director of Finance Lori Hogan and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of the January 2, 2024 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Cooper.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0
CUSTOMER & PUBLIC CONCERNS:
The storm on Saturday, January 13, 2024 caused widespread damage though minor throughout the service territory as wind gust from the SSE were reported as high as 60 mph. Except for the intersection of Blaney Road and Brook Road (several broken poles) in Bethlehem, though outages were reported in several locations, power was restore quickly. Customers started reporting outages about 8:30 a.m. and subsequently subsided as the wind died down by around noon. This was an all-hands-on deck storm event; field personnel were assisted by customer service (on the phones), Line Supervisor and Superintendent. All power was restored by about 5:00 p.m. though the wind picked up late in the day no additional outages were reported. Work will be scheduled to address the broken poles on Blaney Road as a temporary field expedient repair was made to restore power.
DIRECTOR of FINANCE and HUMAN RESOURCES REPORT:
1. Mrs. Hogan advised the BOC that she is working with ADP (LWL payroll processor) to verify 2023 W-2 for LWL. She expects to have them to employees this week.
2. Mrs. Hogan discussed with the BOC a potential change(s) in the percent contribution in LWL’s 457 plan to mitigate recent NH Retirement System (NHRS) policy adoption regarding “not worked” pay contributing to retirement savings. This new rule adoption by LWL generally will affect field personnel on-call pay as employees that perform this duty receive compensation/pay for hours “not worked”.
Non-Worked hours are not mandated by the NHRS to be included in base pay for NHRS purposes. The option is given to the employer to exclude pay such as stipends, fringe benefits and non-worked hours from NHRS calculations.
The BOC was not opposed to the general premise of the proposed 457 change as presented and discussed. Commissioner Cooper stated that when a plan is finalized that Mrs. Hogan bring it back to the BOC to be ratified.
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
An application for disbursement of emergency funds due to storm damage incurred on December 18, 2023 was submitted to the Federal/ State Emergency Management Agency for consideration. The estimate to replace a 200’ section of the 10-inch transmission main in the Bethlehem Hollow that was damaged by the high flood waters is about $51,000. The estimate is comprised of materials and contractor excavation quotes and estimate of force account labor and equipment expenses for the scope of work estimated to take about ten (10) days.
Mr. Considine requested that the approved 2024 Capital/Major projects and equipment schedule be amended to include the transmission main work discussed above. The repair/relocation of the watermain is critical to maintain system integrity, whether disaster relief funds are received or not the repairs are needed.
Following some discussion relative to how the work most likely would proceed, Commissioner Cooper made a motion to amend/include the transmission main project in the amount of $51,000 to the 2024 Capital/Major projects and equipment schedule. Seconded by Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
GENERAL/OTHER BUSINESS:
1. Justen Elliott, LWL Line Supervisor, advised the BOC that the new line/bucket truck is being delivered on Thursday, January 18, 2024. (Note: This replacement bucket truck was approved/ordered in January 2022).
2. After the new bucket truck is dropped off the driver will pick up the digger derrick truck (Truck 808) and drive it back to the Kiley truck shop in Boston. The auger torque drive unit is leaking hydraulic fluid witch effects the unit’s ability to be operated at full capacity.
Due to the age of the truck/unit (greater than 15 years) LWL usual mechanics will not even look at the truck. It was determined that it was more cost effective to drive the truck to the shop in Boston than buy a replacement torque unit.
Mr. Elliott stated that in his opinion having a digger truck is critical to LWL operations. Although a hole can be dug with an excavator or backhoe to safely place/set a pole near high voltage lines requires positive control. He recommended that discussions regarding a new/replacement digger truck begin this fall 2024 due to long delivery lead times.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the board Commissioner Cooper made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
The regularly scheduled Commissioner’s meeting is held twice monthly on the first and third Monday, at 1:00 p.m., in the Department’s conference room.