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 Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, June 6, 2011 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Eddy Moore, Commissioner Perry Goodell and Commissioner Ralph Ross, Financial Services Director Cheryl Wilkins, Operations Manager Richard Herrington and Administrative Assistant Sharon Hampson.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of May 16, 2011 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Moore made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor 3-0-0.
APPOINTMENTS:
George Kirk with the Littleton Chamber of Commerce asked if the BOC would consider providing free electricity for one year to the three welcome signs plus the camera on Main Street.
OPERATIONS MANAGER REPORT:
In regard to the town wide outage on May 10th, the line crews have finished the inspection of line 31 and have replaced insulators and repaired equipment that may be susceptible to failure.
The cause of the town wide outage on May 28th was due to a failed lightning arrestor that is part of National Grid’s equipment. LWL on call crew responded immediately, followed standard operating procedures and within an hour had located the problem at the Pattenville station. Dan Furtek notified National Grid Distribution control center as to what they found. Another LWL crew had been called in and also office personnel to manage the outage. The rest of the time was spent waiting for the National Grid crew to respond and for LWL to get clearance to clear the problem and get power back to Littleton. Switching requires two National Grid employees the first representative arrived around 6:00 p.m. and the second person arrived around 7:00 p.m. Eric Hesseltine and Dan Furtek coordinated with the Grid crews and after a lengthy discussion National Grid crews bypassed the Pattenville station and connected Littleton to the Moore station, power was restored at 8:03 p.m. Mr. Herrington stated that LWL personnel do not have authority to work on their equipment without clearance from the National Grid.
Commissioner Ross asked who we go to for changing that protocol. Mr. Herrington has been speaking with Len Parker who is the Operations and Maintenance Supervisor for our region. Mr. Ross stated the response time was poor and needs to change.
Mr. Herrington will follow up with the National Grid.
There are a couple of areas that LWL is working on to improve outage management. LWL has Goulet Communications coming this week to see about dedicating a phone line just for the paging system. Also, we are looking to replace the existing back up generator for radio operation and the paging system with a more reliable up to date generator.
Mr. Herrington asked if the department could purchase three generators for Railroad Street Chlorinator building, Mann’s Hill communication site, and Trudeau Road Chlorinator building which is the State water monitoring site.
Commissioner Moore made a motion to accept the purchase of three new generators, seconded by Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor 3-0-0.
Mr. Herrington spoke with Bill Sencabaugh regarding the narrow band requirement for communication equipment to be completed December 31, 2012. The project has been separated into two phases, phase 1 is approximately $11,000 for 2011 and phase 2 is approximately $17,000 for 2012. We have budgeted money for this year and plan to proceed according to the estimate for phase 1.
Mr. Herrington showed the BOC pictures of the Apthorp reservoir, which has been overgrown with brush. Commissioner Ross stated something should be done so it is not a hazard. Commissioner Goodell requested that Mr. Herrington get some cost estimates to fill in the area and remove any potential hazards.
Mr. Herrington reviewed a letter received from Lobdell Associates regarding an application to the NH Wetlands Bureau for an after the fact permit to fill 9,385 sq ft of wetland to construct a manufactured housing park on Railroad Street. The lot borders land where the Railroad Street Chlorinator is located. Mr. Herrington will contact Lobdell Associates to get more information regarding the construction that will be done.
Mr. Herrington stated the tree trimmers started today. Commissioner Goodell asked where they will be trimming. Mr. Herrington said adjacent to Morrison Hill Drive,Route 302 to Badger Street, Poulsen Point, Hubbard Road, Wal-Mart area, and St. Johnsbury Road etc. Also, the highline from Slate Ledge Road to the Grounding Bank.
Mr. Herrington said LWL bought six months worth of tablets for the chlorination at Gale River instead of a one year supply. The system will be reviewed when Tom Considine returns.
Mr. Herrington stated that a lead joint needs fixing in the Bethlehem Hollow, which will be done this Friday.
Mr. Herrington explained that the tills on truck five are leaning and are rusted, which will need to be fixed. Truck five is not scheduled to be replaced at this time.
FINANCIAL DIRECTORS REPORT:
Mrs. Wilkins reviewed the financial statements for the month ending April with the Commissioners. Several discrepancies as compared to budget were discussed and explained by Mrs. Wilkins.
Mrs. Wilkins reviewed the 2011 pre-application for the NH DES State Revolving Fund for the Oak Hill reservoir replacement. Mrs. Wilkins asked the BOC what amount should LWL request. Commissioner Moore suggested LWL ask for the full amount. Mrs. Wilkins will fill out the application on line to speed up the process. Commissioner Goodell asked if there was any indication as to the response time. Mrs. Wilkins will inquire and submit paperwork this week.
Mrs. Wilkins stated in 2004 LWL applied to Moody’s Investors Service and received a Baa1 rating. LWL received an email indicating the rating is due for renewal. The standard fee is $5,100 and LWL needs a rating to acquire power supply contracts.
Mrs. Wilkins stated the debit card/credit card is going along alright. Effective last Friday LWL is receiving a lower visa utility rate. NPC recalculated the fees for the previous months and refunded $1,498.32. Mrs. Wilkins said the on-line transactions seem to be increasing.
OTHER BUSINESS:
The BOC discussed the Chamber’s request and agreed they would make no adjustments to their accounts at this time.
Mr. Herrington explained that the new owners of Beal House fixed the parking lot on West Main Street and at the same time fixed Veronica Francis’ water line issue. Therefore, she will no longer need to run her water during the winter months.
Commissioner Ross asked what the consensus was regarding the Bethlehem landfill. The BOC agreed not to pursue it at this time.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Moore made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by
Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor 3-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m.
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.