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, February 3, 2014 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Eddy Moore, Commissioner Perry Goodell, Commissioner Ralph Ross, Financial Services Director Cheryl Wilkins and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of the January 21, 2014 regularly scheduled Commissioner’s meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
FINANCIAL DIRECTORS REPORT:
1. Mrs. Wilkins reviewed the financial statements for the month ended December 2013 with the Commissioners and commented that they are considered draft until the auditor’s year-end financial review is complete. Several discrepancies as compared to budget were discussed and explained by Mrs. Wilkins.
2. Superintendent Considine commented that the high energy spot market in December 2013 accounted for the electric division finishing the month substantially below budget and we can expect that 2014 will trend similar to 2013 during the winter months.
The BOC discussed and agreed that the department’s stabilization reserves are in place for exactly this type of scenario as long as spot market energy expenses average out over the year rates should remain stable.
3. Mrs. Wilkins advised the BOC that the auditor is scheduled to conduct the department’s year-end financial audit February 18th – 20th.
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
1. The department discovered a water leak this morning and personnel are currently in the progress of making the repair and restoring water service. Higher than normal water usage was annotated by department personnel (over the weekend) coming through the flow meter at Railroad Street. A passer-by reported that he observed what appeared to be an excessive amount of water entering a catch basin at the intersection of Spruce Street and Highland Avenue. The excavation discovered that several of the bolts that secure the top bonnet of the water shut off valve, on the fire hydrant lead, were severely deteriorated and failed. This caused the bonnet to separate under system pressure and the gasket to break resulting in about a 100 GPM leak. The gasket was repaired/ replaced and the water service was restored following a brief shut down period.
2. The department is considering making a recommendation to the BOC to augment its vehicle fleet, with small utility bucket/ service truck, as an alternative to purchasing a full size replacement unit. It is expected that this unit will be utilized for the majority of the trouble and service calls received by the department as a full size unit is not necessary. Cost saving due to operating the small unit should be proportional to those incurred by operating the larger unit and the purchase price is about half (1/2).
The BOC expressed some concern with regard to how this new vehicle will be placed into the replacement schedule, outfitting another line truck and whether there was adequate floor space in the garage. Superintendent Considine stated that the department will have an opportunity to try the service truck and will address the BOC concerns before recommended a purchase/ lease of a new smaller unit or full size replacement for 2015.
3. The BOC was advised that the Forward Capacity Auction (FCA) contract documentation was completed with PSEG Energy and that the FCA for 2017-2018 was being conducted today by ISONE. It is expected that this contract with PSEG may save the department about $14,000 / month in capacity expenses during the first year of the two (2) year contract providing the pricing closes high as expected. The auction for the second year of the contract will take place in 2015.
4. The BOC reviewed and discussed a notice that the department recently sent to customers in meter reading route 501. The notice advised them that the department, in an effort to coordinate billing and reading cycles, would be reading their meters at a different time and that February would be a transition month. The merging of the 501 route back in to the normal reading sequence is in preparation for the pending utility billing software conversion.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Goodell made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by
Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 1:53 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.