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, December 21, 2015 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Ralph Ross, Commissioner Eddy Moore, Commissioner Perry Goodell and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of the December 7, 2015 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Goodell made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Moore.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
CUSTOMER & PUBLIC CONCERNS
Superintendent Considine informed the BOC that the residents of 29 Redington Street agreed to the payment arrangement suggested by LWL with regard to the cost of replacing their water service line. In addition to the normal statement a construction charge will be placed on their monthly statement for the next twelve (12) months. No interest penalties will be applied to the principal amount, though monthly installment will be subject to the penalty processes when applied through the billing software.
Mr. Ron Bolt and Mr. Peter Cooper representing the Littleton Energy Conservation Committee attended the meeting and were particularly interested in the 2016 Capital Plan proposal as it pertained to LED lighting.
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
The BOC was advised that the department’s website (www.littletonwaterandlight.org) will be updated by Notchnet within the next couple of weeks. The existing site is about ten (10) years old and the pages are “static”, meaning that the page font does not adjust to the various screen sizes i.e. mobile, tablets, etc. The pages of the new website will automatically adjust to the viewer screen size. Other behind the scene tweaks will be made that will enhance the usability and functionality of the site for the department’s mobile customers and applications such as LWL’s Smarthub online payment portal.
The department’s website statistics were briefly discussed. On average the website is receiving on average about 1,300 visits monthly. The most visited page is the Payment page followed by News/ Minutes respectively.
2. LWL personnel worked this past Saturday (December 19, 2015) morning to connect a new three (3) phase underground service to Rotobec Manufacturing in the Industrial Park. The existing pad mount transformer had to be relocated due to the construction of a new addition at the site. The relocation of the transformer was necessary as the emergency buildings egress from the new structure opened onto a walkway that was adjacent to and in close proximity to the existing pad mount transformer which is unsafe.
3. Due to a change of use (from Industrial to small non-profits/ house of worship) the service at the old Hitchiner facility (now the Elevate Church) on Redington Street will be replaced. The BOC was shown several pictures of the old structure that will be removed and replaced with a new pole mounted system. The existing transformer capacity was initially sized for industrial operations and is not suitable for the current tenants. The department has been working with the owners for the past couple of years to resolve the situation and match the transformation capacity to the facility current use. The new service and appropriately sized transformer bank is expected to be mutually beneficial for the customer and department.
The upgraded of this facility and the removal of the existing elevated wood structure and oversize equipment represent a major achievement for the department. The structure and associated equipment have historically been tough for the department to work on due to ownership rights and general safety concerns. The completion also brings the department a step closer to the pending 15k system conversion as the completion of the upgrade is considered a major milestone accomplishment.
4. LWL personnel also replaced a hydrant near 192 South Street as the direct result of a hit and run motor vehicle accident. The situation had the potential to have been worse for LWL on-call response personnel. If the accident had caused a water leak at the hydrant the water supply to the majority of South Street would have been shut down to control the situation as there was not hydrant gate valve. This would have meant a long during outage until repair were made. During the repair the break was found not at ground level as designed/ first thought, but at the hydrants seat, six (6) feet below ground. Complicating and delaying the final repair was a residential service line tapped to the hydrant lead which is not a proper construction technique.
5. The BOC briefly reviewed and briefly discussed the final report submitted by Geosphere Environmental Management in regard to the evaluation of the groundwater supply on the property across the tracks on Lafayette Avenue.
Superintendent Considine stated that the results are encouraging and are pointing toward further exploration into the feasibility of developing a new well.
Due to the logistics of the site (easy access to infrastructure) he plans to approach the BOC with an addendum to the 2016 Capital Plan to request additional funds to continue researching this site potential as a municipal drinking water source.
No action was taken by the BOC with regard this report.
GENERAL BUSINESS:
1. Superintendent Considine presented an overview of the departments proposed 2016 Capital Construction Projects and Equipment plan for BOC consideration and acceptance.
Superintendent Considine asked the BOC to consider authorizing the replacement of the existing wire reel trailer at this meeting. The wire reel trailer is critical to the department ability to install and retrieve overhead wire in a safe and controlled manner. Due to the advanced deterioration in the supporting structural members of the trailer, criticality of the equipment to the department mission, and the lead time (3 – 5 Months) for replacement he requested advanced authorization.
Following some discussion Commissioner Moore made motion to approve the purchase of a replacement wire reel trailer at a cost of $ 25,000 seconded by Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
2. Mr. Bolt asked if a bulk purchase of LED street lighting was going to be included in the department 2016 capital plan proposal to the BOC.
Superintendent Considine stated he did not propose this item as he felt that there is no support at the board level to expediting the department current street light replacement policy.
He also stated that there is no return on investment for the department as the department would have a capital expenditure and lose monthly revenue. If the BOC desired they could add or subtract from the proposed capital plan as presented by department management.
Commissioner Goodell stated that as the town is the primary beneficiary and their rates would be reduced they could vote to provide LWL the funds needed to purchase the fixtures for LWL to install.
Superintendent Considine stated that once the fixture is in place LWL would perpetually maintain the system and the town would only be responsible for the cost of energy.
3. The BOC discussed the installed capacity (demand) portion of the wholesale power resource and that Daymark Energy is suggesting the LWL purchase an additional five (5) KW-Months to hedge against market fluctuation.
Superintendent Considine presented the BOC a graphic that depicted the markets current prices and the expected increase planned for June 2017 through 2023. According to Daymark prices are favorable at this time to solicit proposals for additional capacity resources. This action would need to take place by the end of January 2016 as the ISONE will set the prices for 2019 in February 2016.
Following some additional discussion Commissioner Moore made a motion to allow Daymark to solicit up to 5 kW of forward capacity on behalf of the department, and that Superintendent Considine is authorized to execute the deal, if the RFP price is favorable, seconded by Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
4. The BOC briefly discussed a proposal submitted by Primex (received this morning) with regard to the department’s property liability insurance (PL). PL coverage is currently being provided by the NH Local Government Center until July 1, 2015 after which time they are no longer able to provide the coverage due to internal legal matters.
Following some discussion the BOC agree that the department should look into a private insurance carrier for comparison purposes even though the proposal submitted by Primex will cost the department about the same. No action with regard to the acceptance of the proposal was taken by the BOC.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Moore made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by
Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 2:45 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.