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 Monday,
March 20, 2023 in the LWL conference room. Present were Commissioner Ralph Ross, Commissioner Linda MacNeil, Director of Finance Lori Hogan and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
APPOINTMENTS:
Commissioner MacNeil welcomed Thad Presby to BOC meeting and asked him to present his topic for discussion. Mr. Presby, representing T & T Mountain Investments LLC, updated the BOC regarding their proposed demolition and excavating activities at 786 West Main Street. There are several conditions in the Littleton Planning (PB21-06) and Zoning (ZBA10-14) excavation authorization/permit that pertain to LWL. Except for providing LWL with financial assurance for a period of five (5) year following the cessation of any site blasting everything is in place. The surety/bond is for the future replacement value of the Brickyard Well if the wellheads current capacity is affected or the well becomes contaminated by the proposed excavation/blasting activities.
With regards to financial assurance Mr. Presby inquired if LWL would accept being named on an insurance policy as it pertains to pollution protection for to $ 2-3 million dollars and his blasting contractor also has the same type of coverage. He was questioning whether that might satisfy LWL’s financial surety requirements as a bond is economically burdensome.
Commissioner Ross stated that he does not really care where the money comes from to replace/repair the damage to the well as long as it does not come from the LWL rate payer.
Mr. Considine stated that previous work was conducted by LWL to analyze the cost to develop a replacement of the Brickyard Well if damaged or contaminated during construction activities. An estimated cost to replace the wellhead was determined to be about $1.5 million to about $2.0 million at current market prices. Mr. Presby stated that he would ask his insurance agent to price a $3 million policy if the cost was not unreasonable to do so.
Following some additional discussion, Mr. Presby stated that we would have a draft insurance policy written up for LWL to review, he thanked the BOC for they willingness to work with them through the process and exited the meeting at 1:45 pm
CUSTOMER & PUBLIC CONCERNS:
LWL has received several public accolades for its actions/response to the structure fire at 443 Cottage Street last week. The three (3) alarm fire placed a heavy burden on the water system as several pumper trucks were interconnected to fire hydrants and drafting hard for several hours. At least 200,000 gallons of water was used to contain the fire. At this time LWL is not aware of any damage to the integrity of the potable water system resulting from the pressure differential caused during this high flow event.
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
1. Repairs were recently completed on the 10-inch water transmission main by LWL assisted by contract personnel. A routine foot patrol of the water main in the easement discovered two (2) small leaks (about 30 gallons) in the easement near Bethlehem Hollow at NH Route 142. LWL needed to coordinate with NHDOT as spring time road bans were in effect and the repairs required the use of the small excavator and truck that exceeded the NH 142 posted weight limit.
2. The final report in support of the large groundwater withdrawal permit for Lafayette Well B was recently submitted to NHDES for review and permitting. NHDES will most likely require 60 to 90 days to complete the required public hearing and for their review before rendering a decision or granting a permit.
3. LWL will begin retrofitting three (3) of the Main Street decorative lights this week as all materials have been received. This action was requested as a pilot study by the Town of Littleton Selectboard to address concerns raised by citizens about sidewalk illumination levels.
4. The annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report) is complete and will be included with the April invoices. The report is mandated by the USEPA and requires that all potable water providers list any regulated contaminates found in the water supply the previous year.
5. The BOC viewed the AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) software interface provided by Tantalus and discussed the status of the pilot project. Beginning next month, the meter reading data provided by the Tantalus system will be incorporated into the daily reading route schedule and billing software. The Tantalus system is tracking about 900 individual meter readings currently.
GENERAL/OTHER BUSINESS:
LWL received a letter from the NH Public Utilities Commission (PUC) requesting information as to how LWL secures its default service (wholesale power supply). Following some discussion, the BOC asked that management address their questions. A draft response will be prepared and presented to the BOC for review and comment before sending to PUC by April 6, 2023.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the board Commissioner Ross made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner MacNeil.
The vote was in favor of the motion 2-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 2:20 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.