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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Regular Meeting April 20, 2009
The regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2009 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Ralph Ross, Commissioner Eddy Moore, Commissioner Perry Goodell, Financial Services Director Cheryl Wilkins and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of April 6, 2009 regularly scheduled Commissioner’s 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:
Superintendent Considine briefed the BOC about a previous meeting with Mr. Gardner and Mrs. Wilkins in regard to a new 457 Plan. BOC approval is required to offer this to employees as an alternated/ replacement option due to expenses incurred for administrative processing.
Mr. Glenn Gardner, representing the NEXT financial group briefed the BOC and discussed an alternative to the current Delaware 457 Plan that several LWL employees participate in. The plan being considered is a platform from Security Benefits. The Security Benefits platform appears to be more flexible, Internet friendlier, offers a greater vendor diversification of assets and the performance to expense ratio is less than the current plan.
Mr. Gardner stated that the total assets in the current plan have dropped due to several recent retirements making it more costly for existing and new members to conduct business.
Mr. Gardner would like to meet with current and interested employees for a quick overview of the Security Benefits platform and encouraged all to transfer their assets from Delaware. He stated that he is not ready for a meeting yet, as he does not have the required paperwork in place to execute the transfer or enlist new participants.
The BOC agreed with the meeting but are concerned and do not want the Department to incur additional administrative expenses. LWL will only administer one plan and it would be up to a consensus of the employees which one they wanted.
Mr. Gardner stated that it is his intent to only offer the Security Benefits Plan, as it is a better return on investment.
Mrs. Wilkins stated that a memorandum was given to all employees with regard to meeting with Mr. Gardner. If interested employees were to respond so that a schedule could be worked out to minimize work interruptions.
SUPERINTENDENT/ MANAGERS REPORT:
1. The 4" gate valve on the water supply feed to the Opera House (2 Union Street) will be replaced on April 28th. Due to traffic constraints an early morning repair scheduled is being considered.
2. Preliminary engineering is underway in regard to replacing the Oak Hill Reservoir. Correspondence between the abutter, (Roberts Family Trust) and Horizons, was initiated in the event that an alternative tank location is considered and property at a lower elevation is required.
3. Federal stimulus grant money might be available for LWL to conduct a leak detection and water loss identification project. A proposal that Woodard and Curran Engineering previously submitted to LWL to conduct a similar investigation will be reviewed for grant eligibility then submitted to NHDES for grant consideration.
4. Woodard and Curran Engineering are also providing LWL with a proposal to review the water main crossing on the Redington Street bridge. Several modeling scenarios will be reviewed in preparation for the scheduled NHDOT bridge replacement project in 2010 that was approved at the 2009 town meeting. Utility relocation is the responsibility of the system owner and not generally funded as part of the project under NHDOT and federal construction policy.
OTHER BUSINESS:
1. Commissioners Moore briefed the BOC in regard to Town of Littleton affairs that may have an impact on LWL operations. It appears that funds to locate several underground emergency water supply cisterns throughout the rural areas of town are no longer available.
2. The terrain alteration and blasting permit at the old Highland Croft farm is still pending state and local approval to remove about seventy- (70) feet of ledge outcrop. LWL may want to consider some sort of performance/ insurance guarantee that legally binds the property owner in the event that the Brickyard Well source waters becomes compromised by the proposed blasting activity.
3. Commissioner Ross asked what progress is being made in regard to the discussions about a redundant 34.5 kV overhead line from PSNH in Bethlehem. The previous proposal to build a 115 kV step down substation is cost prohibitive and not a viable option.
Superintendent Considine stated that preliminary discussion has already taken place between PSNH and LWL representatives. A site visit is the next step; if acceptable to PSNH a more focused discussion will ensue. The site visit only deems that the proposed “tie point” is adequate from a load perspective though the monthly delivery cost associated with the power supply will govern the overall project feasibility.
The Commissioners agree that the Department continues to research this alternate power supply option as a redundant feed for the town.
4. Superintendent Considine stated that he attended a meeting recently with officials from the State of NH, Town of Littleton and the new property owners of the Norton Pike facility on Highland Avenue. Phoenix Pre-cast of Concord, NH is purchasing the building and will relocate their Berlin operations to Littleton for ease of access to the interstate system. The new owners are concerned with heating costs and are researching viable heating source alternatives such as a wood chip boiler and co-generation.
5. Mr. Brien Ward spoke with the BOC and offered his assistance as a State Representative if needed and discussed several different initiatives that he is involved with at the state house.
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 2:00 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