DRAFT PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION ELECTRIC DIVISION 100 JOHN STREET WALLINGFORD, CT. Tuesday, April 18, :30 P.M. MINUTES

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1 DRAFT PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION ELECTRIC DIVISION 100 JOHN STREET WALLINGFORD, CT Tuesday, April 18, :30 P.M. MINUTES TOWN OF WAWNGFORD APR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES PRESENT: Chairman Robert Beaumont; Commissioners Patrick Birney and Joel Rinebold (arrived at 6:35 p.m.); Director George Adair; Electric Division General Manager Richard Hendershot; Office Manager Tom Sullivan; Water and Sewer Divisions General Manager Neil Amwake; Office Manager William Phelan; Brian Naples, Accountant; Town Attorney Gerald Farrell; Mayor William Dickinson; Recording Secretary Cynthia Kleist; Public: Steve Gale, Geno Zandri. Chairman Beaumont called the Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chairman Beaumont took the agenda in the following order: 4. Discussion and Action: Approval of the Director's Report for the month of March Mr. Birney made a motion to approve the Director's Report. Mr. Beaumont seconded the motion. ELECTRIC DIVISION Mr. Adair went over the highlights. He said in the Electric Division, there was a 9.7% increase in system input for March and 89 streetlight repairs were completed. He said the General Manager is working with the Personnel Department to fill a maintenance electrician, apprentice maintenance electrician, energy efficiency and conservation specialist and account clerk. Mr. Adair noted there is an opening for a chief stockperson. April 17, 2017 Page 1

2 1 Regarding the LS Power/Wallingford Energy Plant Expansion, Mr. Adair said pieces of 2 equipment are being set on the slabs and noted late May is the target date of normal 3 operation for the modified WED ring bus. The 1640 transmission line is late May. 4 On Wholesale Power in February, WED was hedged 94% instead of the forecast hedging 5 level for February of 89.3%. He said the WED came in under the budgeted all-in cost and 6 the PCA six-month number. Mr. Adair said the open position averaged down the WED costs. 7 WATER DIVISION 8 Mr. Adair noted there was a slight decrease in production which totaled million 9 gallons, a decrease of 3.62% from March 2016; reservoir storage at months end was at % of total effective impoundment, vs. the historical average for this time of year of %; rainfall on par with average and greater than last month. He said the design is 12 progressing for the Pond Hill Emergency Interconnection Station with 60% of the drawings 13 due on May 5. Mr. Adair said the General Manager is working with the Personnel 14 Department to fill the remaining open Water Treatment and Pumping Operator position. 15 WASTEWATER DIVISION 16 Mr. Adair said at the WWTP, the average daily flow during March was 6 MGD, a decrease of % from March 2016; nitrogen discharge for the month averaged 527 pounds per day 18 above the current year permit target of 269 pounds and higher than the March discharge rate of 505 pounds per day. He pointed out his year-to-date average is pounds per day, vs. last year's YTD average of 485 pounds per day. Mr. Adair said collection 21 system staff televised 19,387 linear feet (3.67 miles) of sewer main. 22 On the Private Side I/I Mitigation Program, Division staff conducted 64 inspections, which 23 identified one connection. He said since the I/I removal program was launched, a total of I/I sources have been removed. 25 Vote: 3 ayes 26 Chairman Beaumont returned to the regular agenda order Discussion and Action: Annual Reorganization 28 Mr. Birney made a motion to elect Robert N. Beaumont as Chairman of the Public 29 Utilities Commission. Mr. Rinebold seconded the motion. 30 Vote: 3 ayes. 31 Mr. Rinebold made a motion to elect Patrick Birney as Vice-Chairman of the 32 Public Utilities Commission. Mr. Beaumont seconded the motion. April 17, 2017 Page 2

3 1 Vote: 3 ayes. 2 Mr. Birney made a motion to elect Joel Rinebold as Secretary of the Public 3 Utilities Commission. Mr. Beaumont seconded the motion. 4 Vote: 3 ayes. 5 Chairman Beaumont congratulated Mr. Rinebold and Mr. Birney and noted it was a pleasure 6 serving with them Discussion and Action: Approval of the Meeting Minutes of: 8 a. April 4, Mr. Birney made a motion to approve the April 4, 2017 Meeting Minutes as 10 presented. Mr. Rinebold seconded the motion. 11 Vote: 3 ayes. 12 b. April 6, 2017 Meeting Minutes 13 Mr. Birney made a motion to approve the April 6, 2017 Meeting Minutes as 14 presented. Mr. Rinebold seconded the motion. 15 Vote: 3 ayes. 16 c. April 10, 2017 Meeting Minutes 17 Mr. Birney made a motion to approve the April 10, 2017 Meeting Minutes as 18 presented. Mr. Rinebold seconded the motion. 19 Vote: 3 ayes. 20 d. April 11, 2017 Meeting Minutes 21 Mr. Birney made a motion to approve the April 11, 2017 Meeting Minutes as 22 presented. Mr. Rinebold seconded the motion. 23 Vote: 3 ayes. 24 e. April 12, 2017 Meeting Minutes 25 Mr. Birney made a motion to approve the April 12, 2017 Meeting Minutes as 26 presented. Mr. Rinebold seconded the motion. 27 Vote: 3 ayes. 28 April 17, 2017 Page 3

4 1 ELECTRIC 2 s. Review of Electric Division Disbursements for the Month of March DISCUSSION ONLY 4 Mr. Birney said it was nice the LED line item. Mr. Hendershot said the Division recently received 5 14 pallets of LED lights. Chairman Beaumont asked why it was difficult in obtaining the 6 cobrahead lighting fixtures. Mr. Hendershot said the fixtures originally sent by the winning 1 bidder didn't fit; the second-lowest bidder was not accepted; the third lowest bidder was 8 accepted and the fixtures ordered but the Division is subject to the regular lead time. He said 9 the Division still doesn't have 250 watt equivalent floodlights because the third lowest vendor 10 mis-ordered their samples. 11 DISCUSSION ONLY-NO ACTION 12 WATER/SEWER Review of the Water/Sewer Divisions Disbursements for the Month of March DISCUSSION ONLY. 15 No questions - Discussion Only-No Action Taken Discussion: Private Fire Hydrant Charges- Customer Inquiry 17 Mr. Amwake referred to his memo to the Director of Public Utilities summarizing the history of 18 private fire hydrant charges, why we have them, and what the charges are. He said within the 19 Division's transmission and distribution system as of December, there were 1,355 public 20 hydrants located along public streets and easements accepted by the Water Division. He said in 21 addition, there were 477 private fire hydrants located on privately owned, commercial, 22 industrial or institution or residential parcels that were removed from the Town road system and 23 the parcels are traditionally more than once acre in size. 24 Mr. Amwake said in all cases, both public and private, the Fire Department and the Fire Marshal 25 dictate where the private and public hydrants are located, the number on the public street or 26 within the private Right-Of-Way. He noted a lot of this has to do with the density, use and 27 materials of construction. He said the Division has guidelines within their standards, but 28 ultimately, the Fire Marshal and the Fire Department sign off on these. Mr. Amwake said the 29 Division charges for private hydrants since 1928 and part of the rate making. He said the 30 charge per private hydrant is intended to recover the cost for the past, present and future. Mr. 31 Amwake said the Law Department was consulted to determine whether these charges were fair, 32 equitable and reasonable to charge a private parcel for a private hydrant that exclusively 33 benefits that parcel. He said the Law Department commented in March 1999 and reviewed their 34 comments for additions, deletions and corrections of which there were none. Mr. Amwake said 35 the Law Department noted that "private fire protection services should be paid for by the April 17, 2017 Page 4

5 1 private property owner because the service specifically benefits the private property and is not 2 fair to charge the general public user for a service solely benefitting specific property owners". 3 Mr. Amwake pointed out the Division has 13,394 metered accounts and an additional accounts with a private fire hydrant charge, which is a small percentage of the overall metered 5 accounts. Mr. Amwake said the Division charges $66.44 per quarter, or $ annually. He 6 said the Division checked with surrounding communities and noted that the City of Meriden 7 levies a fee $100 per year; Bristol charges $110; Manchester charges $525.36; MDC charges 8 $100 for both public and private hydrants. He noted that with the MDC, all the private hydrants 9 are paid for by the private owners and all the public hydrants are paid for by the municipalities. 10 He said The Regional Water Authority charges $155 and the City of Middletown currently 11 doesn't charge but are looking to add a charge to their list of fees. Mr. Amwake said the 12 Division is in range. Chairman Beaumont pointed out that one of the main drivers for forming a 13 water company was the demand from the industrials for fire protection. Chairman Beaumont 14 congratulated Mr. Amwake on a job well done. 15 Geno Zandri, member of the public, drew a map of Cook Hill Road and Mettler Drive which is off 16 of Cook Hill Road. He explained that on Mettler Drive there are three fire hydrants and on 17 Balsam Ridge there are three fire hydrants. He said they are all water customers and said he 18 differed that just because the hydrants are labeled public, that they serve the general public. 19 Mr. Zandri said the hydrants serve the people in their location, i.e., the hydrants on Mettler 20 Drive serve the people on Mettler Drive, and the hydrants on his street, serve those people. Mr. 21 Zandri said in all of the water bills, there is a portion that pays for all the public hydrants and on 22 top of this, the public has to pay for these three hydrants because they are located on a private 23 road and this is the only difference. He argued that just because something has been done over 24 a long period of time, doesn't make it fair and equitable. 25 Mr. Zandri said we have to pay more because these hydrants are located on a private road and 26 are mandated by the Town. He noted that when the builder went for the building permit, the 27 Town mandated there be three hydrants on the street and this is where the inequity lies. He 28 argued why we have to pay more. He said the Commission should look at this as all the 29 hydrants in Town should be part of everyone's bill. He said people on the other side of Town 30 are not going to benefit from these three hydrants on Mettler Drive, they just benefit those 31 people. Mr. Zandri said if a private entity asked for a hydrant over and above what is required, 32 there should be a charge for this, but the people should not have to pay extra because they are 33 located on a private road. He said he would like to see this change because it is unfair and not 34 equitable. Mr. Zandri said he wanted a response from the Commissioners. 35 Chairman Beaumont said the way this is setup that if it is private property, it is a different 36 ballgame. Mr. Zandri said we are all water customers. Mr. Rinebold said this is a tough issue 37 and asked what the magnitude was of these water customers on private property who are also 38 paying the public charges. Mr. Amwake said this is built into the basic service fee, and noted April 17, 2017 Page 5

6 1 that every customer has a flat basic service fee based upon their meter size they pay every 2 quarter. Mr. Rinebold said he believes there is a brightline and is not included to throw away 3 the standard. He said he had some concerns about the cross-subsidy and private road residents 4 paying for some of the public service, but noted that Mr. Amwake explained it well that it is a 5 public service and everyone is paying into it. He said he is not inclined to make a change right 6 now, and is amenable to listen, but is also inclined to open the door for charge on a site specific 7 basis if these private roads were accepted as public roads. 8 Mr. Amwake said in order for a private road to be accepted as a public road, the road would 9 have to meet technical and designed standards and construction standards for a public 10 roadway. He said at the end of the day, the decision to accept a private road into the public 11 road infrastructure would rest with the Town Engineer and the Town Council. He said he 12 believes this comes down to a bit of zoning. Mr. Birney said he also read Corporation Counsel 13 Janis Small's memo and noted there is a big distinction between Balsam Ridge and Mettler 14 Drive. He echoed Mr. Rinebold's brightline rule that he is not prepared to modify tonight. 15 Mr. Zandri said at a minimum, all the residents on Balsam Ridge should get credit in their bill for 16 not having to pay for hydrants that don't service them. Mr. Zandri asked if there would be any 17 action. Mr. Beaumont said this was set up as a discussion item and there would be no action 18 taken. Mr. Birney said Atty. Small's March 1, 1999 memo should be introduced into the record. 19 He said the Law Dept. views the subsidy of private homeowners as being inequitable. Mr. 20 Zandri wondered why it was alright for the private homeowners to subsidize the public and that 21 would be deemed equitable. 22 PUBLIC QUESTION & ANSWER PERIOD - 7:08 p.m. 23 Steve Gale asked about the CM EEC arbitration issue and if WED was in negotiations for a 24 settlement because of the large number of Executive Sessions. Mr. Adair said anything 25 regarding the CMEEC issue should be directed to the Law Dept. during regular business hours. 26 Mr. Gale asked about the LED lighting. Mr. Hendershot said the lights will be replaced as they 27 burn out. 28 END OF PUBLIC QUESTION & ANSWER PERIOD - 7:09 p.m Discussion and Possible Action: PUC-Donation Request- Project Graduation. Mr. 30 Birney amended the original motion to include: "make a motion to approve the $ donation as well as an in-kind contribution to Project Graduation for the reason 32 stated in Mr. Adair's April 12, 2017 memorandum". Mr. Rinebold seconded the 33 motion. 34 Mr. Rinebold said he didn't understand why the Division was making donations. He said to the 35 extent WED would provide in-kind services for poles and lighting, that is WED's business and is April 17, 2017 Page 6

7 1 reasonable and justified. He noted this is a great organization. Mayor Dickinson said the motion 2 was for an in-kind contribution. Mr. Rinebold said he likes the in-kind. Mr. Birney said there was 3 a contribution WED historically made to a tennis tournament and he had concerns with the 4 donation. He said in this situation, as a parent of a child graduating from high school, the 5 compassion in him supports the motion. Mr. Rinebold asked if there would be support to limit 6 this to the in-kind services. Chairman Beaumont said this goes back 28 years and noted WED 7 always supported the in-kind services. He said this was considered to be a white hat type of 8 thing and didn't think the amount has changed over time. 9 Mayor Dickinson said this is a project sponsored by Town Government. He said Project 10 Graduation is the school system and Youth & Social Services and is sponsored by them so it is 11 not beyond a government function. Mayor Dickinson said when one opens the door to making 12 contribution to non-governmental things, then that opens the door. He said one can hang their 13 hat that this is a government sponsored function. Mr. Rinebold said with this clarification, he 14 was ready to vote on this issue. 15 Vote: 3 ayes 16 Correspondence/Reports 17 Nothing to report 18 Executive Session 19 Mr. Birney made a motion to move into Executive Session at 7:15 p.m. to discuss 20 pending litigation regarding the CMEEC arbitration and legal advice. Mr. Rinebold 21 seconded the motion. 22 Vote: 3 ayes 23 PRESENT: Chairman Robert Beaumont, Commissioners Patrick Birney and Joel Rinebold, 24 Director George Adair, Electric Division General Manager Richard Hendershot, Office Manager 25 Tom Sullivan, Accountant Brian Naples, Corporation Council Janis Small, Mayor William 26 Dickinson and Town Attorney Gerald Farrell. 27 Motion to Adjourn 28 Mr. Birney made a motion to adjourn the Meeting at 8: 13 p.m. Mr. Rinebold seconded the 29 motion which passed unanimously. 30 Respectfully submitted, Cynthia A. Kleist 34 Recording Secretary Respectfully submitted, Joel Rinebold Secretary April 17, 2017 Page 7

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