0 0 0 DRAFT PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION ELECTRIC DIVISION 00 JOHN STREET WALLINGFORD, CT May, 0 : p.m. MINUTES PRESENT: Chairman Robert Beaumont; Commissioners Richard Nunn and David Gessert; Director George Adair; Electric Division General Manager Richard Hendershot; Office Manager Tom Sullivan; Office Manager William Phelan; Recording Secretary Cynthia Kleist; Eugene Gazda.. Discussion and Action: Approval of PUC meeting minutes of April, 0. Mr. Nunn made a motion to approve the April, 0 PUC meeting minutes as presented. Mr. Gessert seconded the motion. Vote: ayes. WATER/SEWER. Discussion Sewer Division - I& I. Mr. Adair said there have been several meetings in which there has been discussions the matter including the new ordinance which was developed last year, updated and made more responsive to what the Sewer Division believes is needed in terms of enforcement towards the removal of I/I. Mr. Adair said the Sewer Division came back to the PUC a few meetings ago with a set of draft procedures. He said subsequent to this, the Sewer Division, last year, visited MDC (Metropolitan District Commission) and the Town of Greenwich looking at their I/I programs and returned with their programs. He said the last meeting, it was discussed whether the Sewer Division through bonds, or bonded funds, pay for some or all of the costs of privateside removal. Mr. Adair said responding to questions at those meetings, and a memo from Vice- Chairman Gessert, the Division looked into this further. Mr. Adair said because there is a significant estimate involved with the ultimate cost, there is a $ million, $ ½ million and $0 million for the three possible ultimate costs to remove the bulk of the private side I/I (roof leaders, floor drains, foundation drains, sump pumps, etc). Mr. May, 0 Page
0 0 0 Adair said, for example, if the Sewer Division were to pay for % of a $ ½ million total cost, the average residential customer would see an increase on their bill of approximately $. a month. He said if the Sewer Division paid for 00% of the cost, the increase to the average residential customer would be approximately $ a month increase or $ a quarter. Mr. Adair said the Division is seeking answers to the questions: what will this cost and what will be the impact to the average residential customer. He said they want to be able to respond to these questions. Mr. Adair spoke about the surcharges that might apply if the customer failed or refused to remove the source (of the I/I). He said the Division might assume if there is substantial level of support financially for the removal of I/I, then perhaps the need to sort of water down the surcharges might not be that much of an issue, because the customer now would not be faced with $,000 or $0,000 worth of removal costs but an absolute failure to do anything might incur more severe penalties. Mr. Adair said Mr. Dann performed a trial of a step-wise application of what the surcharges would be. He said the Division is seeking further direction from the PUC, and with that direction, the Division would modify, if appropriate, the procedures outlined earlier and try to put into them, whatever the PUC deems appropriate. Mr. Adair said everything is written around the idea that we are approaching plant capacity and we should be considering how to expand it. He said the more likely outcome is that the Division would find itself is the Division would find itself under a consent order that would force the Sewer Division to correct I/I in a big way on DEEP s terms and on their timetable. He said it is not inconceivable that the Division wouldn t be faced with a plant upgrade. Mr. Gessert thanked Mr. Phelan and staff who worked on the numbers on the possible impact these actions would take. Mr. Gessert asked about possible growth in the system 0 years down the road. Mr. Phelan said the Town itself is fairly well established in development, there are certain areas, because of the Town s Plan of Conservation and Development, that is designated that sewers not be brought into unless a major manufacturer moved into Town and change the makeup of our sewage treatment, which could possibly increase it, but he noted he has not seen this over the past 0 years. Mr. Phelan said most companies now are trying to limit their amount of discharge and water consumption that they are utilizing from the Town. Mr. Gazda said, it was evident to him that the Sewer Division was planning a comprehensive I/I study in one part of Town to determine how much storm water is contributed to the treatment plant from that particular area. Mr. Adair said the overall program is to conduct a system-wide sanitary sewer evaluation survey which involves smoke and dye testing and a visual inspection for the entire service area. He said one particular area will be done in advance of the overall effort, but all to be done under the same procedures. Mr. Gazda asked about funding for the I/I removal. Mr. Adair said the ordinance as written, calls for the homeowner to bear the cost of removal and that is how it was handled back in the 0 s. Mr. Adair noted, however, the Division has not begun to attempt to enforce under this updated ordinance, because the May, 0 Page
0 0 Division needs a set of procedures that take the general language in the ordinance and put it down into a detailed set of instructions. He said this is what needs to be completed. Mr. Gazda said when he first moved into Town in the 0 s, he had to pay for the sewer hookup before he could secure a mortgage. He said he paid the cost of the hookup over a 0 year period and asked why this approach could not be taken instead of making the ratepayers pay the cost. Mr. Adair said these are people who are already connected to the sanitary sewer, with the only difference being their properties would be free of violations of the ordinance. Mr. Adair said on the public side, we have had an active program, costing approximately $00,000 for a few decades. He noted that Mr. Dann and staff have been very active in tracking down the sources on the publically owned side. He said this is why the attention is now being shifted to the private side. He said approximately 0% of the I/I reaching the plant is originating from privately owned sources. Chairman Beaumont said as far as policies and procedures, he would like to see what the Division can come up with as far as variable costs are concerned for the purposes of marketing this I/I issue. Mr. Adair said the estimated cost of expanding the plant will be revisited per the direction of the PUC. He said there are some background costs looming no matter what the Division does about I/I. He said the trade-off between spending private-side I/I removal in lieu of a $0 million plant expansion, is still a legitimate thing to look at. Mr. Adair said the Division will again seek direction from the PUC of whether they should return with the Policies and Procedures as written, or make some changes. 0 PUBLIC QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD No Questions from the Public. Mr. Adair left the meeting at :0 p.m.. Discussion and Action: Water Division Budget Amendment - Labor. Mr. Gessert made a motionto approve a budget amendment increasing various labor accounts as shown below totaling $,00 through a corresponding increase to the appropriation from cash in the source of funds section of the budget. Mr. Nunn seconded the motion. In his memo to the PUC, Water and Sewer Division General Manager Roger Dann said at the Town Council meeting of April, the Council accepted the arbitration award relative to UPSEU Local - which covers employees in the Water Division. He noted that pursuant to the award, wages for this bargaining unit increased by % retroactive to July, 0. Since this contract was unresolved at the time of budget preparation, no funds for this purpose were included in the 0/ budget, therefore it is now necessary to amend the current year s May, 0 Page
0 0 budget in order to pay both retroactive wages and to provide sufficient funds for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Division requests a budget amendment increasing various labor accounts as shown below totaling $,00 with the funds for this purpose being made available through a corresponding increase to the appropriation from cash in the source of funds section of the budget. Account # Description Amount of Increase 000 Oper. Labor & Expenses Source of Supply $,000 00 Main. Coll. & Imp Res.,0 00 Pumping Labor and Expense 00 00 Misc. Expenses,0 00 Maint. Pumping Equipment 0 00 Oper. Labor and Expenses Water Treatment 00 00 Maint. Water Treatment Equipment,00 00 Maint. of Services,0 00 Maint. of Hydrants,0 Vote: ayes. ELECTRIC Total $,00. Discussion and Possible Action: Electric Division Billing Issue Radio Frequency Systems. Mr. Gessert made a motion to TAKE NO ACTION. Mr. Nunn seconded the motion. In his letter to the WED, Peter Marenna, Director of Facilities & Environmental Complaince for Radio Frequency Systems, stated that for February and March, the monthly invoices were not being received in the regular mail which has resulted in late fees of nearly $,000. He requested the monthly invoices be faxed or emailed to him directly upon being generated and until further notice. He also requested a refund of the late fees. In her April, 0 letter to the PUC, Laura Patterson, Customer Relations Supervisor stated that the penalty for February was $. and for March, $. for a total of $,0.. She noted that during the past two years, this account has been assessed three penalties. In May, 0 Page
0 0 0 addition, a returned check was posted to the account on May, 0 in the amount of $,.. Mr. Marenna was not in attendance for the May, 0 PUC meeting to discuss the matter. Chairman Beaumont said he was bothered by the NSF (non-sufficient funds) check. He said he was not interested at this time in taking any action. Mr. Gessert noted that Mr. Marenna claimed he had never had any problems in the past, and noted past problems. He said he had a hard time believing WED would not be getting bills out on time twice in a row. Vote: ayes.. Discussion and Possible Action: Electric Division Donation WintFilipekTennisTournament. Mr. Nunn made a motion to approve the donation of 00 plastic whistle-lights and pens, valued at approximately $00 in addition to 0-0 coolers of ice from the Division s ice machine. Mr. Gessert seconded the motion. Mr. Hendershot said a similar request was brought to the PUC last year. He said the Tournament Committee is once again requesting a similar donation. Mr. Hendershot said this tennis tournament is a non-profit event that grants scholarships to area high school tennis players who are continuing their education. The event will take place on the Choate Rosemary Hall Campus in Wallingford. He said the donation would include - coolers of ice daily, from Friday, June through Sunday, June. Vote: ayes.. Discussion and Possible Action: Electric Division PCA Review. The PUC took NO ACTION since the increase was less than ½ of a cent. Mr. Sullivan said the PCA currently for Wallingford customers is slightly over /0ths of one cent increasing to.00. Chairman Beaumont said the previous PCA was.000 through May, 0 from November, 0 which was an increase of.. Mr. Sullivan said the PCA increase from last month to this month-winter to summer rates, amounts to $. for a 0 KwH customer. Chairman Beaumont said no action was needed to be taken by the PUC because the increase was less than ½ of a cent. PUC. Committee Reports/Correspondence No Committee Reports or Correspondence Adjournment May, 0 Page
Mr. Nunn made a motion to adjourn at approximately : p.m. Mr. Gessert seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia A. Kleist Recording Secretary Respectfully submitted, Richard A. Nunn Secretary May, 0 Page