How
odd is this? A Light and water meeting with the back row of Mr. Cutting,
Virginia Wilder, Dennis O’Brien, Carol Skelton and Jerry Skelton? Then Bob
Columbus walks in? Are they worried? They didn’t say much. Anyway, I digress.
Water Update- Old Business
FY 12 Water Audit – ended up $42,000 in the
black. FY 13 will be a different story. Not as many new homes so revenue from
connection fees is down. Multiple water main breaks and problems with a vehicle
will be problems for this fiscal year.
New Business –
Back Bay – construction for Fisher
St. was awarded to GEC Construction. Construction will begin in the spring. The
CDGB grant application for Phase VI (Memorial St.) will be submitted by Feb 15th.
Baldwinville Rd. Reconstruction will begin
in March. Everything looks good for that project. This project doesn’t impact
the water department very much. No new water mains are part of the project.
There was mention of an old pressure reducer valve on Bald. Rd. that will be
looked at when the time comes.
Templeton BOH – concerns getting the BOH
and the planning board bylaws to adopt the new Zone II delineation for the
water department. There will need to be bylaws amended at the ATM in May. The
manager will attend the BOH meeting tomorrow night.
Customer Questions-
Will
Spring asked if it were common practice to send a notice to shut off water, if
customers were 7 days late? This situation has never happened in the Town of
Templeton. It is practice to send three overdue notices and then a shut off
notice.
Mr.
spring also inquired about the water department budget, which was going to be
ready on Feb 1st. Copies of the water budget will be sent to Mr.
Spring, Virginia wilder, and Dave Smart.
Dave
Smart asked about the practice off filling the water tanks during off peak
hours to save on electricity; if that practice had any impact on the multiple
water main beaks.
A
question was asked regarding a breakdown or analysis of the $28/quarter water
“service fee” charge similar to the
breakdown of the $4.00 customer charge for light department billing
obtained by Dave Smart. This analysis will be done.
Water
department meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
Light Department Update –
Old Business
Wind Turbine Cost Certification – Yes, this was on the
agenda yet again. The audit firm, Braver, is about a week away from having the
cost certification being 15% complete. Glad they started this process two years
ago. At this rate, in twelve years the town may receive answers on the cost
certification for the wind turbine. Awesome news! I would say this is moving
along at a glacial pace, but I think the glaciers may be gone within ten years. This certification includes costs up to
September 1, 2010, which does not include the costs of the long jump pit or
pole vault relocation…or the long term financing costs. Hmmm.
TMLWP – the much anticipated
TMLWP website may be operational as early as Friday or Monday. Only the
commissioners will know for sure, as they will be beta testing the website.
Stay tuned for more news on this exciting development.
Recloser Bid Opening – was a bit of a
disappointment. Not as many firms submitted a bid as anticipated. The light
Supt. and manager will work on this.
Light Department – New
Business
Templeton Wind Turbine
Maintenance
– The turbine was shut down on January 18th, because on January 17th,
during routine maintenance, a “clunking “ noise was emanating from the gearbox.
The oil was tested and metal pieces were found in the oil at the 6-micron level
as well as an absence of phosphorous[apparently not a good thing]. After
contacting the turbine company in Germany, a referral was made to RM Wilson Co
in West Virginia (the American service provider) RM Wilson could not come out
until the middle of Feb. Another company did an inspection on Feb. 6th
Preliminary
report is that overall the gearbox is in good shape. There could be a problem
with the middle gear set, but there was no definitive cause of the noise.
Concerns – both Princeton’s and Plymouth’s gearbox failures were similar. The
turbine had to be started to obtain the oil samples. It made the same
“clunking” noise.
Options
– Await the official report from the inspection. Change the oil at a cost of $35,000 ( the oil
has never been changed). The cost of
loss of operation for the month is estimated at $50,000. The good news is, if
the turbine never operates again, the cost to ratepayer is $1.16/month per
customer for the life of the loans. The bad news…there was no good news. The
replacement cost due to lost generation was 9 cents per Kw in January. Drill,
baby, drill!
Baldwinville Rd
Reconstruction- The project will begin in March. 35 poles will need to be relocated
along Baldwinville Rd. for the road reconstruction.
Gardner Airport Commission –
This is an
odd situation. The Gardner Airport has three beacons, one of which is located
on a ROW. Apparently the homeowner does not like the beacon. It has become a dangerous
situation for the linemen. Solution turn the whole shebang over to the Gardner
Airport Commission.
Customer comments-
Bev
asked how long we had been members of
MMWECC? (late 1970’s or early 1980”s) Did the Commissioners know that citizens
could order light bulbs at reduced cost from MMWECC? As well as obtain rebates
for new appliances and tax credits for heat pumps.? All this information is
available on the counter in the TMLWP office. Isn’t that handy for those of us
who never go into that office?
Broadband
– TMLWP will generate income from the placement of the broadband wires on their
poles similar to Comcast about $12,00/year.
Online
bill pay came up for discussion. A suggestion was made to look into Unipay (
used for Real estate taxes already). Many municipal light departments use
Unipay for making payments.
My
opinions… supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
did anyone notice if Jerry was mouthing the answers for JD. Looks like there getting nervous.....
ReplyDeleteWouldn't there be a property tax on cable and broadband infrastructure?
ReplyDeleteyes Mark there would be personnel property tax as Comcast, Verizon and national Grid pay taxes now.
Deleteanonymously Sue
I wonder what they will disguise the $1.16 month a charge to pay off the non-functioning windmill
ReplyDeleteIt is beyond me how Virginia can sit in the middle of these people. What they were doing there is beyond me. They have no shame. Bubba scares me the most. He has no problem hurting the town, has no idea of what his behavior has done to our financial future, for years to come. If he does understand, he does not give a dam. You would think he would hang his head in shame, but no. The king of the red barn sure knows how to pick his followers. I wonder how long it will take "stupid" to figure out the fact he was used. I surely hope his leader helps pay his fine, when he goes to see the Ethics Bureau. Dave asked JD to break down a charge for the water bills. Why bother? It will be as phony as the charge on the electric bills!! Don't worry guys, all of this crap will come out in the wash. This is my opinion, Bev.
DeleteThe answer for the cost to not run the windmill,drumroll please= 50,000.00 for 1 month + repairs to fix it quote from Driscoll- 35k for an oil change we need o sub out!
ReplyDeleteI hope they use the mobil 1 synthetic! no solid answer for the problem or the repair to get it fixed, Or can it be a trusted fix, So many Questions and no one to answer them. $$$$$ when will we get the control we need to have there!
Soon I hope
Shareholder
Dave Smart
If the windmill goes clunk,clunk, Something is loose, and needs a washer, is out of alignment, and on its way to the big CLUNK!! It is really sad that this thing appears to be a dud, that is still going to cost us money, one way or the other. You will notice no dollar amounts were given when they talked about repairs. Oh sorry, not a repair, just trying to figure what the hell is wrong with the thing. What a way to run a business! For all of you that think I don't know what I am talking about, I am the oldest girl in our family. We had a small farm, and I had no brothers. I helped my dad fix machinery all the time. He always said a quart of oil was cheaper than a new motor, and if you don't know what you are doing, stop. This is what the men in charge of the wind mill need to do. Get someone to figure out what is wrong, before the thing is down for the count. If it breaks, we are really in a mess, so one way or the other, we loose. It is a matter of degree. Bev.
Delete