Today's Gardner News

Guess we know who's side the Gardner Snooz is on - where is Dave Smart's Letter to the editor? Water department should remain under control of commission To the Editor: 3/4/2013

Gerald Skelton Baldwinville To the Editor: Upon learning about a petition to abolish the Light and Water Commission in Templeton and transfer oversight of both department to the Board of Selectmen, I was prompted to write an informational synopsis of the physical and financial status of the Water Department when it was transferred in 2000 from the selectmen by vote of the townspeople and by special legislation to the management of the Light and Water Department Commission and manager. In my understanding, one of the issues driving the petition is that the water department carries an amount of debt that some find objectionable and cite as evidence of alleged mismanagement. In 1999, when the water department was under the selectmen’s jurisdiction, the board called a town meeting for the voters to discuss and to vote on an article to appropriate $3.8 million for improvements to the water system. At that time, Templeton’s water system had been cited by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for multiple non-compliance issues. Taxpayers viewed video of the physical state of the water system, and following discussion, unanimously voted to appropriate funding of $3.8 million to upgrade the falling conditions of the system. Following the vote, the chairman of the board recommended appointing a special committee or establishing a water commission to oversee the implementation of the water upgrades, and indicated that the selectmen had neither the time nor the expertise to oversee a multi-million dollar water improvement project. At that same meeting, Stanley Dymek, chairman of the light commission, offered to incorporate the water department with the light department under the management of the commissioners and the manger. The voters in attendance stood up and applauded, appearing in favor of Mr. Dymek’s offer. Following the town meeting, the selectmen at the time seemed to ignore any discussion of a merger of the departments, thus a petition was created by voters to formally ask the town to decide the question of merging the water department with the light department. The petition was successful in placing the question before the voters of Templeton. Following a unanimous vote at town meeting, a positive outcome to the ballot question, and special legislation voted into law, the merger of the light and water departments came to pass. To begin, the commissioners and I were shocked at the condition of the water system and questioned its financial stability. An audit of the financials revealed a $30,000 discrepancy that could not be found. Further, it was revealed that the town accounts held excess water funds totaling $114,000. As for the physical status of the system, about 700 water meters weren’t working, about 150 to 200 meters had been removed or bypassed, and some customers had not even had a meter installed, yet about 300 new water meters were discovered sitting in a town building. Some water hydrants were covered with burlap bags, indicating they were not in service. About three hydrants appeared to be simply missing and never replaced. The water losses were about 43 percent of what was pumped. Once the new meters were installed, water losses dropped to 8 percent, well within the standard set by the DEP. Upon assessment of the supply barn and various pump stations, the Otter River well building on Lord Road — which houses the electronic apparatus that operates the entire water system — was found with one back brick wall lying on the ground and a sagging roof. The electronic controls were covered by a tarp and the floor flooded when it rained. As this situation presented itself, the inspector general waived the bidding process and prevailing wage rate and told the commission and me to get the building repaired under emergency conditions. The roof was repaired, a rubber membrane was installed over the entire roof and the brick walls were restored at a total cost of about $48,000. In addition, the Maple Street well pump motor was running backwards and needed to be fixed. Further, the commission and I hired a superintendent of the water department, Ron Davan, an experienced, licensed water system operated, considered one of the most qualified and respected operators in the area. The $3.8 million that had been voted by the town to improve the system was directed to the installation of a new water storage tank placed off Hospital Road, with a 16-inch main pipe installed from the new tank down Hospital Road to Highland Avenue to Route 68 and tied into the existing system at Central and Mill streets. New radio-controlled meters were installed to all customers. The leaking South Road storage tank was repaired, painted and refilled, and the South Road booster pump was upgraded to assure proper fire protection for the upper end of South Road. The water system was divided into two separate systems, one low pressure and one high pressure, to alleviate pressure problems due to the variation of altitude between Baldwinville and Templeton. The Sawyer Street well in East Templeton was testing high in iron and manganese content, which delivered brown water to the East Templeton system. The EPA required the town to install a treatment plant at the Sawyer Street well or potentially shut the well down. At that point, the voters of the town approved the expenditure of $2.3 million to construct a treatment plant at the Sawyer Street location to remove the iron and manganese. A new water main, by necessity, was extended along Lord Road down Baptist Common Road and tied into the water main at Baldwinville Road to assure proper fire protection for Narragansett Regional School. Yes, the water department is currently carrying debt. The water system, as I described above, needed immediate attention. The voters recognized the appalling state of the water system and expenditures were approved by town meeting a required by law. In 2003, the keynote speaker at a New England Water Works meeting noted that Templeton’s water system was one of the most improved systems in New England. I urge the voters of the town of Templeton to keep the water department under the jurisdiction of the light and water commissioner and manager at the Special Town Meeting on March 6. The personnel that run the department have multiple years of experience along with the professional licenses and qualifications necessary to build, upgrade and maintain Templeton’s water system. Gerald Skelton Baldwinville