MINUTES
SEWER IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
March 25, 2008
OPENING: The regular scheduled meeting of the Sewer Implementation Committee opened at 7:00 p.m. The following members were in attendance:
J. Pat Ayotte, Vice Chairman
Jerry Patria
Freda Brown
Brian Pranka
Mr. Jeff Neece, DPW Director, was also in attendance.
MINUTES
1. Mr. Pranka made a motion to accept the minutes of 03/11/08. Mr. Patria seconded the motion and the vote of the Committee was unanimous in favor.
DISCUSSION
1. Mr. Nicholas Daniele, Mr. J. Pat Ayotte, and Mr. Pranka attended a meeting with the Board of Health members on 3/20/08. Mr. Pranka explained the position of the Committee relative to a sewer expansion, and requested the opinion of the Board of Health members. Dr. Azia explained that the Board of Health has never discussed the location of a public sewer system at their meeting, and deferred the issue to Mr. FitzGerald, Health Agent. Some of the points of discussion were the relocation of water through sewer pipes that do not recharge Southwick’s water source, and that properly functioning septic systems do not have a negative impact on the environment. Mr. FitzGerald was of the opinion that a public sewer system should benefit areas that have soil conditions not
condusive to properly functioning septic systems. However, a majority of those areas are on the western side of town, and the public sewer system is mainly in the eastern part of town partially due to financial considerations. The Committee will now await the written opinion of Mr. FitzGerald.
2. Mr. Ayotte stated that the Phelps property, the site of a proposed elderly housing complex, does have a septic system design on file, however the developer will entertain the option of connecting to the existing public sewer system.
3. Mr. Neece explained the insertion of a dry sewer line along Congamond Road. The piping will be installed during the re-construction of the roadway. The actual sewer connections are several years in the future, but installing the piping now will eliminate having to dig the road up in the future. The problem with the pipe installation is how the property owners will be assessed a betterment. Funding for the sewer engineering and construction may be based at least partially on the G&E agreement with Westfield, and loan/grant approvals. The pipe and pump station construction could extend to five or more years, which would cause issues with how much to assess a betterment or calculate EDU’s. Mr. Neece will request that Tighe & Bond attend a meeting with the Committee
members on April 1st.
As there was no further business to discuss, Mr. Patria made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Mr. Pranka seconded the motion and the vote of the Committee was unanimous in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Nilsson, Secretary
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