Treatment Plant to get energy audit
BRATTLEBORO — BRATTLEBORO - The Water and Sewer Commissioners unanimously approved a plan to contract with Process Energy Services for an energy audit on the town's wastewater treatment plant.
At the May 16 regular Selectboard meeting, Town Manager Peter B. Elwell explained that the town's Energy Committee recommended the town audit the plant because “it is the largest single consumer of energy of any town facility.”
According to a May 2 memo from the town manager's office, the annual electric expenses at the facility “routinely exceed $115,000 per year,” and an increase in energy efficiency will likely mean lower utility costs for homeowners.
Unlike the energy audits for other municipal buildings, which focus on the structure's “envelope,” this one would be a “process audit,” which analyzes how the plant treats and processes sewage to see if the facility can improve its energy efficiency.
Efficiency Vermont suggested Process Energy for the job, and Elwell said their rate - $12,900 for the project - was “very reasonable.” Even better, Efficiency Vermont will pay half the cost upfront, and if the town quickly implements low-cost recommended energy efficiency measures, they will refund the town for the rest, Elwell noted.
The estimated timeline for the audit is 10 weeks.
Drinking water system asset-management grant ratified
BRATTLEBORO - The Water and Sewer Commissioners unanimously ratified Town Manager Peter B. Elwell's application for a $20,000 grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct a drinking water system asset-management plan.
At the May 16 regular Selectboard meeting, commissioner and Board Chair Kate O'Connor noted this isn't about the analysis of the town's drinking water. Rather, it's assessing the system itself.
According to a May 11 Department of Public Works memo, the grant will pay for developing an asset inventory, assessing assets' conditions, lifecycle costs, mapping, and developing DPW staff's succession plans.
“The drinking water, we're happy to report, always exceeds the minimum standards for good-quality water,” Elwell said. “This is not about that. It's about keeping the infrastructure in good shape.”
Public Works Director Stephen Barrett said “the state encouraged us to go after this” funding.
“It's essentially free money,” Elwell said.
Once town officials receive the reports, they can make suggested improvements “in the next year or after,” Elwell said.
FY18 Utilities Fund budget passed; rates unchanged
BRATTLEBORO - In a 4-1 vote, the Water and Sewer Commission approved the Fiscal Year 2018 utilities fund budget and capital improvement plan. Commissioner and Selectboard Clerk Tim Wessel cast the only opposing vote.
This budget and plan includes leaving the five-year utility rate ordinance unchanged until it expires on June 30, 2019, thus continuing the annual 6 percent sewer rate increase and 2 percent water rate increase.
During the commission's portion of the May 16 regular Selectboard meeting, Public Works Director Stephen Barrett explained why the annual rate increases should continue: to keep the utilities fund healthy.
The fund is in strong financial shape, but the town is paying off debt from previous utility projects, and it's important to set aside money for current and unanticipated future needs, such as repairs to the aging water treatment plant and mains, he said.
Barrett referenced a recent major leak in the 12-inch main running beneath Western Avenue and over Interstate 91.
A May 11 DPW memo notes a temporary repair to the main. Although “the situation is under control,” according to the memo, the main needs replacing, and the estimated cost is $460,000.
“The problem we got into years ago is that we didn't decide to put money away, and we were just trying to put out fires, and that really bit us hard,” noted Selectboard member and Water and Sewer Commissioner John Allen.
Although the yearly rate increases “[hurt] everybody ... it'll hurt less and less as we go forward” and the system - and budget - achieves stability, said Allen.
Selectboard Vice-Chair and commissioner Brandi Starr noted this approach - investing in infrastructure - is consistent with Elwell's Comprehensive Review of Town Operations.
Police and Fire Facilities update
BRATTLEBORO - According to Town Manager Peter B. Elwell, “the police station is moving along really fast.”
At the May 16 regular Selectboard meeting, he told Board members the anticipated move-in date at the new facility at 62 Black Mountain Road is August.
The Central Fire Station on Elliot Street, undergoing extensive renovations and an expansion, exhibits “very noticeable progress,” especially on its exterior, Elwell said. That project should be finished in November.
Elwell received Selectboard authorization for additional expenses for the projects, including approximately $97,000 for dispatch equipment and furnishings, which was already part of the budget, and $16,400 for a radio tower, which wasn't, because pricing wasn't available when the town signed the construction contract.
Elwell invited members of the public to monitor the facilities' progress at www.brattleboro.org.
Pool: Not cool
BRATTLEBORO - Due to quick action on the part of town officials, the public pool at Living Memorial Park should open on time this year.
But it was close.
The day before the May 16 Selectboard meeting, Recreation & Parks Director Carol Lolatte learned some of the repairs that GS Bolton made on the pool had failed over the winter.
She said some moisture got in behind the pool wall, and in the seasonal freezing and melting, it created expansion, which cracked the concrete.
As Town Manager Peter B. Elwell explained at the Selectboard meeting, nobody is sure why right now, and an engineer is investigating the damage.
“We'll get to the bottom of this,” said Elwell, and town officials will address assigning responsibility to the contractor and engineer where appropriate. “There's a conversation to be had about who could have and should have seen this coming.”
Meanwhile, Elwell and Lolatte expressed the urgency of the Board approving $20,000 to cover immediate repairs so the pool can open on time.
If the Board waited until their next meeting, on June 6, the pool couldn't open until July. Elwell noted the short swimming season, and also pointed out the town may not have to bear the entire cost of the emergency repairs once the damage's responsibility is assigned.
The Selectboard agreed, and authorized Elwell to spend an amount not exceeding $20,000 to complete remedial repair work. The pool should open on June 17 as originally planned.