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1998-01-20 9 . Minutes of January 20,1998 THE MATTABASSETT DISTRICT The monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of The Mattabassett District was held Tuesday, January 20, 1998 at the Administration Building, Cromwell, Connecticut. Present from the Town of Cromwell were Directors Mary Konopka and Doug Sienna. Present from the Town of Berlin were Directors Livio Dottor, Ed Gentile, and Horace B. Van Dorn. Present from the City of New Britain were Directors Dominic Badolato, Sebastian Cannamela, Robert Scalise, and Dennis Taricani. Also present were William Weber - District Counsel, John Batorski - Operations Manager, and Christian Bratina - Executive Director. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Dominic Badolato. A roll call was taken, a quorum was present. Absent were James Carey and Walter O'Connor. Minutes of December 15, 1997 Mr. Bratina pointed out a typo on Page 11 under Counsel's Report which will be corrected. Mr. Van Dorn moved, seconded by Mr. Sienna, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: That the minutes of the December 15, 1997 meeting be accepted as amended. Treasurer's Report • Mr. Bratina reviewed the Treasurer's Report. The Cash Flow Chart shows the expenditures to date are less than last year's and the revenue to date is ahead of last years. It appears we will be within budget with a fund surplus this year. The Statement of Earnings shows that all assessments have been received, the interest and sludge management are all on track, and Miscellaneous is ahead of schedule due to the CL&P load shed program which we had not budgeted for. The Investment Schedule shows Citizen's Bank which is the old Farmer's & Mechanics Bank. The interest rates continue to be good. Mrs. Konopka asked Mr. Bratina why we didn't show the sale of the Belt Filter Press under Miscellaneous. Mr. Bratina responded that this is for the Operating Fund and the Belt Filter Press comes under the Capital Nonrecurring Fund. Mr. Dottor moved, seconded by Mr. Cannamela, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: That the Treasurer's Report dated December 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997 be accepted and placed on file for audit. 1 Minutes of January 20,1998 Budget Statement Mr. Bratina reviewed the Budget Statement. Liability Insurance and Workers' Comp are all paid. Electricity is a little higher than normal mainly because of the use of the Aeration Tank coarse bubble diffusers while the fine bubble diffusers were out of service. Fuel is high due to the oil consumption of the FBI with the wetter sludge that we have been getting. Gasoline/Diesel Fuel is high because we filled our tank. Overall we have spent 43% of our budget and we are 50% through the year. Mr. Scalise questioned what comes under item 44 Buildings and Grounds. Mr. Bratina reported it includes little things like light bulbs and sand/salt, as well as several large items such as a fence and gate on the trunk sewer at Kirby Road in Cromwell and a hot water heater for the Operations Building. Mr. Cannamela moved, seconded by Mr. Dottor, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: That the Budget Statement be approved. Accounts Payable Report Mr. Van Dorn questioned item 71, Yankee Gas. Mr. Bratina reported that the Administration Building is on a separate gas meter from the rest of the plant and we pay at a different rate. Staff Reports Mr. Bratina reported we had a public information meeting on the Regionalization Study in Middletown with the engineer firms. Tony Varricchio, First Selectman of Cromwell, asked if we could hold another public meeting at the Cromwell Town Hall on January 28th at 7 p.m., which we have arranged. The final meeting will be in May or June in Cromwell at which time we will review the report. Mr. Bratina reported that he had set up a meeting with DEP to review the sludge quality limitations. We have been working with the DEP Permit Section on renewal of our NPDES discharge permit since the Spring of 1996. DEP wants to establish limitations on the contaminants in sludge. We set up a meeting with other regional facilities to discuss this and establish a common sense approach. The initial limitations proposed by DEP would have excluded most municipal biosolids and septage, which is not DEP's intent. We will work with DEP to develop practical limitations. This process will take months. Mr. Bratina reported that the plant effluent quality was good during December, however, our Primary and Secondary sludge is still not dewatering well. We completed testing of Aeration Tank #1 and #2 in a series, plug flow mode. The system very readily nitrified and the SVI was significantly lower. It settled better in the clarifier but we did not see any improvement in the sludge dewaterability. The effluent quality for the calendar year was very good. We had no discharge permit 2 • Minutes of January 20,1998 non-compliances. The average flow for 1997 was 17.6 million gallons per day, which is low relative to our rainfall. We had a record high amount of rain, 84 inches, in Cromwell. During a number of extremely high rainfalls here, the flow didn't increase because it didn't rain heavily elsewhere in our drainage basin. Mr. Van Dorn reported that the storms follow the rivers and New Britain is in the middle. Mr. Bratina reported that our FBI fuel consumption and capacity continue to be poor due to our low filter cake solids. Recently, Montville has reduced the sludge delivered by roughly 60% due to our price increase. However, we have not seen any change in our filter cake solids. Mr. Batorski has instituted polymer trials to ensure we have the optimal polymer. There were no odor complaints for the month. Biosystems, the manufacturer of our continuous hydrogen sulfide analyzer for the Wet Packed Tower Scrubber, has been providing us with a lot of free research and development which has led to several improvements and upgrades to our equipment. They are using our site as a research center. The liquid sodium chlorite storage tank was received and we will be installing it this month. The spare Primary Heat Exchanger was delivered and we have stored it in our Ash Wing. The Sludge Storage Blower was run for a short time to check our peak hydrogen sulfide and mercaptan emissions as part of the Phase 4 odor control testing. Since then, we have been able to run the blower continuously. The odors in sludge are less in the winter because the sludge temperature is lower which reduces the biological activity. Mr. Van Dorn asked if the foul air duct is { stainless steel. Mr. Bratina reported that the duct that we cleaned between the Sludge Storage tanks and the Incinerator Building is a concrete pipe. Most of the pipe was in excellent shape. However the first ten feet has a significant loss of concrete. We will probably want to coat the first part of that pipe. Mr. Bratina reported that Montgomery Watson's Thermal Oxidizer Study is taking longer than planned due to slow response to the survey forms. This is now improving and the report is expected to be completed in February. Montville began serious testing to try and improve their sludge quality in December. Rand Whitney stopped adding polymer to their secondary clarifiers for two weeks. Montville stopped waste from their extended aeration plant to their SBR's for two weeks and tried using a plunger pump instead of a centrifugal pump for transferring the sludge. Montville tried adding some waste Rand Whitney paper fiber to their Rotary Screen Thickener sludge. None of those tests showed any significant improvement. Montville also solicited proposals from four engineering firms to assess their plant and see what they can do to improve their sludge. It is expected that in a month or two they will haul all of their sludge elsewhere. We responded to a request from Ledyard for a sludge bid, pricing their sludge high due to its poor dewaterability. MDC and NETCO offered a significantly lower price than ours. We are pricing the poorer sludges higher to compensate for the extra cost. New London, which also has a poor sludge, pumped down their storage tank to correct some piping and design 3 Minutes of January 20,1998 problems. We have not seen a significant improvement and they are continuing to work on their sludge. Spectraserv, the contractor hired to replace Belt Filter Press #3, completed that work and poured the foundation. The new press arrived January 5th and was installed. We still have a lot of ancillary work to do. AAA Glass is working on the Belt Filter Press hood design. The work should be completed by late February. Maintenance expended more time than planned disconnecting the old Belt Filter Press control panel as the wiring was run commonly through all four presses. We had to pull a lot of wires out and then pull them back in. We have also had a lot of problems with yard hydrants, which Maintenance is replacing with a more reliable brand. We have had problems recently with our Putzmeister sludge cake pumps. Maintenance found that there is a residue, old paint, inside their hydraulic tanks which will be removed by baking them. The Preventative Maintenance backlog is up again to 548 hours. Maintenance Supervisor Gary Simpson is reorganizing the PM program, assigning one person to work on it continuously. This should provide better continuity and thus higher productivity. The Laboratory completed the quarterly analyses of the monitoring wells at the Ash Disposal Site and nothing atypical was noted. We are completely within the permit. We had an abundance of filamentous bacteria in the aeration tanks. Chlorine was added to remedy the situation. The lab is continuing to work on the Wedge Press developing a standard test and establishing a good database with which to determine whether a sludge is good or bad. The laboratory also ran a number of proficiency samples from the State Health Department and received a perfect score. We are certified by the State Health Department which most waste water treatment plants are not. Every source of outside sludge was tested at least once during the month with the Respirometer and fourteen samples of liquid waste were tested with the Microtox. None of the samples were toxic. Mrs. Konopka questioned what the Respirometer measures. Mr. Bratina responded that we take some of our plant's mixed liquor, add a waste to it, and measure the oxygen consumption. If the waste is readily digestible, the oxygen uptake will increase as they eat more of the waste. If the waste has anything toxic or highly inert, the oxygen consumption will not increase as much as normal. Mrs. Konopka asked how often the Foul Air Duct is cleaned. Mr. Bratina reported that this is the only time that we cleaned it since it was installed with the secondary plan expansion. We had a problem with foam and sludge entering our FBI blowers. But we didn't notice any in the pipe until we ran a TV camera around the first bend. The sludge overflowing problem may have been exasperated by the use of hydrogen peroxide which can generate foaming. Mr. Taricani asked about the Montgomery Watson survey. Mr. Bratina explained that Montgomery Watson mailed a three page survey form on thermal oxidizers to plants throughout the country. A lot of the plants were not returning them, so Montgomery Watson is having to place follow up calls to get them returned. This study is to determine what does and does not work in thermal oxidation. Mr. Taricani asked if we had had someone working on Preventive Maintenance full time. Mr. Bratina 4 Minutes of January 20,1998 reported that Maintenance Supervisor Gary Simpson had been handing out PM work orders a bunch at a time as they had time, which makes it too easy to put it off. Mr. Bratina stated that he wanted it to be a higher priority, done on a continuous daily basis. It is more reliable and efficient to have one person working on it all the time. Mr. Taricani asked if the Directors could get a current schedule. Mr. Bratina will provide the PM schedule on a periodic basis. Mr. Scalise asked if anyone else bid on the Montville sludge. Mr. Bratina reported that Montville solicited requests for proposals. In response, NETCO gave them a lower price and Waste Stream Environmental offered to take it to Cranston, Rhode Island and the Metropolitan District Commission at prices lower than ours. Mrs. Konopka stated that NETCO had told her that they wouldn't touch Montville's sludge. Mr. Scalise noted that they are a business like anyone else. Mr. Bratina noted that everything has a price and if the price is high enough people will take it. Mr. Scalise asked where else they are going. Mr. Bratina reported that they are hauling sludge to MDC-Hartford and Cranston, Rhode Island, in addition to Mattabassett. Mr. Scalise asked where Mr. Bratina thought it would ultimately end up. Mr. Bratina suggested that most of it will go to MDC and the remainder to Cranston. Montville knows that they have a problem and they are paying more to dispose of it, so they will continue to try to improve the sludge. Mrs. Konopka asked who the engineer was that they hired. Mr. Bratina reported that they solicited proposals from and interviewed Montgomery Watson; Fay, Spofford, & Thorndike; Camp, Dresser, & McKee; and Woodard & Curran. The engineering firms called Mr. Bratina to see what our problems were. There has been talk of NETCO installing a belt filter press and dewatering sludge on site, however it would be even more difficult and expensive to get rid of a very wet cake. Mr. Scalise asked if we noticed any change in our cake solids. Mr. Bratina reported that we did not notice any change, which is discouraging. We expected that we would see some immediate and significant improvement with this reduction in the Montville sludge. Since our own sludge is generating a low cake solids, we will be looking continually at it to see if we can determine why. Mrs. Konopka asked if our own sludge doesn't have hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans. Mr. Bratina noted that all sludges have hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans in varying amounts; our sludge has a much lower level than Montville's. Mr. Van Dorn questioned the Operations Profile on Page 26 under Middletown, if Newfield Street is temporarily estimated. Mr. Bratina responded that it is. At the end of the month, for some reason, there was a tremendous jump in the totalizer reading between the 26th and the 2nd that we couldn't explain. It was a fluke, therefore we estimated the flow based on the prior 26 days. Mr. Van Dorn asked if there was any effort being made by anybody to check the meter. Mr. Bratina responded that he looked at the continuous strip charts and if there had actually been an increase we would have seen it on the chart, which was not the case. Mr. Bratina also contacted Middletown and asked them to take a look at it. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Sienna, and the following was unanimously adopted: 5 Minutes of January 20,1998 RESOLVED: That the Staff Reports be accepted as presented. Finance Committee Mr. Bratina reported that a meeting was held to review the audit for Fiscal Year 97, which is July 1, 1996 to June 30, 1997, performed by Blum Shapiro. The expenditures include the $700,000 transfer of excess income to the Capital Nonrecurring Fund and the constituents. Our revenue was $657,825 over budget, 16%, due to the Sludge Management program. The expenditures were $18,890 below budget, 0.5%. This gave us a fund surplus for the year of $646,715. The fund balance on June 30, 1997 was $1,629,644. Our expenditures were about $156,000 higher than normal and our revenues were about $200,000 less than possible due to the FBI repairs last year. We discussed the appropriateness of the $700,000 fund transfer, the accountant considers it an expenditure from the Operating Fund and income to the Capital Nonrecurring Fund. One of the questions was on the comment that we should have a "perfected agreement" for our investments. After Blum Shapiro reviewed the issue, they determined that it is not required nor available. The committee reviewed the list of recommendations provided, several of which the auditor recognized as not viable for various reasons. A number of,their suggestions have already been incorporated. Mrs. Konopka commented that Diane Leeman, our Bookkeeper, gave an excellent presentation and that she was very impressed with her interest and command of the process. Mr. Van Dorn commented that he was bothered about the accountant's comment saying that we don't have a guarantee on the funds deposited. Mr. Bratina reported that the state requires banks to set aside collateral to cover municipal deposits. However we have no guarantee that our deposits are going to be covered by that bank. If a bank fails, every public utility and every town is going to go to that bank to ask for their money back. There should be enough money in the state fund to cover the deposits but there is no guarantee. Chairman Badolato stated that this question came up in March 1990 and our attorney responded to it. Counsel Weber reported that at that time there was some concern about CBT going under. There is a statute which says that a bank, as far as municipal deposits and all of our deposits are designated as municipal public deposits, are protected. All the banks hold 10% as collateral which is sufficient if a small bank fails. The problem with CBT was that they had such a huge number of public deposits that if it went under, they would have exhausted the 10% collateral of all the banks. Counsel Weber noted that the commissioner could assess the banks beyond the 10% if necessary. Mr. Bratina read the comment on Page 10 of the audit report, "As required by P.A. 91-245, the depositories with which the District has its deposits have set aside collateral of $97,608 of securities; however, these are not held in the District's name. It is unclear whether the collateral required for public deposits by P.A. 91-245 would stand if challenged by the FDIC since there is no perfected security agreement between the depository and the depositor. A perfected agreement is required by federal law." We asked the accountant about this and her response was "The state has required banks to set aside collateral of 10% of municipal deposits by law. The federal government does 6 Minutes of January 20,1998 not require you by law to have a perfected security agreement. You are not in violation of federal law because you do not have one - it is your option. However, you really do not have an option to have one because when the State law was written there was no guidance on how to obtain a perfected security agreement for the 10% collateral. In order for you receive this 10% collateral if the bank folds, you basically have to get in line behind those who do have a perfected security agreement with the bank." But there are no perfected security agreements. Counsel Weber stated that he felt that she is misreading the 10% because the commissioner within two days can require the other banks to come up with their 10% to make a municipal depositors hold. Mr. Bratina clarified that the collateral that the banks hold is not specifically in our name and they are not required to have it in our name. There is no system set up for this agreement. We have to get in line with all the other communities to try to get at the 10% collateral. If there is not sufficient collateral available, the state can assess the other banks. Counsel Weber asked if we are designated in all of these accounts as a municipal public deposit. Mr. Bratina responded that we are, that we are protected as well as we can be. There is a slight risk. Chairman Badolato asked Counsel Weber to review this issue again. Mr. Dottor moved, seconded by Mrs. Konopka, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: That the audit report for the Fiscal Year 1996-1997 be approved as presented. Mr. Bratina reported that the committee also discussed what to do with the excess income. The committee concluded that we should transfer most of it to the Capital Nonrecurring Fund and return the remainder to the constituents. The committee also discussed the transfer of funds from accounts with a surplus balance to accounts with a negative balance, which our accountants have recommend. We normally do this after the audit so that the actual numbers can be used to develop the next budget. Mr. Sienna asked if there was any benefit to having this done because you would be moving history as to what you spent in a particular area. Mr. Bratina reported that we reviewed the Charter, which references that we should not exceed the budgeted items and we should adjust monies in order to avoid it. After the audit is an appropriate time to do so, as we have a clear written record of what we actually spent. Mr. Sienna asked if we balance based on the line item or total budget. Mr. Bratina reported that we balance by department, not the account line. Mr. Taricani concurred with Mr. Sienna but noted that the accountant referred to our Charter and gave the impression that there are state laws that have to be followed. Mr. Van Dorn commented that we ought to publish a list of the adjustments that were made so the Finance Committee would have it before them. Mr. Sienna noted that if we move the monies it is hard to know what was spent in each account. Mr. Bratina noted that we have already accepted the audit, so the numbers are official, but we would then have a supplemental sheet of paper showing the revised expenditures after balancing the accounts. Chairman Badolato stated that the Charter deals with 7 Minutes of January 20,1998 the issue in Section 4-5 "No expenditure for any purpose designated in the budget shall exceed the estimate for that item, provided the district board may, upon approval of the finance committee, or, in the absence of such approval, by a two-thirds vote of the entire district board, make an additional appropriation for expenditure for any item or items from such contingency funds as may have been included in the budget or transfer any unexpended balance of any item or items included in the budget to any other item or items." So we can transfer from other accounts to that account by a majority vote with the approval of the Finance Committee or by two-thirds vote without. Mr. Sienna stated that he would rather see the line showing that there is an over-expenditure. Chairman Badolato asked if that wouldn't show up in that budget year and then when we do the next budget. Don't we take into consideration if it was something that would be a constant in that item we would increase that amount. If we only needed to do it once in a fiscal year it would not serve any purpose. Mr. Sienna stated that if we just do it once a year it is not so bad, that he has a real problem when it is done throughout the year. Mr. Bratina reported that when he presents the budget for next year, which the Finance Committee will be reviewing in February, he uses the numbers in the audit and not after we have balanced it. The only thing that we adjust for is the change in inventory which is in the audit report. Counsel Weber stated that no expenditure should exceed the estimate for that item except that you can transfer from any account that is over. Mr. Van Dorn moved, seconded by Mr. Taricani, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To authorize the Executive Director to transfer funds from accounts with a surplus balance to accounts with a negative balance for the fiscal year 1997 Operating Fund. Mr. Bratina reported that the committee also discussed the distribution of the excess income, which he was asked to prepare a plan for. Mr. Bratina recommended taking a total of $720,000 out of the Operating Fund, with $600,000 being transferred to the Capital Nonrecurring Fund and returning $120,000 to the constituents. This is accomplished by returning $720,000 on paper to the constituents based on their flow based assessment for FY 97 and then assessing $600,000 for the Capital Nonrecurring Fund based on the constituents' allocations. This would return $109,712 to New Britain, $2,117 to Berlin, and $8,171 to Cromwell. The difference between the constituents is due to their flow and the allocation. Per the Charter, the Operating Fund assessments are based on our projected capital expenditures apportioned by allocation, 22% of the total, and our non-capital expenditures apportioned by flow, 78% of the total. Our excess income is due to underestimating the revenue, which if estimated correctly would have lowered the non-capital expenditures which are flow based. Mr. Van Dorn suggested that only 50% of the budget should be considered a variable expense apportioned by flow and that the excess income returned should not be based on flow but by that portion of the plant 8 Minutes of January 20,1998 used. Mrs. Konopka stated that if we budgeted right, as far as revenue is concerned, we would not have such a surplus that we throw into this contingency. Mr. Van Dorn suggested referring the fund transfer process back to the Finance Committee for further review. Mr. Gentile commented that there is nothing critical in timing to disburse these funds and that it would be wise for a committee to pursue this question and come up with a policy for the entire Board. Once a policy is accepted it should be set and then the Executive Director can handle it every year and make a report to us. Mr. Van Dorn stated that if a set percentage is put into the Capital Nonrecurring Fund by New Britain, Cromwell, and Berlin, once it is in the fund its identity is lost and suggested a separate account for each town. Chairman Badolato commented that a partnership is a partnership, and if New Britain is a 75% partner they would get 75% of the profit if they are going to be paying 75% of the costs. Mrs. Konopka expressed her concern as to why we have to have such a surplus, that we should budget for more sludge revenue. Chairman Badolato noted that we would be heading for trouble if we do that, because 50% of the budget is assessments and the other 50% is on the profit made by the sludge program. If you keep lowering the assessments, there will come a day that you will not be able to increase those assessments to pay for the full cost. If we did not have the sludge program we would have to double the rates to our constituents. Mrs. Konopka questioned if this will all change if and when this expanded regionalization occurs. Chairman Badolato responded that it won't really change because we would not bring in more constituents, we would be taking in customers and selling them a service. Mr. Taricani stated that if we are going to err, he is glad we are on the side of erring where we have money left over. Mrs. Konopka stated that it is not good budgeting, we are a facility assessing constituent municipalities and then we have this large amount left over in the end. Mr. Taricani reiterated that 50% of the cost of operating this plant is paid for by the sludge. Mrs. Konopka suggested that if we ran short we could dip into the Capital Nonrecurring Fund. Chairman Badolato stated that if you dip into that fund you are going to find yourself in trouble. That is why you are better off having an excess rather than a shortage. Mrs. Konopka commented that if you err on that side it is okay but we plan on it. This is a profit making place and it should not be. Chairman Badolato stated that we are not a profit making organization, we reduce the cost to our constituents by $2,000,000 per year and if we raised our assessments by that amount we would hear the towns scream. We don't want to guess how much we are going to get, be wrong, and go back to the towns for more money. Mr. Scalise stated that to try to come out to a zero balance, and if we need money to have a special assessment or borrow, is ludicrous. When our biggest argument is how to return money to the constituents, and we are talking about increasing our assessments or special assessments, we are wasting our time. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Taricani, the following motion: MOTION: To refer the fund transfer procedure to a Special Committee including the Finance Committee and the Chairman of the Board. 9 Minutes of January 20,1998 Mrs. Konopka stated that the Finance Committee is the only one where each community has an equal vote, that the Chairman of the Board should be part of the discussion but that we should not change the composition. Mr. Van Dorn concurred, that it should be referred to the Finance Committee alone. A vote was taken and the motion was adopted with Mr. Van Dorn, Mr. Sienna, Mrs. Konopka, and Mr. Gentile opposed: RESOLVED: To refer the fund transfer procedure to a Special Committee including the Finance Committee and the Chairman of the Board. Engineering Committee Mr. Bratina reported that we had put out a bid in December for Temporary Sludge Hauling and Disposal while we are down for approximately three weeks during the rebricking of the Fluidized Bed Incinerator in late February or March. The lowest bid was American Landfill for $72.93 per wet ton. After the bid was opened, the highest bidder Dainty Rubbish proposed a lower price of $72.00 per wet ton, a little under the low bid. At this time, Dainty Rubbish does not have approval from the State and the landfill to take the sludge. They do expect to have that approval this week. The Hartford MDC did not respond to the bid because they do not bid on sludge cake, but they have advised me that they will take the sludge as capacity is available for $210 per dry ton which equates to about $51 per wet ton. It would also cost about $9 per wet ton to haul it to MDC, a total of about $60 per wet ton. Thus the Hartford MDC is the lowest cost disposal option. However, since the Hartford MDC can not take it all and it is not certain how much they can take, we need to plan to have American Landfill handle the bulk of the sludge. The committee concluded that we should not accept the revised proposal from Dainty Rubbish and recommended using the Hartford MDC and American Landfill. Mrs. Konopka moved, seconded by Mr. Van Dorn, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: That the Executive Director be authorized to enter into an agreement for Temporary Sludge Hauling and Disposal with the Metropolitan District Commission at $210.00 per dry ton and with American Landfill, Inc. at the $72.93 per wet ton. Mr. Bratina reported that Pratt & Whitney-Middletown has requested that we take all of their domestic wastewater flow of 150,000 gallons per day for roughly a three week period this spring so they can shut down their domestic treatment plant for major repairs. We currently are charging Middletown $0.000574 per gallon, if we used our sludge pricing formula we would charge $0.015 per gallon, and our rate for septage is $0.065 per gallon. Following discussion, the majority of the committee 10 Minutes of January 20,1998 concluded that we should accept the Pratt & Whitney waste and charge $0.015 per gallon. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Van Dorn, and the following was adopted with Mrs. Konopka opposed: RESOLVED: To add the Pratt & Whitney item to the agenda. Mrs. Konopka stated that she had some concerns in regards to the Charter and the incinerator permit. Counsel Weber responded that per the Charter, the District is empowered to provide for the treatment of sewage and industrial waste originating within or without the District and to enter into a contract with any municipality, municipal sewer authority, or other persons on such terms as such contract may contain, providing for and relating to the treatment and disposal of any such sewage or industrial waste. The Charter certainly gives us the right. Counsel Weber stated that he had not reviewed the permit. Mr. Bratina reported that we have two relevant permits. Our wastewater permit for discharge allows for industrial discharges with authorization from DEP. Our incinerator permit authorizes combustion of sewage sludge removed during the treatment of municipal wastewater. Discussions we have had with Air Compliance when the permit was developed clarified that they do not have a problem with industrial wastes, there is always an industrial waste component in domestic sewage. When we first took the Cape Cod Potato Chip waste, we asked if it was acceptable and Air Compliance advised that it was. Mr. Bratina asked the question again last week with Chris James of Air Compliance, who said he didn't know why it was written the way it was and that anything that DEP Water Compliance would accept Air Compliance would accept. Mrs. Konopka commented that someone could really make a fuss about incinerating non-municipal sludge. Mr. Bratina noted that all communities have industrial discharges permitted by DEP. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Gentile, and the following was adopted with Mr. Sienna and Mrs. Konopka opposed: RESOLVED: That the Executive Director be authorized to enter into an agreement with Pratt & Whitney-Middletown to take their domestic wastewater for an approximate three week period at a price of $0.015 per gallon. Mr. Bratina reported that Maintenance Supervisor Gary Simpson brought to our attention that we have two rotary valves for adding sand to the FBI. Several years ago the one which adds sand to the FBI failed and we replaced it with a better unit from Delta with replaceable wear parts. Recently, the other one which meters sand out of the sand bins began failing. We determined it was better to replace it with a Delta brand, which has a slightly higher initial cost but a lower life cycle cost because of the replaceable wear parts. The price is $7,433. The Engineering Committee recommended we purchase it. 11 Minutes of January 20,1998 Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Van Dorn and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To add purchase of a Sand Transfer Rotary Valve to the agenda. Mrs. Konopka moved, seconded by Mr. Taricani, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To authorize the Executive director to purchase a new Sand Transfer Rotary Valve from Delta at a cost of $7,433. Personnel Committee Mr. Taricani moved, seconded by Mrs. Konopka, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To enter into Executive session with the Executive Director and Counsel Weber to discuss personnel matters. The Board was in Executive Session from 9:15 pm to 9:45 pm. Mr. Van Dorn left at 9:30 p.m. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Sienna, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To return to Regular Session. Mr. Taricani moved, seconded by Mr. Gentile, and the following was adopted with Mr. Scalise opposed: RESOLVED: To table the Personnel Matter. Property Management Mr. Bratina reported that Waste Stream Environmental had requested an extension of their truck parking License Agreement. Under this agreement they made improvements to a portion of our District property: placing a fence around the area, laying down crushed stone, and installing lighting to park up to two tractor trailers here. The convenience of this site for Waste Stream helps tie there deliveries to Mattabassett. For this reason and the fact that they pay us $1,200 per year for that License arrangement, Mr. Bratina recommended to the committee that we extend the terms for another year. The committee concurred and recommended it to the Board. Mr. Dottor moved, seconded by Mr. Taricani, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To add Waste Stream Environmental Truck Parking License to the agenda. 12 Minutes of January 20,1998 Mrs. Konopka commented that she does not know why we are so anxious to have them bring their sludge here and $100 per month seems low. Mrs. Konopka questioned whether the trucks are owner operated or leased. Mr. Bratina responded that the trailers parked there are owned by Waste Stream and that some of the tractors used are owned by the drivers. Mrs. Konopka questioned why we didn't increased the rent amount. Mr. Bratina responded that he thought $1,200 per year was a good rate for a 60 feet by 60 feet site on which Waste Stream paid for all the improvements and we gain the intangible benefit of their bringing more sludge here. Mrs. Konopka stated that she felt the price is too low and asked if they clean the trucks there. Mr. Bratina responded that the trucks are not cleaned there, they will periodically hose out the interior at our unloading site and they regularly clean the exterior at a truck wash site. Mrs. Konopka asked if it smells over there. Mr. Bratina responded that he did have a problem years ago with the hatches being left opened when parked, he talked to the manager and the hatches are now being kept closed there. Last year we did have a problem with the hatches being left open when they were driving off site. Mr. Bratina reported that he discussed this several times with Waste Stream and they have resolved that problem. Since then Waste Stream fired their Holyoke office manager and hired a new one. We expect the coordination to improve. Mr. Dottor moved, seconded by Mr. Cannamela, and the following was adopted with Mrs. Konopka opposed: RESOLVED: That the Executive Director be authorized to renew the Waste Stream Environmental Truck Parking Lease Agreement for another year. Chairman Badolato reported that a meeting of the Sludge Study Committee was scheduled for January 29, 1998. Safety. Energy & Publicity Mr. Batorski reported that there were no accidents last month. The lunchroom floor is being replaced tomorrow. Last year's accidents were typed up and prepared. In Energy Conservation, the new belt press wash water motor was installed. Mr. Scalise noted that we appreciate Mr. Batorski staying till 10 pm to make a two minute report and asked if we should move it up on the agenda so he does not have to stay for the entire meeting. Chairman Badolato suggested moving the Safety and Energy Conservation report to Staff Reports, which will be done. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Cannamela, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To accept the Safety & Energy Conservation Report. 13 a Minutes of January 20,1998 Counsel's Report Counsel Weber reported that in preparation for the Sludge Study Committee meeting, he reviewed a number of Invitations to Bid for sludge contracts from various communities in order to advise the committee should the District want to consider bidding directly for sludge contracts. Some of the potential considerations include the risks which are placed on the bidder. He reviewed a fax regarding the awarding of the Contract to remove sludge during the time that the incinerator is shut down. He reviewed the minutes of the January 22, 1979 meeting regarding the commitment of the District to go back to the Town of Cromwell town meeting for acquiring any further land in the Town of Cromwell, and reviewed a request that was made to the Executive Director pursuant to FOI regarding the release of various personnel related matters. Mr. Scalise moved, seconded by Mr. Cannamela, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: To accept the Counsel's Report. Adjournment Mr. Gentile moved, seconded by Mr. Dottor, and the following was unanimously adopted: RESOLVED: That the meeting adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:58 p.m.. The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be Tuesday, February 17, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. at the Administration Building, Cromwell, Connecticut. 14