Minutes of Prudential Committee Meeting

Jericho fire District No. 1

September 20, 2016

Attendees: Fred Lavenberg, Dan Dube, Sue Grab, John Irving, Ann Koll Lerner, Les Allen

Finances: Treasurer Brian Stevens was unable to attend but sent his report in advance. Of note is a) the 4th qtr. expected Income is not included and b) that less than 66% of the budgeted maintenance expense has been spent; good news.

Charlie Wiegand was paid $1,000 in Aug. for re-grading our lower property road to the filter building. Charlie also gave us a freebee for his $342 expense for brushogging the road to the wellhead.

Sue noted that a $10 late payment for 3rd qtr. was made and will be recorded as a 3rd qtr. Payment.

Technical Stuff: Our system operator, Kirk Patch, requested that we consider an upgrade to our “Mission” system. This is the control unit that among other things, puts out on a web site error messages when they occur. The issue is that some of these error messages were bundled together as a cost reduction of the initial installation. What is occurring is that the un-seriousness of some messages is being masked, resulting in unplanned and unnecessary trips to investigate the cause of messages. Kirk provided an estimate from Champlain Associates Inc. for the upgrade at $1,275. The discussion concluded with the PC asking for an estimate of the number of, or frequency of occurrences, to better understand the cost vs benefit. Les will follow-up with Kirk for this request.

The cause for two system leaks was discussed. Because a wellhead leak has occurred for the 3rd time, It has been speculated that vibration from the off/on well pump may have contributed to the pipe breaks. After sufficient discussion it was decided that cause conclusions will be considered after this 3rd leak is investigated.

System vs customer cost responsibility for service line repairs. In Aug. a water accumulation on Foothills Dr. at the foot of our reservoir property, was determined by a chlorine test to be drinking water (not rain or ground water). A contractor was hired to dig (carefully) through a maze of cables and wires at this location. The leak was found to be in the service line for #35 Foothills Dr. thus the homeowner’s responsibility for the $2,000 + excavation bill. The home owner was presented with this bill, a copy of the section of our Water System Rules and Regulations pertaining to this division of responsibilities, and with our operator’s report of the leak finding and fix in the customer service line.

This was discussed at this meeting because the homeowner has not responded to us regarding the disposition of the bill, as we had requested. It was decided that the PC should more formally submit a written request to the home owner. Fred Lavenberg will do this. It was also decided that we should contact the Municipal Assistance Center of the VLCT (Vermont League of Cities and Towns) for advice regarding the requirements that we, as a municipality, must meet in this situation. Les offered to do this.

Web changes. Dan Dube has made two changes to our web site. First is the addition to the main page of a direct access to the Rules and Regulations. The second, is an addition to the section of our R & R on billing to indicate that we bill forward, for services to be provided. This has been a cause for confusion at home sale closing.

Riparian buffer opportunity. Fred, Ann and Les met on 9/1/16 with Holly Kreiner from WNRCD (Winooski Natural Resource Conservation District) with regards to their desire to plant trees along creek and river banks where these plants will assist in preventing bank erosion. We received an informal positive response. We expect it to be followed by a formal request/proposal for us to accept their offer to do this planting next summer on the banks of both the Browns River and the Creek.

Respectfully submitted;

Les Allen, Clerk, Jfd#1