Category Archives: Water & Sewer

Special town meeting 10/7

Posted on September 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Special town meeting 10/7

Medfield is having a special town meeting (STM) on 10/7 at 7:30 PM at the MHS gym, to discuss three articles.

  1. whether to accept for free the transfer from the state of 5-6 acres at the Medfield State Hospital site on which to locate a new water tower and the existing Medfield State Hospital tubular well fields (located across the railroad tracks, off Colonial Drive).  The water tower land includes and surrounds the old existing water tower, which water tower is too low compared to the other Mt. Nebo water tower and too old to warrant repairing.  This land transfer is part of the mediated resolution of the Medfield State Hospital environmental clean up dispute that was successfully mediated over the past year by a town committee with DCAMM, to a win-win solution.
  2. appropriating monies to plan the new water tower.
  3. whether to exercise the town’s right of first refusal to buy the 30 acre Kenny land that stretches between Phillips and Foundary Streets.  The Kenny land has been paying lower property taxes as Massachusetts General Laws c. 61  forest land, in exchange for which the town gets a right of first refusal when the land comes out of the forest designation, which is now happening.  There is a purchase and sale agreement for $1.4 m. from about 18 months ago and now the buyers have an approved subdivision for 7 house lots.  The owners recently gave the town the required notice, which triggered the town’s 120 days to effect the purchase of the property, if it chooses to do so.  The special town meeting (STM) was already happening to seek to pass the water tower and well fields articles, which are needed to move forward with the required home rule petition legislation in the legislature, so the Kenny land question is fortuitously being included in that special town meeting (STM) as well.

Last day to register to vote at the special town meeting (STM) is 9/27, and last day to register to vote in the election is 10/1.

Both topics are on the agenda for the Board of Selectmen meeting next Tuesday, 9/24/13.

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Posted in Medfield State Hospital, Open space, Permitting, Planning, Select Board matters, Town Meeting, Water & Sewer

Water ban

Posted on July 26, 2013 | Comments Off on Water ban

The irony of the water ban signs appearing during one of the wettest weeks of the summer, hides the underlying basis on which the water bans rest.

First, I am told that the water ban was approved by the Water & Sewer Board at its meeting last week, before the deluge started.

Second, according to my discussion with Mike Sullivan this morning, the water bans are triggered by one of several factors, one being the amount of water that the town pumps on a daily basis.  Due to the recent heat wave and the amount of lawn watering going on, we had exceeded that daily threshold.

Third, the state uses another trigger, which Mike says is the Charles River’s water flow at a dam in Dover.  This trigger is despite the fact that Medfield’s aquifers are felt by the town to be so far below the river that we do not think that we draw any water from the river at all.

Lastly, to make you feel better, Mike said that Mark Cerel relates that his other town where he is town counsel, Franklin, bans outdoor water use on any day except the day your trash is collected.  If we did that no one would ever be able to water their lawn, until they contracted with a trash service – wait a minute, ultimately our transfer station tipping fees would plummet as people who wanted to water their lawns contracted to get their trash picked up.   Hmmm . . .

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Posted in Water & Sewer

Water tower & wellfields legislation

Posted on July 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Water tower & wellfields legislation

This is a section by section analysis of the draft legislation that the Board of Selectmen have recently been working on with the Medfield State Hospital Development Committee, to effect the transfer of lands, as part of the environmental clean up mediation settlement.  The lands are (1) on which the town can construct a new water tower at the MSH, and (2) the existing MSH tubular wellfields for a back up water supply for the town.  The new water tower land surrounds the existing water tower site.  The wellfields are about a mile from the MSH, located across the Bay Colony Rail line and are accessed by a right of way off of Colonial Road.

DRAFT

Medfield State Hospital – Water Supply Legislation

Section by Section Summary: Transfer of property from DCAMM to Town of Medfield, specifically, the Medfield State Hospital Water Tower, Water Tower Land and Abandoned Hospital Wellfield (a/k/a Tubular Wellfield), revising Section 32 through 37, of Chapter 7C of the General Laws, chapter 180 of the Acts of 2002, and chapter 269 of the acts of 2008 relative to the redevelopment of the Medfield State Hospital.  These parcels and easements were originally acquired by the Commonwealth, acting through the Department of Mental Diseases, for the purpose of providing the Medfield State Hospital with an additional supply of pure water.  See Acts of 1929, chapter 163.

Purpose:  The expedited transfer of water supply interests from DCAMM to the Town of Medfield.  As part of a mediated settlement between Medfield and DCAMM, DCAMM supports the expedited transfer of the Water Tower and related land, easements and tubular well field to Medfield.  See attached Comprehensive Executive Summary and July 11, 2013 letter from Commissioner Carole Cornelison to the Medfield Board of Selectmen.

Current Acts relative to the redevelopment of the Medfield State Hospital transfer interests in these properties to the Town after redevelopment.  However, the redevelopment plan envisioned in these Acts is no longer desirable or feasible and there are discussions between Medfield and DCAMM regarding a new approach to redevelopment.

The current water tower is beyond repair and the Town of Medfield needs the water tower and related interests to be transferred now so that a new water tower can be built to maintain the public water supply.  The tubular well field and related easements would be transferred for the future preservation of Medfield’s water supply.

Section 1:   Primarily for the purpose of the public water supply system, transfers from DCAMM to Medfield at no or nominal cost:

The water tower and the water tower land, totaling approximately 6.4 acres (water tower parcel).

A 25 foot wide parcel for travel and utilities extending from Hospital Road to the water tower parcel, totaling approximately 1 acre.  This parcel has been configured to run along the edge of the core campus parcel in order to minimize the impact on the development potential of the core campus.

Includes a standard reversion clause.

Section 2:  (a) Primarily for the purpose of the maintenance and improvement of the public water supply system, transfers certain property interests from DCAMM to Medfield at no or nominal cost, as identified in clauses (b) through (d):

(b)   The tubular well field property which comprises approximately 23 acres.

 

(c)    The existing rights of way or easements for the water main extending from the tubular well field to the Medfield state hospital property line.

 

(d)   A new easement for the existing water main, across that portion of the MSH property that is not being transferred from the Commonwealth, to the water tower parcel, 25 feet wide totaling .08 acres.

 

(e)   Reserves an existing easement to the Commonwealth for a right of way for travel that overlaps a small portion of the property to be transferred to Medfield as part of the tubular well field.  This existing easement is otherwise unrelated to the water supply and this reservation ensures that the Commonwealth can utilize the rest of the right of way for travel.

 

(f)     Directs DMH to transfer existing water withdrawal permits or registrations to Medfield. The Town is investigating whether there is any withdrawal permit or registration in effect and if none is found this section will be deleted from the legislation.

(g)    A standard reversion clause.

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Posted in Environmental, Medfield State Hospital, Water & Sewer

More on river issue

Posted on June 28, 2013 | Comments Off on More on river issue

More emails about the river problem –

From: “William Kingsbury”

Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 8:04 AM
Subject: RE: Report of fish kill on Charles River

I spoke to Dino from DEP last night @ 10 and he said they had taken samples from Norfolk and were sending them to the Lab & hoped to have results in the morning of what it might be………he asked if I would go back at first light to see it the problem still existed……..

Went back this morning at 5:15 and it was still noticeable from the bridge on RT27 and I did observe a few dead fish….I called DEP and spoke to Mike Leblanc and reported my observation, he stated they hoped to get the lab reports back but they will be regrouping this morning @ 8 to discuss their next plan of action…….I checked our other bridge locations and the problem was still there but not as noticeable (my opinion)

Before I left yesterday the DEP personnel that were looking at the fish felt they had been dead for 3-4 days

Bill

From: Mike Sullivan

Subject: Report of fish kill on Charles River
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:44:05 -0400

I just got back from Norfolk. Chiefs Kingsbury and Meaney were there also, along with Norfolk, Norfolk prison, state and federal environmental specialists. They expect to spend most of their time in Norfolk and wil contact Chief Kingsbury if they plan to come back to Medfield. Before going to Norfolk, I went down to the Stop River at the Causeway. There was a sheen on that river and an odor, which could have been sewerage or could have been decaying vegetation. A few dead fish were observed in the vicinity of the Sherborn town line. As a precaution the water dept shut down well # 6 this evening and will evaluate the situation in the morning if and when more information is available. They may also add chlorine to the water from well # 6 if they decide to turn it back on. At this point, their is no evidence that whatever is causing the problem on the river has affected the water supply. We draw from about 85′ below ground We will be monitoring the situation and testing the water. We also draw water from the Neponset Watershed and so we do have a backup supply. Since I started writing this Chief Meaney and Kris have arrived and he is responding to a request for information from Theresa Knapp and Kris is talking to Willis and he will notify the other board members.  At this point what is happening is speculation and we will have to wait for testing results from state and federal officials, but it appears that the problem is probably occurring upstream from Medfield (given the testing sites chosen). Precautions have been taken to protect our water supply. If we hear anything more we will let you know right away. Mike

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Posted in Environmental, Water & Sewer

Selectman goals & objectives

Posted on June 3, 2013 | Comments Off on Selectman goals & objectives

I am being interviewed on Medfield TV on 6/18 by Jack Peterson and Theresa Knapp of Patch, and Jack asked me to bring along topics to discuss, so I updated the list of goals and objectives I prepared for the Board of Selectmen last September:

2013 Goals and Objectives for the Medfield Town Administrator and the Board of Selectmen

By Osler L. Peterson, Selectman
June 3, 2013

1.    Institutional good governance systems, such as
a.    Thorough planning,
b.    Government transparency, and
c.    Complete reporting to the residents
2.    Have the Board of Advisors (former selectmen) conduct a zero based review of our town government systems to determine whether we are using best practices and have the right systems.  Consider partnering with an educational institution to get interns for this task.
a.    Establish expectations, policies, and procedures for all town boards and departments.
b.    Evaluate staffing levels and positions.
i.    Consider hiring a Finance Director.
3.    Get written five year plans from the Town Administrator and department heads.
4.    Have Town Administrator use annual calendar for the Board of Selectmen.
5.    Hold a Board of Selectmen joint meeting annually with each town board and commission to review our shared purposes and goals.
6.    Report to town on DPW’s road and sidewalk repair plans and funding.
7.    Work with Water and Sewer Commission on its master plan.
8.    Study the possible purchase and/or control of the development of the Medfield State Hospital site
9.    Oversee the process of dealing with the clean up and reuse of the Medfield State Hospital site.
10.    Complete bylaw review, especially for issues related to the Medfield State Hospital site.
11.    Work with planning board for new economic growth; Town’s master plan and downtown zoning.
12.    Work on strategy for maintenance and renovation of all town buildings and a strategy to build a new DPW Garage, Public Safety, and Community Center.
13.    Examine opportunities for additional revenue streams, such as:
a.    Housing can be the “business” of Medfield (e.g. – Old Medfield Square)
b.    Power purchase agreements for PV power
c.    Selling Medfield bottled water
14.    Identify opportunities for regionalization of services, such as:
a.    Dispatch for public safety
b.    Board of Health
15.    Target completion of union negotiations before contracts expire.
16.    Create a three-year financial forecast of the town, working with the Warrant Committee and the School Committee.
17.    Implement succession planning for key municipal positions.
18.    Installation of solar PV arrays on town owned land.
19.    Become a Green Community.
20.    Solve Veterans Service Officer position issues.
21.    Perform an analysis of overtime use.
22.    Maintain town’s fiscal status.
23.    Determine whether our recycling rates can be improved, and our trash costs thereby reduced

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Posted in Budgets, Buildings, Charter & Bylaw Review, Development, Employees, Medfield State Hospital, Medfield TV, On being a selectman, Planning, Recycling & Solid Waste, Safety Committee, Town Services, Veterans, Water & Sewer

Solar PV meeting this AM

Posted on March 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Solar PV meeting this AM

The Waste water Treatment Plant was the site this morning of a three hour presentation on  solar photovoltaicic installations for the town, organized the by WWTP’s new head operator, Bob McDonald.  There were three presentations, giving the perspectives of doing it yourself, having a turnkey installation by a professional engineering company, and from a DEP expert.  In attendance were the Energy Committee, the Board of Selectmen as it will be constituted after the election on Monday, town Administrator Mike Sullivan,Ken Feeney,  and several interested people.

It was a truly high quality, in depth examination of the options and how the town can best get get it done, with informative handouts.  This participant regarded it as time really well spent to get the town to its first solar PV installation.  The MEC will examine the options at its Tuesday evening meeting.

Mike Sullivan wants the town’s first solar PV site to be on the land just behind the WWTP.  That site was a bee hive of DPW activity this morning as they were working with large earth moving equipment and dump trucks to clear and level that site so that it can be the temporary town garage site if the new DPW garage is voted in, as it has to be, by the town at both the town meeting on 4/29 and the election on 4/30.

The first PV presenter was a Dept. of Corporation employee and Norfolk resident, who overseeing the many PV installations owned by the DOC.  He talked about the model where one pays for the system oneself, and reaps a higher ROI.  Sounded like minimal oversight is needed, but it would be important to have someone like him to do the small things that do need to be done.

The package system is achieved by means of a power purchase agreement, where the town puts out an RFP, and merely signs up with a provider, who then provides the soups to nuts.  In exchange the town’s rate of return is less than if it buys the system on its own.

The DEP employee provided a handout that walked us through the options and issues, and related the issues to watch for.

PV panels are still dropping a  lot in price, however, the state initiative may be running out soon.  If we proceed with DPW garage, the site will not be available for at least a year, so PV at that site cannot happen until the DPW vacates the site.

Alternatives discussed included lowhead hydro on the outflow of the WWTP and even inside the pipes of the water distribution system, as well as solar hot water.

Lots to follow up on.  Big savings are available to the town if it proceeds.  The Dartmouth town administrator told the MEC at a meeting a couple of months ago that they are saving $700,000 in electric charges from seven PV sites and similar sorts numbers were quoted this AM.  Medfield needs to move as soon as possible to make PV happen, to get in on the savings.

After the meeting, Bob McDonald gave us a tour of the WWTP.  The WWTP continues to amaze me as quite the complex operation.  The painting and clean up at the WWTP that Bob has done looked good.

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Posted in Energy Committee, Water & Sewer

Financial model training

Posted on March 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Financial model training

Water and Sewer Board member, Willis Peligian, conducted a training for three hours this morning on the financial model that he has created to plan rate increases for the water and sewer rates.  It is an extremely sophisticated spreadsheet that allows one to manipulate the assumptions and quickly see the long term results.

W&S will hold a hearing at 7 PM on 4/3 in the Chennery Meeting Room at the Town House to discuss its proposed rate increases, at which time the model will undoubtedly be used to explain the need for the rate increases.

Willis just finished creating the model, and is giving it to the town.  It is the sort of model that all town departments should use, based on what I saw this morning.

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Posted in Budgets, Water & Sewer

4/3 hearing on new W&S rates

Posted on March 15, 2013 | Comments Off on 4/3 hearing on new W&S rates

From the Medfield Water & Sewer Board –

On Wednesday, April 3, 2013, at 7 p.m. at Medfield Town Hall in the Chenery Meeting Room, the Medfield Board of Water and Sewerage is conducting a Public Hearing to discuss proposed water rate increases.  At their recent meeting, Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund Committee Members recommended water rate increases to take effect on water usage beginning April 1, 2013.  This increase is needed to provide sufficient revenue to cover current costs and to allow for future funding of necessary water infrastructure capital improvement projects.  The Enterprise Fund Committee recommended no increases to the sewer rates.  The rates are proposed to increases as follows:

Medfield_Water_Rate-20130315

All are welcome to attend the Public Hearing to see a presentation on the planned capital improvement projects and the need for this water rate increase.

 

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Posted in Water & Sewer

W&S

Posted on January 18, 2013 | Comments Off on W&S

Water & Sewer Commission meeting last night could not proceed, due to a lack of a quorum.  It was reported however that there is a 1/28/13 hearing before the Appellate Tax Board on the Gulf Resources (the Medfield Commons Carwash) appeal of its failure to pay its contested sewer bill of about $45,000.  Gulf argues that its water does not go into the sewer.  Town argues that it just allocates half the cost of the combined water and sewer system to water and half to sewer, and does not allow others (such as those using water to water their lawns to have separate meters for the irrigation water as other towns do) to just pay the water portion.

W&S will meet 1/24/13 at 7PM.

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Posted in Water & Sewer

Discolored water

Posted on January 10, 2013 | Comments Off on Discolored water

More information on the water main break and its repair in this email –

1/10/2013 4:31PM
reverse 911 issued for discolored water
Trierweiler, Kristine
“Kristine Trierweiler”
===========================================================
Hi Everyone,

A reverse 911 was issued this afternoon as it became evident that the water break on high street was causing discoloration issues throughout the entire town. We have asked residents, if they have discolored water, to slowly turn on the cold water tap until it runs clear. We have also suggested that residents refrain from clothes laundering for 24 hours until the discoloration issue has been resolved.

Kristine Trierweiler, AICP
Assistant Town Administrator
Town of Medfield
459 Main Street
Medfield, MA 02052
(P) (508) 906-3011
(F) (508) 359-6182

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Posted in Town Services, Water & Sewer