Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Thomas A. Gross, Sr., Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, Medford Capel, Utilities Manager, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.
Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes of the meeting of February 17, 1998 be approved as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.
Mayor Bailey announced that the Utilities Commission has cash on hand and in banks on March 16, 1998 of $362,635.75.
Mayor Bailey called on Mr. Capel for his report. Mr. Capel stated that our water has passed all of the EPA tests for pH and chlorine. He said the EPA provides the closed sample bottles which are tested by the laboratory.
Mr. Capel reported that we have the plans for the aerators. He will be seeking bid prices for the aerators. He said he has information for fiberglass aerators which may be around $20,000, or about half the cost of the others. He said he would want to go to another plant using the fiberglass aerators to see how they work. Mr. Capel reported that the new controls for the high service pump have been installed.
Mr. Capel read a letter from the Maryland Department of the Environment regarding inquiries about our Town water. The letter stated that the Town's water was routinely sampled for bacteria, lead and copper and as it enters the distribution center from the treatment plant it was sampled for other chemical contaminants. All water samples are currently in compliance with all regulated drinking water standards. Mr. Capel said every quarter our water was sampled and tested by Artesian Lab in Newark. He said the list of volatile organic compounds was a page long, and our water only contains three and those levels are well below the contaminant level. Mr. Capel stated we have seven shallow wells and we are using six of those producing 125,000 gallons a minute each. The #8 well has not been used as it was near the Hospital oil spill. He said the water being produced by the shallow wells has remained the same for the last 35 years. He said the one deep well, which has a very low iron count (four parts of iron) compared to other places. The iron is removed with potassium promanganate, chlorine and is filtered through the green sand. He said iron was picked up out in the mains and we flush them periodically.
Mr. Capel said he had given the Council the report on the sludge in the lagoon ponds. He said the Sludge Judge was used to measure the average sludge levels. Pond #1 has 7.9" of sludge on the bottom, and pond #2 has 8.8". If the sludge were removed it would not provide much more space in the ponds. He said the treatment plant was started in 1963 or 35 years ago. He said the sludge was tested about 6 years ago before the aeration system was installed. At that time the sludge level was about 14-15". The aeration has helped to digest the sludge. He said he did not see any problem with the lagoon system and did not foresee any problems unless 600-700 homes were added to the system. He said right now we have a freeboard of 240,000 gallons of water that we can treat.
Mr. Capel said he wanted to clear up the matter of hookup fees. He said when a new builder or user wants to get water and sewer service from the Town we call that a hookup fee. He said that is merely a permit fee to access the water and sewer system. It might be called a ready to serve fee. The installation of the lines is the responsibility of the property owner. The Town will install the lines from the main to the property line, called a "private installation" and we charge depending upon the amount of work that is required. From that point the property owner must have a plumber install the lines to the building at the owner's expense.
Mayor Bailey asked if there were any further questions. Jody Taylor asked about the Town's policy for water meters that have been installed inside on older building; whether they must be moved outside. Mr. Capel said the meters are put outside in a pit. He said in the inside meter are inside cabinets or inaccessible. He said when meters must be changed, we must have access to the house, the enclosure must be torn apart, water runs all over and no one is happy about it.
Mayor Bailey said Mr. Biddle had asked to read a letter dated February 23, 1998 from the CCIA group. Mr. Biddle said the CCIA wanted to make recommendations. He said a copy of the letter could be put in the record. He said it was interesting that since the letter was written on February 23, almost every item had been addressed by Mr. Capel. He said many of the things were being worked on or continued to be worked on. He asked if the letter should be read. Mayor Bailey said the letter had been presented to the community and many statements in it were not correct and need to be clarified. She brought up several errors including the shallow well output and the high iron statements.
Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Biddle to read the letter. Mr. Biddle said the letter mentioned having a Utilities Commission made up of residents appointed. Mayor Bailey said that the Mayor and Councilmembers are the elected members of the Utilities Commission and are residents.
Mr. Bristoll said the letter made a lot of points which Mr. Capel has just addressed and has proven are incorrect. He said Mr. Biddle should read the letter. Mr. Biddle read the letter. Mayor Bailey said she would like to comment on the matter of the Utilities Commission. She said they are the Utilities Commission, they have been elected by the voters. She referred to the sentence about the members having "education, experience, good sense, interest in the welfare of the Town and also be residents", she said that described the sitting Mayor and Council. She said she would trust all members with making a good decision based on what was important for Chestertown. She said we could see the problems that the County has with the Sanitary District which has taken a life of its own. Mr. Biddle said there are quite a few of new citizens in Town who have a lot of experience and it might be an opportunity for people who have some expertise to do something. He said years ago we had a sanitary commission and a water board. He asked what the history was on that.
Mr. Capel said the letter talks about foot dragging on getting improvements. He said it took ten years before the lagoon wastewater treatment plant was finished. He said the Utilities Commission was formed when Dave Haacke was Mayor. Mayor Haacke then appointed the members who were 3 of the old water board. He said that continued until the next Mayor decided the Utilities Commission was not doing what they wanted done, just like Mr. Biddle's group sending the letter. Mr. Capel said he had always found that just like cooking, when you have too many cooks you spoil the broth. He said it was up to the Mayor and Council whether they appoint a separate utilities commission.
Mr. Gross referred to #6 in the letter and asked Mr. Capel if he intended to retire any time soon. Mr. Capel said no. Mayor Bailey said Mr. Capel has the knowledge and continuity to keep them well advised on what they need to do. She said Mr. Ingersoll helps with the funding that needs to be done. Mr. Biddle said no one had found any fault with Mr. Capel's work. He said CCIA was trying to get things reacted to and since the 23rd someone had done some homework and done some reacting. Mayor Bailey said there was nothing new that had been done; these are all things that we know and that we work on all the time. Mr. Bristoll said we did not react to the letter of the 23rd which made points that are inaccurate, we have just shown through Mr. Capel that most of the assumptions were wrong.
Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Ingersoll if there was anything he wanted to add. Mr. Ingersoll said the letter stated that the water upgrade plans cost $120,000 and were unavailable. This was not true. The plans are here and Mr. Capel is using part of those plans for the aeration. That aeration work was authorized to be done this year in the budget. He said also in the budget was the cost of a $40,000 facilities plan to assess our physical plant and plant for the long range. That is going out to bid in the funding for this year. He said the request for qualifications was done free by a quasi-public agency of the State of Maryland. He said the facilities plan will locate all lines and provide information on our capacities. He said the other thing he wanted to discuss was that a cover on the reservoir was included on the 1983 water upgrade and it was dropped. This was discussed in the minutes as far back as the 1950's. He said there were a lot of communities that do not have covers on their reservoirs and some use rivers for reservoirs. He said it would be nice to have but we now carry about $2 million worth of debt and everyone in Chestertown benefits from some of the lowest water and sewer rates in the area. He said we are lucky to have Mr. Capel and we are far beyond other communities in our capacities. We have ample capacities for the area presently within the town limits.
Mr. Ingersoll said there was one more item. He said Bell Atlantic Mobile will be putting up a one year temporary tower on the land owned by Murtaugh Corporation. They had asked to locate a pole where we have the new water tower but they are now just asking for permission to dig underground to connect the lines to the tower. He recommended approval of their request to run the underground line. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that permission be granted to Bell Atlantic for the line, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.
Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the bills. Mr. Bristoll moved that the bills be paid as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously. There being no further business, Mr. Kirby moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:10 p.m., was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.
Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer
Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor
RETURN to 1998 Minutes