Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 6-5-08 worksession
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Paul Fraser (PF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Joe Denning (JD), Town Manager Elizabeth Corrow
Chairman Rick Alpers called the Work session to order at 6:30pm.
Mr. Alpers stated CDM was present to do a follow up discussion for the Water and Sewer to the lake project. Mr. Alpers explained they had asked CDM to do a cost analysis of an alternate route but they found that it was more expensive. Mr. Mike Walsh from CDM reviewed the progress they had made and explained they would like to come to an agreement on the scope of phase one. They will then put a report together to give to rural development as part of the application process. Josh from CDM stated they have been working on laying out the piping and the flow of the sewer to the lake. They found that the flow is greater then they had anticipated due to considerable development such as Bristol Shores. Mr. Alpers questioned if peak flow is determined by usage at one point in time. Mr. Walsh stated they look at two flow rates. To come up with the average flow they take the flow at the plant and divide it by 365 but it fluctuates throughout the day. The pipe has to be big enough to carry peak flow. Mr. Alpers questioned what year the master plan for the project was put in place. Mr. Williams stated in 2002. Mr. Walsh stated they have looked at the projected flows at this point and have realized there is going to be more development then anticipated at the lake. Josh stated the seasonal influx of people plays a large role in developing the best flow rate. Once this is determined the next step is to look at the existing structures downtown. Josh stated it appears the original plant that was built was not intended to service the lake area in the same plant and the existing piping in the downtown can not handle the lake area as well. Mr. Walsh stated they believe it could handle phase one, down Shore Drive and Lakeside Drive, in the existing system but needs to be further analyzed. Mr. Alpers questioned the age of the existing plant. Mr. Chartier stated 1970. Mr. Denning stated it is necessary to build for maximum flow. Mr. Fraser clarified phase one to the foot of the lake may or may not be able to be handled by the existing structure. Josh stated they need to finish the analysis but it appears phase one and part of phase two could be handled. Mr. Fraser stated phase two would need a redesign or upgrade to the downtown. Josh confirmed the downtown would need additional piping or larger piping to handle the flow from part of phase 2 and 3. A preliminary design of the downtown will need to be done in order to determine what will be needed. Ms. Corrow questioned if the preliminary design to the downtown is another entire project that needs to be done before we are ready to move forward with phase 1. Josh stated they are comfortable moving forward with phase one and recommends doing a preliminary design at the end of phase one before moving into phase two. Mr. Denning questioned if an upgrade to the piping is needed, is it cheaper to put new piping in another area like the Hall Road idea. Mr. Walsh stated they are looking into an alternate route that may be more cost effective. Josh stated he originally thought they could work with the existing piping but as they have looked into it, they will not be able to. Mr. Walsh stated they would like to come to an agreement for phase 1 to get the project moving. Mr. Alpers questioned if it would be better to go down West Shore Road where more of the year round houses and revenues are or is it best to do the foot of the lake for the seasonal residents. Mr. Williams feels the foot of the lake is critical and down towards Bungalo Village. Josh stated you would get more for you money to continue down Lakeside Drive because of the pumping stations. Mr. Walsh stated it’s difficult to make these types of projections, but they are looking at the immediate concern. He explained the plant looks fine at this point, it’s the piping in the downtown that is concerning. Mr. Fraser stated he would like to know how far they can go in order to make a decision on phase 1. Mr. Walsh stated phase 1 will cost about 5-7 million dollars but they need to get the application submitted for funding. Mr. Williams questioned if the pumping station on West Shore Road can be included in phase 1 as part of the 5-7 million. Mr. Van Derven stated at this years town meeting they tried to buy a bridge for $130,000, a project that was 80% funded by the state and it was voted down. A year ago money was put into the budget to look at the drainage at the foot of the lake and that was rejected. This year there was a warrant article asking for the board to take a hard look at the water and sewer project as the citizens are very concerned about where the money is coming from. Mr. Van Derven stated there has been very little capital infrastructure done in the past years. The water and sewer plant upgrade and a ladder truck. There is now a concerned citizens group forming that would like to implement a tax cap. Mr. Van Derven questioned what this project is going to cost. He would like to know what amount of money will be spent on the engineering designs in anticipation of the project expense minus the anticipated money for grants. He wants a bottom line estimate to better understand what the impact on the taxes will be. He explained Bristol is definitely not in the spending mood. Ms. Corrow stated the town meeting article a few years back stated we were going to get 90 % grant funding. The majority of that article was rescinded until the funding is actually available as it was tying up our bonding authority. Ms. Corrow stated the reality of the situation is the grant funding is limited and the cost of the project has doubled. Mr. Van Derven emphasized the need for an estimated cost for the entire project broken down to show the engineering designs, the actual construction cost and any anticipated grant funding. Mr. Williams stated there has been a lot of infrastructure in the treatment plant and there is grant money available. Mr. Walsh stated it is hard to project the future. Mr. Van Derven stated they needed something on paper to show how much this will cost, understanding it is an estimate. Ms. Corrow questioned how long before they would be done with the report for the application. Josh believes by the end of the summer. Ms. Corrow stated it is important to determine how much the downtown is going to cost because they might have made a decision previously not to proceed with phase one should they have known the downtown problem. Ms. Corrow emphasized the need for a good understanding of the costs and grant funding so they can be truthful with the costs to the citizens. Mr. Alpers suggested a follow up meeting in a month.
Mr. Van Derven made a motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II(c) seconded by Mr. Denning: roll call vote taken all members agreed to enter into non-public session. At 7:30 PM the BOS entered a non-public session.
Motion to return to public session made by Mr. Denning, seconded by Mr. Fraser; vote was unanimous.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Paul Fraser; seconded by Mr. Denning; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm
Respectfully submitted,
Krystal Alpers
Administrative Assistant
____________________________ _____________________________
Richard Alpers, Chairman Paul Fraser, Vice Chairman
_____________________________ _____________________________
Joe Denning Donald Milbrand
____________________________
Bruce Van Derven