Adams Hit Hard With DEP Mandates
ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen on Wednesday approved $63,000 in reserve fund transfers to make repairs and state-mandated updates to the wastewater treatment plant.
Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said the funds would fix neglected maintenance projects and leaks at the plant as well as get the its second clarifier up and running.
The town is also being forced by the state Department of Environmental Protection to add on another full-time position at the plant but is hoping that decision can be appealed.
The initial cost will come in around $10,000 to replace broken valves that are original to the plant built in 1962.
"We actually have to shut the flow of sewage off at the plant and they have to go in sand bag and divert," Mazzucco said. "It is quite a pain in the butt."
He said the town is lucky because damage was minimal. If they completely broke and caused more damage, the town could have been fined by DEP.
When the initial leak was found, the plant crew also discovered that the fresh water tank was broken in the pump house. This is another $4,300.
Mazzucco said $11,553 will be needed for a 2,000-gallon chemical tank. DEP forced the town to install the tank so it will always have extra chemicals on hand. This is a new mandate that affects communities throughout the state.
Mazzucco said the big ticket item will be $33,390 to repair the plant's second clarifier.
When the plant was remodeled in 2004, the town closed the second clarifier down because its effluent flow only required one.
"There is a minimal benefit of being able to flow from one to the other but since 2004, we have done fine with one tank, but the DEP is the DEP," Mazzucco said.
Because the DEP wants redundancy, it wants both to be operational.
The town administrator said plant workers tried to start it up but it only made "awful clanking sounds."
He said if the town ran the second clarifier once in a while, this would not have been a problem.
"We should have been running it a couple times a year and switch the effluent back and forth to keep it running and it would have just been normal repairs," he said. "It has sat there, weeds have grown in, and its cracked."
Another $1,395 is required for other items related to the clarifier.
Total repairs are $60,967.53 but Mazzucco asked for $63,000 for contingency.
The Selectmen also ratified Thomas Romaniak as the new health and housing inspector to fill the code enforcement officer position.
Mazzucco said Romaniak is a former Adams Police dispatcher.
"He has been with us for over 10 years and is changing positions, but comes to us with a background in emergency services," he said. "We think he will be very helpful in this role."
Romaniak will make $22.92 an hour.
The Selectmen also approved changes to the building commissioner's job description and changed the grade from a $60,000 position to a $68,000 position. Town officials had sought to raise the salary in an attempt to retain inspectors after having gone through three in barely a year.
"We think it is a good move forward for the department and inspections and the commissioner will bring much needed consistency and stability," Mazzucco said.
The building commissioner will act as a department head for all inspection services, which will free up more time in community development. The description is also changed to take on more responsibilities down the road.
Mazzucco said the position will take care of facility management of town buildings, possibly Adams-Cheshire Regional School District buildings, and energy efficiency throughout town.
The building commissioner will work in tandem with the health and housing inspector, which will add redundancy and stability to the department. Also it will allow the two to "surge" together on big projects.
Selectman Jeffrey Snoonian said the new description will allow the commissioner to serve the town in a better way.
"It really turns the job from, what I always referred to as, a construction cop to guy that is a little more out there and ahead of things," he said.
The board also officially approved Holli Jayko as the new library director. Jayko had been the children's librarian for 13 years and filled in as interim director after former director Deborah Bruneau retired.
"I have enjoyed working there and I am so glad to continue my career and take this step further," Jayko said. "I plan to enjoy many more years at the Adams Free Library. It has become my home."
Selectman Arthur "Skip" Harrington said it is nice to see internal promotions.
"I think it is great that we can appoint someone from within the department who's known how it runs for many years and who has really been dedicated to working in the town of Adams," Harrington said.
Tags: building inspector, DEP, fiscal 2017, wastewater,
