ORDER-2023-13 : Lead Water Service Planning SRF Loan

Transcript (~5 min @ 35:48)

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▶ 35:35 Jen Grigoraitis: we have a motion to recommend made by President Cinella seconded by councilor Williams all in favor. I any opposed. Okay. So that passes with I have to do math how many of us are here seven in favor in one opposed. So thank you for being here with us this evening. Thank you. Thank you last but not least we have order 2023 - 13 lead Water Service planning srf loan and we have city engineer Bonnie Reese here with us tonight. Welcome the floor is yours.

▶ 36:07 Speaker 3: Hello. Thank you. It's nice to see you all. I'm here to present this order as you all know. The EPA has a rigorous lead and copper rule which requires all municipalities to identify the locations of lead service connections for water services and to address removal of them. So we in the DPW have been working on doing that identification. The city has about 8,000 water customers. And so we Have it's a large. It's a large lift to look through all the water cards and try to identify where there might be lead services. So we have contracted with Tata and Howard to help us with that and they have provided us with a class estimate to do that which includes going into about 700 homes doing Building Inspections doing in the street inspections on service connections where we're not sure what the material is. And all of this will help us to develop a hopefully comprehensive inventory of where we have lead Services both on the public side and on the private side. and then Moving forward after this project is done. Obviously. We would start looking at putting out a construction project to remove those services. But this request is for the borrowing of 165,000 for the purpose of developing that inventory. It would be through the state revolving fund. Which is currently offering zero percent interest loans and for the purposes of planning for lead service removal. They are offering a hundred percent loan forgiveness. So it's basically a grant. Catherine Armada has looked at everything and in your packets is a letter from her saying that there is no impact to the operating budget. And then I also included a memo that had some additional information in it that I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

▶ 38:24 Speaker 2: councilor Williams

▶ 38:26 Ryan Williams: I want to tell you a story. I promise I'll be short move to Melrose 2016 long before anybody new who I was not that anybody knows who I am. Now before anybody saw my ridiculous face on the website. I went to Public Works and I met the city engineer Elena prokoselles, and I said, I really want to know what kind of water service we have here. And she was like that's a great idea. She went to the filing cabinet pulled it out. And we found the hand-drawn card from like 1905 little cursive notes. And we discovered that there was a lead service line in the house. I had two kids. I still have two kids at the time. They were like 10 months old and and two and it was like two days later. We're ridiculous turnaround time. It just luck of the draw. They had people out there tearing it out because it was on public property. It wasn't in the in the private right away, and they took it out and they replaced it and we never once set foot really in a house with lead water in the service line, and I don't think people appreciate when they spend $200,000 over asking to move into Melrose that a lot of our water service is Led because we're an old city, so I can't thank you enough for bringing this forward. I think it's one of the best like public service orders that we could possibly approve. I know it'll be supported. But I just wanted to give an extra heaping of praise and thanks for it because it's like what the government is meant to do for people. So, thank you.

▶ 39:54 Speaker 3: Thank you. Yeah, it's it's an initiative that we are feel very strongly about too.

▶ 40:02 Jen Grigoraitis: Anyone else? I just want to also be mindful that in five minutes. We need to recess to open public comment in. Yeah, I'll make a motion to improve second. So we have a motion to approve made by counselor recommend. Excuse me by counselor Williams seconded by Vice chairmagliarelli.

▶ 40:17 Speaker 2: I think this is a roll call vote because it's alone. We'll do a roll call. Why not Mr. Clark, could you call the roll?

▶ 40:27 Speaker 7: Vice chairmanelli. Yes. Counselor garpy. Yes counselor. Jamaladin. Yes. Counselor Stewart. Yes councilor crime Shady. Yes. Counselor Williams. Yes. President zanella. Yes. And chair goodness. Yes.

▶ 40:45 Speaker 2: a yes

▶ 40:47 Jen Grigoraitis: Yes, that will be recommended to the full Council. Thank you for being here very much. And at that time this time, I will entertain a motion to adjourn motion to admir