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SALEM -- The utilities commission discussed hosting an open house at the wastewater treatment plant in its July meeting.
With upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant nearing final completion, the utilities commission has discussed hosting an open house at the plant to showcase the upgrades several times in recent months. While the utilities department had tentatively planned to host the open house ahead of its August meeting, the commissioners agreed to defer the open house until September as efforts continue to finalize work across the plant.
Utilities Commission Chairman Bob Hodgson said that when the time comes for the open house, he wants to have a few people lead tours that can not only showcase the upgrades and repairs but explain the reasons behind them.
"Obviously the OEPA and the attorney general, we were under the gun for the phosphorus agreement, but also little things like 1000 and how many leaks in the one tank, brick facades coming off because the tanks were leaking," Hodgson said. "I want to make a list of everything we corrected out there, and then obviously putting in the PONDUS system and the savings it's generating for us versus the landfill…I want people to understand that we're looking out for the facility we've got and making it a better system for the future rather than just taking people around and saying dirt water goes in here, clean water comes out here."
Hodgson also announced that the department would be receiving an $850,000 federal grant for phase two of repairs on the dam at the East Cold Run Reservoir, and thanked U.S. Rep Michael Rulli for supporting the project. Hodgson said that with the grant the department had received more than $2 million in financial assistance for the project in total.
Hodgson said that the department's recent success in securing grants and low interest loans to finance projects was fueled in part by the adjustments to the department's water rates in recent years, which he said demonstrated the department is "willing to pay [its] fair share."
"Thank you to Congressman Rulli who put it through for us, and that it is a check to us not a loan. It's very much appreciated, and it frees up money that we've been putting aside to handle some of the other projects we're still looking at," Hodgson said. "That's good news, and that's all a result of the commission and the department demonstrating to the underwriting authorities that were willing to put skin in the game and pay our way also. Over the years we were so far under the threshold of affordability when we turned in a grant it never made it anywhere else."
The commissioners also discussed concerns raised by residents who rent that following the implementation of the department's policy mandating that the accounts for all rental properties be registered in the landlord's name, that some landlords are not delivering the bills for individual renters' water usage with enough time to make payments.
Hodgson suggested that landlords should sign up with email billing, which he said is always sent on the first of the month, ahead of the paper bill, to bypass any potential mail delays and give more time between receiving their bill for the month and the due date.
Accounts manager Samantha Loper also said that landlords could provide the department with a list of tenant emails, and the department could email the bill for the unit to both the landlord and tenant. However, she also noted that when she has extended that offer to some landlords, they have declined as they did not want tenants to know the amount being billed by the department.
The meeting concluded with an executive session to discuss ongoing contract negotiations with no action to follow.
The utilities commission will meet next at 3 p.m. on Aug. 20.