Council Mtg 4/25

The Town Council met on Tuesday night. The main goal was to get an update from some of the Boards and Commissions in town. Those that came, and their points of discussion were:

WPCA seemed to have the busiest agenda (which didn't surprise me). The Chair, Tim Pelton, did a great job explaining their work, including:
1) Request for a permit change for our wastewater treatment plant, increasing our allowable volume beyond our current capacity of 3.5million gallons per day. The DEP has not yet formally acted, but seems to be viewing our request favorably.
2) Review of our "Inflow 'n' Infiltration" (INI) problem which leads directly to our request for an increase in capacity. Inflow relates to basement sump pumps that are being wrongly drained into the sewers. Infiltration relates to cracks in sewer pipes where water enters the pipes.
3) Work on the Plan of Conservation & Development. This plan has a direct impact on the density of land development.
4) The $6million Denitrification Project is up & running. Interestingly, one of the major cost factors with the operations of this addition is methanol. Methanol is some form of energy. So the operating costs on this are (surprise, surprise!) going up.
5) Review of the sewer use fee is being considered. There were several goals mentioned in doing this... three, I think. But the two I recall were to "make a new fee both fair and equitable" and to "cover the operating costs of the WPCD." (Those aren't exact quotes. I just thought it would make reading this easier.)

Planning & Zoning Chair, Patti Flynn Harris, is happy with the new Town Planner, Bill Voelker. And from my own limited experience, I think he's doing a really good job. P&Z is working on the Plan of Development.

Zoning Board of Appeals Chair, Vinnie Lentini, spoke. And afterward a couple people pointed out that he was being too modest in his own view of ZBA. That is, they play a very significant role in town. Similar to P&Z, they are a quasi-judicial body and can be challenged in court. And just recently, a court upheld the ZBA view on a decision. And that speaks volumes about the quality of the ZBA.

Inland Wetlands Chair, Bob DeJongh, spoke of the quality of the membership of his commission. And mentioned the diverse and well-qualified backgrounds of the members. He explained how that diversity and quality benefits the decisions that are made.

Environment Chair, Roland Roy, talked about their review of the Strathmore Woods dam and a few other things. He then asked for more work and direction. So David Schrumm and Elizabeth Esty both suggested that Environment get involved with increasing public awareness of the benefits of water conservation. I didn't mention it last night, but the Energy Commission is planning to give a presentation on clean energy to Environment in the near future. (Hard as though this may be to believe... during Council meetings, I oftentimes refrain from mentioning energy.)

Economic Development Chair, Dave Pelletier, spoke of their work in developing the interchange zone and work on W. Main Street. He also mentioned their desire to do a townwide survey of businesses.

Overall, I thought the meeting was worthwhile. It'll probably be shown on Channel 14 next week, if you're interested. Or check out this article in the Herald.

Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com