Putting the ‘water’ in Waterbury: Utility district holds annual meeting

July 10, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Waterbury's wastewater treatment plant sits along U.S. Route 2. File photo by Gordon Miller.

In a year of many elections, Waterbury managed to squeeze in one more on Wednesday without fanfare. 

The Edward Farrar Utility District held its annual meeting with several people spread out in the Steele Community Room at the municipal offices and the rest taking part online using Zoom. 

A total of 17 voters cast ballots in the district’s election in which three incumbent commissioners ran unopposed for re-election: Natallie Sherman and Robert Finucane each for one-year terms, and Lawrence “Lefty” Sayah for a three-year seat. 

Now that Waterbury’s village government is in the history books after it was dissolved in 2018, the utility district is the remaining municipal entity created to run the Water and Wastewater Treatment Departments. 

Municipal Manager William Shepeluk along with Town Clerk Carla Lawrence oversee the routine business with its elected Board of Commissioners making decisions. 

The district’s annual meeting is supposed to be held in early May. This year’s was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and statewide stay home order in effect at that time. 

Commissioner Skip Flanders chaired Wednesday’s annual meeting. Aside from the elected and appointed officials involved, the event drew another five or six local residents. 

Pete Krolczyk and his Operator of the Year award. Photo courtesy Treatment Plant Operator magazine.

The district’s annual report is available online on the town website and paper copies are available from the town clerk’s office for those interested in the details. 

Flanders noted the report is dedicated to the Public Works Department staff, its cover bearing a photo of four of them all wearing face masks: Brad Roy, assistant operator at the wastewater treatment facility; Bill Woodruff, public works director; Scott Guyette, operator at the water treatment plant; and Pete Krolczyk, wastewater treatment plant operator. 

The report also highlights that Krolczyk in 2019 received the Wastewater Operator Excellence Award from the Green Mountain Water Environment Association. An article about Krolczyk who has worked for the Waterbury department for 16 years is included in the annual report reprinted from the May edition of the industry trade publication Treatment Plant Operator. 

Looking back and looking ahead  

The annual report contains the district’s budget details along with reports from the commissioners and the town manager that highlight important developments in 2019 and the first half of 2020. 

They note the Main Street construction project that is replacing water and sewer lines, some of which are more than 100 years old. The district is paying 2% of the costs for that work which amounted to just over $54,000 in 2019 and is expected to cost about the same this year. The total cost of the water and wastewater improvements is $2.7 million, according to the manager’s report. 

Shepeluk in his report told of successful negotiations in 2019 to add into the public water and sewer systems the lines serving the 26-home Waterbury Commons development between Lincoln Street and East Street. Shelepuk described that effort involving the municipality, residents and the developer Paul Arnot as “agonizingly slow” at times but also “a wonderful case study of how a local government and its citizenry can work to address concerns and resolve problems.”  

The demolition of the former town offices building at 51 Main St. gets a mention in both reports. Destroyed by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, the property is owned by the utility district and has been converted into a lighted parking lot for use during the Main Street construction project. Later this year and into 2021, Shepeluk notes, the commissioners will look to future plans for the site that could range from making it a permanent parking lot or selling it for redevelopment. “Of course there will be an opportunity for public comment and input about all options,” he writes. 

In their report, the commissioners note that 51 South Main originally was owned by Elias Marsh, the oldest son of Waterbury’s first settler James Marsh, and sold after his death with the home constructed around 1815-20. The commissioners say they plan to assemble a presentation on the property’s history for local residents and the Waterbury Historical Society. 

The other spot mentioned for future development is the utility-owned property surrounding the Ice Center. Work has been done to investigate historical sites on the property that could impact future development. Shepeluk said the next year could bring new conversations about expanding recreational facilities there.

An upcoming project of note is the installation of solar panels atop the sludge drying beds at the wastewater treatment plant, an initiative that came together at the suggestion of a local middle school student, Canon Parsons.  

Longer-term, the commissioners have signed off on design plans and permitting work on several improvement projects for the water system that involve upgrades to transmission lines and some expansion of the system along Route 100. These projects would await funding should federal infrastructure grants become available. 

Pandemic prompts breaks for customers

The manager’s report outlines the flurry of activity since March to brace for the economic impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns. Shepeluk notes that budgets approved before March for water and wastewater operations have been scaled back by just over $172,000. Those savings were gained by keeping a vacancy open and laying off a part-time employee, postponing staff pay increases, delaying some work projects, and pushing off the purchase of a new pickup truck. 

Cutting costs came as the district made decisions to reduce charges to  many customers given business shutdowns this spring. Water and sewer charges for the second quarter were waived for nearly all customers, totaling $200,000, Shepeluk said. 

“The commissioners hope that this waiver of fees will be helpful to business owners and residents alike who may be suffering from reduced incomes during this state of emergency,” Shepeluk writes in his report. 

The water department reserves can absorb the lost fees and that the sewer fund would borrow from the district’s Urban Development Action Grant loan fund to cover the shortfall, he added.

In addition to the break on water and sewer bills, the commissioners also waived loan payments and interest accrual on $1.1 million of loans to eight businesses and organizations that are borrowers from the UDAG fund. The grace period runs through the end of 2020, Shepeluk explains. “This generous action taken by the commissioners is intended to help these eight businesses to remain viable over time,” he writes. 

In Wednesday's barely 40-minute annual meeting, several items of business were approved on unanimous voice votes including: 

• Accepting reports that contain 2020 budget breakdowns: expenditures for property management are $14,550; water department $1,084,235; sewer fund $879,100.

• Annual compensation for the district’s officers was set at the same rate as 2019: commission chair $1,450; other commissioners $1,250 each; clerk $550.

• Permission to borrow for up to five years up to $200,000 for water system improvement projects and up to $275,000 for wastewater system projects.

The utility district’s board of commissioners meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month. Meeting agendas and minutes are online at waterburyvt.com.