The Rochester Planning Board recently issued Shawmut Associates an invoice for an engineering site visit – and Shawmut, said Chairman Arnold Johnson, was not happy about it.
The remaining balance of the company’s escrow account now stands at $791, not enough to cover the invoice for Field Engineering, and now the board says it needs an additional $1,960 or so to cover the entire balance. The original amount of the escrow was $4,000.
Shawmut has requested the accounting of the hours Engineer Ken Motta of Field Engineering spent at the site inspecting the project, a site visit that was the result of some unanticipated “unsuitable soil” encountered by Shawmut during the excavation process.
“Until we get money, we can’t have Field Engineering going out there,” said Johnson. Johnson wondered if the board should pay the invoice out of its own budget and then later recover the money from Shawmut, and also request further funds be placed in the escrow account for future site visits.
The project cannot be approved until the board has its final site visit after Field Engineering has its own site visit to provide the board the necessary data to make the judgment.
The $4,000 estimate for the escrow account was based on the initial plans presented to the board, said Johnson, and Shawmut later altered its plans. The plan change required another inspection, in addition to the unexpected unsuitable soil, which added yet another inspection.
“We’ve exhausted that budget,” said Johnson. “In fact, we’re significantly over.”
Board member Gary Florindo pointed out that the Shawmut project to construct a trash and recycling facility off Cranberry Highway is “an extravagant piece of construction that’s going on at that property,” a scope that should merit an increase in escrow.
“It’s not our problem they ran into obstacles,” said Florindo. “It’s their problem. It’s our problem to make sure it’s done right.”
Florindo said he thinks the right hand should know what the left hand is doing.
“A lack of communication keeps everyone in the dark,” said Florindo.
The board decided to make a few changes to the draft letter, run it by town counsel, and then send it to Shawmut Associates.
Also during the meeting, the board met with Jay Myrto of the Little Quittacas solar project to discuss concerns about drainage basins and some of the vegetation on the property that “is not looking good,” according to Johnson.
There have been some complaints from abutters about several arborvitaes that have turned brown and appear to be dead. Johnson also brought up that one of the basins has been draining slowly relative to the other three. In addition, some of the hydroseed grass that was put down has not yielded grass.
The board sent Field Engineering to inspect the property and generate a report on the findings. Johnson asked Myrto if he received a copy of the report, to which he replied that he had not.
“But I got the invoice,” said Myrto.
Myrto apologized, saying he acknowledges there was a break down in communication and vowed to stay in closer contact with the board.
“To an extent, it was my fault,” said Myrto. He was aware of the concerns the board had, he continued. “But you didn’t know that I knew that.”
Myrto said he would rather keep better communication with the board than pay for a site visit.
The solar facility is generating power and has been since it passed a “witness test” back on December 18, 2013. The facility went online shortly after that.
In other news, Town Administrator Richard LaCamera got the approval he needed from the board to go ahead and purchase “a really neat software system,” as he put it.
Come June, the Town will be utilizing MapGeo, an enhanced web-mapping interface software that allows access to local digital geographic and property data that will standardize the mapping system used by the Conservation Commission, the Planning Department, the Assessor’s Office, and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The total cost of $11,500 was extra money left over in the planning budget due to a delay in hiring the new town planner in January.
Before adjourning, the board briefly discussed some amendments to the Subdivision Rules and Regulations.
There will be a public hearing on the amendments at the next meeting of the Planning Board, which is scheduled for June 10 at 7:00 pm at Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
