The Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission and Water Protection Supply Committee said goodbye to two valuable contributors, as Lauren Farinon and Paul Silva attended their final meeting.
Farinon is leaving her long-standing post as Rochester’s conservation agent, while Silva chose to vacate his seat on the Mattapoisett Select Board.
MRV member William “Nick” Nicholson praised Farinon for her efforts over the years, and Chairman Vinnie Furtado and Vice Chairman Henri Renauld echoed Nicholson’s sentiments. Furtado praised Silva for his “yeoman’s effort with the budget” and offered his thanks, while Rochester Town Counsel Blair Bailey called him “one of the best treasurers” with whom he had ever worked. Tata & Howard delegate Jon Gregory, a regular presenter/reporter for engineering at MRV meetings, said both Farinon and Silva have made invaluable contributions and will be sorely missed.
David Pierce, member emeritus, said he worked many years with both Farinon and Silva. “I think of both of them doing such important work for our committee,” he said, praising their professionalism and “seriousness of purpose…. I hate to see old friends move on, but that appears to be part of life.”
“You guys have been fantastic; this has been one of my favorite committees to work with,” responded Farinon.
Silva volunteered to assist the new treasurer, while Mattapoisett Town Administrator Mike Lorenco has volunteered to take Silva’s place.
Meghan Davis volunteered to take over for Farinon as clerk for both the MRV Water District Commission and the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee.
Gregory presented to the committee charted information comparing the drought late last year against averages in the bodies of water supplying the MRV Water District. He described a “nice recovery,” on average a foot below the 25-percent line as things picked up from December to March.
“If you took the readings over the winter, we’d be on that 25-percent line,” he said, but noted that data from the unusual early spring drought is not yet available.
The Treasurer’s Report to the commission included $58,760.80 in total invoices for the month of May; total monthly chemical purchases of $473.50; Tata & Howard monthly invoices totaling $6,257.66; and Town of Marion quarterly payment of $42,969.80. There were no electrical charges for the month.
It was thought that a $5,000 Tata & Howard check would need to be voided and rewritten to the Town of Fairhaven, but Renauld located the check before the meeting ended, and the commission voted to approve signing and sending.
Wendy Graves, the Finance Director/Treasurer/Collector and Interim Town Administrator of Fairhaven, volunteered as the district commission’s new treasurer. Until recently, Graves was also the part-time treasurer for the Grafton Water District.
The MRV voted to approve for the remainder of Davis’ appointment to September, when the MRV annually reorganizes.
In his Koch Separation Systems update to the district commission, Gregory said some glitches were taken care of, that operators are tweaking ozone levels, and waiting on lab results. He said he will get the report and summarize the findings.
Gregory suggested an FY22 engineering agreement for Tata & Howard not to exceed $30,000 to cover fees such as task and/or operations-type work. The funds are in the MRV’s budget, according to Renauld. Silva suggested what he called “a fair percentage increase … whatever the board feels is reasonable.” The MRV voted not to exceed 5 percent.
In his Tata & Howard report, Gregory discussed chemical bids including potential one and three-year bid options. The preference was to keep the one-year because three-year bids amidst difficulty forecasting could result in inflated bids. The MRV will go with one-year chemical bids.
In his treatment plant report, Renauld said, “It’s a little busy,” citing a humidifier motor fail that was fixed by an electrician, a rescheduling, and a coliform hit on a pilot skid; however, the next water samples came back clean. There was also a manual valve problem.
Jeff Furtado’s Treasurer’s Report to the committee included $2.80 in bank interest, payments of $251.72 to Watling, $50 to Blair Bailey, and $7,064.09 to Tata & Howard. The ending balance for June 1 was $226,504.12. Expenditures since June 2020 have been $45,245.41, and total income since last July is at $85,735.73.
Committee Chairman Vinnie Furtado reported new invoices of $221 and $153 to Meghan McCarthy through April, $3,436.29 for Tata & Howard, $251.72 for Watling, and $50 for Bailey. The committee voted to accept the Treasurer’s Report and pay the new bills.
Gregory requested tabling the review and vote on the Tata & Howard engineering agreement until the MRV’s July meeting. Farinon questioned if the agreement had ever been formalized, and Gregory acknowledged that may in fact be the case, but it will be done. The MRV voted to table the engineering agreement to the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 3, at 3:30 pm (committee) and 4:00 pm (commission).
MRV Water District Commission/Water Protection Supply Committee
By Mick Colageo