On Tuesday afternoon, Tata & Howard engineer Jon Gregory presented a $315,000 services agreement for the design and bidding of the Mattapoisett Water Treatment Plant upgrade that the engineering firm has been working on for years with the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission.
“We’re ready to go ahead and execute this agreement,” said Gregory. “This is the full-scale design and bidding services agreement for the plant upgrade.”
Gregory summarized the agreement as split into two projects: procurement (a means to purchase the ultra-filtration equipment approved by the commission for installation at the plant) followed by the overall full design of the upgraded plant, including specifications for the installation of the new Puron filtering system and all associated upgrades.
Some aspects of that phase include subsequent work and subcontracting with an electrical engineer and a structural consultant for the storage of “hefty” equipment in the loft area. The agreement includes all the piping, submitting of applications with the state Department of Environmental Protection for its approval and working with vendors.
“Senior-level staff will be working on this,” said Gregory, who on June 6 submitted the agreement for the commissioners’ review.
“I just want to interject to the group, there is a large amount of work to put this project together … the cost seems justified. I have no issues with this at all. There are a lot of opportunities to upgrade the plan,” said Commission Chairman Vinnie Furtado.
Gregory clarified that there will be a separate piece that involves the actual construction.
The commission voted to approve the agreement, putting the project into motion.
The commission unanimously voted to approve an amendment adding $5,000 to the FY22 Tata & Howard (general) Operations Engineering Agreement.
“We exceeded the scope,” said Gregory in detailing the reasons for the request, including the coordination of meetings, technical assistance during the boil order and preparation for Town Meeting for plant upgrades. He said the $5,000 will get Tata & Howard through FY22 with a new, not-to-exceed fee of $35,000.
Gregory did not see any reason why the overage should carry over to the Tata & Howard FY23 Operations Engineering Agreement, which will not exceed $30,000. “At present we feel that the present scope will cover FY23,” said Gregory. Bailey said he has no issues with the document as presented by Gregory. The commission voted unanimously in favor of the FY23 agreement.
Addressing the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee, Gregory said that the Tata & Howard FY23 Hydrologic Monitoring Engineering Agreement is not to exceed $35,000. The committee voted to move forward with the agreement and authorized Vinnie Furtado to sign off.
The committee approved the purchase of two level loggers at a total cost not to exceed $1,600.
The MRV will soon be advertising for part-time bookkeeping help.
Vinnie Furtado collaborated with respective commission and committee treasurers Wendy Graves and Jeff Furtado on a job description and invited suggestions from both memberships.
As a starting point, it was agreed that the contracted bookkeeper would spend approximately five hours per month on regular duties pertaining mainly to the committee and some to the commission, prepare an annual report and also participate in budget meetings.
Monthly invoices for the commission totaled out to $90,478.08, including a bill from the Town of Mattapoisett for its fourth-quarter (FY22) payment of $43,432.49 for salaries and wages.
Committee Treasurer Jeff Furtado reported a total account of $266,733.02 minus $150,000 encumbered for the MRV land protection partnership for a net total of $160,733.02.
The next meeting of the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12, at 3:30 pm with the MRV Water District Commission meeting to immediately follow at 4:00 pm on the same Zoom call.
MRV Water District Commission/Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee
By Mick Colageo