December 2025 Minutes
all minutes are in draft form
December 2, 2025
6:00 p.m.
United Church of Underhill
TRUSTEES PRESENT OPERATORS PRESENT WEB MANAGER
Joe O’Brien
Steve Jennings CLERK ASST. OPERATOR
Tanner Palmer Nancy Benson
1. Call to Order and Welcome. Joe O’Brien called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Joe added Jericho Wastewater Study as 6D under Old Business. The Agenda was adopted as amended.
2. Review and approval of minutes of previous meeting(s). Minutes from the November meeting were approved with the change of Joan Bromley instead of Jean in customer comments.
3. Review and approval of financial statements. The financial statements for November were approved.
4. Customer Comments.
Three customers called complaining about dirty water after the control building hydrant was flushed.
5. Operations Report.
Test Results and Testing.
Bacteria results negative.
Fluoride results within tolerance.
Routine testing and operations.
Maintenance was done on the generators.
6. Old Business.
A. For the O & M Manual, Tim from Rural Water met with Brian. Steve and Joe were there also. Tim was going to take photos, but there was too much stuff in the way. Tim will take them when the area is clear. He did take the manuals. Tim said he knows how to keep the State happy. Joe asked Tanner if he said what it would cost. Tanner said Tim has to do so many pro bono hours per year, so he is not sure if it will cost us anything. The O & M Manual is the only thing left on the sanitary survey.
B. On the Mill Development, Justin Willis has been digging test pits at BRMS. It is mostly gravel and sand.
C. Haven’t heard anything on the Harvest Crossing project. Was the State approval for a 6” or 8” line?
D. Jericho Wastewater Study. Steve asked how many would be on the system. Tanner went to a couple of the meetings. He said since it was municipally owned, it is easier. Steven asked if there is a limit on capacity. When the study was first done, there was more than enough for 300 units. The sewer cannot be put in exclusion area of water wells. That is why the cemetery cannot expand because of the water shed. Jericho wants to expand, but they do not have the room. Will Underhill be included in the sewer project? Tanner believes it will be a five year project. Should we reach out to them to administer? Tanner believes there is a meeting coming up.
7. New Business.
A. Steve and Liam did the work on the roof of the storage building. Steve said the building is askew. He said we should be careful when lifting it. The building needs to be cleaned out. Liam will paint the exterior in the spring.
B. When it was dug down for the cistern repair, Joe was concerned where it was wet. Steve checked and said they didn’t compact it down when filled. Joe talked with Ben at Cutting Edge. He went up and checked and said it was wet, but didn’t think it was leaking. We will keep an eye on it and check in the spring. There has been no increased usage. Will also check on the Butler lawn in the spring.
C. ECI started the excavation on the Route 15 hydrant replacement. Joe, Steven and Brian were there. They could not turn the water off. The valve was covered with mud. They looked from Park Street to Raceway for the shut off and couldn’t find one. They had dug down into it, but couldn’t do because they couldn’t find the shut off. The valve was all rusted and they didn’t want to replace under pressure. Joe told them they couldn’t get it shut off. ECI filled the hole and fixed the sidewalk. Tanner said we should make sure it isn’t washed out. Joe had sent sketches on how to replace. We will have a construction meeting in the spring to practice shutting off the water. We should turn them off and on when flushing.
D. Steve went to the Town garage and filled barrels with sand and he put salt in it. Steve said there is a pressure washer in the control building. He purchased a spill mat, five plastic bins with lids, an all weather extension cord and 6 radios. They took out everything out of the control room, except equipment that shouldn’t be left out. They jimmied the door to put a lock on it. There is lots more room. The container also has room.
E. Stewarts submitted an allocation for a table at the restaurant at Jolley’s. A motion to approve was made and approved.
An allocation request was made for 22 Park Street. The former print shop will have three apartments, a separate house in the back with three bedrooms, and an auxiliary one bedroom. There would be a 1” service line to the three bedroom house, a 1” line off that into the three apartments, and a ¾” line into the auxiliary. The house has a ¾” line. The lines would be the homeowner’s responsibility. Cutting Edge is doing the work. They need a temporary waiver of the bylaw that says no digging after November 1. They want to do the work tomorrow. Tanner asked if it would be filled back in right away. Joe will check with them to make sure they get it done before the freeze on Monday. The connections will cost $10,094.00. We would provide ¾” meters. We will tentatively approve if they can get it done by Monday. The lines can’t be left open. A motion was made to approve the allocation, which was approved.
F. The Poker Hill generator was maintained ten days/two weeks ago. Mice had chewed through the wiring. Joe and Steve asked why there is a generator there. Do they electrify the booster pumps for customers up the hill? The system doesn’t go past the tank. How much power is needed? Joe will find out from Marc how much we need. Are the booster pumps pulling water up? Joe will check with Marc to see what size we need. Is the replacement around $7,000.00? Can it run off solar panels? Should we look into pest control? Bait blocks? If repairs are going to cost 70% of new one, Tanner asked if we should get a new one. Joe will get a bid for a new generator.
Joe told Tanner the lead copper replacement plan needs to be done by November, 2026. He will give him the format to follow.
8. Next Regular Meeting. Next regular meeting tentatively set for December 30, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. If not needed, the next regular meeting will be February 3, 2026.
9. Review and Approve Bills. Bills were reviewed and approved.
Adjournment. The regular meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Benson, Clerk/Treasurer
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Joe O’Brien, President