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Water Sewer 20230920 Minutes
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Town of Canton Water Sewer Rate Policy Committee 0 801 Washington Street Canton, MA 02021 Meeting Minutes September 20, 2023 Minutes Voted on: 4/24124 Vote: 7-0-0 Committee Members Present: Patricia Cawley, Dan Cole, Dave Emhardt, Randy Scollins, Chris Sykes, Mike Trotta and Walter Spiegel. Committee Members Absent: Ali members present. Guests Present: Ellen Jones, Administrative Secretary to the Finance Director, Opening: Chair Scollins called the meeting to order at approximately 2:00 p.m, and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to review consolidated rankings in response to the two proposals received for the request for proposals (RFP) for consulting services to conduct a cost of water sewer service rate study and to open and discuss price proposals. New Business Vote to Accept June 7, 2023 Meeting Minutes A motion made by Mr. Emhardt to accept the June 7, 2023 meeting minutes was seconded by Mr. Sykes. Vote: 7-0.0. Review Consolidated Rankings for Proposals received from Berry Dunn and Raftelis Mr. Scollins stated that two companies responded to the RFP: Berry Dunn and Raftelis. The Committee members reviewed the two proposals and provided rankings to Mr. Scollins in advance of the meeting. Mr. Scollins compiled all of those rankings into a Consolidated Ranking Grid (see meeting documents). The Committee reviewed the Consolidated Ranking Grid in which Berry Dunn received a combined score of 85 while Raftelis received a combined score of 118. Even if 21 points (maximum perfect score by one reviewer) were added to the combined total score for Berry Dunn the total of 106 would have still been below Raftelis' score of 118. The Committee agreed that Raftelis is the preferable vendor. Mr. Scollins stated that he was surprised the Town only received two responses to the RFP. However, in many cases companies will shy away from bidding on a project if a particular vendor has been used consistently in the past (Raftelis). The Committee felt that Berry Dunn's proposal was focused on providing project management to the Town and not enough emphasis on data/rate structure review. Mr. Scollins will be reviewing FY23 financial results with the Select Board at their September 26' meeting and that question could come up pertaining to the increase in rates for FY24. The Committee agreed that the 26% increase to the water rates for FY24 was justified. Consumption was affected by such factors as demand, new building developments (Stillwater Estates off of Indian Lane), the lack of rain for the summer of 2022 and irrigation usage. The five-year plan that had been reviewed at a prior Committee meeting staled that the rates needed to be raised significantly in year two of the plan in order to meet revenue estimates. Mr. Trotta stated that the prior study done by Raftelis may not have focused on revenue. Ms. Cawley slated that Raftelis had not asked for consumption data from her but could have acquired it from MIS/Mr. Jutras. Mr. Scollins stated that sewer ended FY23 $900,000 ahead of revenues. The Committee is looking for the consultant to conduct a "deep dive' as to whether or not the Town should change the structure and steps of the water and sewer rates. Review of Price Proposals received from Berry Dunn and Raftelis The price proposal received from Berry Dunn was $24,700 over a 16-week period. This equates to an estimated amount of $1,500 per week spent on the project. The price proposal received form Raftelis was $48,810 over a 16-week period or $3,050 per week. Water & Sewer 20230920 Minutes WRS Pagel of 3 9/20/23
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The Committee did not seem concerned at the FY24 budget for the project and agreed that the cost would be split between the water budget and the sewer budget. Mr. Scollins stated that the Town has the right to negotiate with Raftelis on their price. All of the members were not surprised at Raftelis' proposed number as the proposal was far more detailed and addressed more of the specifics outlined in the RFP. The Berry Dunn proposal did not provide enough of a detailed approach to the project. The Committee was in agreement for Mr. Scollins to reach out to Dave Fox of Raftelis to negotiate on the price. Mr. Scollins stated that he would also like to reach out to Berry Dunn to inquire as to how they arrived at their price. A motion made by Mr. Spiegel that subject to the Water Sewer Rate Policy Committee Chair achieving a fair price and contract negotiated that the Committee accept Raftelis as the consultant to perform services to conduct a cost of service rate study was seconded by Mr. Trotta. Vote: 7-0-0. Adjournment A motion made by Mr. Trotta to adjourn the meeting at approximately 3:04 p.m. was seconded by Mr. Spiegel. Vote: 7-0.0. Minutes reviewed by: Randy Scollins Respectfully submitted, �& R , '� -5 A I I:R, Randy Scollins, Chair Water Sewer Rate Policy Committee Water & Sewer 20230920 Minutes WRS Page 2 of 3 9/20/23
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Town of Canton Water & Sewer Rate Policy Committee Meeting Documents September 20, 2023 Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town's website under the Posted Minutes section (Laser Fiche). Agenda for September 20, 2023. Consolidated Ranking Grid prepared by Randy Scollins, Chair of the Water Sewer Rate Policy Committee (2 pages). Berry Dunn Technical Proposal — Cost of Service Rate Study for Water Sewer Service, August 25, 2023, (31 pages). Raftelis Technical Proposal Cost of Service Rate Study for Water and Sewer Services, August 25, 2023 ( 36 pages). Water & Sewer 20230920 Minutes WRS Page 3 of 3 9/20/23