TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE
7 Main Street
Whitinsville, MA 01588
Phone# (508) 234-3272 Fax# (508) 234-0821
The Northbridge Board of Health approved these minutes at a meeting held January 29, 2008.
This meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mr. Paul McKeon, Chairman. Other members present were Mr. Steven Garabedian, Mr. Chris Cella and Mr. Scott Chase. Ms. Ann Marie Thompson arrived after the reading and approval of minutes. Also present was Jeanne Gniadek, Administrative Assistant.
Minutes: A motion was made by Mr. Garabedian to accept the minutes of December 11, 2007. Motion seconded by Mr. McKeon; the vote was 2-0 in favor. Mr. Cella and Mr. Chase abstained.
Sunset Drive – Drainage Easement – Discussion: Mr. Steven Garabedian recused himself from the Board to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
Present for this discussion were Arthur and Ruth Kroll. Mr. McKeon informed Mr. Kroll that he has spoken with the Town Manager regarding this matter and that it was agreed that the Board of Health would have a water sample taken to test for fecal coliform only. Mr. Kroll questioned where the sample would be taken. Mr. McKeon informed him that it would be taken from the leach field area. Mr. Kroll suggested that as there are both Board of Health and Conservation issues regarding the water quality and endangered species habitat, that the Board may want to have several contaminants tested for at the same time. Mr. McKeon stated that additional tests would be beyond this Board’s jurisdiction. A test for fecal coliform only would be conducted.
Mr. McKeon informed Mr. Kroll that he was the septic system installer for the new system installed at 48 Sunset Drive back in the year 2000. He stated that he encountered the drainage line in disrepair and repaired it using SDR35 pipe which does not allow infiltration. He stated that this work was done with the approval of the Board of Health engineer and the Design Engineer. He noted that he was not on the Board of Health at the time of the installation. He stated that he viewed the fixture referred to as a vault but informed Mr. Kroll that it is more like a town sewer invert – there is no sump. The two lines enter via a “Y” and then is piped into the leach field.
Mr. Kroll stated that he informed 4 of the 8 Sunset Drive residents the prior day, and will inform the Board this evening, that he is here representing the 1192 Hill Street Trust as Trustee of the Trust – he is not the owner of the property as has been reported in local news. He stated that the Trust has a number of beneficiaries and he is here on their behalf. He stated that the Trust has been trying to sell this land for the past 3 years. A definitive subdivision plan permitting process has been ongoing and several residents from Sunset Drive have appeared at the Planning Board meetings voicing their concerns over drainage and septic issues in this area. Mr. Kroll stated that Mr. Miller (Burnham Miller) wrote a letter to the Planning Board asking that the developer provide town sewer to Sunset Drive. The developer agreed to do that. Mr. Kroll stated that the developer has pulled out of the project forfeiting almost a half million dollars of permitting and hearing costs. Mr. Kroll stated that the reason he wanted to meet with the Sunset Drive residents is that he believes that through the permitting process they have created a problem for them. He stated that Natural Heritage found that the field right at the base of Sunset Drive is a primary habitat for woodland turtles.
Mr. Kroll presented the Board with several maps for their files showing wetland vegetation. He noted that the sewage disposal system located at 48 Sunset Drive is within the 100-foot buffer zone of a bordering vegetated wetland yet the design plan on file does not indicate any wetland areas. Mr. McKeon stated that the design engineer would have been responsible for noting that on the plan and that the vegetation could have been such that it was not apparent that there were any wetlands on the Kroll property. Mr. McKeon stated that engineers carry errors and omissions insurance to cover such mistakes.
Mr. Kroll stated that he would be supplying the office with a complete packet of materials showing wetland delineations which abut not only Sunset Drive, but also Fowler Road and Cooper Road. He stated that this is all endangered species habitat now as well.
Mr. Kroll stated that as part of the permitting process, it was agreed that they would install an enhanced habitat in the Sunset Drive area. As this is all now a no-disturbance area, if there is a problem with the leach field in that area, it is his understanding that all that can be done is to repair what is historic – you cannot enlarge or modify in this area.
Mr. Kroll stated that the beneficiaries of the trust want to get absolute assurance that they do not bear any liability for any complaints of effluent or other pollutants entering that area. He stated that the beneficiaries are well aware of the drainage easements here and they believe that all the responsibility for maintenance of the easement rests with the “grantee”, which would be Tara Trufan, as owner of the property.
Mr. McKeon stated that based on the original agreement the Trust is not responsible for repairs. He stated though that it did not appear that this easement had been carried forward onto each Sunset Drive property’s recorded deed.
Mr. Kroll stated that the Trust attorney is planning to prepare a document which is an easement modification that will get recorded and attached to everyone’s deed to correct the defect of it not being automatically passed down. He stated that the Trust attorney stated that this easement should have been automatically added as attachments.
Mr. McKeon stated that these individuals that purchased these properties some did not even know of the existence of this drainage easement.
Mr. Kroll stated that if a Title search was done it would have been immediately known. He stated that he could not imagine that this information did not immediately pop up when a Title search was being done on these properties. Mr. McKeon stated that he thought it should be right on the deed and that it is not. He stated that if he bought the property and it wasn’t on his deed…Mr. Kroll stated that he had dinner with his attorney last night and that he had said that most people don’t know what is in their deed and that it is largely irrelevant as far as attachments if a Title search was not done.
Mr. McKeon stated that he would try to pull up the Trufan deed and that he will read it word-for-word. He informed Mr. Kroll that the Board would take a water sample to test for fecal coliform. Mr. Kroll asked if the sample would be taken from the vault. Mr. McKeon stated that it would not – it will be taken from the leach field area where it comes out of the ground. Mr. Kroll questioned the test as the water would be coming out of the filter bed. Mr. McKeon stated that if it is failed, then it does not matter, the test will show the fecal coliform contamination. Mr. McKeon stated that he hoped the test comes back with no contamination, otherwise this Board will have a lot of work to do to try to locate the source of contamination. He stated that dye tests don’t always work.
Mr. Kroll questioned how the engineered drawings on file in the Board of Health office do not show the drainage easements on these properties. Mr. McKeon stated that part of the problem was that the Board of Health was the Board of Selectmen back at that time and that their record keeping was not as accurate as it is now. Ms. Gniadek stated that engineers do not typically review Board of Health files in preparation of sewage disposal plans. She stated that she believed that they used the information contained in the deed, metes and bounds, in laying out their plans.
Mrs. Kroll questioned the Title 5 inspection reports on file in the Board of Health office because the report questions how many leach fields there are and as this drainage field is a separate leach field, the inspection report should indicate two and both should have been inspected. The reports she looked at indicated that there was only one leach field.
Mr. McKeon stated that it is his understanding that there are no more septic tanks hooked into this drainage system and that the majority of them do not put their wash water into it either. Mr. Kroll questioned the former Ballou property. Mr. McKeon stated that he was the installer that replaced that metal tank several years ago. He agreed that something fell through the cracks as the Title 5 report does indicate that the laundry is on a separate system which would require the inspector to inspect it, but that did not happen.
Mr. Kroll stated that he would like to encourage the Board, as the Trust will be pulling back and saying that none of this is their problem, that the Board notify inspectors that there are two systems here that need to be inspected. Mr. Kroll stated that he and the residents met with Mark Anderson of Heritage Design Group and that Mr. Anderson informed them that what is in place here is that each property has a primary system and that this secondary system is an informal secondary community system.
Mr. Kroll questioned the location of the vault as it has now been covered. Mr. McKeon stated that it was covered before he worked on the Trufan property. Mr. Kroll questioned how the vault could be pumped if it has been covered. Mr. McKeon stated that the construction of this vault appeared such that the water would flow directly to the leach field, there was no sump, it was simply an invert. He stated that if that was blocked, the water would be backing up right to the top.
Mr. Kroll stated that based on the files in the Board of Health office, he is concerned that because the lots are so small that the systems placed so close to the drainage lines allows the water that leaves the leach field to enter the drainage line and leach field. Mr. McKeon stated that he could not say how far that drainage line is off the property line. Mr. Kroll stated that he could tell Mr. McKeon because he had that information right here. He questioned why this is such an issue when all of this information is right in the Board of Health files. Mr. McKeon stated the “Y” he found was not in the location shown on the Cedric Andrews plan – the plans on file are not 100% accurate.
Mr. Kroll stated his only goal for tonight is to tell the Board what’s going to happen next from their point of view based partly on advice of their lawyers. He stated that he has a near final subdivision plan, but the new developer does not have any obligation to comply with previous agreements such as bringing town sewer to Sunset Drive and the Planning Board cannot compel those. Mr. Kroll stated that what he now has to do is divulge in detailed statements every known defect on the property. Mr. Kroll stated that his lawyers have told him that one of the problems he has is that in the process of wetlands delineation and this habitat process, some problems have been identified – one of them on Hill Street and four of them on Fowler Road. He stated that it was noted that behind several of these houses there were standing pools of water – not vernal pools, but nobody quite knows what the pools are. He stated that he was not going to test those pools but he wanted the Board to know that if they have a Title 5 test done they are not going to make it.
Mr. Kroll stated that he would provide the Board with a complete set of plans detailing the wetlands delineation for this entire area. Mr. McKeon stated that he would provide Mr. Kroll with the results of the water test for fecal coliform as soon as it is received.
Mr. Kroll’s final comments addressed the fact that Mr. Garabedian recused himself from the meeting and he questioned point of order in regard to Mr. McKeon with regard to him being Chairman and septic system installer, does that represent a problem if issues get raised with regard to the installation of the system at the Turfan property. Mr. McKeon stated that he did not believe so. He stated that an outside inspector inspects his work, he does not inspect his own work. This outside inspector also reviews and approves the sewage disposal layout plans. Mr. McKeon stated that he did nothing wrong with regard to the septic installation at Trufan’s – he stated that he does not do sloppy work. Mr. Kroll stated that Tara Trufan needs to know, as she has not communicated directly with him or him to her, that she has succession of that easement. Mr. McKeon questioned the enforcement of that when it is not noted in the deed. Mr. Kroll stated that if Ms. Trufan did not do a Title search or purchase Title insurance, then her saying that she did not know about it will not stand up in court.
Title 5 – Local Variance: 391-393 Purgatory Road: Present for this meeting was Mr. Chris King of Heritage Design Group. Mr. King requested a variance from the Northbridge Board of Health regulations that prohibit the siting of a septic system within 100 feet of a wetland. A Presby system is proposed to replace the failed septic system at this property. The system is to be located at 61-feet from the wetlands; Title 5 requires a 50-foot setback.
Motion by Ms. Thompson to approve local variance. Motion seconded by Mr. Garabedian; the vote was all in favor.
Title 5 – Wal-Mart Supercenter – Quarterly Septic Inspection Report: The Board reviewed the recent quarterly inspection report conducted by Apex Companies. This report noted that the Zabel filter has still not been installed as well as the cycle counters. Additionally, it was noted that one pump ran for 60.25 hours and the other for 26.21 hours. The Board voiced their frustrations over this matter and requested that Heritage Design Group and the installer be called before the Board at their next meeting to resolve this issue. The Board stated that they would issue formal notice to the Inspector of Buildings that there be no further extensions granted on the Temporary Occupancy Permit until this matter is resolved to their satisfaction.
Tom Berkowitz Trucking – MEPA Site Visit - Update: Mr. McKeon updated the Board on the recent MEPA site visit at the Berkowitz Trucking facility. He stated that the MEPA threshold was triggered due to the request for over 75 tons per day of solid waste.
Old & New Business: Ms. Gniadek informed the Board that XtraMart did not submit an appeal of their Tobacco Sales Permit Suspension. She stated that on January 2nd, the first day of suspension, she noted that the establishment had in place the red signs informing customers of the suspension. She inspected the facility later that day and confirmed that all tobacco products had been removed from display.
Ms. Gniadek also informed the Board of a recent positive rabies finding in a skunk. She stated that the skunk attacked a dog on Sullivan Drive and that when the Animal Control Officer went to the property, the skunk was aggressive towards him so it was shot and submitted for rabies testing. The State Laboratory notified all parties involved and discussed with them their risks based on their level of exposure to the skunk. Mr. McKeon asked that an advisory be placed on cable warning residents to be careful handling their pets in this type of situation as rabies is transmitted through saliva. Ms. Gniadek will update the advisory that is currently on cable regarding this incident.
Correspondence: Correspondence dispersed to the Board included:
1. Planning Board Notice – Oakhurst Farm Plaza – Site Plan & Special Permit Withdrawal
2. Berkowitz Trucking – Wood Chipping Notification for the month of January
3. Visiting Nurse Association – Annual Report – 2007
4. DEP Notice – Upcoming Open-Door sessions
5. Blackstone Valley Youth Tobacco Prevention Program Newsletter
6. Sexual Harassment Policy – distributed to Board members
There being no further business, motion to adjourn at 8:20 PM was made by Ms. Thompson, seconded by Mr. Garabedian – all in favor.
Attested by,
Jeanne M. Gniadek, Administrative Assistant