The Fairhaven Board of Public Works held two meetings while we were on our summer publication break.
Sewer line tree root policies
At its meeting on Monday, 7/2 the BPW met with Doug Brady about tree roots clogging sewer lines. It was the second time Mr. Brady met with the board about the issue.
Mr. Brady said that the town used to clear out any sewer lines that had town tree roots clogging the lines, but BPW just recently decided to get rid of that policy. Mr. Brady explained that the town will no longer clean out town tree roots in a home owner’s sewer line and the homeowner is now responsible for cleaning out anything clogging their private line.
He explained that he cannot do anything with the tree because it is the town tree and not his to cut down. He said that he is not an irresponsible homeowner that clogs up his sewer lines and that the only thing clogging the lines is the tree roots.
His sewer line gets clogged from tree roots 1-2 times each year. Mr. Brady said that they have useda camera and it shows clogged tree roots coming in through the connectors.
“It is $800-$1200 to clear lines for something that I can’t control,” Mr. Brady said. “I can’t be the only one with this issue.”
Mr. Brady asked why the BPW would get rid of the clause to clean out roots and if it was a budget issue. He said if it is a budget issue the BPW needs to make a budget for cleaning lines from town tree roots.
Board member Robert “Hoppy’ Hobson explained that some of what Mr. Brady was saying made sense and some did not. Mr. Hobson said that there must be something wrong with the pipe for the roots to be getting in. Mr. Hobson said that Mr. Brady should replace the pipe because the town is not responsible for Mr. Brady’s private pipe.
Board member, Michael Ristuccia explained that the pipe is clay and tree roots can easily break through clay, which is why residents have been replacing their clay pipes with PVC pipes.
BPW Superintendent Vincent Furtado explained that the board has to come up with a remedy because residents will always argue that it is town tree roots and the board will always argue that the sewer pipe is not the town’s pipe.
Mr. Hobson said that the pipe needs to be replaced. Mr. Ristuccia suggested that the pipe be replaced and the BPW split the cost with Mr. Brady or they could just cut down the tree. Mr. Furtado explained that whatever remedy they come up with has to be the remedy for all residents who come forward with this issue.
BPW Chairperson Brian Wotton that he was not in favor of reinstating the Section D line item. He said that when the BPW was cleaning out private lines due to tree roots many residents blamed their clogs on roots when in reality they were clogging their lines with other items.
He agreed that Mr. Brady was a legitimate case and said that the clay pipe needed to be replaced with PVC.
Mr. Ristuccia said that they should come up with a policy for residents whose pipes get clogged 5-10 times in five years, like Mr. Brady’s case.
Mr. Wotton said that he wanted to see the specifics and then discuss changing the policy at a later date.
The board than moved on to approve a driveway waivers for Ming Chow on Shore Dr. and Wayne Oliveira on Bridge St.
Contractor Antone Medeiros said he had a lot of experience and knewd quite a bit about sewer line replacement and repairs. He told the board he was going to replace several lines due to tree roots clogging them.
Mr. Ristuccia suggested that the board halt the conversation with Mr. Medeiros about the sewer lines because Mr. Brady was no longer at the meeting.
The board revisited the sewer line policy discussion later in the meeting and asked Mr. Furtado to bring ideas for a new policy to discuss at the next meeting. The board agreed that a good idea was to clean out roots the first time they appear and if they reoccur, it is the resident’s responsibility to fix the pipe or find a solution.
In another matter the board met with Regina Sisk who wanted to sell ice cream on the bike path. She said the ice cream will be prepackaged items and that she had already been cleared with the police and the Board of Health. The board approved it unanimously.
In another matter the board met with Frank Coelho and Sally Johnson about security and maintenance issues at Little Bay.
Mr. Coelho explained that earlier this year prospected Eagle Scout Alex Sylvaria asked to renovate the building at Little Bay, and Mr. Ristuccia suggested putting security cameras up to protect the new building and prevent.
Mr. Coelho said he wanted to ask about the progress of the project.
Mr. Wotton said that the whole project has been pulled and Mr. Sylvaria will no longer be fixing up the building, therefore there is no use for the security cameras. Mr. Wotton also explained that the security cameras would not work at Little Bay because there is no electricity or wifi to hook the cameras up to.
Mr. Coelho said that Little Bay just feels like its neglected, with vandalism, the lack of maintenance and signage all torn down.
Ms. Johnson also said that many people let their dogs run around unleashed, Ms. Johnson said she has spoken to animal control about dogs running around the area and jumping on people and animal control said to speak to the BPW.
Ms. Johnson was just wondering if the BPW could put up some leash law signs. Mr. Furtado said that they can definitely put up some signs and that they will make sure workers clean up all the overgrown bushes and grass.
In another matter Mr. Furtado explained that they will no longer allow birthday parties to be held at Fort Phoenix and any other areas that need to be requested. He said they had a birthday party there recently with 100 people and they had trucks driving all over the beach.
Mr. Furtado said they also have two more requests for birthday parties with over 120 guests. He said the parks and beaches are nice for small events and weddings, but not for huge birthday parties .
BPW punts tree root policy
At its meeting on Monday, 7/16 the Fairhaven Board of Public Works discussed the Sewer Use Ordinance again, but still did not make a decision. BPW Vice-Chairperson Cameron Durant ran the meeting in Brian Wotton’s absence.
At the last meeting the board asked Mr. Furtado to create a few policies options to discuss.
Mr. Furtado explained three options. One option was for the town to be responsible only for tree roots in the main line and never responsible for roots in the homeowner’s line.
Option two would be that the town is responsible for tree roots forever, but will only be cleared out using an external clean out on the outside of the house. If the homeowner does not have an external clean out they can ask the town to install one or hire someone to install it.
Option three would be that the town is responsible for the tree roots for a year after the first clean out of tree roots, but will only be cleared out using an external clean out on the outside of the house, like option two.
Mr. Furtado said under no circumstances will any Sewer Department employee be entering any homeowner’s house to clean out tree roots or anything at all because there is too much liability involved.
Mr. Furtado also said that they would need a request from the property owner to clean out any town tree roots and the property owner must be on site when the job is being done. He said the clean out will down from outside the house from the external clean out in the side walk and if the clog is deeper in the line underneath the house the town will not do the clean out.
Mr. Durant asked if a lot of residents have an external clean out.
Mr. Furtado said that most residents who have tree root issues have an external clean out. Mr. Furtado said definitely more than half, and if they do not have an external clean out they can request one be installed by the town.
Mr. Durant suggested the board table the rest of the conversation due to it being a very big decision to make without Mr. Wotton in attendance. The board will discuss it at a future meeting.
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