By Mary Macedo, Neighb News Correspondent
At its meeting on Monday 6/14, the Fairhaven Board of Public Works discussed another abatement, and announced a few more openings for summer help.
Board member Cameron Durant was absent from the BPW meeting due to a family emergency, and board member Frank Coelho joined the meeting via Zoom. All other board members attended in person.
The board first met driveway contractor Antone Medeiros about adding a few more feet to a current driveway he is working on. Mr. Medeiros explained that he started expanding a driveway on Timothy Street with a permit, but as they started the work the homeowner asked if they could expand the driveway another eight feet.
Mr. Medeiros said it is the last house on the street and it is a dead end, so there should be no issues with expanding the driveway.
BPW Chairperson Brian Wotton said he thought it was a great idea and will help get more cars off the street because it is right near Wood School where there is a lot of school traffic on the streets.
The board voted unanimously to grant the request.
In another matter the board met with Jessica Jeffery about an abatement. Ms. Jeffery said she received her most recent water and sewer bill and it was $4000, almost five times their normal amount.
Ms. Jeffery explained that they have checked for leaks and water running, but there is no evidence that there has ever been a leak or anything else. Ms. Jeffery said there is no explanation as to why or how their bill was that high.
Ms. Jeffery explained that town employees have been coming to her house to check the water frequently since she received that bill, but now the water meter has been reading normally and is back down to her normal usage.
BPW Superintendent Vinnie Furtado said that Water Superintendent Jeff Furtado denied the abatement because there was no evidence of a leak.
Vinnie Furtado said he reached out to the Town Administrator to see if they could possibly do payment plans for residents in situations like this. Mr. Furtado said that they can never abate water, but they could possibly abate sewer, but they need evidence and right now there is none.
Ms. Jeffery said she cannot afford to pay the whole bill at once, but she could pay just the water part.
Mr. Wotton said the bill looks to be about 50/50 payment wise for the water and sewer.
Vice-Chairperson Robert “Hoppy” Hobson said if they allow Ms. Jeffery to only pay half the bill it is going to open up a can of worms. Mr. Hobson said they have never allowed an abatement.
Board member Marcus Ferro said that Ms. Jeffery’s situation seems different than other abatements. He said in the last abatement issue the resident had evidence of a toilet leak, but Ms. Jeffery has no evidence of anything and has no clue how her bill was so high.
Vinnie Furtado said everyone sympathizes with Ms. Jeffery, but an abatement is not possible right now. He said he would advocate for a payment plan.
Jeff Furtado said that have had a lot of issues for this last billing period and the town should really look into allowing payment plans for these situations.
Mr. Wotton suggested that Ms. Jeffery try to get some evidence of what happened and see if a plumber could help and then come back in front of the board with her findings.
Mr. Wotton made a motion to table the issue to see if Ms. Jeffery can obtain some evidence. Mr. Wotton and Mr. Ferro voted in favor of the motion and Mr. Coelho and Mr. Hobson voted against the motion. The motion tied and did not pass.
Mr. Hobson made a motion to deny the abatement. Mr. Hobson and Mr. Coelho voted in favor of the motion and Mr. Wotton and Mr. Ferro voted against the motion. The motion tied and did not pass.
With Mr. Durant absent from the meeting there was no way to break the tie, so neither motion passed.
Mr. Wotton told Ms. Jeffery that she can still go and try to get evidence and come in front of the board if she finds anything.
Mr. Wotton said he would like to talk about the abatement policy, as well as payment plans at the next BPW meeting.
Mr. Furtado also announced that there are two job openings in the Water Department, one job opening in the Sewer Department, and one more Lifeguard position.
In another matter Mr. Ferro suggested that the board meet with the new Tree Warden to discuss how they can all work together.
Mr. Hobson said before the new Tree Warden was elected it seemed like he wanted to work with the BPW, but at Town Meeting the Tree Warden changed his story.
Mr. Ferro agreed and said the board should try to meet with the him, so they can better understand if it wants to work with the BPW.
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