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Health & Fitness

I&I Citizens Input Hearing Testimony

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Tom Stanley, Neighbor

    

Waltham City Clerks Office

610 Main Street, Waltham, MA 02452

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(781) 314-3120

Rosario C. Malone, CMC​        Thomas J. Curtin

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City Clerk​        Assistant City Clerk

​

​5/7/2014

 

Minutes of the Economic and Community Development Committee’sCitizen Input Hearing regarding I&I 5-6-14

 

 

Chairman Stanley called the Hearing to order at 6:35pm

Attendance: Chairman Stanley, Councillors Logan, Darcy, LeBlanc and Fowler

Off Committee, Councillors Giordano, Rourke and Romard

 

Chairman Stanley made opening remarks establishing the process for the hearing and what he hoped the hearing could do to help all parties. The following are his opening remarks:

 

Opening Remarks

o Thank you for being here tonight.  As you know, we are here to investigate the city’s issues with respect to “Inflow and infiltration” or “I&I”.  o I/I occurs when groundwater and storm water seep into sewer pipes.  This is problematic because the increased volume flowing through the sewer pipes causes an unnecessary strain on sewer treatment systems, and causes sewer system overflows that pollute public waters and pose a serious public health and safety concern.o In fact, between 2008 and 2010, there were 13 reported sewer overflows in Waltham resulting in the discharge pollutants into the public water supply.o We know that I/I is traditionally a result of antiquated infrastructure and problems typically peak after heavy rain events, snowmelt or when the groundwater table is at its highest.o The two primary ways to mitigate I/I is to repair or replace infrastructure (such as sewer pipes, storm drains, etc.), or to limit the flow of sewer through the system.• The I/I problem in Waltham was so severe that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) required the city to enter into an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) to remedy the problem.  This ACO has been in place for a number of years, but was reissued in 2010 with the certain requirements such as establishing a “sewer bank”, removing 4 gallons per day of I/I for everyone one new gallon added to the system, and redirecting sump pumps from the sewer system to an alternate source.• As part of the ACO, the city is required to submit semi-annual reports to DEP in January and July of each calendar year. These reports summarize the status of the city’s I/I mitigation efforts. While this information is public and available through a public records request either at city hall or DEP, none of these reports are made available to the public via the city’s website.• This coming August, the city is required to provide DEP with a 5-year summary of the progress made to date and the city’s strategy for the next 5 years. While I’m sure many of you will be glad to finally understand the city’s plans for a long term I/I solution, and if a long term strategy exists. However this issue has been brought to my attention so many times over recent years that I didn’t want to wait until August to learn what the city has planned.  • If city hall is not inviting your comment on this critical issue, the city council will step in and do so. And we are here tonight to do just that: to open the lines of communication on I/I between business and local government. We value your input and want to work with you toward solutions that benefit everyone. I suspect there are better ways to achieve our goals, but we can only move toward them if we are fully informed and have all impacted parties at the table. We thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to join us tonight, and we will now get started with comments.

 

 

Speakers

 

Bob LeBlanc, Residential Construction. Mr. LeBlanc expressed his concern over the experience he has had.  When building five houses off of Forrest Street Mr. LeBlanc was told he would need to find his own projects to satisfy his I&I obligation.  It was suggested to him that he go door to door fixing illegal sump pumps.  He feels there is no plan in the Engineering Department.  He finally paid 16 thousand dollars to another developer to satisfy the obligation.  Mr. LeBlanc feels the City should hire an engineering consultant to find the scope of the problem and then fix it, spreading the charge across the city tax base.  Mr. LeBlanc also questioned how much money for I&I has been collected andwhere has it gone.  Also what is the extent of the Infiltration today?

 

Tom LeBlanc, Kitchen Company.  Mr. LeBlanc spoke of misconceptions people have of the way this is working because it’s never the same.  Mr. LeBlanc wanted to know where is the money that is being collected for I&I being held and what is it being spent on. Further Mr. LeBlanc wanted to know is there a clear plan for I&I and if so where is it.  Mr. LeBlanc is very concerned that the City is enforcing a one year vacancy rule where if the property is vacant for one year than no credit exists for that property.  Mr. LeBlanc said that rule is no where in writing.  He feels there is no clear plan or policy on enforcement.

 

Bob Francis, Commercial Real Estate.  Mr. Francis’s experience has been that he has had prospective tenants that have been scared after talking to the engineering and building departments because they have no clue as to their final cost for I&I.  Mr. Francis said he has had dozens of deals fall through because of I&I.  Mr. Francis feels it is wrong that the I&I program is being funded on the backs of new tenants, builders and developers.  He feels there is no equity.

 

Randy LeBlanc, Heating Contractor.  Mr. LeBlanc’s experience was that there was no up front information regarding the cost of I&I, then when applying for the Certificate of Occupancy was told the I&I cost was 50 thousand dollars.  He said businesses are givingup and walking away from partially done projects because of the cost being so high and given at the last minute.  Additionally Mr. LeBlanc is concerned that there is no allowance for Handicapped bathrooms that are being required.

 

Hepe Alvarez, Manager Solea Restaurant.  Ms. Alvarez spoke of how they built Solea in 2001 with no problems and then expanded in 2008.  When the expansion was complete they were told they would have to pay a huge I&I bill to get her CO.  They have been waiting for four years to resolve this.  She knows personally of other restaurants that have gone elsewhere due to the I&I uncertainty.

 

Doug Waybright, Nelson Companies.  Mr. Waybright spoke of the building permit today has the I&I information on it.

 

Bob Perry, Elephant Walk Restaurant.  Mr. Perry was facing a 26 thousand dollar bill for I&I and that was a contributing factor on his decision to stop expansion.  He feels that this program is disproportionally hard on small businesses.  Waltham is being put at a competitive disadvantage.  Mr. Perry expressed that I&I has perversions in it, because you get nothing out of it, only that you can open, but you get nothing for your money.  When developing a new project the Engineering Department would only speak to him so far, and then refused to speak to him.  They would only speak to a landlord.  Mr. Perry said the Engineering Department told him they couldn’t calculate his I&I exposure he would need to hire a third party consultant. But then they decide if it’s right.  He also feels that the one year vacancy rule is a penalty for those already struggling.  Mr. Perry said the whole thing smacks of politics, with established companies funding elections they don’t have to share the burden.

 

Ralph Amelia, developer and landlord.  Mr. Amelia said the City Council doesn’t know about the I&I program, they just signed something because the mayor told them to.  He feels it’s a bad enough economy as it is this is making it worse.  Mr. Amelia told of when his tenant that had been there since 1997 and left, the engineering department would not apply a credit because they never had a I&I application.  Mr. Amelia said there was no I&I back in 1997 but he had to pay or he would not get his CO.  Mr. Amelia feels this is extortion.

 

Freddy Camarado, Developer.  Mr. Camarado described the process as ludicrous that you have to hunt down your own project to do, using networking to find the gallons you need.  He also stated that the word on the street is “Walk away from Waltham”.  Mr. Camarado is very frustrated dealing with part time employees.  He said if you need something that doesn’t fall on the two days a week that person works then you are out of luck.

 

Thomas Blakely, Commercial Real Estate Broker.  Mr. Blakely feels the City has lost itsway.  I&I has become a deal breaker.  He said there is a lot of collateral damage being done to other business.  Lack of occupancy is hurting the tax base.  He feels the City should not be making it worse for business when they are already down.  Also don’t let the I&I morph into something else, abolish this process and spread the cost.  In closing he told of a prospect that he had that was told they would have to pay the I&I and dig up the street next to the site.  The Prospect walked away.

 

Nick Pappas, Lizzy’s Ice Cream.  Mr. Pappas told of how he used to be interviewed about how Waltham had turned around Moody Street. Now he said he hears businesses say it just too difficult to do business with the city.  He feels everyone should be paying to solve the problem, it’s about fairness.

 

Pete Abair, Mass Biotech Council.  Mr. Abair expressed that the Biotech Council wants the Industry to thrive in Waltham but the I&I has become an impediment to their members coming here.  They can go to other cities and towns that have a transparent process.

 

Paul Joyce, Astra Zeneca.  Mr. Joyce told of his experience where the planning of his expansion project was very difficult because the I&I was an unknown amount.  It became a project liability issue when faced with doing contract work to satisfy the I&I obligation.  Mr. Joyce feels the City have an assessment of the problem done so someone reports back is the problem getting better or worse.

 

Paul Finger, Consultant Services.   Mr. Finger feels the educational component is lacking in the process.  The two tier process is an advantage for small businesses but there are fewer projects to be done for the larger companies and this is creating a back log, in some cases he has clients waiting four years for a CO.  There is no equity in the cost per gallon to do a repair.  Also the exposure is open ended.  Mr. Finger said people are walking away.  He feels we should charge all users and spread the cost.

 

Joe Connors, Attorney.  Mr. Connors said there is a great disconnect because of the unknown cost to do projects. The repair projects are harder to find and are becoming more costly.  He also stated that no one has been able to show him in writing the vacancy rule.

 

Bill Doyle, Doyle Engineering.  Mr. Doyle stated that city money for maintenance is either being underfunded or mismanaged. All the infrastructure is being underfunded and soon we will have in our drinking water the same infiltration problem that we have with the sewer system.

 

Rich Monopoli, Vice President Boston Properties.  Mr. Monopoli said they can understand the cost on new construction but on vacant space you’re kicking an asset when it’s down.  Also predictability of process is important when planning.  Mr. Monopoli stated that his company would bather pay than find work to done in the citybecause of liability concerns.  Mr. Monopoli also asked when is this done. It’s been ten years.  The City must become more competitive.

 

Stephen Zieff, Developer.  Mr. Zieff feels the City is at a competitive disadvantage because of I&I.  The City has lost value and developers can go elsewhere and have a known result. Further he stated that the plumbing regulations don’t equate to the sewerregulations.

 

Robert Coleman, Real Estate Appraiser.  Mr. Coleman feels what is at issue is the cost of occupancy.  Tenants are coming to town and are being told the cost of I&I can be 20 thousand to 50 thousand dollars and they are going elsewhere.  The I&I program is having a negative impact on companies bottom line.  Mr. Coleman feels the City should use the betterment process to make the cost more palatable. Also seek more chapter 90 funds and make the MWRA share the burden.

 

After all testimony Chairman Stanley opened the floor to questions from Councillors.

 

Councillor Leblanc asked Mr. Finger what cities do the I&I well.  He replied Quincy and Cambridge were you pay into a fixed expense system.  The Councillor also asked if the forms were on the City website.  Mr. Finger stated they are.

 

Councillor Darcy asked Mr. Finger if lawsuits regarding I&I against municipalities have been successful.  Mr. Finger wasn’t sure.  Mr. Coleman was asked the average rent for class A office space.  He replied 30 to 50 dollars per square foot.

 

Councillor Logan asked Mr. Finger to confirm that we are asking non city employees to do the study and repair work.  Mr. Finger stated that was correct.  That answer concerned the Councillor.  Councillor Logan also stated that the vacancy rule is not part of our ordinance.  Further, the process is not being managed correctly.  He has had to go as far as to recommend to a restaurant owner that they sue the City.

 

Councillor Fowler said the problem is pretty clear and now let’s just fix it.

 

Chairman Stanley made closing remarks. He thanked everyone and assured them that action from the Council would be coming.  Chairman Stanley’s closing remarks follow:

 

Closing Remarks

• It is evident that much work needs to be done to create a better partnership with businesses on this issue. Part of that collaboration must include a permanent, consistent and reliable means of communicating with city hall on this issue. While it was very important for the Economic Development Committee to hear your comments tonight, it is unrealistic and unsustainable for the city council to be performing this role on a regular basis. There needs to be some structure changes at city hall. There needs to be someone at city hall who is responsible to take calls from businesses on this and every issue, and then advocate for ways to better serve our business community within city hall. This issue is far too important to ignore the business community any longer.• There is a lot of opportunity to find better solutions to address I/I removal without running our businesses either out of town or into the ground and city hall needs to get working on finding those solutions.• One way is to seek state grants and loans to fund some of this work. This is a community problem, and the cost burden for fixing it should not be carried by businesses alone.• I am discouraged that the city has not taken of advantage of very low interest loans from the State Revolving Fund since 2007, despite the fact that these “loans” provided for 0% interest during the Great Recession years when ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Funds) subsidized the program. Communities with similar I/I problems all over state took advantage of those 0% loans, but Waltham dropped the ball.• Finally, I want the city to come before the council and present their 5-year report, which is due to DEP in August. I also want to hear the plans for the next 5 years. Again, this is a community wide problem that requires community wide input.  Policies developed behind closed doors are never as effective as those developed with stakeholder input.• Thank you again for taking the time to be here tonight. I commit to you all here tonight that I will continue working with my colleagues both here on the Waltham City Council and my colleagues at the State House, to promote more transparency on this issue and more sound policies locally.

 

 

Chairman Stanley adjourned the Committee at 8:56pm.

 

Thomas J. Curtin

Assistant City Clerk

Clerk of Committees

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