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September, 2003

Dear Future Sewer User:  

We are writing this informational letter to all property owners scheduled to receive sewer service as a result of the Stockbridge Sewer System Expansion and Upgrade Project.  This is the first of what will likely be many future such letters as the project proceeds over the next two years.   

As most of you may have heard, the Town finally received approval in late August from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), allowing us to award construction contracts for the project.  The Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade contract has been awarded to J.H. Maxymillian of Pittsfield, and the Sewer Collection System contract for the Mahkeenac, Goodrich, and Glendale neighborhoods has been awarded to Ludlow Construction of Ludlow.  Pre-construction conferences have already been held for both contracts and work is expected to begin soon.  

Ludlow Construction has advised us that they anticipate beginning work in the first week of October, in the Mahkeenac neighborhood to take advantage of the ending of the tourist/second homeowner season.  The first visible signs of activity will be the delivery of pipe and other construction materials and equipment.  It is expected that the first digging will occur along Mahkeenac Road as this is the location of the primary sewer main for that area.  Construction will consist of digging trenches in the road, installing pipe, including lateral pipes to the property line of each home along the line. Prior to actual construction, the location of these lateral pipes will be marked with a stake, showing the place where you will be expected to connect the pipe from your house to the main.  Should you wish to alter this location for any reason, you must advise us as soon as possible, by calling 298-4714.  As long as a requested change does not incur additional cost for the Town or the contractor and is approved by our engineers, we will honor such requests where possible. 

We have had several questions regarding the timing of when residents will need to make actual connections to the sewer and how this process should be undertaken.  In order for any property to connect to the sewer, an application needs to be filled out which contains information/details about the connection and submitted to us with an application fee of $100.00.  Upon receipt, the application will be reviewed by Tony 
Campetti, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator, who will discuss any questions he may have with you, your contractor and/or engineer, and provide a recommendation to us.  The application will be reviewed at our next scheduled meeting with a decision 
usually made at the same meeting.  You will be notified of the approval, at which point, you can start the construction of the connection.  This work will need to be 
coordinated with Mr. Campetti as he will need to observe the work before any installation is backfilled.  Before you will be allowed to begin using the connection, a connection fee of $450.00 per bedroom (number of bedrooms being determined by the Board of Assessors) will need to be paid to the Town Collector.  At this point, the final connection will be approved and you may begin using the Town’s sewer system.  

Since it is not expected that the first sewer work will actually be completed until sometime next summer, applications will not need to be filed until shortly before that time.  We will advise each neighborhood by letter when applications should start being submitted.  

Also, we have revised our application process and attempted to make it more user friendly.  Should your connection be fairly simple and straightforward, it is possible that you, with the help of your plumber and/or excavating contractor, will be able to fill out the application and provide us with enough details to avoid having to hire an engineer.  We hope that most connections will be able to use this process, but we reserve the right to require additional technical information and/or engineering on a case by case basis.  

For those properties which will require a low pressure connection and sewer grinder pump, you are advised that we have voted to require that all such connections utilize the E-One Model GP2010 grinder pump in order to assure continued reliability and compatibility with our system.  In order to try and achieve cost savings, the Town recently issued a request for guaranteed price proposals for this pump and received a quote from F.R. Mahoney & Associates of Rockland, MA to provide these pumps to interested homeowners for the lump sum price of $2,670.00 for the 240-Volt model and $2,764.00 for the 120-Volt model.  A copy of the product’s cut sheet, containing technical specifications, is available upon request.  Should you wish to take advantage of this contract, please contact us at 298-4714.  

We hope this letter has been helpful as we begin this long awaited project.  More such communications will be forthcoming in the months ahead in an attempt to make the construction of this project as painless as possible.  

Thank you for your patience.  

Sincerely,  

Stockbridge Sewer and Water Commission