Newburyport Public Schools: Today teachers and staff returned to school for a wonderful welcome from Superintendent Sean Gallagher and the administration. Students return tomorrow for the first day of school and no early heat dismissals are planned for this week. All new hires across the district were introduced and the Superintendent shared a video of what our world will look like in 2028- www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpEFjWbXog0. Wishing all our teachers, instructional aids, administrators and especially our students a magnificent year!
Project Updates: all were very pleased with the newly paved middle school parking lot- striping should occur by the end of September.
Technology Upgrades: The last of the tech upgrades were completed at NHS on Friday.
Nock Elevator: Total Approved Budget $346,100.00
Design & Engineering (GGD) (21,050.00)
Construction Contract (Campbell Construction) (295,500.00)
Miscellaneous Costs
-Bid Document Management (Project Dog) (675.00)
-Elevator Mechanic for Pre-bid Meeting (Embree) (218.00)
-Fire Alarm Programming-estimated (Simplex) (3200.00)
Uncommitted Budget Balance $25,457.00
Elevator passed inspection on Friday 8/24
DPS Updates:
Graf Rd. Lift Station: Project is proceeding very well, the next step is to install the Motor Controls and Instrument Controls which is anticipated to be delivered to site on 9/17. The existing lift station is of concern and the timeline is tight to transfer function to the new site.
The Water St. Lift Station has been problematic given the age but the upgrades from 3 to 5 HP pumps has made a significant difference and we are now waiting on the new check valves; fuel tank and generator issues are being addressed and a new slab was rebuilt with permission from the Conservation Commission.
PI Hydrants: this project is complete, with the exception of the paving trenches, these trenches need time to settle. The Contractor owns this for the next two years.
Air Vac System: the 4 main pumps at the Olga Way station are 12 years old with typical life expectancy of 10 years; the newest pumps have been redesigned and we are looking at means to upgrade to these new pumps.
New Water Main on Toppans Lane – the pressure test passed and no bacteria was found, the project is very close to completion.
Water Plant: water reserves remain positive at 92-94%. Sampling of residents’ water for lead and copper was completed per DEP requirement with 30 residents participating; no issues were found. However, during routine sampling of drinking water contaminants, our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this is not an emergency, testing results received on 8/15/18, show that our system exceeds the standard or maximum contaminant level (MCL), for Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) at one testing site on Plum Island. The locational running annual average (LRAA) is determined by averaging all samples at a particular monitoring location during the previous four calendar quarters. The LRAA standard for TTHM is 80 parts per billion (ppb). The 3rd quarter sampling results at one of our sampling sites showed that TTHM, when calculating the LRAA, was 81 ppb. TTHM is a standard, by-product of chlorine used in disinfecting water. As a result letters to all customers and notice in the local paper is required by DEP. Notifications should occur in the next week following DEP approval.
Whittier Bridge Mitigation: We have reached an agreement on the outstanding mitigation with Walsh/McCourt, they will be forwarding a check to the City for $681,181,000; the funds will be used for drainage work and elevation of Spring Lane, the Spofford Rd. sidewalk and partial paving of Ferry Rd.
Custom House Maritime Museum:
The Slate Roof Replacement request for the Custom House Maritime Museum is $101,914. During an emergency roof repair last year, it was found that the entire granite portico is resting on one course of bricks. In the 1970s the repair work on the roof was not done correctly. The emergency repair work stopped the infiltration of water into the museum. As a result, donors have obligated funds for the restoration of the first second and floors of the museum. There is a cost efficiency to repairing both sides of the roof at the same time. Of the $101,914 requested, just over $95,000 would be used to repair the slate roof in a historically accurate manner. The remaining funds would be used to install snow rails to protection pedestrians on the walkways around the building. The museum would be able to raise $20,000 to $25,000 in the next six months to contribute to the project. The CPC voted unanimously to support this project.
The Custom House Maritime Museum is one of the most significant historical buildings in our city. Designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument and U.S. Treasury Building, the Custom House was built in 1835 to facilitate the growing overseas trade and tax collection of imported goods on the waterfront. The vaulted ceilings and cantilevered staircases are hallmarks of Mills’ work. We have an obligation to take care of this important building and this support is exactly what the CPC Historic Preservation funding was designed to do; it was unanimously approved by the committee. This funding should be an entirely separate consideration from anything the NRA is proposing and whether you support or object to their plan- the goal, regardless of future ownership (City, WFT or CHMM) is to preserve this building and protect the important artifacts under its roof.
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC): A special meeting has been called for 9/6 at 6 pm in the City Hall Auditorium to discuss High St. and the car incident of a few weeks ago.
Personnel: Today we welcomed our new HR Director Lori Bunyan, her information will be before you for your next City Council meeting.
Students arrive for the first day of school tomorrow-