recording in progress. Good evening. Welcome to the July 7th, 2025 meeting of the Armouth Board of Health. Just a reminder don't if you need if you're not here you and would like to participate or you had called in all the information is on our website of
how to connect to the meeting. Okay. So call to order. We need uh to find out whether we have a quorum. Eric, are you here? Present. Mary present. Hillary. Larry here. That's four. Mary, you think that meets
our needs tonight? I think so. Does okay. metum. Great. Public comment time here. Um and I would just ask that um if any comments let uh let's not include the green home burial regulation
in that. Okay. So does anyone else here? Anything they want to bring to our attention? Please do so now. Any business out there? I don't see any hands.
Nothing. Okay. The fourth item on on your agenda is the public hearing of the green home burial regulation. Uh Barry, so what's our responsibility tonight? Tonight, since we voted on everything, we'll hear from the public
if they have any public comments on it. If not, we will move forward and we will sign the home green home burial regulations. Been a long time doing this. Yes.
Yeah. I think we all learned uh about a number of things. Yes. This process. So members of the public, anything anybody wants to say, ask?
Any questions on home green burials? It's been a pretty quiet night here so far. You haven't received any written comments or any comments from people coming into the office? No, ma'am. Okay. I did ask I guess a person called today
um about they're on a cemetery board here and I couldn't stay on online but they wanted to know more details about it because some they uh people are asking about it at for the cemetery just the issue of green burials. So we'll see
there may be some more business in Yarmouth. Okay. So, um, people want to sign this. Ready? There you go. Eric, since Charlie's not here, he's not going
to sign that. I take it. We don't take it to him since he's not here. Perfect. Charlie. Okay. Why don't we talk about that after the meeting? Okay. Yeah. Um, yeah. I'm not sure that he'll Yeah. So at some point he can sign it um if he
wants to or not only because if there were comments here that he didn't participate and that's all. Yep. But we also we certainly have enough people. You just give that right to Sarah. Larry,
Mr. McCertie, congratulations. Yes. Thank you for sticking with us. May I talk for a moment? Why not? Sure. Come have a seat and introduce yourself, though. Thanks. Hello. I'm Ross Mccertie and this
process started off uh probably about 10 months ago uh to honor my father's wishes, Ross Walter McCertie. But this has been a long process and everybody here has worked so hard on this and I just want to say thank you for your hard
work, methodical focus, attention to detail, and patience as this moves slowly. And it's obviously new for the town and probably new for almost every other town. And looking over this, it seems like you probably have the most
organized document of any town in New England and probably most towns in the country. U so I just want to express my deep appreciation for all that you've done and on behalf of my father and I, thank you.
Welcome. Let work down to say hello to you, Dan. Okay, we'll do. Thank you, Hillard. Thank you. Okay, number five. Barry, you want to tell us a little bit about what we're listening to
this evening? I have Alice Ryan. She is the um Aquafund, the septic loan program for the county if you want to come on up. And we also have David Iso. And I apologize, I forgot your name,
so they're with the county program, the septic program since so Alice will probably go first. Uh the town isn't really doing the septic loan program anymore. It's kind of falling through, but the county has one and I just wanted to get it out there for everybody to
know because it's it's a big deal. I mean, everybody on Cape has um septic. And then David's going to talk about um IIA systems and the uh operation and management portion of it. What they're trying to do is streamline the the IA
programs taking away from the towns and using it themselves. They're trying to get the entire cape all on board so every town's the same. It's doesn't cost anything to the town. Kind of takes us out of the the middleman and they they'll take it over. So instead of the
onm operators sending us all the information, then we send it to them. They just they're going to work directly with the operators. So, they're going to go over a little bit of a PowerPoint and everything like that. And after they came and talked to me, actually the next day I had a a very nice seminar out at
the wastewater treatment facility out at the county, out at the joint base. What they're doing out there is amazing. The all the different systems they use, the different technologies they're trying to use, sawdust, uh wood chips, just gravityfed. There's one system. was
probably the size of this table and it was for a three-bedroom house. That's the technology they're doing instead of these huge systems that take up the size of this room and that's what they're doing and it's actually all under the the Barsible County. It's under Jay's
preview. So, it's uh we're working. So, I look forward to hearing what they have to say. So, so we really they're there two uh issues here. One is financial and the other is about IIA. So they have something in common with being septic, but they're quite different in some respects. Yeah. Okay.
Yep. Yep. So that's a great question and I'll explain how we actually work together. So um the aqua fund and the septic utility program are both part of the wastewater division of the county under
health and environment. Dave, I'm sorry. Will you just introduce yourselves? Oh, I'm David Aorio. I am the program manager of the septic utility program. I am Alice Ryan. I am the program manager for Aqua Fund. And I'm Ally Nicoloi. I'm the project assistant for the septic utility
program. Thank you. So, um the septic utility program um is part of the wastewater division and we'll talk a little bit about what we do um in a moment. Aquafund is part of that division as well. um the Mass TC, which
is the Massachusetts Alternative Septic um test center, which is where Barry was at, um that um does all of the testing of the technologies that is right here on the Cape. Anything that's that's been
um put here as a septic system probably was tested there. They're also testing new systems and they also test systems that are um from other parts of the world and the country as well as doing experiments and looking to see things
like you know um is the uh the depth to the groundwater with these systems is it appropriate? Can it be reduced? So they're constantly doing a lot of experiments to see how um they can also save money for the consumer while still protecting the health. And then lastly,
the IIA tracking database is also part of the wastewater division. That database keeps all of the systems that are out there. All the IIA or the innovative alternative systems, you know, those are the systems that are reducing the nitrogen and the phosphorus. Keeps all of those systems
in one database so that um towns can access it, homeowners can access it um as well as operators. Um and it's uh the largest database actually in the country. and we'll talk a little bit more about that as well.
So, Aqua Fund, how do we fit into the picture working with all of our other departments at the county? So, Aqua Fund fits into the puzzle pretty much as the financial piece, you know, people who are doing septic replacements, if they're doing sewer connections, if
they're doing IIA systems. Aqua Fund can offer a lowinterest Betterment loan to homeowners faced with the cost of repairing or replacing whether it's a failed sept septic system um upgra being mandated to upgrade to an alternative
septic system. Um as well as sewer connections. Um we work with all homeowners across Cape Cod, all types. Um, so we are the financial piece that helps homeowners with lowinterest Betterment loans. They are 20-year
loans. Um, and that's how we kind of fit into the the piece of the puzzle. So, some of the things that are eligible under the program, um, and some of the homes that we work with, we work with
single family homes, we work with multifamily homes, duplexes, condos. We're seeing a lot of apartments right now with sewer connections. Um, unfortunately at this point in time, the only thing that the program does not work with would be any type of
commercial or business um, setups. And just a little more information, um, the loan program is a 20-year payment repayment plan. Um, it is a betterment alone, meaning that the homeowners would sign a betterment
agreement that goes on record with the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds. We have a very userfriendly online application as well um that folks can just apply online, very minimal
financial requirements, no credit check. So, it's a very userfriendly, streamlined process and we have a wonderful staff in place that can answer all types of questions. So, the septic utility program, I think
it's still a term that maybe is not as widely widely used on the Cape as um aqua fund is. Um primarily our name was changed. We were created in 20 um 2022 as a responsible management entity for
um the Cape. Uh we subsequently changed the name because we thought there wasn't really a recognition as to what we do. So we changed it to septic septic utility program because that's what we focus on. We focus on innovative alternative septic systems. So the uh
program can really be involved in the entire lifestyle a lifestyle um or system life cycle of the septic systems from the beginning from installation all the way till the end for replacement. It's really up to a town as how they can utilize us, how we can help because we
really were created to support towns. Uh almost like you know a contract employee for the town. That's how we were created. uh because the the county felt as watershed plans were starting to be thought about um and then eventually be approved and and get permits, towns may
need support, more systems were forecasted to be um installed and towns may not have the staffing to do everything that's required. So that was the primary reason. Subsequently, we also have started to look at how can we save homeowners money because when it
comes to IIE systems, you have the cost of the system, but then you have the cost of the O andM contract because they are required by D. They have to have an operation and maintenance contract in place. Um, if a homeowner has an IIA system. So, how can we save the homeowner money? We're doing a lot of
research with Mass TC on that. We're looking presently at can we sample differently? um can we instead of going to each home and sampling each system, can we do a composite sample? Will that work the same way when we're looking at a watershed? Right? So, we're currently
doing um a study on that and when we get our results, we'll we'll we'll send them over to D, have them take a look at it and perhaps we can change the way we do things. We also know that not every town may need to utilize us and that's fine, but we still want to make sure that we
have installers and operators that know how to basically install these systems and then maintain them. Um, these systems are not the same as a title 5 system and there does need to be a certain level of knowledge of how you can actually um, install them and
operate them. So, what we're creating and we're hoping by 2026 we will be done with this. We're creating a certification program and our certification program will be specifically based on the technologies so that installers and operators can choose which technologies they want to
learn about. Um, currently if a if an installer or an operator wants to learn about an a technology, they have to contact that company and that company has to say yes, we'll show you how to operate this machinery. We really want everyone to know and have that knowledge
for anyone who wants to learn it. Um, additionally, we also are helping support decision- making when it comes to towns, but also for homeowners. And how we're doing that is, um, I don't know if everyone's familiar with the banner list, but D put out this list
says this is these are the best available nitrogen reducing technologies. Um, there are some graphs on it, but we felt that information wasn't really enough for a homeowner to look at it and say, I'm going to pick this system over this system. It wasn't really comparing apples to apples. It
really was just giving data. So, what we've done, we've worked with a panel of experts in the field that are not tied to the technology. Um, many of them educators and we've come up with other um data points that we can show. Hopefully by the end of this month
that'll be on our website at least the for the first few technologies. Um, we also have produced a financial calculator um that with TNC and hopefully that also will be out by the end of the month that compares um sewer costs versus IIA costs um for current
but then al also forecast them for the future. So towns can take a look um and look to see what will these costs be based on the percentages that we have of each type of technology. Um, we conduct research as I mentioned
early earlier. We we pretty much work with mass TC for the most part and we team up with them to really look and examine the way we do things and how we can make them better. And then lastly to centralize the data of all of these systems and we do that through our IIA
database that we'll talk about in a few minutes. So some of the services that we currently offer is um enhanced IIA database oversight which I'll talk about in a moment sampling and inspecting and this we typically do for um technology
companies. So if let's say someone has a technology that's still provisional, it hasn't it hasn't gone to general use approval yet. Um they need to supply data to D. D prefers a neutral third party to actually obtain that data
versus a technology company. Um so we do that. We actually currently sample and inspect all of the nitros um that are on the Cape. We'll soon be doing that also for the vineyard and we're also working with additional technologies that we sample and inspect as well. But it's
typically always for the same reason. These technologies are really trying to move from provisional use to general use. Um we also can offer comprehensive operation and mains oversight. What that means is in that scenario, we would
contract with the homeowners for O andM. Uh we would do it on an entire town basis and that way we can reduce the cost and make each homeowner pay the same cost. Um the only difference would be probably seasonal will pay less because there's not as much sampling and
inspecting. Um and it would be regardless of the technology as long as it was an IIA system, they would all pay exactly the same rate. we would dead some contract to operators because um at the end of the day we don't want to take you know business away from local
operators. Um it's it's not good for the economy and we don't necessarily want to do that. We would just have the oversight. We would be totally responsible for it. Um and then lastly, we can also um have oversight for the installation. What we've seen as many
times with these new systems, they're they're not installed correctly. Most of these systems weigh much more than a title five system and so we'll see situations where it has to be fixed even before it's turned on. Um I will say for the last two um those are services that
right now most towns in the Cape um are are are not really ready for but the first two we're actively doing. Um, and I'm sure we'll add to these um, services as we go along because once again um, we can tailor them specifically to each um,
town for whatever their specific needs are. So I mentioned earlier I wanted to talk a little bit more about the um, IIA tracking database. The reason being is every town currently uses it. they have to use it because of um D regulations
and because there are O andM contracts that are mandated and every single um homeowner on the Cape that has an IIE system needs to have that contract. So it was created in 2006 um really to just track these new systems back then that that weren't
really widespread at that point. In 2015, um it was improved. Um it had a major overhaul because it had grown so much with the number of systems that were in there that it really needed to be easier to use and produce more information. And then currently we've
had to um do another revamp. This time it was mostly focusing on um being able to use that system out in the field for the operators. So that was that's actually in beta testing right now. the operator facing side. Um and the
administrative and municipal interfaces will be updated as well. Probably by um 2026 those will be released. So I mentioned earlier about the the database and why we have it. Um basically it's it's data collection. Um it also allows and supports the
compliance with mass D. compliance with how often a system has to be inspected and has to be sampled and that has to do with the approval level but it also um it keeps um the local boards of health monitoring requirements because uh
boards of health can actually require more than what D wants. So we keep track of all the towns and what all the requirements are. But ultimately it really gives access to that data in an easy way to the towns to the operators for the systems they maintain and then also of course to the homeowner for
their specific system. So who's in the database? Um I mentioned earlier that all the towns on the Cape are in it. Um most of the towns on the vineyard are in it. All of Nantucket is in it. um six towns off Cape are also in
it and we actually have more towns off Cape waiting to join that system and we we just really haven't added them to it yet because of capacity. Our main focus really is the Cape and the Islands but we will surely add them as we can and then any pilot or provisional system
that is within the state is also listed or also maintained within the database. Um we just don't have oversight for them. We just maintain them for D. So, there's a lot of information in the database, and I won't go through all of this, but it has everything from property details to the permit
information. It also has system specifications as well as all of the field inspection data and the notes. It has all of the sampling from the lab, all the results from there. It maintains all of the contracts, so all the O andM
contracts um for each system is listed in there. And then it also lists the sampling and inspection requirements. not only from D but also from the town. So currently the service that we provide and again we provide this to um all of
the towns that are on the Cape um we make sure that the on andm contracts are in place. So if we see that um there's not a contract we do the initial outreach. We'll reach out to the operator and the homeowner and try to find out why do they not have a contract. Most of the time it really is
a misunderstanding and we're able to, you know, solve it and a new contract is established within the first call. If not, we do do three attempts um to establish a new contract. If we can't, then we refer it back to the health
agent of the specific town because we don't um have um any enforcement capabilities as the county. We can't enforce it. Um and I at this point for the entire database we have about a 95% um success rate. So most of the time we
can um establish a new onm contract. And the way that it works is it is part of the health regulation and we charge it monthly um for the fiscal fiscal year. So this past July 1st we charged all the operators um $60 uh per contract that
they have and that's an annual fee. So, the the new service that we I really wanted to talk about today um and and and that I spoke to Barry about a couple of weeks ago is, you know, from the feedback that we've that we've received
from many of the towns that we visited and that we've spoken to is that there just isn't enough resources within the towns to really follow through with everything else that's within in um an IIA system that needs to be done. So,
we're taking care of the on andm contract, but tracking to make sure that these systems have been sampled and inspected as they should is something that's not being done that frequently. And not because towns do not want to do it, is they don't have enough resources
to do it. Um and this this particular oversight, we would do just that. We would make sure that they're being sampled when they should be. We would also look at the parameters that the town is looking for and make sure those parameters were tested for. If we see those parameters are outside the range
that that system should be getting, we're going to make a call to the operator and find out exactly, you know, what did you do? You know, why do you think this happened? Number one, and what are you kind of doing about it? Um so similar to what we do with the O andM
contracts, we would do about three to four attempts and depending on what the um town would want us to do and really try to kind of rectify that situation. Ultimately, we would truly be working for the board of health of that specific
town as a contract worker, right? Um any unresolved cases we would refer back to the health agent. This would be a little bit different because we would also let the health agent know also what we actually did work on and did solve because I think it's important for the
town to understand if a system isn't performing the way it's supposed to. Um that they have at least a record of it. even though we may have solved it, they should still understand that this may be a system that, you know, wasn't tested in a year and that, you know, it should have been. Um,
the way it would work is similar to how it works now. It would be part of the um the health regulation. We would charge it again. It would be charged on July 1st to the operator. Instead of being $60 a year, it would be $160 a year for
each contract that that operator has. And I think that's it. I think we reached the end. Go ahead. Couple of questions. Great. Yeah. So, um, when I built, um, our animal hospital over in Anzel Hallet row
that's in a aquafer protection filler, we had to install a bioclear system. Is that a type of system that would be you're talking about an IIA system? Yes, I believe it is. Bioclear. Yeah.
Okay. So, it's monitored by an engineering company. Okay. Would is that who you're consider would you consider that an operator? they report or they report to you or who who do they report to me
in that specific situation that yes that engineer would basically be be acting as an operator. So what we would do is if if we're seeing the numbers being reported for that system and everything seems to be within the parameters that that system should be operating or they
may have included notes. They may have listed okay it's not functioning at the level it should but this is what we've done. If we can have if we get a clear picture of what's happening with that system, then I think we're good. If we see it, if we see it's a situation that's chronic, so each time that it's been sampled, it's still falling short
of what it should be doing, we're going to still reach out to that engineer and have a discussion about, you know, seeing what they've done, you know, giving them some input. You know, we have a lot of experience with these systems. Um, giving them some input and seeing if we can get that system, you
know, working again to a point what it where it should be. Um, and then I think obviously there may be some systems that will just never function the way that they're supposed to. It does happen. But again, I think when we're talking about a watershed, knowing the systems that
perhaps aren't functioning the way they're supposed to, you know, maybe those are the systems that we should focus, you know, more on. And that's another thing that we're doing some research with. Maybe we should test those maybe a little bit more frequently. But the systems that consistently do really well, perhaps we
don't have to sample them quite as much. Um, and again, that that's kind of part of that research that we've been talking about. Yeah. So, this system was installed in uh 1995. So, who would the engineering company
have been reporting to since you know we started this program? Who would they be? Would it have been your organization? it would it under mass D they probably would they prior to the database they probably would have reported directly to
D once the database set up um they should be inputting that data into the database whenever they sample and inspected they should be and I I'm guessing it's probably twice a year if not seeing
so this type of sis uh system right now um could it replace a title five system in say a homeowner for a homeowner if they elected to go with a title with this system instead of a title five is is would that be a doable situation or
you you stick with the title five? Yeah. So I mean it should be on the banner list and I I don't I'm not sure I don't think buyer clear is necessarily on the banner list. So, not a bio clear, but one of these systems that like you were talking about, would that be designed to take the place
of a title five system for for a private home? It could. So, I think the factors that go into whether or not a title 5 system should be replaced by an IIA system really depends on a town's watershed plan and what they're looking for to achieve with each type of technology.
And when I mean technology, I'm loosely meaning sewering versus IA systems. Um, towns also would need to look at how much what's the maximum number of nitrogen that it wants those systems to put back into the ground. Um, because
not every IA system is created equal. Some of the older ones, um, the max number that they've been approved for is 19 milligrams per liter. Some of the new ones that we're seeing are 10 or 11. Um, but a town may not need to go get that
much, right? 19 may be sufficient. Um, one of the things that we have seen also with the technologies on the banner list, I want to say I think all of them when we've done our analysis actually do better than what they're approved for. Um, their average is better. So, um, it just really depends on what the town's
goal is, how they want to use those IA systems within the whole grand scheme of the watershed plan. So, if you had a a real ecologically uh conscientious homeowner and say they were putting in a system to begin with
or replacing a system, would it could they go with one of these systems in lie of a title five? Would that be a an option? I mean, sure. Sure. I mean, it's it's these systems are definitely going to put less nutrients in the ground than
the title five is 100%. One thing I mean, we've come across It's an increased expense and that's been that's been the bottom line on it. Sure. Increased expense both in terms of installation and maintenance. Yes. Right. Right. Yeah. And I think the
maintenance is really the long-term expense that continues to happen each year. It can be reduced, you know, if it if if it if it's a general if it eventually becomes a general approved system. The max is twice a year that it needs to be sampled and inspected. One
of the things that we're hoping for and what we've seen on our end, a lot of times when there's costly repairs, it's usually directly related to the fact that the system really wasn't sampled and inspected when it should have been and something that might have been a very minor repair, you know, a year down
the road has now become costly. And so that's one of the things that we also try to prevent, you know, with number one with now this enhanced IIA oversight. We're trying to prevent that, you know, and really make sure that the systems are being, you know, inspected and repaired. And then when there is an
issue, that the operator is actually doing something because we we come across it all the time that they've seen it, they've reported it, but they haven't actually done anything. And so now it's turned into a larger problem for the homeowner. Who is putting them in? the operator does
no chooses to put it in at home. In other words, if their home is not sewered, they have the option of a septic, you know, typical septic system. A lot of the regulations are coming from the local boards of health. Um, we've
seen some towns mandate that if a house is being sold and you have a traditional title five, depending on where that town is in their watershed permitting, planning and processing that the board of health may come in and say, "Okay, you know, a triggering event is the
properties being sold or if you're pulling a permit to build on an addition." So, some of the local boards of health have come up with their own kind of mandates that tie into their watershed permitting planning process
that would come back to the homeowner and say, "Okay, well, you're putting on an addition that's a triggering event. We would need you to upgrade to an IIA system from the traditional title five system." Not not all towns on the Cape have
approved sewering. So, correct. I think you're correct talking every town is different and every town is coming up with their their own mandating depending on you know what they're doing with their water shedding permit. Right. I think comes it really does come down
to also the watershed permit and and plan that comes before the permit is how is the town looking to achieve their goal of reducing the nitrogen in their wershed. In some towns, the sewering can do it on its own, right? In other towns,
it can't. And so, it it's that h how much do you need that IA system to work, you know? Um, and that's really what where I think the answer would really lie first. Um, because we've also seen that in in regulations and health regulations where it's also mandated,
you know, how that system has to perform. So some towns will say, you know, it it it needs to be a system that puts no more than 19 milligs per liter of nitrogen into the groundwater. And that's right in the regulations. So then the homeowner knows, okay, I know what's what systems I can choose from. They may
not have to go to some of the new enhanced IIA systems that are getting better. They they it's just not necessary within the town because the sound the town really is meeting their goal already with with the sewering. I I have a few questions. Um, is there any
way you could help with the cost of systems by looking at the number of systems that an area is going to require? So if we So there's a few ways that you can lower costs, right? And I think one of the ways is always economies of scale. Um, so if you can go out to bid
for more than one system, um, you can drive down the cost, you know, a or should say average the cost out so that you're not having really high ones or or or I'm sure you don't get really low ones now anymore, but really high ones. Um, I do think the important aspect is
for homeowners, if they're doing it on their own, is to really go out for more than one bid. Um, I use this example because I think it's it it shows kind of where we are right now. Uh but a homeowner went out to to bid the for a system there. They're they're on the
outer Cape. Same system um same property. The bids were from four bids 40,000 to 100,000. Everything was the same. They wound up going with the second bid that was 45,000. But not every homeowner is going to go out to bid. They they may ask
maybe two people and they may only ask one. Um, and I I I think it's it's so important at this point that homeowners are really asking if they're doing it on their own, they're asking for more than one um bid. Similar to the solar panels, they're I
mean uh huge range of of bidding on that. So if they're doing it on their own and the alternative is to do it through your program, is that what you're saying? So we so what we look to do if if if
let's say we were we don't usually do home by home when it comes to insulation. Um what we do offer to the towns is um we could do do insulation oversight. What we would do then is really try to go out to bid for multiple
systems at the same time. Towns can actually do that too, right? You could de delay the installation of a system to wait to see if you you have more individuals who need to replace their system and then go out to bid as a town for the number of of properties that you
have. Um because we are um regional, we're not based in the town. We could go out to bid in an area. So, like for instance, if all the towns on the outer Cape agreed that they wanted us to have installation oversight, well, we could go out to bid for for systems that are
in East Ham or they're in Truro and just go out as one bid. Um, so there's there's a there's a few ways to do it, but I think the key is it's just going out to bid for more than one system. So, we could do it if if the town agrees us to for us to do it, or the town could do
it actually themselves as well. So the I'm I'm a little confused on the $60 and the $120. I understand 120 is for this still largely proposed AI database and that cost will be borne by the
operators. The $60 is also borne by the operators and that has to do with your oversight of the operations of the systems. Sure. Let me um so currently what's currently being done and this is being done by all the towns on the Cape is
the operators are charged currently $60 per um contract that they have. So per home that they have a system and they're charged $60 for that $60. Um we maintain the database one and then we also make sure that the onm contract stays in
place and and if it doesn't we we we try to have one established again. So that's currently happening. What we see because we get all of the onm contracts is the operas pass it along to the homeowner. Some of them will list it directly as
county fee. Sometimes they'll come up with another more inventive term, but we see that they've passed it on to the homeowner. Um I I would say it's probably 100% of the time we've seen that. What we're proposing, the enhanced IIA oversight, that would be $160.
um per per year. It would also be charged to the operator because that's that's what we have in place already. So, it wouldn't be changing what we're doing. It would really just be town saying we're going to opt for the enhanced oversight versus the current
oversight. Um but we're sure that it's going to be passed on to the homeowner. I mean, it's they've done it with the $60. We're sure that they'll do it with 160 as well. Now that 160 will include what's being done already now. So they're not going to be charged 160 and
60. It would be 160 for everything and they won't have any choice if if the town passes it. They wouldn't. It would be just like now. Now they don't have a choice. So you need each town within your region
to pass that. Right. And and also too, some towns some towns may not need us to do that because they may have sufficient resources that they'll do it themselves. Some of the larger towns um have already kind of spoken to us that they really want to be
able to do it themselves or try to do it themselves first. And that's fine. Um what what we're offering is for those towns that perhaps do not want to hire another uh staffing for for their um health department, they can basically contract with us and we'll take care of
it um and and do it that way. So we really that's a conversation we need to have with Barry um about I mean I in my tenure here I I have not seen that many IIA systems being put in new but we have
seen them um and we have required them in some cases because of the environmental concerns about the u the septic flow. I mean, I think the great thing with this is only the only the IIA systems, only the only the systems that are there is where the charge is going.
So, it's not like a blanket charge where we're just charging a fee, you know, regardless on the amount that a town has. It's really per system. So, we're really only charging the systems that we're actually actively reviewing to make sure that they're compliant. Um, and again, we're trying to we're trying
to be proactive, you know, in in in any way that we can to just make sure that these systems, which are big investments for for the homeowners, they're big investments for towns that are relying on them, we want them to last as long as possible. you know, you know, unfortunately what we've seen is that
they don't always and a lot of times it's because of just neglect that they're that situations are occurring where they're not being sampled and inspected and then they're just when there is an issue, they're just the issues are not really being resolved. Um, and we feel like it's so it could be
avoided really easily if there was just that oversight. Um, and so, you know, again, that's kind of what we do. We we we think of how we can help a town. Um, and then towns also sometimes come to us and they ask us, you know, can you do this, can you do that? Um, so it's it's
just kind of a two-way um, situation. So, have you had some towns sign up and ask you to do the IIA database oversight over the enhanced one? So, we just rolled this out last month and so we're in the process with town signing up. um
we we knew that we wouldn't meet the July 1 um because typically like I said we charge on July 1 and we knew that there really needed to be more time to that. So for this first anyone who wants a town that wants to take advantage of this and kind of goes through the
process um we'll actually um make it retroactive. So we'll we'll we'll prorrate the the the fee. Typically, we would only want to do it always every July 1st, but in this situation, you know, we would do that. So, we have towns that are in the pro various towns in the process of signing up, but we we
really just introduced this um last year. There was a lot of things on our end that we had to get in place first. You know, one was to, you know, make sure we had a really robust system that was foolproof for us to actually capture
everything. And you know, we didn't want to do it until we actually tested that that system out. So it seems as if there's no downside for the town unless the people who have IIA systems are told that the town has
required an additional $100 fee. Right. So my next question and last question right now is how many staff people do you have that do this monitoring and following up and calling contacting? Uh we have
four four. Yep. And that was one of the reasons why we needed a robot a really robust system in place that captures a lot of the data. Um so really on our end it's reviewing the results, you know, and looking to
see what's missing and kind of delving in deeper to look at mostly the parameters and looking to see what was done. Um, you did say earlier that you would tell us why we had more than any other place on the state, but you didn't say that.
You didn't explain that. More than um that I think that the database had more IAS listed than anywhere else. Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say that um our database as as a whole is the largest database of its kind in the
country. So we have over 5,000 systems within our database. Um there's no other database in the country that actually tracks or maintains that many systems. Okay. And and one thing too that I I wanted to just mention about the $160. So the way
we we we look at it, we know, you know, yes, it's $160 a a year. And you know, that's something that, you know, it's it's definitely it's not pocket change, but we look at almost as like an insurance policy for the homeowner to really make sure that
someone is looking after their system um and preventing, you know, a situation occurring where it there's an issue that now they have to pay a lot more to fix it where it could have been a really really easy situation. Could have been as easy as a system, you know, needing
to be pumped earlier. You know, there's a lot of averages when it comes to a system being pumped. We find that many times, you know, after a year of using a system for that specific use of that home, it still needs to be pumped. Um, and and it's something that we don't always see the operators saying, "Yes,
you know, you need to pump it." Um, and that's data that's captured during an inspection. It's captured how much sludge is or how much scum is actually in that specific um system. So, that's another follow-up for us is to say, "Okay, well, did you recommend for it to be pumped?" And we find out a lot of
operators, they don't they don't say that. Another thing I want to say about the $160 is with a few of the towns that we've spoken to, they had the same kind of concern tacking on this $100 bill um to
the homeowners that are part of this program. And quite a few of them have spoken about internally developing some sort of subsidy program. And if the town decided that that's the way they wanted to go to help offset the cost of homeowners, like we could help kind of
give ideas as to how to do that. Um, but it's not something right now we have the capability of doing ourselves. But I know at least two of the other towns that we've spoken to have internally started conversations about where funding could be pulled in order to help
offset the cost at least for the first year or two. So that's also something to keep in mind. I I don't not familiar with the Armouth's funding. I'm sure it's like every other town in Massachusetts. It's tight. So, but just some food for thought. Thank you. I have a question. Does the final
decision fall on the board of health or does that need to go to the Sluggman to make the final decision? So, it ultimately falls on the board of health. It's your regulations, but our suggestion obviously is always to, you know, the entire town should be on the
same page. So, you know, the select board should be aware of of what you're looking to do. I mean, that's what we've seen as being the best practice, but ultimately the decision does lie with the board of health. You have something that a board of health can read and decide whether just
a breakdown of what we're voting on. Sure, we can we can we can put that together. I mean, we have it on our web page. A lot of information here tonight, that's all. But we could definitely we can we can put a proposal up for you. I think that would be Yeah, that would be useful. Sure. Yeah, maybe helpful other towns as well. Yeah, that's a good point.
Um, we don't see a lot a lot of cases of IIA here. Um, very few over the years and now that we have a sewer project, right? There will be some perhaps required, but not I'd have to look up to see how many we
have. Yeah. So, what's why do you think our town doesn't seem to have many or at least not coming in front of the the board of health? Uh, a lot may be because of um with the sewer plans, right? I I I don't know how
long that's been um discussed at a town level. I'm not that familiar with the Armouth uh watershed plan. It's in process. Yeah. Facilities being built as speak and the pipes are in the ground. So, I think that's a big factor. I think
that's a big factor. I mean, if most of it's going to be sewered then or even if the sewer was large enough that it it it satisfies the watershed plan goal, right? What the permit eventually is going to be issued at um you may not need as many IIA systems.
And that is the case. Yeah. The sewing is going to not all of Yarmath is going to be sewered, but the amount that will be protect the wersheds that need to be protected. Right. And you do you see that across all 15 towns. It's a blended approach,
you know, whether it's the IIA systems or their sewer. And then there are some towns that are going that are doing fully sewering. So those towns we we we really don't we don't speak to because um that's their plan to be 100% sewered. So you know, we
at that point at some point in the near future all the residents will have, you know, beyond sewer connected to sewer. So we really our focus has really been to those towns that do have the IIA systems because that's what we we we specialize in. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you. Any questions, comments? So how does an operator qualify uh to install one of these or how can a consumer uh be assured that they're going to hire an operator that would be qualified to install one of these
systems? I mean right now there is really no certification out there. Um it's just you know it's an operator that typically is aligned with the technology company and same thing with an installer. um you know and that's where
we really see is kind of what's lacking and that's why we want to really have a certification program so that you know a homeowner can see that this person has gone through a certification with mass TC and the septic utility program and was trained specifically for that
technology. um on our web page on the county um we are putting together a document for homeowners questions to ask you know when they're looking to install a system when they're looking to hire an operator what should they ask um and then eventually like I said by hopefully
by the beginning of 2026 we'll also have that certification program will be out and we'll we'll start the the classes so you're being funded by Barnstable County but but your reach is beyond Barnstable I already said it's Nantucket Martha's Vineyard and some of the
Southshore. So, we're actually not funded by the county. We're part of the county, but we are grant funded. The first few years of our existence has been grant funded. Um, and then um the rest of our funding will come as it does now, which is through
our contracts with third party as being a third party tester and then also through um the IIA database and and all of the other um services that we provide. But we're we're not directly funded by the county. So is that a federal grant? It is one's a federal grant and and a
few are not. And is it threatened? I think that any grant is possibly threatened. Um but so far we're good. And we we don't have that many more years on it. So hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll be fine.
Good luck. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for coming in. It was helpful. So when you get uh whatever they provide for summary, just send it on to us. Maybe email it. David, you'll send that. You'll email
that to David. You'll email that to Sarah and I and then we can get it distributed. Thank you. Thanks. Interesting. Talk about a lot of money. Not you know, you have electrician come in, you know, they have a certificate of something. We had that system put in 30 years ago and I'm not sure how
well it was the planning board that made us put it in or the board of health or somebody but I'm not sure who oversees it because I know the um engineer comes in I think every three months and monitors it checks the
system. It's a pretty elaborate setup. Yep. I think the real estate office on um Midtech Drive has one as well. Yeah, we got plenty of them. So, all right. Okay. Uh
up to new Verizon wireless facility. Barry, what are we doing tonight? Um Carl Lawson has put together a wonderful presentation for us. There's a new um Verizon wireless uh tower being uh proposed on one of the water towers
here in town. Carl is the expert on this tonight. So, we'll let him give a quick little background what's what we got going on and we got some people online also that are involved. So, we have someone who's making a presentation first.
Yes. if just introduce yourself. Hey, good evening. My name is Tim Tordowski. I'm an attorney from Robinson and Cole representing the applicant Verizon Wireless. Um I I do wish to also introduce a few other members of the
team who are online as well. Um, Peter Shear and Kristen White are online from Structure Consulting Group as well as Erin Valley of Energy Systems. Uh, and he in particular is is able to answer
questions specifically relating to the uh the GenerRack generator system. Um, and good evening uh, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. Um, what I'd like to do is just give a very brief introduction in terms of what we have before you this evening, talk a little
bit about the um the systems that are are before you, and then turn it over to the board for for questions. Um, so why we're here this evening is u Verizon Wireless has a lease with the town to
locate a new wireless communications facility um located at 20 old Hyannis Road. This is the water tank site. Uh you you may know that there is an existing um wireless facility on the water tank
um with basically comprised of um antennas mounted on top of the water tank and then groundbased equipment located adjacent to the water tank. The Verizon wireless proposal under the lease with the town is essentially is is
very similar. Um, our antennas would be also located on top of the water tank and groundbased equipment would be located on the ground adjacent to the water tank and also right next to the existing um groundbased equipment for
the the existing carrier. I I believe it's T-Mobile and is my understanding is they've been in place since about 1999 or 2000. So, the reason we're before you this evening um is part of the facility
is includes a a battery backup power system as well as a diesel power generator. Both of which are intended for use as as you might expect. If there is a loss of power, the backup power systems kick on which enables for
emergency communications and cell phone communications to continue even with a loss of power. Um, in this case, both the the battery backup system and the emergency generator do contain uh some hazardous
materials under the board of health bylaw. So we are before you this evening with a handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials registration. So to talk just briefly about what what this consists of. Um I I should note
that the entire facility including the battery backup and the diesel power generator will be mounted on top of a concrete slab about 10 in deep. Um the batteries consist of uh two strings of
batteries and these will contain battery acid totaling um 17.8 gallons of of battery acid. U these are contained within a within a single wall cabinet that provides 26.7
gallons of containment. specific to the generator. The generator uh and if you're looking at the site plan that I included in the the application material, I think the best reference is that sheet A4
and there you will see the the generator located to the far right of the equipment plan. The the configuration is is essentially there is mounted on top of the concrete slab a 300galon diesel
fuel tank. This is doublewalled with uh with a capacity of 120% of the fuel uh which provides for the secondary containment of the diesel fuel. The generator itself is mounted on top of
the fuel tank and the top of the fuel tank contains a secondary containment pan which is designed to capture any leakage that emanates from the the generator itself. And that would include engine
oil um antifreeze. Uh there is a starter battery that's attached to the um to the generator. Uh in in total there would be approximately 19.4 gallons of fluid within the
generator itself. The secondary containment pan um located on top of the fuel tank has a capacity of about 29 gallons. So um more than sufficient to cover any of the the materials that would be um within the generator itself.
I'd also like to mention the leak detection system and this is discussed at length in the the submitt that u I think it's described as the statement in support of the registration application. Um both the generator and the fuel tank
are equipped with sensors that will detect a leak. Um, if there is a leak from either the generator or from the fuel tank, uh, sensors will detect that and that will trigger an alarm at Verizon Wireless's building management
system. Building management system will then immediately notify our uh, operations uh, uh, system to dispatch these the service vendor immediately to the site um to address any any released
fluids. Um, also included in the materials is a emergency spill response plan. Um, that is located at tab 2F of the materials. Um and that is we have identified Kinsley Power Systems as the
uh the vendor who maintains um is under contract with Verizon Wireless to uh service and maintain all of the generators and and they handle that capacity throughout New England and in upstate New York. Um
I think that covers pretty much everything from an from an introductory standpoint. I'm sure the the board may have questions. Um we're we're happy to respond to any questions you might have. Um I I would like to add um however that um you know we have been in constant
contact uh with Mr. Carl Lawson throughout this process and I do want to extend thanks to him. He has been very generous in his time and uh and very helpful um in answering questions that that we have had and and assisting in in
making sure that we're able to um submit the application. uh in in complete as required um and also to provide guidance and uh you know we we thank Carl for that. I I have two questions. Um the network
alarm center that's a national center and then it's routed to a local response that yes that's that's correct. Um, so all all and like I said, all of our s our facilities have these systems built
in and if there is a leak detected through any of the sensors that automatically triggers an alarm uh at Verizon Wireless's um oper building maintenance system and these are staffed 24/7 and they will immediately dispatch in this case it would be Kingsley Power
Systems who would maintain and respond to any leaks um that would maintain the system in in response to any alarm on the site. And the response is 24/7. That's correct. So the there you have a contract for the
maintenance of the generator. And what about the battery beneath it? Um I I don't believe the the battery is is maintained by by Kinsley. I don't know. Peter perhaps are you able to respond to that?
Hello everybody. Uh yes, the operations tech um all the batteries are monitored 24/7 through the system anyways. If they overheat, any surges in power, the local tech who is on Cape Cod will be
dispatched out to take a look and if any leaks or anything like that, he has emergency response uh company that will come out and clean up and do what they need to do. What what kinds of events would cause leaks
or interruptions of the power? Most of the time the batteries that are in there, they're they're closed seal now. Um I haven't seen a battery I can go back to my next
cell days where every time you open the next cell shelter door, you were scared that the battery might blow up on you. But I haven't seen even a battery seep. Uh I've been at Verizon for eight years and I've never seen one seep. So I I
don't I have any issues with that in my in my purview. So um and batteries on on average batteries are only four years old. And how often are they changed? About every four years.
Okay. If the sensor goes off, how is that message transmitted? Um, again, it's an alarm. Um, any within the system that will go to the knock the national center and then that will then
routed to the the tech that he has an alarm at that site. Right. What I'm really asking is how how does that signal leave the site? In other words, how is it transmitted? actually um through our our back haul. I mean it
it is a wireless facility but it does have a fiber backup I mean a fiber ground um I don't understand sorry my dog is just bugging me for a
moment. Um, so the backup in term in terms of how does it leave the site the alarm, right? No, there's just not a phone line leaving the site. I'm just Yeah, there is actually it's a fiber phone line that leaves the site. Every
site has their own fiber back haul. Okay, that answers the question. Great. Yep. It is a wired. So that's that's something that'll function during potentially a a power outage or storm
and things like that. Yes. Now this is providing a service. What is it replacing? What is Verizon using now for the same service here in this
location? Yeah, currently there is this would be a new facility in in the Verizon wireless network. Um so so this would provide additional and supplemental coverage. Um you know typically you know the the
process in terms of identifying sites for for for new facilities uh there is either a gap in coverage uh meaning that there's there's very poor coverage or it may be a capacity issue where there there may be coverage but not enough
coverage to to provide um service to all of its users at a given time. Um so in this case it's not replacing any service but pro providing newer and and better service coverage to the immediate area. So that area would be limited to
Yarmmouth would you say? Well not necessarily. I mean our our radio frequency waves don't know boundaries. They they extend as far as they're able to. Um you know I I I will say that the the facility itself in terms of the communications equipment,
the antennas, etc. Uh this has already been permitted through the building department. Uh we have a a building permit for the facility. Um the only item that is not covered by the existing permits are the the backup uh uh the
generator and the backup battery system. And that that's why we're before you this evening. And we will also be going to the zoning board of appeals for a special permit to address the uh the the zoning for the the backup generator system.
The reason I was asking for what location is this going to help is that we're as a town we're taking on the risk for our our water supply on what are the benefits for the town. That that's something that um is important for the board of health obviously representing the people in town. we're taking on a
risk and what does it provide residents here or how much of it's really for people outside of Yarmouth? Yeah, understood. And and in terms of, you know, given its location, you know, the cellular service in in general, um
the strongest signal is the closest to the facility itself. So folks in the immediate area are going to have the strongest and the best coverage from this particular facility. Um, you know, the the main benefit in this particular case, and this ties in directly to the backup power sources, is that in in
times of of emergency, whether it's due to storm or other reasons, when there is a power outage, um, cellular service will be able to continue. people will still be able to dial 911 in the event that whether it's it's flooding or or
other um you know natural disasters or if someone is injured during the the course of a power outage. This backup facility will provide not only u you know the backup power but also you know the facility itself will it will enable
um people to connect via uh Verizon Wireless's network to dial 911 to call for help to call family members to check on other people. So in that respect the the facility and the backup power generator itself are are providing a valuable benefit to um residents in the
immediate area and to the town in general. What what elevation were we talking about? You know, we're sitting on top the antenna, I suppose. What What elevation are we talking about? Hi. Um Carl Austin, a hazardous materials inspector with the health
department. Um I looked at some town GIS contours and it looked to me like it's 120 ft above sea level, the the the base of the tower, the the highest point of that peak. And then the tower I believe is about uh 80 feet tall. So I would be
looking at something in the range of 200 feet above sea level as best I understand it. Is there any danger of lightning that could uh cause a problem? I I'll defer to the Verizon team. I imagine there's a
excuse me give a nice presentation and maybe we're I'm um doing in the wrong order but um when we can answer that question maybe you can present. I'm sure these people are saying on. So, can someone address the issue um of lightning? We have something that's 200
feet above uh ground. Um is there anything to Yeah. to to clarify uh and and and this is based on the the site plan that's included in your packet and specifically at sheet A2. Um the top of
the water tank is at an elevation of 79 ft above ground level. um the top of the um the screen the screen wall that encases or surrounds the the existing antennas as well as the proposed antennas is at an elevation of
89 ft above ground level. So the antennas um themselves actually are slightly lower than that elevation um so you know less than 10 ft above the height of the tank. Is is there any danger? I mean, whether
it's from the the tank or from what we're talking about tonight, I don't certainly know the answer to that. Yeah. I I think typically with with a cell tower, and again, we're we're talking towers in, you know, in the
height of 150 200 feet above um elevation, there typically is a lightning rod that's attached to the towers. uh with these types of of facilities uh and and you know Peter may be able to to add add to this but um you
know typically there is not a lightning rod that's installed on these facilities. Okay. Thank you. Mean meaning specifically a a building mount which is kind of the the general category that this would be considered. The existing tank does have a grounding
system on it and we on all our anything metal all that is all bonded into a ground system that will run down our cable tray into around our at the base of the t of tank. Um we will have our
own little grounding system. So there's always a chance of lightning, but nothing if it hits anything, it will end up mostly hitting our equipment, which will ground itself. Thank you. Anyone have any questions right now
before we turn it over to Carl? Then we certainly can will have questions. Okay, Carl, you're on. Okay. Again, uh um Carl Lawson, has materials inspector with the health department. Uh first of all, I just want to say that I am in agreement with uh what Mr. Uh Tim Twidowski stated in
terms of the types, volumes of hazardous materials and the containment. I'm I'm in agreement with all of that. We've discussed the details over the course of um a few months and um they are able they've indicated they are able to meet
all aspects of the health regulation and we've discussed the details of how they will meet those aspects of the regulation. Uh and they've also been agreeable to the conditions. conditions are above the uh regulation. So they are
additional safeguards and those conditions I listed on page seven of your uh memorandum and I'll just read those briefly. Um all totaled the volume of toxic and hazards gills involved is a little over 300 gallons. As I mentioned, the the
diesel tank is 300 g and then there'll be about another 25 26 gall of additional hazardous material. So about 325 326 gallons. So um the first listed conditions that the proposed maximum storage be limited to 400 gallons. So if
they decide to upgrade the size of the fuel tank or the generator in the future um you know beyond 400 gallons, they'd have to come back for uh town review. And um also uh a condition number two is that the spill response plan will be uh
available to all staff working at the site. Again, this site is non-typical compared to what's usually before the board because it's not staffed and there is no office and there's no shed in which to store additional hazardous materials or into which in which to keep
spill response materials or safety data sheets. So, the spill response plan and the safety data sheets for each material will be available to any staff working on site, whether they be technicians or fuel delivery personnel
um in response to the physical uh spill materials, spill response cleanup materials. Those will be brought on and off site with each staff visit. So if it's a technician visiting the site or fuel delivery person visiting the site, they will have spill response materials
available. And um other than that uh I think uh everything is pretty straightforward. Um like I said, the biggest thing is that it's a not non-staff site. Um I think we got a good answer as to how the alerting
system works with that dedicated fiber optic cable. Give me a little time to look over that document from Carl. Yes, I have time. uh one thought I had just for maybe
discussion purposes from the board is uh the vulnerability of the equipment. In other words, uh there's a a wire fence uh looks like is the only protection against some violent attack on the equipment and
how vulnerable is it? Um something to think about. I had mentioned to Carl, you know, when you pull up the gas station and the propane tanks are there, there's cement uh sitting in front of it of some sort. or even if you go to stop and shop, preventing, you know, a truck from going
into it. It's an isolated area, very isolated area. I don't know if anyone had a chance to go look today or not, but um you know, I'm just trying to think of a scenario whether it's, you know, a four-wheel truck uh four-wheel
drive heading up the hill there. Now, I don't think a a vehicle could get to that area that that's in question. At least from what I could see from the plans. I I've driven up there to look at it. Uh one time when I visited the site, there
was a cable lock. I don't know. I I imagine the town controls that, but I mean, it's off the a navigable path enough. It's up on a pad, so you really couldn't get a vehicle up to it. Actually, there there
is a paved uh I'll call it a driveway, so to speak, because it's single lane. There is a a paved driveway up to the water tank and all the way around the water tank that circumvents the water tank. So, isn't it isn't the this system elevated enough where you couldn't get a vehicle?
It's it's hard for me to relate uh really the size of a vehicle to the elevation. I I understand the point you're driving at, but um I I just don't feel I can comment accurately as to the elevation of the pad and tank related to a the size of a potential vehicle. I
just I'm not sure how to assess that. Tim, what do you guys do for safety precautions and the such instances? Well, I honestly I I can say that um in in the 20 years that I've been um doing this kind of work for Verizon Wireless,
that's that's has not been an issue. Um you know, whether it's a tower, a tower uh in the traditional sense, or water tank sites or building mounted facilities with groundbased equipment. Um, you know, the industry standard is
is to enclose them in um in a locked gated fence. Um, which is typical. In some cases, the fence would be stockade fence. Some cases it's it's chain link with with barbed wire, but that's that's generally dependent upon what the
requirements of the local jurisdiction are. um you know those those certainly vary in terms of the design and enclosure requirements with regard to um with regard to these types of facilities. Um I I can say that um you know the the wireless facility bylaw for
the town of Yarmouth does does not impose any kind of requirements you know for example you know to to surround the facility with with ballards um you know for example uh anything of that sort but it does require that it be enclosed with
a uh with a fence and we are uh you know this facility has been designed in compliance with those requirements. I don't you know I don't think our concern would be the generator. It's really 400 gallons of toxic material that's there. Now, is it sitting on the
ground? The tank, what what height is the tank? The the water tank itself is is our groundbased equipment would be mounted on top of a concrete pad. Uh the concrete pad itself is is I believe it's 10 in thick.
Right. So, essentially, we have 300 gallons of diesel fuel sitting on the ground or 10 inches above the ground. Is that correct? approximately. I I don't know the exact elevation in relation to ground level, but you know that that sounds about right. Right. So this my point it's not I don't
think you're concerned about an antenna or the generator which costs a fortune. I mean um it's the fuel that that's needs to be our concern here tonight as it's sitting over our drinking water. Understood. I I I see where you're coming from.
Okay. Thanks board members. What do you think? There's a lot here. I think the U system systems been well designed and I think uh we should approve it.
My I mean it looks like they they've covered all the bases in my opinion. I agree. I had one one more question. the um the safety data sheets for all personnel who are servicing or delivering fuel,
how um how are those made available to personnel? Peter, are are you able to address that? I mean, my my understanding and and again, I'm just speaking off the cuff here, so I'll defer to Peter, but you know, these materials will be provided to um you know, everyone who services
the facility. The only people that come and fuel the generators are Kinsley, our contracted service company. So if we need fuel, they are the ones with their own trucks uh and have their own spill protection
and they're they're working within their contract and to Verizon safety standards. So okay, but there are some Verizon employees that might be responding to an alarm or just some other situation.
if if they see a spill, they have within their regard. I mean, if there's a if there's a fuel spill, it's automatically Kinsley is out there with their hazmat cleanup and enforcement.
So I guess that was kind of more my question is like the the service contractors have their own they're responsible for keeping their own SDS sheets for the applicable materials. In other words, they're not they're not
like posted at the facility. Is that correct? No, they have they have them on their truck. Okay. Anyone want to make a motion if they don't have any questions? I move um then an emergency spill
response plan is part of that information that we received. Well, so yeah, I make a motion that we accept the uh u proposal for the um you know the permitting of the generator and the uh
batteries and the containment system you want to include the recommendations that call made just part of your motion. Right. So call made some recommendations. If you'd like to include it in the motion, you might want to do that. Um in other words, he
to assure that all these things will take place for the I would include the license condition recommendations. Yes. Yeah. Sure. Is there a second to the motion? Second. So, any further discussion?
Um yeah, I'm I'm not going to vote in favor of it unless um there's some additional barriers to protect the uh the tank. um that's not very expensive to put large pieces of cement in or something. That's not a lot of money con
compared to the expense of this generator and so on. So just sharing that as part of a discussion that's very reasonable request there.
You think we should look at the area to see if that's a possibility where I mean what what's your concern like a vehicle could hit the facility? Yeah. I mean maybe that it could be possible. Is that possible Carl? Have you been there? It's hard for me to assess. It seems to
me on the surface that it is possible. Um again in what I'm considering is a 10 in thick concrete pad. I imagine some portion of that is going to be below grade. Uh, so that's going to leave you a portion uh, and I I welcome anyone from the Verizon team to correct me if
I'm wrong, but I imagine that's going to leave uh, significantly less than 10 in above grade. And then it's my understanding the fuel tank, which is uh, below the generator. That'll be right on the pad. So, you're right. That would be relatively low. It seems conceivable a
truck could uh, make contact with it. But is the pad adjacent right adjacent to a driveway? Uh, I'll have to review the plan again, which I have with me. It's It's very close, if not immediately adjacent,
because there's not much um land at the same grade as the driveway before it falls away. It wouldn't be any obstruction from the driveway to the pad. Well, the only obstruction based on my uh look at the plans, the only obstruction would be other
components. Um, for example, I'd have to look and see is the uh battery cabinet or is anything else any other components between the driveway and the uh diesel tank. So, I um
that's what we need to look at. I mean, I assume a truck has to be able to get up there if they have heavy parts to replace on the generator or dealing with filling or taking fuel out. They have to get close to it. Yeah. They
necessarily have to drive into it and there's a difference. They obviously they'll be filling the tank with a hose. Sure. You know. Yeah. So, to me it looks like um after the pavement ends on this circular driveway around the water tank, there's
going to be a little bit of a distance of um it looks like either grass or earth before the uh concrete pad and the diesel tank. So, it looks like the diesel tank would be in a direct line with the driveway with no other equipment in between as best I can tell.
Yes. But but the fence is there. I'm sorry. The fence is there, right? With the fence. that you could put bull work the fence would be that space could easily install bull works there between the driveway and the and
the uh tank like they would in for example for a gas meter or something like that in a normal building right I imagine that could be installed um I think we'll have to ask maybe they'll need to redesign the the pad
somewhat or or maybe this the ballards could be placed off of the pad Oh, for sure. Earth with with, you know, significant anchoring. So, I I don't see why that couldn't be done. Yeah. Yeah. It's something just needs to be dropped on the ground that weighs weighs a lot.
That's about it. It doesn't have to be that close, you know, to the pad. So, so perhaps there's a few options. Perhaps a cement barrier. Um, but, you know, ballards with a footing and foundation below grade, that could be an option, too, I imagine. So I think
there's a couple of ways that uh enhanced vandalism protection can be covered especially I think a vehicle strike which is probably the largest threat right that's under consideration
if I may uh address you know c certainly you know very valid comments um you know this I I like I said this this is not an issue that I can recall being brought up by either a zoning board or a board of health um previously. So, you know, I I
certainly commend the board for for raising this as an issue and it certainly poses a legitimate concern. Um, in speaking to my client offline, um, you know, we would agree to a condition to install Ballards, um, what I would suggest is that in, you know,
looking at the the plan for the site, um, coming off of the driveway, um, if if one were to turn right toward the facility, um, the it's actually the the existing facility would be kind of
in the way, as would all of the communications equipment. And so the the the the generator and the fuel tank would be located um I believe this would be on the westerly side of the site. So one would have to go left you take a
left um to go clockwise around the back of the existing water tank and that is where the possible exposure would be to the um you know to to the generator and the the the fuel tank obviously. Um and
Peter can can address this further, but um you know we would be uh amunable to a condition that we install um ballards um to protect the um the generator and the fuel tank against that type of uh uh
damage coming from a vehicle. Thank you. Sure. So we just make an amendment to it. Make right. So, um to um I I recommend that we approve that
proposal including the um conditions that we spelled out um for the batteries and the generator. Um, and to add the ballards uh in any area that's uh where
the possibility of a vehicle hitting um either the tank or the generator could occur. Perfect. Thank you. That's great. There a second to that. Second. Okay. Any other discussion? Anyone? This is it. Okay. So, let's vote. All in
favor of the motion say I raise your hand. That's unanimous. Okay. Great. We're done. Good luck with the work up there on the hill. Thank you everyone. Thank you, Carl. Thank you everybody.
Yeah, Carl. Great. All right, let's change themes here a little bit. It's review and approve minutes time. Okay, let's start. Um we'll go retroactively. Okay. June 2nd we have some we do need to vote on them
separately because uh there were some absentees. I wasn't here. Yeah. So okay. So on June second it's but we do have three other people here. Um any edits, comments, anything? Otherwise
we can just vote on it accept minutes or not. I didn't have any. I move we approve the meeting minutes from June 2nd, 2025. Second. Great. All let's assume there's no discussion. All in favor, just raise
your hand, say I. I. Okay, one down. Fine. Next, the minutes from May 19th and two absentes. That was uh Charlie and Eric. So, we still can vote on it.
Anyone any comments? Anything? We accept the minutes as written. Okay. Uh second. Thank you. All in favor raise your hand. Say I. I. Okay. Once again, that's two down, folks. Okay. May 5th, the minutes. Uh Mary and Charlie were not present at
the meeting. Anything needs to change? Look fine to me. Uh, I move we accept the meeting minutes from May 5th. Okay. Can we have a second? Second. Great. All in favor raise your hand, say I. Okay.
Fine. Three out of three. Great. Okay. So, we have any other I see there's in the packet there's an International Overdose Awareness Day. Jerry, what's Yeah. Um, International Overdose
Awareness Day, candlelight at the beach memorial at Smugglers Beach. It's held every year. It's a very touching um, memorial. I've been to it the last two years. That will be Sunday, August 31st at 5:00 p.m. at Smuggler's Beach. Um,
you get to hear the stories of the family members who've who have lost people to uh drug overdoses and other issues. So, it's it's a very nice celebration that night for the families
to get together and reminisce. So, yeah, there was a mother made a presentation I believe last year or the year before. Was very touching. Yeah. She's the one that spearheads it. Yeah. So, Okay. Anyone else have any?
We got some new business. Yeah. Um, we'd like to welcome Riley uh Neenberger. She's our new office assistant. She actually was my um summer sanitarian two years ago when I worked in Dennis. So, that program works out
for some people in the long run. So, it's she's a great asset to to our um to our program. It's we're very happy to have her here. So, right. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Yeah, that says a lot for you also. She She's willing to come and work with you. Yeah.
After working with you, she was great. I I appreciate that. Okay. You have any questions, just, you know, contact anyone on the board about anything. Okay. Nice to have you. Um, I have an update from Rack. Yeah. Okay. Um
first off on July 22nd the select board um I is expecting a short presentation from RACK and at that time the chairman um anticipates asking for a recharge of RACK's mission.
So um that that should be interesting. Um, I I think that the thing that comes up the most from the public for me is Route 28 paving and the pump station. So, that got somewhat clarified. Um, the work on
Route 28 is finished now except for the final paving, but apparently the paving final paving was not included in the contracts with the people who have been doing the work. So, that's going to come from the town and um with with a
separate contact contract, sorry. And you know, I don't know when that's going to happen. Um the pump station apparently um that has been discussed in executive session at the board of select meetings. um multiple parties have been
involved and it is still not ready to be um finalized and so some of the work is still holding up because of that. U and the other thing is that the Bvery
Hills use as a um a discharge location is still the primary place being considered. And um interestingly there's a whole list of different ways that um this kind of discharge can be handled.
And one of the ways involves some fairly new technology that DP has not seen in use. So that's going to be um tried out fall or winter to see if it um it's something that D would approve.
And most of Station Avenue is also done. um that includes from Pancake Man almost to the Bass River. So things are progressing and of course that doesn't even include the wastewater um facility but that's moving along also a little bit slower than expected but it is
moving along. What's the discharge technology that they're going to be reviewing? Um let me get let me get my notes. Um, some of the alternatives that they have looked at are sand lots, uh, deep
ejection wells, septic tanks. Not not quite septic tanks, but that's what they're calling them. But the one that I think that they're looking at is leeching manholes. they're called um they're underground galleries and they would be placed um
the the main the main discharge is going under the driving range and apparently they're going to expand the parking lot the golf courses and so that would then expand the the area under the parking lot there where there could be discharged um
and then this other um the leeching manholes would beong along the um the holes Mhm. of the golf course. So, do they have any opportunity to use the reclaimed water for irrigation
purposes? That's what it is. Yes. Yes. That's the whole purpose of the the main discharge. Yep. You you're just talking about the filtering process before they use it, I think. Right. I'm talking about where the water goes.
Right. But but it it has to be Well, it's going to go on. It's already been treated. I mean, this is just discharge water. Okay. Right. But I thought it was going to irrigate the golf course. It is. I mean, it's So, so in other words, we're talking about the uh filtering process before
it's used to um irrigate the golf course. Is that right? We're talking about where the the discharge water is stored. It's already processed, clean. So, it's Okay. So it's stored I see in one of these mechanisms I've seen that applied on the golf course.
Yes. The 19th hole. Yeah. Um I can ask. So it's already been through all the filtering process. Yes. Oh absolutely. Yeah. Y
talking about watering. Um in town I you know I do see lawns that are green um and not brown like most of them. We have our inboard uh hydraologist here. Is the ban on automatic the
sprinklers still watering banan is still in place. We still have a drought as of June 9th I think was the most recent update. So, so that ban on non-essential water use. Okay.
So, irrigating lawns, I believe drip irrigation for for beds is still permitted. It is. Yeah. So, it's still in effect. Yes. Very much. So, either people don't know or just know and aren't going to abide by it. It
came with a notice in the water bill, you know, the the drought notice, but I've not seen any update on it, although I haven't gone on the town's website either. So, nice if they had a board up the transfer station at least. There's a lot of, you know, traffic through there. Just be
nice. Talk about other stuff. Uh Mary and I are on the plastic reduction committee, right? Um it's coming along good. We're finding a lot more other towns that have current regulations that we're trying to adopt
and incorporate into Yarmouth. It's um we're trying to get it done by October so we can present it. So, it's one of the biggest hurdles is which plastics we want to eliminate and which ones we're trying to see if they can get
waiverss from. Falmouth is theirs goes into effect seeper. September and we're waiting to get paperwork back from them to see what waiverss um the big groceries are asking
for the items that they can't not do without. Um what we're finding is most of the the smaller restaurants will be able to accommodate the the changes. It'll be at a cost to the consumer, but they're doing it's the
big um grocery stores like the the deli bags. They're specially designed to make sure the the meats last longer. Um there's microniums in the cakes that keep them fresh and moist. Um, it's just
there just not plastic, regular plastic. There's actual technology built into these. So, we're trying to figure out which one of those we can do, but it's we're moving forward with it. It's it's very good. The the um the supermarkets, it's it's a
different um endpoint. You know, when you get takeout, usually eating it the next day or probably two days later, but other than that, it doesn't stay fresh and it's not meant to in the containers they send it in. But supermarkets have specific requirements for the foods that
they are containing themselves, preparing and containing and sending home because it might sit in your refrigerator a week or even longer sometimes. And so it's a different need a need need for a different type of plastic and ultimately I think it's going to
land on this board to make the regulations. So yes, that's the other point too. It's it sounds as if the select board is um going to agree that this is a health department regulation. So that means
that the health department staff, the health inspectors that go out to the retail establishments will be including that in there. We'll be in charge of the education to the to the public and to the the food establishments.
Um we'll have to build in kind of a grace period, I would say. Um a lot of restaurants, small restaurants, mom and pops at the beginning of the season. it's cheaper for them to buy for the whole year and then we can't just
say all right well you can't use anymore let them build down their their their product and stuff like that. So we still got a little ways to go but it's it's coming along good. It's it's coming along really good and we have representation from Stop and
Shop and two of the um local fast food establishments if you will as well as others. So, and overall the in Falmouth it's been pretty well accepted and there's there's
been some studies done that the establishments are accepting it and are moving forward with it. It's everybody's on the same page. They they want it done. They just want it done right and done properly. So, that's what we're working with the consideration that it will
evolve as progress is made in having substitutes available for some of the plastics that Yeah, I just think it's important for us to be sensitive to the small businesses that would be, you know, handicapped. If
Yarmouth has this these rules that other towns adjacent don't have just it just it's a handicap for these businesses. They've already up against it as it is with so many other factors that we need to just be sensitive to that. You know, the other
thing is that just a I'll get on my soap box here, but coming off of Willow Street onto Ansel uh onto Higgins Crow Road, especially on the weekends, um I find all kinds of bottles and trash just
discarded along the road. And you know, I I just worry that we're penalizing law-abiding citizens because they're not the ones that are doing this. We just had the um parking lot repaved in our condo, our shop condo on Midtech Drive.
And when I pulled up to the uh shop, there was discarded plastic bottles, empty cigarette cartons. I mean, these aren't items that the average law-abiding citizen's going to discard. And yet we seem to be penalizing the
law-abiding citizens and these other um miscreants are just, you know, violating these laws right and left. So, I just want to be realistic about the laws that we put in place that we're just not going to be handicapping law- abiding citizens and these
miscreants that going to keep I mean, you you and I, we wouldn't think about throwing any kind of trash out a window of our car, but there are people out there that think nothing of that. And we just need to be sensitive to to the rights of law-abiding citizens and
not penalize them because of the behavior of these people, these other people that aren't considerate of of what they're doing. Yeah. This this regulation is really not going to
it's not going to solve the litter problem. No, it it's a another what would No, it's another whole issue. Yeah, just just hopefully it will it will maybe minimize it in terms of the things that are
littered, but yeah. Yeah, there's other problems. As for other problems, just as a reminder to uh the health department, board of health and people listening is
um you know, we have the mission of maintaining improving the health of people here in town and we may be seeing some changes and maybe there's some people who are going to have difficulty getting health insurance coverage um or
it may become more difficult to get vaccinated. even childhood vaccinations. So our job may be changing in the near future. Keep that in mind whether we have to be more creative. Um
well we have to keep in mind that that doesn't happen till after the midterm elections. That just happened to be the the way that was worded in the in the law that those those additions won't occur until after the midterms. Yeah. I don't know what that means, but
that's the way it was written. That's correct. Uh we, you know, we report to the state that that's where we get our direction and so that's, you know, we'll see what comes from there. Anyone else? Anything new, old?
Um, next meeting, do you want to skip the one in second half of July and go to August, folks? I'm okay with doing that. Yes. Unless something urgent comes up. So that would be August 4th, I think. Okay. Okay. Sure.
All right. Sounds good. All right. Yeah. Okay. Anyone want to go home? I move that we adjourn. Second. All in favor raise your hand say I. I.
I. Ajourn. Thank you everyone. Wonder how long the line at