Members of the Seymour Board of Selectmen during a meeting June 2.
SEYMOUR — Members of the Seymour Board of Selectmen met in executive session for 48 minutes Tuesday night to talk to their lawyer about the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority.
The move comes two weeks after the Selectmen rejected the WPCA’s budget, saying it lacked information. They also raised concerns about operational issues at the WPCA.
The Selectmen, during a meeting May 19, said the operational issues include an alleged lack of maintenance, a lack of a capital plan, and the condition of an old truck that was being used by WPCA employees even though it wasn’t safe to drive.
The WPCA’s budget, by the way, carries a 9 percent increase in user fees, according to Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller. Miller said the WPCA budget provided to the town was only a page long, with no details.
The First Selectman called the short budget “absolutely ridiculous.” The Selectmen unanimously voted to reject the budget, saying the Town Charter requires the WPCA to provide more information.
That doesn’t necessarily stop the budget, though, as the Selectmen’s “approval/rejection” powers over the budget are symbolic.
The WPCA’s annual budget is about $1.7 million.
The May 19 meeting of the Board of Selectmen is below. The WPCA discussion starts about 1 hour and 16 minutes in.
By way of background, the WPCA is in charge of the town’s sewer system, including pump stations, underground pipes and the sewage treatment facility. It is independent of the town, its responsibilities spelled out in state law.
In Seymour, the town contracts with a private company, Veolia Water, to run the WPCA. A message seeking comment was left Monday with the company.
A five-member volunteer board appointed by the Board of Selectmen oversee the WPCA. They’re also called the WPCA.
Seymour Deputy First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis is one of the appointed members of the WPCA. She raised a number of concerns with her counterparts on the Board of Selectmen May 19 ranging from a lack of regular maintenance at the town’s sewage treatment plant to the WPCA allegedly delaying giving information to the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, an organization studying if it makes economic sense to regionalize sewer systems in the area.
She pointed out the WPCA approved its budget May 4 even though its members did not have copies of the budget to review before the meeting.
The condition of a 1993 “flush” truck also raised eyebrows among members of the Seymour Board of Selectmen May 19.
While the WPCA is independent of the town, the town owned the truck and paid its insurance. Drugonis cited a report showing the truck’s front tires were 24 years old and had dry rot. The truck’s steering wheel was malfunctioning. The breaks were bad.
Yet the truck had been on area roads and highways. Drugonis said practices such as that open the town up to liability.
The condition of the truck raised red flags for town officials, who were made aware of the problems after a mechanic at the Department of Public Works inspected the vehicle. Drivers are supposed to sign off on the truck’s safety each time it is driven.
At a WPCA meeting May 4 (full meeting embedded at the bottom of this story), WPCA reps noted maintenance of the truck was provided by a local garage, and that it had passed inspections by that garage. The truck has been repaired and it is back on the road, Miller said.
Ultimately on May 19 the Selectmen directed its lawyer, Richard Buturla, to explore options for the town. Seymour currently has four years left on a 10-year contract with Veolia Water.
Buturla pointed out Veolia Water handles sewage treatment facilities operations all over the state — so if there are problems it might not be the operator’s fault.
In addition to looking over the town’s contract with the company, Buturla was also going to review whether the town could change the structure of the appointed body providing oversight to the WPCA.
During Tuesday’s meeting (June 2), Buturla recommended the board, along with Miller’s chief of staff Rory Burke, meet in private so that he could pass along his research.
Executive sessions are meetings closed to the public. They are allowed under specific circumstances under state law, such as when discussing litigation, contracts, real estate deals or specific public employees.
Tuesday’s executive session was not included on the meeting’s agenda before the meeting, which was an oversight, Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller said.
The Selectmen voted to add the discussion to the agenda after the meeting started. Selectman Chris Bowen voted against going into executive session.
The Selectmen emerged after 48 minutes and took no action regarding the WPCA, nor discussed it further.
Seymour WPCA Meeting May 4
