DIGHTON WATER DISTRICT
SPECIAL MEETING
A Special Meeting of the Dighton Water
District was held in the cafeteria at the
District Clerk, Carol Stevens, called the
meeting to order at
ARTICLE
I – On a motion made and seconded, Gene Nelson was nominated Moderator for the
evening. It was voted unanimously and Gene Nelson proceeded with the meeting.
ARTICLE
II- On a motion made and seconded the District voted unanimously to accept the
reports of the Officers as written in the Annual Report.
ARTICLE
III-A motion was made and seconded to see if the District would vote to
amend ARTICLE II (MEETINGS) of The Dighton Water District by-laws
which was
amended at a Special Meeting
to
read-
SECTION
3. As of
Meet at The Dighton Water District
office on the second Tuesday of
the
month. In the event of a Tuesday holiday
or if it becomes
necessary
to change the date and time of the meeting, the meeting
shall take
place on a date and time chosen by The Board of Water
Commissioners.
Joseph White a former Commissioner
and Ernest Silva, Co-Chairman of
the
Finance Committee questioned the legal counsel’s review of the
Warrant and it’s
contents.
Joseph White made a motion to amend
Section 3 of ARTICLE II of the
By-laws as voted September 1991, to
read the Commissioners shall
Meet not less than two times each
month. The meetings shall take
Place on a date and time chosen by
the Board of Water
Commissioners. The motion to amend was seconded, a vote was
taken
to amend
and carried unanimously.
William McKeon mentioned that there
could be further discussion on
The amendment as carried. William McKeon made a motion to amend
Section 3 of ARTICLE II of the
by-laws to read, As of November
18,1999
the Board of Water Commissioners shall meet at the Dighton
Water District office on the second
Tuesday of the month and such
other
times, as they deem necessary. In the
event of a Tuesday
holiday or
if it becomes necessary to change the date and time of
the
meeting, the meeting shall take place on a date and time chosen
by the
Board of Water Commissioners. The motion to amend was
seconded, a vote
was taken and the motion to amend passed
unanimously.
ARTICLE
IV- A motion was made and seconded to see if the District would vote to
amend ARTICLE V (FINANCE AND ADVISORY) of the Dighton Water
District by-laws which was adopted
at an Annual Meeting held on
read-
SECTION
1. At the Annual Meeting and before the final
adjournment thereof,
there
shall be appointed by the Moderator, a Finance
Committee consisting of five (5)
members to serve until the final
adjournment
of the next Annual Meeting. Vacancies
shall be filled
by the
remaining members of the Committee. None of who shall be an
officer,
member of the District Commissioners, or anyone that has
served as
a past Finance Committee Member for a term of three
years.
Said Members shall be Voters of the Dighton Water District.
No member shall serve more than three (3)
consecutive years.
SECTION
2. The Finance Committee shall at its first
meeting elect a Chairman
and a
Clerk. The Finance Committee shall
notify the Chairman of
The Board of Commissioners in
writing, within seven days of their
appointment
which member will serve as the Chairman and which
member
will serve as the clerk. All Finance
Committee meetings
shall be
posted at the Dighton Water District and in two or more
Public places within the District
in accordance with the
keep
minutes of all meetings. Minutes of the
meetings shall be
made
available to the Voters of the District within seven (7)
working
days.
SECTION
3. When a Warrant for a District Meeting
contains any article or
articles
under which an appropriation or expenditure of money, or
the
disposition of any property of the District may be made, The
Finance Committee shall consider
such articles, report in writing
its
recommendations to the Board of Commissioners for their review.
The Finance Committee shall make
available to the District Voters,
at the
District’s Annual Meeting or Special, a written copy of
their
advisory report.
Joseph White and Ernest Silva were
vociferous against having
changes
made to the Finance and Advisory by-laws.
Joseph White
felt that
there was no need to change the by-laws that he had made
up back in
1967. Joseph White stated, “All the
current members
were picked
by one individual and there was no need for a change.”
James Ready made a motion that the
third sentence in Section 1 be
Amended to read- None of who shall
be an officer, member of the
District Commissioners, or anyone
that has served as a past Finance
Committee member for a term of
three years, no member shall be a
relative
of an employee, an employee or a commissioner.
The Motion
was
seconded. A vote was taken. The vote was
unanimously against
the
amendment. A motion was made to return
to the main motion.
Margaret Brochu
made a motion to table Article IV, the motion was
seconded. A vote was taken, The District voted to
unanimously to
table Article IV.
ARTICLE
V- On a motion
made and seconded the District voted unanimously to add
ARTICLE VI- (Water Supply by-law) Sections 1 through 7 to the
Dighton Water District by-laws
after a motion to amend Section 3
and
Section 6 was made and seconded. Section
3 was amended by
removing-
(and any other locally designated body having police
powers. Section 6 was amended by adding; (with a
court order) at
the end of
the paragraph.
The following is the Water Supply
by-law that was passed.
SECTION 1: Authority
This By-law is adopted by the
Dighton Water District under its home
rule
powers, its police powers to protect public health and welfare
and it’s
specific authorization under M.G.L. c. 40,s.21 and 21D.
SECTION 2: Purpose
The purpose of this By-law is to
protect, preserve, and maintain
the public
health, safety and welfare whenever there is in force a
state of
water supply emergency by providing for enforcement of all
duly
imposed restrictions, requirements, provisions or conditions
imposed by
the District or by the Department and included in the
District’s plan approved by the
Department of Environmental
Protection to
abate the emergency.
SECTION 3: Definitions
For the Purpose of this By-law:
Enforcement authority shall mean the Districts Board of Water
Commissioners,
the Town Police, and special police.
State of water supply emergency shall mean a state of water
supply
emergency
declared by the Department of Environmental Protection
pursuant
to G.L.c.21G, s.15 through 17, G.L.c.111, s.160 or by the
Governor.
SECTION 4: The
following shall apply to all users of water supplied by the
Dighton Water District:
Following notification by the
District of the existence of a state
of water
supply emergency, no person shall violate any provision,
condition,
requirement or restriction included in a plan approved
by the
Department of Environmental Protection which has as its
purpose
the abatement of a water supply emergency.
Notification of any provision,
restriction, requirement, or
condition
with which users of water supplied by the District are
required
to comply to abate a situation of water emergency shall be
sufficient
for purposes of this By-law if it is published in a
newspaper
of general circulation within the District or by such
other
notice as is reasonably calculated to reach and inform all
users of
the District supply.
SECTION 5: Penalty
Any person or entity who violates
this By-law, shall be liable to
the
District in the amount of $50.00 for the first violation and
$100.00 for each subsequent
violation which shall inure to the
District for such uses as the Board
of Water Commissioners may
direct. Fines shall be recovered by indictment or on
complaint
before the
District Court or by noncriminal disposition in
accordance
with Section 21D of Chapter 40 of the General Laws.
Each separate instance of
noncompliance following the issuance of
Any warning or citation pursuant to
this section shall constitute a
separate
violation.
SECTION 6: Right of Entry
Agents of the enforcement authority
may enter any property for the
purpose of
inspecting or investigating any violation of the By-law
or
enforcing against the same with a court order.
Section 7: Severability
The invalidity of any portion or
provision of the By-law shall not
invalidate
any other portion, provision or section hereof.
ARTICLE
VI- On a motion made and seconded the District voted unanimously to add
ARTICLE VII (Illegal Use Of Fire
Hydrants)-
Section 1 to the
Dighton Water District By-laws
which will read as follows;
SECTION1: Whoever
willfully or wantonly opens a fire hydrant for the sole
purpose of
vandalism or obtaining unmetered water without first
obtaining
permission from the Dighton Water District, shall forfeit
and pay to
the District the sum of $100.00 for each offense or
twice the
amount of any and all damages, whichever is greater.
This By-law is not intended to
restrict the use of fire hydrants by
the Fire
Department or the Dighton Highway Department in their
normal
operations.
ARTICLE
VII-On a motion made and seconded the District voted unanimously to add
ARTICLE VIII (Water Management Program)-Sections 1-10 to the
Dighton Water District By-laws,
which will read as follows;
SECTION 1: Authority
This By-law is adopted by the
District under its police powers to
protect
public health and welfare and its powers under Chapter 359
of the
Acts of 1950 and implements the District’s authority to
regulate
water use pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter
41, Section 69B. This by-law also implements the District’s
authority
under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 41A
conditioned
upon a declaration of water supply emergency issued by
the
Department of Environmental Protection.
SECTION2: Purpose
The purpose of this By-law is to
protect, preserve and maintain the
public
health, safety and welfare whenever there is a Water
Management Program of State of
for
enforcement of any duly imposed restrictions, requirements,
provisions
or conditions imposed by the District or by the
Department of
Environmental Protection.
SECTION 3.
Definitions
Person shall mean any individual, corporation trust,
partnership or
association,
or other entity.
State of Water Supply Emergency shall mean a State of
Emergency declared by the
Department of Environmental Protection
under
Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 21G, Sections 15-17.
Water Management Program shall mean a
Water Supply conservation
Program declared by the District
pursuant to Section 4 of this by-
law.
SECTION
4. Declaration
of Water Management Program
The District, through its Board of
Water Commissioners, may declare
a Water
Management Program upon determination by a majority vote of
the Board
that a shortage of water exists and conservation measures
are
appropriate to ensure an adequate supply of water to all water
consumers. Public notice of a Water Management Program
shall be
given
under Section 6 of this by-law before it may be enforced.
SECTION
5. Restricted
Water Use
A mandatory Water Management
Program shall include one or more of
the
following restrictions, conditions, or requirements limiting
the use of
outdoor water as necessary to protect the water supply.
The applicable restrictions,
conditions, or requirements shall be
included
in the public notice required under Section 6.
a)
Odd/Even Day Outdoor Watering;
Outdoor watering by water users with odd numbered addresses are restricted to
odd numbered calendar days. Outdoor
watering by water users with even numbered addresses restricted to even numbered calendar days.
b)
Outdoor Watering Ban;
Outdoor watering is prohibited.
c)
Outdoor Watering Hours;
Outdoor watering is permitted only during periods of low demand and to be
specified in the Water Management Program and public notice thereof.
d)
Filling Swimming Pools;
Filling of Swimming pools is prohibited.
e)
Automatic Sprinkler Use; The
use of automatic sprinkler systems is
prohibited.
SECTION
6. Public Notification of a Mandatory Water Management
Program;
Notification
of DEP
Notification of any provision, restriction, requirement or condition
imposed by the District as part of a Mandatory Water
Management
Program
shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation
within the District, or by such other means reasonably
calculated to
reach and inform all users of water of the Mandatory Water
Management Program.
Any restrictions imposed under SECTION 5 shall
not be effective until such notification is provided. Notification
of a Mandatory Water Management Program shall also be
simultaneously
provided to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection.
SECTION
7. Termination of a Mandatory Water Management Program; Notice
The
Mandatory Water Management Program may be terminated by a
majority vote of the Board of Water Commissioners, upon a
determination that the water supply shortage no longer
exists.
Public
notification of the termination of the Mandatory Water
Management shall be given in the same manner required by SECTION 6.
SECTION
8. State of Water Supply Emergency; compliance with DEP Orders
Upon
notification to the public that a declaration of a State of
Water
Supply Emergency has been issued by the Department of
Environmental Protection, no person shall violate any provision,
restriction, requirement, condition or any order approved or
issued
by the Department intended to bring about an end to the
State of
Emergency.
SECTION
9. Penalties
Any
person violating this by-law shall be subject to the following
fines:
FIRST OFFENSE: WRITTEN WARNING
SECOND OFFENSE: $
50.00 FINE
THIRD OFFENSE: $100.OO FINE
FOURTH OFFENSE: TERMINATION
OF WATER UNTIL THE MATTER OF
CONTIUED VIOLATION IS RESOLVED
This
section shall be enforced under the provisions of Chapter 40,
section 21D. Upon a
violation of this by-law, the Board of Water
Commissioners shall serve a written notice to appear before the
Clerk
of court of the district court not later than 21 days after
receipt of said notice.
Therefore, the procedures set forth in
Chapter
40,section 21D, shall be followed.
SECTION
10. Severability
The invalidity
of any portion or provisions of this by-law shall
not invalidate any other portion or provision thereof.
ARTICLE
VIII- On a motion made and seconded, the District voted unanimously to
transfer
$100,000.00 from Free Cash to lower the Dighton Water
District’s tax
rate. Joseph White was opposed to
the transfer.
Joseph White wanted to know who
approved last year’s budget.
Chairman, of the Board of
Commissioners, Michael Perry mentioned
that the
voters and the Finance Committee had approved last
year’s
budget. Ernest Silva stated, “That he wanted the record to
show
that the Finance Committee did not approve last year’s
budget.” Donald Simmons of the Finance Committee also
agreed
with
Ernest Silva in saying the Finance Committee did not approve
last
year’s budget. Patrick Menges, of the Finance
Committee
said, “I
was on the Finance Committee and the Finance Committee
approved
the bottom line and recommended to the voters the budget
that is
in effect. The Finance Committee did in fact recommend
the
budget for approval. I regret that I
disagree with my
colleagues,
but we certainly did recommend that budget, and it
would be
in the best interest of the District if in these matters
we deal
as agreeably as possible and look forward not back.”
Under ARTICLE IX-To transact such other
business as may legally come
before
said meeting. Michael Perry announced
that Jeffrey Musich
from
Earth Tech Inc. was in attendance for an informational
session
to answer any questions anyone may have about the water.
A vote was taken to continue the
meeting and listen to what
Jeffrey Musich
had to offer. Cynthia Price asked for
reconsideration
of Article III as amended and voted on.
Cynthia
Price made a motion to reconsider
Article III to the way that
Joseph White wanted it to read
making it mandatory that the Board
of
Commissioners meet twice a month. A vote
was taken to see if
the
District voters wanted the Article reconsidered. A hand
count
was taken after the doors were locked. Some of the voters
had
already left. Ten were in favor, 14 were opposed. The
Moderator announced that the
motion to reconsider failed and the
original
motion as voted, stands.
On
a motion made and seconded the meeting adjourned at
Respectfully Submitted,
____________________
Carol Stevens
District Clerk
Board
of Water Commissioners
_________________________ ______________________ ________________________