Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Thomas A. Gross, Sr., Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, Medford C. Capel, Utilities Manager, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes of the meeting of September 20, 1999 be accepted as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey announced that the Utilities Commission has cash on hand and in banks on October 18, 1999 of $321,753.36.

Mayor Bailey called on Mr. Capel for his report. Mr. Capel stated that he had received a letter from Henry Gruber in response to the water sampling report he requested. A copy of the letter had been provided to the Council. Mr. Capel said Mr. Gruber had not gotten all of the answers he wanted. Mr. Capel said the report from the lab stated that every test we had done showed all levels well within acceptable limits for drinking water. Mr. Gruber had wanted a metallurgical analysis on each particle of dissolved solids taken from the water. Mr. Capel said he would have to get another sample as the lab had destroyed the samples sent. Last Thursday a second set of samples were taken and had been sent to the lab. He said the results will not be available until next week or the week after.

Mr. Capel said he has told Mr. Gruber that if was not satisfied with the answers he has gotten he may call the EPA hotline and ask any questions he would like. He said everything in our water has been approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment and will be approved by the EPA. He said these tests will cost $500 to $600. Mayor Bailey said she felt we have done all we can by spending that kind of money to get the answers. She asked if anyone had questions.

Mr. Kirby said he had read the letter and asked if the Town had agreed at the July meeting to get a complete metallurgic analysis of the dissolved solids from the water sample. He said that appeared to be Mr. Gruber's complaint. He asked if that was part of a normal report. Mr. Capel said the report states: "Other particles which were identified as calcium, silicate sand, iron and zinc. These materials are commonly found in drinking water and may come from source water or from piping, water tanks and water heaters. In addition we have performed total dissolved solids on each of the same locations. In each case levels were found to be well within acceptable limits." Mr. Kirby asked if the new tests would be the same as the one already reported or would this be a new test. Mr. Capel said it was practically the same thing but what Mr. Gruber wants.

Mr. Capel reported on the damages caused by the hurricane Floyd. He said Heron Point has a basement drain in their furnace room and a relay went bad in the lift station and the pumps went out. He said they had a honey dipper there all day Thursday during the rain; built a tent over the electric control panel; had Baldwin Electric repair the control panel. He said every sewer in Town was flooded and every manhole was squirting water, however, none were blown off. He said there was an overflow at the end of Water Street, but that will not happen again. He said he plugged that line which had been put in as a overflow in the case of heavy rains, and he had done some other things to eliminate some of the water going in that line. He said he will see what larger pumps would cost or whether we can put larger impellers on the existing pumps. He said larger pumps may mean a new control panel and could cost as much as $70 or $80,000.

Mr. Capel said the drain pipe that goes under the railroad track at the LaMotte pond was not working during Floyd. He said a diver went into the 10 feet of water over the manholes to check the manhole guards under each lid. He said water was going through the guards and this caused the lagoon ponds to run over. He said the State Department of Health knew about this. He said they used four 6" diesel pumps, which pump about 1200 gallons a minute, for 24 hours a day for a week to pump that pond down.

Mr. Capel said he worked on both lagoon ponds. He said water was running from the fields into the ponds and he had to cut a ditch to keep that water from going into the pond. He said they had three pumps pumping water out of the #2 pond. He said the tried to run the water through the chlorination/dechlorination system from one pond and it would not take it. He said the State was aware of all of the work that was done.

Mr. Capel said he purchased a new big diesel pump to have on hand at a cost of $21,000. He said the company allowed us half of the rental ($6000 or $7000) and applied it to the cost of the pump. He said some of the expenses will be covered by a FEMA grant that Mr. Ingersoll is pursuing. Mr. Capel said we were lucky, no lift stations were flooded. He said on that Thursday, the Radcliffe pumping station pumped over 4 millions gallons of water. He said normally we pump about 500,000 gallons a day.

Mr. Ingersoll said he would discuss the application for disaster funds from FEMA at the Mayor and Council meeting, but asked that the Council approve the purchase of the diesel pump. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the purchase of the diesel pump be approved as discussed, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the bills presented. Mr. Bristoll moved that the bills be paid as presented, was seconded by Mr. Gross and carried unanimously.

Mr. Gross moved that the meeting be adjourned at 7:55 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.