BWC Minutes
Wellfleet Board of Water Commissioners
Town Hall Conference Room
Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 6:00 PM
Commissioners Present: Chair Justina Carlson, Neil Gadwa, James Hood, Catharie Nass
Commissioners Absent: Curt Felix
Also Present: Town Administrator Dan Hoort, System Manager Michaela Miteva, Fire Chief Rich Pauley, members of the public
Chair Carlson called the meeting to order at 6:05 PM.
Carlson explained that this is the first in a series of public outreach sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to inform tax payers about the mission of the Board of Water Commissioners and to provide another opportunity for public input in order to assist the Board in updating the Master Plan for the Wellfleet Municipal Water System.
Fire Chief Pauley gave a presentation about the importance of a municipal water system for fire safety and protection. He began showing a video explaining that evacuation times from burning buildings have decreased from 10-12 minutes once a smoke alarm sounds to only three minutes. It currently takes only three minutes before a building is fully consumed by fire due to the new synthetic more flammable building and household materials used versus the solid wood materials used in the past.
Chief Pauley displayed a map of the fire hydrants in place in Wellfleet, noting that the Coles Neck area is lacking in adequate hydrant coverage due to under-sized water mains. He talked about the recent fire at 3 West Main Street that destroyed a building containing two businesses. Chief Pauley stated that if there had been no fire hydrant available near the site two abutting buildings may have been directly impacted.
Chief Pauley explained the Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating system which takes into account a town’s fire suppression preparedness and the proximity of individual properties to fire hydrants. A low rating can result in lower property insurance premiums. Wellfleet’s ISO rating dropped from nine to four due to a reclassification after the implementation of the network of fire hydrants in town.
At the conclusion of his presentation Chief Pauley answered questions about fire protection for properties that do not have fire hydrants in close proximity. The Water Commissioners thanked Chief Pauley and invited the public to attend future informational sessions.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the Wellfleet Town Hall 2nd floor Conference Room.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 PM.