July 1, 2016Revdex.com100 Bryant Woods SouthAmherst, NY 1422810025 COUNTY ROADP.O.BOX 430CLARENCE CENTER, NEW YORK 14032PHONE: (716) 688-9098 * FAX: (716) 688-9562Attn: [redacted], Complaint Handler6Re: ID [redacted]Dear [redacted],I am in receipt of your June 20, 2016 letter to my office regarding a...
complaint received by you on June.17. :Wl6 f rom a homeowner in the Town of Lockport. I would like to respond to this complaint. Currently, Milherst Construction, Inc. is performing work on a water/sewer project in the Carlisle ' Gardens s.ection of the Town of Lockport for a contract that was awarded to us by t hE: Town. The project requires waterline relocations to perform sanitary sewer replacement, and this work involves shut-downs of the existing water system at various times. Although Milherst Construction is performing the work, and responsible for notifying the affected residences for shut-downs, the Town ot Lockport is responsible for the actual shut-down of the valves themselves. I am aware of the particular situation that Mr. [redacted] is upset with. We had a shut-down scheduled for Friday, June 17, and notified the residences in the affected area based on the information that was known at the time, on the location of the valves. We had the excavation opened up, ready to cut the pipe, when the Town of Lockport crews came to shut off the va lves so that we could perform the relocation work. The Town crews were unable to provide a good shut-down for what we needed because of the poor condition of the valves. So the Town crews went and shut-down the next valve back on the line, in order to get a good shut-down on the line so that we cou ld work. By going back on the next valve, some residences that were not notified were affected by not having running water available. Instead of stopping and backfilling the excavation, the Town shut off the farther valves, since this would.have been a smaller inconvenience than abandoning the current work and going through the entire process the following week, resulting in potential additional costs to the town of Lockport. There was no time to notify all affected parties, since it would have been faster to shut the line down andquickly perform the repair so the line could come back up to service. The Town was responsible to turn the valves back on after the work was complete, and this has to be a slow process in order to not turn the water on too fast, thereby risking a waterline break on the old pipes in the area. The repair was completed and water turned back on quickly as possible, without any breaks in the line. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused residents during this work, and this was never the intention from us. When dealing with old infrastructure, you never can expect everything to work perfectly, and get a good shut-down on the valves. If the first valve was in good condition, there would have been no reason to resort to shutting down the next valve, and causing inconvenience to any resident. I remain available to discuss this further if you wish. Please contact me at my office if needed. Thank you for allowing us to explain our side of the incident. James L. Collins, Jr.Vice President
July 1, 2016Revdex.com100 Bryant Woods SouthAmherst, NY 1422810025 COUNTY ROADP.O.BOX 430CLARENCE CENTER, NEW YORK 14032PHONE: (716) 688-9098 * FAX: (716) 688-9562Attn: [redacted], Complaint Handler6Re: ID [redacted]Dear [redacted],I am in receipt of your June 20, 2016 letter to my office regarding a...
complaint received by you on June.17. :Wl6 f rom a homeowner in the Town of Lockport. I would like to respond to this complaint. Currently, Milherst Construction, Inc. is performing work on a water/sewer project in the Carlisle ' Gardens s.ection of the Town of Lockport for a contract that was awarded to us by t hE: Town. The project requires waterline relocations to perform sanitary sewer replacement, and this work involves shut-downs of the existing water system at various times. Although Milherst Construction is performing the work, and responsible for notifying the affected residences for shut-downs, the Town ot Lockport is responsible for the actual shut-down of the valves themselves. I am aware of the particular situation that Mr. [redacted] is upset with. We had a shut-down scheduled for Friday, June 17, and notified the residences in the affected area based on the information that was known at the time, on the location of the valves. We had the excavation opened up, ready to cut the pipe, when the Town of Lockport crews came to shut off the va lves so that we could perform the relocation work. The Town crews were unable to provide a good shut-down for what we needed because of the poor condition of the valves. So the Town crews went and shut-down the next valve back on the line, in order to get a good shut-down on the line so that we cou ld work. By going back on the next valve, some residences that were not notified were affected by not having running water available. Instead of stopping and backfilling the excavation, the Town shut off the farther valves, since this would.have been a smaller inconvenience than abandoning the current work and going through the entire process the following week, resulting in potential additional costs to the town of Lockport. There was no time to notify all affected parties, since it would have been faster to shut the line down andquickly perform the repair so the line could come back up to service. The Town was responsible to turn the valves back on after the work was complete, and this has to be a slow process in order to not turn the water on too fast, thereby risking a waterline break on the old pipes in the area. The repair was completed and water turned back on quickly as possible, without any breaks in the line. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused residents during this work, and this was never the intention from us. When dealing with old infrastructure, you never can expect everything to work perfectly, and get a good shut-down on the valves. If the first valve was in good condition, there would have been no reason to resort to shutting down the next valve, and causing inconvenience to any resident. I remain available to discuss this further if you wish. Please contact me at my office if needed. Thank you for allowing us to explain our side of the incident. James L. Collins, Jr.Vice President