A representative of a Gardner City childcare program told the council on Nov. 25 that the facility has seen a months-long rise in water charges culminating in two bills totaling about $3,000. The center asked the city for help investigating and for alerts to prevent future surprises.

Utility staff reviewed meter history for the property (addresses referred to in the discussion included 838 West Barnard and 38 Foster Court) and read individual use figures into the record: "On December 2, you used about a 109 cubic feet per day," the staff member said. Staff said subsequent reads showed averages near 63 cubic feet per day then jumps to 133 cubic feet, evidence they said of sporadic but persistent elevated consumption.

The childcare representative said two outside plumbers and DPW workers performed dye tests and found no visible leaks. "We've tried everything, shutting the toilets off, getting meter readings," the speaker said, adding the center has multiple locations and a facilities manager who conducted comparison reads. The representative added that the high bills were "such an unprepared expense for us" and asked whether city staff could conduct more frequent checks or set up an alert for unusual spikes.

City utility staff said their system does not currently provide day-to-day push alerts for individual accounts and that some communities pay for third-party monitoring platforms. "We just don't have the manpower," the staff member said, and noted that purchasing an automated alert system would be a substantial expense that could be passed on in rates. Staff recommended a thorough on-site inspection focused on toilets and fixture components — "that's where I would put my money up," the staff member said — because intermittent toilet handle or flapper failures commonly cause the pattern described.

Council members and staff discussed possible relief options in general terms. Staff stated that in the past they have not deducted charges for nonprofit organizations and that any relief involving public funds would require review by the city solicitor. A staff speaker also said, "this was the first year that the cap is $2,800," in the context of discussing possible caps or limits (the transcript does not specify a formal program to apply that cap to the center).

Next steps recorded in the meeting: the childcare representatives agreed to share their daily meter logs with the utility for review, and staff invited them to follow up with weekly readings so staff could examine the pattern. No formal motion or vote about bill relief appears in the transcript.