Lakeland Regional Sewer District – October 16, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
CALL MEETING TO ORDER / REPORT OF MEETING NOTICE PROVIDED
Lakeland Regional Sewer District (LRSD) Board of Trustees met at the District’s Administration Office, 5002 East 100 North, Warsaw, Indiana. The monthly general meeting date and time were posted and advertised as required and was called to order at 6:01 PM by Jim Haney.
Present: Jim Haney, Mike DeWald, Joe Cleland, Cullen Reece, Mark Koehler, Jack Bonewits, Rosa Ritchie
Absent: n/a
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
None
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
A draft of the September 18, 2024 regular meeting minutes was submitted to all Board members via email on September 23, 2024. The final version was posted on Boardable.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve with second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
TREASURER’S REPORT AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS
Mike Dewald overviewed the Cash and Funds Balance Matrix – September 30, 2024 denoting the funds grand total of $2,389,317.
Mike DeWald overviewed the Management Cash Budget of January 1, 2024 through September 30, 2024.
The following financial reports, prepared by Krohn & Associates, were presented by Mike DeWald: Unaudited Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements; Monthly Analysis of Funds Balances; and Monthly Analysis of Cash and Investment Accounts.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve with second by Cullen Reece.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
The Monthly Claims Approval form of October 2024 was reviewed by Lichelle Parker.
Motion to approve the payment of monthly claims grand total of $101,252.23 by Jim Haney with second by Joe Cleland.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Board members affixed their signature approval to the Monthly Claim Approval Form.
Mike DeWald reviewed the proposed 2025 budget. The USDA needs to be in receipt of the District’s budget by December 1.
Motion by Cullen Reece to approve the 2025 Budget as proposed; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
GRAY EXEMPTION – 29 EMS T9
The property at 29 EMS T9 was granted a septic exemption during the original sewer works construction project and subsequently obtained a 5-year extension in 2019. The property owners did not take the required steps to obtain the second 5-year extension and the exemption expired August 24, 2024. Andy Boxberger (Carson LLP) has been in contact with the property owner who has had some medical issues and seems confused by the exemption process. The property owner has authorized Andy to speak with their son.
Motion by Mike DeWald to allow the property owner until November 30, 2024 to obtain the second five-year exemption from the county Health Department.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 1 Nays; 0 Abstains
UPDATE ON GREASE VIOLATIONS
Penalties were assessed to LakeLife for July grease violations: $500 for July 8th; $2500 for July 26; and $2500 for July 30. However, the sampling protocol went awry towards the end of June and the test results the fines were issued for are not valid.
Motion by Jim Haney to rescind the fines assessed to Lakelife totaling $5500; second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 1 Abstains
ASTBURY MONTHLY REPORT
PUMP/PANEL INVENTORY, CUSTOMER PROTOCOL REMINDER
The LRSD Treatment System Operations Treatment System Operations Report of October 13, 2024 was emailed to Board members by Astbury Water Technology, Inc. Thomas Astbury, Aaron Burris, Josh Denlinger, and Tim Hare reviewed key aspects of the report and provided clarifications to Board members’ inquiries.
To help with the timeliness of the monthly report, it was decided that if the analytical data is not available in time to be able to provide the report by the end business on Friday before the Board meeting, then it will be excluded and provided as soon as it is available.
Prompted by WO# 244964, Joe Cleland asked how we can ensure that the breakers are turned back on after an operator performs work on a system. There was a similar issue a couple months ago that created additional repair costs. Aaron and Tim stated that it is protocol to always test the system to ensure it is operational before leaving the station, and that will be reinforced to the operators.
Jim questioned the cause of the large increase in Astbury’s on-site man hours. Tom responded that it has been a mix of training new operators, as well as some operators not properly changing between jobs on their timesheet.
The last check valve replacement occurred on September 12, 2024. Aaron has a potential new vendor that will be utilized during the next replacement.
Aaron provided some clarification on the ARV installation process (quoted by Weed). This process requires someone to go down into the manhole, so the air must be tested and confined spaces protocol followed. This requires three individuals: one in the hole and two outside. Jim requested Astbury to obtain at least one more quote, preferably two more quotes to compare.
Asbury obtained estimated pricing that suggests it would cost approximately $20,000 for the changes required to upgrade the Scadata panels at the lift stations to allow remote access. The benefit of this upgrade would be eliminating the operator’s travel time to clear the faults, allowing the lift station to run and lessen the chance of an overflow. The protocol would still require the operator to physically go to the lift station to verify all is operating properly (after resetting remotely). Lift station #1 poses the highest overflow risk because it runs the most pushing the flow to the treatment plant as well as its proximity to a creek that flows into a public body of water.
Motion by Jim Haney to allow Astbury to pursue installing remote access for Scadata for $20,000; second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
The lights for the road sign have not been working consistently. A module will be purchased for approximately $45 to see if it fixes the issues.
AMEND REDUCTION IN BILLING ORDINANCE
Some minor changes to the Reduction in Billing Ordinance were proposed by Andy Boxberger (Carson LLP) to align with the procedures of the vacation process.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve Amendment 2024-10 as proposed; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR COMMITTEE
Nothing to report.
ENGINEERING UPDATE
Carson, DLZ, Astbury, and Lichelle have been working to revise the District permits and Andy suggested waiting until the next Board meeting to review the new drafts.
INDOT currently has Casey (DLZ) as the contact person for utility coordination and they recently sent him plans for a culvert replacement north of North Manchester, that does not appear to be within the Lakeland District. Casey questioned if the District’s map with 811 can be better defined so he does not receive items outside of the District; Astbury will look into this. Jim confirmed for Casey to remain as the contact person for the INDOT utility coordination needs.
PURCHASING UPDATE
No open PO’s.
44 EMS B44 LANE – BREAKER ISSUE
During a service call, Astbury found an incorrect breaker at 44 EMS B44 Lane. Lichelle mailed the property owner a letter directing them to correct the breaker to District standards by October 14, 2024. Lichelle did not receive a response from the property owner and Aaron verified on October 14 that the issue had not been corrected. Lichelle questioned what the next steps should be.
Motion by Jack Bonewits to assess the property owner a $250 fine and for Carson to send a letter to the property owner directing them to resolve the issue by November 15, 2024; second by Mike DeWald.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
PROPERTY OWNER CONNECTION STATUS
Lichelle Parker reviewed the Property Owner Connection Status report, updated through October 11, 2024.
- Both non-connected properties (42 EMS T9 and 4881 E Armstrong) are on the list for the Tax Sale on October 29, 2024. If the properties fail to sale at this tax sale, both properties should go to a commissioner’s sale where someone can purchase the properties for the best bid. (No liens or fees are applicable to the property during this type of sale.) There is a 6-month redemption period after which the new owners will take possession.
OTHER ITEMS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE BOARD
Regarding sludge removal, Joe questioned if disposal by land application was an option. Tom stated that we get a good deal from GFL to haul the sludge, and it would be hard to justify, with the volume we have, spending the time and money for the permit requirements and hassles of working with the land property owner.
The current insurance carrier, Cincinnati Insurance, sent a notice of nonrenewal because of the outstanding claim. The District has engaged Hylant as a broker to secure quotes from other carriers. The District has obtained a 30-day extension on the insurance coverage with Cincinnati, however, because of the short turnaround required, Andy reached out to the President of Hylant to get involved to ensure that the process is receiving priority.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn meeting was made at 7:30PM by Cullen Reece with second by Joe Cleland.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
Submitted to Board by Lichelle Parker, District Administrator
Reviewed by Board Secretary, Mark Koehler