The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Jim Haney.
- Present: Jim Haney, Parke Smith, Mike DeWald, Bob Marcuccilli, Joe Cleland, Frank Kurth
- Absent: Emily Shipley
Report of Meeting Notice
The meeting date and time were posted and advertised as required.
Approval of Previous Minutes
- Parke Smith presented the March 16, 2022 Regular Meeting minutes and made a motion to approve as submitted. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
Treasurers Report and Other Financial Matters
- Mike DeWald reviewed the financial reports. Mike noted the following:
- Plant Operations was showing as significantly ahead of budget because payment to Astbury is currently in arrears by 1 month.
- The district continues to have minimal return opportunities for existing CD’s. Mike stated that the district may have more opportunity with US Treasury Bonds and will investigate that option further.
- The ending balance for the month was $2,208,265.
- Mike DeWald made a motion to approve the Unaudited Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements, the Monthly Analysis of Funds and Balances, and the Monthly Analysis of Cash Investment Accounts. The motion was seconded by Parke Smith and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Mike also presented the monthly claims report and noted that this is a relatively large monthly claim report, primarily resulting from a few unusual items:
- LRSD was catching up 1 monthly payment to Astbury.
- There was a lien misplaced from the previous month.
- LRSD received an invoice in March from Gasvoda for materials that were ordered in June and received in August.
- Final invoice was received from Ritter for Generator installation at Lake Estates.
- Mike DeWald made a motion to approve the April monthly claims report in the amount of $117,855.33. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
Independent Contractor Committee
- Bob Marcuccilli reported that the committee has provided an updated proposal to Astbury for contract renewal and that the committee has just received a response and is reviewing. In general, Bob reported that the negotiations were headed in a positive direction.
Astbury Monthly Report
Astbury provided a written report prior to the board meeting and Tom Astbury and Josh Koontz were in attendance. Astbury reported the following:
- There was an issue with a grinder at Lake Estates (the grinder with the generator attached) resulting in a minimal overflow. Astbury believes that debris may have clogged the system, then dislodged causing the overflow. Some of the debris discovered were items that are not permissible to be put into the system. This is the 3rd such occurrence of this nature at this grinder. The Board directed DLZ to investigate the design of this location and directed Greg Gear to provide written notice to Lake Estates regarding the impermissible items.
- Astbury has provided a drop-down menu for call outs in order to better track issues.
- All preventative maintenance items for the month were completed.
- Astbury noted that all 4 system generators have undergone inspection and several preventative maintenance repairs are recommended. Jim Haney made a motion to authorize expenditures for the recommended maintenance and repair work not to exceed $4,000. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Astbury noted that the HVAC system at the plant has no maintenance stickers and will get quotes for inspections and potential repairs/maintenance work to be performed.
- Regarding current projects, Tom reported that the lift stations were cleaned out on March 9 as part of the preventative maintenance plan and that the hoist at the plant was installed on March 10.
- Tom reported that during the influent screen pull project, it was discovered that the old brushes had disintegrated, and that the auger was so worn that brushes would no longer fasten to it. Astbury received 1 quote for $7802 to replace the auger, which would likely take 6-8 weeks. They will seek a second quote as well. Jim Haney made a motion to authorize Astbury to purchase a new auger not to exceed $8,000. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- It was further noted that the recently installed crane and hoist will allow for more frequent inspections of this part of the system to be better prepared for such issues.
- Astbury asked DLZ to comment on the Control Panel issue investigation for Lift Station 1. DLZ reported that the issues occurred between May and September and were likely caused by 1 of 2 issues – the 2 issues being weather (lightning) and/or increased demand for electricity in the summer months as occupancy increases. DLZ proposed to rent a data logger to attach to the control panel for a 1-month period (at a cost of $500) to quantify the possible causes. Once the causes were confirmed, DLZ would recommend 1 of 2 options:
- Battery operated UPS system on the control – approximately $1500-2000.
- Add a utility powered voltage transformer – approximately $5000.
- Parke Smith made a motion to authorize DLZ to purchase and install a data logger for 1 month at a cost not to exceed $500 and to purchase and install a battery-operated UPS system not to exceed $2000. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Astbury reported that the district was critically low on replacement grinder pumps. They are finding it difficult to find companies willing to do repair work. The district currently has approximately 11 pumps out for repair and are awaiting new pumps to be delivered. Given the difficulty in getting repairs completed and the lag time between order and delivery of new pumps, the board discussed several options that would allow for an adequate stock of pumps to be created and maintained.
- Bob Marcuccilli made a motion to authorize the repair of the 11 existing pumps by Crane not to exceed $2000 per pump. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 5 Yeas
- 1 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Bob Marcuccilli made a motion to purchase 25 new pumps from Gasvoda for the quoted price of $64,850. The motion was seconded by Parke Smith and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Astbury also noted that the district has 0 Type 1 control panels in stock. Jim Haney made a motion to authorize the purchase of 10 Type 1 control panels not to exceed $1500, with a quote to be provided prior to purchase. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 5 Yeas
- 1 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Jim Haney made a motion to amend the previous motion to authorize the purchase of as many control panels as possible, not to exceed $1500 each. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 5 Yeas
- 1 Nays
- 0 Abstain
- Astbury asked the board to give thought to a future project to create an inhouse pump testing station to alleviate the potentially missed analysis of pumps by outside parties. The board directed Astbury to review previous similar discussion with Dann Fox and Greg Gear and provide the board with an update at the next meeting.
- Astbury noted that the driveway and the sidewalks at the plant are beginning to show signs of wear and tear. The board directed Greg Gear to provide Astbury with the name of the installer and for Astbury to obtain patching and repair quotes from the installer and 1 additional provider.
- Given the inventory issues discussed at this meeting, Joe Cleland requested that Astbury include inventory reports on all critical system components in their monthly report going forward.
Update on Selge Breach of Contract – DLZ/Carson
- DLZ has provided an opinion that the Selge installation in this instance fell outside the standard scope of work.
- The board directed Andy Boxberger to send notice to Selge that the district disagrees with Selge’s response and will continue pursuing this issue.
Addition of Territory to LRSD – Carson
- Andy Boxberger reported that there are 2 pathways to add properties to the existing district.
- One could be initiated by the district and would require IDEM approvals and public hearings. This path is usually chosen for the addition of large parcels to the district.
- The second method would be for the County Commissioners to petition the district on the behalf of individual property owners who would like to become part of the district. This scenario is a better fit for the parties who initiated the request.
- The board agreed that it was not in the best interest of the board or the interested party to pursue the 1st option and suggested that the property owners request the County Commissioners to petition the district on their behalf.
Property Owner Connection Status
- Greg Gear reported that the current number of properties that have yet to connect is now down to 4 as the result of the former Gillespie property now being connected.
- Greg also reported that there were two new permits requested this month, and 4 tear down/rebuild permits requested this month.
- Andy Boxberger noted that they have received no responses to letters mailed to the remaining 4 unconnected property owners (and mortgage holders) on March 11 giving 90 days to respond before potential forced connection action may be taken.
Other Items That May Come Before the Board
- Joe Cleland asked if Lake Life had provided any documentation yet as to the request made by the district. None has been made to date.
Public Q & A
- None
Adjournment
- Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:41 was made by Mike DeWald. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli and was carried by the voice vote of:
- 6 Yeas
- 0 Nays
- 0 Abstain
Parke Smith, Secretary