August 21, 2019 Minutes

Meeting Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Jim Haney.

• Present: Jim Haney, Mike DeWald, Parke Smith, Sue Ann Mitchell, Bob Marcuccilli, Greg Mitchell, Frank Kurth

Report of Meeting Notice

The meeting date and time were posted and advertised as required.

Approval of Previous Minutes

Parke Smith presented the July 17, 2019 regular meeting minutes. Sue Ann Mitchell made a motion to approve. The motion was seconded by Greg Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

6 Yeas 0 Nays 1 Abstain

Treasurers Report and Other Financial Matters:

Mike DeWald presented financial reports and statements from Steve Carter and provided commentary. Mike reported:

• There was an increase in unmetered receipts as a result of county liens being filed.
• Current operations are running higher than expected for chemical costs.
• The Board should expect a payment to USDA for approximately $400,000 in the next several days.
• Jim Haney made a motion to approve the Unaudited Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements, the Monthly Analysis of Funds and Balances, Monthly Analysis of Cash Investment Accounts, and Monthly Analysis of Fund Balances. The motion was seconded by Greg Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

Mike DeWald presented the Cash and Fund Balance Matrix, the Management Cash Budget, and the Monthly Claim Approval Form.

• There was discussion of creating a construction fund and it was noted that the district is required to perform another rate study after 2 full years of operations.
• Mike DeWald noted that NIPSCO was paid twice this month (ACH payment and by check) and that those costs would be offset next month.
• Bob Marcuccilli made a motion to approve the Monthly Claim Approval Form and the list of bills paid after 7/17/19 in the amount of $49,383.28. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

• Correction of July Claims
• Parke Smith made a motion to approve corrections to the following two claims: Ck # 1173 Cardmember Services from $79.23 to $99.23 and Ck # 1175 Verizon from $62.64 to $82.64. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

Transition of Billing and Collection Services

Gary Cooper was present on behalf of Astbury.

• General comments by the board members were positive regarding the smooth transition.
• Gary noted that this has been a great partnership and that the board has been great to work with. He also reported that the number of ACH payments has almost doubled to over 400 and there has been an increase in e-pay instances.

Engineering Update- DLZ

Bill Boyle was in attendance, representing DLZ.

• Item #1 – Tank Blower and Sound Investigation
  • An informal test was conducted to listen for audible noise to be heard from the plant entrance. It was reported that none could be heard.
  • DLZ can conduct tests using sound equipment to measure the noise
  • If remediation is needed, there are several options (insulation panels can be added, or housing can be placed over individual blowers).
  • The board directed DLZ to conduct sound tests and report results to the board for further discussion.
• Item #2 – Failure at Pump Station #1
  • This was a rare situation in which both mechanisms failed without warning.
  • Astbury has made recommendations for resolution.
  • Jim Haney requested that DLZ Engineering provide input on any potential resolutions for the September meeting.
• Item #3 – Standards, Forms and Procedure Update (Property with House Tear Downs & Vacating Infrastructure)
  • DLZ provided an estimated cost of approximately $3,800 to develop checklists, update standards (text and typical details & standards), and develop application/permit form(s), for lot tear downs and infrastructure vacations.
  • Greg Mitchell made a motion to accept the proposal at a cost not to exceed $3,800. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

• Item #4 – INDOT Improvements on State Road 13
  • The deadline for reports to be submitted from the district is 8/26.
  • DLZ will complete the reports for board approve ASAP.
  • Sue Ann Mitchell made a motion to authorize President Jim Haney to sign the reports on behalf of the district, pending DLZ review. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

• Based on the approval of costs just passed, it appears as though the district will exceed the $10,000 cap on services. At some point in the future, the board may need to take action to increase the limit of $10,000.

Astbury Monthly Report

• Matt Rippey was present and provided the updates from Astbury. Matt reported:

1. On August 15th lift station #1 experienced a control failure which caused an over flow. Astbury received a call at 6:30 pm that sewage was coming out of the top of the station. When Astbury arrived on site the lift station the pumps were not running, and the alarm light was not on. The station was pumped down manually, and the area effected by the spill was treated with lime. The following day a spill report was sent to IDEM. All of the lift stations have a primary control system and a backup system to turn the pumps on and off. The primary control system is an ultra-sonic level sensor and a controller. If this system fails a backup float system should take over. For this over flow to occur both systems had to fail. Astbury had been getting some occasional erratic signals from the ultra-sonic level sensor so a new one was order on August 9th but it had a two-week lead time. Astbury did not get a call from SCADATA which means neither of the high alarms was activated. The floats must have gotten stuck on something in the station. There are two things that Astbury recommends be done to reduce the chance of this happening again. The first is to order a second ultra-sonic level sensor and have it as a backup. The second is to purchase and install weighted stainless-steel chains to attach the floats to. This will greatly reduce the risk of the floats getting stuck in the station.

• • • Back Up Ultra-Sonic Level Sensor Endress + Hauser FDU91-QN4AA $983.18
    • Weight SS chain float tree $280.00

Lift station reliability is very important for the Lakelands collection system. Lift station 1 has a wet well volume of 6,016 gallons. The high wet well level alarm is activated at 7 feet which means at the average flow there is less than an hour to respond to the alarm before the station overflows. Astbury is seeking permission to purchase the items needed to address the reported issues.

Jim Haney made a motion to authorize the expenditures not to exceed $1,500. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

2. On August 12th Kosciusko County REMC damaged a two-inch force main at 5 EMS B6C while installing a new power pole. This force main had not been marked by the locate company. Carey excavating was able to vacuum excavated the damaged line and Astbury was able to repair the line with repair parts in stock.

The board directed Andy Boxberger to send appropriate notification to REMC after receipt of Carey Excavation bill for repair costs and parts for item #2. Matt Rippey will provide the costs.

3. During the July board meeting the damage to the grinder station at 51 EMS B74 was discussed. After talking to Crane Pumps and System and Topps Industries about the best method to repair the fiber glass tank both recommended the same method. This repair would use a tank extension along with a fiberglass epoxy and repair cloth. With this information, Astbury has prepared an estimate to do the repairs in house.

• • • 24” Basin lid $369.00
    • 24” Basin 6-inch extension $276.00
    • Fiber glass repair kit (epoxy, resin cloth) $189.00
    • Labor (four hours) $260.00
    • Total $1,094.00

Jim Haney requested a formal estimate to be provided for the costs associated with item #3 in order to recover an accurate amount from the responsible party. The board will make a final decision regarding next steps in September.

4. The activated carbon odor control system has been installed at lift station 1. Astbury will monitor how well this system is working over the next couple of months. The hydrogen peroxide feed has been discontinued at this lift station. The annual cost to feed hydrogen peroxide at this station was $6,600.00 per year. The projected cost to supply material for the new odor control system is $2,300.00 per year. This will result in a three year pay back on this piece of equipment. If this system works well at lift station 1, Astbury recommends that the district look at installing units at the other two lift stations.

Property Owner Connection Status

Greg Gear reported:

• There was 1 connection within the past month, leaving 15 properties unconnected.
• 4.5 new EDU’s have been added as the result of new construction.

Requests to have Failure to Connect Penalties Waived – Finley

Property Owner Theresa Finley (22 EMS B58 Lane) requested that a portion of late fees and penalties be waived.

• The property was sold in a tax sale in October of 2018.
• The original owner has passed away and the requester has recently received title to the property from the estate.
• The property owner payments are current, except for the fees and penalties incurred and the connection is complete.
• She is requesting that the LRSD liens, fees, and penalties be waived.

• Bob Marcuccilli, noting that the property owner has followed all established protocols to acquire the property and make connection, made a motion to rescind late fees and lien penalties in the amount of $12,614.50. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

Rate Reduction Request – Clearwater MHP

This property owner is requesting a rate reduction for one unit. This request was tabled from last month.

• The property has been approved by the county for 33 lots.
• The property has already been granted rate reductions by LRSD for 7 lots (down to 26).
• The account is current and all appropriate paperwork has been submitted.
• An additional mobile home has been removed and the property owner is requesting a rate reduction for that lot.
• Evidence has been provided to confirm that the connection has been terminated and capped.

• Jim Haney made a motion to grant a rate reduction on 1 additional unit (reducing the number of full payments to 25 and partial payments to 8). The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

Other Items

• Andy Boxberger corrected his misperception of the status of the damaged grinder (shared or single) regarding the damage on lane B74.
• Greg Mitchell reported that an estimate of $4,320 with an option for an additional $1,300 for video has been received by the district from Ripfish to update the LRSD website.
• Jim Haney made a motion to authorize the Website Committee to complete the website update not to exceed $6,000. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

Public Q & A

• None

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:59 PM was made by Bob Marcuccilli, seconded by Jim Haney, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:

7 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain

Parke Smith, Secretary