Lakeland Regional Sewer District – December 18, 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 6:00 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 November 20, 2024 regular meeting minutes was submitted to all Board members via email on November 25, 2024. The final version was posted on Boardable.
Motion to approve by Mark Koehler with second by Rosa Ritchie.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 4 Yeas; 0 Nays; 3 Abstains
TREASURER’S REPORT AND OTHER FINANCIAL MATTERS
Mike Dewald overviewed the Cash and Funds Balance Matrix – November 30, 2024 denoting the funds grand total of $2,457,486.
Mike DeWald overviewed: Management Cash Budget of January 1, 2024 through November 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 to approve by Mike DeWald with second by Joe Cleland.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
The Monthly Claims Approval form of December 2024 was reviewed by Lichelle Parker.
Motion to approve the payment of monthly claims grand total of $75,405.25 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.
44 EMS B44 – FOREST HILL INVESTMENTS – DEVON BORKHOLDER
Three letters have been mailed to Forest Hill Investments regarding an electrical issue at 44 EMS B44, and two fines, one for $250 and one for $2500, were previously assessed because there was no response from the property owner and no correction of the issue. Mr. Borkholder visited the District office on December 13, 2024, questioning how to have the fines rescinded and requested to be added to the meeting agenda. Mr. Borkholder was present at the meeting and questioned what the electrical issue was with the property. Aaron Burris explained that testing done at the grinder station indicates that the breaker is incorrect. Arrangements were made for Mr. Borkholder to meet Arron at the property at 10:00am on Thursday, December 19, 2024, to assess. Mr. Borkholder also asked about removing the fines, but Jim Haney indicated that all the electrical violations needed to be corrected before they would entertain any discussion to remove the fine.
ASTBURY MONTHLY REPORT
PUMP/PANEL INVENTORY, CUSTOMER PROTOCOL REMINDER
The LRSD Treatment System Operations Treatment System Operations Report of December 13, 2024 was emailed to Board members by Astbury Water Technology, Inc. Thomas Astbury, Matt Rippey, Josh Denlinger, and Aaron Burris reviewed key aspects of the report and provided clarifications to Board members’ inquiries.
Jim Haney and Tom Astbury met and discussed the inflated man-hours. Tom is going to research and issue a memorandum to the Board members regarding the 2024 man-hours.
Jim questioned the status of a replacement pump for Lift Station #1. Astbury received a quote from Gasvoda for a Barnes pump, and there continues to be discussion between Astbury, DLZ, and Gasvoda to confirm it meets all requirements for the station.
Jim noted that there was a check valve replaced within the last month and wondered why the new vendor, which was supposed to do one on a trial basis, was not used. Astbury confirmed that the vendor did not have a hydro vac and so would not be able to do the replacements as they had thought. Jim would like Astbury to set up a meeting with Carey Excavating to discuss if they are interested in being a vendor for check valve replacements for the District, and if so, to obtain a quote for their services. Jim would like to attend the meeting between Astbury and Carey Excavating.
The Operations Report noted that 10 (used) pumps in inventory were tested and found not acceptable to be reused. When testing Aaron applied head pressure, which has not been done in the past, and they pulled 18+ amps. Jim is concerned if that is an appropriate assessment since we currently have several rebuilt pumps in-service (approximately 18), which did not go through this new testing process, but are operating successfully in the system. Jim would like to know what the previous testing process was compared to the current testing process, and is concerned why we are changing the testing process in the middle of trying to assess if it is worth the District’s cost to rebuild.
There was a small Ferric Chloride spill caused by the chemical delivery truck’s hose equipment/fitting. Astbury is proposing to purchase rubberized berms which are flexible and can be put around the transfer area to provide temporary containment for any spills and direct it to a drain which goes back to the plant.
Astbury provided additional details on the $1900 purchase for a transformer to the grinder station test tank in the annual maintenance fund.
Jim requested more details about the lift station level controls rehabbing projects which were noted on the annual maintenance fund. Astbury clarified that this is being done at lift stations #2 & #3 because of some issues being cause by the mercury floats. Matt noted that the cost of these two projects is higher because a second conduit had to be ran to the wet well for the wiring because the first was were sealed with mortar.
The SCADATA quote included in the report only includes updating lift stations #1 & #2 with remote reset capabilities, and Jim wondered if there was a reason for only those two stations? Jim asked Astbury to confirm if lift station #3 would be $2500 also. Astbury also confirmed that any updates will comply with IDEM’s cybersecurity requirements.
Joe Cleland questioned if the if the fine screen auger is working properly because he looked at it before the meeting and the control panel indicated the auger should be rotating, but it was not. Matt Rippey indicated he would look at it, but it might be because the float had not activated the auger. He clarified that it goes through a time sequence where it will run forward then backward for x minutes, but that only happens if the float activates it. Joe said that it sounded like the gear box was turning, but the auger was not rotating.
AMENDED BYLAWS FOR ADOPTION
Revisions to the bylaws are being proposed to allow non-Board members to serve on Committees. Committees can only make recommendations to the Board and then those recommendations must be approved by the Board.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve the Amended Bylaws 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
The only open engineering item is to continue to review and provide guidance on the replacement pump for Lift Station #1.
DLZ plans to have the 2025 DLZ contract agreement available at the January Board meeting for the Board members to consider. Jim requested if there are any changes to the terms and conditions of the contract to send that page to Jim as soon as possible so Carson LLP has time to review before the Board meeting.
PURCHASING UPDATE
A purchase order for pumps is being requested prior to the end of the year to capitalize on 2024 pricing. Gasvoda is offering a 3% discount if the order is for at least 25 pumps. Purchasing this quantity would create a purchase order over $50,000, which requires Board approval.
Motion by Jim Haney to approve the purchase of 25 pumps; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
SEPTIC EXEMPTION EXPIRED – 29 EMS T9 (GRAY)
The septic exemption for 29 EMS T9 expired on August 24, 2024, however, the Board voted to allow the property owner until November 30, 2024, to obtain their second 5-year extension from the county Health Department. As of December 2, 2024, the District had not received appropriate documentation from the property owner and it was confirmed with the Kosciusko County Health Department that the property owner had not reached out to them either. Jim reminded the Board members that daily non-connect fees are $100 per day, capped at $35,000. The mandatory connect notice was sent certified on August 30, 2024, with September 18, 2024, being the last day they had to collect the letter.
Motion by Cullen Reece to start the failure to connect penalties of $100 per day today, December 18, 2024; second by Joe Cleland.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 7 Yeas; 0 Nays; 0 Abstains
LAKELIFE SAMPLE RESULTS
Lakelife has had two recent oil/grease samples which have been over the permissible limit of 100 mg/l: October 22, 2024 was 132 mg/l and December 4, 2024 was 107 mg/l. Carson LLP sent correspondence twice to LakeLife’s attorney with no response. Carson LLP then followed up after the last Board meeting to confirm if Carson could copy his client and he confirmed they could.
Motion by Jack Bonewits to assess a $2500 fine for the October 22, 2024 exceedance and a $2500 fine for the December 4, 2024 exceedance; second by Cullen Reece.
There was discussion regarding other options for recourse, which include shutting off service to the establishment.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 4 Yeas; 2 Nays; 1 Abstains
Motion by Jim Haney to have Carson LLP send a letter to the property owner of LakeLife and LakeLife’s attorney to 1) inform him of the two fines, and 2) inform him the District is considering stopping service to the property; second by Mark Koehler.
Motion carried by voice vote of 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 1 Abstain
The question arose last month whether the District should send all weekly sample results to Lakelife, or only the exceedances? With only four Board members in attendance last month, the discussion was tabled until this month. No other customer receives information on satisfactory results, but are only notified of issues. All documentation is available at the District office if the property owner wishes to review all results.
Motion by Jim Haney to only send LakeLife the test results in those instances where he has exceeded the approved limit; second by Jack Bonewits.
Motion carried by voice vote of: 6 Yeas; 0 Nays; 1 Abstains
GREASE TRAP CLEANING FREQUENCY & DOCUMENTATION
The Barbee Hotel had been on a monthly testing schedule for oil/grease in 2022-2023, but after a year of satisfactory results, that was discontinued in the fall of 2023, (with instruction to continue grease trap cleaning every 3 months as they had been doing). Astbury has continued doing monthly visual inspections of the station and noticed a grease buildup in May 2024, which was only three weeks after the station had been cleaned. In August 2024, there was a grinder station alarm and a significant amount of grease was noted in the station prompting a cleaning by Astbury in September 2024. Jim is suggesting that a grease trap expert should decide what their process should be and the Barbee Hotel’s grease trap installer submitted that information at the time of installation. Jim proposes we send Barbee Hotel a letter that reminds them what their expert recommended and that they need to be doing those recommendations at a minimum; if that does not work and they exceed the limitation, then they are going to be fined by the District and need to go back to their expert to evaluate why those recommendations are not working.
Motion by Jim Haney to draft a letter to Barbee Hotel – to be reviewed by Carson LLP before being sent—which puts the ownness back onto the Hotel to follow their experts cleaning recommendation, and the documentation of the grease trap cleaning needs to be available for the District review; second by Mark Koehler.
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 December 13, 2024.
OTHER ITEMS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE BOARD
Joe Cleland has submitted his resignation from the Board and Jim expressed his appreciation for Joe’s years of service.
The Board has interviewed Bob Hookman as a replacement on the Board for Joe. The County Commissioners should appoint Bob on Monday at their meeting. Jim will circulate Bob’s information once he is appointed.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn meeting was made at 7:56PM by Cullen Reece with second by Jack Bonewits.
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