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, and Frank Kurth
- Absent: Greg Mitchell
Report of Meeting Notice
The meeting date and time were posted and advertised as required.
Approval of Previous Minutes
Jim Haney noted that the December 19, 2018 minutes failed to carry at last month’s meeting and presented them again at this meeting. Mike DeWald made a motion to approve. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Parke Smith presented the January 16, 2018 regular meeting minutes. Sue Ann Mitchell made a motion to approve. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 2 Abstain
Treasurers Report and Other Financial Matters:
Mike DeWald presented the financial reports. Mike noted:
- Astbury Invoice #209602 (October 18,2018) had been inadvertently paid early. Mike DeWald made a motion to approve payment of the invoice in the amount of $1,000.00. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
- Mike also noted that the audit is ongoing and recommended that LRSD draft a response to issues raised in Crowe’s Schedule of Findings. Mike DeWald made a motion to approve the draft letter that was presented to the board. The motion was seconded by Parke Smith, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Mike presented the Analysis of Aged Trial Balance of Accounts Receivable without any notes of concern or interest.
Mike presented 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. Mike noted that the USDA payment has been made for this cycle.
- 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 Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Mike DeWald presented the Monthly Claim Approval Form.
- Jim Haney made a motion to approve the Monthly Claim Approval Form and the list of bills paid after 1/16/19 in the amount of $68,113.89. The motion was seconded by Parke Smith, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Mike DeWald presented the Cash and Fund Balance Matrix. Mike noted that the LRSD financial situation has stabilized to the point that he feels comfortable in investing some of the excess funds. Mike has discussed options with the USDA and confirmed that is acceptable for LRSD to purchase CD’s and LRSD will be able to retain the interest. After noting that Lake City’s CD rates are 2.79% for 6 months and 2.875% for 1 year through 5 years, Mike recommended that the board approve purchase of 5 CD’s, which would provide the District a good ladder to work with in the future.
- Bob Marcuccilli made a motion for the board to authorize the purchase of CD’s for $100,000 at 6 months and additional $100,000 at 12, 24, 36 and 48 months with a plan to keep renewing the 6 months continuously and renew the rest of them for 4 years as they mature. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
JPR Update Updates
- JPR provided and update on collections, liens, and responses, noting no significant issues.
Engineering Update – DLZ
Casey Erwin of DLZ was present and provided updates on the report previously submitted prior to the meeting.
1-New Connection Reviews (no updates)
2-Tank Items and Bypass Channels
- Status: Construction pending
- Per contractor, start is pending, and equipment delivery/fabrication
- Substantial Completion March 29, 2019
3-WWTP (RE Crosby, sub-contractor GAI/SCADATA)
- Settlement agreement in process by Carson
Astbury Monthly Report
- Astbury provided an update on the inflow/outflow issue. After investigation by Anderson, it was determined that lift station 3 is fine and the influent meter has air or coding and it is recommended to blow out the line.
- Astbury noted that there are some bands that will need to be replaced as a result of corrosion. The issue results from the material used, which were not specified in the design. Astbury will maintain and explore long-term solutions.
Rate Reduction Ordinance
An issue was raised regarding whether the failure to connect penalties are considered as part of accounts being current in the rate reduction ordinance. Clarification is that the ordinance states that all monthly charges must be paid in full, which would include failure to connect penalties. No further action was taken.
Property Owner Connection Status/Failure to Connect Penalties
Due to winter conditions, contractors have reported that they may not reasonably be able to complete installation work until spring. As a result, Jim Haney suggested that the LRSD board consider suspending failure to connect penalties for the months of January, February, March, and April. Jim also presented a draft letter to the approximately 24 property owners who may be affected by the decision.
- After board discussion, Jim Haney made a motion that LRSD suspend failure to connect penalties for the period of January 1, 2019 through April 30, 2019 with penalties resuming May 1, 2019. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Requests to Have Penalties Waived – Close, Deitz
Property Owner Close (7099 E400 N) made a request to the district to delay filing of a lien against the property.
- Property owner has an agreement with a contractor to begin construction by 3/1 and complete installation by 4/1.
- March 15 is the deadline for lien filings
- Property owner is also not current on the account as the result of failure to connect penalties.
- Jim Haney made a motion to deny the request. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
Property owner Deitz (5403 E. Brown Rd. Leesburg) made a request to rescind all non-connection penalties and late charges at the January 16, 2019 meeting. A motion to waive penalties was made but failed to carry. The property owner requested that board reconsider waiving of penalties.
- The grinder installation was inspected and approved 12/21/18.
- Due to property title issues, no easement has been signed and recorded to date.
- Parke Smith made a motion to waive all penalties ($3,895) with the stipulation that the property owner maintains ownership and maintenance responsibility for the grinder until a signed easement is recorded and a bill of sale presented. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and carried by the vote:
Other Items
- No other items were brought before the board.
Public Q & A
- Property Owner Cassidy (B11) requested to waive late fees and penalties. The board recommended that she gather her information regarding timelines of previous communications and make a written request to the district. No further action was taken by the board.
- Property Owner Cone (B42) requested to waive late fees and penalties. The property was connected, but inspection was incomplete due to contractor’s failure to provide picture evidence and a septic pump ticket. After the district conducted a further inspection and a septic pump ticket was produced, the property passed inspection as of 6/22/18. Jim Haney made a motion to rescind all current failure to connect penalties and stop filing of lien. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
- Property owner Stockman (B48) requested that all late fees and failure to connect penalties be waived. The property owner hired a contractor to complete the connection in November of 2017 but final inspection had not been completed, and the property owner received notice from the District regarding failure to connect in May. Property owner relied on contractor to resolve the issue. Property owner continued to work through the contractor rather than the board as late fees and failure to connect fees continued to accrue, resulting in a pending lien. Inspection has been completed, but not until well after the connection. No action was taken by the board.
- Andy Pozywio (B61) requested a review of current penalties assessed. After discrepancies on the amount of failure to connect penalties were brought to light, Jim Haney made a motion to have JPR confirm and assure that failure to connect penalties for the property known as Trust 50283 do not extend beyond November 4, 2018. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
- Property Owner Phil Smith asked if the rate reduction process and rates were the same for all property owners. The board confirmed that that all rate reduction fees are the same.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 PM was made by Bob Marcuccilli, seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
6 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Parke Smith, Secretary