Meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Bob Marcuccilli.
Present: Mike DeWald, Bob Marcuccilli, Parke Smith, and Sue Ann Mitchell. Paula Stinson, Jim Haney, and Greg Mitchell were absent.
The meeting date and time were posted and advertised as required.
Bob Marcuccilli presented the January 18, 2018 meeting minutes for Greg Mitchell. Mike DeWald made a motion to approve the January meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Engineering Update/Professional Services Agreement- DLZ:
Casey Erwin provided an update on outstanding warranty issues.
Contract C Collection System:
Restoration of asphalt will be repaired when the weather permits including McKenna & B24, 35 EMS B24, and CR 100 east of the WWTP.
Contract Wastewater Treatment Plant:
RE Crosby has provided a commitment letter for restoration and seeding for drain under access drive.
RE Crosby has also provided a commitment letter to repair the peeling paint on the blower building.
Telemetering Issue:
As mentioned in the December meeting, communication between the pump stations is currently operating via cell phone and not by radio as they were designed. Casey Erwin has been in contact with the contractor, and they have determined that a radio connection may not be viable without significant addition to tower height (potentially in excess of 100 Ft.).
During construction, the contractor was required to submit a propagation study to verify it would work. Casey was informed that the final study had not been conducted until 14 months after substantial completion. The item has been on the punch list for a significant period of time.
The contractor has informed Casey that they cannot make the radio technology work, but they have installed the infrastructure for cell phone technology (at their cost), so infrastructure for both technologies now exist. The technologies are similar and each has pros and cons.
One issue is that there is a monthly cost with the use of the cell technology, which the contractor has been paying to date. The contractor is proposing to reimburse the district for the costs associated with cell usage for 5 years (from the subcontractor). The monthly cost is $20 per pump station (all 3 stations), plus an annual fee.
The district will need to accept or challenge a proposal from the general contractor for the change in technology. Casey recommended that the board needs to understand what the failsafe systems and ongoing maintenance issues are that are associated with cell technology. Casey will ask the contractor for this information, as well as comparative costs of the technologies to provide to the board.
Professional Services Agreement (DLZ):
DLZ Legal Counsel and Andy Boxberger continue to fine tune the language on the new agreement.
Casey indicated that DLZ was willing to continue operating under the terms of the original agreement, until the new agreement is finalized.
Repairs/Modifications to the Post Aeriation Tank
Casey reported that he was not prepared to make any recommendations regarding the solution without further input from Astbury.
Casey said he would communicate with Astbury to get input as soon as possible.
Grinder Pump Electrical Panel Warranty:
Astbury reported that they conducted approximately 150 grinder pump panel inspections, resulting in identification of 2 panels needing replacement.
Crane has also conducted of approximately 200 grinder pump panel (primarily non-connected panels) inspections, resulting in identification of two needing replacement.
The total inspections produced about a 3% rate of failure.
Mike DeWald noted that the primary purpose of the inspections was to try to determine the potential scope of the issue, once part time residents return.
The board was generally satisfied that the issue is not as significant as feared.
Greg Gear raised the issue of payment for freight on returned defective parts. That cost is currently being paid by Astbury. The board discussed and were in general agreement that freight costs for defective parts should be absorbed by Crane. The board directed Don to notify Crane that the expectation is for them to pay freight costs.
Treasurers Report:
Mike DeWald presented the Unaudited Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements.
Mike then made a motion to approve the Unaudited Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements, the Monthly Analysis of Funds and Balances, and Monthly Analysis of Cash Investment Accounts. The motion was seconded by Parke Smith, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Mike then presented the Monthly Claim Approval Form. Mike then made a motion to approve the Monthly Claim Approval Form for $94,553.61. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
JPR – Property Owner Connection Status
Ken Jones informed the board that the connections process has been extremely slow and that there have only been 3 or 4 connections this month.
He indicated that they were spending some additional time transferring records to electronic formats.
Ken shared that he did not anticipate much additional field activity until the weather improves.
Ken reported that 248 property owners were still not connected at this time.
Astbury Monthly Report
All Astbury staff were working in the field at this time (due to weather related issues), so the monthly report was submitted in advance.
No issues or concerns were noted in the report.
There was a suggestion from the board that the purchase report reflect only the most recent monthly activity, rather than a running annual total.
Prior to the meeting, Don indicated that the wastewater treatment plant had seen significant increase in flow, due to the heavy rains. In discussions among Astbury and DLZ, it was noted that this is not unusual during these kinds of extreme weather events, but that issue needed to be addressed and the system needs to be monitored.
Mike DeWald then made a motion to accept the report as submitted. The motion was seconded by Sue Ann Mitchell, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Failure to Connect Penalties
The board again discussed the need to pass an ordinance to address penalties for failure to connect.
Andy Boxberger shared that some other sewer districts operate under a tiered approach. The pros and cons of a tiered system were discussed. The system would begin with smaller charges, which are increased over time to a maximum allowable amount of $100 per day.
Andy also cited issues other districts experience if there is no cap on a final penalty amount. In some cases (in other regional sewer districts), the penalties can accumulate in excess of a million dollars. Again, the board discussed the pros and cons of such a system.
The board was in general agreement that the challenge is to implement a system that motivates property owners to connect without placing them in a position in which they cannot meet their obligations.
Given the fact that several board members were absent, the issue was tabled until the March meeting.
Requests for Rate Reductions/EDU Review
Kevin Kleemann requested a rate reduction (#7) for his property @ 4745 East Armstrong Rd, Leesburg. An inspection was performed on 2/8/18 with the following findings and evidence provided:
All fixtures and the toilet were disconnected.
Water supply was capped.
Septic tank was abandoned and back filled.
Acknowledgment form 2015-101 was signed.
Given that all criteria have been met, Parke Smith made a motion to grant the rate reduction, effective at the time of board approval. The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Other Items
Credit Card Policy
Mike DeWald raised the question of a potential need for a LRSD Credit Card Policy. Andy Boxberger suggested that the appropriate way to address the issue would be to add an amendment to the existing Internal Control Document.
Parke Smith made a motion to add credit card usage protocol as an exhibit to an amended and restated Internal Control Document. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Process for Billing Campgrounds (metered rate)
The board needs to determine how to bill campgrounds for metered usage. Now that the board has an established billing pattern and data to review, the board can best decide how to bill going forward. Mike DeWald suggested that the board consider a budgeted process in which the campground would be billed a monthly rate based on the previous annual total payment. The monthly rate would be calculated by dividing the previous annual amount by 12, billing the campground by that amount for the 1st eleven months, with the twelfth month to be used as a true-up month as compared to actual usage. This process would be advantageous from a budgeting standpoint (for both the district and the campground) as well as being easy to integrate into the billing process. The board was in general agreement to the process.
Mike DeWald made a motion to implement billing rates for campgrounds (who choose a metered rate) by dividing the previous annual amount by 12, billing the campground that amount for the 1st eleven months, with the twelfth month to be used as a true-up month as compared to actual usage. The motion was seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Request to Provide Information to Contractors
Greg Gear noted that he has received requests from contractors to provide names and addresses of residents who have not yet connected. Andy Boxberger counseled the district to be cautious about providing personal information and stated that any information that the district considers providing be limited to name or parcel only. After some discussion, the board determined that much of the information contractors want can be obtained by reviewing property updates on the LRSD website and other county systems.
The board directed Greg Gear to refer future inquiries to the website and to work with Dan (Astbury) and Ken (JPR) to update the district map on the website.
JPR New Contract Proposal
Ken Jones presented a new concept for determining rates charged to the district for JPR billing services. Ken’s proposal included a concept that would shift some of the costs to collections and delinquent accounts, to reflect the added effort to support that work. While the board was not in disagreement with the concept, they did not feel as though they had enough actual data to support the change in process. The board suggested that Ken continue with the current billing process and accumulate additional data over the course of the next year. Ken indicated that retaining the current system may require JPR to increase their rates by a few percentage points.
The board asked Ken to provide a revised proposal that was based on the current system.
Public Q & A
None
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn meeting at 7:50 pm made by Mike DeWald, seconded by Bob Marcuccilli, and on call of roll was carried by the vote:
4 Yeas 0 Nays 0 Abstain
Parke Smith, Secretary