March 16, 2022 Minutes

March 16, 2022 Minutes

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

  • Present: Jim Haney, Parke Smith, Mike DeWald, Bob Marcuccilli, Joe Cleland, Emily Shipley, Frank Kurth
  • Absent: None

Report of Meeting Notice

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

Approval of Previous Minutes

  • Parke Smith presented the February 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
    • 1 Abstain

Treasurers Report and Other Financial Matters

  • Mike DeWald reviewed the financial reports.  Mike noted the following:
    • The activities this month were standard, and nothing was out of the ordinary.
    • The documents show a transfer of $150,000 from a CD (which matured) to the LRSD Money Market Account.
    • The ending balance for the month was $2,107,874.
  • 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 Bob Marcuccilli and was carried by the voice vote of:
    • 7 Yeas
    • 0 Nays
    • 0 Abstain
  • Mike presented the Cash and Fund Balance Matrix and noted that the Operating Fund Balance is up approximately $27K from last month, due primarily to a late submission from Astbury which did not make the cut for this month.
  • Mike also presented the monthly claims report and made a motion to approve the March monthly claims report in the amount of $43,103.18.  The motion was seconded by Parke Smith and was carried by the voice vote of:
    • 7 Yeas
    • 0 Nays
    • 0 Abstain

Independent Contractor Committee

  • Bob Marcuccilli attended the American Rescue Plan Act board meeting and reported that the two LRSD applications have been tabled until the next disbursement becomes available.  Bob agreed to reach out to Sue Ann Mitchell to try to gain a better understanding of the ARPA processes and timelines.
  • Bob also reported that the negotiations for the new agreement with Astbury are ongoing and he anticipates a response form Astbury in the next week or two.

Astbury Monthly Report 

  • Astbury provided a written report prior to the board meeting and Tom Astbury and Josh Koontz were in attendance.
  • Tom introduced Josh as the new Operator of Record for LRSD.
  • There was discussion about the spike in processing that occurred in February.  The Astbury Team indicated that the area had significant rain during a period in February that can cause additional moisture penetration into the system.  Tom indicated that there is no way to know which grinders are susceptible to extra moisture until the alarm is triggered.  As a result of the discussion, LRSD asked Astbury to begin tracking call-outs by type in order to identify trends and issues.  Tom agreed to explore how that might be accomplished within their systems.
  • As a report from last month’s discussion regarding the issue with lift stations that shut down and need to be manually reset after power disruption, Tom reported that Astbury was seeking a quote for a portable gas-powered pump to mitigate a potential overflow as a result of a power outage.  Astbury and DLZ are continuing to explore better reporting and/or reset capabilities at the lift stations.
  • Josh reported that the hoist was installed last week and that the preventative maintenance for the influent screen should be completed soon.  He reported that the brushes are also on location, so everything is ready to perform the maintenance.

Lake Estates Generator – Astbury

  • Josh provided an update on the Lake Estates generator issue and reported that NIPSCO claims they are waiting for Ritter to perform some activity before they could move forward.  It is unclear what the issues are preventing completion.  Josh will follow-up with all involved parties.

DLZ 2022 Engineering Agreement

  • Jim Haney reported that DLZ has exhausted the 2021 amount of $10,000 this past week and a new agreement is needed.
  • Jim presented a proposed agreement that is identical to the previous agreement with the exception of diverting late payment fees from 1.5% per month to 8% annually.
  • Jim made a motion to approve the proposed agreement as presented.  The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
    • 7 Yeas
    • 0 Nays
    • 0 Abstain

Update – Selge Breach of Contract

  • Zach Zehner reported that a breach of warranty option has expired but the breach of contract issue is still valid.  Mike DeWald asked Zach to ensure that Carson is prepared to speak to any potential timeline constraints at next month’s meeting.
  • While it has been confirmed that the issue was not caused by a check valve failure, Jim Haney noted that LRSD still does not have a definitive opinion from DLZ as to whether the connection in question met specifications and/or if any deviation from standards may have been approved by DLZ.  Jim asked for a conference call with DLZ within the next week to discuss.  DLZ will coordinate the call.

Property Owner Connection Status

  • Greg Gear reported that the current number of properties that have yet to connect remains at five, but that the new owners of the former Gillespie property have applied for a permit and anticipate completion by the end of March.
  • Greg also reported that there was 1 new connection last month, two new permits requested this month, and 1 tear down/rebuild permit requested this month.
  • As an action from last month Zach Zehner reported that Carson did mail letters 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.

Violation of Use Ordinance

  • Jim Haney reviewed the action that the District took at last month’s meeting to establish a process to follow when a property owner violates the Use Ordinance.  The process includes a formal warning letter being issued to the property owner who violates the Use Ordinance which includes potential estimated costs to be borne by the property owner for future violations.  The discussion this month was to determine how to handle similar scenarios for commercial entities.  The discussion resulted from a call-out to a commercial business that was in violation of the use ordinance.
  • There was discussion as to how private property owners and commercial entities may differ or be the same and whether commercial entities had a greater level of expectation than private property owners in terms of care for the system.  After much discussion, there was general agreement that some additional oversight may be necessary for commercial properties to prevent potential issues.
  • Jim Haney made a motion to send a warning letter to the commercial property owner that violated the use ordinance which includes potential estimated costs to be borne by the property owner for future violations and outlines expectations for the property owner to provide maintenance records and includes notice of potential schedule of inspections to occur.   The motion was seconded by Parke Smith and was carried by the voice vote of:
    • 4 Yeas
    • 3 Nays
    • 0 Abstain
  • Jim also noted that a similar letter regarding potential violations, maintenance records, and potential inspection visits will be issued to the other commercial property within the district as well as any additional commercial properties that may fall within the district in the future.

Other Items That May Come Before the Board

  • None

Public Q & A

  • Terry Anderson – Sechrist Lake
    • The property owner was denied a request last month to waive late fees as a result of his claim that his payment was misrouted by the US Postal Service.  The property owner appeared in person to ask the board to reconsider his request.
    • Mr. Anderson presented documentation as to the misrouting and shared his recollections of the timeline that resulted in the late payment.  He also indicated that he has always made his monthly payments promptly.
    • Joe Cleland made a motion to waive the late fees in the amount of $19.03.   The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
      • 6 Yeas
      • 1 Nays
      • 0 Abstain
  • Mark Dillon – #1 Stop Bait and Tackle
    • Mr. Dillon requested that his business be added to the LRSD so that he could hook up to the sewer system.  His property is currently outside of the district and is located on the west side of State Road 13.
    • Mr. Dillon also advocated on the behalf of a Day Care operated by Donna Mosco, which is a neighboring property, also currently outside of the district and seeking to be added to the district.
    • Mr. Dillon outlined his reasons for wanting to connect and expressed a willingness to absorb all costs associated with connecting to the system.
    • After some discussion, the board determined that more information was needed regarding the District’s legal authority to expand the district and would need to have Carson explore all the issues and requirements that may come into play.
    • Jim Haney made a motion to authorize Carson, at a cost not to exceed $1000, to compile a list of all requirements that would need to be met in order for the district to expand beyond the current boundaries.   The motion was seconded by Mike DeWald and was carried by the voice vote of:
      • 7 Yeas
      • 0 Nays
      • 0 Abstain

Adjournment

  • Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 was made by Mike DeWald.  The motion was seconded by Joe Cleland and was carried by the voice vote of:
    • 7 Yeas
    • 0 Nays
    • 0 Abstain

Parke Smith, Secretary