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March 11, 2010 Regular Board Meeting

Posted on: March 11th, 2010

Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Bob Harris, Harvey Norris, Wesley Keber, and Burt Jones. Also, present were Mayor Kenneth Rooks of Jenkinsburg; Authority staff members’ present were Marcie Seleb and Joyce Hosey.
Opening Prayer – Mr. Norris opened the meeting with a prayer.
Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting – Mr. Harris made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the February 9, 2010 meeting and approve the same. This was seconded by Mr. Keber and approved unanimously.
Approve Final Layout of I-75 Sewer Master Plan with Line Sizing – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to approve the layout of the I-75 corridor sewer master plan. This was seconded by Mr. Harris and approved unanimously. Mr. White abstained from the vote.
Manager’s Report

Securitization of Georgia Environmental Facility Authority (GEFA) Funds – The Governor hopes to generate $288 million by selling off up to $600 million in loans currently in repayment or approved for construction. While this would give the State a quick shot of revenue to meet current shortfalls, it will cripple GEFA’s loan program for water and sewer systems.

The Board suggested that Ms. Seleb write letters to our state legislators to urge them to vote no on the bill.

Update on Construction Projects

  • Riverview Park – The Riverview Park sewer project is finished and final cost numbers should be ready by the end of the month.
  • West Ball Road – The crew has finished the main on West Ball Road, but is awaiting dryer weather before setting taps.
  • System Maintenance – The crew continues to do valve and hydrant marking, valve exercising and hydrant flow marking.
  • Colwell Road Connector – Staff is rerouting the layout for the Colwell Road Connector project. The new route layout would cross I-75 on the South side of Colwell Road to save 1,000 lf of pipe and extensive clearing. This is contingent upon obtaining a Department of Corrections easement and verifying the cost of directional boring versus conventional boring.

Request to Purchase Survey Grade GPS Unit – Ms. Seleb advised the Board of the advantages of purchasing a GPS unit to map system feature and generate as-built drawings. The unit will cost the Authority approximately $14,000 as compared to a recent quote of $8,000 for a single one-mile as-built survey done by an engineer. The unit would accurately map any land feature within 5 cm in longitude, latitude and elevation and would help in the installation of gravity sewer. She went on to say that once a feature is marked, the unit can be taken back into the field to locate it within 5 cm.

A motion was made by Mr. Keber to purchase the TopCon GRS-1. This was seconded by Mr. Harris and approved unanimously. Mr. Norris abstained from the vote.

Request to Provide Sewer to Department of Motor Vehicle Safety Site – Ms. Seleb requested that the Authority waive a sewer capital recovery fee for the Department of Motor Safety site in Riverview Business Park to tie onto the sewer system at no cost due to conflicts between the Authority’s sewer infrastructure and the property’s existing septic system. This will alleviate a potential environmental problem. The Board agreed.

Highway 16 Sewer Possibilities – Ms. Seleb advised the Board of grant possibilities for Hwy. 16 east of Interstate 75. The possibilities are as follows:

  • The chances for funding of the recently applied for STAG grant are slim. Funding should be determined by October.
  • GEFA Federal Funding would be a possible 70/30 grant/loan, but completed plans need to be in place to increase project rating.
  • An EIP Grant or OneGA Grant to get sewer to the Travel America site is possible after it has been approved by Butts County, as long as the developer will commit to the job creation and commit not to begin construction until the grant is approved. Ms. Seleb advised the Board that she will be meeting with the grant writers next week and an engineering report is needed. 

The Board advised Ms. Seleb to work all the options and move ahead to procure engineering for the project.

Response to Robbie Letson’s Request – Ms. Seleb reported that attorney Will White had advised against allowing Mr. Letson to cross Bucksnort Ranch LAS property as requested at the February meeting. A copy of Mr. White’s opinion letter was given to Mr. Letson and is attached and made a part of these minutes.

Operations Report – Ms. Seleb went over the water and sewer statistics for the month of February 2010. Water billing was down $41,000 from January at $174,811, with an active customer base of 5,195. This was still the biggest February billing ever, by some $15,000. Sewer billing for February was down $7,000 from January at $34,417, with an active customer base of 126. This was also the biggest February billing ever by roughly $14,000.

The average daily water pumped to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Ocmulgee and Stewart plants were 1.8 MGD, with maximum of 2.2 MGD. The rolling 12-month average loss is 13.7%. The total amount of water pumped in February 2010 per plant was: Ocmulgee – 51 MG; Stewart – 6 MG. The average wastewater sprayed at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was .262/.550 MGD with a maximum 7-day effluent of .371/.550 MGD.

A copy of these statistics is attached and made a aprt of these minutes.

Financial Report – There was no formal financial report for February as the Authority’s computer network server crashed and was still being rebuilt. Ms. Seleb went over bank balances for the month. Total cash on hand at the close of February was $6,559,945. This is $81,281 over January 31, 2010 balances and $207,209 over the combined fund balance at the beginning of the fiscal year.
Review Bills Paid – Check registers and credit card payments could not be reviewed due to the network failure.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Jones to adjourn meeting at 6:30 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.