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October 12, 2010 Regular Board Meeting

Posted on: October 12th, 2010

Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Robert Harris, Harvey Norris, & Wesley Keber; Authority staff members present were Marcie Seleb, 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 September 13, 2010 meeting and approve the same. This was seconded by Mr. Keber and approved unanimously.
Manager’s Report

Update on Construction Projects

  • Taps Sold – There was one standard new water tap sold in September.
  • Colwell Road 12-inch Main – The crew continues to make good progress and should reach Cabin Creek this week. The boring contractor will start the interstate bore this week.
  • Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Center – The two new meter vaults are ready to be installed at the prison. The crew is holding on this project, in order to make progress on Colwell Road during good weather.
  • Isaac Head Road – The Isaac Head Road project is ready for construction after the completion of the Colwell Road job.
  • Walt Banks Road – Sufficient tap purchases have been made to proceed with this project. Right of way confirmation is underway.
  • Hwy. 42 North Relocate for Department of Transportation – All tie-ins have been completed for this water main relocation. The Authority will work with the Department of Transportation and Crawford Grading and Pipeline to take care of any punch list items.

Operations Report – Water billing for September 2010 was $231,077. This was the largest September billing on record, and up six percent from August. The total customer count is 5,212. Sewer billing for September 2010 was $29,979 and was also the largest September billing on record but just equal with August. The total sewer customer count is 128.

The average daily finished water pumped in September to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.3 MGD, with a maximum of 2.6 MGD. The rolling 12-month average loss was 11.3%. The total amount of finished water pumped in September 2010 per plant was: Burford – 63 MG; Stewart – 6MG. The average wastewater influent at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was .213 MGD with an average daily effluent of .232/.550 MGD and a maximum 7-day effluent of .254/.550 MGD.

Sewer Laboratory – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that the Authority is spending about $10,000 per year on bacteria testing by a private lab for wastewater and watershed plan requirements. For less than $10,000 in equipment, the Authority would be able to set up our own wastewater lab. The lab does not need to be certified, but does need certified staff to operate. The Authority can set up the laboratory in the back office on Oak Street or at the Stewart Water Plant. Ms. Seleb recommends that both Andre Thomas and Darnell Walker receive training to be certified to operate the lab.

A motion was made by Mr. Norris to proceed with certification training and set up of the lab. This was seconded by Mr. Keber and approved unanimously.

New Water Authority Website – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that the current Authority website is adequate, but extremely out of date. She went on to tell the Board that she has a proposal from Eyesore, Inc., a Griffin company, to develop a new site with WordPress editing functionality for $2,995. This would allow the Authority to add more useful functions for customers including on-line payment direct from the website.

A motion was made by Mr. Harris to proceed with Eyesore, Inc. to develop a new website for the Authority. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.

A copy of this proposal is attached and made a part of these minutes.

New Hire – A motion was made by Mr. Keber to hire Kyler Perdue for the open laborer position on the crew. This was seconded by Mr. Harris and approved unanimously.

Great American Travel Center – A $500,000 Employment Incentive Program grant application has been submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs as part of the project to extend sewer to the Interstate 75/Georgia Highway 16 interchange for the Great American Travel Center. Some site work is underway. OneGeorgia, the other grant funding agency in the project, has not yet received the developer’s financial documents required to draw down project funds from the $500,000 grant already approved by that agency.

At the developer’s request, Ms. Seleb is developing a cost estimate to extend an eight-inch main under Hwy. 16 for a six-inch meter to serve the travel center. She suggested that the Authority pay the difference between the eight-inch main and a twelve-inch main for future service on the interstate access road. The board was in unanimous agreement to upgrade the line sizing.

May & Carter Travel Center – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that Butts County has submitted a OneGeorgia grant application for sewer to a new travel center proposed by the May and Carter Oil Company on Highway 36 at I-75. This project came together quickly over the last few weeks. This would extend gravity sewer to the northwest quadrant of this interchange.

The project would create a minimum of 33 new jobs. The grant request is for $330,000 with a cash match of $50,000 from the Authority. The sewer line near I-75 crossing to the site will include 1,100 linear feet of eight-inch and 2,200 linear feet of twelve-inch gravity feed. Engineering is underway as per the directive of the previous Board meeting.

Mr. White has disclosed that he and Bart White had purchased this land parcel as part of a larger acquisition through an FDIC liquidation sale on September 3, 2010. May and Carter acquired the travel center site on October 6, 2010.

Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations and SPLOST through September 2010. All funds are within budget for the first quarter of the fiscal year. Copies of the financial summaries, combined balance sheets, and income statements are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Review Bills Paid – Board members reviewed check registers and credit card statements for the month of September 2010. A copy of these check registers is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to adjourn meeting at 6:10 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Harris and approved unanimously.