Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Wesley Keber, Harvey Norris, and Eddie Roberts; Authority staff present was Marcie Seleb, General Manager. Also present was Laura Hale, Executive Director of the Butts County Industrial Development Authority.
Opening Prayer – Mr. Norris opened the meeting with a prayer.
Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting – Mr. Norris made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the September 11, 2012 meeting and approve them as written. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Hwy. 42 North Sewer Extension Project – Ms. Hale spoke to the Board about a potential grant that would extend sewer from the City of Jackson to the old Georgia Box facility on Hwy. 42 at Bunch Road. As currently proposed, the project would include a lift station and force main. Jackson’s Mayor Wayne Phillips has agreed to accepting the wastewater from this single site but does not want the City to participate otherwise.
Ms. Hale asked if the Authority would consider taking on the design, bid, installation, operation, and maintenance of the line and lift station. Ms. Seleb noted that the new owner of the site does not know how much wastewater will be generated and may be able to use the existing septic system on site. It was suggested that the new owner make a determination of the actual wastewater load prior to proceeding with the project. Other concerns discussed included the wisdom of installing a force main that would serve only a single customer and how connection and service fees would be determined between the Authority and the City of Jackson. No action was taken.
Petition for Water on Goens Road – Ms. Seleb reported that a petition for a water extension had been received from property owners on Goens Road. Seven taps have been requested on the .3 mile road, resulting in an anticipated density of 23.3 taps per mile. Four taps have already been sold. One of the property owners, who currently has no water, has requested that a two-inch main be installed because a six-inch main will require easement acquisition and blasting. Motion by Harvey Norris to proceed with design and installation of a six-inch main. This was seconded by Wesley Keber and passed unanimously. A copy of the petition received is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Meter Replacement Contract Award – Ms. Seleb presented board members with the tabulation of bids for labor to replace existing 3/4″ and 1″ meters with automatic radio-read meters. Mack Jones Enterprises of Flowery Branch, Georgia had the low total base bid of $100,750, or $18.75 per meter. $187,000 had been budgeted for the work. Motion by Mr. Keber to award the contract to Mack Jones Enterprises and to authorize Chairman White to execute the notice of award. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and passed unanimously. Ms. Seleb noted that she has issued a purchase order for $608,000 in meters and meter components for the project under the approved sole source pricing from Mueller. Work is projected to begin in mid November. Copies of the award recommendation from Shon Hampton of Watkins and Associates, the bid tabulation, and the notice of award are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Review Groundwater Exploration Report – Board members reviewed a report from A & S Environmental on potential groundwater sites in the Towaliga River area along with a supplemental report in the Big Sandy Creek area. Bob Akins, owner of A & S Environmental, was very optimistic about the geology of several sites near the Bucksnort Ranch Land Application System and Colwell Road. Ms. Seleb recommended that any further action on wells be postponed until after the related West Butts elevated water storage tank has been bid. At that time, any remaining budget for groundwater will be evaluated. Copies of the report and supplement are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Hwy. 16 and Hwy. 36 Sewer Projects Remediation – Ms. Seleb reported that the September 27, 2012 meeting with US Surety representatives and Jones General Contracting had gone well with the insurance company offering to correct deficiencies as needed for the projects to serve their intended purposes. US Surety also has offered to pay the Authority’s costs to have engineer Mike Lott of Rindt-McDuff revise plans as needed. This was verified by Mr. Roberts and Mr. Keber who also attended the meeting.
Survey work done subsequent to the September 27th meeting has shown that, despite the fact that portions of the line work were installed at the wrong elevation, the lines will still be able to serve planned upstream extensions.
Board members reviewed a letter from Gregory R. Veal, legal counsel for US Surety. The letter details specific actions proposed to correct deficiencies on both projects. Ms. Seleb recommended that Mr. Roberts, Mr. Keber superintendent Rus Nail, and she review the letter for compliance with the lists of deficiencies given to US Surety by the Authority and respond via Authority attorney Will White. Board members agreed that this should be done, and a meeting was scheduled for October 18th at 2 p.m. to carry out the review.
Manager’s Report
Hwy. 36 Tank and Pumping Station – Ms. Seleb updated the Board on a project underway at the Hwy. 36 ground storage tank and pumping station. The Authority’s crew is installing a swing check valve at the City of Jackson’s elevated tank, also on-site, so that the elevated tank will not empty when the ground storage tank is being filled.
Flovilla Request – Ms. Seleb report that Flovilla mayor Scott Chewning has requested that the Authority review the three existing agreements that it has with the City. Ms. Seleb and Harvey Norris plan to meet with City representatives on October 23rd.
Operations Report – Water billing for September 2012 was down 17% from August at $197,655, and down 13% from September 2011 with a total customer base 5,301 and an active customer base of 4,723. Usage by Monroe County dropped by 46% for the month through an effort to use its own groundwater supply. Bentley Cox, Monroe County’s system manager, has reported that he expects to be buying water as usual from the Authority from now on. Sewer billing for September 2012 was down 4% from August at $32,583, and up 174% from September 2011 with a total customer base of 129 and an active customer base of 121.
The average daily finished water pumped in August to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.1 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.5 million gallons per day. The rolling 12-month average loss was 9.2% with the current monthly average loss at 8.4%. The total amount of finished water pumped in September 2012 by plant was: Burford – 56 million gallons, Stewart – 6 million gallons.
The average wastewater influent at the Bucksnort Ranch Land Application System was 178,000 gallons with an average daily effluent of 163,000 gallons and a maximum 7-day effluent of 249,000 gallons.
Financial Report
Regular Monthly Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recovery Fees and SPLOST for September 2012. For the month, water operations income was $206,840 and expenses were $152,951. Water capital recovery fees received for the fiscal year so far were $5,951 with no expenses. Sewer operation income for the month was $33,396 and expenses were $33,049. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue was $187,382 with expenses of $9,163 for the fiscal year thus far. A total of $2,496,862 has been spent from 2007-2012 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, all of which has gone toward payment of debt. Total cash on hand at the end of August was $5,727,540. This is $432,016 over the June 30, 2012 balance. Copies of financial summaries, the combined fund balance sheet, and combined fund income statement are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Review Bills Paid – Board members reviewed check registers and the credit card statement for the month of September 2012. Copies of these documents are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to approve bills as paid and adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.