Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Harvey Norris, & Eddie Roberts, Jr.; also present were Marcie Seleb, general manager and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the Board.
Approval of Minutes from May 12, 2015 Meeting – Mr. Norris made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the May 12, 2015 meeting and approve as written. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Status of Magistrate Court Collections on Accounts to Write Off – Ms. Seleb reported that the Authority has spent more than $1000 in attempting to collect on $1,793 from old customer accounts through Magistrate Court. Only $346 has been paid. These were old accounts with a balance more than $100 that had been culled by the collection agencies. The Authority board had asked that these accounts be taken to Magistrate Court prior to being written off. A list of these accounts and their status is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Ms. Seleb suggested that in the future, large balance past-due accounts be taken directly to Magistrate Court when the Authority has a verified address on the debtor. A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to take uncollected customer accounts with a balance more than $500 directly to Magistrate Court when a verified mailing address exists. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Consider Purchase of Round Baler for Bucksnort Land Application System (LAS) – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that prices have been received on a new round baler for the LAS. Prices were received as follows: Gene & Matt: Vermeer 5420 – $27,500; Perfect Equipment: Vermeer 5420 – $24,500; Sunsouth: John Deere 459 – $29,686.
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to purchase a Vermeer 5420 from Perfect Equipment at a cost of $24,500. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Review Bids for Property/Liability Insurance for FY 2016 – Proposals had been requested from BB&T and J. Smith Lanier in addition to ACCG/IRMA, the Authority’s current insurer. Although applications were submitted, both BB&T and J. Smith Lanier indicated that none of their insurance providers felt they could provide a competitive proposal. The ACCG/IRMA proposal had not been received by the start of the meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to table this item until all bids have been received. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Consider Proposal for Audit Services for FY 2015 – Haisten & Johnston – Ms. Seleb advised the Board of the proposed fee of $5,675 from Haisten & Johnston for Fiscal Year 2015 audit. This is an increase of $275 from Fiscal Year 2014. A copy of the Haisten & Johnston’s is attached and made a part of these minutes.
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to enter into an agreement with Haisten & Johnston for the audit at a cost of $5,675. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Consider Proposed Budget for FY 2016 – Ms. Seleb presented the proposed budget for the Authority for fiscal year 2016. She advised the Board the draft budget projects a positive net income of $1,166,900. She went on to say that the proposed budget would result in a negative cash flow of $1,043,100 and $3,354,000 in new assets.
The proposed budget does not include a rate increase. Ms. Seleb noted that in the current year water revenue has increased a projected 4% over budget with an actual 1% increase in the volume of water sold over the previous year. The current sewer revenue has increased about 11% over budget, with 11% increase in wastewater treated.
Major projects included in the FY 2016 budget are: Backup Generators – $1,161,000 (85% grant); West Butts Elevated Tank – $300,000 left in project (GEFA loan/30% grant); New Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA) System – $250,000 total costs (GEFA loan/30% grant to pay ~2/3 cost); Brownlee/East Ball/Nathan Thaxton Water Main – $400,000 in materials (Operations & SPLOST), $200,000 in labor contracts (SPLOST), $50,000 for blasting (Operations); LAS Spray Fields and Liner Repair – $500,000 (Operations and SPLOST).
New mobile equipment proposed in the budget for FY 2016: Lease/purchase larger trackhoe -$200,000 over three years; Used tandem dump truck to haul rock & debris – $50,000; Used forklift – $5,000; Lowboy trailer – $40,000; Trencher for skid steer – $3,500. A copy of the complete proposed FY 2015 is attached and made a part of these minutes.
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to adopt the proposed budget for FY 2016 as presented. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Manager’s Report
Construction
- West Butts Tank – There has been no activity on the tank project.
- Nathan Thaxton/Brownlee/East Ball Extension – The crew has started clearing on the south end of Brownlee Road.
- Dollar General in Worthville – The main extension across Georgia Highway 36 East is complete, and the 4-inch meter and hydrant have been installed.
- Elizabeth Circle Main Rerouting – The rerouting of this main to accommodate Department of Transportation work on Georgia Highway 36 East has been completed.
- Ready Pac – A filter has been installed at Ready Pac.
- Manhole Inventory/Global Positioning System (GPS) – Sewer rights of way continue to be cleared along with geocoding and data collection of manholes.
Operations
Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in May 2015 to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.4 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.8 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 13.8% with the current month average loss of 25.8%. The total amount of finished water pumped in May by each plant was: Burford – 71 million gallons and Stewart – 5 million gallons.
Water billing for May 2015 was $216,298, down 7% from April 2015 and down 9% from May 2014. Sewer billing for May 2015 was $54,039, down 13% from April 2015 and down 6% from May 2014 billing. Total water accounts numbered 5,393, with 4,889 active water customers. There were two new water taps and two new subdivision services sold during the month of May.
The average influent at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was 273,000 gallons per day with an average effluent of 252,000 gallons per day. The maximum 7-day effluent was 309,000 gallons per day.
Total sewer accounts numbered 145, with 142 active sewer customers. There were two new sewer services sold during the month of May.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for May 2015. Water operations income shows as only $5,238 because May water billing was not posted to the general ledger until June 1. Water operations expenses were $235,039 for the month. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year to date is $17,107, with interest expense of $4,878 and debt service of $68,426.
Sewer operations income for May 2015 was $533 (May water billing posted June 1, 2015), and expenses were $51,094. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year to date is $15,926, with no expenses.
Through June 8, $3,448,365 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 (SPLOST 2007) funds with $92,337 remaining. $1,039,117 has been collected in 2013-19 SPLOST with $298,121 funds expended, all for Colwell lift station and sewer. SPLOST collections have been roughly 10% ahead of projection over last 6-8 months.
Total cash on hand at the end of May 2015 was $8,082,446. This is $1,202,877 over the June 30, 2014 balances. Copies of financial summaries, combined fund balance sheets, and combined fund income statements are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Review Bills Paid – Board members were given copies of check registers for May 2015 to review. Copies of these registers are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to adjourn the meeting at 6:10 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.