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. & Eddie Ford. Also present were Terry Nolan, a resident on Brownlee Road, Marcie Seleb, general manager and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the Board.
Approval of Minutes from June 9, 2015 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the June 9, 2015 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Election of Board Officers & Appointments to Personnel Committee – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to retain J. B. White as Chairman. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
A motion was made by Mr. Ford to retain Mr. Norris as Vice – Chairman. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
A motion was made by Mr. Ford to retain Mr. Roberts as Secretary – Treasurer. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Billing Concern – Ms. Seleb asked for clarification from the board on how to respond to customers who ask not to be charged the current month’s metered usage because they felt like a good portion of that usage had been taken place in the previous month before the meter had turned over to the next one-thousand units. Chairman White stated that the Authority’s policy is to read and bill all customers in even one-thousand gallon units as shown on the water meter. He said that the Authority has always treated all customers the same across the board and there will be no special treatment. Other board members agreed.
Pay Plan Overview – Alex Damon, Carl Vinson Institute – Mr. Damon was not present for meeting due to a scheduling error. Chairman White stated that since the Authority had already approved the budget for the pay plan as presented by Ms. Seleb several months ago, he didn’t feel it necessary to reschedule the presentation. Other board members agreed.
Confirm Decision for Property/Liability Insurance for FY 2016 -After the Authority’s June board meeting, proposals were received for quotes received for Property/Liability insurance from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia/Interlocal Risk Management Agency (ACCG/IRMA) and BB&T. Ms. Seleb and Mr. Ford evaluated the reviewed the proposals in detail in late June so that a recommendation could be made prior to July 1 when the new insurance year began. Ms. Seleb reviewed a summary of differences in the two proposals, which is attached and made a part of these minutes.
The BB&T quote of $29,080, was substantially lower than ACCG/IRMA’s quote of $36,396, but the difference in coverage limits for BB&T prompted
Ms. Seleb and Mr. Ford to recommend ACCG/IRMA.
Mr. Roberts motioned to affirm the e-mail/telephone vote taken in late July and to accept the property and liability insurance proposal from ACCG/IRMA. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously. A copy of the ACCG/IRMA proposal and the email votes from the Board is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Received Petition for Water Extension on Bertha M. White Road – Sharion White presented a petition from Bertha M. White Road. The properties have a mailing address of Brownlee Road, but actually are situated on Bertha M. White Road, a county road with no recorded right of way. There are five petitioners for the eight-hundred foot long road, which equals 33.3 customers per mile.
A motion was made by Mr. Norris to accept the petition for a water main extension from property owners on Bertha M. White Road, and to proceed with this extension while the crew is working on Brownlee Road in the section from Mt. Vernon Church Road to Mountain View Road. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. Mr. Roberts abstained from the vote because he lives in the immediate area and has relatives living on Bertha M. White Road.
Water Model Consulting Proposal – Engineered Horizons – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that Lorraine Compagne, the engineer that had worked on the Authority’s water model, has moved to Engineered Horizons. Ms. Compagne has offered to continue to provide on-demand engineering support for the water distribution system hydraulic model.
A motion was made by Mr. Norris to accept the proposal from Engineered Horizons for the on-demand engineering support for the Authority’s water distribution system hydraulic model. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously. A copy of the agreement is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Manager’s Report
Construction
- West Butts Tank – The subcontractor arrived to do painting in mid June, but was not on the approved list required by this federally funded project. Georgia Environmental Facility Authority (GEFA) approval for the painting subcontractor was received on July 14, 2015. Painting is expected to proceed shortly.
- Brownlee Road Extension – The crew has installed five thousand linear feet of pipe, but is skipping rock. The plan is to set a main valve near Mountain View Road, then backtrack to do blasting.
- Bucksnort Land Application System (LAS) Expansion Bid Format – A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to accept the bidding plan for this project as proposed by Rindt-McDuff Engineers, which will involve splitting the line and spray field work, and accepting liner repair bids only from pre-approved contractors. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
- Generator Savings – Ms. Seleb reported that Central Georgia EMC has estimated that with the use of its new generators during high demand hours, the Authority could save $25,000 per year on electric bills at the Burford Water Treatment Plant.
- Flovilla – Hydrants and Valves – A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to purchase back from the City of Flovilla 38 hydrants at $734 each and 31 six-inch valves at $249 each. This is the same price that the Authority sold these items to Flovilla for in 2006. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. Mr. Norris abstained from the vote, as he is the Board representative for the City of Flovilla.
- Pilot Test for Lime & CO2 – Ms. Seleb suggested that the Authority go ahead with the pilot test and analysis for a lime & carbon dioxide process to stabilize water chemistry and, hopefully, lower total trihalomethanes (TTHMs). The latest quarterly TTHM results were high enough to require a process evaluation report.
Operations
Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in June 2015 to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.4 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.7 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 12.0% with the current month average loss of 2.2%. The total amount of finished water pumped in May by each plant was: Burford – 65 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.
Water billing for June 2015 was $268,691, up 24% from May 2015 and up 17% from June 2014. Sewer billing for June 2015 was $63,543, up 18% from May 2015 and up 15% from June 2014 billing. Total water accounts numbered 5,397, with 4,896 active water customers. There were three new water taps and two new subdivision services sold during the month of June.
The average influent at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was 225,000 gallons per day with an average effluent of 255,000 gallons per day. The maximum 7-day effluent was 329,000 gallons per day.
Total sewer accounts numbered 145, with 142 active sewer customers. There were two new sewer services sold during the month of June.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for June 2015, the last month in Fiscal Year 2015. Water operations income for June was $886,420. Water operations expenses were $524,374 for the month. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year total is $205,047, with interest expense of $5,270 and debt service of $74,698.
Sewer operations income for June 2015 was $120,348, and expenses were $40,319. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year was $86,6576, with no expenses.
Through July 13, $3,448,377 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 (SPLOST 2007) funds with $92,349 remaining. $1,041,058 has been collected in 2013-19 SPLOST with $298,866 funds expended.
Total cash on hand at the end of June 2015 was $8,134,222. This is $1,254,653 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 June 2015 to review.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to adjourn the meeting at 6:45 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.