Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Other board members present were Eddie Ford, Harvey Norris, Eddie Roberts & Burt Jones. Also present were Jeremy Crosby, representing Jones Petroleum, and Tim Ingram with Ingram and Associates. Staff members present were Marcie Seleb, general manager and Alyssa Hopson, clerk to the board.
It was noted by Chairman White that the terms of both Mr. Roberts and Mr. Norris had expired on May 13, 2018 and that their appointing governments had not yet named their new Water Authority representative. Mr. Roberts and Mr. Norris were in attendance to keep abreast of Authority activities but were not able to vote.
Approval of Minutes from May 08, 2018 Meeting – Mr. Roberts recommended approval of the minutes from the May 08, 2018 meeting. Chairman White made a motion to approve said minutes with his motion seconded by Mr. Ford and by affirmative votes from Mr. Jones, Mr. White and Mr. Ford.
Jones Petroleum Sewer Proposal at I-75/Hwy 16 – Jeremy Crosby – Mr. Crosby presented a sewer proposal for Jones’ property at Interstate 75 and Highway 16 West. The Authority agreed in principal to share the cost of converting the force main over to gravity sewer, but was unable to take a vote due to lack of a voting quorum. (Mr. Jones could not vote because he has a material interest in the project.) The Board tabled the final vote on the proposal for July’s meeting. Mr. Crosby excused himself from the meeting at 5:42.
Review Sewer Layout for Liberty II on Highway 16 – Tim Ingram – Mr. Ingram presented two options for extending sewer on Highway 16 West for the Liberty Commerce Center II. These included: 1. a deep cut option at an estimated cost of $613,187, which would allow for Liberty to discharge its wastewater by gravity flow or 2. a shallow cut option at an estimated cost of $298,243 which would require use of a pumping station on the Liberty property. It was agreed that the engineer should proceed with design on the shallow cut option, but a formal vote was tabled until the July Authority meeting. Mr. Ingram excused himself from the meeting at 5:54. A copy of the estimates and plan sheets are attached and made part of these minutes.
Review Cost Estimate for Sewer at Northwest Corner I-75/Hwy. 16 – Ms. Seleb presented a cost estimate, requested by a property owner for a potential hotel at the northwest quadrant of the I-75/Hwy. 16 interchange. The sewer extension is estimated to cost $129,000. A copy of the estimate and plan sheets are attached and made part of these minutes.
Water Chemistry Lab Contract with Private Firm – Ms. Seleb presented a chemistry lab contract from Environmental Resource Analysts (ERA). The private laboratory is an alternative for the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) water lab and will save the Authority approximately $5,000 per year. Mr. Jones made a motion to ratify the signed contract. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved with votes of Mr. Jones, Mr. Ford and Mr. White. A copy of the contract is attached and made part of these minutes.
Litter Trap Grant Contract – Ms. Seleb presented a litter trap grant contract. The grant has to be signed by June 30, 2018. The total project budget is $367,000. Mr. Ford made a motion to sign the grant contract. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved with votes of Mr. Jones, Mr. Ford and Mr. White. A copy of the contract is attached and made part of these minutes.
FY 2019 Property Insurance Quote – ACCG/IRMA – Ms. Seleb reported that the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) property insurance total annual premium for July 2018-June 2019 is $44,146. This is an increase of 9.2% over FY 2018. Mr. Ford made a motion to accept the renewal quote. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved with votes of Mr. Jones, Mr. Ford and Mr. White.
FY 2019 Budget – Ms. Seleb presented a draft of the fiscal year 2019 budget. The Board agreed to adopt the budget at July’s Authority board meeting. A copy of the budget summary is attached and made part of these minutes.
Barnes Road – Ms. Seleb presented a petition for water on Barnes Road. The 1.5 mile road had fifteen property owners requesting water at a density of 10.0 persons per mile. A motion was made by Mr. Jones to approve the extension. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved votes of Mr. Jones, Mr. Ford and Mr. White. A copy of the petition is attached and made part of these minutes.
Manager’s Report
Service Delivery Strategy – Ms. Seleb reported the State of Georgia turned down the Butts County’s Service Delivery Strategy partly because water and sewer submittals were illegible and/or insufficient. She will be meeting with Smith-Welch attorneys on June 13, 2018 to finalize any information needed from the Authority.
Pine Ridge Landfill Leachate – Ms. Seleb reported Pine Ridge is planning to build a pretreatment facility for landfill leachate and is looking for potential facilities where treated leachate can be disposed. They have requested that the Authority consider touring their facility and discuss the possibility of leachate acceptance.
Tank Pro – Ms. Seleb noted that she has received a nine-year proposal from Tank Pro for water storage tank maintenance. The Board directed her to get at least one other competitive proposal.
Flying J – Ms. Seleb reported Flying J/Pilot’s request to extend sewer to their truckstop on Bucksnort Road was postponed until the July Authority meeting.
Yellow Water Creek – Ms. Seleb reported Georgia Department of Transportation requested a cost estimate for moving the water main and service connections on Highway 36 East during bridge replacement.
Interest Rates – Ms. Seleb reported interest rates are on the rise, and she will look into options for revising the Authority’s current investment portfolio.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Seleb reviewed water production, water loss and customer statistics for May. The average daily finished water pumped to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plants was 2.3 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.9 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 11.8% with the current monthly average loss at 20.9%. The total amount of finished water pumped in May by each plant was: Burford – 67 million gallons and Stewart – 5 million gallons.
For the fiscal year thus far, total gallons sold has dropped by 11% compared to the same period in the previous year. Gallons sold to the Georgia Diagnostic Prison dropped by 56%.
Water billing for May was $219,142, down 4% from the previous month and down 8% the same month for the previous year. Sewer billing for May was $53,808, down 13% from the previous month and down 23% from the previous year.
Total water accounts numbered 5,586 at the end of May with 5,114 active water customers. Three new water taps were purchased on the existing system. Zero subdivision meters were purchased during the month.
There were 178 total sewer accounts at the end of May, with 177 of those being active customers. Zero new sewer connections were purchased during the month.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recovery Fees, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for May 2018. Water operations income for May was $233,846 with $159,453 in expenses. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2018 thus far was $40,070 with an outflow of $73,304 for payment of the Sandy Creek Loan.
Sewer Operations income for May was $57,320 with expenses of $44,778. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for the fiscal year thus far was $138,705 with $55,000 in expenses. To date, $2,323,729 has been collected in 2013-19 SPLOST and interest, with $ 1,153,672 expended.
Total cash on hand at the end of May was $10,640,918. This is $597,869 over the June 30, 2017 balance. Copies of the May 2018 financial summaries, the consolidated fund balance sheet and the consolidated fund income statement are attached and made a part of these minutes. Also attached is a copy of the monthly check register.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to adjourn the meeting at 6:49 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. White and approved unanimously.