Call to Order – Chairman Marett called the meeting to order at 5:29 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Harry Marett, Eddie Ford, Eddie Roberts, Curtis Taylor, and Ken Rivers. Also present Jason Cousineau representing Rindt Engineering. Staff members present were Alyssa Hopson, general manager, and Amber Eason, clerk to the board.
Approval of Minutes from May 16, 2023 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to adopt the minutes from the May 16, 2023 meeting, with the necessary corrections being made. This was seconded by Mr. Rivers and approved unanimously.
Sewer Expansion Analysis- Jason Cousineau presented options for expanding the Authority’s sewer capacity. The comprehensive evaluation included the possibility of acquiring land to expand the wastewater treatment plant from 800,000 gallons per day to 1 million gallons per day (MGD) at an estimated cost of $11 million dollars. The second option would be to directly discharge into a local waterbody, in the southern part of Butts County serving the Towaliga sewershed; at an estimated $2 million dollars. However, for the present moment, the Authority could possibly double the hydraulic loading rate on the Colwell spray fields for more sewer capacity. Mr. Cousineau suggested incrementally expanding the wastewater system by year 2030. Based upon Rindt’s analysis, the Authority currently has enough capacity for the projected growth for Butts County. Mr. Cousineau exited the meeting at 5:45 p.m.
20″ Transmission Main – After much discussion on increasing the water pressure at River Park Development, Mr. Rivers made a motion for Ms. Hopson to obtain quotes for twenty inch water pipe. The project would tie into the existing 20″ transmission main located on High Falls. This was seconded by Mr. Taylor and approved unanimously.
ACCG Property/Liability Insurance Renewal- Ms. Hopson presented a July 2023-June 2024 property and liability insurance quote from Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) for $81,392. This is an increase of 24% from the previous year. Mr. Rivers made a motion to continue with ACCG. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)- A motion was made by Mr. Rivers to appoint Mr. Ford to oversee the Authority’s requested SPLOST funds for projects. This was seconded by Mr. Marett and approved unanimously.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Hopson went over the 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 plant was 2.36 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.96 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss of 17% with the current monthly average at 10%. The total amount of finished water pumped in May by each plant was: Burford 67 million gallons and Stewart 7 million gallons.
Water billing for May was $293,878 down 0% from the previous month, up 5% over a rolling 12-month total, and down 1% the same month for the previous year. Sewer billing for May was $57,902 up 17% from the previous month, up 3% over a rolling 12-month total, and up 5% from the previous year.
Total water accounts numbered 6,892 at the end of May with 5,658 of those being active customers. There were 5 new connections sold. There were 263 total sewer accounts at the end of May, with 207 of them being active customers.
Financial Report – Ms. Hopson reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations and Capital Recovery Fees for May 2023 and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) through May 31, 2023.
Water Operations income for May was $318,550 with expenses of $198,551. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2023 thus far was $73,210 with $0 in expenses.
Sewer Operations income for May was $64,983 with expenses of $77,452. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2023 thus far was $52,668 with $0 in expenses.
For the 2019-24 SPLOST, $3,001,208 has been collected. A SPLOST payment of $114,946.61 was received on May 2, 2023. Overages in the 2019-24 SPLOST are being covered by temporary transfers from the Water Operations fund.
Total cash on hand at the end of May was $14,079,118. Copies of the May 2023 financial summaries, the consolidated fund balance sheet and the consolidated fund income statement are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Marett to adjourn the meeting at 6:30p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Rivers and approved unanimously.