Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Robert Harris, Wesley Keber, Harvey Norris, & Burt Jones; Authority staff members present were Marcie Seleb & Joyce Hosey.
Opening Prayer – Mr. Norris opened the meeting with a prayer.
Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting – Mr. Harris made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the November 15, 2011 meeting and approve the same. This was seconded by Mr. Keber and approved unanimously.
Burford Ground Storage Rehabilitation Bid Results – Ms. Seleb advised the Board of the rebid results for the Burford Ground Storage Tank rehabilitation. A motion was made by Mr. Norris to award the bid to Tank Pro with the lowest overall bid at $191,127. This was seconded by Mr. Harris and approved unanimously.
A copy of the bid tabulation is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Ad for Georgia Trend Feature – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that Butts County is one of the counties to be featured in the Georgia Trend magazine in January 2012. The Authority has been asked to participate in the $14,000 two-page ad with the County, Industrial Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Board of Education, Hospital Authority, and Cities. She added that she was given only a few days to commit and, after discussing with Chairman White, has tentatively offered a $1,500 contribution toward the cost of the two-page ad.
A motion was made by Mr. Keber to contribute to the Georgia Trend feature ad. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved unanimously.
A copy of the advertising contract from Georgia Trend is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) Financing
Extra Money Offered on Tank Project – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that she received a letter from GEFA on December 8, 2011 advising that the Authority is now slated to receive $420,000 in principal forgiveness on the North Butts Tank Project loan, an increase of almost $100,000 from the first offer received in November. As an added plus, interest on the project has reduced from 3.0% to 2.5%. The added loan forgiveness is due to several other higher ranking projects having dropped out of the funding program. Ms. Seleb noted that GEFA will not allow refinancing of any of the Authority’s existing loans at new lower rates.
A copy of the letter from GEFA is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Pay-off Transmission Main Loan – Ms. Seleb made a suggestion to the Board that the Authorities use a portion of the $2.4 million remaining in 2007-12 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds to pay off the GEFA loan for the West Butts water transmission main of $1.3 million. The Authority is paying 3.92% interest on the loan, but earning less than 1% interest on funds in the bank. This would leave approximately 52 months of loan payments for the 2007 Bucksnort LAS expansion and save more than $500,000 in interest.
A motion was made by Mr. Keber to pay off the West Butts water transmission main loan. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Manager’s Report
Construction Project Update
Hwy. 16 Sewer Project – The Great American Travel Center still has not provided the bond needed to draw funds on the project, but the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will allow the County/Authority to post the bond upon request.
Ms. Seleb advised the Board that she received a letter from Jones General Contracting asking for more than $200,000 additional payment on the project for rock blasting and removal costs which were not covered in the original contract. Ms. Seleb stated that the contractor has indicated that he will go out of business and leave the project if he can’t be paid for rock. She went on to tell the Board that the DCA’s Brian Williamson had told her it would be okay to use the approximate $90,000 in uncommitted OneGeorgia grant funds to pay for the rock.
After a lengthy discussion concerning the potential time and costs of calling in the contractor’s bond, a motion was made by Mr. Norris to pay Jones General Contracting $80/CY, up to a maximum of $200,000, for rock blasting and removal, but not to pay until the job is finished. Mr. Harris seconded, and the motion was approved by a vote of three to one with Mr. Jones casting the “no” vote. Mr. White abstained from this vote as he has property in the project area.
A copy of the letter from Jones General Contracting is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Hwy. 36 Sewer Project – The Contractor is stalled at the bore under Hwy. 36, but the projected are anticipated for completion by the end of the month.
Crew – The Authority’s crew has been working on the Employee Incentive Program (EIP) force main on the West side of I-75. The crew also continues to repair service lines and mains as needed, flushing dead end lines, assisting with LAS maintenance & haying, and equipment repair & maintenance. The next project will be the main extension on Singley Road. The Authority is waiting on the survey and easements for Seven Lakes/Hangar Road projects.
Operations Report – Water billing for November was down 12% from October at $180,590, and down 6% from November 2010 with a total customer base of 5,250 and an active customer base of 4,645. Sewer billing for November 2011 was down 19% from October at $27,480, and down 12% from November 2010 with a total customer base of 129 and an active customer base of 121.
The average daily finished water pumped in November 2011 to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.0 MGD, with a maximum of 2.4 MGD. The rolling 12-month average loss was 11.9% with the current monthly average loss of 15.2%. The total amount of finished water pumped in November 2011 per plant was: Burford – 55 MG; Stewart – 5 MG. The average wastewater influent at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was .170 with an average daily effluent of .186/.550 MGD and a maximum 7-day effluent of .297/.550 MGD.
Healthcare Insurance Rate Increase – Ms. Seleb told the Board that Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Insurance has increased its rate by 24% effective February 1, 2012. Insurance broker Michelle Cole provided preliminary pricing from several other companies which showed potential for lower pricing.
The Board advised her to get additional rate quotes to discuss at the next Board meeting.
A copy of several insurance options is attached and made a part of these minutes.
City of Griffin Water Rate Change – The City of Griffin has dropped its rate for wholesale water from $4.83/1,000 for CY 2011 to $4.62/1,000 for CY 2012.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations and SPLOST through November 2011. Finances are within budget thus far for FY 2012. Copies of these financial summaries are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Review Bills Paid – Board members reviewed check registers and credit card statements for the month of November 2011. Copies of these check registers and credit card statements are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Jones to adjourn meeting at 7:15 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Keber and approved unanimously.