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., Burt Jones & Eddie Ford. Staff members present were general manager Marcie Seleb and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the board.
Approval of Minutes from December 9, 2014 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the December 9, 2014 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved unanimously.
Health & Dental Insurance Renewals – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that the Authorty’s current Coventry health insurance plan has been eliminated. The alternative plan offered by Coventry offers less coverage at a 23% cost increase. After researching alternatives with the Authority’s insurance broker, Michelle Cole, Ms. Seleb recommends a Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Open Access POS through the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG). This plan has roughly the same coverage provisions as the past year, at a 3% cost increase. Pricing through this plan will be good through July 2016. She noted that the BCBS price possibly could change after employee applications are submitted for underwriting.
Ms. Seleb advised the Board that the current Dental/Life/Disability through Lincoln Financial Group has increased slightly. She recommends coverage with Mutual of Omaha with a 9% savings over the Lincoln proposal.
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to change health insurance coverage from Coventry Silver to BCBS Open Access POS $500 deductible, and dental, life and disability insurance coverage from Lincoln Financial Group to Mutual of Omaha. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved unanimously.
A copy of the coverage comparisons for health care, dental, life and disability are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Executive Session – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to go into Executive Session to discuss a legal matter. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Executive Session – A motion was made by Mr. Jones to come out of Executive Session after the discussion of a legal matter. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Filtration System at Ready Pac – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that Burns & McDonnell has recommended the installation of an enhanced cartridge filtration system, with .45 micron rated cartridge filters, downstream of the existing bag filters at Ready Pac. The Rosedale Model 16 filter housing holds twenty 30-inch cartridges and can accommodate the required flow of 200 gallons per minute at the approximate cost of $22,000.
A motion was made by Mr. Jones to install an enhanced filtration system at Ready Pac as per the December 4, 2014 design proposed by Burns & McDonnell engineers. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
A copy of the recommendation letter from Burns & McDonnell is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Manager’s Report
Construction Update
- Nathan Thaxton Road Water Main – The Authority’s crew has made all taps on the sections of roadway with water and continues to wait on a crossing permit from Dixie Pipeline before completion of the road’s water main.
- Colwell Road Lift Station – The generator has been tested, but the SCADA terminal is still incomplete. The Authority crew is ready to start gravity sewer and force main.
- West Butts Tank – No construction activity underway at present. The Authority has not been able to pay the contractor for any of its pay requests due to metals documentation that has not been presented by the contractor to Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA).
- Emergency Pump Tie-Ins for Lift Station – Materials have been purchased and the crew is ready to install emergency pump tie-ins on Ready Pac and Truckstop Way Lift Stations.
Operations
Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in December 2014 to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.2 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.8 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 13.3% with the current month average loss of 13.7%. The total amount of finished water pumped in December by each plant was: Burford – 61 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.
Water billing for December 2014 was $201,890, up 12% from November 2014 and up 8% from December 2013. Sewer billing for December 2014 was $50,378, down 9% from November 2014 and up 9% from December 2013.
The average wastewater influent at the Bucksnort Ranch Land Application System was 285,000 gallons per day with an average daily effluent of 304,000 gallons per day and the maximum 7-day effluent was 329,000 gallons per day.
The total water accounts numbered 5,372, with 4,844 active water customers. Two new taps and one construction tap were sold during the month of December. Total sewer accounts numbered 143, with 139 active sewer customers. Three new sewer services were sold during the month of December.
Water Chemistry Modeling Findings – Ms. Seleb discussed the findings of the Water Chemistry Modeling performed by Burns and McDonnell. The model shows that the Authority’s water is corrosive with an unstable pH due to natural low alkalinity in raw water. This leads to excessive “scouring” of pipe walls when there is a disruption in the distribution system due to a line break or repair. This can result in discolored water for customers.
The engineering consultant, Burns & McDonnell, has made a preliminary recommendation that the Authority use a lime/carbon dioxide system to increase alkalinity and pH stability. The firm has submitted a proposal to undertake further testing and evaluation at a cost of $85,000. Board members quickly determined that this price was more than the Authority could afford and asked Ms. Seleb to pass this back to the engineer.
A copy of the water chemistry modeling findings and the proposal for further study is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Hersey Meter Issues – Ms. Seleb advised the Board of the several different problems causing mechanical failure of the new Hersey automatic water meters. So far, approximately 1.5% of the meters have stopped reading due to mechanical issues. While limited radio communication failure is to be expected in automatic meters, mechanical failure of new water meters is extremely rare. Key Authority staff met recently with Hersey representatives on this issue. They learned that in the batch of meters used in the Authority system, Hersey’s meter magnet, gear train, and magnet engagement arm had manufacturing issues that have been since corrected. Staff continues to negotiate with Hersey to make sure the Authority’s meter investment is protected.
2014 Audit Presentation – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that auditor Rae Johnston of Haisten and Johnston has completed the 2014 Audit. It will be presented to the Board at the next regular meeting.
New Employee – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to confirm the hire of Richard James as a water operator trainee. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for December 2014. Water operations income was $238,991 and expenses were $194,284 for the month. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far is $12,978, with interest expense of $2,822 and debt service of $37,162 paid on the Sandy Creek land loan.
Sewer operations income for December was $49,693, and expenses were $60,667. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year thus far is $84,198, with no expenses.
To date, $3,448,294 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST 2007) funds with $124,629 remaining, all of which is budgeted to pay debt on the 2007 Bucksnort Ranch land application system expansion. $171,468 in SPLOST 2007 funds was transferred on December 1st for the sewer portion of the first payment on 2014 Revenue Bond. $802,054 has been collected in 2013-19 Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax with $247,895 funds expended, all for Colwell lift & sewer project.
Total cash on hand at the end of December was $7,505,584. This is $626,015 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 December 2014.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to adjourn the meeting at 6:30 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.