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; representing the accounting firm of Haisten and Johnston was Rae Johnston; representing the property owners on Red Berry Road was Kenneth J. Baird; also present were Marcie Seleb, general manager and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the Board.
Approval of Minutes from February 10, 2015 Meeting – Mr. Ford made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the February 10, 2015 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Receive Petition for Water Extension – Red Berry Road – Mr. Kenneth J. Baird presented an updated petition for water service on Red Berry Road with eleven signatures, one more than the petition previously submitted in August 2014. He also expressed concern regarding the local water table and the proximity of a Pine Ridge landfill to Red Berry Road.
After discussion, Board members directed Ms. Seleb to measure the extension from the current main end on Bucksnort Road up to Mr. Baird’s property, the last property on the road requesting water service. They also directed her to obtain samples of Mr. Baird’s well water to determine if there is any contamination.
A copy of the petition is attached and made a part of these minutes.
CCR Watershed Study Proposal for Watershed Study – Ms. Seleb advised the Board of the biennial long-term biological and habitat monitoring for the Towaliga Watershed Protection Plan that is required by the Environmental Protection Declaration (EPD). The Authority takes quarterly raw water quality samples at designated sites in the watershed.
Ms. Seleb stated that she has received a proposal from CCR Environmental, Inc., to do this biological and habitat study at a cost of $7,740. Macro invertebrates will be collected and taken back to the laboratory to be preserved and analyzed. The fish will be counted, identified and returned to the collection area of the stream.
A motion was made by Mr. Ford to accept the proposal from CCR Environmental, to do the long-term biological and habitat monitoring for Butts County watershed study at a cost of $7,740. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
A copy of the proposal from CCR Environmental, Inc., is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Generator Grant Approved – Ms. Seleb told the Board that the Authority has received final approval for a generator grant. The total grant funding, provided by FEMA and GEMA (the Georgia Emergency Management Agency) is $986,860. A local match of $174,152 is required. The generators will give the Authority the capability to pump from the Ocmulgee River, treat water at the Burford Water Treatment Plant, pump to Jackson, and re-pump to the west half of Butts County which is in a higher pressure zone. This will enable the Authority to provide water to the entire county in the event of a long term power outage.
Ms. Seleb expressed appreciation to Glen Goens, Butts County’s Emergency Management Agency Director, for letting the Authority know about the potential grant and to Alicia Soriano, Risk Reduction Specialist at GEMA for her assistance in packaging the grant application.
Ms. Seleb noted that Yancey Brothers had provided pricing used in the grant for a turnkey generator installation program that has already been bid under a national contract through the National Joint Powers Alliance. She asked the Board if the Authority could use the national contract to accomplish the work without doing a separate local bid. A motion was made by Mr. Norris to allow the Authority to contract with Yancey through Caterpillar’s national contract. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Annual Water Audit for 2014 – Ms. Seleb advised the Board members that the Authority’s Annual Water Audit for calendar year 2014 shows an infrastructure leakage score of .38, the lowest score in the four years that the audit has been required. Any score less than 1.0 is considered to be “World Class.” The water audit validity score is 81 out of 100, which was judged to be very good in real world applications.
Manager’s Report
Construction Update
- West Butts Tank – Metal fabrication and welding are essentially complete. The Authority still has been unable to pay the contractor due to required “Buy-American” verifications not being provided to Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) by the Caldwell Tank company.Hwy. 16 E Sewer – The crew has completed the installation of all gravity sewer and force main, but still has several days left to grout, build an invert, grass and do final clean up.
- Emergency Pump Tie-Ins for Lift Stations – Materials have been purchased, the crew will start installing emergency pump tie-ins on Ready Pac and Truckstop Way lift stations in the next week.
- Nathan Thaxton Road Extension – The crossing permit from Dixie Pipeline has been received. The crew will return to work on the water main, March 16th, if weather permits.
Operations
- Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in February to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.1 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.9 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 13.7% with the current month average loss of 6.5%. The total amount of finished water pumped in February by each plant was: Burford – 54 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.Water billing for February 2015 was $223,371, up 7% from January 2015 and down 12% from February 2014. It was noted that in February 2014, water usage was much higher due to customers having frozen pipes during an ice storm. Sewer billing for February 2015 was $52,351, down 11% from January 2015 and even with February 2014 billing.Total water accounts numbered 5,378, with 4,864 active water customers. Three new water taps were sold during the month of February. The average influent at the Bucksnort Ranch Land Application System was 301,000 gallons per day with an average effluent of 283,000 gallons per day. The maximum 7-day effluent was 329,000 gallons per day. Total sewer accounts numbered 143, with 139 active sewer customers. There were no sewer connections sold during the month of February.
- HB 170 – Transportation Funding Bill – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that the HB 170 transportation funding bill was passed on March 5th by the House of Representatives and is somewhat of an improvement over the original version. As approved by the House, all special sales taxes collected on fuel would have to be used for transportation expenses. Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) would not be levied on gas or diesel fuels. The rate for LOST would increase from 1% to 1.25%, but is still projected to be an annual loss to Butts County of $1.5 million. Senator Burt Jones has promised a completely different version of the bill from the Georgia Senate.
- Possible Patillo Industrial Site Project – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that she and Butts County Industrial Authority executive director, Laura Hale, met with representatives of the Griffin-Spalding Industrial Authority, Patillo Industrial Real Estate, and property owners concerning a potential industrial site that crosses the Butts/Spalding County line off Georgia Highway 16. The site could potentially be served with water by the Spalding County Water Authority and/or our Authority. Ms. Seleb relayed the Authority’s position that it would serve any buildings that are at least fifty-percent within Butts County with sewer.
- Lime/Carbon Dioxide Chemical Feed Systems – Ms. Seleb reported that she and Water Production Superintendent, Herbert Head, will visit water plants in Maryville, Tennessee and Rome, Georgia on March 20th to see how these systems are performing.
- City/County/Authority Quarterly Meeting – Ms. Seleb reminded the Board about the quarterly meeting of all local government entities. It will be held on March 19th at 6:00 p.m. at Lucky’s restaurant on the Square.
- Industry Appreciation Banquet – Ms. Seleb notified Board members that they have been invited to the Development Authority’s Industry Appreciation Breakfast on April 17th. This will be held at the Central Georgia EMC Community Room from 8:00-9:00 a.m.
- Sanitary Survey Ms. Seleb told the Board that the triennial Sanitary Survey of the water system by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division will take place the week of April 27th .
- Bacteria Lab Inspection Ms. Seleb reported that the Authority’s microbiological lab at the Burford Water Treatment Plant was inspected by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on February 7th with an excellent result.
Executive Session – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Executive Session – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to come out of Executive Session after the discussion of a personnel matter. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Personnel Matter – The Board took no action on the personnel matter discussed during executive session.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for February 2015. Water operations income was $238,182 and expenses were $101,000 for the month. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far is $15,030, with interest expense of $3,697 and debt service of $49,615 all paid on the Sandy Creek land loan.
Sewer operations income for February 2015 was $53,205, and expenses were $21,676. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year thus far is $13,496, with no expenses.
To date, $3,448,322 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST 2007) funds with $124,657 remaining, all of which is budgeted to pay debt on the bond payment in June. $863,469 has been collected in 2013-19 Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax with $287,137 funds expended. The Authority is anticipating a receipt of $55,631 in March 2015.
Total cash on hand at the end of February 2015 was $7,528,130. This is $648,561 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 February 2015 to review. Copies of these check registers are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to adjourn meeting at 7:30 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.