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; Mark Knight representing a property on Georgia Highway 16; Laura Hale representing the Butts County Industrial Authority; also present were Marcie Seleb, general manager and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the Board.
Approval of Minutes from March 10, 2015 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the March 10, 2015 meeting and to approve the same. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Request for Sewer on Wallace Road Site Partially in Spalding County, Mark Knight -Mark Knight explained to the Board that Patillo Industrial Real Estate is still interested in developing a parcel on the Butts/Spalding county line as an industrial site, but only if the Authority provides sewer to the entire site, including the portion in Spalding County. After discussion, the Board suggested that the Authority would be willing to serve water and sewer to the entire property only if Spalding County was willing to allow Butts County to tax all but the westernmost building planned for the site. A drawing of the proposed site layout is attached and made a part of these minutes. No vote was taken.
Review Burns-McDonnell Revised Proposal for Burford Plant – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that Burns-McDonnell has provided a revised proposal for a preliminary engineering report and pilot testing of a lime-carbon dioxide feed system for the Burford water treatment plant. The pilot would be provided at no cost by the Burnett, Inc., the manufacturer of the patented line-carbon dioxide system. This reduced the cost of engineering from $85,000 to $25,000. A copy of the amended proposal is attached and made a part of these minutes. No vote was taken, as this would be a project for the next fiscal year budget.
Tank Logo Selection – A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to use both the “Welcome to Beautiful Butts County” and the Authority’s water drop logo on the West Butts tank. These will be painted on the side of the tank viewed from Interstate 75. “Letsonville Community” will be painted on the west facing side of the tank. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Purchase Past Years Service in GEBCorp Retirement Plan – A motion was made by Mr. Ford for the Authority to fund employee Valic 457b Retirement Plan accounts such that each employee will have received a combination of accrued contributions, and earnings on those contributions, sufficient to purchase all eligible past years of service in the new Butts County GEBCorp defined-benefit plan. These contributions will be made only if affected employees agree to use the funds to purchase past years of service. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Water Line Extension Priority List – Board members reviewed updated information on Red Berry Road based upon the petition presented by Kenneth Baird at the Authority’s March 10, 2015 meeting. With 9.2 customers per mile, Red Berry Road would fall into the number three position of unfunded projects on the revised Water Line Extension Priority List. Previously approved capital
improvement projects–East Ball Road, Brownlee Road, and the Dub Walker Road tie into 20″ West transmission line– were also incorporated into the list. A motion was made by Mr. Ford to approve the revised Water Line Extension Priority List as presented. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved with affirmative votes from Mr. Ford, Mr. Norris, and Mr. White. Mr. Roberts abstained from the vote because he owns property on Brownlee Road.
Manager’s Report
Construction Update
- West Butts Tank – There has been no activity on the project. Caldwell Tank, Inc. has provided the required “Buy-American” verifications to Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA). This will allow the Authority to draw down funds to pay the contractor.
- Hwy. 16 E Sewer – The Hwy. 16 E Sewer lift station is complete except for the final pipe cleaning & video, and SCADA communication problems.
- Emergency Pump Tie-Ins for Lift Stations – The crew has completed emergency pump tie-ins for the Truckstop Way and Ready Pac lift stations.
- Nathan Thaxton Road Extension – The crew has tied in over the Dixie Pipeline and all services from Tom Goddard Road to High Falls Road are active. There is approximately one-third of a mile to complete from Big Sandy Creek to GA Highway 36, which will require blasting.
- Bucksnort Land Application System Field Expansion – The field expansion project is ready to go to bid upon approval by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
Operations
Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in March to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from the Burford and Stewart plants was 2.1 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.5 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 12.8% with the current month average loss of 16.2%. The total amount of finished water pumped in March by each plant was: Burford – 59 million gallons and Stewart – 7 million gallons.
Water billing for March 2015 was $220,029, down 2% from February 2015 and up 21% from March 2014. Sewer billing for March 2015 was $52,351, down 7% from February 2015 and up 9% from March 2014 billing. Total water accounts numbered 5,383, with 4,868 active water customers. One new water tap was sold during the month of March.
The average influent at the Bucksnort Ranch Land Application System was 305,000 gallons per day with an average effluent of 311,000 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 March.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for March 2015. Water operations income was $247,400 and expenses were $125,424 for the month. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far is $15,659, with interest expense of $4,078 and debt service of $55,898 all paid on the Sandy Creek land loan.
Sewer operations income for March 2015 was $49,680, and expenses were $17,109. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year thus far is $13,507, with no expenses.
To date, $3,448,337 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST 2007) funds with $124,672 remaining. $919,152 has been collected in 2013-19 Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax with $287,137 funds expended. The Authority is anticipating a receipt of $56,901 in April 2015.
Total cash on hand at the end of February 2015 was $7,758,109. This is $878,540 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.
Hamilton State Bank Certificates of Deposit (CD) – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that Hamilton State Bank is still offering 5-year CD’s at 1.5% interest with no penalty for early withdrawal, and a one-time interest rate increase. This is approximately ten times the interest being earned in the Authority’s regular checking accounts.
A motion was made by Mr. Norris to purchase an additional $1,000,000 CD for Water Operations and an additional $500,000 CD for Sewer Operations from Hamilton State Bank at an interest rate of 1.5%, no penalty for early withdrawal, and a one-time interest rate increase. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Review Bills Paid – Board members were given copies of check registers for March 2015 to review. Copies of these check registers are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to adjourn meeting at 6:45 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.