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; also present were Marcie Seleb, general manager and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the Board.
Approval of Minutes from September 8, 2015 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the September 8, 2015 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Review Direct Pricing on Land Application System’s (LAS) Pond Liners – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that she has received a quote on labor installation repair of the pond liner at the LAS from DX2 Geosyntex for $77,500.00, and a quote for materials from Colorado Lining for $71,295.50. The total cost would be $148,795.50, a savings of $59,958.91 from the low bid included in the LAS field expansion bid from August 2015.
The material cost is slightly higher than the August 2015 bid because DX2 Geosyntex’s field measurement was 121,597 sq. ft., approximately 10,000 sq. ft. higher than the project engineer’s estimate. The installer is requiring the Authority to provide a backhoe and an equipment operator to trench and backfill anchor trenches and to support DX2 Geosyntex’s spreader bar during the installation.
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to enter into an agreement with DX2 Geosyntax for the LAS pond liner repair and to purchase materials directly from Colorado Lining. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. A copy of the DX2 Geosyntex’s quote is attached and made apart of these minutes.
Acceptance of Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) Water Loss Technical Assistance Grant – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to accept the water loss technical assistance grant for high service pump meter verifications from GEFA. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously. A copy of the signed agreement is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Total Trihalomethane (TTHM) Maximum Contamination Level (MCL) Exceedance and Mitigation Plan – Ms. Seleb reported that September TTHM results were high and will put the system into an MCL violation. She has been working with the Medora Corporation on an aeration system proposal that would strip TTHM’s at ground storage tanks. She has also been working with the Environmental Systems Engineering Institute (ESEI) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) for assistance in evaluating whether aeration at tanks will result in sufficiently low numbers at distant sampling sites at a cost $17,028. A motion was made by Mr. Norris to enter into an agreement with the Institute to undertake an on-site investigation to evaluate spray aeration disinfection for TTHM’s. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously. A copy of the agreement with ESEI-UCF is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Manager’s Report
Construction
Brownlee Road – The Bertha M. White extension is complete with the crew ready to start taps on Brownlee and Bertha M. White Roads. The Authority continues to work on getting easements on Brownlee Road north of Mountain View Road.
West Butts Tank – Painting is complete and the final site work is underway.
Generator Project – Two generators are in place with startups planned for the current week through mid November.
Hydrant Painting and Geo-coding of Hydrants are going well with about one quarter of the inventory completed.
Operations
Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in September 2015 to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plants was 2.2 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.9 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 7.0% with the current month average loss of 12%. The total amount of finished water pumped in September by each plant was: Burford – 60 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.
Water billing for September 2015 was $228,296, 9% less than the previous month, and down 4% from September 2014. Sewer billing for September 2015 was $47,064, 3% less than the previous month, and down 22% from September 2014. Total water accounts numbered 5,409, with 4,903 active water customers. There were three construction water taps, and three new subdivision services sold during the month of September.
The average influent at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was 221,000 gallons per day with an average effluent of 256,000 gallons per day. The maximum 7-day effluent was 326,000 gallons per day. Total sewer accounts numbered 150, with 148 active sewer customers. There were two new sewer services sold during the month of September.
Filter Evaluation – Ms. Seleb reported that the Georgia Rural Water Association assisted the Authority on a comprehensive filter evaluation at the Stewart water plant. This was done at no cost to the Authority. Ms. Seleb expressed appreciation to plant operator Teresa Swan for making the inquiry that led to this work being done.
Geographic Information Assistance from Carl Vinson Institute of Government – Ms. Seleb reported that she and Authority GIS technician, Danielle Hopson, have been working with Jimmy Nolan of the Institute of Government on a proposal for completing a cohesive geographic information system of the Authority’s water and sewer infrastructure.
Staff Appreciation – Ms. Seleb expressed special thanks for Sandra Daniel and Joyce Hosey for long hours they have put in to run the office efficiently over several weeks while Vickye Smith has been out due to family illness.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for September 2015. Water operations income for September was $245,100. Water operations expenses were $176,574 for the month. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far is $3,720, with interest expense of $1,100 and debt service costs of $12,588.
Sewer operations income for September was $49,142 with expenses totaling $29,272. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far was $2,431 with no expenses. Through September 30, 2015, $3,448,410 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 SPLOST funds with $92,382 remaining to be spent. $1,090,448 has been collected in 2013-19 SPLOST with $346,821 funds expended. Total cash on hand at the end of September 2015 was $8,235,385. This is $101,163 over the June 30, 2015 balance.
Copies of September 2015 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 September 2015 to review.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Norris to adjourn the meeting at 6:20 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.