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, Burt Jones; Also present were Wanda & David Elder, residents of Stark Road and Dr. Steven Duranceau and Martin Coleman representing The University of Central Florida. Staff members present were Marcie Seleb, general manager, and Alyssa Hopson, clerk to the board.
Complaint about Generator Noise – Mr. and Mrs. Elder told the board that the noise from main plant electric generator at the Burford Water Treatment Plant is making their life miserable when it operates during power load management periods on hot weather days. After discussion, Mr. White told the Elder’s that the Authority would look at options that would mitigate the noise level, but that any option chosen would have to include a guarantee of decibel reduction.
Approval of Minutes from June 13, 2017 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to approve, the minutes from the June 13, 2017 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Mr. White left the meeting.
Presentation by UCF Research Team – Dr. Steven Duranceau and Martin Coleman gave a review of the work being done to assess the Authority’s source water, treatment processes, and distribution system. This project is still in the data gathering phase. Mr. Duranceau and Mr. Coleman excused themselves from the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A copy of the presentation is attached and made part of these minutes.
Mr. Norris left the meeting.
Review Bids Received for Boring Machine – A motion was made by Mr. Jones to accept Vermeer Southeast Sales & Service’s low bid of $41, 319 for a road boring machine for water main installations. This unit will replace the 1989 model machine that has served the Authority for many years. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. A copy of the bid received is attached and made part of these minutes.
Proposal for Tank Inspection & Cleaning – A motion was made by Mr. Jones to enter into a one year contract with Tank Pro for water tank inspections and washouts at $2,400 per tank. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 Audit – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to retain Haisten and Johnston to carry out the Fiscal Year 2017 audit at a total price of $6,500. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved unanimously.
Manager’s Report
Construction
Dollar General – Crawford Grading and Plumbing has completed the sewer installation on this project with all lines tested. The contractor is waiting on delivery of pumps and controls to put the lift station into operation.
Greer Dairy Road Water Main – The Authority’s crew has made the tie-in at East Ball Road and Greer Dairy Road. This makes the main live on East Ball Road back to Brownlee Road. Also, the separate Greer Dairy Road main installation will be completed this week. Service taps will be installed on both roads in the coming week.
Engineering Underway – Water main designs are underway for Bob Thomas Road, Moore Road, Bucksnort Road, Red Berry Road and Patillo Road.
East Ball Road – Ms. Seleb stated that there are still several families that want water on the section of East Ball Road between the Greer Dairy Connector and Georgia Hwy. 36. She asked if the Board would consider installing a water main on the edge of the dirt roadway in this section because easements cannot be obtained from all property owners. This would be contingent on obtaining permission from the Butts County Board of Commissioners. She was directed to request permission from Butts County with the understanding that the line would be moved if the road was ever paved.
Operations
Watkins and Associates – Ms. Seleb reported that Watkins & Associates has invoiced the Authority for $14,682.50 in pre-engineering work on the Ready Pac ground storage tank grant that did not move forward. Normally, in a grant project like this, the engineer provides pre-grant approval work at no cost with the anticipation of payment for all engineer services under the grant. Board members stated that the Authority was under no obligation to pay this bill because there was no contract between the Authority and Watkins.
Water and Sewer Statistics – Water and sewer pumping and billing numbers for the month of June 2017 were reviewed. The average daily finished water pumped in June to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plants was 2.2 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.6 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 7.2% with the current monthly average loss at 2.2%. The total amount of finished water pumped in June by each plant was: Burford – 60 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.
Water billing for June 2017 was $242,866, up 2% from the previous month and equal to the same month for the previous year. For the fiscal year as a whole, water billing was up 6%.
Sewer billing for June 2017 was $52,75 down 25% from previous month and up 4% from June 2016. For the fiscal year as a whole, sewer billing was up 15%.
Total water accounts numbered 5,528 at the end of June, with 5,046 active water customers. Two water taps were purchased on the existing system during the month of June. Zero new sewer connections were purchased during the month.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recover Fees, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for June 2017. Water operations income for Fiscal Year 2017, which ended June 30th, was $3,296,775. Water operations expense for the year was $2,313,500. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2017 was $24,227 with an outflow of $79,968 for payment of the Sandy Creek Loan.
Sewer Operations income for Fiscal Year 2017 was $912,304 with expense of $643,762. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for the fiscal year was $10,967 with $28,655 in expenses. To date, $1,888,948 has been collected in 2013-19 SPLOST, with $911,424 expended.
Total cash on hand at the end of June 2017 was $10,043,049. This is $1,611,135 over the June 30, 2016 balance. Copies of the June 2017 financial summaries, the consolidated fund balance sheet, and the consolidated fund income statement are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Jones to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.