Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Eddie Roberts, Jr., Eddie Ford, & Burt Jones. Staff members present were Marcie Seleb, general manager, and Alyssa Hopson, clerk to the board.
Approval of Minutes from April 16, 2019 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to approve, the minutes from the April 16, 2019 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Review Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-24 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) Committed Project Budget – Ms. Seleb presented an annual estimate of SPLOST revenues, projected to total $2,567,000 by the end of FY 2024. The estimated cost for approved projects already approved is $1,352,000. The Authority will not have collected funds to cover cost of these approved projects until near the end of FY 2022. After discussion, the Board directed Ms. Seleb to temporarily transfer reserve funds from the Water Operations fund to cover SPLOST project costs until funds are received.
Review Renewal Options for Staff Health Insurance – Ms. Seleb presented renewal options for health insurance from Altera Payroll and Insurance. Ms. Seleb recommended going with the lowest cost option, Cigna Level-Funded. This would be a 13% increase compared to a 21% increase with the current Blue Cross Blue Shield product. A motion was made by Mr. Jones to accept this option. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. A copy of the options and pricing reviewed is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Consider Letter in Support for South River Water Quality – Ms. Seleb presented a proposed letter to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division supporting efforts to raise the South River’s State water quality designation from “fishing” to “recreation”. Mr. Jones made a motion to send the letter. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously. A copy of the letter is attached and made part of these minutes.
Authority attorney William White joined the meeting.
Proposals for Record Drawings for Water Mains – Ms. Seleb presented two proposals for as-built drawings of water mains installed by field crew. Mr. Roberts made a motion to accept the lower priced proposal of Ingram and Associates at $6,625.00. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved unanimously. A copy of the price comparison is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Proposals for Sewer Main Engineering Design Services by Ingram and Associates – Ms. Seleb presented two sewer engineering proposals from Ingram and Associates. One was for design of gravity sewer for the southeast quadrant of Interstate 75 from Fieldstone Parkway for $25,000 and the other for gravity sewer for the northwest quadrant of Interstate 75 from Jackson Road to Forsyth Hotel Management property for $8,500. Mr. Ford made a motion to accept the proposals. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Manager’s Report
Board Appointments – Ms. Seleb reported Chairman J.B. White was reappointed by the City of Jackson for another three-year term running from May 13, 2019 to May 13, 2022. Burt Jones’ term on the Board expired on May 13, 2019. The Butts County Board of Commissioners will make its appointment effective July 1, 2019 because they want all appointed board terms to begin and end with the County’s fiscal year. According to the Authority’s enabling legislation, current members will continue to serve until a replacement is named, meaning that Burt Jones is still one of Butts County’s representatives on the Authority’s board of directors.
Consider Change of Meeting Date – Ms. Seleb asked the Board to consider changing the Board meeting from the second Tuesday to the third Tuesday of every month. This change would give staff more time to prepare reports from the previous month’s financial and operations activities. Mr. Jones made a motion to change the meeting date. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Construction – Ms. Seleb reported that the Authority’s crew has completed the Airstrip Road water main installation. Projects set to begin the next few weeks include: the Highway 16 water extension from Jackson Road to the Spalding County line, the gravity sewer main to the Liberty II project on Highway 16 to be installed by Pyles Plumbing, and warranty repair of multiple leaks at the new fields at Bucksnort Ranch Land Application System by the Legacy Water Group. A kickoff for design of Burford Plant modifications is set for May 28th.
Retirement Plan Update – Ms. Seleb informed the Board that the Butts County Board of Commissioners intends to increase the percent used to calculate pensions for participants in the County’s retirement program such that all new pensions will increase by 25% beginning in 2020.
Doug Adams and John Palmer joined the meeting.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Seleb reviewed water production, water loss and customer statistics for April. The average daily finished water pumped to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plants was 1.9 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.6 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 10% with the current monthly average loss at -1%. The total amount of finished water pumped in April by each plant was: Burford – 50 million gallons and Stewart – 7 million gallons.
Water billing for April was $232,493, up 9% from the previous month and up 2% the same month for the previous year. Sewer billing for April was $48,493, up 12% from the previous month and down 22% from the previous year.
Total water accounts numbered 5,668 at the end of April with 5,188 of those being active water customers. Five subdivision water meters were purchased on the existing system in April with five regular taps sold.
There were 187 total sewer accounts at the end of April with 185 of those being active sewer customers. No sewer connection was purchased on the existing system.
LGS Holdings Proposed Project Presentation – Doug Adams, representing LGS, and John Palmer, the project engineer, presented a site plan for a large mixed use development on Highway 16 West near Interstate 75 along with an estimated water and sewer volume need over time. Mr. Adams asked the Authority board to commit to providing both water and sewer service to the complete project at estimated water build out consumption of 359,000 gallons per day. Chairman White reminded Mr. Adams that the Authority had voted at its April 2019 meeting not to provide sewer to the residential portion of the project as designed. Mr. Adams asked the Board to reconsider that decision. After discussion, Board members agreed that they would need time to review the proposal before any decision could be made. Doug Adams and John Palmer excused themselves from the meeting at 6:30 p.m. A copy of the proposed master plan and water use estimate is attached and made part of these minutes.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recovery Fees, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for April 2019.
Water Operations income for April was $263,469 with $131,475 in expenses. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2019 thus far was $25,704 with $0 in expenses.
Sewer Operations income for April was $54,187 with expenses of $30,190. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2019 thus far was $11,008 with $0 in expenses.
To date, $2,762,347 has been collected in 2013-18 SPLOST revenue, with $2,608,757 expended.
Total cash on hand at the end of April was $10,397,972. This is $377,599 under the June 30, 2018 balance. Copies of the April 2018 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 6:45 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.