Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:27 p.m. Board members present were Harry Marett, Eddie Ford, Eddie Roberts, Curtis Taylor, Ken Rivers and Bill Jones. Also present were Tim Ingram representing Ingram and Associates Engineering and Amber Eason, clerk to the board.
Staff members present were Alyssa Hopson, general manager and Paul Martin, distribution superintendent.
Approval of Minutes from May 21, 2024 Meeting- Mr. Marett made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to adopt the minutes from the May 21, 2024 meeting, with the necessary corrections being made. This was seconded by Mr. Rivers and approved unanimously.
Renewal Options for Staff Health Insurance- At its May 21 meeting, Ms. Hopson presented renewal options for staff health insurance from Cadence Insurance. Ms. Hopson informed the Board that Humana was pulling out of the medical market and not offering renewal options. Mr. Rivers made a motion to go with Aetna. Their option 3 plan is an increase cost of 2.52% over Humana. This was seconded by Mr. Taylor and approved unanimously. A copy of the insurance options are attached and made part of these minutes.
Yancey Proposal for Generator Maintenance- Ms. Hopson presented a three-year proposal from Yancey Power Systems for generator maintenance which totaled $88,908.95. Yancey will maintain eight system generators with twice yearly basic service, annual oil changes of water system generators. A motion was made by Mr. Rivers to accept Yancey’s proposal. This was seconded by Mr. Jones and approved unanimously. A copy of the proposal is attached and made part of these minutes.
20″ Transmission Main Project – Ms. Hopson presented two proposals for design and scope of services for the 20″ transmission main project from Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) and Watkins and Associates (W&A) LLC.
GMC engineering services included:
1. Preliminary Engineering Phase
2. Surveying Phase
3. Environment Engineering
4. Plan Submission and Permitting
5. Design Engineering Phase
6. Bid Phase
7. Construction Administration
W&A engineering services included:
1. Preliminary Engineering Phase
2. Surveying and Geotechnical Investigations
3. Engineering Design
4. Permitting
5. Development of Construction Plan
6. Bid Assistance
7. Construction Administration
Goodwyn Mills cost proposal totaled $218,000. Watkins and Associates proposed a lump sum fee to be determined by a 6.7% of the estimated construction cost. Tim Ingram discussed the findings of those proposals. He suggested a broader examination of the Authority’s water system to include, but not limited to increasing water capacity, updating the Authority’s water model, and upgrading the Highway 36 Pump Station.
Mr. Rivers made a motion to request for proposals to includes the recommendations from Ingram and Associates Engineers. This was seconded by Mr. Taylor and approved unanimously. A copy of the proposals are attached and made part of these minutes.
ACCG Property/Liability Insurance Renewal- Ms. Hopson presented a July 2024- June 2025 property and liability insurance quote from Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) for $93,595. This is an increase of 14% from the previous year. Mr. Rivers made a motion to accept the proposed rate. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Project Lighthouse Terms- Ms. Hopson presented a letter from our attorney Will White regarding Project Lighthouse terms. Ms. Hopson advised that a copy of the response letter was emailed to the Lighthouse team and a response was received via email.
Mr. Rivers made a motion to have Will White draft a letter stating that Authority will upgrade our water system to support Lighthouse needs that they have requested. This was seconded by Mr. Taylor and approved unanimously.
Managers Report-
Oscar Lane- Superintendent Paul Martin reported that an incident on June 1, 2024 had taken place on Oscar Lane. He reported that the excavator used for the underway water main project on Oscar Lane was stolen by a local resident. The equipment was used for an estimated 8 hours and then returned with minor cosmetic damages. Ms. Hopson presented an incident report from the Butts County Sheriff’s Office narrating what transpired. Officer Gandee asked if the Authority would like to press charges against the individual. It was decided by the board in leu of prosecution to charge $400.00 per hour for the 8 hours that the equipment was used. Bringing the total amount due to $3200.00.
Financial Audit Update- Ms. Hopson advised that Rae Johnston with Haisten and Johnston Accountants completed reconciling the Authority’s FY2021 financial accounts. Ms. Hopson reported that Maulding and Jenkins will start the auditing process with plans to have FY2021 completed by mid August.
110 Pantherwood Dr- Ms. Hopson reported there was a customer complaint about a late fee that was applied to their water utility bill. However, the customer was not present to discuss the complaint.
Buster Brown Road- Ms. Hopson recommended looping the 8″ water main on Buster Brown to Fincherville Road. The estimated cost for the project is $84,000. Mr. Jones made a motion to move forward with the project. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Hopson went over the water production, water loss and customer statistics for May. The average daily finished water pumped to the Authority, Jackson, and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plant was 2.84 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 3.47 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss of 14% with the current monthly average at 1%. The total amount of finished water pumped in May by each plant was: Burford 87 million gallons and Stewart 1 million gallons.
Financial Report – Ms. Hopson reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations and Capital Recovery Fees for May 2024 and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) through May 31, 2024.
Water Operations income for May was $477,742 with expenses of $538,476. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2024 thus far was $46,835 with $0 in expenses.
Sewer Operations income for May was $100,451 with expenses of $42,849. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2024 thus far was $41,097 with $0 in expenses.
For the 2019-24 SPLOST, $3,994,728 has been collected. A SPLOST payment of $96,103 was received on May 7, 2024. Overages in the 2019-24 SPLOST are being covered by temporary transfers from the Water Operations fund.
Total cash on hand at the end of May was $15,207,705. Copies of the May 2024 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. Taylor to adjourn the meeting at 7:13 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.