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., Burt Jones, & Eddie Ford; also present were Marcie Seleb, general manager and Joyce Hosey, clerk to the Board.
Approval of Minutes from October 20, 2015 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the October 20, 2015 meeting and to approve the same. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Guidance Procedure for Development Negotiations – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that it would be helpful for her to have some guidance procedures to use in development negotiations during the “non-disclosure” period often employed by industrial prospects. Board members discussed several options to rate prospective industries when considering incentive requests. Ms. Seleb will develop a simpler guidance procedure for review at the next board meeting. A list of items that were discussed is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Consider University of Georgia (UGA) Geographic Information System (GIS) Services – Ms. Seleb reported that she has received a proposal of $15,000 from Jimmy Nolan of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government for completing a cohesive geographic information system of the Authority’s water and sewer infrastructure.
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to accept the proposal from the Carl Vinson Institute. This was seconded by Mr. Ford. In discussion, Mr. Jones suggested an amendment requesting that the total fee be reduced to $12,500. The motion and amendment were approved unanimously.
Manager’s Report
Construction
- Generator Project – All three generators are in place with the last two start-ups and training planned for the third week in November.
- West Butts Tank – There has been no action by Caldwell Tank to complete the project since the last board meeting.
- Bertha M. White Road – The crew has installed four taps on Bertha M. White Road.
- Brownlee Road – Wet weather has hampered progress, but the Authority expects to start on service taps on Brownlee between Mt. Vernon Road and Mountain View Road this week.
Burford Water Plant (BWP) – New gutters, roof repair, and a roof hatch installation to remove high service pumps are complete at the Burford plant.
University of Central Florida (UCF) Trihalomethanes (THMs) Study – Sampling has been completed and two week testing is underway to see how many THMs form over time in aerated and non-aerated samples. Also, raw water tests were taken to attempt to determine which of the streams feeding Jackson Lake has bromide.
Burns-McDonnell Lime CO2 Study – Ms. Seleb advised the Board that she has received the technical memorandum estimating costs (+/- 30-50%) of lime slurry/CO2 coagulant systems at the Burford Plant of $1,060,000 and Stewart water plant of $905,000. She went on to say that the use of lime raises a possible issue with increased turbidity.
Ms. Seleb and Water Production Superintendent, Herbert Head, suggest that further study on corrosion control be undertaken. It is possible that changing the ratio and level of poly/phosphate fed could produce the same net result as the lime/CO2 system at very little capital cost.
Three Houses – One Meter – Ms. Seleb advised the Board the Authority had learned that three homes belonging to the Nieman family on Mattie Thomason Road were all tied to one meter. Normally, when the Authority finds multiple houses illegally connected to one meter, each household is required to install a separate meter. Because there is no water main on Mattie Thomason Road (The meter is on Colwell Road.) and because the three houses are the only ones on the dead end road, Ms. Seleb recommended that the board approve an exception that would allow all three homes to stay on one meter with three minimum bills charged each month, plus any usage over the 6,000 gallons included in the minimum. If any of the homes are sold in the future, separate meters would be required. The Board concurred with this suggestion.
Halloween on Second Street – Ms. Seleb expressed appreciation to Marlon Moore, Paul Martin, Rus Nail, and Darnell Walker for helping to decorate and hand out treats for Halloween on Second Street this year.
Can-A -Thon and Christmas Stocking Fund – City of Jackson – The Board agreed to make a donation of $1,000 to the City of Jackson and Salvation Army’s 2015 Can-a-thon and Christmas Stocking Fund.
Operations
Water & Sewer Statistics – The average daily finished water pumped in October 2015 to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plants was 2.2 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.5 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 12.0% with the current month average loss of 15.9%. The total amount of finished water pumped in October by each plant was: Burford – 62 million gallons and Stewart – 7 million gallons.
Water billing for October 2015 was $221,524, 3% less than the previous month, and down 3% from October 2014. Sewer billing for October 2015 was $46,947, 3% less than the previous month, and down 23% from October 2014. Total water accounts numbered 5,412, with 4,908 active water customers. One water tap was purchased on the existing system, and one new subdivision service was sold during the month of October.
The average influent at the Bucksnort Ranch LAS was 253,000 gallons per day with an average effluent of 277,000 gallons per day. The maximum 7-day effluent was 374,000 gallons per day. Total sewer accounts numbered 150, with 147 active sewer customers. There were no new sewer services sold during the month of October.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb went over the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for October 2015. Water operations income for October was $237,281. Water operations expenses were $571,071 for the month. Expenses include $309,531 in generator costs to be reimbursed from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant. Water capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far was $4,442, with interest expense of $1,439, and debt service costs of $25,217.
Sewer operations income for October was $50,194 with expenses totaling $16,018. Sewer capital recovery fee revenue for the fiscal year so far was $2,441 with no expenses.
Through November 9, 2015, $3,448,420 in revenue has been received in 2007-12 SPLOST funds with $92,382 remaining to be spent. $1,141,484 has been collected in 2013-19 SPLOST with $346,821 funds expended. SPLOST proceeds of $50,968 were received October 30, 2015.
Total cash on hand at the end of October 2015 was $8,344,826. This is $210,604 over the June 30, 2015 balance. Copies of October 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 October 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.