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, & Harvey Norris. Staff members present were Marcie Seleb, general manager, and Alyssa Hopson, clerk to the board.
Approval of Minutes from July 16, 2019 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to approve, the minutes from the July 16, 2019 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Bid Pricing Review on Budgeted Heavy Equipment – All of the equipment demonstrated from Caterpillar, John Deere, and Kubota were offered under national bid pricing programs.
Ms. Seleb presented three bids for a new skid steer to be used at the Land Application System. AgPro had the lowest bid with a John Deere 325G at $55,197.04. Mr. Norris made a motion to accept the bid. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Ms. Seleb presented three bids for a new mini excavator. While Yancey Brothers had the highest bid at $58,854, performance of this model was preferred by crew members who demonstrated the equipment. They also noted that with the excavator’s lower weight, the Authority could use existing trailers to move the excavator. Mr. Ford made a motion to purchase the Caterpillar excavator. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Ms. Seleb presented finance options for the new equipment. Bancorp South had the lowest interest rate at 3.74% for three years. Mr. Ford made a motion to accept Bancorp’s quote. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.
Equipment bid tabulations and financing comparison sheets are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Cell Phone Use Policy – Ms. Seleb presented a cell phone use policy as had been requested by Paul Martin, Superintendent of Distribution and Collection. Mr. Roberts stated that he would like to meet will all department supervisors concerning this matter. Board members agreed to table this discussion for the September board meeting.
Burt Jones joined the meeting.
Manager’s Report
Construction – Ms. Seleb reported the Authority’s crew is about 75% complete on the GA Hwy. 16 water extension from Jackson Road to near the Spalding County line. Pyles Plumbing started clearing on Hwy. 16 for the sewer main extension in the same area, but has not actively mobilized to begin the sewer main project.
Riverview Sewer Line Breach – Ms. Seleb reported that on August 5, 2019, Pyles Plumbing punctured a sewer force main at Riverview Park while installing a service line for a new business. An estimated 2500 gallons of wastewater leaked into a nearby minor stream that flows into the Towaliga River. It was noted that most of the wastewater came from the Ready Pac
Salad Plant, the effluent from the plant is largely made up of water used to wash vegetables.
Even though Pyles Plumbing was at fault, it is likely that the Authority will receive a violation from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) for this spill. A copy of the sewage spill report prepared for EPD is attached and made part of these minutes.
Service Line Complaint – Ms. Seleb reported a customer at 136 Wilder Road had a large leak on his side of the meter. The customer believes the Authority is at fault due to stress put on his piping during a meter change out done in 2013.
Board members immediately agreed that this was highly unlikely. Ms. Seleb reported that she had put the question to Tim Ingram a registered engineer and principal Ingram and Associates. A copy of an e-mail from Mr. Ingram where he stated his professional opinion that this was improbable and does not consider possibilities of separate damage to the service line over the last six years is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Ms. Seleb recommended defaulting to the Board’s current policy of one year maximum window for the Authority to take responsibility for customer issues after work was done. Board members concurred with this recommendation.
New Hire – Mr. Norris made a motion to affirm the hiring of Jonathan Womack as a distribution operator. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Temporary Customer Service Hire – Ms. Seleb reported a temporary customer service clerk will be hired to fill in while Amber Eason is on maternity leave beginning September 11, 2019.
Assistant General Manager – Ms. Seleb will advertise for an assistant general manager job opening in the upcoming weeks. This person would be expected to take her position as General Manager of the Authority when she retires in March 2020. Board members agreed to take a very active role in selection of the person for this position.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Seleb went over water production, water loss and customer statistics for July. The average daily finished water pumped to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plant was 2.2 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.6 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 8% with the current monthly average loss at 9.5%. The total amount of finished water pumped in July by each plant was: Burford – 63 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.
Water billing for July was $245,917 down 14% from the previous month and up 3% the same month for the previous year. Sewer billing for July was $49,133, down 2% from the previous month and down 4% from the previous year.
Total water accounts numbered 5,688 at the end of July with 5,214 of those being active water customers. One subdivision water meter and four regular taps were purchased in July.
There were 187 total sewer accounts at the end of July, with 182 of those being active sewer customers. No sewer connection was purchased on the existing system.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recovery Fees, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for July 2019.
Water Operations income for July was $283,476 with $144,624 in expenses. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2020 thus far was $5822 with $0 in expenses.
Sewer Operations income for July was $53,525 with expenses of $19,533. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2020 thus far was $62 with $0 in expenses.
To date, $2,762,536 has been collected in 2013-18 SPLOST revenue, with $2,618,929 expended. For the 2019-24 SPLOST,$129,972 has been collected in 2019-24 SPLOST revenue, with $220,826 expended. 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 July was $10,646,915. This is $79,686 over the June 30, 2019 balance. Copies of the July 2019 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. Ford to adjourn the meeting at 6:15 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.