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 September 17, 2019 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to approve, the minutes from the September 17, 2019 meeting and to approve a corrected version of the August 27, 2019 minutes. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Review Bids Received Bucksnort Road Sewer Extension – Ms. Seleb presented bids for the Bucksnort Road sewer extension. Coggins Construction Company had the lowest total bid at $509,020.50. This included two sections, one for Bucksnort Road and one to service Flying J Truckstop. The Flying J Truckstop section will be contracted separately through Pilot-Flying J. Mr. Roberts made a motion to accept the bid section for Bucksnort Road, which totaled $336,109.58. This was also the lowest bid by section. The motion was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously. A copy of the bid tabulation is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Manager’s Report
Construction – Ms. Seleb reported four quotes were received on October 10, 2019 for the Highway 16 West water main bore at Wallace Road. Metro Boring and Turpin Construction both quoted the same price of $27,000. The work was given to Metro because they were first able to confirm a start date during the week of October 14th. Mr. Norris made a motion to confirm the hiring of Metro Boring. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. Mr. Roberts abstained because he was related to the principal of one of the company’s offering a price.
Ms. Seleb reported that Pyles Plumbing hit rock on the GA Hwy. 16 sewer project and will soon start on Change Order #1 to Holiday Inn Express Hotel while waiting for blasting work to begin.
Ms. Seleb reported the Authority’s crew has completed the GA Hwy. 16 water extension from Jackson Road to near the Spalding County line.
Ms. Seleb reported GA Department of Transportation is requesting a cost estimate for a potential roundabout at Hwy. 16 E and Higgins Road.
Administrative Projects – Ms. Seleb reported a Certified Public Accountant, Joanna Lawrence has been hired to reconcile the Authority’s revenue account and is making good progress.
Ms. Seleb reported Wiedeman and Singleton Engineering Firm is almost finished with the water plant modification design development report.
Ms. Seleb reported the search for a contractor to remodel the Authority’s back office is underway.
Ms. Seleb reported that she and Tim Ingram of Ingram and Associates are putting together a Request for Proposal package for water tank maintenance. The proposals are scheduled to go out later this month.
Ms. Seleb reported the Authority’s current billing, accounting, and payroll software will no longer be supported after the end of this calendar year. She and Interim Office Manager, Sandra Daniel, have reviewed five different software packages and that she is currently ranking each in terms of price and functionality.
Ms. Seleb reported an employment ad for General Manager was placed on several water professional organization web sites and on the Authority’s web site.
Ms. Seleb reported that Ashley McDaniel of Liberty Technology has requested the Authority terminate their contractual relationship. Ms. Seleb will seek proposals for services of another technology consulting firm. Liberty is contractually obligated to continue daily data backups for the time being.
Proposed Policy Revision for Sick Leave Donation – Ms. Seleb presented a revised policy for use of donated sick leave that is based upon the years of service of employees receiving the leave. Mr. Norris made a motion to adopt the policy change. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously. A copy of the revised sick leave policy is attached and made a part of these minutes.
Request for Name Change on Account – Ms. Seleb reported that an active customer with a good payment history would like to be on automatic bank draft, even though the water account is not in his name. He is paying the bill for his parents. The Board agreed to allow the customer to be placed on automatic draft.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Seleb went over water production, water loss and customer statistics for September. The average daily finished water pumped to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plant was 2.4 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.8 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 6.2% with the current monthly average loss at 2.5%. The total amount of finished water pumped in September by each plant was: Burford – 66 million gallons and Stewart – 6 million gallons.
Water billing for September was $288,731, up 11% from the previous month and up 20% the same month for the previous year. Sewer billing for September was $56,398, down 1% from the previous month and up 11% from the previous year.
Total water accounts numbered 5,711 at the end of September with 5,238 of those being active customers. No subdivision water meters and no regular taps were purchased in September.
There were 188 total sewer accounts at the end of September, with 185 of those being active customers. One sewer connection was purchased on the existing system.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recovery Fees for September 2019 and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) through October 15, 2019.
Water Operations income for September was $330,411 with $149,306 in expenses. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2020 thus far was $14,214 with $7000 in expenses.
Sewer Operations income for September was $69,884 with expenses of $18,502. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2020 thus far was $12,174 with $0 in expenses.
To date, $2,762,644 has been collected in 2013-18 SPLOST revenue, with $2,623,547 expended. For the 2019-24 SPLOST, $225,253 has been collected, with $279,515 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 September was $10,837,495. This is $270,266 over the June 30, 2019 balance. Copies of the September 2019 financial summaries, the consolidated fund balance sheet and the consolidated fund income statement are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Executive Session Begin – Motion by Mr. Norris to adjourn into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters, seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.
Executive Session End – Motion by Mr. Norris to return to the regular meeting, seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously. No action was taken.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Ford to adjourn the meeting at 6:35 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously.