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BRUNSWICKREGIONAL WATER & SEWER H2GO
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011
OFFICIAL MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman, Carl Antos called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm, a quorum was present. Chairman Antos lead the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Present from the Board of Commissioners were members Carl Antos, Chairman, John Crowder, Vice Chairman, Poe Butler, Secretary, Bobby Johnston and Jeff Gaskill, present from H2GO was Bob Walker, Executive Director, Russ Lane, Assistant Director, Scott Lewis, Technology and Compliance Supervisor, Scott Hook, Finance Officer, Brenda Thurman, Customer Service Supervisor, and Deana Greiner, Deputy Clerk to the Board.
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA:
Chairman Antos opened the floor for any adjustments to the agenda. Mr. Bob Walker requested that Executive Session be moved ahead of New Business.
Commissioner Butler motioned to approve the agenda as amended, Commissioner Gaskill seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Chairman Antos opened the floor for discussion on the August 16, 2011 Workshop Minutes and August 23, 2011 Regular Board Meeting. Commissioner Gaskill stated that he was not present for the August 16, 2011 Workshop. Commissioner Butler asked for clarification as to which lift station was being referred to on the August 16, 2011 Workshop, page one, sixth paragraph. Mr. Lewis answered Commissioner Butler’s question with that there are five different lift stations needing the said corrections. Chairman Antos stated he spoke with Mrs. Teresa Long previously about his two corrections; he said his name was misspelled on page five and that he made one editorial change on page four under new business. Chairman Antos said Mrs. Long wrote about the Town of Leland changing their rates “that H2GO was getting credit” and he felt that even though that’s what was said on the recording that it should state “that H2GO was getting blamed.” Chairman Antos said this was to reflect the true meaning of the statement. Commissioner Butler agreed that the change was appropriate.
Commissioner Butler mentioned that the rates were raised unbeknown to H2GO that the Town of Leland hadn’t been charging the capital recovery fees and as a result the Town has lost $30 to $50,000.
Commissioner Crowder motioned to approve the August 16, 2011 Workshop minutes and the August 23, 2011 Regular Board Meeting minutes as amended. Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
COMMISSIONERS REPORT:
Commissioner Crowder reported that he attended the Brunswick County Commissioner’s meeting, he reported that the commissioners voted to adopt H2GO’s Meter Reading agreement. Commissioner Crowder asked if staff received notice of this and Mr. Walker stated yes. Mr. Walker explained that staff is going to revise the agreement for Stoney Creek, he said it needed to be changed to request the County to shut off water for nonpayment of sewer bills. Mr. Walker mentioned there would be a fee involved in the county disconnecting water services; he explained that H2GO already has a sewer reconnection fee of $100 in their Rates and Fee Schedule. Mr. Walker said the agreement also needed to be changed to clarify that the area involved refers to Stoney Creek, Snee Farms, and Planters Walk. Mr. Walker said he will have the revised agreement ready for the next board meeting.
Commissioner Crowder reported that the county commissioners had an issue with the bonds to build the NE Waste Water Treatment Plant. Commissioner Butler chimed in and stated that the county was wanting to refinance the loan they already had for a lower interest rate. It was stated that if the county did so they were looking to save anywhere between $1,000,000 to $2,500,000. Commissioner Crowder asked how this would be tied into the sewer plant and Mr. Scott Hook said they would probably refinance the sewer plant with a larger bond.
Commissioner Butler reported that Mr. Jerry Peirce announced that the county would be ready to open bids for the new treatment plant in January. It was stated that no one was sure if the county had even received their permits. Mr. Walker said there is a partnership meeting scheduled for September 20, 2011, he said his understanding was that the county had not received their NPDES permit and that they are not expecting it for a couple of months. Mr. Walker said the county cannot get their Authorization to Construct until they receive their NPDES permit.
Commissioner Butler reported that he, Commissioner Gaskill, and Mr. Walker had a meeting with Mayor Pro-tem Brenda Boseman and Councilwoman Pat Battleman. Commissioner Butler explained that the purpose of the meeting was to establish a relationship with the future mayor and that he felt it was pretty beneficial. Mr. Walker said he thought it was productive in that it was nice to meet the new future mayor.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None present.
OLD BUSINESS:
Chairman Antos opened the floor for Old Business. Mr. Walker explained that there were a few contracts with The Wooten Company that needed to be closed; he stated these projects were either finished or ones that wouldn’t be progressing forward. Mr. Walker said he needed the board’s approval to close them as an administrative procedure. Mr. Walker explained that a couple of contracts dealt with well development, one was for a master plan that had a couple alternatives of possible investigations, and the last one was for an environmental assessment of the total projected master plan. Commissioner Gaskill asked if the dollar amounts presented were total cost or cost left over. Mr. Walker explained that they were dollar amounts not used; he said the dollar amounts were in the previous year’s budget so it will not be considered a savings on this year’s budget.
Commissioner Gaskill motioned to close out Project 3081-D: Well #1 design, Project 3081-D: Well #1 construction administration, Project 3081-D: Additional test well, Task Order #3 (Sewer Master Plan): Financing Alternatives, Task Order #3 (Sewer Master Plan: Environmental Assessment at a total cost of $62,085. Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Walker said he wanted to remind the commissioners that there was a public informational meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 7:00pm at the Town of Leland’s community building regarding the Carol Lynn sewer project. Mr. Walker said he had received several phone calls from residents in reference to his mail out; he said he only had one person call that was opposed to the project. Commissioner Johnston said that this project should be presented to the public and whether the public accepts it or not the board should be done with it. The consensus of the board was this would be Carol Lynn’s last chance for sewer. Commissioner Butler asked if staff knew how many had signed the petition and Mr. Walked answered with about a dozen. Mr. Walker explained that Mrs. Teresa Long was working on the assessed value of all the properties in Carol Lynn; he stated a majority of the property owners who represent a minimum of 66% must sign up for the project to carry forward. Commissioner Gaskill suggested a deadline should be set for property owners to sign. It was stated that deadline had already been set to September 30, 2011.
Chairman Antos mentioned that Mr. Walker had previously said he found out that Morgan Creek was having similar issues with their septic tanks. Mr. Walker stated he also found out that Hunters Ridge had issues as well; he said depending on how things go with Carol Lynn that the board may want to consider other opportunities as well. Chairman Antos asked if Carol Lynn fell through would they have to be deannexed and it was said that it would probably be best to leave it alone in case in the future the idea wanted to be revisited. Commissioner Crowder asked about the possibility of annexing Morgan Creek. Mr. Lewis said there could be an issue because Morgan Creek does not butt up against Stoney Creek nor Snee Farm and it would not be considered “contiguous.” Commissioner Crowder asked if the county gave any indication of the number of septic failures and it was answered that it was not known in Morgan Creek but in Hunters Ridge there were a significant number of homes.
Commissioner Crowder asked if a formal presentation was going to be made at the meeting with Carol Lynn. Mr. Walker answered that he would give a presentation and that mail outs had been sent with a simple summary; he said that a flyer was given to Mr. Townsend to hand out. Mr. Walker stated the residents of Carol Lynn have been well notified.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Mr. Bob Walker reported that the first item he had was about the Waste Water Treatment Plant; he said Mr. McNeil was stepping up to the plate and started providing the information that was asked of him. Mr. Walker said it would be further discussed in closed session. Mr. Walker said Vaughn and Melton was doing their part to pull everything together and that everything was progressing. Mr. Walker mentioned they are working to propose that the elevation of the plant be lowered to reduce the head pressure on the existing lift stations. Mr. Walker explained it would give the opportunity to over excavate the bad soils in the area to eliminate the need for the soil surcharging. Mr. Walker said lowering would also balance the cut and fill and in the end H2GO should see some cost savings. Mr. Walker said they were pushing to advertise for phase one bids by the end of the month; he explained that the entire design team had been notified that H2GO will advertise and be ready to advertise for bids before the county advertises for bids.
Commissioner Crowder asked how deep was staff looking to put the plant. Mr. Walker explained that the grade of the existing tank was 12 feet above sea level now and the new plants slab would be at 8 feet which is 4 feet deeper. Commissioner Crowder asked if this would be an issue with the permit and Mr. Walker stated no. Mr. Walker said he felt lowering the plant would resolve some issues; he explained if the plant was built at the current elevation with the static screen on top it would create additional head pressure on all the lift stations.
Mr. Walker made sure the board was aware that there was a partnership meeting on September 20, 2011. Mr. Walker said he received the final transmission study from WK Dickson; he explained that according to his notes he thought the construction cost was to be around $1.9 million and the study was showing close to $9 million. Commissioner Butler asked how much of the cost was H2GO responsible for and it was answered that H2GO owed 17 percent. Commissioner Butler asked about the Town of Leland and it was answered that their part was 50%. Mr. Walker pointed out the fact that on the study all the cost estimates had a 20% contingency fund.
Mr. Walker said his last item to bring to the board’s attention was that the lift station on Appleton Way had some tree limbs hanging over it that looked as if they could fall at anytime. Mr. Walker explained that staff discovered the adjacent property that the trees are located on belonged to the Town of Leland, he said a letter would be sent to the town requesting the removal of the trees.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Mr. Russ Lane reported that he found out when he could expect the meters and the MXUs that he ordered. Mr. Lane stated the meters will arrive around September 20, 2011 and the MXUs should arrive around September 26, 2011. Commissioner Gaskill asked if the meters were paid for in advance and Mr. Lane answered no. Mr. Lane explained that the last order was for 900 singles and 100 doubles; he said the singles came in but he was still waiting on the doubles. Commissioner Gaskill asked how many meters were left to change out and Mr. Lane answered that there are around 1600 to 1800 left. Commissioner Gaskill asked if maintenance was completely out of meters and Mr. Lane said there was only 7 meters in stock.
Commissioner Butler wanted to discussed the meter at his parents property. Mr. Lane explained that the meter reader went to read the meter and it was discovered that the meter box was missing. Commissioner Butler said this was the same meter that was vandalized before; he said something needs to be done and suggested the line be disconnected. Mr. Lane explained his idea to keep people from vandalizing the meter; he said maintenance could move the meter and meter box next to the house and straight pipe it back to where the meter currently sits. Commissioner Butler agreed that the solution would be feasible. Commissioner Butler asked about the quality of the water; he expressed concern about his parents being able to tell if the quality of the water was less than good. Mr. Lane explained the quality should stay the same, he explained that anytime someone is on a dead end line that sometimes the line has to be blown off. Mr. Lane said he would pull a sample and check the quality.
The question was asked if anyone knew who was messing with Commissioner Butler’s parents’ meter. Commissioner Butler asked the attorney where the previous case stood and Mr. Coble said as far as H2GO is concerned the case was done, he explained that the Leland police department filed charges and that was the last he heard.
TECHOLOGY AND COMPLIANCE SUPERVISOR REPORT:
Mr. Scott Lewis reported that there were a couple of projects that were about to wrap up; he explained Mr. George Merritt was testing and “cameraing” the lines in a new phase in Mallory Creek called The Pines. Mr. Lewis said that he expected to see the permit certifications within the next week. Mr. Lewis said that Compass Point phase 10 was at the point of the final walk thru; he said this was the back section where the low pressure system was located. Commissioner Johnston asked how big was the area in Mallory Creek and Mr. Lewis said that in the phase he was referring to there were around 60 lots. Mr. Lewis said in the permit for The Pines they’re looking at 200 units overall.
Commissioner Crowder wanted to know the status on having the One Call system operational for billing. Mr. Lewis explained that he was still working with InHance; he said they had sent a test file twice and both times the file came back with errors. Mr. Lewis said if the problem could not be resolved by Wednesday then he was going to instruct InHance to log into the system directly. Mr. Lewis said as soon as they could get the test file working then it will be ready to go. Commissioner Crowder asked about how many customers were being cut off monthly and it was stated on average around 100 customers. It was also said that staff had seen as many as 180 customers. Commissioner Crowder asked about the idea Commissioner Butler had about putting a note on the bills.
Mr. Hook explained that in order to put a special note on the selected bills another script would have to be written for the program; he said really the notes would not be needed because there is already a message that appears when the service is subject for turn off. Commissioner Crowder asked when did staff anticipate having the One Call system working and Mr. Lewis said he hoped by the end of the month. The board stressed for staff to stay on top of getting it working.
Commissioner Butler asked if H2GO was paying full price for InHance’s technical support and it was stated yes. Mr. Hook explained that InHance was having staffing and training issues and that is why the technical support had been slow. The board expressed to staff that InHance should give an adjustment to their bill if they couldn’t give adequate service. It was stated that there have been problems with the billing software from day one. Commissioner Butler said that maybe something different should be looked into. Mr. Lewis said that he and Mr. Hook had been looking for newer and more up to date software. Mr. Hook said InHance has a brand new state of the art system that runs with Microsoft that he was looking at; he said it would cost around $120,000. Commissioner Butler expressed concerns of staff having something that just works. Mr. Lewis said a couple of years ago he and Mr. Hook looked at a couple of software vendors and all had cost ranging between $80,000 and $120,000. Mr. Lewis said he doesn’t know what the original price for the current software was but currently H2GO is paying $8000 yearly for the maintenance fees and technical support. The consensus of the board is for staff to start looking into upgrading their software to something that is more efficient.
Commissioner Johnston asked if the customers who were getting cut off every month were repeat customers and Mrs. Brenda Thurman stated mostly yes; she explained that some people honestly forget but most every other month you’ll see the same people. Mr. Hook said at least with the One Call system that it will help the customers who just honestly forgot and hopefully they can pay their bill before cut off time. It was stated that the One Call system will help not only staff but customers too.
Commissioner Gaskill asked if the money was spent for a new software could he assume paying a yearly maintenance fee and it was stated yes. Mr. Hook explained that with the new software it would be a complete package, it would handle billing, accounting, and payroll. Mr. Hook said InHance does accounting and billing, however the two are not in total sync with each other and there is a complete different software for payroll. Commissioner Gaskill suggested for staff to look into a new software and have something together to present to the board by the annual retreat in January, he suggested to have something together by way of cost to put in next year’s budget.
Commissioner Butler explained that when he had his own business he used Quickbooks; he explained the software could do accounting, billing, and payroll. Commissioner Butler said the program could let you know exactly where your business stood at any given time. Mr. Hook said he had not looked at Quickbooks recently and said he felt Quickbooks would not be able to handle a larger business such as H2GO. Mr. Lewis explained that InHance creates a tabled sequel database of all these different fields, he said when a report is generated it draws all the needed data out from the fields and places it in the report. Mr. Lewis said InHance uses a sequel type database because it can handle a large quantity of data. Mr. Walker said he was familiar with Quickbooks in that it was used at his previous job; he said he checked and found it wouldn’t be sufficient enough to handle the number of customers H2GO has.
The consensus of the Board was that $120,000 couldn’t be spent now but if staff could get the information together then it could be put in next year’s budget.
FINANCE OFFICER’S REPORT:
Mr. Scott Hook reported he wanted to propose that the board approve a resolution to eliminate the convenience fees for online payments. Mr. Hook explained to the board that on H2GO’s website a customer could set up a profile and through that profile they can see their account history and set up payments. Mr. Hook said there are currently 800 customers who have set up a profile, 400 of them use the online payment option and 70 of the 400 have set their payment to automatic draft from their credit card. Mr. Hook stated that he had received several emails and phone calls from customers saying if it were free to pay online they would use it more. Mr. Hook said it would be just as convenient for staff if the customer paid online than coming to the office and being waited on; he explained that when a customer pays online the payment is automatically updated in InHance. Mr. Hook also explained currently the customer is paying an additional 2.85% plus one dollar to pay online where they could come to the office and swipe their card for free. Mr. Hook said he felt this resolution would encourage more customers to use the website.
Commissioner Crowder asked how much revenue is in question and Mr. Hook said H2GO doesn’t receive revenue from this but it cost the customers around $17000 last year. Mr. Hook explained that H2GO never sees the 2.85%, that it is charged by the credit card company directly to the customer. Mr. Hook said H2GO would foot the bill just as it is done with counter payments. Commissioner Crowder asked about the extra dollar and Mr. Hook answered that the dollar was a transaction fee from IWEB. It was stated this resolution would cost H2GO money but save the customer money and encourage the use of H2GO’s website.
Commissioner Gaskill motioned to approve Resolution 2011-09-001authorizing the removal of the convenience fee for online payments from H2GO’s Rate and Fee Schedule. Commissioner Butler seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Mr. Hook presented to the board the 2011 Fiscal Year Financial Report; he explained that the information given was on a cash basis. Mr. Hook said that when the auditor comes in that adjustments will be made to get the accrual basis; he explained the report does not reflect some expenses made in June that were billed in July and August. Mr. Hook said they would also have to add some revenue from August that was earned in June but unbilled; he said the last adjustment will be the depreciation expense. Mr. Hook said according to the last page there was seven million in revenue and six million in expenses; he said the $825,000 is cash that was supposedly put into the bank. Commissioner Crowder asked about the margin of error and Mr. Hook said in terms of cash he felt the number was fairly accurate but in terms of profit and loss it could be fairly different due to the construction of the elevated water tank. The board commended Mr. Hook for keeping the budget in check and well balanced.
ATTORNEY’S REPORT:
It was stated that everything for the attorney’s report would be discussed in closed session.
EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS LITIGATION ISSUES AND CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS:
Commissioner Butler motioned for the board to enter into executive session to discuss litigation and contract negotiations. Commissioner Crowder seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Butler motioned for the board to return to open session. Commissioner Gaskill seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
The Board returned from closed session and made the following decisions based on their closed session discussion.
Commissioner Butler motioned to table The Wooten Company’s proposal for assistance in forming a standard policy for a developer’s agreement until a presentation from The Wooten Company could be made. Commissioner Crowder seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Johnston motioned to accept Vaughn and Melton’s RFQ for engineering services on the waste water treatment plant and to authorize Mr. Bob Walker to enter into fee negotiations. Commissioner Crowder seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Gaskill motioned to authorize Mr. Walker to accept The Wooten Company’s proposal for engineering services related to coordination with NCDOT for a water line encasement to be installed under the proposed I-140 bypass along the Goodman Road area. Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION:
Mr. Walker mentioned an issue he found with the current grinder pump policy; he explained that the policy stated that a customer installing a grinder pump must pay an additional $600 maintenance fee. Mr. Walker said what the policy did not address was the fact that H2GO is not responsible for grinder pumps on a gravity system; he said according to the State, H2GO is only responsible for grinder pumps attached to a low pressure system. Mr. Walker said the policy needed to clarify that the $600 only applies to those customers on a pressure system. Commissioner Crowder made the recommendation for staff to bring a corrected amendment to the next meeting. Mr. Walker stated that staff was working on a couple of alternatives for the grinder pump policy; he said staff would have them ready for vote at the next meeting.
Commissioner Johnston agreed that the grinder pump policy needed to be addressed. Mr. Lane stated that so far there had been 4 grinder pumps replaced this year. It was stated the 4 pumps replaced were between 8 and 9 years old. Mr. Walker said 12 control boards had been replaced. It was stated that most of the 12 were storm related. Commissioner Johnston asked about surge protectors and Mr. Lewis answered there is a surge protector on each board but it cannot handle lightning strikes. Mr. Lane explained that Mr. Hook had created a line item so the cost of the repairs on the grinder pumps could be tracked. Mr. Lane expressed his concerns of the 100 or so pumps put in under the grant that are reaching their 8 to 9 year life expectancy.
Commissioner Butler suggested a policy could be written to state that H2GO could remain solely responsible for the pumps put in place under the grant but when one of those pumps fail, H2GO could charge those customers for the second pump. Mr. Lane stated that Mr. Steve Hall had a list of the pumps put in under the grant and Mr. Hall knew which one of those had been replaced. Mr. Walker further clarified that he thought what Commissioner Butler was suggesting, was that once a grinder pump was put in under the grant and it failed, then any fees the board decided to set in place could be charged to those customers.
Mr. Walker reiterated the fact that he will have a couple of alternatives available for vote by the next meeting. Commissioner Johnston suggested this topic be discussed at a workshop. Commissioner Gaskill stated he would not vote for a monthly maintenance fee charged to those customers who had grinder pumps put in under the grant.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING:
Chairman Antos announced the next regular board meeting on September 27, 2011 at 6:00pm. Chairman Antos announced a special informal meeting on September 14, 2011 at 7:00pm.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Butler motioned to adjourn the meeting at 08:48pm, it was seconded by Commissioner Johnston, the motion carried unanimously.