BRUNSWICKREGIONAL WATER & SEWER H2GO

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 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 asked if there were any adjustments needed to be made to the agenda. Commissioner Butler asked to remove the “deposit refund” from the agenda.

Commissioner Butler motioned to approve the agenda as amended, Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Butler expressed that even though the grinder pump policy was on the agenda he felt like the board was not ready to act on the item just yet. Chairman Antos said a motion to table the policy could be discussed at the appropriate time.

CONSENT AGENDA:

 Chairman Antos opened the floor for discussion on the September 13, 2011 regular board meeting minutes, he mentioned that he spoke with the deputy clerk, Mrs. Deana Greiner about four typographical errors. Chairman Antos said the following errors were corrected, on page one under the consent agenda it was clarified that Commissioner Crowder was present for the workshop, page two the last paragraph, Councilwoman Pat Battleman’s name and title was corrected, page four first paragraph “continuous” was changed to “contiguous,” and finally page five second paragraph under the assistant director’s report “discussed” was changed to “discuss”.

Commissioner Crowder motioned to approve the September 13, 2011 regular board meeting minutes as amended, Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

COMMISSIONERS REPORT:

Chairman Antos reported he attended the Town of Leland’s meeting, he said there was nothing discussed worth reporting on. Commissioner Crowder mentioned the partnership meeting and Commissioner Butler mentioned the Carol Lynn meeting. It was stated that the partnership meeting and the Carol Lynn meetings would be discussed in old business.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Mr. Cameron Moore was present representing BASE; he mentioned he reviewed the proposed grinder pump policy and spoke with Mr. Walker about his concerns. Mr. Moore said just before the meeting he received a revised copy of the proposed policy and felt the revised policy was getting closer to what he was wanting to see. Mr. Moore stated he wanted a little more time to look into the policy; he mentioned he was a little concerned on whether or not there were fees involved. Mr. Moore said the original proposed policy mentioned fees and the revised copy did not address the fees. Mr. Moore reiterated the fact that he felt  the board was closer on track to what he had asked for previously; he expressed to the board that he agreed with Commissioner Butler in that everyone should work together in getting the policy to work for H2GO to provide the best quality of service to the customers.

OLD BUSINESS:

Mr. Bob Walker explained to the board that at the last meeting they wanted to hear a formal presentation from the Wooten Company regarding them assisting staff to develop standards for a developer’s agreement; he stated that Mrs. Pat Crissman was present from the Wooten Company to answer any questions the board had.

Mrs. Crissman began her presentation stating that she was very familiar with Brunswick county; she said she wanted to start with the advantages of having set policies and standards for a developer’s agreement. Mrs. Crissman said she gave the board an outline of the benefits for having a set of standards; she also mentioned that she had been in touch with Mr. Leslie Bell from the County’s planning board and spoke with him on the County’s ordinances for financial guarantees. Mrs. Crissman stated that she felt now would be a good time to work with the County on developing policy. Mrs. Crissman said it was important to have a developer’s agreement so that H2GO will become the head negotiator; she said with it, H2GO will have the control to establish policies for H2GO’s benefit.

Mrs. Crissman explained to the board that she worked for the town of Apex previously; she said she was a registered planner and a registered architect.  Mrs. Crissman said she had worked for the Wooten Company for the past 15 years working with other sanitary districts developing similar policies. Chairman Antos looked at the list of advantages and asked what was meant by “leveling the playing field.” Mrs. Crissman answer was that when a developer goes into an area, they want to know where they are going to get the best return for their investment; she said the more questions that can be answered in regards to their cost the better. Mrs. Crissman explained that if everything was spelled out then developers would know they were being treated equal. Commissioner Butler asked if Mrs. Crissman was suggesting “one rule serves all.” Mrs. Crissman answered with “one guideline;” she said guidelines would be a better word for negotiating purposes. Mrs. Crissman explained that guidelines would give H2GO the upper hand in negotiating rather than the developer writing their own self serving agreement. Commissioner Butler said if the guideline was bent for one then the next developer coming along would expect it to be bent for them; he stated those guidelines would have to be very narrow. Mrs. Crissman explained there was a vast amount of situations that the developer deals with; she said they would come up with a set of guidelines that dealt with most of them and H2GO would want to come within a very narrow negotiation range.

Mr. Walker said he spoke with Mrs. Crissman and explained to her that staff was looking for some guidelines that would give consistency and a competitive advantage. Mrs. Crissman explained that H2GO was in an unusual situation in that the local government had the authority to approve the subdivision and site plan, and control when the final plat is signed. Mrs. Crissman said when the County starts talking about issuing building permits, H2GO should be in on the process to make sure H2GO’s interest are being protected. Mrs. Crissman said she had spoke with Mr. Walker about an area that was supposed to have utilities installed and the development fell through; she said H2GO needed guidelines in place so that H2GO would not become the scapegoat.

Mr. Walker explained to the board that Mrs. Crissman was referring to the Maritime Shores project; he said H2GO sort of became the scapegoat because the developer is looking for H2GO to provide the infrastructure and H2GO has no means to do so. Mr. Walker said the letter of credit that was provided to the County for the roadways and sidewalks is no good right now because the County cannot install the roadways until the infrastructure is complete. Commissioner Butler said it was his understanding the property owners were going to put in wells and septic tanks until utilities could be provided.  Mr. Walker said the agreement that was signed stated pumps would be put in at each individual lot that would pump into the force main; he said also the property owners were supposed to have wells. Mr. Walker said now none of that could be done because the developer is gone.

Commissioner Crowder asked Mrs. Crissman if she knew where the county was at on developing their policies, and Mrs. Crissman answered with; the proposed policies had not been presented to the planning board yet. Mrs. Crissman said she was told they would be looking to present the proposed policies by the end of the year; she said after that they wanted to have a joint meeting with the12 jurisdictions that they deal with. Mrs. Crissman said Mr. Bell had told her it was the County’s hope that they could develop a master agreement between the 12 jurisdictions.

Commissioner Butler said H2GO had been waiting on what the county would come up with because it was the consensus of the board that the two policies would not be far apart. Mrs. Crissman brought up the fact that the county was mainly working with financial guarantees; she explained that H2GO was needing those guidelines but also needed developer policies as well. Mrs. Crissman said she felt now was a good time to get in on the discussions with the County to influence their policy making.  Commissioner Butler mentioned that the proposed financial guarantee policy H2GO had was stricter than what the County had proposed. Mrs. Crissman said she found out the County was looking to propose that a developer could only work a year at a time on a development in terms of the financial guarantee; she said the county was also concerned about securing easements up front and they were looking to set a certain percentage to be complete before the final plat would be recorded.  

Chairman Antos explained he sat in a meeting at the town hall where the town was encouraging developers to work in small sections. Chairman Antos expressed that he wanted to see H2GO have their own set policies and be able to carry their outline to the county to influence the county rather than the county influence H2GO. 

Commissioner Crowder pointed out that the Wooten Company was asking for $13,900 for assisting staff on developing standards; he wanted to know what exactly could H2GO expect. Mrs. Crissman explained she would be involved in working with the County, working with H2GO’s staff, researching issues and problems from the past, develop policies that address those problem areas, and work with Coble on legalities. Mrs. Crissman stated that the biggest advantage of having set policies is that H2GO will become more competitive in that the investors will be able to accurately forecast their cost. It was stated that the bottom line was, this process would not only assist H2GO but the developers as well, Mrs. Crissman agreed. Commissioner Crowder pointed out that development has dropped over the years and expressed that he felt if H2GO could set a standard that it would entice developers to continue to build in the district. Commissioner Crowder asked how much time would be spent and Mrs. Crissman answered that her best guess would be 8 to 12 months. Mrs. Crissman explained that they would pace their selves one step ahead of the county. Commissioner Crowder asked Mrs. Crissman what she thought the return of investment would be if H2GO allowed her to work with staff on developing a set of standards. Mrs. Crissman stated that she didn’t know if she could answer that question; she said she could not give a guarantee on anything but she thought it would be money well spent.

Commissioner Johnston expressed his concerns of there not being much development going on in the area. Mr. Walker reminded the board of the Knott Foundation wanting to come in; he said he received a call from a realtor who was asking about availability of services for 60 acres just to the south of where the Knott Foundation was going. Mr. Walker said he told the realtor that sewer and water was available at that location. Chairman Antos mentioned the fact that Hunters Ridge was coming into reach because their septic systems were failing; he mentioned Morgan Creek and expressed hope that they could become contiguous with the district. Commissioner Butler said the district would have to decide how aggressive they would want to be; he expressed he felt in order for H2GO to provide service for areas like Hunter’s Ridge then H2GO will have to become a little more aggressive.

Mr. Walker stated to the board it was his recommendation to accept Mrs. Crissman proposal; he explained as it stood now if a developer came in it would be all negotiation because H2GO did not have any set policies in place to go by. Mr. Walker expressed concerns of another developer coming in with a self serving agreement that did not serve H2GO’s best interest.

Commissioner Johnston asked Mrs. Crissman if there was any other entities nearby that has used her services. Mrs. Crissman explained there was none nearby; she said the Town of Apex adopted a set of standards developed by her and the Wooten Company while she was still working for the Town of Apex.

Commissioner Crowder made the motion for H2GO to hire the Wooten Company to assist staff in developing a set of standards for a developer’s agreement at a cost of $13,900. Chairman Antos seconded and the motion did not carry with a vote of 2 yeas and 3 nays by Commissioner Butler, Commissioner Gaskill and Commissioner Johnston.

Mr. Walker gave an update on Carol Lynn; he said the petition was still going around. Mr. Walker explained that Mr. Kevin Dillon was taking the petition around door to door; he said the required number of signatures had already been met, however; the required amount of assessed value had not been accounted for. Mr. Walker said as it stood now they were at 45%; he said they could bring the petition to the board at anytime and the Board could choose to accept it or not. It was stated 66% was needed. The board expressed that the residents had until September 30 to get the required signatures. It was stated that no more time would be spent to make this project happen after that date. Commissioner Crowder stated that he knew about 30% of the septic tanks in Carol Lynn were failing; he said a new septic system would cost someone close to $20,000 to have one bought and installed. Commissioner Crowder said he wanted to be on record saying septic tanks were not designed for permanent use and now H2GO is offering the assistance that the residents had asked for; he said it’s time for them to “ante up”.

Mr. Walker said at the last meeting he was asked to take a look at the grinder pump policy. Mr. Walker handed to the board several spreadsheets and explained the first one showed the existing expenses based on collecting $600 for new installations; he said in 16 years H2GO will be $178,000 in the hole. Mr. Walker said the next spreadsheet showed that the effect of H2GO collecting $5 a month which would leave H2GO $37,000 in the hole; he said if H2GO charged a $7 a month fee, H2GO would start accumulating funds in 12 years. Commissioner Butler asked if staff calculated what a grinder pump would cost in 12 years and Mr. Walker said one cost $1200 to $1300 now. Mr. Walker said another solution would be not to charge customers anything and H2GO would absorb the cost in its operating fund which would cause the sewer rates to go up by about thirty three cents. Mr. Walker said his last suggestion was that H2GO could be responsible for the pumps and could maintain the pumps but H2GO would maintain them at the customer’s expense; he said if a pump or a board needed to be replaced then the customer would have to pay the cost at the time of repair. Mr. Walker said with this option all H2GO would have to do is create a line item; he explained this option goes along with the proposed policy given to them.

Commissioner Johnston expressed that if it were him, he would rather pay a monthly fee than have to pay $1300 all at once. Mr. Walker summarized the policy by saying that any grinder pump put in before July 1, 2008 would receive one free pump and/or control board and from that point on the customer would have to pay the cost of any repairs needed. Mr. Walker said any pump installed after the July date the customer would have to pay for any needed repairs. Commissioner Crowder asked what was the significance of the July date, Mr. Walker’s answer was, that was the date of the construction project that included the grant money. Commissioner Crowder asked what area did the grant money apply to and Mr. Walker explained there was no set area. Mr. Walker said only a small portion was spent on the 90 grinder pumps installed; he said the loan money was spent first and then the grant money was spent last. Mr. Walker explained he had an email from Rural Development who administered the loan that stated the only requirement for them was that all customers were created equally and not be denied services based on discrimination. Mr. Walker said there is no way to pinpoint what exactly was paid with loan money and what was paid with grant money. Mr. Walker said with the policy the board has the option to either take item seven out or leave it in.

Chairman Antos said by his calculations that with the amount of the grant and the cost of the 90 grinder pumps, it still left H2GO paying around $600 per pump. Commissioner Gaskill asked how many customers would have hooked up if they knew they were going to have to maintain the pump. Chairman Antos stated that the customers didn’t have a choice and Commissioner Gaskill said not all the customers who signed up for a grinder pump had a failing septic system. Commissioner Gaskill said there is nothing in writing but  H2GO has set the standard that we  would repair their pumps at no cost to them because that is what has been going on. Chairman Antos said he felt that with the proposed policy, those customers Commissioner Gaskill was referring to would be given a break in that H2GO would allow them one free pump and/or board. Commissioner Gaskill expressed that he was in disagreement because the customers have been told from day one they would not be responsible for any costs.

Commissioner Crowder asked about the grinder pump maintenance spreadsheet. Mr. Walker explained that it was a list of all the current grinder pumps; he said the “x” on the left indicated which ones were put in with grant money and the “x” on the right indicated which pumps and boards have been replaced. Mr. Walker said in the future a date will be recorded as to when they were replaced or repaired.

Commissioner Gaskill asked Commissioner Butler what he was told about grinder pumps. Commissioner Butler’s answer was that he would receive a grinder pump for his application; he said that a past director told him H2GO would be responsible for the pump. Commissioner Butler stated that the same director had also misinformed him on policies about connecting to the sewer in that if a certain size tap was bought it could serve two properties. Chairman Antos explained there has been several cases where someone has come in and said they were told one thing and the policy stated otherwise; the board had to go with policy because the customer didn’t have anything in writing. It was stated that just because something was done in the past as practice, it didn’t make it right and just because something was not in writing didn’t make it wrong. Mr. Walker said he was trying to get things to a point where H2GO could maintain the grinder pumps without going into the red year after year.

Commissioner Crowder asked if Mr. Steve Hall could come up with some dates as to when the grinder pumps were installed. Mr. Scott Lewis said it could be problematic because they were installed by an outside contractor; he said it may be possible to check the initial billing. Mr. Hook said the date could only be found if it were installed after 2001.  Mr. Walker said the oldest pumps were around 8 years old and already 12 have been replaced in the past 2 years. Commissioner Butler asked what was causing the pumps to go out and it was answered that lighting strikes was the common cause.  Commissioner Crowder asked if staff had seen any abuse to these pumps, and Mr. Lane said occasionally. Commissioner Gaskill asked what was the policy if neglect was found on the customer’s part; Mr. Lane explained if a customer called with a clogged sewer then maintenance will pull the clean out, if the clean out is good then the clog is on the customer’s side and they will have to call a plumber. Commissioner Gaskill asked about a clogged sewer at the cleanout and Mr. Lane explained that if the sewer was clogged at the clean out then maintenance fixes it and there is no charge to the customer. Mr. Lane said H2GO was responsible from to the clean out to the force main. Commissioner Gaskill brought up the point if a sock was in the cleanout then why couldn’t H2GO charge that customer to fix something when it was obviously their neglect.  Mr. Walker explained that he thought Commissioner Gaskill was suggesting “sewer community,” where everyone pays the cost of everything rather than sewer bills being prorated based on how far your property is from the plant or how many lift stations your sewage went through.  Mr. Walker said if the consensus of the board was for all the customers to bear the cost of everything, i.e. grinder pump maintenance, then they would be looking at a rate increase in the coming years.

Commissioner Butler motioned to table the approval of the proposed grinder pump policy, Commissioner Crowder seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Butler started the discussion on the partnership meeting; he said he felt some of the partners were not going to “ante up”. Commissioner Butler expressed concern of whether or not H2GO would be required to pick up the other partners’ slack in that case. Chairman Antos expressed concerns about the Town of Leland’s pump at Magnolia Greens causing H2GO problems at Picket Ridge. Chairman Antos said the Town felt like the upgrades to the Commerce lift station was not a partnership cost; he expressed that if their pump was causing blowouts then they should be made to paid that cost. It was stated that Navassa didn’t want to pay for any of the study. Commissioner Butler asked what would happen if H2GO decided not to participate and it was said that everything would just go on like it is until everything gets to the point where development will be forced to stop because the sewer couldn’t be treated. Commissioner Crowder mentioned that there was two PUDs going in south of the I140 corridor in Navassa; he said it was uncertain where the capacity for that project would come from. Commissioner Crowder questioned the financing options; he asked if H2GO wanted to pay cash would the other partners have to pay cash. Mr. Scott Hook said no, but if the partners wanted to go the bond route they would have to agree on which bond they wanted. It was stated the decision would have to made by October 11, 2011. Mr. Scott Hook said that if H2GO decided to pay cash versus getting a 10 year bank loan the benefits  would wash each other out. Mr. Hook said if H2GO went with a 25 year loan there would be an extra $1.2 million paid in interest. The consensus of the board was to keep the cash and get the 10 year loan. Mr. Hook said the problem was to get the other partners to go with a 10 year loan as oppose to the 25 year loan. The board expressed concerns of the other partners not wanting to participate; they expressed concerns of the other partners even being able to afford their share. The question was asked if the other partners chose the 25 year loan could H2GO pay their part off in 10 years and it was answered with that if it was paid off early then the interest would still have to be paid.  

Chairman Antos asked if the board wanted to go ahead with making a decision to send to the County. Commissioner Johnston asked if there was a guarantee that the other partners would be participating. Mr. Walker suggested for the board to come up with a resolution that specifically spelled out the board’s decision and the board’s intent contingent upon the decision of the other partners. Mr. Steve Coble suggested writing that resolution contingent upon the commitment of the other partners. Mr. Hook said the board could recommend the 10 year loan option and wait and see what the response was; he said the decision was due by October 14 but the payment wouldn’t be due until December. The board liked the idea of the resolution contingent upon the commitment of the other partners. Mr. Walker suggested that the resolution should be figure specific so then if the County goes up in the percentage that was required for H2GO to pay then H2GO could decide to change their decision.  

The question was asked if H2GO could decide to seek a 10 year loan outside the partnership and choose to pay cash. Mr. Hook said he wasn’t sure if the LGC would allow H2GO to do that. It was asked what would be the collateral. Mr. Hook said H2GO only has intangible assets.

The board tasked staff with writing the resolution to send to the County to have ready for a vote by next meeting.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Mr. Walker reported his first item was an update on the waste water treatment plant; he said the plans were out for bid for phase 1. Mr. Walker said this bid was for relocating the lines from the middle of the site to the side and to clear the grub from the fence line. Mr. Walker said there will be a pre-bid meeting with Vaughn and Melton on Thursday September 29, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Walker said the bids are due by October 11, 2011 prior to the board meeting.

Mr. Walker reported that staff had received the Stoney Creek meter reading agreement back from the county; he said the only change the county made was they raised their reconnection fee to $50. Mr. Walker said H2GO has a set fee of $100 for sewer reconnection.

Commissioner Gaskill motioned to approve the Stoney Creek, Snee Farm, and Planters Walk meter reading and service disconnection agreement, Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Walker said he wanted to clarify for Commissioner Butler and bring to the Board’s attention of a situation that came up in the staff meeting. Mr. Walker said there was a subdivision called Black Bear Hollow off of highway 133; he explained when the development went in there were some houses that didn’t pass a perk test so the developer put in a low pressure sewer system. Mr. Walker said there are five houses connected who have grinder pumps that H2GO has been responding to at the homeowner’s expense. Mr. Walker said this subdivision is not H2GO’s responsibility because the system had not been deeded and dedicated to H2GO; he said H2GO cannot force the residents to connect to the sewer system. It was stated that H2GO provided water to the subdivision but the sewer connections could not be enforced. It was said the five homeowners who are connected are paying the same sewer rates that every other customer was paying.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Mr. Russ Lane said the only thing he had to report was that he received a partial shipment of meters and maintenance was able to install around 70 meters.

TECHOLOGY AND COMPLIANCE SUPERVISOR REPORT:

Mr. Scott Lewis reported that a Mr. Garst had contacted him about getting approval from the board to allow him to install a septic tank. Mr. Lewis explained that when the original sewer project was put in on Lanvale Road his house was tied into the force main through a grinder pump and since then he has acquired the lot next door and wanted to know how he could get sewer. Mr. Lewis said being that there are no gravity lines in front of that property, the only way is  for him to hook on to the force main, which is not a good practice. Mr. Lewis said that would require the resident to have the system engineered and modeled to make sure it was not overcome by pressure from H2GO’s system. Chairman Antos asked what would be the engineering cost and Mr. Lewis answered that the engineer would have to design the pump station and run a model and tie the model into the Wooten Company’s model to make sure sewer doesn’t get pumped back into Mr. Garst’s line. Mr. Lewis said the cost for the engineer would be pretty significant for Mr. Garst. Mr. Walker said the current policy does state that if a customer is on water and sewer is available the customer shall connect to sewer; he said it also stated that the director has the authority to take discretion to administer these provisions fairly when unreasonable. Mr. Walker said it was his recommendation for the board to use discretion. The board asked what was the attorney’s take and Mr. Coble said he would need more time to research the policy and the amendments recently made.

Mr. Lewis reported that he received the water permit for Compass Pointe phase 10 and11 and that the final walk through was completed.

Mr. Lewis reported that the one call system was in operation; he said staff was able to send out calls for people who were facing disconnection. Mr. Lewis said there were several responses received from people who said H2GO had the wrong number. Commissioner Crowder asked what was the message sent and Mr. Lewis answered with it said “This is Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer calling with a courtesy call to inform you your bill is past due and subject for turn off if payment is not received by Monday. If you feel you received this message in error please call H2GO at 910-371-9949 Thank You.” It was stated the real test will be how many services will be cut off on Monday.

FINANCE OFFICER’S REPORT:

Mr. Scott Hook reported the only thing he had was the check register for August 24, 2011 to September 21, 2011; he asked the board if there were any questions.

While the board was looking over the check register, Commissioner Crowder asked Mr. Lewis if the Pines was completed and Mr. Lewis answered with no. Mr. Lewis explained that the rain had delayed them from “cameraing” the lines.

Commissioner Crowder asked what the policy was for safety shoes and Mr. Hook answered with that H2GO pays for one pair of boots per year up to $95. Commissioner Crowder said he saw two check written for safety shoes and Mr. Hook said sometimes the guys will go out and seek their own shoes and sometimes maintenance will buy off the shoe vendor that comes in once a year. Commissioner Crowder asked why there was a payment to Jumping Joe’s Coffee shop for $69 and Mr. Hook stated it was a deposit refund. Commissioner Johnston asked why H2GO was buying so many batteries and it was answered that there was a battery at each lift station.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT:

Mr. Steve Coble reported his report was best suited for closed session.

EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS LITIGATION ISSUES

Commissioner Crowder motioned for the board to enter into executive session to discuss litigation issues, Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Butler motioned for the board to return to open session, Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

None to discuss.

INFORMAL DISCUSSION:

Commissioner Gaskill stated he had one thing to bring up; he said he was approached by a county commissioner with an offer for H2GO not to proceed with the waste water treatment plant. Commissioner Gaskill said it was the same deal as before, the county would give H2GO territory for H2GO turning their sewer plant into a pumping station; he expressed that he felt since H2GO was discussing going into the water treatment business that it would be more profitable than spending money to upgrade the treatment plant. Commissioner Gaskill explained the territory was Highway 74 to Highway 87, Highway 87 to Highway 17 to Town Creek and Old Town Creek road but it does not cross Town Creek. Chairman Antos said he wanted to see the proposal in writing. Commissioner Crowder said he thought that was the proposal back in 2008. Commissioner Gaskill said this was not going to go into a “he said she said, back in 2008 deal”. Chairman Antos said if H2GO took that deal then the transmission study would be obsolete. Commissioner Butler suggested that the previous study could be used because the county left out the plant before. Commissioner Gaskill suggested for another commissioner to go with him to meet with the county so he wouldn’t have to be the sole messenger. Commissioner Crowder said his personal opinion was the county burnt the bridge years ago. The board questioned why the county was against H2GO building the plant. Chairman Antos said if the county was serious then they need to send something in writing; he said he remembered being told that H2GO should never give up their sewer permit. Chairman Antos said he wanted something in writing, he said there are only four meetings left in this year and this would also push the building of the plant further back. The consensus of the board was that if the county wanted to make a deal they need to do it quickly in writing because H2GO was full steam ahead. Mr. Lane expressed his concern of the fact the plant could collapse at anytime. The board acknowledged the fact there was much uncertainty and much to consider in taking a deal from the county.  

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING:

Chairman Antos announced the next regular board meeting on October 11, 2011 at 6:00pm.

ADJOURNMENT:

Commissioner Gaskill motioned to adjourn the meeting at 09:03pm, it was seconded by Commissioner Johnston, the motion carried unanimously.