BRUNSWICKREGIONAL WATER & SEWER H2GO

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 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 John Crowder, Chairman, Jeff Gaskill, Vice Chairman, Bobby Johnston, Secretary, Carl Antos, and Poe Butler, present from H2GO was Bob Walker, Executive Director, Russ Lane, Assistant Director, Scott Lewis, Engineering Compliance Director, Scott Hook, Finance Officer, Brenda Thurman, Customer Service Supervisor, Teresa Long, Clerk to the Board, and Deana Greiner, Deputy Clerk to the Board.

DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA:

Chairman Antos opened the floor for any adjustments to the agenda. No adjustments were made.

CONSENT AGENDA:

 Chairman Antos opened the floor for discussion on the November 15, 2011 Regular Board Meeting minutes; Commissioner Butler motioned to approve the November 15, 2011 Regular Board Meeting minutes as written, Commissioner Gaskill seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Chairman Antos opened the floor for discussion on the 2012 Board Meeting Schedule; Commissioner Gaskill suggested the board change the February 14 being it was Valentine’s Day. Chairman Antos suggested for the board to change the meeting date to February 7, 2012. Commissioner Gaskill motioned to approve the 2012 Board Meeting Schedule 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 said at that meeting the county approved funding for the Boiling Springs commercial district and they approved the bond for the NE Waste Water Plant expansion. Commissioner Crowder said it was still his understanding that the County still had not received there permits for the NE Waste Water Plant. The question was asked if the Transmission Study was approved and Commissioner Crowder said that it was included in the bond for the NE Waste Water Plant.

Commissioner Crowder also reported that he spoke with Mr. Jerry Pierce after the meeting; he explained that Mr. Pierce told him about some failing septic systems in Sea Aire Canals. Commissioner Crowder expressed he didn’t feel bad for our grinder pump policy because the residents at Sea Aire are looking to have to pay close to $9000 for grinder pumps. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

A couple of patrons from the public was present but no comments were made.

OLD BUSINESS:

Adam Lisk: Petition for Annexation of Properties: A petition for annexing the  property known as “Adam Lisk Carol Lynn Drive Tracts” was presented to the board for acceptance. Commissioner Butler motioned to accept the petition for the property known as “Adam Lisk Carol Lynn Drive Tracts;” Commissioner Crowder seconded and the motion carried with a vote of 4 yeas and 1 nay by Commissioner Gaskill.

Resolution 2011-11-005 Annexation of Adam Lisk Property-Carol Lynn Drive Tracts: Chairman Antos stated a motion was needed to approve the Resolution 2011-11-005 Annexation of Adam Lisk Property-Carol Lynn Drive Tracts. Commissioner Crowder made the motion to approve Resolution 2011-11-005 Annexation of Adam Lisk Property-Carol Lynn Drive Tracts; Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried with a vote of 4 yeas and 1 nay by Commissioner Gaskill.

Chairman Antos asked if there was any other Old Business and Commissioner Gaskill stated he had one thing. Commissioner Gaskill explained that he would not be able to attend the Workshop scheduled for January 16, 2012 and asked if the board could reschedule. The board discussed dates amongst themselves and decided to change the date to January 20, 2012.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Release of Compass Pointe Irrevocable Letter of Credit for Phase 10: Mr. Bob Walker reported that he received a request from Cape Fear Engineering on behalf of YDV for H2GO to release the Letter of Credit for Compass Point Phase 10 in the amount of $340,797.50. Mr. Walker explained that he had reviewed the deed of dedications, the inspection reports, and field notes from Mr. George Merritt; he said the project had been accepted and approved. Mr. Walker said Mr. Merritt had a punch list for them with minor things such as adjusting clean out lids, meter box lids, and touch up paint on a couple of fire hydrants. Mr. Walker said the Warrantee period started October 3, 2011 when the punch list was created. Mr. Walker said it was staff’s recommendation to release the letter of credit that the project was completed to staff’s satisfaction. Commissioner Gaskill motioned for the release of the Compass Pointe Letter of Credit for Phase 10 in the amount of $340,797.50; Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Completion of Line Relocation at Belville Treatment Plant: Mr. Walker reported that B&D Utilities were a little bitter that they didn’t get to finish the project before Thanksgiving. Mr. Walker explained that B&D Utilities hit a line in the process because the line was located in a different spot than where the maps showed; he explained that B&D Utilities repaired the line. Mr. Walker said he is requesting approval to pay the final invoice which includes a change order of $2500. It was stated the change order was to cover the cost of the repaired line. Commissioner Johnston asked if Mr. Walker was satisfied with B&D Utilities and the work they did and Mr. Walker stated “yes, very satisfied.” Commissioner Gaskill motioned to approve the invoice from B&D Utilities in the amount of $73,500; Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Picket Ridge Update: Mr. Walker explained that he had drafted a letter to Mr. Jerry Pierce expressing the urgency of improving the Picket Ridge Lift Station and Force Main. Mr. Walker stated that H2GO has already had 3 failures and the County has had 9 failures; he explained that attached to the letter are the results from The Wooten Company monitoring the cyclic surge pressures. Mr. Walker said it was his recommendation for The Wooten Company to proceed with engineering the needed improvements. Mr. Walker also explained that in the letter he requested that the County take in consideration the cost spent on this improvement and apply it to the cost allocation for the Transmission Study. Commissioner Butler said it was his understanding that Mr. Walker had also contacted the Town of Leland and Mr. Walker said he email Mr. Hollis but did not receive a reply. Commissioner Butler said that once the new council members, new mayor, and new manager were settled that maybe they could shed some new light to the situation. The board suggested to Mr. Walker to “CC” the town council a copy of this letter.  Mr. Walker explained to the board that The Wooten Company had come up with a couple of options in handling the situation; one would be to install a surge relief valve at the lift stations and one being to replace our section of 8 inch force main with a 10 inch force main. Mr. Walker said the cost of replacing pipe is less than the cost of installing the surge relief valve; he also explained that The Wooten Company had also recommended installing VFDs on the lift station pump motors. Chairman Antos expressed concern that he felt like this was a shot in the dark in that he didn’t feel the County would want to credit us for the improvements. Mr. Walker said he is asking for approval from the board to give The Wooten Company permission to proceed. Commissioner Crowder asked what the cost estimate would be and Mr. Walker answered with $19,600 for engineering and $6200 for construction observation. Commissioner Crowder asked about the pressure graph from Picket Ridge and Mr. Walker explained that typical pressures should be from 45 to 50 psi and the graph shows at times pressures reached well above 60 psi. Commissioner Johnston asked if the County thought there was a problem and Mr. Walker said the field maintenance guys see there is a problem but upper personnel won’t admit to one. Commissioner Butler motioned for The Wooten Company to proceed in developing engineering plans for the upgrade of the Picket Ridge Lift Station as presented; Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Johnston wanted to know why was The Wooten Company the only engineer we approach on these issues and it was answered that The Wooten Company knows the system well and has been the most “straight-talking” firm H2GO has worked with.

Carol Lynn-Recommendation of Engineering Services Award: Mr. Walker said he had received four proposal for engineering services and that cost was the biggest factor. Mr. Walker said Cape Fear Engineering submitted a proposal at $28,500; The Wooten Company at $25,000; Compass Point Engineering at $22,500; and East Coast Engineering at $19,750. Mr. Walker stated that he had checked all the client references for East Coast Engineering and that his recommendation was for the board to accept their proposal. Commissioner Crowder asked where was East Coast from and it was answered that they were out of Shallotte. Commissioner Gaskill motioned to accept the proposal for engineering services for the Carol Lynn sewer project from East Coast Engineering and Surveying; Commissioner Johnston seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Johnston asked how long would the design process take and Mr. Walker said he had estimated it to take 3 months but East Coast told him they would have it done within 6 weeks. Commissioner Crowder asked what Mr. Walker had estimated the cost to be and Mr. Walker said his estimate was on target at $20,000.

Resolution No. 2011-12-0006 Declaring Property Surplus: The board was given a list of items staff had available to be surplussed. Mr. Walker directed the board’s attention to the last item on the list; he explained that the C-ban was the old metal container at the WWTP. Mr. Walker said no one wanted it nor did they want to move it and it served no purpose. Mr. Walker said he knew the belt filter press was recently purchased but it has been discovered that it is too small and would require someone to monitor it on an hourly basis. Mr. Walker said he felt it would cost more to run the belt press than it could save the District in sludge disposal. Commissioner Butler suggested trying to give the belt press back to McNeil as a bargaining tool and it was stated that it could be brought up in executive session when the litigation issues were discussed. Mr. Walker suggested to the board to approve the surplus list with the exception of the belt filter press. Commissioner Crowder motioned to approve Resolution No. 2011-12-0006 Declaring Property Surplus as amended; Commissioner Gaskill seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Letter from County regarding Transmission Study: Mr. Walker reported that he had received a letter from Mr. Jerry Pierce regarding the partnership and the expansion of the NE Waste Water Treatment Plant. Mr. Walker said that basically the county has decided to do things their way and not give any other options; he explained that the cost for the treatment plant would be allocated based on requested capacity and the cost for the transmission study would be allocated based on final capacity. Mr. Walker said that even though the cost of the total project was reduced, H2GO’s cost increased $352,000; Leland’s cost decreased $403,000; Navassa’s cost decreased $100,000; the County’s cost decreased $542,000; and Northwest’s cost increased $65,000.  Mr. Walker said the next partnership meeting is December 19, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. Commissioner Butler expressed concerns and thoughts of the fact that he felt the other partner’s officials were not being notified of when the meetings are and what’s really being discussed.

Clairmont Pump Station update: Chairman Antos read an excerpt from the last meeting’s minutes, “…the county wanted H2GO to deed and dedicated the manhole and last section of pipe to expand the Clairmont pump station; Mr. Walker said he didn’t have a problem with that but thought H2GO should be reimbursed for the installation fees.” Chairman Antos asked Mr. Walker what the county’s response was and Mr. Walker answered with the county said H2GO was no different from any other developer that we install the infrastructure and should deed and dedicate it over to them. The board asked if it would cause problems if they decided to not deed and dedicate the line and Mr. Walker said the county is going to expand the Clairmont Station and the last two sections will probably be removed. Mr. Walker explained that it made sense to have asked because we would be installing pipes under their permit. Commissioner Gaskill stated his vote was to make the county install the pipes. The board expressed they felt that H2GO should not have to pay to install pipes and freely hand them over to the county. Mr. Walker asked for clarification as to what the board was instructing him to do; he asked if the board was wanting him to draft a letter stating that the county will have to install the section permitted under their name. Commissioner Gaskill motioned to authorize Mr. Walker to draft a letter to the county stating they will have to pay to install the section of pipe permitted under their name; Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Mr. Russ Lane reported he had an update on where the maintenance crew was in the meter change out project; Mr. Lane said that between the October 25, 2011 meeting and the November 15, 2011 meeting there was 183 meters changed out and between the November 15, 2011 meeting and the current day there was 184 meters changed out. Mr. Lane said he thought there was a little under 1000 meters left. Commissioner Gaskill said he hopes the meters are working better than what the county was using, he explained that the county had changed out his meter and his bill went down from $1500 to $127. 

Commissioner Butler asked about Leland’s meters and it was explained to him that Leland was reading their meters and sending bills to Brunswick Forrest but H2GO was still billing the Leland sewer customers that were on H2GO’s water.

Commissioner Johnston said he had walked out to the maintenance building and notice all the old blue eagle radios that were piled up and asked if they could be cleaned up. It was said they were previously on surplus; however no one bought them. Commissioner Butler asked if there was any value to them and it was said that there may be some small gage wire. It was said they could not be thrown in the dumpster because of the electronic circuit boards. The board suggested for staff to find a recycling institution to take them.

ENGINEERING COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Mr. Scott Lewis began his report by updating the board on the cameraing project; he said they have been in the Mallory Creek area for the past three weeks and during that time they’ve cameraed 5,464 feet of gravity lines. Mr. Lewis said they have not found any infiltration but found a few bellies; he said there is about 5,000 feet left in Mallory Creek. Mr. Lewis said when this is done 16,000 feet will have been cameraed for the year.

Mr. Lewis reported that grease trap notices are being sent again; he explained that Mr. George Merritt and himself inspected area restaurants. Commissioner Crowder asked about how the restaurants were handling their grease and Mr. Lewis explained that most of them get their traps pumped out by Carolina Byproducts or Waste Industries. It was stated that neither company is allowed to dump at the plant. Commissioner Crowder mentioned that some companies take the grease, de-water it, and turn it into bio-fuel. Commissioner Butler asked if there had been any more  problems with illegal dumping at the plant and Mr. Lewis answered that there has not been any other incidents and no reports were filed from the previous incident.

FINANCE OFFICER’S REPORT:

Mr. Scott Hook presented to the board his financial report; he explained that as of November 30, 2011 H2GO is at 45% in revenue. Mr. Hook said December, January, and February are slower months for water revenue because irrigation usage is lower. Mr. Hook said H2GO is at 42% in expenditures; he explained that there are couple of big ticket items that will get paid late in the year and the last of the meters still need to be ordered. Mr. Hook pointed out that a couple of line items were over budget and said that a budget amendment will be done in January. Commissioner Butler asked if the meters had been ordered and Mr. Lane explained that staff is still working on getting a good count. Commissioner Butler expressed that the meters need to be ordered as soon as possible; he said he didn’t want to hear later on staff ran out of meters. Chairman Antos asked what the average number of new meters set in a month was and Mr. Hook answered with that on average 12 new meters are set per month. Commissioner Crowder asked why the utilities were so high and Mr. Hook explained that this was the first year H2GO is having to pay for the electricity at the boost pump station. Mr. Hook reminded the board that in the summer the pumps has to be ran longer and more often to keep up with the demand.  Commissioner Crowder asked if Mr. Hook thought a budget amendment would be needed for the line item and Mr. Hook answered with yes.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT:

Mr. Steve Coble reported that he had couple of issues that were appropriate for executive session.

NEW BUSINESS:

Swearing in of Re-Elected Commissioners Poe Butler and John Crowder: The Clerk to the Board, Mrs. Teresa Long administered the oath of office to Commissioner Poe Butler. Commissioner Poe Butler with his right hand raised and left hand on his Bible swore the oath of office for Brunswick Regional Water & Sewer H2GO’s Board of Commissioners. The Clerk to the Board, Mrs. Teresa Long administered the oath of office to Commissioner John Crowder. Commissioner Crowder with his right hand raised and left hand on his Bible swore the oath of office for Brunswick Regional Water & Sewer H2GO’s Board of Commissioners.

Mrs. Long oversaw the board through the following motions:

Election of Chairman of the Board: Commissioner Antos made the motion to appoint Commissioner Crowder as Chairman of the Board, Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Election of Vice Chairman of the Board: Commissioner Butler made the motion to appoint Commissioner Gaskill as Vice Chairman of the Board, Commissioner Crowder seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Election of Secretary of the Board: Commissioner Butler made the motion to appoint Commissioner Johnston as Secretary of the Board, Commissioner Antos seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Mrs. Long gave the floor to newly elected Chairman Crowder. Chairman Crowder oversaw the board through the following motion:

Appointment of Clerk and Deputy Clerk to the Board: Commissioner Antos made the motion to appoint Mrs. Teresa Long and Mrs. Deana Greiner as Clerk and Deputy Clerk to the Board respectively; Commissioner Butler seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS LITIGATION ISSUES AND CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS:

Commissioner Butler made the motion for the Board to enter into Executive Session to discuss possible litigation issues and contract negotiations; Commissioner Antos seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

The Board returned to regular session made the following motion: Commissioner Butler motioned to amend Vaughn & Melton’s contract to include several items for the New Belville Treatment plant and not to exceed $245,420; Commissioner Antos seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

INFORMAL DISCUSSION:

None discussed.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING:

Chairman Crowder announced the next regular board meeting on January 10, 2012 at 6 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT:

Commissioner Antos motioned to adjourn the meeting at 08:05pm, it was seconded by Commissioner Butler, the motion carried unanimously.