Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCFPUA 08 8 2012 CAPE FEAR PUBLIC UTILITY AUTHORITY AUGUST 8, 2012 REGULAR MEETING Authority Members Present: Pat Kusek, Vice-Chair Jim Brumit, Secretary Mike Brown, Treasurer Cindee Wolf Gene Renzaglia Larry Sneeden Charlie Rivenbark Neil Anderson Jason Thompson Rick Catlin Authority Member Absent: Jim Quinn, Chair Staff Members Present: Matt Jordan, CEO Jim Flechtner, COO Cheryl Spivey, CFO Karen Durso, Assistant to the CEO Frank Styers, Director of Engineering Beth Eckert, Safety & Environment Director Tom Morgan, Human Resources Director Nancy Johnson, Customer Service Director Christene Mitchell, Engineering Manager Ken Harrell, Engineering Manager Gary McSmith, Engineering Manager Jim Craig, Utility Services Superintendent Mike Richardson, Water Resources Manager Ken Vogt, Wastewater Superintendent Tiffanie Hawley, Chief Operator, Water Treatment Kipp Glazier, Community Compliance Assistant Superintendent Julia Vosnock, Procurement Manager Donna S. Pope, Clerk CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 1 Attorney Present: Linda A. Miles, the Miles Firm, PLLC Guests Present: Donald and Nancy Caison Jean Antoniades Diane Williams, N.C. Division of Water Resources Public Water Supply Tyler Newman, BASE Carter Hubbard, W.K. Dickson Burrows Smith Kate Queram, Wilmington Star-News Call to Order, Opening Comments, and Adoption of the Agenda. The Cape Fear Public Utility held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, August 8, 2012, in the Lucie Harrell Conference Room, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. Ms. Kusek, Vice-Chair, presided and called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. A quorum of the Board was present, and Mr. Catlin advised that Mr. Thompson had a family emergency and would be late. Mr. Thompson arrived at 9:12 a.m. econded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Approval of Minutes. Mr. Brumit presented the minutes from the July 11, 2012, Regular meeting and moved for their approval. Mr. Renzaglia and Ms. Pope submitted two corrections. Mr. Brumit amended his motion to approve the minutes with corrections, and Mr. Renzaglia seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously. Presentation from the North Carolina Division of Water Resources, Public Water Supply. Ms. Williams presented a 2011 Area Wide Optimization Program award to the Authority. intended to help water systems achieve the highest standard of water quality possible throughout their systems. The Authority has received the award for four years in a row. Mr. Richardson and Ms. Hawley accepted the award on behalf of water treatment staff. Mr. Richardson recognized Ms. Hawley, Chief Operator, Control Operators Dave Reidmiller, Allen Southerland, Ben Kearnes, Justin Loiacono and Dan Kirk, and Process Operators John Sesta, Lee Halecki, Lori Self, Gus Muniz, and Robert Gallo. CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 2 Public Comments. Mr. Caison provided information regarding groundwater depletion in the Country Haven area. Staff is working with Mr. Caison. Ms. Antoniades spoke regarding back billing and asked the Board to revisit its policies on back Consent Agenda. Staff presented the Consent Agenda, as follows: 1.Adoption of a Declaration of Intent to amend the CFPUA Sewer Use Ordinance to ensure compliance with Federal and State requirements. 2.Authorization to revise the Authority Ordinance, Section 1.9, to include a provision for the protection of all Authority-owned infrastructure. 3.Authorization for the CEO to purchase Sensus brand meters as a sole source bid for up to 3.125 water meters, at a budget impact of $500,000. 4.Authorization for the Engineering Department to proceed to allow Smith & Loveless as a sole source and Authorization for the CEO to purchase Smith & Loveless brand vacuum pump assemblies as a sole source to be utilized for in-house repairs, at an anticipated cost of $350,000. Mr. Renzaglia moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Mr. Sneeden seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Administrative Reports. Engineering Report: Chair Road Associates Utility Infrastructure Reimbursement Agreement. Mr. Styers provided an update on the Chair Road Associates utility infrastructure project and the status of easement -inch force main is planned on ILM Airport property. Airport officials have requested that CFPUA assume responsibility for moving the force main, pursuant to Federal Aviation Administration requirements, should the Airport need to expand its runway or runway object-free area. Following clarification questions, Mr. Brown moved to authorize staff to move forward with the approved design and for CFPUA to CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 3 assume the risk of moving the force main if required to do so by the FAA. Mr. Catlin seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Operations Report: Authorization for the Engineering Department to proceed with bid documents to allow the Motorola ACE 3600 unit as a sole source and authorization for the CEO to purchase the Motorola ACE 3600 units as sole source to be utilized for in-house replacement, at a budget impact of $100,000. Mr. Flechtner presented the item and answered clarification questions. Mr. Renzaglia moved to approve staff it passed unanimously. Ms. Miles had no report. CFO Report: financial obligation with respect to certain County of New Hanover, North Carolina, installment financing. Ms. Spivey reported that New Hanover County anticipates re-funding its 2003 Certificates of Participation (COPS). A large portion of the debt from the COPS funded the District Sewer system, and the Authority makes payments to New Hanover County for the debt pursuant to the Interlocal Agreement. The re- at a minimum of $100,000 per year in savings. The debt will be satisfied in 2028. Ms. Spivey will report the exact amount of savings after the County has completed its bond re-funding. Mr. Rivenbark moved to adopt the Resolution. Mr. Renzaglia seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. CEO Report: Mr. Jordan referred Authority members to the Environmental and Safety Management Report for June 2012, Item 7 in the Agenda packets. There were no sanitary sewer overflows in June, and the treatment plants are in compliance. Ms. Eckert answered clarification questions regarding the 12-month accident rate charts. Committee Reports. Executive Committee: Ms. Kusek reported that the Executive Committee met on August 1 and appointed Mr. Brumit to the Human Resources Committee. CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 4 Long Range Planning Committee: Ms. Wolf stated that the Committee met on July 25 and asked Mr. Styers to update the Board. Mr. Styers reported that the Committee had reviewed several items, as follows: Raw Water Update. Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority has an interim plan in place to meet its water delivery obligations, with no capital investment or rate implication for CFPUA. Mandatory Connection. Staff is in the process of identifying all property addresses with water and/or sewer available that do not have service. The 1995 City of Wilmington Annexation area is being researched first. Staff anticipates sending notification letters to property owners in the fall. Staff and Ms. Miles answered clarification questions regarding the mandatory connection ordinance and the deferral process. Mr. Renzaglia requested that staff provide a brief overview at the September meeting of the mandatory connection ordinance and deferral policy and to provide a draft of the notification letter when it is prepared. Country Haven Well Update. The Country Haven Pond is an appropriate location for long-term monitoring of the Castle Hayne and Surficial Aquifers. Mr. Caison will allow the Authority to place monitoring wells on his property to measure the aquifer response to withdrawals and cessation of pumping during the winter season. Staff answered clarification questions from Board members. Capital Improvement Project Books. Engineering staff is compiling the FY2013 CIP booklets, which will include 10-year projections, project descriptions, budgets, and maps. The booklet will be available in electronic and paper format. Bald Eagle Lane Water Line Extensions. New Hanover County is considering options to fund water extensions to Bald Eagle Lane, with the County being reimbursed by the benefited properties. Mr. Catlin reported that the County needs estimates from Authority staff for the cost to provide water and to provide both water and fire protection. There may be money available in the County Fire Services budget to assist with fire protection costs. Human Resources Committee: Ms. Kusek reported that the Committee had met on July 31 and requested a closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss personnel items and an item of attorney-client privilege. The Authority recessed at 10:10 a.m. and reconvened at 10:20 a.m. Finance Committee: Mr. Brown reported that the Committee met on August 1 and asked Ms. Spivey to update the full Board. The Committee had reviewed the following items: CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 5 Bulk Water Sales. Staff recommended the Level 2 consumption rate for bulk water usage and a fixed meter charge based on the size of the meter, as well as the applicable System Development Charge based on the meter size. The Committee received a cost analysis for Figure 8 Island, which was included in the Agenda packet. Mr. Catlin requested flexibility in negotiating bulk water sales. Mr. Thompson requested that the Committee report and minutes show that he did not attend the Committee meeting because of a quorum issue and allowed Mr. Catlin to attend in his stead. Back Billing Review and Customer Feedback from July meeting. Ms. Johnson provided the Committee with reports on the issues brought to the July meeting by customers and was available to provide a report to the full Board. The Committee discussed the back billing issues and recommended that, for bills prepared on or after January 1, 2013, any account discovered not being billed for services received would be corrected to reflect the correct service but would not be adjusted retroactively. The basis for the decision was that the data scrub of all data received from the City and County account conversion had been completed. Mr. Catlin asked Board members if they had any will to reduce the time period of collection activity from the three years maximum allowed by law to one year or another lesser amount. Staff answered questions from Board members regarding the data scrub, and Ms. Miles reported on statutory responsibility, its obligation under the Interlocal Agreement to treat all customers equally, and case law regarding collections. Staff reported on the financial implications of issuing refunds. Ms. Johnson reported on the availability of payment plans for up to three years to help customers pay the back amounts. After a lengthy discussion, Mr. Catlin moved to compromise and adjust all retroactive (back- billed) accounts to a maximum of 1.5 years. Mr. Jordan cautioned the Board that debt coverage for bonds could be affected for FY2009 if refunds were extended to bills that were late because of the 2008 data conversion and asked for specific directions regarding account adjustments. Ms. Spivey reported that any retroactive change to accounts c. If a certain threshold is met, the Authority will need to notify bond holders, affecting the ability to issue debt in the future. Ms. Miles reported on potential claims. After further discussion, the Board directed staff to analyze costs associated with adjustments to back-billed accounts and report back to the Board. Board members clarified that the time frame CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 6 they wished to review was the Authority data scrub revealing unbilled services and did not include the 2008 delayed bills due to conversion issues. Mr. Catlin revised his motion to direct staff to further evaluate the data from the data scrub time frame and determine the financial impact of reducing the time period for back billing collections to a period less than the three years allowed by statute. Mr. Thompson seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Messrs. Jordan and Brown reminded the Board that the Finance Committee recommendation remained on the table. Mr. Catlin moved to approve the Finance Committee recommendation to modify the policy so that any account discovered after January 1, 2013, to be receiving unbilled services would be corrected for future billing but would not be billed retroactively. Mr. Renzaglia seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Monthly Financial Reports: Ms. Spivey provided financial data and water distribution and consumption reports for July 2012. She reported that distribution was lower than the same period one year ago. The FY2013 rates were based on higher usage than what is now being realized. Old Business. Mr. Catlin reported that he had met with staff to discuss the Castle Hayne force main. Initial hydraulic calculations indicate that a $60,000 upgrade could produce capacity for up to 1,700 homes. Closed Session. Mr. Rivenbark moved to enter into closed session to discuss personnel matters and a matter of attorney-client privilege. Mr. Renzaglia seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. The Authority entered closed session at 11:00 a.m. Ms. Miles and Ms. Pope remained in the closed session, and Mr. Morgan was present for a portion of the meeting. The Board received a report from the Human Resources Committee and discussed personnel items and a matter of attorney-client privilege. Open Session. Mr. Thompson moved to return to open session. Mr. Rivenbark seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. The Authority returned to open session at 12:00 noon. CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 7 Mr. Renzaglia moved to honor the 1.7 percent cost of living adjustment employment contract and to enter into negotiations with Mr. Jordan for contract renewal. Ms. Wolf seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Mr. Brown moved to adjourn. Mr. Thompson seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m. The next regular meeting of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will be held on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will be held in the Lucie Harrell Conference Room of the Bruce Shell County Administration Building, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. Respectfully submitted, Donna S. Pope Clerk to the Board CFPUA 8.8.2012 Page 8