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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCFPUA 05 12 10 MINUTES CAPE FEAR PUBLIC UTILITY AUTHORITY MAY 12, 2010 REGULAR MEETING Members Present: Gene Renzaglia, Chairman Jim Hunter, Vice-Chairman John Tunstall J.C. Hearne, II Jim Quinn Ron Sparks, Councilman Bobby Greer, Commissioner Bill Caster, Commissioner Members Absent: Burrows Smith, Treasurer Kathryn Johnston, Secretary Charlie Rivenbark, Councilman Staff Present: Matt Jordan, CEO Nancy Gallinaro, COO Cheryl Spivey, CFO Karen Durso, Assistant to Mr. Jordan Frank Styers, Director of Engineering Beth Eckert, Environment and Safety Director Martha Zeigler, Customer Service Director Tom Morgan, Human Resources Director Carey Disney Ricks, PIO/Public Relations Melinda Hoggard, Accounting Manager Julie McLawhon, Finance & Accounting Manager Bill Pinnix, Engineering Manager Jim Flechtner, Engineering Manager Mike Richardson, Water Treatment Superintendent Ken Vogt, Wastewater Treatment Superintendent Jim Craig, Utility Services Supervisor Steve Mongeau, Procurement Manager Cord Ellison, I.T. Manager Donna S. Pope, Clerk to the Board CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 1 Guests Present: Linda A. Miles, Miles Firm PLLC, Consulting Attorneys Tyler Newman, BASE Eric Williams, HDR Carter Hubert, W.K. Dickson Jim Iannucci, New Hanover County Anthony Prinz, City of Wilmington Chris Mazzolini, Wilmington Star-News Call to Order, Determination of a Quorum, and Adoption of the Agenda: Mr. Renzaglia called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Caster moved to adopt the Agenda. Mr. Tunstall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Approval of the Minutes: Ms. Pope presented the April 14 minutes, with corrections on pages 3, 5, and 7. Mr. Hearne moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Mr. Caster seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Public Comments: Mr. Newman spoke in support of policies for developer reimbursement agreements, as developed by staff with stakeholder input and endorsed by the Long Range Planning Committee. in support of his position. He provided a printed copy of the power point to the Clerk for inclusion with the minutes. Consent Agenda: Mr. Renzaglia presented the Consent Agenda, as follows: 1.Budget Amendment request to move $83,091 identified in Water Capital Improvement Projects into Sewer Capital Improvement Projects for Riverside Developer Agreement; CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 2 2.Authorization for the CEO to dedicate a portion of Authority property to the City of Wilmington as a right-of-way for the future extension of Peel Street (3518 South College Road); 3.Authorization for the Chairman to execute an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Wilmington for the Third Street Improvement Project; and 4.Authorization to revise the approval process for certain change orders and contract amendments. Mr. Greer stated that he had questions regarding Items 3 and 4. Mr. Flechtner clarified that the re were questions regarding the area to be included in the Third Street project. Mr. Quinn asked for clarification on Item 2, the Peel Street extension. There are no plans to -of-way is to clarify previous land transfers. Regarding Item 4, Mr. Greer stated that the Authority needs to watch the amounts of change orders. He requested that Item 4 be voted on separately from the other three Consent Agenda items. Mr. Sparks moved to approve Items 1 3 on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Tunstall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Mr. Hunter asked for clarification on Item 4, the revision to change order and contract amendment approvals. Staff requested that the Board authorize the CEO to sign change orders and contract amendments below 15 percent of original contract values and below established signature authority. The aggregate total of 15 percent would be deleted. The proposed revision includes a report from Mr. Jordan to the Finance Committee. After discussion, Mr. Renzaglia recommended that staff develop the revision to the contract approval process more fully, including contract amount limits, and bring it back to the Finance Committee. Mr. Greer agreed with that suggestion. Item 4 was not voted upon. CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 3 New Business. Administrative Reports. Engineering Report: Ogden Interceptor Update. Mr. Flechtner reported on the Ogden Interceptor Repairs. The Authority is 2 ½ weeks into a 45- day contract with T.A. Loving for the repairs, and the work in Phase 1 repairs is one-third complete. Phase 1 requires replacement of 600 linear feet of pipe. Phase 2 will involve replacement of 8,000 linear feet of pipe. The permitting process is progressing. Replacement pipe is expected to cost just over $1,000,000. Staff is finalizing the pre-qualification process and expects to bid Phase 2 in June, with work to begin in July. Public Relations/Public Information Report: Ms. Ricks reported on community initiatives. Staff members spoke at a recent Cape Fear River Watch meeting. A Masonboro Sound (1998 annexation area) meeting is planned for June 15, and a Porters Neck service area community meeting is planned for June 16. Ms. Ricks reported that the Authority is working with the Salvation Army and United Way to develop a program for customer payment assistance. In April, the Authority introduced Easy Billing on its website. This feature of the website allows for account management and online payment, including usage history that is not a part of the regular Authority bills. Ms. Ricks reported that aggressive outreach is underway in the Ogden Interceptor area to education customers about flushing items that may cause sewer overflows. She revealed a ot break down in water. The wipes are a major contributor to line blockages and overflows. Mr. Renzaglia thanked Ms. Ricks for her recent quarterly presentations to City Council and the County Commissioners. He advised the Board that Ms. Ricks had arranged for Mr. Smith and local affairs television program. He stated that customer education is a difficult task and thanked Ms. Ricks for her efforts. CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 4 Ms. Miles advised that she did not have anything to report but could provide a brief update on EPA and the Ogden Interceptor in closed session if the Board desired. CEO Report: Mr. Jordan reported that there was one vehicular accident in April, wherein another driver struck an Authority vehicle. Staff continues to conduct accident reviews and strives to prevent accidents. Mr. Renzaglia added that, in May 2009, the Authority was at the industry average for accidents and is less than half the industry average a year later. He thanked Ms. Eckert and her staff for their success in reducing accident rates. Mr. Jordan reported that there was one April sanitary sewer overflow of 350 gallons, with 275 gallons reaching surface water. Water usage is up 15% from last May, a little over 1,000,000 gallons higher than a year ago. Mr. Sparks asked if there might groups attempting to address that concern. Ms. Eckert reported that the state of California has labels. Long Range Planning Committee Report: Mr. Hunter asked Mr. Styers to present the Committee report. Hanover Lakes. Mr. Styers reported that the Committee reviewed a request from Bill Clark Homes to revise the cost-sharing agreement for the Hanover Lakes subdivision. The Clark proposal would create two sewer basin instead of the one that was originally agreed upon, with a pump station site being set aside for the Authority to build upon in the future. The Committee directed staff to continue to work with Bill Clark Homes to develop the agreement and present it to the Board in June. Pender County Wastewater Treatment Plant. Staff is developing an Interlocal Agreement with Pender County for a wastewater treatment plant on Highway 421. The Committee recommended CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 5 that the value of the discharge permit held by the Authority be considered of equal value to the land provided by Pender County. Policies for Developer Reimbursement Agreements. Staff had developed policies for reimbursement to developers, in accordance with the revision to Appendix C of the ordinance which was approved in April. The Long-Range Planning Committee endorsed the approval of the policies. Mr. Greer questioned the contract term of 20 years provided in the policies. Mr. Jordan and Ms. Miles responded that the amount had been extended from 15 to 20 years based upon stakeholder feedback, but that the Board could change the terms. Any agreement could be structured for time frame and added that agreements would need to come to the Board for approval, and limits could be set at that time. Mr. Hunter presented the Committee recommendation for approval of the Policies as a motion. Mr. Tunstall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. The Authority recessed at 9:50 a.m. Mr. Greer left the meeting at that time. A quorum remained. The Authority reconvened at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Renzaglia announced that the Board needed to hold a closed session to discuss a contract negotiation while a quorum was still available. Mr. Tunstall moved to enter closed session to discuss contract negotiations with Authority legal counsel. Mr. Caster seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. The Authority entered into closed session at 10:02 a.m. Ms. Pope and Messrs. Morgan and Jordan remained in the meeting. Staff updated the Board on negotiations and contract revisions with The Miles Firm, PLLC, the , and received direction from the Board. Mr. Sparks moved to return to open session, and Mr. Hearne seconded the motion. The Authority returned to open session at 10:20 a.m. Other Authority staff members and guests rejoined the meeting. Mr. Hearne moved to authorize the CEO to enter into a contract for service with The Miles Firm, PLLC. Mr. Hunter seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Mr. Tunstall left the meeting at 10:25 a.m. A quorum remained. Finance Committee Report: CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 6 Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2011. Mr. Jordan stated that the Authority Board, management, and staff look forward to the future. The recommended budget supports core objectives while reducing operating costs. The Budget was prepared with conservative estimates reflecting current economic conditions. In recognition of Operations staff concerns regarding unforeseen events necessitating repairs, the Budget contingency is increased from $500,000 to $800,000. Continued decreases in budgeted funds increase the likelihood that the Authority will need to use contingency funds for repairs. Use of contingency funds would require Board approval. Mr. Jordan thanked Department Heads and staff who worked on the budget, in particular Ms. Spivey, Ms. McLawhon, Ms. Hoggard, Ms. Eckert, and Ms. Durso. Ms. Spivey presented the Recommended Budget for FY2011. She explained that the budget was prepared with the assumption of no growth in consumption or in bulk sales. The budget provides for 1.20 bond coverage in FY2011, in anticipation of bonds being issued in FY2012. The FY2011 Operating Budget is $37.21 million, which is three percent lower than last the FY2010 Adopted Budget. Capital improvements are budgeted at $14.4 million, the same level as FY2010 with some funds being redistributed to accommodate project changes. The largest amount of the CIP will go towards sewer repair. The Recommended Budget eliminates 13 permanent and two temporary staff positions and freezes the hiring of four other vacancies. The Budget does not include merit pay or pay plan increases. Each Department Head presented a brief summary of his or her budget for FY2011, followed by clarification questions from Authority members. Mr. Jordan thanked Authority members for their guidance in preparing the Recommended Budget. The Authority will hold its Public Hearing for the FY2011 Budget at 9:00 a.m. on May 26, 2010, along with a Budget Workshop. The Authority is expected to adopt a FY2011 Budget in June. CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 7 Monthly Financial Report and Finance Committee Items: Ms. Spivey referred the Board to the end-of-April Financial Statements provided in the Agenda booklet. The Authority continues to collect accounts receivables. been upgraded to Aa2. Mr. Smith is working with staff on negotiations for water sales to Figure 8 Island. Authority staff and the Miles Firm are drafting an Interlocal Agreement with Pender County for -of- tier. Ms. Miles and Mr. Jordan reminded the Board that a majority of both City and County appointees must vote in favor of agreements to sell water outside of New Hanover County. The Committee recommended that the CEO be allowed to work with owners of commercial shell buildings regarding system development charges, due to differences between the way that New Hanover County collected impact fees and the Authority collects SDCs. The Committee reviewed a request for a refund of impact fees paid to New Hanover County. Ms. Miles and Authority staff members will further research that issue and bring back to the Committee. Old Business, Questions, and Closing Comments: Mr. Renzaglia distributed packets to the Board members containing evaluation materials for Mr. Jordan. He requested that the evaluations be returned to Ms. Johnston, as H.R. Committee Chair, or to Ms. Pope to hold for Ms. Johnston by May 26, so that the evaluation could be completed in June or July. Ms. Miles advised that she would have more information regarding the EPA and the Ogden Interceptor at next mon Messrs. Hearne, Hunter, Caster, and Quinn requested more information regarding the tiered rates to research the question and bring full data to the Board via the Finance Committee. Messrs. Hearne, Hunter, and Rivenbark should be included in the meeting notice when that item appears before the Finance Committee. CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 8 Mr. Caster gave Mr. Jordan a copy of a customer letter that Mr. Rivenbark had forwarded to other Authority members. There being no further business to come before the Authority, Mr. Sparks moved to adjourn. Mr. Hunter seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. The Authority adjourned at 1:05 p.m. The Authority Board will conduct a Public Hearing and workshop regarding the FY2011 Budget on May 26 in the Authority Headquarters located at 235 Government Center Drive. The next regular meeting of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will be 9:00 a.m. on June 9, 2010, in the Lucie Harrell Conference Room in the New Hanover County Administration Building located at 230 Government Center Drive. Respectfully submitted, Donna S. Pope, Clerk to the Board CFPUA 5.12.10 MINUTES Page 9