Meeting Minutes 11-10-2014
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HOLIDAY SHORES SANITARY DISTRICT
Monday, November 10, 2014
The Board of Trustees of the Holiday Shores Sanitary District met on the above date in regular session pursuant to laws and rules of said Board of Trustees and in accordance with the terms of the notice of regular meeting.
Dennis Van Sandt, President called the meeting to order. Trustees present were Jeff Sedlacek and Rich Hayes. Also present were Carla Lankster, District Clerk, and Ken and Kevin Dulle of Du-Con. Julie Billeter and Steve Pembrook of the Auditing firm Scheffel Boyle were in attendance to present the annual audit.
OPEN FORUM
Ms. Billeter, of Scheffel Boyle stated that the audit of the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2014 went smooth and requested records were provided. The records are cleanly and fairly presented according to the information provided. General Fund is fairly consistent from year to year in revenues and expenses. The water and sewer funds are affected by long-term depreciation. There is a decrease in revenue for Fiscal Year 2014 from the prior year, due to the unusual income in Fiscal Year 2013 of the Atrazine lawsuit settlement.
In closing, Mr. Pembrook stated that in a small office environment, it is always a good idea for the Board of Trustees to ask questions and stay informed. It is the best form of control, and it protects everyone when there is a small accounting staff. If there is a question down the road, the Trustees and staff can say we all knew about it and thought that was the right way to do it, instead of it falling back on just one person.
There were no customers in attendance regarding the recent estimated meter readings.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of October 13, 2014 regular meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Sedlacek made a motion to approve the minutes for the October 13, 2014 regular meeting. Mr. Van Sandt seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
FINANCIAL
The Summary of Accounts was reviewed for the month of October, 2014. There were two new Water and Sewer connection fees paid during October. The two customers are at 11 Shore Drive SW and 320 Westview Drive. No motion necessary.
DISBURSEMENTS
After reviewing the disbursements for the month of October, 2014, Mr. Sedlacek made a motion to approve the October 2014 disbursements. Mr. Hayes seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
Du-Con submitted Invoice No. 011-13, dated November 10, 2014, for the month of October, 2014 for managing and operating water and wastewater treatment. Mr. Hayes motioned to approve Du-Con invoice No. 011-13, dated November 10, 2014. Mr. Sedlacek seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS
The water and sewer applications for October, 2014 were reviewed, and included 11 transfers, and 2 new customers. Mr. Sedlacek made a motion to approve the October, 2014 applications. Mr. Hayes seconded the motion and all the Trustees voted “Aye”.
There was an ad in the Holiday Times last month for sale by owner of 34 Shore Drive SW which stated that the Sewer AND Water connection fees were already paid. Early in 2013 Dolly Wood was listing the property and asked for a letter about the fees being paid. Ms. Lankster quickly typed a letter and gave it to Dolly Wood, only to realize the next day that only the sewer was paid, NOT the Water connection fees. Ms. Lankster wrote a new letter rescinding the first letter and stating that only the Sewer was paid in full. The second letter was given to Dolly Wood and she said she would give it to the owner, Mr. Unnerstall. The bottom line is that the Water Connection fees were NOT paid and the Trustees will back up Ms. Lankster, if there is a problem.
OTHER
It has been some time since we have placed a notice in the Holiday Times regarding various operations and office issues. We contacted Angie at Holishor and she told us that a monthly quarter-page notice would cost $50.00 each month. The HSSD trustees approved of the cost, but mentioned that we probably only need a quarterly notice, not every month. Just to note, a half-page would cost $100.00.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The Deerfield Lift Station has been replaced. The total cost was about $34,000.00 for the pump and a new lid, and will be charged back to the customers of the Deerfield subdivision, in the same manner the Midway lift station was charged back to the Midway and Lake Heights customers. An ordinance has been written for approval of $12.00 per month, per customer for 90 months. There are 31 customers that will be charged this fee.
Amendment D to Ordinance 2006-04 was submitted for approval. The Amendment states that a fee of $12.00 will be added to the monthly bill in the Deerfield area for a total of 90 months, effective for bills dated January 31, 2015 and due February 25, 2015. Mr. Van Sandt made a motion to approve Amendment D to Ordinance 2006-04. Mr. Sedlacek seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
A letter to the Deerfield customers was signed by all Trustees, to be mailed the week ending November 14, 2015. The Ordinance was signed by Mr. Van Sandt, the HSSD President and Ms. Lankster, the District Clerk. It will be published this month.
NEW BUSINESS
The current computers are over 4 years old and still running on Microsoft XP, which is no longer supported, therefore new computers are necessary. There was a line-item included in the approved 2015 Fiscal Year budget for new computers in the office, in the amount of $3,000.00. A quote was submitted from JX2 Consulting for two new Dell computers, including the software, the 20” monitors and the installation. The total was quoted at $2,420.00, which is under the budget amount, and the trustees agree that these are good prices. The Trustees approved of the amount, except the extended warranty, and also suggested an upgrade to a 24” monitor.
A Quote for a drive-by Water Meter Reading system was discussed. The quote was from Itron, out of Kentucky, which is our current meter reading equipment. Our current equipment is over 10 years old and is no longer covered by a maintenance agreement. Parts are becoming hard to get. About 500 water meters will also have to be replaced, because they are over 15 years old. The total cost will be in excess of $150,000.00 and will come mostly from the water reserve accounts. There will be one other company submitting a quote within the next couple of weeks.
OPERATIONS
Mr. Dulle discussed the High Service Pump at the water plant, which needs repairs. The raw water pump needs to be replaced. It has had about 250 million gallons pumped through it. The total will be about $10,000.00 for the two pumps.
The IEPA has sent a “Compliance Commitment Agreement” letter. It is basically a letter stating that they acknowledge what HSSD has done to correct the violation and that HSSD will stay in compliance based on the changes. The letter must be signed and returned within 30 days of receipt. Some studies have to be submitted by the end of the year of plans for staying in compliance.
ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. Hayes made a motion to Adjourn to a closed executive session pursuant to Statute 5ILCS 120/2 (C)(1), to discuss employee compensation. Mr. Sedlacek seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Sedlacek made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting. Mr. Hayes seconded the motion and all the Trustees voted “Aye”.
Respectfully submitted,
Carla Lankster, District Clerk