Meeting Minutes 11-13-2023

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES

HOLIDAY SHORES SANITARY DISTRICT

Monday, November 13, 2023

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.

Richard Hayes, President and Trustee called the meeting to order.  Trustees Brennan Murphy and Jeff Hebenstreit were present.  Carla Lankster, District Clerk and Rob Clarkson, General Manager were also present, as well as Julie Romano, resident and Finance Committee member.

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Josh Andres of Scheffel Boyle was in attendance to present the annual audited Financial Report for the Fiscal Year ending 6/30/2023.  Scheffel Boyle has given the audit with a clean opinion, similar to previous years.  They received all of the information they needed to perform the audit in a timely manner from the office staff of the District.  Mr. Andres stated that the General Fund does not change much from year to year.  Water and Sewer funds had some unexpected expenses and approximately $170,000.00 hitting fixed assets and will be depreciated.  Mr. Andres said that it is best to have six months minimum operating cash on hand, as a guideline.  The audit report has a new statement on page 22, regarding GASB Statement No. 96.  There are new requirements for Cloud Software leasing.  Mr. Andres said since there has been a move towards the Cloud Software by many companies and government, if the District upgrades to Cloud Software, the auditors would have to assess the contract and report it in the Annual Financial Report accordingly.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes of October 9, 2023 regular meeting were submitted for approval.  Mr. Hebenstreit requested that the Manager’s Report for Operations be an attachment to the Meeting Minutes in the future, instead of a summary re-typed in the Minutes.  Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the minutes for the October 9, 2023 meeting.  Mr. Hebenstreit seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.

FINANCIAL                                                                                                                                                                                             The Summary of Accounts and Statement of Revenues and Expenses were reviewed for the month-end balances on October 31, 2023.  Transfers are being made from Water and Sewer to General Fund for overhead expenses.  Also, the interest on all accounts is being transferred to General Fund.  No Motion necessary.

DISBURSEMENTS

October 2023 Accounts Payable disbursements were reviewed.  Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the October 2023 disbursements.  Mr. Hebenstreit seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.

Certop, Inc. Invoice #11012023.08, dated 11/1/2023 for $5,435.00 for October 2023 Class A Water Operator services was submitted for payment.  Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve Certop Inc., Invoice #11012023.08, for October 2023 services.  Mr. Hebenstreit seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.

There were no invoices over the amount of $500.00 that needed to be signed by Mr. Hayes.

APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS                                                                                                                                                                     Water and sewer applications for October 2023 were reviewed.  Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the October 2023 applications.  Mr. Hebenstreit seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.

OTHER

Water and Sewer rate increases were included in the budget for the current year, to be effective on the bills to be dated January 31, 2024.  There was a discussion regarding the ordinances to be approved at the December meeting.  The Budget was written and approved for an increase in the water rate of $1.50 per 1,000 gallons.  The Sewer Rate will be increased by $3.00 per 1,000 gallons.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Two Operations employees are taking on-line training for the Class A water license certification.  The District does not currently have a Class A Water Operator.  The next test will be available to take in December.  Mr. Hebenstreit wants to continue a monthly update, until one of them becomes a Class A Certified Operator.

There was a discussion regarding the upgrade of the office accounting software.  The Trustees are in agreement that this needs to happen, but it was removed from the FY 2023-2024 budget.  Three bids are necessary to compare options and make a decision.  This can be done over the next several months, and include the software upgrade in the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year budget.  Mr. Hebenstreit has requested to leave this on the future agendas.

Guidelines need to be created for Summer and Leak credits.  The Trustees would like to see a list of the credits given this fiscal year to help make a decision on guidelines.  Ms. Romano, resident and Finance Committee member mentioned that Bethalto sets a maximum credit that can be given.  Mr. Hebenstreit would like to keep this on the agenda, and form a policy by sometime next year.

NEW BUSINESS

The Employee Holiday Schedule and Meeting Schedule will be approved at the December Meeting.  Mr. Hebenstreit would like to see all half-days prior to the Holiday shown on the schedule.  Mr. Hayes commented that the half days can keep the employees happy, which helps cut down on turnover.  Also, the November meeting will be changed to Tuesday, November 12, 2024 due to the normal meeting date falling on Veteran’s Day.

There are possible grant opportunities available for the Sanitary District.  Ms. Romano has been researching about 20 grants, for both state and federal grants.  She mentioned an American Rescue Grant in which Madison County gave Maryville $1.36 Million for a sewer project in September 2022.  She said money is still available on the Federal level.  Mr. Clarkson has spoken with Sarah at HMG Engineering, and she said median income in Holiday Shores is too high for most grants, but the low interest loans  and loan forgiveness from the IEPA would be available.  Where we are in the Lagoon Project process, grants will probably not be available.  Mr. Hebenstreit would like to keep this on the future agendas, as more information can be provided.

OPERATIONS REPORT

Mr. Clarkson presented the Manager’s Report that he prepared, for the month of October.  The report was discussed and is an attachment to the meeting minutes.

The new meter reading equipment has been received and was used for the monthly meter readings in October.  Mr. Clarkson stated in his report that it went well and may be a timesaver, both in the office and the field.  As a side note, Ms. Lankster said there were only 3 missed readings, because they were able to go back with the new equipment and get some of the missed readings before bringing it back to the office to upload, which also can save time.  There are some re-reads due to a few ERT’s not reading the older meters, and the meters need to be changed out.  Also, heavy rain can cause more missed reads, so we will have to see how the new equipment will improve during a month of bad weather.

ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION

There is nothing new to discuss regarding litigation, therefore there was no Executive Session called.

ADJOURNMENT OF REGULAR MEETING

Mr. Murphy made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting.  Mr. Hebenstreit seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.

Respectfully submitted, Carla Lankster, District Clerk