Meeting Minutes 2-13-2023
MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HOLIDAY SHORES SANITARY DISTRICT
Monday, February 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 Julie Romano were present. Also present were Carla Lankster, District Clerk and Joe Urban, Operations. The Attorney for the District, Erin Phillips is enroute, and will join the meeting.
OPEN FORUM
Mr. Avi Goldfarb of 982 Holiday Point Parkway attended the meeting. He lives in St. Louis, and this house is empty during the winter. He checks it weekly, but was unable to be here at Christmas time, due to an operation. The neighbors watch the house and alerted Mr. Goldfarb to water pouring out of his basement. The temperatures dropped to below zero for several days, starting on Christmas Eve, and the pipe in his house, on an outside wall cracked, despite the heat being on in the house. The crack caused a massive leak of 379,110 gallons in 18 days. He is requesting some consideration on his water and sewer bill. Ms. Romano stated that it will be discussed with our attorney when she arrives.
Mr. Marc Levitt & Shari Koetting purchased 1827 Port Lane, but are currently out of town. A neighbor had been checking the house and found water coming out of the basement. They submitted a letter to ask for consideration on the water and sewer bill, since they were not able to attend. This was a pipe on an outside wall, near the dishwasher and it caused 86,110 gallons to flow through the meter.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of January 9, 2023 regular meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the minutes for the January 9, 2023 regular meeting. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
The minutes of January 26, 2023 special meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the minutes for the January 26, 2023. Ms. Romano 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 January 31, 2023. Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the Summary of Accounts. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”. Ms. Romano had questions on the Statement of Revenues and Expenses, regarding the some of the Revenues being received already, and we will not receive more for this year. So, when looking at revenues vs. expenses, we need to remove a percentage equal to the remaining year, to see the actual bottom-line total. If we do this, it will show a deficit for the year so far. We need to see where this is.
DISBURSEMENTS
Accounts Payable disbursements were reviewed for January 2023. Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the January 2023 disbursements. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
Certop, Inc. Invoice #02012023.07, dated 2/1/2023 for $5,000.00 was submitted for payment. This invoice is for a contracted Class A Water Operator and is for the month of January 2023. Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve Certop Inc. Invoice #02012023.07, for January 2023 Class A Water Operator services. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
An Invoice from Unsell, Schattnik & Phillips was submitted for legal services from November 14, 2022 through January 26, 2023, in the amount of $2,027.69. Ms. Romano made a motion to approve invoice from Unsell, Schattnik & Phillips for legal services. Mr. Murphy seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
There was one invoice for Vadim Municipal over the amount of $500.00 for printing and mailing of the December 31, 2023 water and sewer bills, that needed Trustee signature this month. There were also two invoices from HMG Engineers for the pre-approved Wastewater, Lagoon compliance project, in the amounts of $521.03 and $6,423.74. The invoices were signed by Mr. Hayes.
APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS
The water and sewer applications for January 2023 were reviewed. Mr. Murphy made a motion to approve the January 2023 applications. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all the Trustees voted “Aye”.
OTHER
There was a short discussion regarding an increase in the cost of concrete at Kienstra Pipe & Precast. The price for the concrete tank has increased from $195.00 to $215.00 per vertical foot. The Aluminum hatch has increased from $425.00 to $480.00. So the price of a 7’ tank was $1,951.85 and will now be $2,162.45. An amendment to the ordinance will have to be approved to raise sewer connection fees.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
Vandevanter Engineering maintains our six lift stations. We sign 3-year contracts with them, and the last time, Mr. Ken Dulle had signed it was March of 2019, for preventative maintenance. Therefore, we have not had a contract for a year, and it includes an 6% discount on extra needed repairs and parts. The preventative maintenance inspections for the 6 lift stations will be $4,394.00 per year for 2023 and 2024. The amount for 2025 will be $4,615.00. Mr. Murphy made a motion to sign the 3-year contract with Vandevanter Engineering. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
MSD Mowing submitted a bid proposal for the 2023 mowing season. There are no increases to the weekly mowing costs. However, Mark will no longer take care of the fertilizing and weed control. He presented a quote from Turfology, which is the same amount that MSD Mowing charged in 2022 for the 4-step fertilizing and weed management, which was $872.00 or a 5% discount if paid in full at the beginning of the year. Ms. Romano made a motion to approve the proposal from MSD Mowing for the 2023 mowing season. Mr. Murphy seconded the motion, and all Trustees voted “Aye”. There was another motion to approve the quote from Turfology for fertilizing, by Ms. Romano. Mr. Murphy seconded the motion, and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
Dimond Bros. Insurance submitted the renewal proposal for March 17, 2023. Mr. Griffith met with Ms. Lankster and Ms. Romano, and made some suggestions for changes in coverage. It was suggested to increase the Cyber Security coverage from 50,000 to 100,000, and to increase the Umbrella coverage from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000. These changes were accepted by the Trustees for March 17, 2023.
OPERATIONS
The Lead & Copper testing continued in January, and the 20 homes were re-sampled. The samples were under the 99 percentile that is required, so we just have to test one more time, with another good result for the IEPA to release us.
There were 10 grinder pump changes in the month of January.
ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Move to executive meeting pursuant to Statute 5ILCS 120/2 (C)(1) and (C)(2), to discuss Employee Compensation schedules and responsibilities. Also pursuant to Statute 5ILCS (C)(11) to discuss possible litigation. Mr. Murphy made a motion to move to Executive Session. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
Returning from Executive Session, Mr. Hayes stated that the Trustees will proceed with the process of retaining a new manager by convening for purposes of personnel, but the final decisions and any necessary votes regarding the process will be subject to convening in executive session of the Trustees. Mr. Hayes made a motion to approve the process. Mr. Murphy seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
A decision was made concerning the large water leaks, due to pipes breaking in two empty homes. Since the water did not go through the grinder pump system, only Sewer credit will be given to each of the customers at 982 Holiday Point Parkway and 1827 Port Lane. Mr. Murphy made a motion to apply only a credit for sewer use to the accounts with large leaks. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
ADJOURNMENT OF REGULAR MEETING
Mr. Murphy made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting. Ms. Romano seconded the motion and all Trustees voted “Aye”.
Respectfully submitted, Carla Lankster, District Clerk