WAYNESBORO BOROUGH AUTHORITY
OCTOBER 20, 2009
MINUTES
Authority Chairman Jon Fleagle called the regularly scheduled meeting of the Waynesboro Borough Authority to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following in attendance:
Borough Authority Members – Lee Layman, S. Allen Stine, Christopher Snively, Jon Fleagle and William Pflager
Borough Staff – S. Leiter Pryor, Director of Borough Utilities
D. Lloyd Reichard, Authority Solicitor
Scott Crum, Chief Draftsman-Inspector
APPROVE MINUTES: Lee Layman made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 15, 2009 meeting, as written. Christopher Snively seconded; the motion passed unanimously.
PSU FORESTRY REQUEST - CRAIG HOUGHTON: Craig Houghton and Beth Brantley (Penn State Forestry Department) were present to discuss their proposal for another deer fence on the Authority’s watershed in the vicinity of Coldspring/Newman Roads, where they would like to plant American Chestnut trees on approximately three (3) clear-cut acres. Three (3) bids for the fence were provided, the lowest of which was from the preferred contractor for American Chestnuts in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The American Chestnut Foundation will provide seeds and protective tubes for approximately 1200 trees at no charge, with the understanding that the trees will be the property of the ACF and the WBA will not sell the germ plasma. In addition, the 600'x600' planting area will be available as a research and/or demonstration location. Some maintenance will be required, but the ACF has received grant money for that purpose (and Penn State will be willing to assist).
Craig Houghton added that he will be meeting in the near future with a representative from Glatfelter Pulpwood; and he feels sure that some areas of the watershed will need thinning, so the WBA should have some timber sale income for next year.
Chairman Fleagle noted he is in favor of supporting re-introduction of the American Chestnut trees, and other members agreed. Allen Stine made a motion to authorize the expense of $4,530 for the deer fence (the money should be taken from the timber theft recovery fund) and approve the proposed agreement with the ACF, as presented. William Pflager seconded; the motion passed unanimously.
SOURCE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: Leiter Pryor commented that things are “running better” at the well, however there are still some issues with the chemical-feed pumps – he continues to work with the vendor on this problem. Dave Averso (Gannett Fleming) has formulated a punch-list, and the contractors are working on those items (mostly cosmetic) at this time. Mr. Pryor also noted that the new hot water heater is still on backorder – the existing one if functioning, but constantly indicating a default. The heaters in the building are also working well. Mr. Pryor noted that final close-out documents should be available at the Authority’s next meeting; and he presented Change Order #4 for Contract #2 in the amount of $18,142.00 for additional efforts on communication links between the two plants. He reported that the project is still “right on budget”.
In addition, Mr. Pryor reported that he received a telephone call from an adjoining property owner late last week. Reportedly the spring running through his property, which he uses for his cattle, recently went dry. Because it never went dry before, he assumed it was because of the Authority’s well. Tom Waddington (Gannett Fleming) was contacted. He thinks this spring is in another formation, but noted it is difficult to determine if the Authority’s well would be impacting it. When the hydrogeological study was originally conducted, the monitor well ran for 48 hours and there were no similar issues. Mr. Pryor explained the procedure required to take the well off-line for an extended amount of time, which will be a “major production”. Additional information was forwarded to Mr. Waddington for review, and Mr. Pryor was requested to report back on the matter.
Mr. Pryor was also asked to check into the brightness of the lights at the well building.
BIOSOLIDS UPDATE: Leiter Pryor reported that the biosolids inventory on the drying beds is “still down”. He has placed money in the 2010 budget to take care of this matter. Some analyses of the primary and secondary digesters have been conducted, and the samples were split with the state. Results were well below the limits; and the state has given verbal approval to proceed with land application. He reported he would like to continue with monthly PCB analyses (at an approximate cost of $83.00/month) for 5-6 months as a precautionary measure. .
HARPER DRIVE WATER SERVICE: Scott Crum presented a proposal for providing improved water volume/pressure on Harper Drive without working in Route 997. He explained that there is an existing utility easement from Sunny Drive into Waynesboro Apartments. He suggested obtaining an easement from the Gosserts on Route 997 into the cul-de-sac behind their property, and a water line could be installed from there onto Harper Drive. A low pressure line along Stottlemyer Road from Route 997 to Harper Driver would complete a low pressure loop. Two (2) inch mains on West Avenue and Cross Street will be upgraded to 6", which would provide fire flows at 1,000 gpm. Fire protection would still be lacking on Harper Driver, but it would be available at the intersection with Stottlemyer Road. The total cost for these upgrades would be approximately $96,000-$100,000. In addition, Mr. Pryor reported that his original calculation of 70 properties on Harper Driver was in error – there are actually 43 properties, which resulted in approximately $126,000 in tap fees collected.
WBA members agreed to proceed with this proposal. They authorized the staff to contact the property owners to begin negotiations for the necessary easements. Mr. Pryor was requested to look for funding for this project, and to consider it the #1 capital project for next year.
AWARD BID - ROOF REPLACEMENT (WATER PLANT): After discussions with roofing contractors, Leiter Pryor noted there are two (2) options for the roof at the Water Plant – adhered (which is better) or ballast. Bids were received, and Bonded Applicators was the low bidder. The cost difference between the adhered and ballast roofing systems was approximately $2,000. Accordingly, he recommended that the bid be awarded to Bonded Applicators for the adhered roofing system, at a total cost of $63,652.00. Bonding and insurance information was forwarded to the Authority’s Solicitor for review. He confirmed that the bid documents were in order and consistent with the specifications.
Christopher Snively made a motion to award the bid for an adhered roofing system to Bonded Applicators for a cost of $63,652.00. William Pflager seconded; the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Pryor noted that funds are available for this work in the 2009 budget.
TMDL STEERING COMMITTEE REQUEST: Leiter Pryor noted that WBA members received correspondence from the Capital Region Council of Governments regarding the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy Program. They agreed that additional details should be obtained regarding their exact proposal and what they hope to accomplish, as well as a proposed time-line.
QUINCY TOWNSHIP - REQUEST FOR WATER: Mr. Pryor noted that he was contacted by Quincy Township’s engineer for information regarding the WBA’s water system. That has been provided, but he has not been contacted since. He added that they seem to be interested in “the interconnect scenario” vs. potential purchase of the Hess well. Scott Crum stated that there will be pressure problems if this scenario is pursued, and the WBA could only service approximately 30% of the homes in the designated area.
ENGINEERING STUDY - SEWER PLANT UPGRADE: Leiter Pryor noted that all requested information has been provided to Mark Malarich (Gannett Fleming) with regard to the engineering study. He was hoping to have a report for this meeting, but it was not yet available. Chairman Fleagle requested that he provide a proposed scope of project for the plant upgrade, as well as a “rough idea” of the costs involved.
CHANGE ORDER: Christopher Snively made a motion to approve Change Order #4, in the amount of $18,142.00, as presented earlier in the meeting by Leiter Pryor. Allen Stine seconded; the motion passed unanimously.
PAY BILLS: William Pflager made a motion to approve payment of the following requisitions --
Water Requisition #09-22 - Borough of Waynesboro (Water Fund) - $310,003.00 - 4th Quarter Water Allocation
Water Requisition #09-23 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $53.52 - Water system engineering services related to the performance of the duties of the Authority’s consulting engineer and other services as authorized (2009 Annual Services) for the period of August 1, 2009 through August 28, 2009
Water Requisition #09-24 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $614.14 - Water system engineering services related to the performance of the duties of the Authority’s consulting engineer and other services as authorized (2009 Annual Services) for the period of August 29, 2009 through September 25, 2009
Water Requisition #09-25 - M & T Investment Group - $900.00 - Paying Agent Fee for the period of 10/02/08 - 10/01/09
Water Construction Fund Requisition #WC-48 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $6,200.50 - Construction Management Services related to Membrane Treatment at Well No. 2 for the period of August 1, 2009 through August 28, 2009
Water Construction Fund Requisition #WC-49 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $139.84 - Water system engineering services related to the performance of the duties of the Authority’s consulting engineer and other services as authorized (PENNVEST Assistance - Well 2) for the period of August 1, 2009 through August 28, 2009
Water Construction Fund Requisition #WC-50 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $7,668.03 - Construction Management Services related to Membrane Treatment at Well No. 2 for the period of August 29, 2009 through September 25, 2009
Water Construction Fund Requisition #WC-51 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $604.82 - Water system engineering services related to the performance of the duties of the Authority’s consulting engineer and other services as authorized (PENNVEST Assistance - Well 2) for the period of August 29, 2009 through September 25, 2009
Sewer Requisition #905 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $1,620.01 - Engineering services related to Initial Process Evaluation of the Waynesboro Wastewater Treatment Plant to achieve compliance with nutrient cap loads for the period of May 23, 2009 through July 3, 2009
Sewer Requisition #906 - Gannett Fleming Companies - $289.75 - Engineering services related to Initial Process Evaluation of the Waynesboro Wastewater Treatment Plant to achieve compliance with nutrient cap loads for the period of July 4, 2009 through July 31, 2009
Sewer Revenue Fund Requisition #SA-52 - Borough of Waynesboro (Sewer Fund) - $246,515.00 - 4th Quarter Sewer Allocation
Lee Layman seconded; the motion passed unanimously.
CELL TOWER: Leiter Pryor reported that he was contacted by another cellular carrier about the WBA’s property on N. Broad Street. Since the standpipe is “full”, they wanted to know if the Authority would be interested in putting up a tower next to the standpipe (approximately the same height with no lights). They requested to conduct a test at the site, and Mr. Pryor provided them with a copy of the most recently-negotiated agreement as reference material. If results of the test were favorable, he noted they may have an agreement “in the works” by the next meeting.
2010 WATER AND SEWER BUDGETS: A brief discussion of the 2010 Water and Sewer budgets was conducted. Leiter Pryor highlighted the department head budget requests. He also pointed out that sales were slightly down from the projected 2009 budget figures and that interest income was well below projections. Due to the current state of the economy, it was decided to not consider any utility rate increases for 2010. There was some discussion regarding the required upgrades to the Sewer Treatment Plant and the general consensus of the Board was to consider a sewer rate increase in 2011. Chairman Fleagle suggested that a special meeting be held on November 2, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the proposed 2010 Water and Sewer budgets in detail. Leiter Pryor was directed to advertise the meeting and to update the budget information with “better” numbers as they become available.
Having no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. on a Pflager/Snively motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melinda S. Knott
Administrative Assistant