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Home My Public Portal About06-01-2017 Minutes WSAC Regular Meeting MEETING MINUTES WATER SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, June 1, 2017 7:00 PM Town Barn 101 East Orange Street · P O Box 429 · Hillsborough, NC 27278 · 919 732 1270 Members Present: Frank Cohen, Jim Parker, Arthur Sprinczeles, Dan Barker, Saru Salvi, Aaron Butner Members Absent: Scott Jennings (excused); Volker Mittendorf Staff Present: Eric Peterson, Phil Cordeiro, Julie Laws Guest(s) Present: Kathleen Ferguson (Board Member) 1.1 Call Meeting to Order & Welcome to Guests Meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM by Frank Cohen. 1.2. Consideration of Additions/Changes to Agenda Aaron Butner moved to add customer Sue Denton to the agenda, seconded by Arthur Sprinczeles and Dan Barker. Jim Parker moved to discuss grease traps for downtown, seconded by Aaron Butner and Saru Salvi. 1.2.1 Sue Culbreth Denton spoke about very high bills for two months on one leak event. She lives on Victory Lane, off Crawford Road, and has been a customer since 1971. She had a huge leak from a faulty water heater in the crawl space. She called a plumber to repair the leak and replace the water heater. The same day, someone from the Town came to the door and informed her that she most likely had a leak. Her next bill was $900 and she got credit for $600 for the leak adjustment. The next month’s bill was even higher. At this time, Phil Cordeiro confirmed that we took back the credit for the first month and gave her a credit for the higher bill. There was discussion about where that much water would go that it did not flood the house or yard. The discussion was about water percolating quickly in this area and the fact that tree roots in the area can suck it up also. As Mrs. Denton still has a $600 balance on her bill, she is asking for another credit for the second month of this leak event. She asked why billing was so far behind that one leak event could spread over 2-3 months. At this time, the policy reads that there can only be one bill can be credited per event per year. Frank asked if there is any motion regarding this issue. Jim Parker moved to change the policy to cover bills for two months for one event, second by Aaron. There will be further discussion in the August meeting. Dan stated that we should not change anything for Mrs. Denton, but should definitely change the policy in the future. There was a vote to forgive Mrs. Denton’s second bill, but the vote was 3-3. Phil will come to the next meeting to discuss data from other leak events, i.e. how many credits we’ve issued in the past year and the amounts of said credits. Frank asked to receive data from Phil in 15 days so we could study before discussing in August. Mrs. Denton will not be penalized or cut off until changes are discussed. Eric Peterson stated that changing the policy to state that one event stretching over two months is heading in the right direction. 1.2.2 Jim Parker spoke about wanting a community grease trap for the businesses downtown. The Town had suggested this in the past, but the owners of the buildings did not want to re-plumb their buildings at that time. Jim owns the Bank of America building which will now house the Wooden Nickel when they move. They already have a grease trip at their old building. Should they install a larger grease trap for all the buildings in that strip or put in a separate one at BOA. Jim is asking the Town to assist in $13,000 differential in cost for one large trap. His reasoning is that this will promote patronage to the downtown area. Kathleen said Tourism Board would not pay for it, and 101 East Orange Street • P. O. Box 429 • Hillsborough, NC 27278 • 919 732-1270 x85 that the Town Board probably will not support this. Dan says we would be setting a precedent and could be setting ourselves up for more requests of this type. Troy and Kenny will add their recommendations after Jim brings them additional information. Phil will look at policies on whether other towns subsidize grease traps for customers, and will study budget for addition of this cost. Eric stated that Jim needs to put together proposal to Kenny and then bring to WSAC. Dan would like to see paperwork and a commitment for the upkeep, maintenance, and cost of the grease trap. 1.3 Consideration and Discussion of Past Minutes Dan moved to approve regular meeting minutes from April 6, 2017, seconded by Saru. 2.1 Reports from Committee Assignments for Previous Months April 10 – Regular Board Meeting – Frank attended this meeting. Committee/Board recruitment process was discussed. WFER Phase II was discussed and carried over. The Board has approved DOT agreement for cost-sharing on the road project for WFER. April 20 – Joint Meeting w/Planning Board – Dan Barker attended this meeting, although there was not much discussion about utilities. Kathleen Ferguson stated that there was discussion at this meeting about increasing customers on already existing lots. If a resident has a large lot, they can potentially build a second home or apartment. Mother-in-law suites or apartments could be added to existing homes and increase usage at the individual’s dwelling. Dan stated that this allows us to add customers without adding mains. April 24 – Board Work Session – Scott Jennings was scheduled to attend. Scott is absent tonight. May 8 – Regular Board Meeting – Saru attended. WFER contract was discussed at this meeting. Kathleen expanded discussion about extensions beyond I-40 being approved with changes in some of the language. The county is not comfortable with the contract yet, so our board will probably see it again. We don’t want industrial plants for that area. There are certain allowed uses set up by the planning board. May 22 – Board Work Session – Frank Cohen attended. Per Kathleen, the budget workshop discussed keeping the budget revenue-neutral. We don’t want to burden citizens, but we are really cutting the budget close this year. We need to have more openness to adjusting in the future. Are we actually funding what we should be funding? Eric stated there should be a 5% increase in water/ sewer rates next year (FY18-19) and the following year. Final budget will be voted on June 12. 2.2 Engineering Status Report Highlights Julie Laws gave brief update on engineering and stoplight reports. There were no questions regarding these reports. 3.1 Fathom Update Saru moved to move this item after 4.2, which was seconded by Jim. Carried unanimously. 3.2 Committee Recruitment Policy Update Julie Laws shared information from the Town Board on the selection process for volunteer board and committee membership. There were no objections or suggested changes to the policy. Dan 101 East Orange Street • P. O. Box 429 • Hillsborough, NC 27278 • 919 732-1270 x85 suggested that future members of boards and committees attend the Citizens Academy, which is normally held in March, but may change to the Fall of the year due to work flow around budget time. 4.1 Suggested Future Agenda Items for Upcoming Months • Interview candidates for Frank Cohen’s upcoming departure from the committee • Election for October • Have Mr. McKelvey come back for fluoride discussion. Ask Kenny to send out information to the WSAC at least two weeks ahead of time. • Jim’s grease trap – need info beforehand, and ask Kenny and Troy to attend • Sue Denton’s case and changing policy for leak event vs. one- or two-month bills • Fathom discussion – in closed session 4.2 Upcoming Board Assignments June 12 – Regular Board Meeting – Jim Parker (Scott Jennings, sub) June 26 – Board Work Session – Aaron Butner (Dan Barker, sub) July 20 – Joint Meeting w/Planning Board – Dan Barker (Saru Salvi, sub, is out of town that day) 5.1 Adjourn Aaron moved to adjourn, seconded by Saru. Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM. Next Meeting: August 3, 2017