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HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-02-2019 Minutes WSAC Regular Meeting Utilities Analyst Julie Laws 105 E. Corbin St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-296-9630 | julie.laws@hillsboroughnc.gov www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Minutes | 1 of 2 Minutes Water and Sewer Advisory Committee 7 p.m. May 2, 2019 Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St. Members Present: Dan Barker, Paul Cough, Barry Hupp, Daniel Rawlins, Saru Salvi, Jenn Sykes, Barry Weston Members Absent: Arthur Sprinczeles (excused) Guest(s) Present: Commissioner Matt Hughes Staff Present: Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz, Assistant to the Town Manager Jen Della Valle, Utilities Analyst Julie Laws 1. Call to order and welcome of guests The meeting was called to order by Chair Dan Barker at 7 p.m. 2. Agenda changes and approval No changes were made to the agenda. 3. Minutes review and approval Member Saru Salvi moved to accept minutes from the April 4, 2019, meeting as written, seconded by Member Barry Weston. All were in favor. 4. Reports from Board of Commissioners meetings A. Meeting April 8: Member Daniel Rawlins reported there was nothing related to water or sewer issues. B. Joint meeting with Planning Board April 18: Barker reported there was nothing related to water or sewer. C. Work session April 22: Member Jenn Sykes reported there was no discussion of water and sewer. 5. Updates A. Utilities Status Report Highlights: Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz shared that the request for qualifications regarding collections modeling has been issued and that responses are due May 16. The town will move to accept the booster station at the Forest Ridge neighborhood and to complete the final punch list items, in agreement with the current developers. The engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer will perform some updated modeling of the town’s distribution system model. On the reservoir project, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has received the final plans to review for the reservoir expansion road projects at Carr Store and Mill Creek roads. However, some design changes are being studied due to a property agreement delay. The reservoir allows no recreation or trespassing and will be posted as such. All entrances will be gated as part of mitigation requirements. There were no sanitary sewer spills during the recent rain event. The generator pad is being poured next week at the Lake Ben Johnston raw water pumping station site. B. Rate Model Update: Financial Services Director Daphna Schwartz could not be present at tonight’s meeting, but Strandwitz presented the information to the committee. Schwartz and Assistant to the Town Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Minutes | 2 of 2 May 2, 2019 Manager Jen Della Valle completed more of the information on this spreadsheet, and Strandwitz suggested having Jeff Hughes and Stephen Lapp of the UNC School of Government come back to further discuss this tool. The June meeting was suggested. Strandwitz cannot attend that meeting due to a conference but will check whether Hughes and Lapp can attend. 6. New and schedule-based business A. Town Budget and Rates Recommendation: Della Valle discussed the handout “Financial Summary ― Water & Sewer Fund.” The town has hired the consulting company Willdan to look at assumptions, revenue bonds, and requirements to make sure the town is meeting certain metrics. Hillsborough’s bond score is AA, which should help with results. The budget public hearing is scheduled for May 28, and the budget is slated to be adopted June 10. Barker stated that last year the committee received a five-year projection for rates, with 5% increases for three years to catch up with the deficit. By the end of the three years, the town should be at breakeven. Salvi asked when out-of-town customers would get a break. Barker stated that this depends on the rate model the town accepts and that he is hoping to look at this again in December to make recommendations for the next year’s budget. There was discussion about the estimated Fiscal Year 2019 budget vs. the actual. Della Valle will work on this comparison for the committee. The committee would like to look at this comparison sometime later (perhaps August) to see how the budget compared. Rawlins stated that part of the three-year plan had to do with keeping the bond rating high. If the town had rolled out a one-year breakeven plan, there would have been a one-time 17% rate increase. There was discussion about requesting the rate spreadsheet earlier next year, with a rolling three-year target. Members discussed that the town may be able to change the increase to a lower percentage after checking the numbers next year and that adding new customers could help with this. The consensus was to stay the course and not look at this again until next year. 7. Future agenda items A. June ― Recurring items B. July ― No meeting C. August ― Della Valle will come back with comparison results from Item 6A above. 8. Upcoming assignments for Board of Commissioners meetings A. Meeting May 13: Barry Hupp (Dan Barker, substitute) B. Work Session ― Budget May 28: Barry Weston (Saru Salvi, substitute) 9. Adjournment Sykes moved to adjourn at 8:55 p.m., seconded by Member Paul Cough.