HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-05-2019 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
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Minutes
Water and Sewer Advisory Committee
7 p.m. Sept. 5, 2019
Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan Barker, Paul Cough, Barry Hupp, Daniel Rawlins, Saru Salvi, Arthur Sprinczeles, Jenn
Sykes, and Barry Weston
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Utilities Analyst Julie Laws, Public Information Officer Cheryl Sadgrove, and Utilities
Director Marie Strandwitz
GUEST(S) PRESENT: Commissioner Mark Bell
1. Call to order and welcome of guests
Chair Dan Barker called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and welcomed guests.
2. Agenda changes and approval
No changes were made to the agenda.
3. Minutes review and approval: Aug. 1, 2019, meeting
Member Jenn Sykes moved to accept minutes from the Aug. 1, 2019, meeting as written, seconded by
Member Paul Cough. Minutes were approved with changes.
4. Reports from Board of Commissioners meetings
A. Meeting Aug. 12: Barker reported that the proposed relocation of the Dodge dealership was discussed at
a continued public hearing, as well as other development on that property. An existing private pump
station could serve existing and future businesses.
B. Board work session Aug. 26: No one from the committee attended this meeting; however, Commissioner
Mark Bell provided a report on topics that were discussed. The commissioners discussed the upcoming
Churton Street widening from Orange Grove Street to Interstate 40. This North Carolina Department of
Transportation project, as well as the I-85/I-40 widening, has been delayed at least five years due to
funding constraints.
5. Updates
A. Utilities Status Report Highlights:
1. Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz reported that the Eno River gauge is up, which will pull the town
out of water withdrawal limitations. Staff increased the water release from the West Fork Eno
Reservoir this week to help increase stream flow and to avoid asking Lake Orange to release from the
East Fork.
2. Fall flushing may begin next week if the river is out of Stage 1 restrictions. Special care will be taken in
the south zone, especially around the Forest Ridge neighborhood where the crew will flush around
low-pressure areas. The engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer is looking again at the water model to
determine where improvements can be made in that area.
3. A start-up of the raw water intake generator was attempted but failed. National Power will clean out
the injectors and determine the cause of any issues next week.
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4. The collections system modeling project will kick off Monday, Sept. 9.
5. RND Architects is presenting preliminary options for remodeling the Adron F. Thompson Water/Sewer
Facility, and Public Works is looking at some additional renovations at this site before moving to the
Highway 86 N. Facility.
6. Town staff caught a contractor stealing water from a hydrant last week. The town has a tampering
clause for tampering and/or stealing water from the system, with a fine of $250. This fine is tripled for
tampering with a hydrant, so the company was fined $750. It is a subcontractor for Verizon, which the
town is working with to recoup the fees. The same company bored into the town’s 12-inch water
main at new N.C. 86 and Waterstone Drive last week. It has now obtained a hydrant meter, and staff
can assess the usage to estimate how much the contractor has been stealing. Because staff believes
this company may have been stealing from town hydrants the entire time it has been installing cables
in town, the company will need to prove whether it has been purchasing water from other sources. If
there is no proof of purchase, the town can go forward with charging for estimated usage based on
the current usage and the start date of the project. The also town will bill for the distribution crew’s
time to repair the bored-through line. Strandwitz will research how much water is used to install fiber
optic cables using the boring method, and this will be added to the equation. Tampering and fines will
be on a future agenda for further discussion. Financial Services Director Daphna Schwartz will be
invited to that meeting, as well as Town Manager Eric Peterson or Town Attorney Bob Hornik.
6. New and schedule-based business
A. Wholesale water sales and interconnects: Strandwitz pulled reports from the Tyler billing system for bulk
water, which is accounted for under “miscellaneous receipts.” Revenue is $930 for bulk water so far this
year. Bulk water purchases are charged out-of-town rates, per 1,000 gallons with no base rate. Revenue
for hydrant meters and wholesale water sales are just under $3,000 this year. Strandwitz is working on
new contracts for the town’s interconnects with the Durham, Orange-Alamance, and Orange Water and
Sewer Authority systems. Orange-Alamance Water System wants to upgrade its plant and is interested in
the Town of Hillsborough supplementing its water supply. That system would like the town to supplement
3,000 to 5,000 gallons to its clearwell on weekends. The town recently billed OWASA for 5.851 million
gallons over a one-week period, so OWASA could take a tank off-line. This resulted in $39,000 in revenue.
B. Officer elections: Member Saru Salvi nominated Barker to serve again as chair, seconded by Member
Arthur Sprinczeles. Sykes nominated Sprinczeles as vice chair again, seconded by Barker. Both were voted
in unanimously.
C. UNC School of Government modeling tool update: Strandwitz reported that the tool may be ready to
review in two months because she is not comfortable with the data from the former utility software
company FATHOM. She passed out reports that showed average consumption by rate code. The
committee would like to see the irrigation portion of the report broken out by users. Barker suggested
thinking about other statistics the committee might want.
D. Rate or level of interaction expected between this committee and the Board of Commissioners: Barker
and Bell led the discussion, beginning with what the commissioners hope to gain by attending the Water
and Sewer Advisory Committee meetings. Bell stated the commissioners attend meetings of only certain
boards, most of which involve budget discussions. Rates are always a big topic for the commissioners, so
the town board is now receiving the monthly Water and Sewer Advisory Committee meeting packet.
Sykes requested input from any meetings board members attend that relate to water and sewer issues.
Bell stated that commissioners currently attend inter-county and town meetings; state meetings related
to regulation changes; and other town board meetings. Strandwitz shared that she receives information
from the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the Water Environment Federation, and other agencies
regarding EPA rulings, funding opportunities, and partnership updates of the Triangle J Council of
Government. Bell will share details of tonight’s conversation with Hillsborough’s other commissioners to
determine what information they would like to see from the committee. Rate setting and equity between
residential and commercial and in-town and out-of-town rates would be a good topic for discussion
between the committee and the commissioners. Sykes suggested having that conversation at a combined
meeting, possibly in February.
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7. Public comments
There was no one in attendance from the public.
8. Future agenda items
A. October 2019: Water assistance fund review and handout of tampering fines policy
B. November 2019: Member terms
C. February 2020: Joint meeting with Board of Commissioners
9. Upcoming assignments for Board of Commissioners meetings
A. Meeting Sept. 9: Paul Cough (Jenn Sykes, substitute)
B. Board work session Sept. 23: Barry Hupp (Dan Barker, substitute)
10. Adjournment
Sykes moved to adjourn at 8:52 p.m., which was seconded by Member Barry Weston.