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HomeMy Public PortalAbout08-05-2021 Minutes WSAC Regular MeetingWATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 1 of 3 Minutes WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Remote regular meeting 7 p.m. Aug. 5, 2021 Virtual meeting via YouTube Live Town of Hillsborough YouTube channel Present: Chair Arthur Sprinczeles, Vice Chair Jenn Sykes, Member Daniel Rawlins, Member Saru Salvi and Member Barry Weston, Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd Absent: Members Paul Cough and Barry Hupp (excused) Staff: Town Manger Eric Peterson, Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz, Finance Director Tiffany Long 1. Call to order and welcome of guests Chair Arthur Sprinczeles called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. There were no active guests who requested to participate actively in the meeting. The meeting was streamed live on YouTube. 2. Agenda changes and approval Removed Item 5(d) – review of recurring items agenda Motion: Vice Chair Jenn Sykes moved to approve as amended and to establish a quorum. Member Saru Salvi seconded. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. 3. Minutes review and approval Minutes from regular meeting on May 5, 2021 Motion: Sykes moved to approve of the minutes as submitted. Salvi seconded. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. 4. Updates A. Utilities status report highlights Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz indicated due to the low flow in the Eno River, a stage one water withdraw restriction was put into place. This means a maximum withdraw for the water treatment plant is 1.51 million gallons per day. If more is needed, the town must release more from the reservoir. She said the Phase 2 construction project is essentially complete. Remaining tasks are final inspections and dedication to NCDOT. Member Saru Salvi asked about the main break numbers which were explained by Strandwitz. There were no other questions about the status report. B. Budget update Strandwitz briefed the members on the key projects in the budget and some outstanding unfunded projects that may be funded with some of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies. A discussion ensued about the Commissioners’ decision to reduce the minimum water base Block 1 charge to 2,375 gallons per month WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 2 of 3 from 2,500 gallons per month, its impact and justification. Sykes suggested putting available funding sources as a line item in the Utilities Report. Strandwitz indicated she could generally put items that she becomes aware about. As an example, Strandwitz discussed one new program she attended a meeting about that some of our projects may qualify. Town Manager Eric Peterson discussed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) monies and how it may be allocated. Sykes mentioned there are lots of retired grant writers that may be of assistance. Strandwitz said the town’s procument policy must be followed and for Sykes to send names that she can add to her consultant list. C. Collection system modeling report update Strandwitz gave a summary of the Phase 2 collection system model report, explaining the difference from the Phase 1 report. In summary, there is a wet weather issue for the area that is tributary to the River Pumping Station (i.e., old and leaking pipes). The Elizabeth Brady sewer basin will need to be upsized for future growth. Committed flows through 2040 require improvements estimated at over $36.67 million dollars (including River Pumping Station replacement). To accommodate potential flow, the estimate is over $42.74 million dollars. This includes a large contingency as it is a high level estimate. The report made some prioritizations of what to tackle first. D. Development around town Strandwitz shared the planning department’s monthly development report. People are living in the first part of Collins Ridge while the remainder of the sewer system is being completed and certified. She discussed other developments that are being completed like Forest Ridge and Fiori Hills. The Orange County Northern Campus is coming online soon. She is also working with Harmony at Waterstone and Habitat for Humanity’s Odie Street project to request board acceptance of that infrastructure. Strandwitz also noted the recent developments the Board has already accepted. E. Staffing and introduction of new finance director Strandwitz introduced new finance director, Tiffany Long. She also updated on the utility department vacancies. 5. Committee member updates Member Daniel Rawlins recapped the workshop where Strandwitz discussed development fees. Strandwitz explained further about the desire to assess additional fees with the idea that growth pays for growth and the town needed more cost recovery. She explained how the town resources have been wasted by contractors not ready for inspections or duplicate efforts. She also compared a hypothetical project’s fees amongst other utilities and showed that the town charges are extremely low for the level of effort put into reviewing, approving, observing and accepting a development. While she is working on that further, she is including some of these fees in Water and Sewer Extension Agreements. Member Barry Weston discussed the highlights of the June board meeting where the budget was adopted. Sykes said the planning board meeting was canceled so nothing to report. Strandwitz also reminded the members about the charter and asked what the preference is for the vacant in-town position – from 6 to 8 members are required. There was a discussion about the process. Sykes suggests discussing this again in October and Sprinczeles wants a reminder in September. Motion: Salvi made a motion to advertise for the vacancy, when time. Sykes seconded. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 3 of 3 6. Discussion items A. Rate analysis and direction Strandwitz asked for discussion about when and how the committee wanted to meet with the board. She said it is important to have the same priorities with the board to avoid going down the wrong path. Sykes did not want to use the August workshop with the board. Salvi recommended that the committee discuss priorities amongst themselves before meeting with the town board. The discussion turned to how this tied into the committee’s meeting schedule, which was reduced in frequency due to the pandemic. B. Meeting occurrences Sprinczeles suggests meeting monthly because there is so much going on. Motion: Salvi made a motion to start meeting monthly. Sykes seconded it. All were in favor. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. C. Future meetings This topic was just to verify that the meeting schedule is good overall. Sprinczeles asked that it be distributed to all committee members so everyone knows of the obligations. Salvi will send it out and have all members confirm. D. Future agenda items Rates and new member discussion are two items along with the recurring items agenda. 7. Assignments for future meetings Sprinczeles went over the actual assignments through October. 8. Adjournment Motion: Weston moved to adjourn. Sykes seconded. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. The meeting ended at approximately 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, K. Marie Strandwitz, PE Utilities Director Staff support to the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Approved: September 2, 2021