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HomeMy Public PortalAbout11-03-22 Minutes Regular Meeting 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 1 of 3 Minutes WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Joint meeting with Board of Commissioners 7 p.m. Nov. 3, 2022 Town Hall Annex Present: Chair Jenn Sykes, Vice Chair Saru Salvi, Members Daniel Rawlins, Steed Robinson, Paul Cough, Barry Hupp, Arthur Sprinczeles, Commissioners Robb English, Matt Hughes, Evelyn Lloyd, Kathleen Ferguson, Mark Bell, and Mayor Jenn Weaver Excused: Member Barry Weston Guests: Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood Staff: Town Manager Eric Peterson, Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz, Civil Engineering Technician Tyler Freeman, Billing and Customer Service Supervisor Linda Daye, Interim Finance Director Melissa Bishop, Environmental Engineering Supervisor Bryant Green 1. Call to order and welcome of guests Chair Jenn Sykes called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Agenda changes and approval Move the sewer capacity update into Item 5 of the agenda: Joint Meeting with Board. Motion: Member Saru Salvi moved to place the sewer capacity update into Item 5. Member Arthur Sprinczeles seconded the motion. All in favor. Vote: 7-0. Ayes:7. Nays: 0. 3. Minutes approval No changes were presented for the October minutes, and it was motioned for approval. Motion: Member Paul Cough moved to approve as presented. Member Barry Hupp seconded the motion. All in favor. Vote: 7-0. Ayes:7. Nays: 0. 4. Updates A. Utilities Director Strandwitz introduced Bryant Green, the new Environmental Engineering Supervisor to the group, and asked Bryant to discuss his background and experience. Strandwitz then introduced Interim Finance Director Melissa Bishop and Linda Daye. B. No questions were asked about the Utility Status Report. WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 2 of 3 5. Joint Meeting with Board of Commissioners A. Utilities Director Strandwitz began her presentation on sewer capacity updates. She discussed what utilities has done so far to address capacity needs, including several funding opportunities, evaluating feasible quick fix options, performing system smoke testing, installing temporary flow meters for monitoring, upgrading impellers to provide additional capacity at the Elizabeth Brady Pumping Station, requesting quotes for sewer cleaning and televising of the key interceptors, and conducting a study to determine rehabilitation needs in the Lawndale sub-basin. Strandwitz closed the presentation out by discussing anticipated capital expenses and growth challenges for the sewer system and the water system. B. Chair Jenn Sykes gave background on leak adjustments and opened the matter for discussion with the board. The goal is to ensure that the policy reflects current code. Established recommendations by the WSAC entering the meeting included no power washing adjustments, a majority were against pool credits, irrigation credit was to only be allowed for residents, not commercial developers, and can only be given once every five years for water and sewer customers, and once a year operator error adjustment dependent on situation, with burden of proof on the resident. The Water and Sewer Advisory Committee (WSAC) decided to revisit pool fill credits with the board. After discussion on the different scenarios, public pools vs private pools, options for filling a pool, affordability, etc., the board and the committee settled on the WSAC’s original conclusion to not allow pool fill credits. Discussion then shifted to general leak adjustments. Thoughts were shared on whether to do adjustments, how other municipalities do adjustments, and what changes staff recommend. The group decided up to two bills can be adjusted (a two-month period) regarding high billing from a leak, and the adjustment amount is based on the prior 6 months. The adjustment can only be applied once per 12 month rolling period. For situations where a leak is on the service (customer) side of a meter and a plumber was used, a note of the material encountered by the plumber is required. Operator error (leaving a faucet on or other avoidable situations) was brought to the table, and discussion centered around should a public subsidy cover operator error and the many scenarios this can cover. It was noted some municipalities do not allow any adjustments for operator error. Staff currently handles these on a case-by-case basis and would like guidelines (code) laid out that they can follow and cite as support for their decisions. The rough consensus here was that some evidence would need to be provided along with discretion still on town staff. The WSAC would act as a course for appeals for denied operator error adjustments, and the WSAC’s recommendation would go back to staff. Regarding the tenant-landlord situation for leak adjustments, the current policy is for the town to not get involved in that relationship. Billing has flagged accounts to stop water shutoffs in certain situations. Sometimes items have been listed in the lease regarding what the tenant is responsible for versus what falls under the landlord’s responsibilities. The group expressed its desire to confer with Bob, and no final decision was made. C. Commercial rate relief came up as the next topic on the table. The group utilized some water use data to frame the discussion. The WSAC entered the topic noting that they do not want to change residential rates, rather, they are looking for alternative ways to lower costs for smaller businesses. The idea of a tiered rate structure was floated. No steps were taken to select a path forward on this matter. The WSAC and board requested staff to breakdown costs for the different institutional entities. The group also requested to see a breakdown of the town’s no charge accounts. This will be presented for the next joint meeting in February. 6. Future Discussion Topics A. Leak adjustment draft language WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 3 of 3 B. Bill format C. Former member recognition 7. Member Reports A. Nothing to report on the October 10th meeting. B. Salvi reported the Planning Board meeting did not have a quorum, so it was an open discussion. They discussed an office space, railroad station, and pickle ball court. 8. Assignments for Meetings Sykes confirmed meeting assignments for the following month with applicable members. 9. Adjournment Motion: Saru moved to adjourn. No second needed, declared by Chair Sykes. Vote: N/A. Respectfully submitted, Tyler Freeman, EIT Civil Engineering Technician Approved: Dec. 1, 2022