Wastewater Treatment Board

CITY OF CORTLAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY Meeting Minutes Members: Da te : 1/ 27 /14 Ti me : 5 :30 p m Chairman John Troy – Present C on fe r en ce R o om , C or t la nd Wa st e wa t e r Vice Chair William Starr – Present Commissioner Sally Horak – Present Commissioner Todd Morris – Present Commissioner Paul Lorenzo – Present Village of McGraw Mayor Allan Stauber – Present Village of Homer Trustee Michael Berry – Absent Bruce Adams, Chief Operator – Present Tom McCall, CPWOA President – Absent Meeting called to order at 5:28 p.m. Minutes from November 25, 2013, meeting for approval. Motion to approve the minutes from November 25, 2013, meeting by Paul Lorenzo. Seconded by Sally Horak. UNANIMOUS Plant Manager’s Reports: Plant Managers Report for December 19, 2013 (as written by Chief Adams) Administration– We have submitted WQIP grant applications for $300,000 towards chemical phosphorus removal and $971,000 towards UV disinfection. DEC had fewer applications than expected for the 2013 WQIP program and extended the deadline for submission from November 8 to December 13. Our contract engineer tells us that we stand a very good chance of getting both applications approved. I met with an environmental lawyer in Albany to discuss generating a draft contract for whey disposal between the City and Byrne Dairy. This will be a “put or pay” contract which will require Byrne to supply between 15,000 and 30,000 gallons of acid whey daily for the duration of the bond amortization on the generators and whey digester. This accounts for the economic value to the facility of the electricity generated from the whey, allowing us to offer a cost-free disposal solution to Byrne Dairy. At the same time, it protects the City’s other rate payers from having to shoulder the amortization costs of the equipment should Byrne not be able or willing to supply sufficient volumes of whey. The Common Council on November 19 unanimously approved changes to the City Code addressing the following: Changes to language in the pretreatment descriptions recommended by EPA, a complete re-write of the industrial billing formula that takes into account our changed process and changes to the nature of area industry, inclusion of phosphorus to the list of parameters used in calculating industrial charges, and language specifically authorizing the City to pass forward any regulatory fines levied against the City that can be attributed to a specific violating discharger. Operations- The sludge settleability issues from last month have been resolved. A combination of treating for filamentous bacteria and the onset of cold weather has greatly improved our treatment. Despite what we considered process difficulties, we nevertheless achieved 93% and 95% removals for TSS and BOD respectively for the month of November. Maintenance- We have taken delivery of the new bar screen. Staff has been doing prep work for the installation. We are currently anticipating doing the installation during the week of January 6. We have also taken delivery of the new sludge pumps for the GBT installation. Two of the pumps were put into place prior to the roof going on the GBT building. The contractors have finished the walls and installed the roof joists and decking. They plan on installing the roof insulation and membrane over the next two WWAB Minutes 25 January 2014 Page 2 of 5  weeks. They will then be able to heat the interior and pour the floor. Staff has been assembling the air piping for the GBT holding tank. The air piping will serve the dual purpose of keeping the sludge mixed and preventing it from going septic. Bruce Adams Chief Operator Plant Managers Report for January 25, 2014 (as written by Chief Adams) Administration– DEC has filed a draft permit modification. This is earlier than would be occasioned by our current permit’s expiration. DEC wants to roll out the Chesapeake Bay nutrient removal requirements. Due to communications issues, I did not learn of the modification until the comment period had elapsed. Nevertheless, DEC will consider my comments prior to issuing the modification. The City has been awarded a $30,000 grant towards engineering costs for repairs on the sanitary sewer under Clinton Street. This will be helpful towards the City’s gateway vision for that corridor. Operations- The new bar screen has been installed and is currently operating. The removal of the old screen and installation of the new screen was performed by staff for a significant savings vs installation by contractor. In addition, it was an excellent team-building exercise and staff is now intimately familiar with the equipment. The gravity belt thickener and associated equipment is in the new building. The building is weathertight and utilities are being installed. We anticipate the thickener being operational in late February. Maintenance- Repaired problem in emergency power transfer switch gear in Carbon Building. Performed numerous weather-related work orders. Working on clearing minor backlog of work orders. (~250) Bruce Adams Chief Operator Motion to approve the Plant Manager’s Report by Bill Starr. Seconded by Paul Lorenzo. UNANIMOUS Finance: Financial statements and abstracts dated 12/31/13 and 1/15/14, were submitted for approval. WWAB Minutes 25 January 2014 Page 3 of 5 Motion to approve financial statements and abstracts by Paul Lorenzo. Seconded by Sally Horak. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: A sewer grievance application was received on 12/09/13, from Kimberly Massery and Susan Bravos for property located at 11 Townley Avenue, City of Cortland. Due to the cancelation of December's WWAB meeting, a letter was sent to Ms. Massery and Ms. Bravos stating that their grievance will be addressed at the following WWAB meeting on 1/25/14. Ms. Massery reported that shortly after moving into the residence on 7/27/13, she had turned off the water gauge in the basement and when turned back on, the nozzle had rusted and would not seal causing a leak. The leak was not detected for a day and was repaired by her fiance. Ms. Massery also reported a slow leak that was found in the upstairs bathroom from an old claw foot bathtub that had only been used once. This also had a problem with the seal and went unnoticed for a month. Her fiance shut the water off to the bathtub. Furthermore, she discovered in the bathroom a very old toilet that had been running for extended periods of time and did not flush completely upon flushing; however, it emptied the tank and filled the bowl. The water to the toilet was turned off as well and the toilet is being replaced. On August 8th, Ms. Massery reported that there was an enormous flood at her property which caused 4 feet of standing water in the basement and 3 feet of water surrounding her home and back yard. Upon removal of the water, a leak was noticed at the main water line and near the water meter in the basement, which was completely submerged. This has since been repaired upon receiving insurance funds. Due to the circumstances of the flood and clean up required, a large amount of water was used in both interior and exterior cleaning, including a substantial amount of laundry from clothing that had been in unpacked boxes stored in their garage. Ms. Massery also notes that they filled a 4' x 10' seasonal pool. Ms. Massery and Ms. Bravos are requesting a reduction in the sewer portion of their 3rd quarterly billing. Upon the board's review of Ms. Massery and Ms. Bravos' grievance application, Paul Lorenzo had made a recommendation of granting a credit of $225.00, as most of the water did not go through the system. Motion to approve a credit of $225.00, by Sally Horak. Seconded by Bill Starr. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: Carl Savino submitted an application for sewer grievance on 12/20/13, for property located at 68 Tompkins Street, Apt. #5, City of Cortland. Mr. Savino states that on 12/10/13, a running toilet was detected and repaired that same day. Mr. Savino reported that he replaced the flapper and fill valve with supplies that he keeps on stock. He is requesting relief on a portion of his sewer bill. WWAB Minutes 25 January 2014 Page 4 of 5  A motion to deny the grievance was recommended by Paul Lorenzo due to inconsistencies with the application. Bill Starr then made a recommendation to advise Mr. Savino via letter that the decision for denial is based on water having already gone through the system. Motion to deny the grievance by Paul Lorenzo. Seconded by Bill Starr. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: A sewer grievance was submitted on 1/14/14, by Kathleen Paino for property located at 37 N. Church Street, City of Cortland. Ms. Paino reported a leak from a running toilet that was detected on 1/2/14, by her brother. She reported that the chain was stuck in the toilet and that her brother then disconnected it and shut the water off to the toilet. Ms. Paino further reports that she will have this repaired when she returns home from Florida. She is seeking relief towards the sewer portion of her bill. Paul Lorenzo recommended denial of Ms. Paino's grievance due to the fact that the water had already gone through the system. Motion to deny by Paul Lorenzo. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS Outcome grievance letter from November 2013 was submitted. New Business: Nominations for Appointment of Board Chairman and Vice Chairman for 2014. As required under the charter, every January a Chairman and Vice Chairman must be nominated. Bill Starr made a nomination for John Troy as Chair, seconded by Sally Horak. Sally Horak nominated Bill Starr for Vice Chair, seconded by Paul Lorenzo. UNANIMOUS A schedule for the 2014 WWAB meetings was submitted. Motion to approve the 2014 WWAB schedule by Sally Horak. Seconded by Bill Starr. UNANIMOUS Old Business: No old business Motion to Adjourn at 6:00 p.m by Paul Lorenzo. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS Respectfully submitted by: City of Cortland WWTF WWAB Minutes 25 January 2014 Page 5 of 5