Wastewater Treatment Board

CITY OF CORTLAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY Meeting Minutes Members: Da te : 11 /2 8/1 6 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 Todd Morris – Present Commissioner Diann Potter – Present Village of McGraw Mayor Allan Stauber – Absent Bruce Adams, Supt. of Wastewater – Present Meeting called to order at 5:29 p.m. Minutes from October 24, 2016, meeting for approval. Motion to approve the minutes from October 24, 2016, meeting by Bill Starr. Seconded by Diann Potter. UNANIMOUS Plant Manager’s Report: Plant Managers Report for November 28, 2016 (as written by Supt. Adams) Administration– We have converted the short-term EFC financing to long term. We achieved a very favorable rate. The total amount of the bonding for the project was approximately $11.1 million. There are some additional items that need to be done, and the original bond resolution was for up to $13.5 million, so we will be discussing priorities with the administration. We have finally filled the opening for Operator Trainee. The new employee will start on December 1. Ed Poole has been working with DEC towards implementing the Electronic DMR system. This is a DEC initiative to get all POTWs to submit DMRs through the internet rather than by mailing in paper forms. The process to get to the point of being able to submit electronically is about what one would expect of a large bureaucracy. I have had no communication to date from the EPA regarding the proposed Sewer Use Ordinance change. Assuming nothing comes in in the next few days, we are on schedule for a December 6 vote by Common Council to approve the change. The department has acquired a 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe to replace the 2002 Ford Expedition. The Tahoe will serve the same purposes as did the Expedition: sample collection and out-of-city travel. The Expedition has been transferred to the DPW, which will transfer $900 fair market value to the Sewer Fund. Operations– We will be completing our PESH required safety training in December. The new cover is on the South digester. The cover has some pinholes that will be addressed this week. The mixer is operational. Gas piping will be pressure tested this week also. The whey holding tank equipment installation is moving forward. The pad has been poured for the heat exchanger. All pumps are positioned. The tank itself is being coated with a product that will protect the concrete from the aggressive corrosive properties of the whey. Maintenance– We hired W2O to construct an enclosure for the aeration basin blowers. We had been advised the WWAB Minutes 28 November 2016 Page 2 of 4  environment created by the Carter sludge pumps is not good for the blowers. We are looking into replacing the Carters with Penn Valley pumps at some point. We continue to work down the preventive maintenance backlog while working with the contractors to ensure the project progresses without delay. Bruce Adams Superintendent of Wastewater Motion to approve the Plant Manager’s Report by Todd Morris. Seconded by Bill Starr. UNANIMOUS Finance: Financial statements and abstracts dated 10/31/16, and 11/15/16, were submitted for approval. Motion to approve financial statements and abstracts by Bill Starr. Seconded by Diann Potter. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: A sewer grievance application was received from Jerry Contento, Jr., on 10/11/16, for property located at 119 1/2 Pendleton Street, City of Cortland. Mr. Contento reported that he has been paying on his sewer billing for years and is not connected to the city sewer system. He is requesting a credit on his account as well as a waiver for future billings. Mr. Contento's grievance application was reviewed by the board. A recommendation was made by John Troy to table the grievance in order to obtain additional information and clarification from the Water Department as to the sewer billings, if their property is connected to the city's sewer system, or if they have their own septic service. Information obtained from Nick Dovi, DPW, confirmed that the connections to the city's sewer system did not extend to the property location. A history of the billing on 119 1/2 Pendleton Street was also obtained from Stephanie Mattice, Water Department. After a brief review and discussion of the grievance, it was the decision of the board to approve a credit of $132.99, towards the sewer billing and to grant a waiver of all future sewer billings. Motion to approve a credit of $132.99, and waive all future sewer billings by Bill Starr. Seconded by Diann Potter. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: A sewer grievance was received from Mary Guido and Dianne Bays-Guido, on 10/25/16, for property located at 18 Pine Street, City of Cortland. Ms. Guido stated that in early June, her sewer lateral was replaced due to a damaged pipe, which required a significant portion of her front lawn to be re-seeded afterwards. Due to the extremely dry conditions over the summer, Ms. Guido had to water her lawn daily for 1 1/2 hours, WWAB Minutes 28 November 2016 Page 3 of 4  for a couple of months to assist in restoring growth to the affected area. She is requesting relief towards the sewer portion of her billing. The board reviewed Ms. Guido's grievance and Bill Starr stated that the board's policy has been to deny grievances related to swimming pools and lawns. A suggestion was made by Bruce Adams that an option would be to put in a separate meter. A motion was made by Bill Starr to deny the grievance. Motion to deny the grievance by Bill Starr. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS New Business: No new business Old Business: Bill Starr had asked John Troy about the search for a new board member and if the search was still ongoing. John Troy stated that he had a short meeting with Mayor Tobin, who suggested possibly bringing on Gary Thomas as a board member. John further noted that the Mayor is still considering this. John Troy requested a list of Wastewater Advisory Board meeting dates for 2017, for the next meeting in December. Margie Becker will prepare the list for the board members. Motion to Adjourn at 5:56 p.m. by Todd Morris. Seconded by Diann Potter. UNANIMOUS Respectfully submitted by: City of Cortland WWTF WWAB Minutes 28 November 2016 Page 4 of 4