Wastewater Treatment Board

CITY OF CORTLAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY Meeting Minutes Members: Da te : 4/ 24 /17 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 Commissioner Gary Thomas- Present Village of McGraw Mayor Allan Stauber – Present Bruce Adams, Supt. of Wastewater – Present Edward Poole, Chief Operator – Absent Matthew Field – Assistant Operator- Present Meeting called to order at 5:25 p.m. Minutes from March 27, 2017, meeting for approval. Motion to approve the minutes from March 27, 2017, meeting by Bill Starr. Seconded by Gary Thomas. UNANIMOUS Superintendent's Report: Superintendent's Report for April 24, 2017 (as written by Supt. Adams) Administration– National Grid has informed us that, under an “import scheme” for on-site electrical generation, we would be required to continue to take 50 to 100 kW of utility power. This would make it nearly impossible to properly operate the generator we are getting and would negatively affect the NYSERDA performance-based portion of the $2M grant. We are now exploring switching to an “export scheme”. We will be meeting with Byrne Dairy this week to discuss their future needs for trucked waste disposal. Switching to an export scheme will require running the generator at near maximum at all times. That in turn will require more trucked waste than Byrne will initially be supplying. The meeting will ensure that any arrangements we make for outside trucked waste will not interfere with our ability to serve the needs of Byrne Dairy. I have drawn up a framework outline for the new intermunicipal contracts and it is with Corporation Counsel for translation into legalese. This document will be a starting point for negotiations. I have also met with the new mayor of the Village of Homer to get him current with several wastewater-related issues. The union received a copy of the recently approved new contract and is currently reviewing it. I have asked Cedarwood Engineering to generate an accounting of all project work to date and correlate them with expenses and reimbursements. Some aspects of the overall project went over initial cost estimates. We are nearing the end of the EFC funding and there are still considerable costs associated with completing the project. I will be making a PowerPoint presentation at the next Common Council meeting detailing additional projects the department should undertake in the next 5 years to continue the improvements we have been making. The presentation will also explore how best to fund these improvements. Bruce Adams Superintendent of Wastewater WWAB Minutes 24 April 2017 Page 2 of 4 Motion to approve the Superintendent's Report by Diann Potter. Seconded by Gary Thomas. UNANIMOUS Plant Manager’s Report: Plant Managers Report for April 24, 2017 (as written by Edward Poole, Chief Operator Presented by Matthew Field) Operations- The process is running well. Even with high flow this month, removal percentages are in the high 90’s. We have turbidity readings consistently under one. The digesters performance have exceeded expectations. We are monitoring volatile solids reduction, acid to alkalinity ratio, pH and gas production. I have been sending a monthly update to May El Prince, our DEC inspector, via email for plant performance, upgrade activities and digester performance. As soon as flows are manageable, we will be taking tanks offline and cleaning to prepare for summer operation and SBR startup. The city of Cortland had a conference call with the process engineer, Dennis Barnes from Xylem. The meeting was to discuss program flexibility for our SBR process. We also came up with a date of June 5th for possible startup if flows allow. Xylem will provide technical and process support as well as training for the staff. Maintenance- The maintenance staff and I continue to work on creating entries in our computerized maintenance management system for the new equipment. We will start working on process tank preventative maintenance as soon as weather allows and tanks are cleaned. The maintenance and operations staff are working on disinfection equipment startup to minimize problems when disinfection season starts May 15th. Edward Poole Chief Operator WWAB Minutes 24 April 2017 Page 3 of 4 Motion to approve the Plant Manager’s Report by Gary Thomas. Seconded by Bill Starr. UNANIMOUS Finance: Financial statements and abstracts dated 3/31/17, and 4/15/17, were submitted for approval. Motion to approve financial statements and abstracts by Diann Potter. Seconded by Gary Thomas. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: A sewer grievance was submitted by Tanya Quail, Manager, on behalf of the Ramada Inn, for property located at 2 River Street, City of Cortland. Ms. Quail also submitted an invoice dated 3/31/17, from their contractor, Douglas Withey, W2Operator Training Group, in which he recommended Ms. Quail submit a sewer grievance. Mr. Withey reported that there were numerous broken sewer lines. Ms. Quail is requesting relief towards the sewer portion of their billing. The board reviewed the grievance for the Ramada Inn and after a full discussion, a motion was made by Diann Potter to table the grievance for additional information. The board requested clarification on the timeframe of when the leak was discovered and if photos were taken, as well as the amount of the sewer bill. Diann also stated that she would like to have a representative present at the next meeting to assist in clarifying the grievance. Motion to TABLE the grievance by Diann Potter. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS New Business: No new business Old Business: No old business Motion to Adjourn at 5:50 p.m. by Todd Morris. Seconded by Diann Potter. UNANIMOUS Respectfully submitted by: City of Cortland WWTF WWAB Minutes 24 April 2017 Page 4 of 4