Wastewater Treatment Board

CITY OF CORTLAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY Meeting Minutes Members: Da te : 11 /2 7/1 7 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 – Absent Commissioner Gary Thomas- Present Village of McGraw Mayor Allan Stauber – Present Bruce Adams, Supt. of Wastewater – Present Edward Poole, Chief Operator - Present Meeting called to order at 5:29 p.m. Minutes from October 23, 2017, meeting for approval. Motion to approve the minutes from October 23, 2017, meeting by Bill Starr. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS Superintendent's Report: Superintendent's Report For November 27, 2017 (As written by Supt. Adams) Administration– On 11/21, the Common Council approved $4.1M in Bond Anticipation Notes to cover the NYSERDA grant and for the follow-on project to complete the new industrial digester. The Council also declared the follow-on project a Type II action for SEQR purposes. We received a lone bid for the follow-on project. It came in slightly below the engineer’s estimated cost. The engineer is currently reviewing the bid for compliance with the bid specification. If approved, the bid will go before the Council for approval. The first of the gas treatment vessels arrived this morning. It is the tallest of the components, the bio-strip tower. It will be stored horizontally until the contractor gets the anchoring hardware. DEC informed me the information provided for the vermicomposting grant contract is sufficient to proceed. The mayor’s office is awaiting the contract now. Larsen Engineering will follow up with DEC to make sure the contract doesn’t just lay on someone’s desk. The mayor has asked me to develop a proposal for a composting-related project to include in the list of potential uses for the $10M of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. I am working on a proposal to collect food waste from downtown food service establishments for inclusion in the vermicomposting pilot-scale project. This week Corporation Council is completing a proposed intermunicipal contract to form the basis of discussions with our client communities. The existing contracts were created in 1971 and 1982. All three communities have expressed a desire for a less complex contract with easier to understand billing formulae. Bruce Adams Superintendent of Wastewater WWAB Minutes 27 November 2017 Page 2 of 4 Motion to approve the Superintendent's Report by Todd Morris. Seconded by Gary Thomas. UNANIMOUS Plant Manager’s Report: Plant Managers Report For November 27, 2017 (As written by Edward Poole, Chief Operator) Operations We have returned to activated sludge mode of operation for the winter season and the process is running very well. The removal rates are over 95 percent and the effluent clarity is very good. We had two violations for the month of October both associated with SBR process issues and a sudden surge of flow. I continue to send a monthly update to May El Prince, our DEC inspector via email. I am currently working on a summary of process and mechanical issues that will need to be addressed before we can start SBR process in the spring. Maintenance- The maintenance staff is working on installing an automated valve operator for primary sludge pumping. This valve operator gives us more precise control over primary sludge flow while wasting from aeration tanks. Work continues on preventative maintenance on the process tanks. This winter I plan to work with the maintenance staff on additional training for our computerized maintenance system. I would like to see better utilization of the predictive portion of the maintenance program. We may have to seek help from our maintenance system provider to accomplish the necessary training needed. Another goal for the winter season is to better organize and inventory the essential parts needed to ensure a smooth running operation. Edward Poole Chief Operator WWAB Minutes 27 November 2017 Page 3 of 4 Motion to approve the Plant Manager’s Report by Gary Thomas. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS Finance: Financial statements and abstracts dated 10/31/17, and 11/15/17, were submitted for approval. Motion to approve financial statements and abstracts by Todd Morris. Seconded by Gary Thomas. UNANIMOUS Sewer Grievance: Richard M. Kuss submitted a sewer grievance on 10/24/17, for property located at 194 Groton Avenue, City of Cortland. Mr. Kuss stated that on July 7, 2017, his water softener stopped working resulting in a flooded basement. He replaced it the same day. Mr. Kuss is requesting relief towards the sewer portion of his billing. The board reviewed Mr. Kuss’ grievance and felt there was due diligence in repairing the leak in a timely manner. A motion was made by Gary Thomas to grant a credit of $177.00. Motion to approve a credit of $177.00, by Gary Thomas. Seconded by Bill Starr. UNANIMOUS New Business: No new business Old Business: No old business Motion to Adjourn at 5:47 p.m. by Bill Starr. Seconded by Todd Morris. UNANIMOUS Respectfully submitted by: City of Cortland WWTF WWAB Minutes 27 November 2017 Page 4 of 4