East Orange Water Commission

CITY OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY EAST ORANGE WATER COMMISSION 99 South Grove Street East Orange, NJ 07018 TED R. GREEN, Mayor REGULAR MEETING November 21, 2023 MINUTES Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Water Commissioners held in the Conference Room of the East Orange Water Commission, 99 South Grove Street, East Orange, New Jersey on Tuesday, November 21, 2023. I. CALL TO ORDER – 5:06 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Commissioners Alison Rolling Shantel Harrison Emmanuel O. Awe Lauren Shears Sherkera Lucas Staff Joseph J. Tomashosky, Finance Consultant John Liu, Executive Director Odel Rolling, Water Repair Supervisor Bianca Smith, Business Manager Counsel Denis Murphy, Esq. (Weiner Law) Public NONE The meeting was called to order, Commissioner Rolling determined that there was a quorum and convened the Regular Meeting. Commissioner Rolling read the Rate Statement. II. STATUS OF RESOLUTIONS The Mayor has returned Resolutions #114 through #120. All resolutions are in full force and effect. III. ADOPTION/CORRECTION OF MINUTES 7A: The Minutes of the October 17, 2023, Regular Meeting was approved on a motion made by Commissioner Harrison, seconded by Commissioner Lucas and carried on the call for the Board to vote. IV. EOBWC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT AND COMMITTEE REPORTS CUSTOMER SERVICE - Bianca advised the Board that they continue to receive payments from the cold calls. They are unable to do shut offs for non-payment but are able to shut off for no access, etc. They are doing billing inserts to correct customer contact information. They are looking to onboard someone to replace the December retiree. They will do the Northstar training together. FINANCE – Joe advised the Board that they collected over $3 million but grew the 52+ account due to a dispute with a customer over their sewer and large housing owner. They collected over $1,431,000.00 which is the largest collection for liens that they have ever done. They remain on target to meet their spending and cash receipts. They have reduced the major expense forecast from last month by $2.4 million dollars due to the fact that they are unable to proceed with two of the wells that they wanted to drill. They have not received approval from the state so that will have to fall into next year. A discussion was then held regarding the lien sale and the funds collected. OPERATIONS AND DIRECTOR’S REPORT – Mr. Liu stated that they applied for the $25 million dollar bond for the Lead Service Line replacement and PFA’s. Tonight, they will vote for the Rider for the bond. They met with East Newark to talk about their future. The GIS is in progress. Every month they will send a report to City Council that will be on his desk by the 25th of every month. A brief discussion was then held with regards to reporting to City Council. They are waiting for approval from the state to begin drilling wells D3 and D4. They are going to put together an Asset Management Program for the operations. The Surge Tower is under design and the vacant houses are being done by the City. The conversion project is almost completed. They will be online probably in a month or two after the testing. A discussion was then held with regards to the treating and disposal of PFA’s. V. PRESENTATION NONE  VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Lawsuits – update in Executive Session East Newark - Executive Session VII. NEW BUSINESS/COMMUNICATIONS Letter from Ms. Appleton of 167 No. 14th Street regarding 2 high bills and the autopay feature not working with regards to bill payments. Commissioner Rolling spoke briefly about the inspection process and what type of documentation we give the residents after an inspection is done. VIII. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTIONS The following resolutions 13A through 13G were presented to the Board for approval. A motion to omnibus and approve Resolutions 13A through 13F was made by Commissioner Harrison, seconded by Commissioner Shears and carried unanimously on the call for the Board to vote. 13A: Resolution ratifying the October 2023 recurring monthly bills paid in the amount of $54,446.29 13B: Resolution authorizing the approval and payments of Operating Bills in the amount of $1,536,080.35 13C: Resolution ratifying the payment of October 2023 Payrolls in the total amount of $418,173.70 13D: Resolution authorizing the payment of Capital invoices for the month of October 2023 in the amount of $7,617.25 13E: Resolution authorizing revenue reimbursements in the amount of $709.57 13F: Resolution authorizing the entry into and the execution of a Rider to the Memorandum of Understanding with the City of East Orange and City Council 13G: Resolution authorizing the appointment of personnel HELD IX. PUBLIC COMMENT None X. EXECUTIVE SESSION 14A: Resolution for Closed Session Resolution 14A was approved on a motion made by Commissioner Harrison, seconded by Commissioner Lucas, and carried unanimously on the call for the Board to vote. ------------------ The Board went into Executive Session to discuss the following at approximately 6:13 pm: 1. Personnel Committee 2. Contracts and Litigation Matters The Board came out of Executive Session at approximately 7:37 p.m. ------------------- Chief Jackson spoke to the Board in length regarding the tax lien sale and the process in which the funds are being collected after the lien and how it is communicated to the constituents. XI. REINTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS A motion to approve Resolutions 13G was made by Commissioner Harrison, seconded by Commissioner Lucas and carried unanimously on the call for the Board to vote. 13G: Resolution authorizing the appointment of personnel There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:53 pm. THESE MINUTES ARE OF NECESSITY CONDENSED AND ABRIGED AND DO NOT PURPORT TO CONTAIN THE FULL CONTENTS OF THE MATTERS DISCUSSED. SONYA BUTLER TRANSCRIBER