City Council

MABE Meeting Minutes January 26, 2021 In Attendance: Absent: Others in Attendance: Lori Sifford Jim Freeze Dave Friedman, EEMA (telephonic) Darrell Gibble John Dean, EEMA (telephonic) Steve Keech Jack Stewart, Borough Council Floyd Jennelle Keith Showalter, Systems Design Engineering (telephonic) Stephen Kalis, Fox Rothschild, via Conference Call (telephonic) Charlotte Gehman Meeting called to order at 7:07p. Approve Minutes of December 29, 2020 Board Meeting – Motion by Steve to approve the Minutes of the December 29, 2020 Board Meeting as presented. Second by Darrell. Motion approved. Annual Reorganization Motion by Darrell to adjourn the regular meeting and appoint Darrell temporary chairperson. Second by Floyd. Motion approved. Motion by to nominate the current the current slate of candidates: Lori Sifford, Chair Floyd Jennelle, Vice-Chair Darrell Gibble, Secretary Steve Keech, Treasurer Jim Freeze, Board Member Motion by Floyd to close the nominations. Second by Steve. Motion approved. Motion by Steve to approve the slate of candidates as presented. Second by Floyd. Motion approved. Motion by Darrell to appoint Systems Design Engineering and Fox Rothschild at their published rate schedules. Second by Floyd. Motion approved. Acknowledgement of EEMA as Plant Operator at their published rate schedule. Motion by Floyd recommend RKL as auditor. Second by Steve. Motion approved. Reorganization adjourned at 7:11p Public Comment None Correspondence/Communication Tree Offer – Charlotte will follow up with Mr. Zeiset to see if he is still intending to plant and mow the lagoons. Not interested at this time in planting. Mr. Zeiset has not returned Charlotte’s call; she will follow up with him again. 95 W. Main St. Connection – Keith suggests televising to confirm any lateral. Board suggests using a metal detector to identify if there is a lateral at the site to see if plans for the elementary school include the sewer connection. Charlotte will confirm the date of dedication for the TVEC pump station to determine when the reimbursement component expires and continue to identify any plans identifying connections to the TVEC pump station. Operator’s Report Average daily flow was 89,000 for December. Fecal Coliform violation. EEMA has asked Suburban to discontinue picking up samples as there has not been consistent sample staff and EEMA believes mistakes are being made causing contamination of the samples. EEMA will now be taking the samples, Suburban Labs will pick them up at the plant and take them to the lab. This will be included as part of the EEMA contract. The Lakeside screen has been cleaned. Lines replaced with hard pipe. Assisted Pipe Services with televising. Chemical Change Cost Information – Dave reviewed the numbers presented for changing from soda ash to caustic soda. Two peristaltic pumps will be needed to make the switch. Motion by Darrell to approve purchase of caustic soda and two peristaltic pumps, one to feed and one as a backup not to exceed $1200.00. Second by Floyd. Motion approved. Blower #1 Replacement – Process blower #1, last of the original Roots blowers has seized and need to be replaced. Dave recommends replacing it with a Suterbilt at a cost of $3,291.30 and a check valve at a cost of $146.77. Motion by to approve the purchase of the new blower and check valve at a cost of $3291.30. Second by Steve. Second by Motion approved. EEMA will install and Dave expects it not to take more than 4 hours. Dave Wolfinger at DEP visited the plant and Dave shared that the EPA is putting pressure on smaller plants. Dave Wolfinger will be submitting an NOV to communicate to EPA that the plant has made improvements to recommend no fines be issued. Page 1 of 2 MABE Meeting Minutes January 26, 2021 Engineer’s Report 25 E. Main St. EDU Evaluation – Keith reviewed the request to reduce the property to one EDU from two. Charlotte will draft a sample. Board approves reducing the EDU to one with signing a contract. Stephen will prepare a relinquishment document when customer decides and present for signature. Tapping Fee Calculation Review – Keith has reviewed the debt ratio and believes that the Tapping Fee could be increased based on the data. No decision is needed at this time. PA Small Water and Sewer Grant – Still waiting for the grant contract and availability of funds. Blue Rock Project – Inspection was scheduled last week, but when inspector showed up, electric was not connected. This will be rescheduled. The permanent portable generator still needs to be tested. Steve asks that we pursue As-built plans for this project. Keith will pursue the plans with the developer. Corbett Improvements – EEMA presented a quote for improvement work for the Corbett Pump Station. These improvements are included in the construction escrow agreement for Blue Rock. Keith will be confirming the voltage. MABE has financial security in the event the developer does not pay for the project. Easement Plans/Right of Way Project - Still in process. North Brick Lane & East Main St. Televising Results – One manhole has been identified as needing to be repaired. Keith recommends injection grouting and lining this manhole. Keith estimates $5,000.00 for this repair. Keith wants to identify any other repairs to make the repairs cost effective. North Brick Lane could not televise all the lines and feels by doing some field work and identifying some cleanouts can gain some more detail on this line. The lines that were televised, are pvc and looked very sound. Chapter 94 Report – Keith requests approval to complete the Chapter 94 at a cost not to exceed $5,000.00. Report is due by March 31st. Motion by Darrell to approve Keith preparing the Chapter 94 report at a cost not to exceed $5,000.00 Second by Floyd. Motion approved. 123 E. Conestoga Rd – Discussion of the request for connection. Keith reviewed the conditions and requirements for this lot which is not in Elverson Borough and noted not a building lot. Solicitor’s Report As noted earlier, Stephen has a template for EDU relinquishment which he will share. Old Business Customer Payment Options – Still working on this for 2021. Insurance Review – Dave will meet with Andrew DiProspero of PIRMA to review the properties on the list to verify and confirm the values prior to paying the annual premium. New Business None. Treasurer’s Report Approve Checks – Motion by Darrell approve the payables as presented with a reduction of $1,175.14 and reissue of the PPL invoice for December as presented. Second by Steve. Motion approved. Electric Contract – Review of the options to change the current agreement based on the huge reduction in electric at the plant. PPL has added a fee to recoup fees they anticipated based on the usage at the time MABE entered the last contract. The Board agrees to restructuring the agreement. Admin Update EDU Relinquishment Form – See above discussion for 25 E. Main Street. 21 S. Brick Lane – Charlotte confirms changing this property to Reservation status for new construction after demolition of the house and removal of the trailer. Executive Session Meeting Adjourned 8:32p Respectfully submitted by Charlotte Gehman Page 2 of 2