Water and Sewer Advisory Committee

Minutes WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Regular meeting 7 p.m. Oct. 3, 2024 Board Meeting Room of Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Jenn Sykes, Vice Chair Daniel Rawlins, Members Grace Beeler, Mo Rasheed, Steed Robinson and Barry Weston, and Commissioner Robb English Staff: Environmental Engineering Supervisor Bryant Green and Town Manager Eric Peterson 1. Call to order and welcome of guests Chair Jenn Sykes called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. She took roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2. Agenda changes and approval There were no changes to the agenda. Motion: Member Steed Robinson moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Member Barry Weston seconded. Vote: 6-0. 3. Minutes review and approval Minutes from regular meeting on Aug. 1, 2024. Motion: Member Grace Beeler moved to approve the Aug. 1, 2024, minutes as submitted. Weston seconded. Vote: 6-0. 4. Updates A. Utilities status report Environmental Engineering Supervisor Bryant Green presented the utilities status report. Discussion on presented topics included: ● The town has over 1600 housing units in development right now and 500-600 active applications that could come online but who are not committed yet. The river outfall stations are at critical capacity, and once Waterstone South and all committed projects are done, the Cates Creek station will be at capacity. There will be a meeting soon to figure out a plan for future capacity. ● The Utilities Department has an accepted offer for an administrative assistant position. ● There was discussion about the town’s plan for mitigation after disasters, given aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Green reported that there has been an internal effort to review emergency action plans. B. Rate model and financing This item was discussed after Item 5A. Green gave an update on the rate study from last year and reported that the town is looking into the possibility of implementing alternative structures in place of the current minimum charge based on 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 1 of 4  WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 2 of 4 consumption. Town Manager Eric Peterson provided some background on the process of working with Raftelis to develop alternative models. Green presented the current model to the committee. There was discussion of a potential conservation wall where customers start conserving water more because of the rate they have to pay. There was discussion among committee members about whether this could be a topic for an ad hoc committee or a task force, as discussed in Item 5A. There was agreement to wait until the Board of Commissioners makes a decision about the ad hoc committee structure. The data will be presented to town staff by Raftelis in 2025, and then the Board of Commissioners can decide whether they would like to convene a committee to review the model options. 5. Discussion A. Proposal to Board of Commissioners Sept. 20 There was discussion of the future structure and meeting frequency of the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee and of the conversation that took place on that topic at the joint Board of Commissioners meeting on September 20. The committee referenced Town Manager Eric Peterson’s email outlining some potential options for the future of the committee. There was discussion of the difference between the Board of Commissioner’s goals and priorities compared to the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee’s perspective. There was discussion of transitioning the committee into an ad hoc committee to address issues as they arise and as the Board of Commissioners sees necessity to engage a committee to review certain topics in depth. Quarterly or bi-annual meetings were raised as possibilities, giving the committee more regularity and providing them with the opportunity to give feedback on rates and the budget. It was noted that meeting regularly could allow committee members to stay up to date with pertinent issues. Some committee members suggested that reading the utilities report gives a good enough summary of what is going on, and that a regular meeting might not be necessary. It was suggested that committee members could call a meeting if the utilities update warranted further discussion or if there were a major issue to address. There was discussion of the Finance Department’s calendar for setting the budget each year and the public’s access to the budget process. Committee members generally agreed that an ad hoc meeting makes the most sense, given the low frequency of action items and the limited resources of staff. It was noted that meetings can be more frequent once the Board of Commissioners has determined it would like the committee to reconvene. There was discussion of the committee consisting of a pool of people who are interested in participating, and that meetings would take place with whomever could attend, but that a quorum would not be required. Green noted that the committee rules would need to be adjusted by the Board of Commissioners in that case.  WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 3 of 4 The policing task force convened by Mayor Jen Weaver was raised as an example ad hoc committee. Green said he would put together a proposal for the committee to review and approve at the December meeting, to then be brought before the Board of Commissioners next year. There was discussion of the history of the committee’s review of rate modeling and the Board of Commissioners’ decision to take the rate model in a different direction from the committee’s recommendations. 6. Reports from Meetings A. Meeting August 12 Sykes reported that the Board of Commissioners used this meeting to plan for the joint meeting on August 26. B. Meeting August 15 Robinson reported that this meeting included a public hearing on annexation and zoning requests for Waterstone South, which is moving forward. He said there was negotiation with the developer about whether or not to upgrade and/or replace the Elizabeth Brady pump station. Green added that the developer agreed to offer $250,000 for interim upgrades. The replacement is already in the budget, and this agreement will help with filling the gap between when the developer wants the pump to come online and when it was initially planned for. C. Meeting August 26 This meeting was discussed in Item 5A. D. Meeting September 9 Member Mo Rasheed reported that there was discussion in this meeting about Waterstone South providing some additional funding for adding variable frequency drives to the system so the inline flow meters can communicate with the programmable logic controller devices to allow the pump to speed up and down as necessary in relation to the flow. The developer also agreed to pay system development fees earlier in the process, which can help get that project online sooner. E. Meeting September 23 Green gave an update on the lead and copper mitigation project. A website is now online for property owners to report the material of their service line. He said that the town has 7,000 service connections. There are 900 unknown lines on the town side, and on the customer side, 3,000 are unknown. Letters will go out to customers in November. The town will soon start sampling at schools and daycare centers. 7. Assignments for Board of Commissioners meetings A. Meeting Oct. 14 (Beeler/Robinson) B. Meeting Oct. 17 (Sykes/Rawlins) C. Meeting Oct. 28 (Robinson/Rasheed) D. Meeting Nov. 12 (Rawlins/Weston) E. Meeting Nov. 25 (Rasheed/Beeler) 8. Future agenda items No future agenda items were discussed. 9. Adjournment Motion: Vice Chair Daniel Rawlins moved to adjourn the meeting. Weston seconded. Sykes adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. without a vote.  WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 4 of 4 Respectfully submitted, Bryant Green (Jan 6, 2025 17:25 EST) Bryant Green Environmental Engineering Manager Staff support to the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Approved: December 5, 2024 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Minutes Document Final Audit Report 2025-01-06 Created: 2025-01-06 By: Kim Copeland (kim.copeland@hillsboroughnc.gov) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAAZxt76Y9svZYNjxBSqnYmH5xIP6Y-Ru1k "Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Minutes Document" Hist ory Document created by Kim Copeland (kim.copeland@hillsboroughnc.gov) 2025-01-06 - 10:22:58 PM GMT Document emailed to Bryant Green (bryant.green@hillsboroughnc.gov) for signature 2025-01-06 - 10:23:46 PM GMT Email viewed by Bryant Green (bryant.green@hillsboroughnc.gov) 2025-01-06 - 10:24:59 PM GMT Document e-signed by Bryant Green (bryant.green@hillsboroughnc.gov) Signature Date: 2025-01-06 - 10:25:12 PM GMT - Time Source: server Agreement completed. 2025-01-06 - 10:25:12 PM GMT