Water and Sewer Advisory Committee

Minutes WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE Regular meeting 7 p.m. Dec. 5, 2024 Board Meeting Room of Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Chair Jenn Sykes, Vice Chair Daniel Rawlins, Members Mo Rasheed and Barry Weston, and Commissioners Meaghun Darab and Robb English Absent: Members Grace Beeler and Steed Robinson Staff: Environmental Engineering Supervisor Bryant Green 1. Call to order and welcome of guests Chair Jenn Sykes called the meeting to order at 6:58 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: Vice Chair Daniel Rawlins moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Member Mo Rasheed seconded. Vote: 4-0. 3. Minutes review and approval Minutes from regular meeting on Oct. 3, 2024. This item was tabled to give members enough time to review the minutes before approving. 4. Updates A. Utilities status report Environmental Engineering Supervisor Bryant Green presented the utilities status report. Discussion on presented topics included: ● A federal judge has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must re-evaluate its recommended fluoride dosing. B. Rate model and financing - Raftelis to analyze the rate structure Green reported that the town has amended its contract with Raftelis to assess different billing structures to be more equitable and endure more financial stability. Staff have an initial rate model from last year’s budget cycle. When Raftelis has some alternative models set up, staff hope to have a budget retreat to review the options. C. Capital Improvement Plan updates The Capital Improvement Plan deadline for internal staff was moved up to Nov. 8, a month earlier than usual, so those projects can be included in the rate model scenarios. Costs have gone up all around, and Green reported that staff updated the Capital Improvement Plan to reflect that. The plan will be formally 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 3  WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 2 of 3 presented in the budget retreat and as part of the budget cycle. There was discussion of the impact of potential new tariffs. Green said the cost estimates do not include tariff impacts, but that two of the biggest line items have buy-American requirements, so the town is insulated to some degree because of that. 5. Discussion A. Vote on ad hoc committee The committee discussed the possibility of shifting to an ad-hoc committee. The committee members agreed bi-monthly meetings seem unnecessary at that point and that an ad hoc committee convened to address specific issues as they arise would probably be the best solution. It was pointed out that staff capacity is limited right now and there is a large volume of work to take care of, and that the structure of the committee in its current form requires a lot of staff time and attention. There was discussion of how an ad hoc committee might work. Examples for potential topics included fluoride, securing bonds, the town’s debt ratio, and changes to chemical requirements. It was suggested that an ad hoc committee could function as an advisory group made up of a pool of interested people. When convened, those who were available would attend the meetings, and there would not be quorum requirements. Motion: Rawlins moved to disband the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee as it is currently constituted and to form a separate ad hoc group, to be determined by town staff and Board of Commissioners. Member Barry Weston seconded. Vote: 4-0. B. Fluoride/Lead Fluoride The committee discussed the recent ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency must re-evaluate the recommended fluoride dosage. Green provided some background info on the town’s history of fluoride dosing and the probable response from Durham and Orange Water and Sewer Authority. Green said the staff recommendation is in agreement with the committee’s opinions. There was discussion of the logistics of how fluoride might be removed from the system if the town were to stop dosing. Lead There was discussion of whether the town ought to pay for customer-side lead service line replacements or not, and how much data the town ought to collect in order to estimate how many service lines will need replacement. Green said half of the town’s service lines are of an unknown material, which makes it hard to commit one way or the other. He noted that funding is dependent on a municipality committing to funding all of the needed replacements. There was discussion of how statistics can be used to develop an estimate of how many lines are made of lead. 6. Reports from Meetings A. Meeting Oct. 14 (Beeler/Robinson) Member Grace Beeler was not present to report on this meeting. B. Meeting Oct. 17 (Sykes/Rawlins) Sykes reported that this meeting was not posted on YouTube C. Meeting Oct. 28 (Robinson/Rasheed) Member Steed Robinson was not present to report on this meeting.  WATER AND SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES | 3 of 3 D. Meeting Nov. 12 (Rawlins/Weston) Rawlins reported that there was a little bit of discussion about water and sewer when the board discussed how the Paliouras area by the Sheetz is prime real estate for commercial property rather than needing apartments on that site. E. Meeting Nov. 25 (Rasheed/Beeler) Rasheed reported that the board did not meet quorum, so no actions were taken at the meeting. It has been rescheduled for Dec. 9. 7. Assignments for Board of Commissioners meetings Green noted that the meeting dates listed in the agenda were incorrect. He said he would send an update with new assignments via email. 8. Future agenda items Green said he would email the committee a report about the Board of Commissioners’ discussion, noting that the transition to an ad hoc committee will be an item on the January agenda. Commissioner Robb English expressed appreciation to the committee for their time, feedback, and opinions, and for thoughtfully considering the future of the committee. No other future agenda items were discussed. 9. Adjournment Motion: Weston moved to adjourn the meeting. There was no second. Sykes adjourned the meeting at 7:43 p.m. without a vote. Respectfully submitted, Bryant Green (Feb 14, 2025 10:56 EST) Bryant Green Environmental Engineering Supervisor Staff support to the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Approved: February 6, 2025 12-05-2024 WSAC Minutes - draft Final Audit Report 2025-02-14 Created: 2025-02-07 By: Kim Copeland (kim.copeland@hillsboroughnc.gov) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAAhzRSt7hYuwr_kstaZJP4qlMP6uMCY8_e "12-05-2024 WSAC Minutes - draft" History Document created by Kim Copeland (kim.copeland@hillsboroughnc.gov) 2025-02-07 - 2:53:05 PM GMT Document emailed to Bryant Green (bryant.green@hillsboroughnc.gov) for signature 2025-02-07 - 2:53:09 PM GMT Email viewed by Bryant Green (bryant.green@hillsboroughnc.gov) 2025-02-14 - 3:56:02 PM GMT Document e-signed by Bryant Green (bryant.green@hillsboroughnc.gov) Signature Date: 2025-02-14 - 3:56:14 PM GMT - Time Source: server Agreement completed. 2025-02-14 - 3:56:14 PM GMT