Water & Sewer Commission

Town of Mount Airy Water and Sewer Commission Meeting Minutes – April 5, 2017 Commission members in attendance: Dick Swanson, Council Liaison Peter Helt, Ted Cisowski, Fred Goundry, Fred Mason, Mark Moxley, and Ron Runkles. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. Virginia Siemer Source Water Specialist of the Rural Water Association attended the meeting. Minutes: Peter Helt moved to approve the minutes of the March 1, 2017 meeting. Seconded by Mark Moxley and the motion passed unanimously. Old Business: FY 2018 Budget: Dick Swanson pointed out that current draft FT 2018 W&S budget reflects a modest operating surplus of $25,000 and a capital deficit of approximately $813,000 to be funded through drawing down reserves. Dick Swanson will attend the budget workshop on April 18th and report to the W&S at the May meeting. Water Tower #1: The Town is planning a $600,000 renovation to the 230,000 gallon Water Tower #1 located next to the Bank of America. Dick Swanson stated that he asked the Town to consider performing a repair vs replacement analysis of the 1959 tower. He requested that the Town Engineer perform a refurbish versus replace study before committing to any material expenditures on the 58 year old tower. To date, he has not received any concrete information supporting either option. New Business: Drought Status: Dick Swanson stated that the State, Carroll and Frederick counties have issued a voluntary water conservation requests due to lower than normal precipitation during the usually wetter months of January through March. He provided 60 day area precipitation maps showing a 3.2 inch deficit is precipitation between January 25th and March 25th and a 1.6 inch deficit between February 2nd and April 2nd . The reduction in the deficit was mainly due to recent rains. Council Liaison Peter Helt advised W&S that he informed the Town Council at the April 3rd meeting of the current conditions and stated that the W&S would discuss it at the April meeting. Ron Runkles stated that several national governmental websites are predicting that the current drought may last approximately six months. Dick Swanson said that he checked with Brian Johnson, Director of Public Works, and was informed that Mount Airy wells were experiencing no issues as a result of the low precipitation. Given the recent rainfall, the W&S agreed that no immediate action is required and conditions should be monitored. Other Business: Dick Swanson invited the W&S members and the public to join the Carroll County Water Resource Coordination Council on June 6, 2017 at the Merridale Gardens stormwater management pond as they complete a tour of the Carroll County stormwater management projects The pond is located on Ridge Drive just past the Library. The tour will include an informative session on the planned restoration of the pond. The group will arrive at approximately 2:30 pm for a half hour discussion and Q&A. This is a large restoration being performed as part of the stormwater agreement between Carroll County and the eight county municipalities. Adjournment: Peter Helt moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Fred Goundry and passed by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. W&S Meeting: The next W&S meeting is May 3, 2017 in Town Hall at 7:00 pm. Prepared by Dick Swanson, Secretary