Water & Sewer Committee

Sammy Rich, City Manager John Boyd, Assistant Director WATER AND SEWER DIVISION Customer Service Department Bryan Parris, Director Operations Department Brandon M. Cook, Director Water Reclamation Facilities Jeff Hill, Director Water Treatment Facilities Wayne Stanley, Director WATER AND SEWER COMMITTEE MEETING City Hall, 601 Broad Street, Sam King Room Thursday, February 1, 2024 9:00 AM PRESENT: Chairperson Jim Bojo Commissioner Bill Collins Commissioner Randy Quick Mr. Sammy Rich, City Manager Mrs. Meredith Ulmer, Assistant City Manager Mrs. Toni Rhinehart, Finance Director Mr. Doug Walker, Public Information Officer Mr. John Boyd, Assistant Division Director Mr. Bryan Parris, Customer Service Director Mr. Jeff Hill, Water Reclamation Facilities Director Mr. Wayne Stanley, Water Treatment Facilities Director Mr. Jeff Pope, Water Treatment Facilities Assistant Director VISITORS: David Crowder WRGA News Multiple citizens present CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Jim Bojo welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order. REVIEW OF THE MINUTES No changes to the December 7, 2023, minutes were suggested, and minutes were approved by common consent. Minutes prepared by: Bryan Parris, Customer Service Director Water and Sewer Committee/ Commission Minutes, February 1, 2024 Page 1 of 5 FINANCIAL REPORT Mrs. Rhinehart reported financials from November statements saying they were still working on December statements and closing out the year. Water Service Operating Revenues are $9.1 million compared to $8.9 million last year, up about $200,000. Sewer Service Revenues are up $342,000 from last year and we are above budget in both of those areas as well. Connection fees are up from 2022 by about $74,000. Total operating revenues are up $748,000 in comparison to November 2022. The next page shows Non-Operating Revenues and Interest Income is a very bright spot in water right now. Last year we had $161,000 in interest and this year is $3.7 million. That is a very large number, and we are fortunate the bank is giving us a rate of just over 5% of all our operating revenue, not just water. This has helped across the city, and we are up $3.5 million in interest in water for 2023. Mrs. Rhinehart pointed out the settlement figure of $154 million and stated that we are still anticipating another $30 million over the next five years receiving $5 million per year for four years and an amount for five years for a grand total of $184 million. Moving on to expenses by department Rhinehart reported most were within budget or just slightly over but we did have three payrolls that posted in November and that makes a difference but that year end totals should be very close to what we have budgeted for the year. Total expenses are up by about $1.2 million. Increases in payroll from the year before and some upgrading expense increase along with everything else that is up, we have the same experience here. In total our transfers to R & E were up significantly from 2022 to 2023 so that is responsible for much of the increase from 2022 to 2023 total expenses of $6 million. We transferred $5 million more than we did the year before. Most of that is due to ongoing projects. On the last page is the bond coverage and we have very little debt right now. We have one bond issued that is some consolidation of GEFA loans. Our bond coverage is very high right now. The cash balance is $179,695,000 and of course $154 million of that is the settlement money we have. After completing her reports, Rhinehart was open to questions. Mr. Boyd commented that we need to keep in mind that the rollback of the rates was $6 million as part of the settlement. Rhinehart added that this additional interest we are earning is basically making up for the loss of revenue due to the rollback to the 2018 rates which makes a big difference. We would be to the good about $6 million this year but we are really kind of breaking even. There were no additional questions. OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS Mr. Boyd stated that he would be presenting an overview of the Division along with some accomplishments for 2023 and planned goals for 2024. The Division is made up of 115 employees in four departments: Water Treatment, Water Operations, Water Reclamation, and Water Billing and Administration. These departments consist of Operator personnel, Construction personnel, Maintenance personnel, Lab Analysts, Administrators and Customer Service Representatives. We have two raw water sources for our treatment plant. One larger on the Oostanaula and a much smaller one on the Etowah. We are primarily pulling off the Etowah. Minutes prepared by: Bryan Parris, Customer Service Director Water and Sewer Committee/ Commission Minutes, February 1, 2024 Page 2 of 5 The Treatment Plant is made up of fourteen employees. We average about 7.5 million gallons a day. Some recent accomplishments in Water Treatment included the bulk storage chemical building where we converted over to a more efficient chemical dosage and replacement of filter consoles. Old consoles were installed in 1997. The department also received the Platinum Award from GAWP. This is the 19th consecutive year that Water Treatment has received the Platinum Award. Another in-house accomplishment was repairing the Etowah Well piping and base. Another big accomplishment was our GAC Replacement Project in eight filters. The department also purchased a replacement raw water pump for the Etowah Pump Station. We must replace these pumps every year and it takes a little over a year to get one so there is a lot of planning and scheduling involved to ensure that we have these on the shelf when replacement is necessary. Commissioner Quick asked if these were custom builds. Mr. Boyd stated that they are to a certain extent. Boyd went on saying other accomplishments are starting the design phase of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water Treatment Plant (WTP), began RO staff reorganization plan which included creating a Laboratory Supervisor position and reclassification of Maintenance Foreman to Maintenance Supervisor. WTP Goals for 2024 include repairs to #3 high service pump, apply for 20th Platinum Award, maintain regulatory compliance, and perform annual GAC Installation project. We will also continue RO WTF design and move into construction phase, continue RO staff reorganization plan by hiring 2 Maintenance Technicians, 1 Laboratory Analyst/ Laboratory Analyst Trainee and 4 Operators/Operator Trainees. Operations Water Distribution 2023 accomplishments; 12,000 L.F. of water mains were installed, repaired, or replaced, 155 service repairs, 58 new water services installed, and 520 water service calls responded to. Water Distribution goals are to replace or upgrade the following water mains; Rosemont Park SPLOST 2,000 L.F. 16” DIP, 5th Ave 3,000 L.F. 12” DIP, Blacks Bluff Rd 7,700 L.F. 8” DIP and Broadus Rd 4,000 L.F. 8” HDPE (HDPE will be used due to gas lines in the area causing corrosion in DIP pipe). Boyd also provided illustrations of the water and sewer service areas which includes 45 sq miles in water service area and 155 sq miles of sewer service area. In Sewer Collection the Operations Department replaced 1200 L.F. of sanitary sewer lines, 38 service repairs, installed 83 new sewer services, cleaned 600,000 L.F. of sewer mains, televised 10,000 L.F. of easements and responded to 2,025 sewer calls. Commissioner Quick asked what all is involved in cleaning that 600,000 L.F. of sewer main. Boyd said basically it is much like pressure washing the lines but at a very high pressure and includes root removal which is like a chain working much like a weed eater. The goal on the Operations Sewer side is to replace or line 18,000 L.F. on Burwell Creek. Wastewater Treatment has 34 employees operating two plants, our primary plant Rome WRF on Blacks Bluff Rd and a smaller plant on Ausburn Rd in Coosa. We treat 10 to 80 MGD. 40% of the Divisions Capital Budget expenses are due to wastewater treatment. In 2023 Rome WTF treated 4 billion gallons of wastewater and Coosa had 366 million gallons for a total of 4.392 billion gallons. Disposed of 11,028 tons of biosolids. This is land applied to farms that are approved through Synagro. Chairperson Bojo asked do we sell that or give it to them? Boyd replied we pay them to dispose of it for us, but it is a better option than hauling it to the landfill. Minutes prepared by: Bryan Parris, Customer Service Director Water and Sewer Committee/ Commission Minutes, February 1, 2024 Page 3 of 5 2023 accomplishments for Wastewater include replacing the roof of Rome WTF Administration and Laboratory building. Replace 13 leaking windows in Control building, replaced #4 digester sludge mixing pump. A major accomplishment for me was getting rid of chlorine gas to a liquid feed system. Boyd and Hill explained chlorine gas is very dangerous, if we had a failure, we would have to evacuate a five-mile radius which includes a prison and a school in addition to the residents and businesses. This was the last facility still using chlorine gas. It does come at a higher cost, but the safety of the community outweighs that cost. 2024 goals Wastewater Treatment include rebuilding Secondary Clarifier, Digester Sludge Heat Exchanger installation, Control building renovation and Influent Pump repairs. Rome RTF will also be installing a Septage Receiving Station to receive and process septic waste from septic pumping companies. We currently charge by truck load; this will allow us to measure and charge by gallon making it fair to both the haulers and the Division. It will also help with treating the waste which tends to have a lot more solids such as wipes and other trash. There will also be a new Laboratory Glass Washer installed to properly clean and sterilize the glassware used for testing. Water Billing and Administration has 11 employees handling meter reading, customer service, and bill processing. Administration is also included in this group with an additional 7 employees handling people and project management, engineering, inspection, scheduling, budgeting, GIS mapping, and inventory management. Water Billing accomplishments for 2023; replaced 325 1.5-to-6-inch meters. 4,402 ¾ inch meters, and 218 1-inch meters in addition to responding to 12,513 service requests such as meter leaks and water turn on and off. Goals for 2024 are to relocate and replace the current drive through window with a kiosk type shoot system, replace the remaining 192 two-inch meters and implement Work Order and Inventory Controls in Operations department. Mr. Boyd wrapped things up with a brief overview of the Flood Control System showing the two levy systems and five pumping stations the Division maintains. Chairperson Bojo asked Mr. Rich if he would get it on the agenda for an upcoming Commission Meetings to present this presentation to the full board. OTHER LIWAP Update Mr. Boyd shared the program began in May of 2022 and we received funds in the amount of $86,993.00 in 2022 and $162,627.00 in 2023 for a total of $249,620.00. Boyd also informed the committee that we heard the program would not be funded in 2024. Mr. Parris stated we did not receive official word from the State, but we did ask a representative of Tallatoona and were told it would not be available in 2024. He also stated he sent a request asking for an official statement on the program’s status but had not heard back at the time. Citizen and developer Jim Givens addressed the committee to discuss his desire to have sewer service extended to a parcel of land he wanted to develop located inside the by-pass near Old Calhoun Rd. saying the property is zoned community commercial, is outside city limits and not eligible for annexation and beyond that knowing this meeting is public record he would like to meet and discuss in private before discussing any further here. Adjourn Minutes prepared by: Bryan Parris, Customer Service Director Water and Sewer Committee/ Commission Minutes, February 1, 2024 Page 4 of 5 There being no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted. John Boyd, Assistant Director Rome Water and Sewer Division Minutes prepared by: Bryan Parris, Customer Service Director Water and Sewer Committee/ Commission Minutes, February 1, 2024 Page 5 of 5