SABPA Meeting

May 2, 2022 South Amherst Board of Public Affairs Storm & Water Minutes Roll Call: Board Members Present: Zoltan Zoltai, Tom Pellittieri Board Members Absent: Mark Leshinski Operator of Record: Dennis Hevener Clerk: Alexandra Sabine Liaison and Council Representative: Jeri Leigh Siss Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Agenda Amendments: Mayor Leshinski added discussion of possible water leak at 6202 Russia Road to new business under water. Approve Agenda: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the agenda with amendments. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the minutes from April 18, 2022 as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Storm Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener reported that Great Lakes cleaned the West Main storm sewer on Thursday April 28, 2022. Two blockages were found. There was a pipe collapsed approximately 40 feet in at the village right away to the cemetery, which Digger’s estimated $7,000 to repair. Also, there was a blockage of roots around the group home which great lakes could try to use a root cutter on for a temporary fix if necessary. Tom Pellittieri stated he contacted the grant writer to look for a grant to replace the entire storm system in that area. Dennis stated that Great Lakes will be sending the SABPA videos from the jet rodding. Dennis Hevener also reported that Dan from Digger’s suggested that the Maroy Drive project should be able to be completed by the end of May. Dennis will report back with dates. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that she contacted the County to obtain banners for Lorain County Beautiful Day, previously Pride Day. The banners are no longer provided by the County, we would need to print them ourselves if we are interested. For the sake of the budget, the board declined to print banners ourselves. Completed Tap- In’s: None at this time 1|Page Pending Tap-in’s: 302 Leonard 130 E Main The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit A). Tom Pellittieri moved to accept the financial reports as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: Storm/Water Budget: The board briefly touched on the budget. They continued the conversation under Water New Business. New Business: Tom Pellittieri updated the board on the grant writer’s progress. He stated that she did find a few possible grants. She will come in next meeting to discuss with the board. Also, Tom reinforced that he asked her to begin searching for a storm grant that he discussed previously. Zoltan Zoltai asked how many hours she has in so far. Tom responded that we would ask her to report her hours at the next meeting. 412 Church Street: The customer called in to complain of a hole near the road at 412 Church St, which the operator investigated. Dennis Hevener stated that there was a blowout, and he will fill the hole with stone as a temporary fix to mediate any safety concerns. Stone will be placed on Tuesday 5/3/2022 and the Clerk will call the customer to inform them. The board asked Council Liaison Jeri Leigh Siss if she had anything to report regarding the County from the previous council meeting. She stated that Don Romancak attended the meeting. There was an article in the chronicle regarding the discussion with Mr. Romancak at the council meeting. He stated that South Amherst is still on the map, but “because of our geology, it is hard to get sewers here”. She advises as a councilperson and as a resident is that we need to have our voices heard. Perhaps that is getting the residents involved or starting a petition, but somehow, we need to make ourselves heard. The board thanked her for the update. Annual Reporting: Alexandra Sabine stated that the mayor received the annual report from Matt Arnold at the County, which she received on 4/25/2022 from the mayor. The board acknowledged that they received the documents in person and asked the clerk to email them a pdf for closer review. Water Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener reported that the Meter Pits on Annis Road are completed and functional. He also asked if 105 N Lake needs a meter pit. The board stated that any new service needs a meter pit, so yes, a meter pit is necessary. Tom Pellittieri has the ordinance regarding specifications for new service that he will get to the clerk as soon as possible. Discussion ensued regarding the type of tap that needed used. Tom Pellittieri would suggest a Smith-Blair repair coupler and a hot tap into that. Dennis will reach out to Digger’s about using the sleeve. The clerk stated that the estimate is being sent to the customer this evening and asked if there would be a price increase due to the specific tap sleeve. Tom Pellittieri instructed the clerk to add $400.00 to the estimate to cover the costs of the repair sleeve 2|Page and tap. Since a meter pit is being used, the board would like another one ordered from core & main to have on hand. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine requested that the April 2022 adjustments be reviewed and approved. The board reviewed and signed the adjustments. Alexandra Sabine reported that it is AWWA Drinking Water Week May 1-7 and there have been posts to the village Facebook and webpage. Jeri Leigh Siss requested that if there is any participation, the clerk can forward photos for the Facebook page. Alexandra also reported that herself and the operator went to the Northern Ohio Utility expo, where the operator received three credit hours. Alexandra Sabine stated that the asset management revisions are pending. Lastly, she stated that the information regarding 305 E Main St. was sent to the law director on April 26, with Laurie requesting that he meet with the board at this meeting or at a separate meeting (in person or zoom) to discuss his recommendations. At this point there has been no response. The board requested that Alexandra contact Matt again, through the records clerk, and request that he review and respond to the documents by May 12, 2022 at noon. The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit B). Tom Pellittieri moved to accept the financial reports as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: Ordinances: Alexandra Sabine presented the changes of 921.16 & 921.04 to the board for approval before it is sent to the law director for legal verbiage approval. There was question as to whether these were approved previously, and the board would like to make an effort to follow proper procedure. Jeri Leigh Siss stated that she can check to see if the ordinance committee has reviewed them yet, and report back to the board. Tom Pellittieri moved to submit the current revisions to ordinance committee for review. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Once the committee passes it on to the law director, the board requests of Jeri Leigh Siss that they strongly suggest a ten business day turnaround upon receipt from council to the law director. Chlorinator/Operator: Dennis Hevener informed the board that the alarm parameters were changed on the water tower by Greg Kushner, which then caused the alarm to sound to Dennis’s cell in the middle of the night. Dennis nor the board were informed that the settings would be changed. Dennis stated that he informed Greg of the repercussions of the changes and instructed him not to change it again in a message. Dennis reset the settings; it took over two hours for the tower to return to the level where the alarms would not sound. Dennis Hevener suggested adding a backup phone number into the Data Command system. Discussion ensued. The board decided that the backup number should be the second operator, Greg Kushner. The clerk will notify Greg of this change in an email. Jeri Leigh Siss asked if there is any documentation or SOP regarding the procedures surrounding the water tower. Dennis responded that there currently is not anything written down. It was decided that Dennis and the clerk will work together to create a standard operating procedure including an escalation hierarchy and the clarification that the board is to be copied in on any decisions regarding the tower, as protecting the integrity of the water system is essential. 3|Page Tom Pellittieri suggested having a meeting with Greg Kushner after the SOP has been created to allow everyone to be on the same page. The board discussed the compensation of Greg Kushner as the chlorinator was turned on early, on April 20, 2022. Discussion ensued. The board decided that there would not be additional compensation as there is an established agreement of a start/stop period. The board agreed that Zoltan Zoltai would contact Greg regarding the decision on pay. Alexandra Sabine stated that an injection quill was ordered for the water tower. It was discussed that this would not be installed until the routine maintenance of the tower, as it requires draining of the contents. Discussion ensued regarding when the maintenance of the tower will occur. Tom Pellittieri suggested scheduling an inspection for October of 2022. The clerk will contact Dickson engineering to get a quote for October of 2022. New Business: Zoltan Zoltai suggested the need of a work session regarding the 2023 budget review. The board decided to meet on May 5, 2022, at 8:00 pm. The board asked the clerk to post this date. 105 N Lake: Discussed previously. Possible water leak 6202 Russia: Dennis Hevener stated that he walked the property and did not discover signs of a leak. He took a sample of water there, which had no chlorine residual. He also talked to the property owner about his findings. Valve/Hydrant Schedule: Dennis Hevener requested the creation of a two-year rotation schedule for valve exercising and hydrant flowing. The board inquired if there are any codes/laws against implementing this system and if this would cause an imminent risk to the residents? The operator replied negative. The board inquired on the schedule which would be May 1-September 1, 2022 and May 1-September 1, 2023. Tom Pellittieri moved to create and enact a valve & hydrant exercising schedule including begin, pause, recommence, and completion dates. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Tom Pellittieri moved to adjourn. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The roll was called with all in favor. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Sabine, Water Board Clerk 4|Page