SABPA Meeting

August 1, 2022 South Amherst Board of Public Affairs Storm & Water Minutes Roll Call: Board Members Present: Tom Pellittieri, Mark Leshinski, Zoltan Zoltai joined approximately 7:45pm. Operator of Record: Dennis Hevener Clerk: Alexandra Sabine Liaison and Council Representative: Jeri Leigh Siss Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Agenda Amendments: None Approve Agenda: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the agenda as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: 07/18/2022: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the minutes from July 18, 2022, as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Storm Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener stated that he did not have anything to report at this time. Mark Leshinski asked if the catch basin on Annis had been taken care of. Dennis replied that he will clean it the following day. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that there had been a complaint regarding a catch basin at 411 Leonard, stating it was filled with mud, debris, and weeds. She created a work order for Dennis to clean the catch basin. Completed Tap- In’s: None Pending Tap-in’s: 130 E Main The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit A). The board questioned the MTD Revenue which the fiscal officer clarified was a tap-in refund. Tom Pellittieri moved to accept the financial reports as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 1|Page Old Business: None New Business: None Water Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener reported that the chlorinator was installed and ready to operate. He stated he has been monitoring the tower, but the chlorinator has not been running. The tower is currently filling, and they do not have to drain the tower since the chlorine levels are within the required range. The board inquired on how long it will take to fill the tank, to which Dennis responded he believes it will take approximately another twelve hours. He also reported that they repaired two water breaks on Friday, and there is one scheduled to be repaired on West Main on Tuesday. He verified that funds were available with the fiscal officer. The board agreed that it should be repaired on Tuesday. Mark Leshinski brought up the Dixon engineering report and asked the operator’s thoughts. Mark Leshinski read the recommendations aloud. The clerk noted that the report was just sent this morning, so they did not have time to read through its entirety. She stated that she is putting together notes on the report and will forward those to the board to review. She also suggested discussion of the report at the next meeting to allow for time to read it and so that Zoltan Zoltai can take part in the discussion. The board agreed and asked her to put it on the next agenda. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that the water bills were estimated this month again due to the equipment not being reinstalled yet. A notice was posted on the Village Webpage to ensure transparency with the residents. She also stated that she sent an email to the Ohio Rural Water Association to inquire on a contact to help with grant acquisition, as requested. She has not heard back yet, but she will follow up and report back. Lastly, she stated that the request on compiling the missing information in the Red EPA Book and having it notarized has been completed. She emailed the board the documents. The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit B). Mark Leshinski moved to accept the financial reports as written. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: Water Rates 2023-2025: The clerk expressed the need to discuss the rates for the following years, although they may want to discuss when Zoltan Zoltai is available. She stated that the study has not been received from Rural Water yet, but we know that the rates will go up. The board instructed the clerk to follow up with Joe Waldecker before the next meeting and add this to the following agenda. Jeri Leigh Siss expressed the desire to have a narrative and transparency with the residents regarding the reasoning for rate increases and the infrastructure, with a goal to control the dialogue and express the needs of the residents and water department. Tom Pellittieri asked if we have heard back from rural water regarding the regulator valve. Dennis stated he has not heard anything, and he can follow up with Joe Waldecker on that as well. Dennis Hevener stated that he believes there may be an increase in pressure at Miller Road to at certain times from rural 2|Page water, such as before the weekend. Most of our water breaks are on Fridays, so he is wondering if there may be a correlation. The board would like him to ask rural water if this is the case and report back. New Business: Fund Reappropriation: The need for fund reappropriation to cover expenses related to water breaks was discussed at the previous work session. Tom Pellittieri moved to reappropriate $50,000 to the fund 5102-800-560-0000. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Tom Pellittieri moved to move forward with the pay raise for Dennis Hevener as discussed with the fiscal officer, effective immediately upon ordinance. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The board would like the ordinance to go through as an emergency. Contract/Job Description Approval: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the job description as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Discussion ensued on the time frame that the position needs posted before someone is to be hired. The clerk stated she will post the document at the approved areas in town and on the village webpage. Discussion ensued. The clerk stated that she would follow up with the records clerk and the fiscal officer to clarify the requirements for posting and report back to the board. Tom Pellittieri asked if the board would be available for an interview Wednesday morning or Thursday after 4pm. He will follow up with the candidate and report back to confirm. Discussion ensued on the salary and requirements on the contract. Zoltan Zoltai joined the meeting, he apologized for being late. Meeting Schedule 2023: The board discussed their preferences on meetings for 2023. Mark Leshinski moved to hold meetings the first and third Mondays of the month at 7:00pm for the calendar year 2023. If a holiday interferes, the meeting will be held the Tuesday following at 7:00pm. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Jeri Leigh updated the board on the standing with the County Commissioners. They wanted an official ask, to which she replied via email and copied the fiscal officer, clerk, and board. The asks were: 1.) Fund support from the Commissioners for water line repair expenditures to date at approximately $135,000 (includes estimated costs on operator wages and water loss). 2.) Fund support from the Commissioners to replace Critical Water Lines 3.) County guidance/support in securing a purchaser for the Village water system Jeri Leigh Siss also requested that the “Get to Know you” be completed as soon as possible. She also asked for contributions for the Newsletter. She suggested possibly a blurb on the Consumer Confidence Report and the online payment options. The board suggested a statement. Discussion ensued. The board decided that Zoltan Zoltai will draft and send it to the clerk for review by the end of the week. Regarding the inactive account interest, discussion ensued on the directive from the law director and the insight from the fiscal officer. The clerk stated that the fiscal officer should not be responsible for manually charging interest, rather we should reach out to the software company and have the interest posted as a penalty charge monthly just as we do with the active accounts. Discussion ensued regarding 3|Page the interpretation of minimum on accounts. The board discussed the time frame of which there should be before there is a lien placed on the property. Zoltan Zoltai moved to allow for 60 days from the time the account goes inactive until the lien is filed for inactive accounts with balances. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Lastly, Jeri Leigh Siss inquired if building and grounds reached out to the SABPA regarding the holding tank in the fire station. Dennis Hevener stated that he reached out to Aaron from Bramhall Engineering to inspect the area, but he has not gotten ahold of Dennis yet. Dennis will follow up if necessary. Dennis Hevener also contacted a contractor to be present when Aaron is inspecting if possible. Jeri Leigh Siss asked if there were any concerns with the holding tank being inactive. Dennis stated they are basically on hold. He is not using soap on the fire trucks, but they will hose them down. Zoltan Zoltai asked on the next item that we are waiting on. Dennis stated we are waiting on the engineering, we will get the permit, and contract it out. Tom Pellittieri stated as far as he knows the only thing that buildings and grounds is asking of the BPA is to forward the necessary information to the EPA. Mark Leshinski stated that there was discussion at the council meeting of grading needed in spots where there were water main breaks. It was clarified that Digger’s will rake in stone in the low spots, rather than the village. Dennis Hevener confirmed that Digger’s will complete the work. Zoltan Zoltai moved to Adjourn the meeting. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The roll was called with all in favor. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Sabine, Water Board Clerk 4|Page