SABPA Meeting

September 6, 2022 South Amherst Board of Public Affairs Storm & Water Minutes Roll Call: Board Members Present: Zoltan Zoltai, Tom Pellittieri, Mark Leshinski, Operator of Record: Dennis Hevener Clerk: Alexandra Sabine Liaison and Council Representative: None Present Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Todd & Becky Siesky / 126 Maroy Drive / Discussion of Maroy Storm Paula Knodel / Representing Cemetery Board / Discussion of Ludwig Ditch Agenda Amendments: Tom Pellittieri would like to add Oakdale under storm new business. Approve Agenda: Mark Leshinski moved to approve the agenda with amendments. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: 08/15/2022: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the minutes from August 15, 2022, as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Storm Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener reported that he has been cleaning catch basins, and there are a few on South Lake that need cleaned yet. He has noticed some issues with the large amounts of rain recently. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that she wanted to discuss the Maroy project and discuss a response for the resident complaint. Maroy is on the agenda, so they decided to discuss it later in the meeting. Completed Tap- In’s: None Pending Tap-in’s: 130 E Main 1|Page Mayor Leshinski presented photos of a trench dug on Annis Rd. Brief discussion ensued. The board decided to discuss at the next work session. They asked Dennis to go out and look at it tomorrow. The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit A). Tom Pellittieri moved to accept the financial reports as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: Ludwig Ditch (Cemetery Clerk): Paula Knodel, on behalf of the cemetery, shared a short presentation about the flooding issues at the cemetery. She discussed Ludwig Ditch as a component of the solution and discussed her interactions with the County and Don Romancak specifically. Discussion of the SABPA’s involvement ensued. Zoltan Zoltai asked what the cemetery seeks from the BPA to which Paula replied she knows that Ludwig Ditch is part of the storm system, she wanted to maintain transparency and not step on anyone’s toes in this process, however she would like to seek funds and work with the county to have the ditch cleaned if possible. The board decided to table this discussion for the sake of time until the upcoming work session, which they invited Paula Knodel to attend. Tom Pellittieri suggested contacting the BPA Liaison, Jeri Leigh Siss, as she has worked with Don Romancak in the past. Maroy Storm Project (Set Date): The board discussed the Maroy Project. They confirmed that the funds are available. They inquired if materials have been purchased. Dennis stated that Dan placed an order, and that they are looking to start the project tentatively the end of October to early November. The board requested an official start date as soon as possible as they would like to have a statement out for the residents. The board briefly reviewed the scope of the project. It will be the North side of the street, 3-4 catch basins, and placing 12-inch pipe. Tom Pellittieri suggested he does not expect the project to take long once it is started, approximately a week for replacement and a week to repair driveways. The board discussed the need for a work session and decided on Thursday, September 8, 2022 at 7:30pm. The clerk will post the work session. New Business: Oakdale: Tom received a few complaints about the storm on Oakdale at the North end of the road. He wanted to get the area on the board’s radar as they are having issues. He would like to add it to the list of possible projects that we are trying to acquire funding for. Mayor Leshinski suggested that regular maintenance is needed. Tom Pellittieri suggested a long-term maintenance and replacement plan is necessary. Discussion ensued. Storm Drain at Russia & Annis, Observations: Zoltan Zoltai looked at it again, and he did not see any standing water. Mark Leshinski suggested that there was standing water after the heavy rains. Zoltan Zoltai suggested that it does not cause any danger to the roadway or danger of flooding. Discussion ensued. Water Operator’s Report: Dennis had to step out due to the fire meeting. Zoltan Zoltai discussed the data command tower issues over the weekend. Tom Pellittieri clarified that the valve at the pit did not shut off since the tower lost communications, and the water tower was overflowing. Zoltan Zoltai clarified that it is operating functionally as of right now. 2|Page Dennis Hevener re-joined the meeting. He reported that the service at 217 will be installed on Monday, September 12, 2022. He also reported on the issues with the water tower. He stated it was due to Verizon doing maintenance on their towers. Dennis would like to show the board how to reset the tower, Zoltan Zoltai suggested he show them at the work session this Thursday. Discussion ensued. Dennis Hevener reported that he will be on vacation September 15-16, week of October 17, and a week in early November. He also reported that he will be working with Chris Balog tomorrow morning at 7 am on the MOR for the village. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that the Meter Pits & Meters voted on at the last meeting have been ordered. She does not have a time frame of when to expect them yet. She also reported the September billing cycle was an actual reading. Some of the accounts were overestimated the past two months and some were underestimated. She had to manually adjust some accounts that were overestimated, and the accounts that were underestimated have higher than usual bills. Many customers have been upset and she is taking the calls as they come, double checking that the meter readings were correct with the operator when necessary. She reported that the Tap In for 217 Annis new service is scheduled for Monday, September 12. Steiner Trenching scheduled with diggers and Dennis Hevener advised that he will be there for the entire process on Monday. She stated that on her end, the contractor and homeowner have satisfied all requirements. She reported that Lead & Copper testing has been completed for the year. All the samples came back within normal ranges. She also reported to the board that she responded to the Grant Writer’s request for information. She discussed the liens with the board, stating that she did get the letter for 305 East Main out, and they received correspondence which is on the agenda to discuss. She questioned if there is a minimum dollar amount that they would like to pursue since some of the balances are low and the administrative costs may be greater. She also inquired if the board would like her to send a letter to the person who owes the money and the person who owns the property currently. Discussion ensued. The clerk suggested a conversation at a later date about the process of creating new water accounts while final bills are still pending. The board decided that owner/tenant situations they would like to proceed with the liens, and owner/owner situations they would like to write off small balances. Zoltan Zoltai moved to write off small balances in final bill owner/owner situations and to proceed with liens in any final bill owner/tenant situations. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. She presented the scheduling issues on January 5 & September 7 where there are overlapping meetings, which is not allowed. The board decided that they can do the following Wednesday after the holiday rather than Thursday as previously discussed for January 5 & September 7, 2023. Finally, she reported that she has been working on the interest on inactive accounts. She requested the ordinance draft from Zoltan Zoltai, and she will aim to have the information ready for the next meeting if possible. 3|Page Adjustments: The board reviewed and approved the adjustments for August 2022. The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit B). Mark Leshinski moved to accept the financial reports as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: N Lake Water Replacement: The board clarified that the funds are available. The board instructed Dennis Hevener to get supplies ordered and the project scheduled. Zoltan Zoltai requested a start date as soon it is decided. Dennis Hevener stated that he is getting pricing for patching roads from water breaks. Grant Search Update: The clerk responded to the Grant Writer with the requested information, the board will wait for a response. 305 E Main – Harper: The clerk stated that she emailed the board regarding this topic. She stated that she sent the letter regarding the lien to the customer, and she received back a letter and an affidavit. The board inquired what the legal department says about it. The clerk advised that I haven’t reached back out to him recently, since we originally obtained his advice before we proceeded with contacting the customer. Zoltan Zoltai requested that the clerk forward him a copy of the affidavit and ask his legal opinion. He would like to know how the law director feels that we should proceed. New Business: RLCWA area of Responsibility: The board discussed a point of contact and Rural Water’s involvement with the water distribution of the Village. The board would like to maintain a single line of communication with Rural Water and specifically Joe Waldecker on behalf of the village. This will help with organizational purposes, transparency, etc. Tom Pellittieri stated that at minimum the board would need a report after any conversations or meetings would take place, preferably a representative of the SABPA to be present. The SABPA wishes to look and feel strong and united as a village and alleviate any miscommunication. SOP- Define/Examples Emergency: The board agreed that the response that Zoltan Zoltai emailed the clerk would suffice for the examples of the emergency. The clerk stated that she feels that some vagueness in scenarios like this is needed so that in the case of an emergency, the resources are available. Discussion ensued and the board agreed, but they would like to cooperate with the requests from council. Greg Kushner Requests: Mayor Leshinski stated that the former employee appealed the worker’s compensation, and later withdrew the appeal. The clerk discussed the requests that Mr. Kushner gave in his request. The clerk stated that the law director did confirm that the EPA log is a public record, so we are required to cooperate with a record request for that. She has emailed Mr. Kushner to let him know that there is a charge of 5 cents per page, and to ask for specifics of the request. Mr. Kushner requested to look at the book in person which the clerk advised is allowable if a Village employee is present. Discussion ensued. The board does not feel the need to provide any statements to Mr. Kushner and advised the clerk not to proceed with any of the other requests besides the public record request. Any future requests they would like forwarded to the legal department. 4|Page 319 Elm Water Usage: The clerk advised that she emailed the board the information regarding this topic. Dennis Hevener completed a work order to check the meter and did not find any abnormalities. The meter was reading correctly, and the water did go through the meter. The board decided that there is nothing more the board can do, the water passed through the meter and the customer is responsible as there were no abnormalities with the meter. 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 5|Page