SABPA Meeting

January 19, 2023 South Amherst Board of Public Affairs Storm & Water Minutes Roll Call: Board Members Present: Zoltan Zoltai, Mark Leshinski Operator of Record: None Present Clerk: Alexandra Sabine Liaison and Council Representative: None Present Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Phillip & Mrs. Stawicki / 314 Elm Street / Elm Street Storm Sewer Agenda Amendments: Mark Leshinski added storm vehicle mileage under storm operator’s report, North Lake Street Update under water old business, & map project update under water old business. Approve Agenda: Mark Leshinski moved to approve the agenda with amendments. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: 01/04/2023: Mark Leshinski moved to approve the minutes from January 4, 2023, as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 01/12/2023: Zoltan Zoltai moved to approve the minutes from January 12, 2023, as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Storm Operator’s Report: Mark Leshinski inquired on the current mileage of the truck. The clerk responded that Dennis Hevener completes a sheet weekly showing the mileage and condition of the truck. She gets a copy weekly, so she or the operator can share that information with the board if they would like. Mark Leshinski requested that she report the current mileage at the first meeting of each month. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that she responded to the customer from 217 Annis via email regarding the discussion the board had about his drainage/storm tap-in. She has not heard back from him since. She also reported that she created work orders based on the recommendations from the operator work list discussion that they had at the previous meeting. She also collected a stack of finished work orders from the operator, which she filed and scanned to the board for transparency. Mayor Leshinski suggested that the board recommend or advise that the water operator turn the work orders in on a timely basis rather than a stack at once. The clerk stated that she was doing some housekeeping and reminded him of some of the work orders to return, however there were multiple work orders from 2022 which were perpetual, being that the board had asked him to perform a task until the end of 2022. Zoltan Zoltai stated that he would send the operator a message requesting that he turn in all work orders for the current week by Friday at noon. 1|Page Completed Tap- In’s: None Pending Tap-in’s: None The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit A). Mark Leshinski moved to accept the financial reports as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: (M) Operator Worklist: Mark Leshinski advised that he had no changes under Storm. New Business: 314 Elm Storm: Phil Stawicki explained his current issues with the Storm System near his home. He advised that he has had conversations with Mayor’s in years past, and his driveway is constantly being flooded. He stated the pipes are too small, and they are not deep enough into the ground, and the job was not done correctly installing them. He believes there is a plug somewhere east of his driveway. In previous years, there was a plug and once it was jet rodded they did not have issues for a few years, but now there is flooding again. He stated he can’t even pull into his driveway without pulling into his lawn when it freezes because of the flooding and ice. He needs the issue fixed as soon as possible, within a few weeks. He believes the pipe needs to be cleared every six months. Mayor Leshinski gave a brief history of the storm system. He believes there is corrugated metal there, and it is single walled which is not conducive for a storm drain. He stated it has been problematic there for a while. Discussion ensued regarding the history of the storm system in that area and the suggestion from the mayor. The customer reiterated that the pipe is not low enough, and the mayor discussed the only drain that is deeper in the village which is on Annis Road. The customer advised that their sump pump cannot keep up and there is a significant amount of water in their basement. Zoltan Zoltai suggested having the water operator look at it to which the clerk advised that she created a workorder for Dennis on Tuesday. Dennis went out & looked at it, but she does not have any further information at this time. The customer stated that it creates a one lane road when it floods, and it is not passable. Zoltan Zoltai advised that they would see what the water operator saw when he went to the property & they would address the problem and give it as much priority as they could. The clerk stated that she is not as familiar with the locations of the addressed, but she stated that they previously had jet rodded around the corner of Leonard & Elm and inquired if these two areas can be combined when discussing the jet rodding and possible necessary repairs. The board thanked the customer for pointing out the issue & stated they would inquire with the operator and see what they could do as far as providing relief. Water Operator’s Report: None due to absence. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine reported that she created new work orders for the items under the operator work list & she sent the board a copy of the completed work orders that she has on file. The clerk reported that as she did not have any amendments to the Year End Summary, she returned that list to the records clerk for the upcoming council meeting. She inquired if there were any future plans that the board would like to include in the report for council. The clerk suggested adding vague statements such as “continuing to search for water loss”. Zoltan Zoltai stated that he would put something together. The clerk advised that she needs it for Monday’s council meeting if he planned on putting something together himself. The board discussed having a planning work session to plan for 2023 as well. 2|Page Mayor Leshinski stated that a test was performed on the old water works building and there was a small amount of asbestos found. They are working on seeing what the next steps are to move forward with the demolition. Zoltan Zoltai stated that he would send the clerk a small list of future plans. The clerk advised that she completed the requested actions regarding 307 East Main Street after the emergency meeting. She calculated the usage and charges as advised by the board, adjusted the account, and corresponded with the customer via email, regular mail, & certified mail. The charges were $520.20. The clerk also reminded the board of the email from Stephanee regarding the equipment grant. She needed advice as to what equipment the board would like listed. The clerk inquired if any board members had responded to her. The board stated that they had not responded, they believed that they had already reviewed a list of equipment with her a while back. The board discussed previous discussions of equipment, and the clerk stated she believed that this grant was limited to water and most of that equipment was geared towards storm. The clerk also advised that the deadline is January 25, 2023 so this information needs to make its way to her quick. Mark Leshinski suggested the possibility of a relief valve. Discussion ensued. Lastly, the clerk reported that herself & Dennis met with our new sales representative from NECO. Dennis suggested placing an order for 6 meters as he does not have any backup meters at this time. She also advised that he had to replace a few plates from the meters. As far as she knows, essentially, the plate is designed to crack to protect the meter if necessary. The clerk presented the quote for $1890.00 for the meters. Discussion ensued. The clerk expressed the importance of having backup meters. The board wanted to clarify that if/when meters are ordered, they should not be taken apart to use the plate. Mayor Leshinski inquired about how the meters would freeze. Discussion ensued regarding the replacement of the plate on 5905 Russia Road. The clerk advised that the customer called in & stated the meter was leaking. It was replaced less than a month ago since there was new ownership and there had not been a meter replacement with the project since the home was vacant. The board inquired on whether the home was being heated since there is nobody living there currently as it is being renovated. Discussion ensued regarding ordering meters. The clerk stated that the NECO sales representative advised that he believes there are meters in stock at this time, however, he has seen them backordered for 10-12 months before. Mark Leshinski moved to purchase three (3) meters not exceeding the dollar amount of $1000.00. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Zoltan Zoltai inquired what the operator told the customer when he repaired the meter. The clerk stated that she does not have that information, they would need to contact the operator. She was advised that the meter was repaired and that is the extent of her knowledge of the interaction between the operator and the customer. Discussion ensued. Mark Leshinski discussed instructing the operator not to part out the new meters for repairs. The board discussed the customer paying for the new meter if it has not been replaced or repaired yet. If it has been repaired, the board would like the clerk to send a courtesy letter to the customer advising of the conversation regarding the customer being responsible if it were to freeze again, and also asking if the home is being heated during renovations as to protect the equipment and providing proof if possible. 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: (M) Operator Worklist: Mark Leshinski acknowledged that Work Order Number 0018- digger’s service meter pit gravel- was completed. Supply Operator: The clerk reported that Corey Timko has completed everything that the fiscal officer needs to hire him. He has signed his job description; she needs the board to sign the job description as well. Chris Balog was in the office today to resign and turn in his keys. The fiscal officer prorated the pay 3|Page for the month of January. The clerk stated that she looks forward to working with Corey and believes he will do an excellent job. The minimum staffing requirement will need to be evaluated to see if it can be split between the two operators or if one of them has to complete the entire report. The operators will investigate internally and report back to the board. Office Administrator Position / Interview: The clerk reported that she had sent an email to the board with the application & resume from the candidate. She has not received applications from anyone else as of right now. She advised the board that she has not posted to indeed yet, she was giving the other postings some time to see if they brought candidates in hopes of saving money by not posting on indeed unnecessarily. The board discussed possible times for an interview. They decided to give the options of Monday January 23, 2023 @ 6:00pm or Wednesday January 25, 2023 @ 6:00pm. The clerk inquired if they would like her to sit in on the interview, to which the board decided they would like to have her there if possible. The clerk inquired on a rate to list on indeed in case there is a need to post. Discussion ensued. Zoltan Zoltai moved to list a starting wage of $14.00 for the office administrator position for the initial period. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Operator Job Description: There was no discussion regarding the operator’s job description. Mark Leshinski requested a work session to discuss further. Zoltan Zoltai suggested adding that to the topics of the next work session. The topics currently would be 2023 planning & operator job description. The clerk suggested scheduling the work session at the next regular meeting. The board agreed. (M) North Lake Street Update: Mark Leshinski inquired on any updates of North Lake Street. Zoltan Zoltai advised that he visited the site and watched the crew. He inquired on any issues to which the crew replied it was going well with no issues. The clerk stated that she has not heard any updates from Digger’s or Tom, however she received a call from a customer located within the work zone who stated there was running water next to his home. She passed that on to Dennis who advised that Tom talked to the resident. (M) Map Project: Mark Leshinski advised that he is still working on the project. He stated he is hopeful to complete the project within the next three (3) weeks. Once completed, he will communicate with Jeanne Maschari about the outcome. New Business: (Z) Time Sheet Approval: Zoltan Zoltai discussed the new handbook revision which requires the board to approve time sheets. The clerk advised that her understanding of the process would be that she scans her timesheets to the board at the end of the period, she also gives the fiscal officer the hard copy. The board would review and reach out to the fiscal officer with any questions or concerns. They are considered approved unless the board states otherwise to the fiscal officer. The board’s deadline to reach out to the fiscal officer is before 3pm on Tuesday before payroll processing. (Z) Water Operator / WENS Notices: Zoltan Zoltai discussed the operator’s responsibility to be able to send WENS notices. The clerk advised that typically if it is during business hours and she is in the office she will send them, however the operator does have the capability to send them as well. You can also send the notices from your phone, so she has sent them from home as well. Discussion ensued. Mayor Leshinski stated that he would like to be able to send a WENS. The clerk stated that he should reach out to Laurie to get a login if he wishes as she has been the main contact with the WENS System. The board requested an escalation list for the WENS system, to which the clerk replied does not exist. She advised that the responsibility is specific to departments, so the escalation for water would essentially be herself and then the operator. The clerk requested a little more planning, although she understands that it is hard when you are working with a contractor. However, it was a holiday that this issue presented itself. The board requested a written hierarchy for WENS notices for the water/storm department. 4|Page RCAP & Water Department (Email from Jeri Leigh Siss): The clerk presented the questions from Jeri Leigh. Discussion ensued. The board concluded that they have discussed these questions previously. They have investigated several options previously, and they keep running into loans which they cannot afford to take out at this time. They do not believe the questions are actionable currently. Zoltan Zoltai moved to Adjourn the meeting. Mark Leshinski seconded. The roll was called with all in favor. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle, Water Board Clerk 5|Page