SABPA Meeting

February 6, 2023 South Amherst Board of Public Affairs Storm & Water Minutes Roll Call: Board Members Present: Zoltan Zoltai, Mark Leshinski, Tom Pellittieri Operator of Record: Dennis Hevener Clerk: Alexandra Sabine Liaison and Council Representative: Jeri Leigh Siss Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Giovanni Tortora / 305 East Main Street / Utility Lien on 305 East Main Street Agenda Amendments: Zoltan Zoltai added review emails from clerk under water new business & cleaning catch basins under storm new business. Mark Leshinski added grant questions & 200 Oakdale under storm new business & north lake street project under water old business. Approve Agenda: Mark Leshinski moved to approve the agenda with amendments. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: 01/19/2023: Mark Leshinski moved to approve the minutes from January 19, 2023, as written. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. Mark Leshinski & Zoltan Zoltai voted in favor. Tom Pellittieri abstained from vote due to absence. Motion carried. The board addressed their guest, Giovanni Tortora, and opened the floor for discussion. Giovanni Tortora stated that he is the owner of 305 East Main Street. He discussed the purchase through sheriff’s sale, where he was under the impression that all fees, taxes, etc. were up to date. He found that there is a lien on the property for the delinquent utility, although he has already paid the property taxes for this year. He is inquiring with the board if there is anything that can be done regarding the lien, if a payment plan is an option, etc. He stated that in some research, he found that the sheriff’s office knew about the delinquency from the previous owner. The customer inquired on why there was not a lien placed previously. Discussion ensued. The board advised that they have discussed this previously, and there may have been an overlap in the timeline regarding the sale of the property that creates this confusion. However, typically this information would be discovered in a title search & the board is unaware of the extent to which that research was conducted from the sheriff’s sale. The customer stated that he believes they did reach out and were advised of the delinquent utility charges, however the lien was not placed yet. Zoltan Zoltai responded that they do not trace every real estate transaction, however they took action filing the lien in an effort to recover the money owed. The board stated that they are not unsympathetic to Mr. Tortora & they would need to discuss amongst themselves what if anything can be done to alleviate the burden of the situation. They offered to discuss further and keep in touch with the customer. The board stated that they understand that the money was not spent by the current owner, however when the transaction took place, there seemed to be a disconnect when the information was not divulged during the transaction/sale of the property. The board discussed the fact that we are a small community who purchases our water, and the usage of the water is affixed to the 1|Page property, unfortunately. The customer inquired on the timeline from the delinquency, where the board advised that the timeline was associated with the process needed to file the lien. The board thanked the customer for attending. Storm Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener advised that the county was supposed to come out today to jet rod Elm Street as they were in the area. They did not have time, but he is hopeful that they will be able to get out there tomorrow. Either way, we are on the list for them to Jet Rod as soon as possible. He also advised that he called Affordable Drain as requested, however they did not get back to him for over a week. They promised a price, which was never received. Currently, he has an outstanding quote from Digger’s for $3000. He would like the board to advise how long they would like him to wait to hear back from Affordable. Zoltan Zoltai inquired if this is relevant to the issue at 314 Elm. Dennis replied he does not believe it is related. Zoltan Zoltai moved to accept the quote from Digger’s for 323 Elm Street in the dollar amount of $3000. Mark Leshinski seconded. Zoltan Zoltai & Mark Leshinski voted in favor. Tom Pellittieri abstained. The motion carried. Mark Leshinski inquired on a timeline for completion. Dennis Hevener responded he is hopeful it can be started within two weeks. Clerk’s Report: The clerk reported that she completed the annual MS4 reporting checklist with the help of the operator. She submitted the document to Matt Arnold on January 31, 2023. 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. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: (M) Operator Worklist: Zoltan Zoltai presented the operator with a list of new items for the worklist & discussed the requests. Requests included cleaning storm drains. Also, 302 Leonard Street septic tie in not finished properly. Dennis Hevener stated he will investigate the matter & place a silt fence bag. The operator & clerk will compose a letter to send to the customer. He also requested that Dennis implement a 12-month cleaning plan for year round preventative maintenance of drains. Finally, he informed Dennis that they will be renting a vacuum truck to clean out the catch basins with the most priority. He will probably need the help of the village worker, discussion ensued regarding the process for requesting his help. Jeri Leigh Siss stated that she can create the request for David Valentine via HeyGov. Tom Pellittieri stated that he will call to schedule the rental, and he believes the company will give brief training on the equipment. The board decided on tentative dates sometime between Mach 13-30. 314 Elm Storm: Mark Leshinski stated that he visited the property with the Mayor on Monday the 30th. He took photos and observed the property. Discussion ensued regarding the property. Between 314-306 Elm seems to be the blockage on the North end of the street. There haven’t been any other complaints currently other than the resident at 314 Elm. Dennis Hevener stated that the county is hopefully going to come out to jet rod this section of Elm Street to see if that will alleviate the problem. Tom Pellittieri stated that it needs to have a camera run through as well to identify where the problem is. He believes that he may have someone who can let him borrow a camera for free. Dennis Hevener stated he will notify the board once the County completes the jet rodding. Leonard/Elm Storm Repair: Discussed previously. 2|Page 217 Annis: The clerk presented the question from the resident at 217 Annis regarding the approved pipe for the storm tie-in. He would like to know if he can use corrugated pipe in his yard and then transition to one of the required options stated in the permit. Discussion ensued regarding the previous conversations of the board about this property. The board concluded that they are agreeable to the customer using corrugated on his own property, but anything on the village property needs to be the approved options of SDR 35 or Schedule 40, so the transition would need to be before it reaches village property. The clerk reminded the board that the customer will have to show plans with the permit application, so they will need to review and approve the plans once they are presented from the customer. They are simply giving the approval of the customer to obtain plans, and answering the initial questions that the customer currently has. The board discussed the anticipated plans. New Business: (M) 200 Oakdale: Mark Leshinski inquired about any work in that area. Tom Pellittieri & Dennis Hevener responded that there was a water break in that area about a month ago & there was also a storm issue that needed to be addressed. Tom Pellittieri inquired if the county could jet rod that area starting around the address of 202 going West when they are out for Elm Street. Dennis Hevener stated that if they had time he would see if they could stop by, if not he would need to get on the list again for that area. (M) Grant Question: Mark Leshinski inquired on the RAYS Grant which was part of the email from David Troike. He reached out to the grant writer to see if we could apply for it. She stated there is a lot of information required and it is due at the end of the month. She is doing research and will let the board know when she hears from him. The board discussed having the grant writer sit in on the upcoming webinar from USDOT. Tom Pellittieri moved to pay their grant writer, Stephanee, for one hour to sit in on the webinar. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mark Leshinski stated that he will reach out to the grant writer to inform her of their request. (Z) Cleaning Storm Basins: Discussed previously. Water Operator’s Report: Dennis Hevener reported that the North Lake Street Water Line Project has been completed, excluding restoration. The restoration will commence in spring and will include replacing sidewalks, aprons, tree lawns, planting grass, etc. The restoration was included in the initial price from Digger’s. Clerk’s Report: The clerk reported that she has been working on housekeeping and preparing for her maternity leave/training. She reported that she responded to Jeri Leigh Siss regarding the winter newsletter, including three topics. First, a blurb about working with the County for storm. Second, a thank you/reminder about our public meetings for the residents, and third information regarding our PayStar online payment system. She inquired if the board would like to add anything further, to which Zoltan Zoltai requested that she add cleaning critical storm drains in March 2023 & the preventative maintenance plan for 2023. She also informed the board that the new water rates were updated in the billing software and have been reflected on the February billing that recently went out & she has not received any complaints so far. She updated the board regarding the water meters that they approved the order of at the last meeting. She stated that she realized the quote was actually for meter-pit meters which are more expensive. She obtained an updated quote which turned out to be significantly less expensive. The three meters have been ordered as approved at the last meeting, with a total of $540.00. Zoltan Zoltai stated that he researched and found that you can buy used meter plates on eBay for next to nothing. He stated that he emailed the clerk & the operator a link for these plates. The clerk inquired if the village is able to 3|Page purchase from eBay, as there are certain stipulations that must be followed. Discussion ensued. She suggested consulting with the fiscal officer before ordering. Mark Leshinski inquired if there is a torque specification on the bolts for the meters & if the operator has a torque wrench. Dennis Hevener stated that he has access to a torque wrench, and he will look into the specifications. The clerk reported that the truck mileage as requested. As of 01/20/2023 the mileage is 140,783. Discussion ensued. The board inquired on how it is running, to which the operator responded it seems to be running better now, it was in the shop this past week. He previously discussed with Tom Pellittieri. She reminded the board that she sent out an email regarding the interaction that she had previously with the new owner of 305 East Main. She also reminded the board that she emailed the requested WENS escalation hierarchy as requested. Dennis Hevener stated that the only thing he noticed was that he does not have the app on his phone, so he only does it from a computer. The clerk suggested helping him get the app, but she did note that it is much easier from a computer. Discussion ensued. She also reminded the board that they need to schedule a work session. Discussion ensued. The board decided on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 6:00pm. The clerk will post the work session, and the topics will include 2023 planning, operator job description, & 305 East Main. Lastly, the clerk advised that she sent a vacation request form to the board via email. Tom Pellittieri signed the job description for Corey Timko as he was absent when it was signed by the other two board members. Adjustments – January 2023: The board reviewed and approved the January 2023 adjustments. Zoltan Zoltai requested a copy of the 2023 adjustments scanned to him via email. The board reviewed the financial reports (Exhibit B). Tom Pellittieri moved to accept the financial reports as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: (M) Operator Worklist: Mark Leshinski inquired on the status of removing the meter and capping the service to the quarries. Dennis Hevener stated it has not been completed yet. Mark Leshinski also reminded the operator of the GPS Mapping in the spring. Office Administrator Position: The clerk advised that she put together the requested information regarding the open position, which she read aloud. The candidate is Stephanee Koscho with a starting rate of $13.50 per hour based on discussion at the interview. The training period will begin March 1, 2023 consisting of 15 hours per week unless adjustment is deemed necessary. Alexandra & Stephanee will determine the weekly schedule internally meeting the 15 hour per week requirement. During Alexandra’s maternity leave which will consist of 12-14 weeks, Stephanee will be required to complete 25 hours per week with 5 days per week in the office. Upon Alexandra’s return from maternity leave, Alexandra & Stephanee will share responsibility of the SABPA Office Administrator position. Alexandra will require approximately 12 hours per week (in office & from home) & Stephanee will require approximately 12 hours per week (in office). Alexandra & Stephanee will collaborate & determine the responsibility split internally. Zoltan Zoltai moved to set the wage for the new hire, Stephanee Koscho, at $13.50 per hour. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Zoltan Zoltai moved to accept the parameters of hire as read by the clerk. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Leshinski inquired on the hours that each clerk would be in the office upon return from maternity leave. Alexandra responded that herself and Stephanee would determine that at a later date, taking into consideration the needs of the office and/or staff. The board would like a copy of the parameters of hire emailed to them. The clerk stated that she will advise Stephanee of the events of the evening & she will take down the position postings. Inactive Account Interest: The clerk advised that she sent the board an email regarding this topic to review. She recapped that the ordinance passed through council & the board decided to base the interest rate according to ORC 5703.47 as of January 1 each year. After researching, she found the short- 4|Page term certified interest rate for most taxes to be 5.0% per year, with monthly accrual being 0.42% per month. She stated that this is not her area of expertise, so she would like the board’s approval. Zoltan Zoltai moved to accept the inactive account interest rate based upon ORC 5703.47 as of January 1 of each year with 2023 as 5.0% yearly with a monthly accrual of 0.42%. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. (M) North Lake Street Project: Discussed previously. New Business: Review Emails from Clerk: Discussed previously. Meter Base Order: The clerk advised that they discussed previously including the discussion of the possible order from eBay. She advised that she did obtain an order from Neptune at $100.00 per base brand new. She confirmed that she will consult with the fiscal officer regarding the eBay order. Mark Leshinski inquired if there are meter pits on order and if we owe any to rural water. Dennis Hevener advised that we owe three (3) meter pits to Lorain County Rural Water Authority. We have two in our possession & are waiting for the third to come in so Dennis can deliver them all together. He also advised that we have two (2) on order as backups for the village. The clerk advised that the last update she had on the outstanding order was that they were expected around January 28, yet they have not come in yet. She is waiting on core & main for further update. Rural Water Meter Pit Lid Order: The clerk advised that rural water uses different lids than we do, which was discussed last year. We had a purchase requisition open for this; however the fiscal officer closed it when completing her end of year tasks. The clerk has completed a new purchase requisition and ordered the lids to return to rural water. The company noticed that they were being shipped to rural water and offered to have them delivered with one of their orders so that the village does not have to pay for the shipping. The clerk will advise when this transaction takes place. Jeri Leigh Siss stated she read the notes from the January 19, 2023 meeting regarding her email about consulting with RCAP. She would like clarity on the previous discussion. Is the BPA not interested in a work session or meeting with RCAP at this time? Zoltan Zoltai & Mark Leshinski confirmed that they are not interested at this time. Tom Pellittieri stated that he can meet with them to see what they have to say. Jeri Leigh stated that council wanted to make sure that they are giving the “first right of refusal” to the BPA & that council is not going above SABPA in any way. The board agreed that Tom Pellittieri will sit in on meetings regarding RCAP as a BPA representative. Mark Leshinski moved to Adjourn the meeting. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The roll was called with all in favor. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle, Water Board Clerk 5|Page