SABPA Meeting

February 23, 2023 South Amherst Board of Public Affairs Storm & Water Minutes Roll Call: Board Members Present: Zoltan Zoltai, Mark Leshinski, Tom Pellittieri Operator of Record: None Present Clerk: Alexandra Sabine Liaison and Council Representative: None Present Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Giovanni & Joseph Tortora / 305 East Main Street / Utility Lien on 305 East Main Street Agenda Amendments: Tom Pellittieri added vac trailer under storm old business, & meeting with county commissioner Riddell & Bramhall / RCAP Meeting Scheduling under water new business. Zoltan Zoltai added WENS App under water old business. Approve Agenda: Mark Leshinski moved to approve the agenda with amendments. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: 02/06/2023: Zoltan Zoltai moved to approve the minutes from February 6, 2023, as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The board addressed their guests, Giovanni & Joe Tortora, and opened the floor for discussion. Giovanni Tortora is following up on the discussion at the previous meeting. The clerk advised that since the last meeting, she has responded to a request for information from the guests. The board discussed a possible payment plan, to which they corrected themselves that the lien has already been placed with the county & is therefore out of their hands. They discussed the option of making an exception to the standard procedure and allowing the owners of the property to open a water account at the property to allow tenants to move in when they are ready. The Tortora’s discussed the liability aspect & stated that they received legal counsel who advised that they are not liable for the charges. They also questioned the timeline of the charges versus the lien being placed. Discussion ensued. Tom Pellittieri stated that the board followed what the law director advised, and he suggested reaching back out to him as none of the members of the board are attorneys. The customer discussed the timeline of the sale and the lien being placed. Zoltan Zoltai stated that the board would reach out to their law director, and they are not going to comment further at this time as they have not been able to research the documents that the customers are citing. The clerk took a copy of the documents cited by the customer to give to the law director. Storm Operator’s Report: The clerk reported on behalf of the operator due to his absence. Zoltan Zoltai commented that he noticed that the storm drains have not been cleared and he was hoping Dennis would be here to discuss. He inquired where Dennis was at? The clerk stated that he advised at the last 1|Page regular meeting that would be absent due to a fire chief’s meeting. Mark Leshinski inquired about what the email was about from Jeri Leigh showing the village worker cleaning out a drain on West Main. The clerk advised that she did not receive any pictures, but the service worker came into her office today & discussed this drain on West Main Street which was clogged again and causing water to pool into the road. He stated that he emailed the board and Jeri Leigh Siss regarding this as well, but previously he had cleaned out this drain due to water flooding into the road, and it was clogged again so he cleaned it out today as well. He stated it was full of debris, and once the debris was cleared it drained so he does not suspect there is an issue with the pipe at all. He asked if it could be checked more often, especially when it is going to be raining. Mayor Leshinski commented on the need for the debris to be moved from the site itself, not just moved off the drain and set aside. The clerk advised that Dennis had mentioned cleaning some drains this week using the 4-foot radius suggested by the board, but she is unaware where he was working and if any were completed. The clerk moved forward with the operator’s report, first stating that he started on work orders. Zoltan Zoltai inquired if it stated where, to which the clerk responded no. She read on 2/9/2023 the county engineers came out and jetted Elm Street & were able to open it up (roots). The clerk advised that he emailed the board with that info, and that she had not heard from the customer since. He stated on 2/8/2023 he put fabric on the catch basin at 302 Leonard Street & the clerk also sent out a letter to the property owner as requested. We are waiting to hear back from him, his name is Dave Hribal. He also cut roots out of the catch basin at 306 Elm Street & followed up with the resident at 314 Elm Street – he seemed satisfied. He stated that Digger’s fixed the storm line on Leonard Street on 02/17/2023. Lastly, he stated he kept catch basin tops open (raining). Clerk’s Report: The clerk stated that she planned to report the discussion with David Valentine regarding the drain on West Main Street but the board already discussed that topic. 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: No discussion due to operator’s absence. Mapping Project: Mark Leshinski stated that he is working on the mapping project about half hour to an hour per week. He hopes to have it completed by Memorial Day. (T) Vac Trailer Rental: Tom Pellittieri stated he has been working with a company that rents vac trucks & trailers. His contact is Pat. She will be emailing him some pricing. Tom will confirm with Michelle that they can open an account in order to get the final pricing. He expects that it will be around $2700.00 - $3000.00 per week. Zoltan Zoltai inquired if the projects were earmarked yet. Tom Pellittieri suggested getting all the catch basins cleaned in one week in collaboration with the village worker. Discussion ensued regarding the schedule and requirements for the cleanings. Mark Leshinski inquired if there was a specific week in March to which the clerk cited the previous minutes stating a tentative date between March 13-30 was discussed. The clerk reminded the board that Jeri Leigh stated that she would put in a request through HeyGov for the service worker’s time. Tom stated he should have more information by early next week, in hopes that a decision can be made at the next regular meeting. Mark Leshinski inquired on the procedure if the operator has a fire emergency during the week that the vac truck is rented. Zoltan Zoltai stated that the work wouldn’t be done & they would pay for a truck that sits unused. Discussion ensued regarding the dual roles and conflicts of interest. Zoltan Zoltai stated he 2|Page brought this question up when he took that position and was concerned about the conflict of interest. They discussed his obligation to put the water department as a first priority. They also discussed the possibility of an illness causing there to be delay in that timeframe, and the hopes that they would be able to cut the rental short & resume at a later date. New Business: Water Operator’s Report: The clerk reported on behalf of the operator due to his absence. She stated that there was a water break in front of 131 E Main Street on 02/07/2023. Digger’s was able to get right on it & it has been repaired. Also, on Saturday 02/12/2023 he received a text at 2130 hours about a possible water break on Russia Road. He sent a text out to the board asking for directions because his truck was being repaired and he did not have access to his tools. The repair was made on the morning of 02/13/2023. He also advised of a meeting with Corey Timko regarding MOR’s. The clerk added it was a brief meeting, and she inquired on the rate study which was not completed at that time. Lastly, the operator’s colorimeter was calibrated. The clerk added that the second device needed new batteries, so she is taking it to be calibrated this week as well, as they need calibrated quarterly. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported that the new hire, Stephanee, will begin training on March 1, 2023. She will be in the office Tuesday through Thursday meeting the 15 hour per week requirement & she will attend the regular SABPA meetings during the training period. Also, the fiscal officer has emailed her everything she needs to complete prior to her start date. She also reported that she reached out to the software company regarding the inactive account interest function. They are working on the update, and they advised that they would bill separately for this function. Initially, they thought it could be included in the maintenance plan so it wouldn’t need to be billed separately, but he expects that it will take more time than initially expected & he does not want us to run out of maintenance hours. She requested a quote for the board, and then they can decide if they want to pay separately or use the maintenance hours and reevaluate toward the end of the year how many hours are remaining. The clerk reminded the board of her email regarding the rural water bill. It is approximately double what it usually runs. She assumed this would be caused by the North Lake Street Project. She inquired if there was any way of keeping track of how much water was run at the site, to which Tom Pellittieri said they do not keep track of it, but it ran quite a bit of water. The clerk suggested that she compare the usage to that of previous bills and “guestimate” how much water was lost during that project for our records. She also reminded the board that if purchases are made, there needs to be purchase requisitions completed. Michelle has presented a few invoices from Core & Main that did not have purchase requisitions completed, which the clerk has updated as necessary. She inquired if there were any parts returned or not to which Tom Pellittieri stated he was unaware. The clerk will follow up with the operator about any returns. She also reminded the board that she forwarded an email regarding the RCAP Meeting & there is a “doodle poll” available to vote on which day each person is available. Tom Pellittieri stated that he believes the meeting will be held on March 7. Lastly, the clerk reported that the GPS System training took place with David Valentine on 02/22/2023 at 11:00am. Dennis Hevener joined at approximately 11:50am. The training went well, it was apparent that this system can provide us with a large amount of valuable information. It seemed very simple to use & provided options to pull maintenance reports which will be helpful with EPA Compliance. She advised that she will be creating a procedure or “cheat sheet”, but the procedure seems to be very basic. Zoltan Zoltai inquired on Dennis’s training and if he seemed to develop an ease for use with the equipment through the instruction. The clerk responded that he engaged with David Valentine, asking questions, etc. however the device was not taken out and used in real time. Dennis also expressed that he is 3|Page comfortable with the paper maps that he currently uses. Discussion ensued. The clerk noted that she will be willing to help input the additional information if it is needed after the points are marked in the field. Zoltan Zoltai requested that this topic be added to the agenda for the next regular meeting under old business. The clerk advised that she would send the completed procedure to them for review as well. 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: (Z) WENS App: Zoltan Zoltai inquired if the operator ever got the WENS App installed on his phone for use. The clerk advised that she believed that he had, however she is unaware if it has been used on his phone yet. The board decided to follow up with the operator at a later date & add this item to the agenda for the next regular meeting under old business. (M) Operator Worklist: Mark Leshinski advised that he has not heard of any progress on the item described as removing & capping the service to the quarries. The clerk clarified that this is the item that they discussed the need for particular safety precautions, causing the need for scheduling & planning. Discussion ensued regarding this worklist item & safety precautions. 305 East Main Street: The clerk clarified that the board would like her to reach out to the law director & ask for guidance. The board agreed. Discussion ensued regarding the history of the property & the timeline of the lien. Tom Pellittieri asked the clerk to clarify if the current owner needs to pursue the previous owner, or if the SABPA should pursue the previous owner. They would like clarification & the law director to draft a letter for them if possible. The clerk suggested a meeting with the law director. Discussion ensued. New Business: 2023 Planning Recap: The board briefly recapped their discussions from their most recent work session, including 305 East Main, operator job description, & 2023 Planning. Regarding the job description, Tom Pellittieri suggested removing “install water mains & hydrants” from the description & adding “service hydrants & valves”. Zoltan Zoltai moved to accept the job description as discussed with the amendments identified. Tom Pellittieri seconded. The motion passed unanimously. It was decided that Mark Leshinski will revise the draft as discussed. The clerk identified the items discussed under 2023 planning as 1.) execute the water valve exercising with Tom Pellittieri coordinating 2.) GPS Equipment Mapping/Training 3.) GPS Map all water system exercised valves 4.) GPS Map all water system curb boxes 5.) Hydrant flushing & creating a year-round 12-month schedule with Tom Pellittieri coordinating 6.) Perform storm catch basin inspection & audit with Zoltan Zoltai coordinating 7.) storm catch basin cleaning with vac truck as discussed previously. Zoltan Zoltai moved to enter executive session to discuss personnel matters & job descriptions & responsibilities. Mark Leshinski seconded. The roll was called with all in favor. Zoltan Zoltai moved to exit executive session. Mark Leshinski seconded. The roll was called with all in favor. Meter Base Order: Zoltan Zoltai advised that it was determined that an account could be set up to be tax exempt, and the auction for the initial parts was closed. The clerk advised that she found a new listing and verified with Dennis that the parts are correct. The listing is $55.00 with $10.40 shipping. Mark Leshinski moved to order the (6) meter bases from eBay at a price of $55.00 plus shipping. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mark Leshinski inquired on the meter that was found in town hall & if the torque specifications had been acquired by the water operator. The clerk clarified 4|Page with Dennis that the torque wrench discussed previously is his personal torque wrench, it is not owned by the village. Zoltan Zoltai moved to purchase a torque wrench not to exceed $100. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The board would like the operator to find the torque specifications for the water meters as well. Henry P. Thompson Chlorinator Startup: The clerk presented the estimate from Henry P. Thompson for the chlorinator startup. The initial startup will cost $2600.00, and the representative, Chris Kushner, suggested that there is a need for the following items: 1.) Electrolyte Solution at $83.04 2.) Total Chlorine Sensor CTE at $1,992.27 & 3.) Flow Sensor for DGMA Housing at $123.79 with an approximate shipping charge of $50.00, equaling a total of $4849.10. Discussion ensued regarding the need for the parts and the budget. The board would like her to pull the records from the startup from last year and compare if these parts were ordered last year. They would like her to email them the invoice from last year & the email including the quote that she just described as they would like to be more informed. The clerk advised that the operator may have more information. Zoltan Zoltai inquired on when the budget is due. Mayor Leshinski advised that the final appropriations are due to the fiscal officer before April the first. Zoltan Zoltai suggested getting together within the next 30 days to discuss a budget. (T) Meeting with county commissioner Riddell & Bramhall / RCAP Meeting Scheduling: Tom Pellittieri stated that he has been in contact with commissioner Riddell regarding ARPA funds. He set up a meeting including Bramhall engineering to discuss an estimate for an engineering study for water, storm, & sanitary. The county has two million dollars left in ARPA funds & the village has sixty thousand left in ARPA funds. It would be possible to use these funds for the engineering study as they would be needed for any grant/loan ext. He also advised of a meeting with RCAP on March 7, 2023 to discuss the ways they can assist the village. Discussion ensued regarding a previous estimate for an engineering study. 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