SABPA Meeting

March 21, 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, Stephanee Koscho Liaison and Council Representative: None Present Visitors: Mayor Leshinski Corey Timko / Ohio Rural Water Association Agenda Amendments: Mark Leshinski would like to move forward with the guest speaker before the storm water section of the meeting. Approve Agenda: Zoltan Zoltai moved to approve the agenda with amendments. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Previous Minutes: 03/06/2023: Tom Pellittieri moved to approve the minutes from March 6, 2023 as written. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Rate Study Discussion: The board addressed the visitor, Corey Timko & opened the floor for discussion. Corey Introduced himself as an employee of the Ohio Rural Water Association, explained his credentials as well as tidbits about ORWA. He then introduced the rate study spreadsheet that he had created as a third party to the BPA. He explained the spreadsheet. The board discussed, asked questions, and manipulated the spreadsheet to see what different scenarios looked like, including a 100% increase in the user fee. Corey expressed that he is expecting as large of an increase as 11% from Rural Water next year, although that number has not been approved yet. He also discussed capital improvement fees, which the village refers to as “user fees.” He stated he has seen a wide range of fees, with the average ranging from $15-$25. Typically, in a smaller town, the larger the capital improvement fee would be. He discussed reserve money as well. He would like to see there be at least 6 or more months operating in reserve at all times, any lower than that could indicate peril. Discussion ensued regarding the scenarios, the need for larger capital improvement projects, grants & loans, engineering studies, and the overall wellbeing of the financial situation of the water department. Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle suggested determining scenarios to have Corey run & print out hard copies with his opinion for the board to be able to study & compare. The board decided not to proceed with scenarios at this time, instead they would like to email Corey at a later date. The board thanked Corey for his hard work on the rate study spreadsheet. Storm Operator’s Report: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported on behalf of Dennis Hevener due to his absence. First, he reminded the board that he is unavailable on Tuesday evenings for meetings due to his regularly scheduled fire meetings. He reported that he talked to Digger’s about the culvert repair on 1|Page Russia Road. He is waiting for pricing from them currently. Mayor Leshinski advised of the email from Matt Arnold regarding the culvert. Discussion ensued. The operator also stated that he walked part of Ludwig Ditch, from Maple to the bridge. He stated it did not look that bad to him, but the clerk advised that if they needed further information, they could reach out to Dennis personally. He also checked on catch basins on Maple Street. They looked okay and water was flowing. The board inquired if he cleaned them to which the clerk advised that on his report it stated that he checked them, and they were flowing. Lastly, he advised that he has been reading storm water bulletins online. Zoltan Zoltai inquired “what does that translate into value for us” to which Alexandra responded would be a question for Dennis. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported that Mayor Leshinski has brought to her attention that he is not comfortable signing off on the Quarterly Routine Facility Inspection Reports & he would like them approved by the BPA before he signs off on them. She asked that this be completed in a timely manner & asked for an established procedure for the future. The board decided that they are not comfortable with signing off on a report that they have not inspected as well. Tom Pellittieri suggested a meeting with Dennis on site to approve the reports before they are signed off on. He suggested that a one-time meeting to explain the process would be acceptable and then he would be able to check them on his own time quarterly as needed to approve the forms. The board discussed possible times to meet, and Tom will coordinate with Dennis. The clerk clarified how the Mayor would like the approval, to which he responded that a text or email would suffice. 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 additions or discussion currently. (M) Ludwig Ditch: Mark Leshinski advised that Matt Arnold & Don Romancak met on the 15th with the village to discuss Ludwig Ditch. They have many projects on their radar & they are looking at funding scenarios. They have contacted some property owners to discuss easements to get to the ditch. Mayor Leshinski discussed forwarding a phone number to the county that he found so that they could get further permission. Alexandra inquired if there was any discussion of the Village’s responsibility and any actions for us moving forward. Mayor Leshinski stated that nothing was discussed yet as they are still working on the preliminary actions of getting easements & permissions. Tom Pellittieri stated that finances were briefly discussed & that the village would be financially responsible for their portion. Tom Pellittieri stated that multiple council members agreed that this was a village issue and the storm water department would not necessarily be responsible one hundred percent as council would take responsibility as well. (M) Village Parking Lot Drainage: Mark Leshinski reported on the work at town hall. ADT has been working to fix some drainage problems. He stated that his theory is the water is being drained into the catch basin outside of town hall even in the summer. He inquired about any updates. Mayor Leshinski discussed the work at town hall. He stated that repairs will be made in the parking lot before paving takes place & it was suggested that there will be a catch basin placed to the east of the water tower which will be discharged over the hill. The board clarified that this has nothing to do with the BPA in terms of responsibility. 2|Page (M) Russia Road Culvert: Discussed previously. The corrugated steel pipes are deteriorating. The board discussed that the replacement should be plastic rather than steel. Alexandra discussed clarifying with Digger’s that the quote includes plastic replacement pipe rather than corrugated. The board discussed the need for more than one bid. Alexandra clarified that Dennis had reached out to Digger’s, but the board would need to advise if they would like a second bid. Mark Leshinski stated that he would like a second bid if possible. Zoltan Zoltai moved to proceed with the estimate from Digger’s to replace & repair the items as described in the conversation regarding the Russia Road Culvert. The motion was not seconded. Mark Leshinski stated he would like to see a timeline from Digger’s & the clerk suggested looking at the estimate before the board moves to allocate funds & proceed. Zoltan Zoltai stated that he will defer to his fellow board members and rescind the motion to follow the request of Mark Leshinski. The board would like to request that they have an estimate & timeline of when the work can be completed at the next regular meeting. (M) Vac Truck: Mark Leshinski requested an update on the progress of the Vac Truck Rental. Tom Pellittieri stated that it has gone through council & been approved. He is waiting on the model numbers and serial numbers on the machine for insurance purposes. He has called the company & is waiting for the information. Alexandra informed the board that David Valentine inquired on the timeline. The board decided that the timeline should be tentatively pushed back until April 1-15. Alexandra inquired if they need any assistance from the clerks in that process to which Tom Pellittieri stated he does not believe so, he is just waiting on the information. The training would be on site, it will not be separate training. New Business: Water Operator’s Report: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported on behalf of Dennis Hevener due to his absence. First, he reported that he returned two (2) meter pits to rural water. The clerk also updated the board that the last order from Core & Main is expected in the end of April & that they would update with any advances with that. She also reported that Dennis pumped out the pit in front of town hall. He advised that it needs to be pumped out periodically. He turned on a service at 445 West Main Street as well. There was a customer call for a possible water break on West Main Street, Dennis checked the area, consulted with Tom Pellittieri, & concluded that he did not believe there was a water break. Also, he had to reset the Neptune software due to the Ohio Edison power outage at town hall. Everything seems to be working correctly after the reset. He has been following up on emails & reading EPA updates & new rulings coming out. He also took the Bac T Samples to Avon Lake. Lastly, he inquired about how the board would like him to cap the line for the removal of the meter at the quarries. The board discussed & reviewed photos of the meter. Tom Pellittieri stated that in order to cap it, the driveway would need to be torn up & verifying a shut off. Discussion ensued regarding the shut off. Tom Pellittieri stated that he would need to go look at it to make a decision to advise Dennis. He also stated that he is not very comfortable with Dennis working with this meter in general. There is a possibility of him getting hurt as the meter/backflow combination is probably close to 400 pounds. Mark Leshinski stated he would like to see it capped so that they are sure it is not leaking. Tom Pellittieri suggested having leak seekers sonar the area the next time they are out, so that may help any anxiety about a leak in that area. Zoltan Zoltai asked the clerk to inform Dennis that they are not able to make a decision regarding this item at this time & they will get back to him. Clerk’s Report: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported that there was a notice of violation for Minimum staffing. Corey Timko has clarified with the EPA & resolved the Notice of Violation. The official notification of resolution will be emailed to the village shortly. Corey Timko stated that he does not believe that the need for a calendar being sent in with all zero’s is even a true requirement, so he is looking into this matter further. She also reported that there was an inquiry from a builder on a quote 3|Page for a new home on the corner of Russia & Annis Road. The clerk & operator compiled the requested quote & distributed it to the builder on 03/17/2023. There is already a water tap at the location, which the operator verified. An official application has not been received; this is a preliminary fact finding at this time we believe. Discussion ensued regarding the parcel recently being split & there being only one water tap as well as where the tap is located on the property. Alexandra stated that she would advise when and if the official application comes in. She also reported that there was a pledge from Oberlin Community Services for a delinquent water account. The pledge came in on the due date of the current bill & the payment was received after the late fees were posted. She inquired if the board would like to waive the $7.60 late fee due to the timeline of the pledge. Zoltan Zoltai moved to waive the late fee of $7.60. Mark Leshinski seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Finally, she inquired on who would be sending scenarios to Corey Timko after the discussion this evening. She also requested that she be tagged in those emails so that she can be informed during the process. Discussion ensued. The board decided to send the scenarios to the clerk who would compile them & forward them to Corey for organizational purposes. 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: (M) Operator Worklist: Water meter at the Quarries discussed previously. (M) RCAP: Mark Leshinski reported on the Meeting with RCAP. It seemed that the engineering study would need to take place in order for any further actions to come to fruition. Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle brought up the discussion with them regarding asset management. She inquired if the board is interested in working with them on that spectrum. She stated that she does not have many resources in asset management & there was not a plan at all when she took the position, so she feels it may be wise to investigate. The board advised that they are interested in the free services that RCAP could provide, including trainings in Asset Management. Alexandra stated that she could not commit to anything before her leave, however herself & Stephanee can correspond & collectively work on the project. (M) LCRWA: Mark Leshinski reported that they were at the previous council meeting. He briefly recapped the discussion. He reported that they felt that our rates were a bit low. Alexandra inquired if there was discussion of them taking over our water system. Mayor Leshinski stated that there was, however, it was very superficial. 305 East Main Street: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported that she had a conversation with the Law Director directly before the last council meeting regarding 305 E Main Street. Tom Pellittieri joined during this meeting as well. Essentially, the law director advised that the lien on the property would need to be discharged due to the timeline of the sale of the property versus the lien being placed. Tom Pellittieri added that the Law Director discussed pursuing Mr. Harper for the charges associated with the account, & that he is putting together a preliminary quote for his services if we went that route. The takeaways from the meeting were that our law director would advise on the process needed to discharge the lien & provide a preliminary quote for pursuing Mr. Harper for the charges. Zoltan Zoltai inquired if an expense would be incurred to discharge the lien through our law director to which Alexandra responded not that she is aware of. She stated that the way she understood it is that he would advise us on the process of discharging the lien, not that he would necessarily do it for us. Zoltan Zoltai inquired on his hourly charge for the village to which Mayor Leshinski responded he believes it is around $150 per hour. The clerk also advised that the law director mentioned the possibility of having attorney fees covered by Mr. Harper, but he cannot guarantee that possibility. The board nor the clerk has heard back from him yet. The board would like the clerk to follow up with the law director & send a friendly update to the new owner of 305 East Main Street. 4|Page Inactive Account Interest Progress: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle reported that the software update has been completed with the new function for Inactive Account Interest. She provided the options for the cost. It would be 4 hours of maintenance hours, or $95 per hour at 4 hours totaling $380.00. After discussing this with the fiscal officer, she would recommend using the maintenance hours & purchasing more time at the end of the year if necessary. Mark Leshinski moved to proceed with payment for the inactive account interest function using 4 hours of our annual subscription maintenance time. Zoltan Zoltai seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Alexandra advised that the procedure will be created, and it will be implemented next month. She also suggested a notice to the customers may be necessary. Possibly adding a blurb on the water bills for the regular customers, but also sending out a notification to the individuals who have these balances on the inactive accounts. The board discussed sending the notifications out to the current property owners as they would be responsible for the balances following the property. Meter Pit Ordinance/Verbiage: Alexandra Sabine-Tuggle recapped previous discussions on changing an ordinance regarding installation of meter pits. She wanted to verify that the board would still like to move forward with the changes. Herself & Stephanee can start working on the ordinance, it would still need to go through the process of going to the law director & ordinance committee for approval, etc. The board decided to have the clerk reformat the verbiage which Tom provided previously & present it at the next meeting for the board’s review. New Business: Hart Asphalt Quote: Dennis Hevener obtained a quote from Hart Asphalt for five (5) locations in the Village (131 E Main, 6036 Russia, Front of City Hall, 111 Maroy, & 209 N Lake). The total was $7900.00. Mayor Leshinski added that there is another area on South Lake Street which should be addressed. The board would like Dennis to have this additional area added to the quote & report back at the next regular meeting. Tom Pellittieri also asked that Dennis get a price for 200 Oakdale as the concrete needs replaced in the driveway due to complications from a water break. The board would like Dennis to get a quote from Digger’s & present it at the next regular meeting. Mayor Leshinski reported that there will be a new line between the fire station & town hall. There is going to be a quote to run a hardline to the water tower, & it was approved by buildings & grounds to add it into the quote. 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