Board Meeting October 20, 2011

Gardiner Sanitary District

Board of Directors Meeting

October 20, 2011

     Meeting called to order by Jackie Degman, present were Board Members  Mike Quartararo, Charlotte Hinshaw, Dixie Hash and Marc Fullhart.  Also present were Mary Chambers, Mark Ciechanowski, Ray Davenport, Susanna Nordhoff, Bob Brown, Mack Holman, and Tyler Richardson.

     Written copies of the previous minutes were passed out and read, Marc motioned to accept the minutes, seconded by Dixie, motion passed with a unanimous voice vote.

     Written copies of the financial report were passed out and read, Dixie  motioned to accept the report and pay the bills, seconded by Marc, motion passed with a unanimous voice vote.

     Old Business:    

Charlotte reported no new info on the replacement of the furnace. 

Dixie suggested asking American Bridge if they would consider donating the property on Bolin Island to the district since there seems to be a problem with getting an easement from them.  They seem to be very worried about liability issues and if they gave the property to the district they would have absolutely no liability to worry about.  Susanna said that she had not heard anything from the attorney so didn’t know if there had been any progress on that end.  Marc said he would like to meet directly with the boss from American Bridge the next time he’s out here from Pittsburgh.  Dixie made a  motion to have Marc contact the attorney to see what the status of their investigation is and if insufficient progress has been made then Marc can contact American Bridge directly.  Mike seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous voice vote.

Marc reported that the combined Reedsport and Gardiner Fire Departments will be burning the brush piles and the ditch on Bolin Island as a fire practice operation.

                          

                 

        

     New Business:         

Safety Meeting:  Susanna reported that she had to change the batteries for the generators and it was completed without incident. 

Susanna and Mark C. completed a confined entry “class” with Ray teaching proper technique.

Susanna contacted OSHA about doing a review of their facilities because she had found a letter from them regarding such dated earlier this year.  They responded that they provide a couple of different review types and they would get back to her.  Ray said they will probably be wanting to do an inspection, not a consultation, because they had already done a consultation with Shelley earlier this year; he suggested that Susanna call them back and request a second consultation since there has been a total change in personnel since the last consultation.  An inspection is a much more intense review and could result in fines if there were suggestions made at the earlier consultation that were not complied with yet.

Ray’s Report:

Ray reported that the alternative backup plan proposal was sent to DEQ and they responded with some questions: 

They asked about pressure testing the abandoned water line, how the district will address the buildup of solids, etc.  The line has been pressure tested and passed.  Ray responded to their questions and concerns and needs one more number from Civil West and then he’ll be able to get the revised plan back to them.  He expects a pretty quick response from DEQ and expects them to approve the plan.

 He requested that the district establish an account with  Consolidated Supply so that when the plan is approved he’ll be able to move forward with implementation.  Marc made a motion to set up an account with Consolidated Supply with a cap of $3500.00, Dixie seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Ray reported that the DEQ also indicated that they would like the district to be monitoring the pressure main in the evenings as well as in the mornings.

Ray reported that someone appears to be developing the old drydock area on Bolin Island, but Susanna responded that she had talked to them and they are  just Knife River employees cleaning up the site because their lease is coming to an end.

Ray also reported that the county has issued the permit to the district for the work they might need to do on Bolin Island for the backup plan.

Managers Report: 

Susanna and Dixie reported that they had met with Susan Morgan(county commissioner), Mary Camorato(DEQ), Becky Bryant(IFA), and Eileen Opus(grant administration) regarding the scope of work review on the county’s independent review of the districts options.  They were successful in getting the county to add a few of their requests, but they didn’t remove any of the items.

Dixie said that the district will need to do a rate study because it won’t be included in the work done by the county, also, due diligence is only good for 6 months so it’s a good thing we didn’t already have one done.

Susanna will take the certification test on October 28^th. She also found out that once she is certified, she will be required to be available 24 hours a day.  She felt that might become a problem since she will have to be gone from time to time, but that if there is someone on staff that has at least a provisional license, that would satisfy the requirements from the DEQ.

Annual maintenance was completed on the generators on 10/13 by Pacific Power Products. The technician let her know that coolant and hoses need to be changed on both generators, the calibrated spring is broken on both generators and should be replaced (at a cost of approximately $300.00 each), and the block heater needs to be replaced on the Bolin Island generator.  He gave her a bid of $1778.00; she’ll get a second bid.  Dixie made a motion to allow Susanna to make the choice between the two estimates and get the work done, Marc seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Susanna said that a small tool kit is needed and flashlights for each pump station, Mike said he would get the tools and flashlights from sources in the valley.  Marc made a motion to let Mike procure the tools and Charlotte seconded, motion passed by unanimous voice vote. 

Susanna reported that insurance renewal forms need to be filled out.

She also reported that Mark C. had cleaned the generators and did a very good job on them.

Items not on the Agenda, Open to the Public:

Dixie made a motion to set up a $75.00 petty cash fund, Charlotte seconded  and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Dixie also questioned wether we might be able to apply for a grant from CBGD for just the pump collection system and then get private funding for going north?

         The board came out of executive session and Marc motioned to adjourn, Mike seconded and the meeting was adjourned.

             

Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office Manager)

Board Meeting September 15, 2011

Gardiner Sanitary District

Board of Directors Meeting

September 15, 2011

     Meeting called to order by Jackie Degman, present were Board Members  Mike Quartararo, Charlotte Hinshaw and Marc Fullhart.  Also present were Mary Chambers, Mark Ciechanowski, Ray Davenport, Susanna Nordhoff, Bob Brown, Dennis Conger, and Deborah Yates.

     Written copies of the previous minutes were passed out and read, Jackie suggested that the minutes be amended to include the spraying of Bolin Island pump station as part of the cleanup process and Mike motioned to accept the minutes as amended, seconded by Charlotte, motion passed with a unanimous voice vote.

     Written copies of the financial report were passed out and read, Marc  motioned to accept the report and pay the bills, seconded by Mike, motion passed with a unanimous voice vote.

     Old Business:   

 Charlotte reported that no progress had been made on replacement of the furnace.  Mike gave Charlotte a catalog on heaters so that she could estimate a cost for the replacement and call for bids by electricians.  The cost of the heaters Mike had suggested using are approximately $300.00 each and we would need 2 heaters for the meeting room and kitchen.  Charlotte will also contact PUD to see if a rebate will be available for this type of heater.

         Susanna reported that she had noticed that there is an electrical panel on the outside of  the building that is not locked and Marc said he would look into getting it secured.

         Mike reported that the blog information is posted and complete enough to go live unless anyone has anything to add or change.  Everyone agreed that he should make it go live and they could make any changes as they see how it used.        

         Jackie reported that the Bolin Island site has been cleared and that Crossbow is being used to keep the weeds and brush from coming back; the site is much more visible and therefore safer for employees as they access it.  The clearing and spraying will have to be maintained every year or two and it will be much cheaper to maintain than letting it get to the condition that it had been allowed to reach.  Jackie also reported that she and Susanna had met with Atty McClintock regarding the American Bridge easement demands for insurance and new survey.  We feel that that the insurance demands were much too excessive and our current coverage should be adequate, as they are with the county easement also being processed at this time, and that a new survey is completely unnecessary since a professional survey was done recently at district expense and American Bridge has a copy of that.

        

     New Business:         

Safety Meeting:  Susanna reported that she has procured basic safety gear for the pump stations.  Mike was asked to purchase ear muffs and nitro gloves from a source that he knows has the right quality gear at the cheapest prices. 

Ray’s Report:  Ray reported that DEQ has requested amendments to the Emergency Backup Plan that was submitted on 8/16/2011 so he has done additional work to the plan and amended it to include the changes that DEQ requested.  He passed out copies of the new plan but then reported that just today he had been contacted by Francis Dzata of the DEQ with a suggestion that they use the abandoned water main that is already in place across the river to divert the sewage into in the event that the main sewage line breaks.  All that would be required in this case are valves and short diversion pipes on each end to reroute the sewage until the main line could be repaired instead of temporary storage and treatment on the Island and subsequent dumping into the river of less than perfectly treated sewage.  The cost would be considerably less and the consequences less detrimental to the environment.  Ray hasn’t had a chance to pursue this avenue yet because it is such a new development.  Since he has already put additional effort into amending the existing plan, more additional time will be required to research and prepare yet another plan and he needs authorization to continue this pursuit as he is already requesting an additional $675.00 for the work he’s done to date on the amended plan.  Mary questioned whether he was requesting $675.00 net or gross and Ray said net.  Mary reminded him that he needs to make his requests in gross dollars instead.  Mike made a motion to allow Ray to find out more from the DEQ on the possibilities of using the abandoned water main and Marc seconded, the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.  Marc motioned to pay the additional amount that Ray has requested and Charlotte seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Managers Report:

 Susanna reported that the postmaster has requested to use our meeting hall on October 19^th at 6:30pm for a town hall meeting regarding the proposed closure of the Gardiner Post Office and also if we would include a flyer in the next billing to announced the meeting.  Mike made a motion to allow both requests and Marc seconded, the motion passed by unanimous voice vote. 

Susanna also reported that the meeting with Douglas County regarding the proposed scope of work is still pending waiting on Becky Bryant to schedule it.

Susanna’s request for a certification test has been approved and if she passes the test she will be granted the Grade 1 certification without needing the additional experience time normally required as they will allow her past experience to qualify.

Susanna reported that the manhole covers at Bolin Island need to have a better pry bar as the existing one is not working well.  Mike and Ray will access the problem and try to fix or replace the existing tool.

Susanna questioned the problems with the tide gates on the drainage system serving Gardiner as a resident had brought it to her attention.  Everyone concede that the tide gates have not worked properly for quite some time and several requests to the county for repairs in the past have fallen on deaf ears.  Deborah Yates suggested contacting the Umpqua Soil and Water Conservation District as she is under the impression that they are conducting a study or research of some kind on the local tide gates.

Ray is going to conduct a confined space entry lesson for Susanna and Mark tomorrow morning and teach them to use the camera inside the pipes.

Susanna questioned the location of the “As Built’s” that she needs to locate sewer lines for residents when they request it.  Marc thought that they were probably in the attic storage and he would help locate them.

Jackie’s Report: 

Jackie reported that she and Susanna had met with the DEQ at their request on Thursday the 8^th to just have a review of their plans and future options.  Jackie was very happy with how Susanna presented the district to them and how knowledgable she was when they questioned them.

The DEQ wants GSD to be preparing for Plan B in case the county funding falls through and they want to know what the district intends to do in that situation.  John Gasik was concerned that due diligence wasn’t observed when the IP contract was drafted therefore allowing the possibility of future problems.  He suggested that the county’s request for an independent study was a result of the lack of costs being forthcoming by Reedsport originally.

Items not on the Agenda, Open to the Public:  

Mark C’s Report:  Mark C. reported that the Fire Department had met and discussed the need for parking lot repairs and the volunteers would be willing to provide the labor for the repairs if GSD will split the cost of the materials with the Fire Dept.  He also reported that the Fire Department is in need of additional volunteers and have been having trouble recruiting them so they would like to include a flyer in our next billing to try to recruit new members.  Mike made a motion to allow flyers in the bills, Marc seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Mark also reported that the district cell phone has completely quit working and no one could really see the need for maintaining a cell phone so the decision was made to have Mary call AT&T to cancel the cell phone service.

Susanna reported that the Association of Water Utilities membership is coming due and asked whether she should renew it.  They will be having a conference in Florence in November that would probably be beneficial to attend.  Charlotte made a motion to have the membership dues of $75.00 renewed and the conference cost authorized for Susanna, Mike seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

         Jackie called for an executive session (pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(i) to discuss performance of the Operations Manager.

         The board came out of executive session and Marc motioned to adjourn, Mike seconded and the meeting was adjourned.

             

Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office Manager)