Gardiner Sanitary
District
Board of Directors
Meeting
July 19, 2012
Meeting called to
order by Jackie Degman, present were Board Members Jackie Degman, Charlotte Hinshaw, Mike
Quartararo, and Dixie Hash. Also present
were Mary Chambers, Ray Davenport, Bob Brown, Jerry Schneider and Jessica
Lloyd-Rogers.
Written copies of
the previous minutes were passed out and read, Charlotte made a motion to
accept the minutes, Mike seconded the motion and the motion passed with a
unanimous voice vote.
Written copies of
the financial report were passed out and read, Dixie made a motion to accept
the report and pay the bills, seconded by Charlotte, and the motion passed with
a unanimous voice vote.
Old Business:
Mike Q. brought
up the legal problems that Reedsport is currently having regarding their
increased sewer rates, etc due to passage of Measure 10-119 and questioned
whether the bill that they have presented us with should be considered final or
not. Dixie reiterated the opinion that
legal counsel has given us, that with no new contract in place, the court
system would likely fall back on the old contract to determine fair
payment. Jackie suggested that since we
are unable to pay the $10,079.82/month that Reedsport has asked for that going
back to the approximately $5000.00 amount that we had been paying (prior to the
period of adjustment allowing credit for the prior year’s overpayments) would
be a reasonable compromise until a better solution can be reached. It was agreed that that would show a good
faith effort on our part and might be doable for a short time, however, the
board is still exploring all options and will make a decision on how to
approach the bill at a later date.
Mike read a
form letter that he had written for the district patrons to sign and send in to
the county representatives if they weren’t comfortable writing their own
letters. Dixie made a motion to polish
the draft letter and get it ready to send out with the August billing as
requested by the constituents at the town hall meeting, Charlotte seconded and
the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
Ray made a
presentation on the employment search – we now have 3 applications - so he will
review them and set up interviews at a time that he, Jackie and Dixie will all
be able to attend.
Ray gave a
detailed presentation of the problems that he has encountered at the Bolin
Island pump station in the last few weeks.
The check valve broke off in the pipeline due to lack of maintenance
over the last several years, which also contributed to further problems while
trying to repair and replace it. The
whole system is in a very fragile state due to age and lack of proper
maintenance. However, he checked the
valves on the firehall pump station and was able to turn them without breaking
them so he will be able to replace the pump there this weekend as planned.
Dixie made
a motion to have Ray replace the valve that is broken on Bolin Island, Mike Q.
seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
Dixie spoke with Norb Wondra of I.P. and has
come up with a list of items to “fix” the agreement with I.P. that should
satisfy the county’s concerns. Mike made
a motion, and Charlotte seconded, to have Dixie take the list to legal counsel
and have them draft a new agreement to remove the stumbling blocks that the
county has issues with. The motion
passed by unanimous voice vote.
Mike made a motion to approve the minutes from
the May 24th budget hearing meeting, Dixie seconded and the motion
passed by unanimous voice vote.
New Business:
Daily Logs – The
only events to be reported have already been addressed earlier by Ray’s report
on the valve problems, etc.
Safety Meeting –
A confined space entry was performed, due to the above problems, and it was
done by the book and a report was written.
Dixie reported
that a Phase 1 study application for grant money with the state has been sent
by Matt Wadlington (from Civil West). We
are still trying to stay on track and proceed with the next steps necessary for
the project to move forward.
Dixie also
related that while speaking with Norb Wondra, he let her know that he had
spoken to Dan Davis (IP Tennessee) who contacted Senator Joanne Verger and she is willing to
help us out with our project if she can.
Items Not on the Agenda:
Charlotte said
that Sylvia has requested a key to the firehall so that when she sets up for
her monthly blood pressure clinic, she doesn’t need to wait on someone to let
her in. Dixie made a motion to have
Charlotte get another key made to give to Sylvia, Jackie seconded and the
motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
Charlotte
reported that the grant application for the furnace replacement was mailed on
July 16th and will be reviewed on August 16th.
Mike had a
question about what resources and/or mechanisms the district has available for
investigation of abuses of the sewer system.
He is aware of at least one circumstance that is not an allowable use of
the system, and from the town hall meeting discussion, there are apparently
other instances that should be investigated and corrected. Ray said he has ways to correct problems and
will look into those that he becomes aware of.
Mike requested setting up a smoke test for August, Dixie made a motion
to have Ray perform a smoke test in August, and have notices inserted in the
August billing, Mike seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
Bob Brown
questioned whether the district should send the county a letter regarding the
liability issues that they are concerned about with the brownfields, but Dixie
reassured him that they are well aware that the liability remains with the
original owner and wouldn’t get transferred to them but that their legal
counsel still advises against any possible involvement, regardless.
Suggested Agenda Items for Next Meeting:
- Safety
Meeting
- Pump
Replacement
- Employment
update
- Logbooks
- MAP
study
- Smoke
Testing
- Meeting
with Nate McClintock
- DEQ
Interest/Loan payments
Meeting went into executive
session pursuant to ORS.192.660(2)(h) to discuss consultation with counsel
concerning contract negotiations.
Meeting came out
of executive session and Mike made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Charlotte
seconded, motion passed by unanimous voice vote and the meeting was adjourned.
Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office
Manager)
