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 28th. 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)
