Board Meeting February 21, 2013

Gardiner Sanitary District

Board of Directors Meeting

February 21, 2013

     Meeting called to order by Jackie Degman, present were Board Members  Mike Quartararo, Dixie Hash, and Charlotte Hinshaw.  Also present were Mary Chambers, Ray Davenport, Mack Holman and Esther.

     Written copies of the previous minutes were passed out and read, Dixie requested the wording changed on what we were waiting on from Becky Bryant and then motioned to accept the minutes as amended, seconded by Mike, motion passed with a unanimous voice vote.

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

    

      Old Business:

         Jackie reported that we are still in negotiations with the City of Reedsport for the maintenance contract and will be meeting with Vera and Jonathon again on March 1^st.

                 

          Dixie announced that she no longer has time to review the Winchester Bay ordinances that she and Charlotte were going to look over for possible application to our district, Mike said that he would consider taking over for her but was not sure if he has time right now either.  It was decided to put that on hold for now.

          Dixie reported that the county attorney will be meeting with Norb Wondra and our attorney to discuss the ownership transfer of IP’s wastewater facility.

          Dixie also reported that she has been looking into alternative funding options for the facility, such as the DEQ , since the Rural Development loan through the county seems to be dead in the water.

         

      New Business: 

           Ray reported that the meters have been recalibrated and there is still a huge difference in flow readings, so he did a draw down test to measure pump volume and now speculates that there may be a large amount of grit and sediment in the pipe causing increased velocity, therefore scewing the flow readings.  He would like to try cleaning the pipe and would like a budget to get started.

          Mike made a motion to authorize Ray to use up to $3000.00 to get started on cleaning out the pipe, Dixie seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

          Ray reported that though he thought that the meeting went well with Mr. Sambrano of American Bridge, he still hasn’t heard anything back from him.

                   

       Safety Meeting: 

          Ray reported that there are no safety issues that he is aware of and is still waiting to have the OSHA consultation scheduled.

         

      Items not on the Agenda, Open to the Public:  

          Mack questioned how much the monthly rate was going to be going up, he was confused as to whether it would be $75.00 or $55.00.  Jackie and Dixie tried to clear up the confusion and explained that the EDU rate was going up to $75.00 per month but that would only mean an out of pocket monthly rate of $55.00 per month, the difference being made up from the property tax assessment.

Suggestions for Next Meeting:

-       Update on the meeting with the County

-       Tax rate on the ballot for May

-       Update on the contract with City of Reedsport

-       Nest year’s budget committee

          Dixie made a motion to adjourn, Charlotte seconded and the meeting was adjourned.

             

Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office Manager)

     

Notice of Budge Committee Meeting

A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the Gardiner Sanitary District, Douglas County, State of Oregon, to discuss the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, will be held at the Gardiner Fire Hall 208 Marsh Street, Gardiner, OR.  The meeting will take place on April 18, 2013 at 5:30 PM.  The purpose of the meeting is to receive the budget message and to receive comment from the public on the budget.

This is a public meeting where deliberation of the Budget Committee will take place.  Any person may appear at the meeting and discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee.  

A copy of the budget document may be inspected on or after April 15, 2013 at the district office at the Gardiner Fire Hall, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. 

Board Meeting January 17, 2013

Gardiner Sanitary District

Board of Directors Meeting

January 17, 2013

     Meeting called to order by Jackie Degman, present were Board Members  Mike Quartararo, Dixie Hash and Charlotte Hinshaw.  Also present were Mary Chambers, Ray Davenport, and Dennis Conger.

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

    

      Old Business:

         Dennis was contacted by Jonathon Wright to request a continuance to this week to respond to the information that the district had presented to him regarding adjustments to the contract with the City of Reedsport. Dennis agreed, but let him know that we would expect a response by the end of January at the latest, he has not heard back from him as of the meeting time.

                 

          Jackie asked for a motion to accept Ordinance #03-2012 establishing a new EDU rate of $75.00 per month, which would reflect in the monthly customer billings as an increase of $10.00 (from $45.00/month to $55.00/month).  Dixie made a motion to adopt Ordinance #03-2012, Mike seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

          Charlotte reported that the grant request for new heaters for the firehall was not sent in on the correct date so we will not be receiving any grant monies this fiscal year.  The board thanked Charlotte for all of her work on trying to get the grant money and requested that she try again this coming summer when new grant money would be available.

          Dixie has still not heard back from Becky Bryant regarding the progress of the MAP report; she sent information to the IFA and hasn’t heard anything back from them either.

          Mike asked if we had received any input from district patrons that were identified as having potential plumbing issues during the smoke testing and Ray reported that all of the property owners that had been sent letters regarding leaks that needed to be repaired had either finished or were in the process of working to repair the problems.  Some additional patrons were since identified as having a potential problem and he is in the process of preparing letters to them.

      New Business: 

           Ray reported that the Reedsport-side meter is still recording 32% higher flow readings than the Bolin Island meter.  He suggested having the Bolin Island meter calibrated and the Reedsport meter investigated at the same time to save both Gardiner and Reedsport travel expense for the repair man.  He also asked the board to allow him to start repairing the leaks and breaks that he has found in numerous areas within the districts boundaries a little at a time.  The systems’ age is going to start causing more and more problems for the district and it’s patrons and if we start working on the maintenance that has been deferred for so long, hopefully we can avert any major repairs down the road.

          Dixie asked Ray to instruct Steve on how to investigate the past two years’ flow meter readings so that they can find out if there is a specific time when the huge differences between the two meters began.  Ray agreed to get Steve started on that project.

          Ray reported that he contacted Mr. Sambrano at American Bridge and felt that they had a productive discussion regarding the easement problem that we’ve been trying to get resolved with them and came away from the meeting hopeful that some progress may be made in the near future.

          Mike made a motion to have Ray implement the plan he has laid out for the board regarding the following 4 suggestions: 1)have a technician calibrate the Bolin Island meter, 2)call on Reedsport to jet rod/clean the GSD sewer mains from manhole C-2 to C-5 to remove heavy amounts of grit in order to be televised properly, 3)order 6 additional manhole inflow dishes, 4)purchase grout to complete repair of previously plugged pipe at IP property,  Dixie seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

          Charlotte and Dixie have not had an opportunity to properly review the Winchester Bay ordinances that Ray brought for their analysis, so they will try to get to that soon.

         

       Safety Meeting: 

          Ray reported that there are no safety issues that he is aware of and is still waiting to have the OSHA consultation scheduled.

         

      Items not on the Agenda, Open to the Public:  

          The Douglas County Clerk’s office sent a letter listing the board positions that would be up for re-election this May that needs to be reviewed for any inaccuracies and sent back with a signature.  Jackie reviewed, updated and signed the letter and instructed Mary to send it back by the January 25^th due date.

Suggestions for Next Meeting:

-       New Resolutions proposed by Ray

-       Tax rate on the ballot for May

-       Update on the contract with City of Reedsport

-       Possibility of need for supplemental budget

          Meeting went into executive session pursuant to ORS.192.660(2)(h) to discuss consultation with counsel concerning contract negotiations and special district dissolution procedures.  

         Meeting came out of executive session and Mike made a motion to adjourn, Charlotte seconded and the meeting was adjourned.

             

Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office Manager)

     

Board Meeting December 20, 2012

Gardiner Sanitary District

Board of Directors Meeting

December 20, 2012

     Meeting called to order by Jackie Degman, present were Board Members  Mike Quartararo, and Marc Fullhart.  Also present were Mary Chambers, Ray Davenport, and two community members.

     Written copies of the previous minutes were passed out and read, Marc motioned to accept the minutes, seconded by Mike, 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:

         Jackie, Dixie and Dennis met with Jonathon Wright last Tuesday and Dennis presented a proposal for a new contract between the two entities outlining adjustments that Gardiner would like to see implemented.  Mr. Wright requested more time to examine the proposed changes.

                 

          Ray called and emailed American Bridge (both the local office and corporate headquarters) regarding the easement request and has had no response yet.

      New Business: 

           Ray also reported on the huge difference between the meter readings of the flow from the Bolin Island station to the Reedsport plant meter.  He has contacted the Reedsport city manager and explained the situation, and that since he has already taken both meters apart and cleaned them with no change in results, that Reedsport needs to have their meter repaired.  Mr. Wright responded that he would look into getting it repaired or replaced.

          Ray suggested that the district should consider filling the fuel tanks for the generator because they are at about 50%.  Marc made a motion to have Ray get the fuel tanks filled, Mike seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

          Ray also requested an O.K. to do a walk-a-round to find the greatest influx of rainwater to the system in order to try and implement mitigating measures in the most needed areas.  He would like to order 4 more manhole covers to have at the ready if the board agrees.  Marc made a motion to authorize purchase of 4 more manhole covers, Mike seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

          There was some discussion regarding the Winchester Bay ordinances that Ray had presented to the board members to review for consideration for adaptation by the Gardiner Sanitary district, but no decisions were made until all board members were able to voice their opinions and vote on them.

       Safety Meeting: 

          Ray reported that there are no safety issues that he is aware of and is still waiting to have the OSHA consultation scheduled.

         

      Items not on the Agenda, Open to the Public:  

          None

Suggestions for Next Meeting:

-       New Resolutions proposed by Ray

-       Signing of Rate Increase Ordinance

-       Update on the contract with City of Reedsport

-       Heater Update

          Mike made a motion to adjourn, Marc seconded and the meeting was adjourned.

             

Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office Manager)

Board Meeting Nov 15, 2012

Gardiner Sanitary District

Board of Directors Meeting

November 15, 2012

     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, Ray Davenport, Dennis Conger, Bob Brown, Esther Siderman, Robin, and Jerry Schneider.

     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, Marc  motioned to accept the report and pay the bills, seconded by Mike, motion passed with a unanimous voice vote.

    

      Old Business:

         Ray has sent letters to all homeowners’ whose properties were shown to have issues during the smoke test and has had response from two of the six.  They are in the process of correcting the problems.

                 

          Charlotte read the new ordinance and made a motion to adopt it, Dixie seconded and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

           Dixie requested that Rod McCulloch be contacted to get some input as to when and how to get the special tax rate renewal put on the May ballot so that it can go into effect as soon as the old one expires.  Also, to find out how much of a rate we can request.

          Charlotte reported that there is still no update on the heater grant as of this date.

          Dixie. Jackie and Dennis met with the Reedsport city manager for the second time to discuss the contract and while there were some disagreements, some progress was made toward a conclusion.  Mr. Wright stated that he would put together a proposal that should be ready the first part of December. 

           Mike asked whether the letter requesting an easement had been sent to American Bridge and Mary confirmed that it had, Ray volunteered to contact the corporate office at American Bridge to see if any action is being taken in that regard. 

        

     New Business: 

          Ray presented copies of several ordinances that the Winchester Bay Sanitary District has adopted that he feels that Gardiner should consider adopting also.  He made copies for each of the board members so that they could look them over before the next meeting and be ready to discuss them at that time.

          Ray is afraid that there is a problem with the meters because the October flow rates are fairly inconsistent.  He would like to pull the meters and clean them and see if that has any effect.  If it does not he would like to call the TAG technician to come back and see if there is something that can be fixed in them.  Dixie made a motion to have Ray clean the meters, and if that doesn’t fix them to authorize him to call in the tech for a maximum of $550.00 to attempt the repair, Mike seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

          Ray reported that the flushing of the emergency line has taken place so the repair of the sewer line break has been concluded.

         Dixie reported that the meeting with the county commissioners went well, only Doug Robertson came, but there was good local attendance and Mr. Robertson seemed open minded to the possibility of Gardiner Sanitary District building their own plant.

          Jackie wanted to thank the Firemen for painting the firehall and make them aware that George has 5 gallons of floor wax that he is willing to donate to them if they are interested in waxing the floors.

          Ray reported that meter readings during the line break actually increased rather than decreased, which leads him to believe that there was actually very little leakage that took place.

Safety Meeting: 

          Ray reported that there are no safety issues that he is aware of and is still waiting to have the OSHA consultation scheduled.

         

Items not on the Agenda, Open to the Public:  

           Dixie suggested setting up committees in the future, made up of local patrons that would be willing to participate in some of the board’s work, such as reviewing ordinances, if there is enough interest in the general public. 

          Robin stated that she was one of the homeowners that received the letter regarding problems found with the smoke test and was unsure of how to fix the problem that was found on her property.  Ray let her know that he would be willing to meet with her plumber whenever he was available.

          Mike made a motion to accept the minutes of the special meeting of November 5, 2012, Charlotte seconded and the motion passed with unanimous voice vote.

          Meeting went into executive session pursuant to ORS.192.660(2)(a) to discuss employment contract negotiations.

Meeting came out of executive session and Dixie made a motion to accept the amended changes to Ray’s contract allowing him $28.00 per hour for any collection system work in addition to his monthly guaranteed salary plus extending his contract for one full year with no option for termination by either party, Marc seconded, motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Suggestions for Next Meeting:

-       New Resolutions proposed by Ray

-       County update/Meeting between the Attorney’s

-       Update on the contract with City of Reedsport

-       Heater Update

          Dixie made a motion to adjourn, Mike seconded and the meeting was adjourned.

             

Submitted by Mary Chambers (Office Manager)