MINUTES OF MEETING
PORT OF THE
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
The regular meeting of the Board of
Supervisors of the Port of the Islands Community Improvement District was held
on
Present and constituting a quorum
were:
Ted
Bissell Chairman
(Via Telephone)
Dale
Lambert Vice Chairman
Norine
Dillon Secretary
Richard
Gatti Assistant
Secretary
Richard
Ziko Assistant
Secretary
Also present were:
Calvin
Teague District Manager
Dan
Cox Attorney
(Via Telephone)
Ron
Benson Engineer
Bob
Dick Field
Manager
Robert
Edge Field
Operator
Robert
Migdal
Tom
Mack Staff
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS Roll
Call
Mr. Lambert called the meeting to
order and Mr. Teague called the roll.
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS Approval of the
Minutes of the
July 13, 2007 Meeting
Mr. Lambert stated each Board member
received a copy of the minutes of the
Ms. Dillon stated on Page 11 in the
second line of the fifth paragraph, $565
should replace $565,000.
Mr. Lambert stated on Page 2 in the
second paragraph not should be
deleted for should be added after pay.
On Pages 33 and 36 in the motion boxes, Fire should be deleted after
On MOTION by Ms. Dillon
seconded by Mr. Ziko with all in favor the minutes of the
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS Audience
Comments
Mr. Lambert stated I want to make a
recommendation for future meetings. Since
we do not have many audience members, I believe we should try letting them make
their comments or ask questions at this point, as opposed to waiting until
after we have made decisions and making them wait until the end of the meeting
to speak.
Mr. Mack asked will we discuss the
fire department?
Mr. Lambert responded I believe this
will come up during Mr. Cox’ report.
Mr. Mack stated perhaps the Board can
consider sending a letter to the electric company in order to determine why we
have been having so many brownouts lately.
Mr. Lambert asked are they causing
any problems with our equipment since most of them appear to be instantaneous?
Mr. Edge responded one of the
brownouts lasted for 1½ hours, which started at
Mr. Mack stated the quick ones do
the most damage.
Mr. Lambert stated we have always
gotten the quick ones since I have lived here.
Mr. Ziko stated I do not have to
reset the clocks when the quick ones occur.
Mr. Mack stated I wonder whether or
not there is a problem within the system which should be addressed.
Mr. Lambert stated I do not see a
problem if we send them a letter, but they have not given bad service, and I
believe it is well within what they are required to do, but sending a letter
may be worthwhile.
Mr. Mack stated we can see how it
evolves over the next couple of months, but I thought I should let you know.
Ms. Dillon stated I sent a note to
Mr. Teague as to whether or not it makes sense to send them a letter asking for
some indication as to what is causing this, but I am not whether or not it will
change things.
Mr. Lambert asked what is the
Board’s pleasure?
Mr. Gatti responded I do not believe
we should waste the time.
Mr. Lambert stated I believe they
are well within what they are required to do, and quite honestly I am surprised
at the good level of service we get down here.
We are always going to have power outages from time to time, and as long
as the momentary ones are not affecting our equipment operations, it should not
be a problem.
Mr. Teague stated for clarification,
we moved Audience Comments to the top
of the agenda at the request of Mr. Lambert for this and all future meetings.
Mr. Gatti stated I believe most
audience comments are based upon our discussions and after listening to us,
they may have more comments.
Mr. Lambert stated my only concern
is if they attend the meeting in order to comment on specific issues which we
have already acted upon, everything has been resolved before they can comment.
Mr. Teague stated some Boards I work
with have two Audience Comment segments
at the beginning and end of the meeting.
Mr. Ziko stated some people attend
the meeting with the intention of making one comment, and they are forced to
sit here for four hours. Therefore, I
believe we should also have Audience
Comments at the end in order for them to be able to comment on what we just
discussed at the meeting.
Mr. Lambert stated we should set up this
segment both at the beginning and the end.
Since I am running this meeting, I recommend allowing staff to make
their complete presentations before asking questions.
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Public Hearing to
Consider the Adoption of the Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 (Resolution 2007-6)
and Levy of Non Ad Valorem Assessments (Resolution 2007-7)
The
record reflects the Public Hearing for adoption of the Fiscal Year 2008 budget
opened at
Mr. Teague stated I will go through
highlights of the budget and we will address audience comments or questions.
We made some changes. We took Fixed
Assets out of the retained earnings for purposes of the budget in order to
identify your status. The General Fund has a 5% increase in
assessments, as requested at the last meeting.
Revenue is grossed up. This year we broke down the Revenue to show it as a Contra or Negative Revenue, with a difference of $17,000 as a result of the
prepaid gross-up. We have no capital
projects, but we have $84,000 in Capital Reserves. The fund balance is projected to remain at
$921,137, which combined with your budgeted reserves of $84,000, leaves you a reserve
of just above $1 Million in the General
Fund.
Ms. Dillon stated it appears your
management fees increased by 4%.
Mr. Teague stated it should be 3½%.
Ms. Dillon asked is this indicated
in your contract?
Mr. Teague responded we typically
include a cost of living increase.
Mr.
Lambert stated I believe there was a cost of living increase. However, I do not remember what index was
being used. There is nothing indicated
on our project list for the resurfacing and repair of the Stella Maris north
portion of Cays Drive and the resurfacing on the north side back to the
plant. How does this impact our budget?
Mr. Teague responded anything added
will reduce your cash reserves as the cash in the pro forma identifies what it
is. The pro forma will be in the
projections following the Water & Sewer
Fund; and you will see a running total of what we are projecting. You have funds in the Water & Sewer Fund, which is your Enterprise Fund, but the estimated cash balance reflects the impact
of the existing projects in the fund. We
made a change as I was withdrawing from the fixed assets, and we thought you
had approximately $300,000 in 2006, for which we estimated approximately $220,000
had been for the membrane system, and we reduced it. However, Mr. Benson confirmed this is not
true. Therefore, approximately $200,000 must
be put back into the expenses, but you are still in a healthy cash position.
Mr. Benson stated I believe most of
this occurred before the new water line, reuse water line and irrigation lines
were installed.
Mr. Teague stated this is reflected
on Page 23 under WW-18, which shows approximately $661,000 for the 2007 Budget,
and I believe we changed it to $998,000 because we thought $661,000 was a
reflection of what was left from what was done in the 2006 Budget.
Mr. Lambert asked will those changes
go into our official budget document?
Mr. Teague responded we will make
the adjustment along with the additional $25,000 to $30,000 which Mr. Benson
gave me. We also need to adjust some of
the $200,000 up front engineering costs which were not reflected. We take 15% of the total remaining balance
from the engineering costs. However, most
of the engineering for the membrane system is from 2006, of which we will be
able to capture some of this.
Mr. Lambert asked will any of these
changes affect the end amount we are going to charge the property owners?
Mr. Teague responded it will not.
We
increased the assessments for both the General
Fund and the Wastewater Fund by
5%. Your assessments for debt service are
actually decreasing by 43%, the savings is between $240 to $460 depending on
the unit and the net result is a reduction in total assessments of
approximately 15%. The breakdown is
shown on Page 11, in which the General
Fund assessments will increase from $363 to $381, representing a 5%
increase in debt service except for those containing no debt service. I am not certain why this is the case. It was either prepaid or there never was debt
on this portion. There is a 43%
reduction in each unit type; with Water
& Sewer increasing from $1,020 to $1,071, which is a 5% increase in total
assessments, in which there is no debt service to where it is as high as an 18.8%
decrease.
Mr. Ziko stated please explain the
change in the debt service fund on an individual basis. I am in Phase 2 which shows $605 and $1,065,
and my bond is paid off. Will this go to
the interest payment which has to be paid for residents who have not paid off
their bond?
Mr. Teague responded that is
correct. This also includes principal
which is still proportionate since the bonds are being paid down.
Mr. Ziko stated each I thought each
bond was individual.
Mr. Teague stated there is one bond,
but the assessment is individual.
Mr. Ziko asked why does this change
in such a drastic manner?
Mr. Teague responded Page 10 shows a
reduction of approximately $14,000 in the interest due and $3,000 in the
principal, for a total of approximately $17,000 from the last two payments
which was not carried forward.
Mr. Lambert stated I understood a
large amount of interest accrued as a result of the amount due on the RV
property after it was finally settled which helped us reduce this, according to
Mr. Cox.
Mr. Teague asked is this correct?
Mr. Cox responded when we had the
various issues taking place with the bond and the lawsuits with the North
Hotel, all four of those assessments were delinquent, and they incurred
interest at a rate of 9% per annum, with penalties of 1% per month. When we collected all of the money owed from
the North Hotel and the RV Park, we also collected those penalties which were
applied against the principal balance and caused the reduction. It was a windfall for the District from all
of the problems t we had collecting this money a few years ago.
Mr. Teague stated your cash flow is solid. You will a have $964,000 fund balance in the General Fund going into next year since
we pulled out the retained earnings, after you take $55,000 or $56,000 for
capital reserves and $28,000 for CIP. You
have $1 Million in CIP expenditures in the Enterprise
Fund, and you are reducing the fund balance by $320,000. Therefore, you will still have $533,000 to
$534,000 in cash at the end of next year.
Mr. Bissell asked will all tax bills
be identical to this year?
Mr. Teague responded this is not the
case since the debt service is reduced.
Mr. Bissell stated according to Page
27 of our minutes in which we discussed this, you told us the taxable rate was
going to increase.
Mr. Teague stated a 5% increase was
put in place which went into the capital reserves.
Mr. Bissell stated we spent
considerable time at the last Board meeting discussing this, and I thought it
was clear we were going to collect the same amount of money in the next budget
year as we did last year because we need the money for all of these projects
which are coming up.
Mr. Lambert stated I thought we did this
by increasing the O&M and the Water & Sewer by 5%. We are going to collect 5% more for each of
those funds, thereby reducing the debt service.
I am not certain of the exact calculation, but I assume it is close to what
we billed last year.
Mr. Teague stated the total billing
will be less than what you billed last year.
On Page 11, there is a 14% to 15% decrease in the total assessment after
the two 5% increases. For example, the
hotel’s assessment on Parcel was billed from $2,100 to $1,790 and Sunrise Cay
was billed from $2,127 to $1,805. The
total assessment per unit is decreasing.
However, I am not certain whether or not we were supposed to increase it
by more than 5% to offset the decrease in debt service.
Mr. Lambert stated we agreed to 5%.
Mr. Teague stated I believe 5% is an
inflationary increase since nothing new is planned requiring a 197 Notice. What will the impact of a 10% to 15% increase
be?
Mr. Cox responded it is a function
of what percentage of increase is going to take place unless there are factors
triggering this requirement such as it being levied for the first time. However, it is a matter of factoring your
incremental increases into your assessment level.
Mr. Bissell stated I do not want to
hear next year we do not have money for projects because we decreased our
income.
Mr. Cox stated you did not decrease
your income. You decreased your
assessment level, but your General Fund income, which is discretionary purchasing,
is going to increase 5%. Debt service
money does not really count because it is not considered discretionary money.
Mr. Lambert stated our working funds
should be increased 5% over last year.
Mr. Teague stated this will increase
in both accounts.
Mr. Lambert stated the big effect is
debt service.
Mr. Bissell stated I understand this
and I hope it is reflected in the minutes.
Mr. Ziko stated if you look at Pages
20 and 21, we are going to have approximately $1.5 Million in reserves at the
end of Fiscal Year 2008.
Mr. Teague stated this will be the
case in both funds.
Mr. Ziko stated we are going to have
$964,000 in one and $533,000 in the other one.
I believe this is more than adequate to take care of these $10,000 and
$20,000 bills which come up.
Ms. Dillon stated it gives us some
excess funds in the event an emergency arises.
Mr. Ziko stated we are going to have
more than $2 Million in cash on hand in 2009.
Mr. Bissell stated I understand
this, but you are referring to a statement with figures, and this is not what
happens.
Mr. Ziko asked what else do we have
to go by?
Mr. Bissell responded we had a large
carry-over which I brought up to the Board several years ago, but there is a
smokescreen here.
Mr. Ziko stated I can only go by the
figures in front of me.
Mr. Lambert asked what is the
Board’s pleasure?
Ms. Dillon responded I am
comfortable with 5% as it stands.
Mr. Lambert asked are you
uncomfortable?
Mr. Bissell responded I am
uncomfortable.
Mr. Lambert asked what is the status
of the property in which nothing was charged to O&M, but there were charges
for Water & Sewer?
Mr. Teague responded it is on the
agenda for discussion.
Mr. Lambert asked does this have to
be resolved before we approve the budget?
Mr. Teague responded it is not
necessary.
Mr. Lambert asked where does the
Board stand with regards to adopting the budget?
Mr. Teague responded a motion is
required to close the public hearing.
Ms. Dillon asked were you able to
locate the contract?
Mr. Teague responded I am not
certain I have the correct contract since it is from 1993 and does not discuss
money at all.
Mr. Ziko stated it was superseded by
the current agreement you are operating under.
Mr. Teague stated Water & Sewer
is a separate agreement. Has Severn
Trent Management ever changed?
Mr. Ziko responded it has.
Ms. Dillon stated this was something
I noted and I was not certain if the contract stated it was an automatic
increase or whether the Board has to acknowledge or approve it, but I will
check on it.
Mr. Benson stated one item you
mentioned earlier was completion of the paving project. I am not certain whether or not this was
handled yet because I recall the project was indefinitely postponed until the
Board decided to do the project.
Therefore, this is not noted on the work sheet because they are off in
the future as unidentified time. If you want to schedule this to be done
within the next couple of years, the Board needs to direct the Manager and the
Engineer.
Ms. Dillon stated the Union Road paving
project was delayed indefinitely because we did not know what Orchid Cove was
going to do or the RV Park portion.
Mr. Benson stated the section in the
middle of
Mr. Lambert stated we just need to
give some direction of when we want to commence these projects in the future.
Mr. Teague stated you can always
amend the budget, but you cannot increase the assessments until you get to the
next budget cycle.
Mr. Lambert stated I believe the
earliest time we will consider doing this is in 2008 or later.
Mr. Benson stated I agree with
you. I just wanted to ensure we were on
the same page since we were waiting for the Board to decide.
Mr. Ziko asked do we want to include
something for this for 2009?
Ms. Dillon responded this may not be
a bad idea.
Mr. Lambert asked does this affect
the budget?
Mr. Ziko responded it does not. However, it makes sense to have it in there
in order to project road costs for 2009.
Ms. Dillon stated we are only going
to do this for
Mr. Lambert stated I believe a small
job is going to cost us more money, and if we can wait until
Mr. Teague stated you may want to have
a work session with the Board, Mr. Edge, Mr. Dick and Mr. Benson in order to do
some long range planning and consider the other projects you may want to
include in the budget. There are higher
cash flow projections, according to the pro forma on Page 21. After the 2008 budget is over, your reserves
are going to increase, especially in Water & Sewer. You will be at $1 Million in 2009 and $1.6
Million in 2010, which does not include $1 Million in the General Fund.
Mr. Ziko stated this will only be
reflected if we keep it at the present assessment.
Mr. Teague stated the rates must
also stay the same. The revenue for
assessments and the water revenue stay consistent through those two years.
Mr. Benson stated the one issue
which was not requested in the CIP budget is replacement of the water treatment
plant. Mr. Edge, Mr. Dick and their crew
are doing everything they can to keep it together and they are doing a good
job, but at some point it is going to be a larger expenditure, possibly for
2010 or beyond.
Mr. Ziko stated I believe this will
be from a new bond issue.
Mr. Benson stated this is the
Board’s decision. It is a big number and
we do not have enough information to project this as well as inflation for
construction.
There being no further comments or
questions,
On MOTION by Ms. Dillon
seconded by Mr. Ziko with all in favor the Public Hearing for Adoption of the
Fiscal Year 2008 Budget was closed.
Mr. Teague stated you must approve
Resolution 2007-6, which adopts the budget.
All of the numbers will be included in accordance with this adopted
budget.
Mr. Lambert asked do you want me to
sign this for you?
Mr. Bissell responded Mr. Teague is
going to send the documents to me via Federal Express.
On MOTION by Mr. Ziko
seconded by Ms. Dillon with all in favor Resolution 2007-6 Relating to the
Annual Appropriations of the District and Adopting the Budget for the Fiscal
Year Beginning October 1,2007, and Ending September 30, 2008, and Referencing
the Maintenance and Benefit Special Assessments to be Levied by the District
for Said Fiscal Year was adopted.
Mr. Teague stated Resolution 2007-7
authorizes the levying of the assessments.
Mr. Ziko stated there are a couple
of blank spaces on this resolution.
Mr. Teague stated this information
will be filled in from the adopted budget by our Accounting Department.
Mr. Ziko asked will it remain
basically the same as last year?
Mr. Teague responded I believe so.
Mr. Ziko stated we have an audience
of one here right now, but I have a feeling residents may ask when this
assessment is going to come off within a couple of months, which has nothing to
do with the budget we just passed.
However, it was projected into 2010, and at the same time we are
probably going to be looking at major improvements on the water and sewer
treatment plant. Residents were asking
why it was still in effect last year. I
believe 2010 is the sixth or the seventh year it will be in effect.
Mr. Lambert stated although it was
discussed, I do not believe it was ever formally set at five years.
Mr. Ziko stated the money was based
on a five-year projection in the amount of $700.
On MOTION by Ms. Dillon
seconded by Mr. Ziko with all in favor Resolution 2007-7 Levying and Imposing a
Non Ad Valorem Maintenance Special Assessment for Fiscal Year 2008 was adopted.
FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Manager’s
Report
A.
Consideration
of Resolution 2007-8 Designating Pamela Rower as Treasurer and Robert Koncar as
Assistant Treasurer
Mr.
Teague stated because of changes we have had in our structure, Mr. Koncar now
being in the
There being no comments or
questions,
On MOTION by Ms. Dillon
seconded by Mr. Ziko with all in favor Resolution 2007-8 Designating Pamela
Rower as Treasurer and Robert Koncar as Assistant Treasurer was adopted.
B.
Consideration
of Resolution 2007-5 Removing Jan Zilmer and Designating Theodore Bissell as
Trustee of the Money Purchased Pension Fund with Loring Ward Securities, Inc.
Mr.
Teague stated Resolution 2007-5 basically changes the Trustee for the
Retirement Fund for Mr. Stephens.
Currently, Jan Zilmer receives a small compensation for doing this, and
Mr. Bissell will do this at no cost.
However, Mr. Bissell is going to make it a personal mission to talk to
Mr. Stephens and convince him to take a buyout in order for us to be able to
close this account.
Mr. Ziko asked is the other employee
included in this?
Mr. Teague responded he took a
buyout already. Mr. Stephens is the last
one.
On MOTION by Ms. Dillon
seconded by Mr. Ziko with all in favor Resolution 2007-5 Removing Jan Zilmer
and Designating Theodore Bissell as Trustee of the Money Purchased Pension Fund
with Loring Ward Securities, Inc. was adopted.
C.
Meeting
Schedule for Fiscal Year 2008
Mr.
Teague stated your meeting schedule is set up for the same time, which is the
second Friday of each month at
Ms. Dillon moved to
approve the Meeting Schedule for Fiscal Year 2008 and Mr. Ziko seconded the
motion.
Mr. Teague stated a motion is
required because we are going to publish this as a formal action of the Board
setting these meetings.
There being no further comments or
questions,
On VOICE vote with all in
favor the prior motion was approved.
D.
Discussion
of Assessment Question for a
Mr.
Teague stated this is concerning the property which gets charged for standby
water. I believe it is being charged
this way because it is not anticipated to be a developable lot.
Mr. Lambert stated their original
plan called for a pool and I heard the condominiums intend on going ahead with
this.
Mr. Ziko asked are you cutting off this
spot?
Mr. Teague responded this is where I
thought it might be.
Mr. Lambert stated it is one piece
of property.
Mr. Ziko asked is the entire
property not being charged?
Mr. Lambert responded that is
correct. I investigated this, and we
have another parcel on the other side with a pool, in which it appears nothing
is being charged for standby water and O&M due to some type of inconsistency. However, I believe it is all being absorbed
by the individual condominium owners, since they do have water & sewer. I am not certain whether or not an error was
made when the information was calculated or if the spreadsheet which is sent to
the county was ever audited. For
example, when the condominiums in the Villages of Stella Maris were sold from
the developer to the owner, how did you know the parcel changed hands?
Mr. Teague responded it goes to the
county records.
Mr. Lambert stated I am curious as
to the reason there is no O&M charge on this parcel. I am not certain if this is an oversight or if
it has to do with the way it was divided.
Mr. Teague asked is there no O&M
on the other pool area?
Mr. Lambert responded that is
correct. We should be consistent in how
we are going to do this. Some of this
may have to be distributed among the condominium owners in order to be
consistent or else we need to add some O&M.
Mr. Benson asked are you familiar
with the lot we are referring to?
Mr. Cox responded perhaps you can
refresh my memory.
Mr. Benson stated it is located in
Stella Maris right on
Mr. Ziko stated it is the entire
property which all four buildings are on.
Mr. Benson stated I recall they have
a certain number of assessed units and ERCs on the entire tract and the
developer used up all of their allocated assessments for those parcels when
they built the units. Although there was
a potential amenity at one point, I do not believe they have an SDP allowing
additional building because they used all of their allocations for assessments
and ERCs. I believe the land in back of
the building is their stormwater management system, but their SDP shows some
type of amenity for the community.
Mr. Lambert stated when I purchased
my home I was told there was going to be a pool or tennis court there.
Mr. Benson stated I believe this is
the only type of structure they can build.
I do not believe they can build a building?
Mr. Lambert stated perhaps Mr.
Teague can investigate and come back to the next meeting with a recommendation
on how this should be handled.
Mr. Teague stated we will look at
the discrepancies between the two condominiums, and I will ask Ms. Karen Ellis to
contact Mr. Cox and ensure the assessment methodology was applied appropriately.
E.
Discussion
of Signage
Mr.
Teague stated this is the latest version.
Mr. Ziko and Ms. Dillon told me they believe the Port of the
Mr. Ziko stated I prefer it to be larger
than the curve, and dominate the top of the sign rather than have it recessed.
Ms. Dillon stated perhaps it should
be darker in order for it to appear more prominent than Resort and Waterfront Community.
Mr. Teague stated you can choose the
color, but I believe you asked for light blue.
Mr. Lambert stated light blue was
not the color we used originally. The
color was more outstanding, but I do not recall if we decided to change
them. I was under the impression we did
not. I thought the other ones were more
colorful and stood out better.
Mr. Teague stated this might just be
the printer.
Ms. Dillon stated I do not recall
the original signage having such a dark background color.
Mr. Lambert stated it stood out much
better. We should try to get the Board
to decide today whether or not the sign for the arch is acceptable. I believe we decided to go with a three by
six sign for
Mr. Teague stated there are two
signs in the median.
Mr. Ziko stated I thought the signs
were going to be four by six.
Mr. Lambert stated we should decide
today.
Mr. Teague stated there are seven
signs. The two larger signs at
Mr. Ziko stated this is only five
signs.
Mr. Teague stated the signs are
double-sided at five locations.
Mr. Ziko stated I want to see some
of these signs moved over and made bigger to fill in the top of the arch more
and make it proportionate with the rest of the signs because even though this was
reduced in size, the lettering should still be larger than what it currently is.
Mr. Lambert stated we need to give
direction.
Ms. Dillon stated last month we
agreed the preference is four by six if it cannot be made larger. With regards to permitting, Mr. Ortiz said
they cannot exceed 12 square feet.
Mr. Lambert stated in other words,
four by six is too large.
Mr. Ziko stated three by six is 18
square feet.
Mr. Teague stated I do not believe
he would have sent the four by six if it was not permissible. However, we can go with three by six if it is
not permissible.
Mr. Ziko stated you cannot go with
the three by six since it totals 18 square feet.
Ms. Dillon stated perhaps this is an
error.
Mr. Lambert stated we need to verify
this is the correct address. This
picture shows 24998. I thought there was something out front which
said, 25000.
Ms. Dillon stated the Egret Room has
the address of 25000.
Mr. Teague asked do we need to
change the address from 24998 to 25000?
Mr. Ziko responded I wonder if 24998 is the address for the building in
which the real estate office is located, and the hotel’s address is 25000.
Mr. Lambert stated I am not
certain. Perhaps we should not indicate
an address.
Ms. Dillon stated I do not believe
we need to include an address on it.
Mr. Teague I assume you prefer Port of the Islands to be larger.
Ms. Dillon stated I want it to be
more prominent, either larger or darker, as long as it stands out more than the
lower letters.
Mr. Lambert asked do you want to
wait until we see another picture before we make a decision?
Mr. Teague responded he create updated
pictures because he wants the proofs approved.
Therefore, I will show them to everyone and ensure you are happy before
I approve them.
Mr. Lambert asked what else does the
Board need to decide on?
Ms. Dillon responded we need to
decide on the color.
Mr. Lambert stated these are not the
original colors I recall seeing.
Ms. Dillon stated I agree.
Mr. Teague stated it may be because
of my printer.
Mr. Ziko stated I believe it is the proof
he sent. I believe a sky-blue background
is better.
Ms. Dillon stated I do not like
gray.
Mr. Lambert stated I know we have
seen copies with a different shade than this.
Mr. Teague stated I will get a
lighter blue.
Mr. Lambert stated I want the shade
which was shown at the last meeting.
Mr. Ziko stated the one which was
put on the monument is close to white.
Ms. Dillon asked does he need this
information for the permits?
Mr. Teague responded I believe so.
F.
Review of
Billing Cycles and Related Costs
Mr.
Teague stated you are trying to determine whether you should go with a monthly,
bi-monthly or quarterly billing cycle. I
found out there is still a cost for running the billing system along with the
people supporting it. The only savings
is the direct cost for paper and postage.
Mr. Lambert asked why are there
costs when nothing needs to be done with the account and the only cost you are
dealing with is the information residing on the computer?
Mr. Teague responded you still have
personnel.
Mr. Lambert stated they do not have
to touch the account.
Mr. Ziko asked is this the only
account they handle?
Mr. Teague responded no.
Mr. Ziko stated I do not believe we
should pay them to do nothing.
Mr. Teague stated this is their
cost. Perhaps I can see if Mr. Dan Daly
will not charge for those off months.
Ms. Dillon asked will you still be
reading the meters during this period?
Mr. Dick responded it can be done
either way.
Mr. Lambert asked why would the
meters need to be read during a non-billing week?
Mr. Edge responded doing it this way
will help us to determine whether or not anyone had any problems, especially
during a three month span.
Mr. Dick stated the billing issue is
separate from our contract.
Ms. Dillon asked do you input data
into this system?
Mr. Dick responded after they are
read, we will download the information into the billing computer in order to
determine the level of consumption.
Ms. Dillon stated they do not have
to do anything with it.
Mr. Dick stated they need a certain
amount of information in order to send us the report unless we load it up from
here electronically, in which case they can send us the report.
Mr. Teague stated they must maintain
a system there even though they are not sending out bills and they have staff
members available to answer telephone calls.
Mr. Ziko stated they have to be
there anyway.
Mr. Teague stated they must be paid.
Ms. Dillon asked is this all they
do?
Mr. Teague responded it is a billing
department.
Mr. Lambert asked does anyone have
preferences based on this information?
Mr. Ziko responded this is not a large
amount of money.
Ms. Dillon stated it is $5,000.
Mr. Ziko stated we are giving these
people $4,200 on a quarterly basis to be on standby.
Mr. Teague stated we can see if Mr.
Daly and his group will handle this.
Mr. Lambert asked is this the group
who previously handled this?
Mr. Teague responded that is
correct.
Mr. Lambert asked will we be going
outside of Severn Trent?
Mr. Teague responded yes.
Ms. Dillon stated they were going to
increase their fees.
Mr. Teague stated I am not certain
how high they are going to increase their fees.
Our billing department consists of a small staff within our
organization.
Mr. Lambert asked what is the
Board’s pleasure?
Mr. Ziko responded since I am not in
favor of giving them something for nothing, perhaps we should continue to bill
as we have been.
Ms. Dillon stated $4,200 per year is
not a large amount.
Mr. Ziko stated the bi-monthly cost
is $3,100 and quarterly is $4,200.
Mr. Lambert asked does the Board
want to leave this as it is?
Mr. Ziko responded yes.
Mr. Gatti responded yes.
Mr. Ziko responded we are going to
leave it as it stands.
Mr. Teague stated Mr. Dick probably
has more influence than me since I am in Management Services and this is coming
out of Operating Services.
I have a couple of other billing
issues which need to be straightened out.
We have 781 bills and 1,905 accounts, many of which are outdated and
should be deleted. We obviously want to
keep the current accounts as well as the last tenant.
Ms. Dillon asked are you referring
to the water billing?
Mr. Teague responded I am referring
to the water & sewer billing.
Mr. Lambert asked will you send a
bill with zero due on those?
Mr. Teague responded there are 1,905
accounts on the system and we want to delete the ones which are no longer billed,
but are still on the system. We want to
have a policy in which we keep the current billing for the current tenants as
well as the last tenant in the event we need any historical data.
Mr. Lambert asked is there any legal
reason to keep this information?
Mr. Cox responded there are none
which I know of.
Ms. Dillon asked are there any which
may be beneficial to the plant?
Mr. Dick responded no.
Mr. Ziko asked can you make this a
permanent record on a CD after which they may be deleted?
Mr. Teague responded this is
possible.
Mr. Lambert asked are you going to
keep the last tenant?
Mr. Teague responded that is
correct.
Mr. Lambert asked is a motion
required?
Mr. Teague responded the minutes
should reflect the Board’s consensus.
Ms. Dillon asked where is the old
data going to be kept?
Mr. Teague responded it will be kept
in the
Ms. Dillon stated I worked for a
large company in which this was done, and after a few years no one ever knew it
existed which lead me to question why we were keeping it in the first place.
Mr. Teague stated since every billing
question goes to the
The next billing item involves the
water bills we are sending out for small amounts such as 8 cents, which does
not make sense because we are just billing them in increments of ones and not
thousands. For example, 1,000 gallons of
water costs $2.33, and this is what we are looking at as opposed to billing out
for each gallon. We prefer to send out
bills for 1,000 gallons or more.
Ms. Dillon asked what happens to the
water usage?
Mr. Teague responded they will get
billed for it eventually. They may not
receive a bill for two or three months, but as soon as the meter reads 1,000
gallons, they will get billed for it.
Mr. Lambert asked will the only
savings be for postage?
Mr. Teague responded that is
correct. The bill will not go out until
you use 1,000 gallons.
Mr. Ziko stated you were going to
charge us 75 cents for a unit for not doing it from the beginning.
Mr. Teague stated I am not
completely familiar with the billing system.
Next month Mr. Goscicki will be here and he is more familiar with this
process.
Mr. Dick stated it will reflect zero
usage.
Ms. Dillon asked who will see the
savings?
Mr. Dick responded it will prevent
someone from receiving a bill for 12 cents, writing a check for this amount and
mailing it back to us. Therefore, the
customer will see the savings. It
generated many telephone calls in which people were concerned when they were
away and there was no usage. They
received a bill for 10 cents and became concerned they have a leak. Billing in 1,000 gallon increments will
reflect zero consumption for the other months.
Therefore, I believe they will still receive a bill reflecting zero
consumption.
Mr. Lambert stated I will not have a
problem as long as the bill indicates the resident does not have to send a
check for 15 cents and they can easily understand it, especially since we have
this new billing format. Perhaps you can
come up with an example of how we can explain this to the users.
Mr. Ziko stated perhaps you can
indicate, payment not due until it
exceeds $5.
Mr. Lambert stated it will need to
become part of the bill which is sent out.
Mr. Teague stated 1,000 gallons is
going to be at $5 because of the sewer and water charges, and irrigation water
will be charged separately.
Mr. Lambert stated perhaps you can
put together an example for the next meeting.
Mr. Ziko stated I received my first
billing with the new format which I thought was acceptable. However, on the bottom it states, do not pay this bill; it will be
automatically deducted. Why are you
sending me an envelope to pay the bill if you are telling me not to pay it?
Mr. Teague responded I can imagine
it is easier not to because it is a false message to everyone who signed up for
the bill to be prepaid.
Mr. Ziko asked is the majority of
the people having their bills prepaid?
Mr. Dick responded I am not certain.
Ms. Dillon stated most places no
longer send an envelope.
Mr. Teague stated I will check into
this for the next meeting.
There are currently no late fees
charged for late payments on the water bill.
Do you want to start charging them?
Mr. Lambert responded I only want to
do this if it is going to solve a problem if it exists. Do we have anything to fall back on?
Mr. Teague responded if you have
delinquent bills, I believe you can put a special assessment against the
property or shut them off. Is that
correct?
Mr. Cox responded I believe you can
shut them off.
Mr. Ziko asked is 30 days the time
limit for shutting them off?
Mr. Dick responded that is
correct. By the time the bill is due, 21
days already elapsed. Therefore, you are
already into your second month of usage.
Technically, we should be able to shut them off after 21 days, in which
case you also have to charge turn-on fees.
Ms. Dillon stated this should be
reflected somewhere on the bill.
Mr. Bissell stated I want to know
how much time you will give them to pay the bill before the power will be shut
off, especially for the benefit of the people away during the summer. It sometimes takes two weeks before we get
any forwarded mail up here.
Mr. Dick stated there is a five-day
period following the 21-day period after which you will receive a past due
notice in the mail, if we determine we want to proceed.
Mr. Ziko asked how does the billing
department at Severn Trent handle this for other accounts?
Mr. Dick responded a past due notice
goes out if a payment has not been received within 21 days, and you are given
five additional days. After those five
days, the service is terminated.
Mr. Teague stated a late fee is also
charged.
Mr. Ziko stated the past due notice
will probably cost the same $1.75 which we are charging for the bill. Perhaps those who receive past due notices
should incur a $5 penalty.
Mr. Dick stated this is when the
late fees and turn-on charges are reflected.
Mr. Lambert asked do you want to put
together a proposal for consideration at the next meeting?
Mr. Teague responded we will do
this.
Mr. Ziko stated perhaps we can get a
flyer noting the advantages of having an automatic deduction.
SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS Field
Manager’s Report
A.
Discussion
of Billing for Electrical Repairs on Evening Star Cay
Mr.
Edge stated I will give Mr. Teague the address for invoicing of this repair on
Monday.
B.
Review of
Options for Instrumentation
Mr.
Edge stated Mr. Migdal will discuss this issue.
Mr. Migdal stated I attended the June
meeting in which I distributed this proposal to upgrade the electrical controls
of the water treatment plant to a wireless computer system. If I remember correctly, the Board was going
to determine whether or not they were able to fund this project. In the meantime, I was asked to put together
a proposal to provide generator and power failure alarms as required by the DEP,
and break this out of the original proposal.
However, you may still be interested in the original proposal to do the
entire project at the same time. Do you
have available funds to do this?
Mr. Bissell responded we have the
funds.
Mr. Lambert stated one of the
problems we had with the original proposal was doing the entire project at
once. I want to determine if this can be
done in steps in order to get to the same end point without having to spend a
lot of extra money because we did not do it all at once.
Mr. Migdal stated I believe you want
to do this in steps as well as save money, which can be done if the entire
project is done at once. I am not
certain whether or not this can be done in steps.
Mr. Teague asked how long is this
going to take if the Board approves it?
Mr. Migdal responded it is going to
take approximately six months. We can
bill it in stages as each phase of the project is completed if the entire
project is approved.
Ms. Dillon asked will it be billed
within six months?
Mr. Migdal responded that is
correct.
Mr. Lambert stated I am concerned
with the equipment which is currently in the building next to the water plant
since there has been some deterioration there from chemicals. We may not want to put all of our controls there
since we may be better off putting up a new building. I do not want to put everything in on
location only to find out it was possible to put up a new building.
Mr. Migdal stated we discussed
sealing off the room where the high service pumps are located and there was
something noted in the budget in which you were going to control the
environment by air conditioning the room.
Once this is done, I am confident there will be enough protection for
the equipment because we are sealing off the chlorine gas as well as the line
room; and we are air conditioning the high service pump room. I am not certain of the status of the air
conditioning proposal, but it certainly should be completed before we install
this electronic equipment in the room.
Mr. Lambert stated if we put up a
small building with climate control at the fire and irrigation area, what is
the impact if we did all of this work for the irrigation system area?
Mr. Migdal responded you already
approved Examples #3 and #4 at the irrigation system. The plant is to install this equipment in the
existing motor control center currently there.
Mr. Benson stated a room or building
is going to be built with this project this year and we can probably relocate
it.
Mr. Migdal stated this is possible
since the area is not as corrosive as the plant itself. There really are no chemicals or corrosive
gases other than natural moisture which attacks electronics. However, it is a small control panel which
can be moved over there. We are
installing the motor drives which are the most expensive parts. They cannot be relocated in this building
since you will have to run the motor cables over and we cannot move the drives
over there. However, we can move the
controls over there since it is a small panel with electronics on it which can be
extracted from the panel and relocated to the building fairly easily.
Mr. Lambert asked will the drives remain
in the motor control center with no climate control?
Mr. Migdal responded that is
correct.
Mr. Lambert asked is there an
advantage to having climate control for those?
Mr. Migdal responded since they are
electronics which heat up, air conditioning will extend their lives. However, I will have to take a good look at
the motor control center in order to determine whether or not you can actually
air condition the motor control center itself, but it is highly unlikely.
Mr. Edge asked what temperatures can
they handle?
Mr. Migdal responded they have a
temperature range, but moisture is the main factor and air conditioners extract
the moisture out of the air to make it cool.
Mr. Benson stated you can actually
install heaters with some of this equipment which increase the temperature in
order to reduce the humidity.
Mr. Edge stated the humidity is the
main problem.
Mr. Lambert stated perhaps it is
possible to get the building done in order for it to hold the motor controls
and other electrical equipment. Will
this involve an adjustment of your estimate?
Mr. Migdal responded since we will have
to run conduit and wiring into the building; relocate the controls and put them
into the building, there will be an adjustment to my estimate. However, I cannot determine what it will be
at this time.
Mr. Benson stated the part of the
project for the VFP was already approved and is being done. Is this part of the project going to be
implemented at the pump station?
Mr. Migdal responded no.
Mr. Benson asked has the work been
authorized for the project at the canal pump station?
Mr. Migdal responded installation of
the controls as well as installation of the VFPs in the irrigation system was
approved, but the portion linking it back to the water treatment plant which is
the radio system was not approved because there will be nothing to talk back to
the water plant until this portion of the project has been complete.
Mr. Benson stated the radio portion
can be put into a climate controlled room if it is available.
Mr. Migdal stated since the radio
equipment needs to communicate with the controls, it makes sense to keep
everything in one location.
Mr. Benson stated in answer to Mr.
Lambert’s question, putting up a building at this location triggers all of the
county permitting rules and site development plans, which I will discuss during
my report. Once the building is built,
it is going to take time because of the requirements in addition to the
building itself.
Ms. Dillon asked how long will it
take to get an SDP?
Mr. Benson responded an SDP can be
done in approximately 2½ months.
Ms. Dillon stated the permitting is
part of the same project.
Mr. Benson stated we are still
working with
Mr. Ziko asked how long after this
will the building be functional?
Mr. Benson responded we will need to
get a contractor to build it once we have the SDP approval which involves the
timing for the contractor to get his contract and insurance, as well as to get
the material to build this part of the project which will take at least a few
months.
Mr. Ziko asked how does this fall
into your timeframe?
Mr. Migdal responded we are
currently experiencing problems with the irrigation system, and there is a rush
to get the controls in there as well as the VFP in order to get the system to
function properly. Although rainy season
has started, it has not been as wet as we normally expect. I do not believe you should wait three or
five months to do this. I am shooting
for the first two weeks of September to have this up and running properly, and
I have been doing everything I can to expedite this schedule as a result of
this existing problem.
Mr. Ziko asked how much of a problem
will it be to move this equipment into the building once it is constructed?
Mr. Migdal responded I really do not
believe it will be a major problem. The
electronics are contained within a small panel which can be extracted and relocated
to the building. The worst portion of this
involves the interconnect conduit between the motor control center in which the
electrical panel must be pulled out and relocated to the building in which you
replace it in. You will have to run
wiring and conduit between those two points.
Mr. Dick asked where do you propose
to put the new building?
Mr. Benson responded it is going to
be to the south of the fence for the canal irrigation pump station, which is
closer to the road and we are going to move the fence to the south. The building is going to contain two
rooms. One is going to store the
chemicals and one is going to have monitoring equipment, which will also serve
as the climate control and instrumentation room.
Mr. Migdal stated if you are going
to relocate those controls into the building, it will be helpful to me if Mr.
Benson includes the conduit when the structure is built since he is going to
have to get power and wiring into the building anyway.
Mr. Benson stated we have to run
controls to the pumps and control valves when we put in this new monitoring
equipment. For instance, if the
disinfection stops working and the chlorine residual gets low, it is going to
shut it off unless we turn it into an emergency as we need the water
anyway. There are certain things which
have to be done, but it will be easy to run the conduit.
Mr. Migdal stated Mr. Benson and I
need to get together and discuss engineering of this plan for the future. However, I just need to complete my portion
of the project as we proposed.
Mr. Lambert stated I mentioned to
Mr. Benson prior to the meeting we have to get some permitting done at the
water & sewer plant. I suggested discussing
with the Board today where we may put a building for equipment storage with the
possibility of using the new building as an office.
Mr. Migdal stated the controls,
which is the main portion of Example #1 on the water plant, need to go as close
to the high service pumps as possible because this is where all of the
electrical equipment is and we must control it.
I do not believe you will want the electronics in another building as
you are trying to control these high service pumps. They all really should be in the same
building and if you are going to air condition this environment in the water
treatment plant where those high service pumps are located, those controls will
be protected.
Mr. Lambert stated the possibility
of putting another building here in the future is not a major concern with this
project.
Mr. Migdal asked are you considering
having the operator work out of this building?
Mr. Benson responded eventually
there will be a new water plant and Mr. Lambert suggests doing this in steps.
Mr. Migdal stated the computer
itself can be picked up and set into the new building. The only thing we will have to do is re-route
the fiber optic cable which goes into a 2” conduit which can certainly be extended
or the fiber optic cable can be made long enough for future expansion to be
stretched over to another building in order to create another conduit.
Mr. Bissell asked can you put a
proposal together for consideration at the next Board meeting which will
include information as to cost, size among other issues?
Mr. Lambert responded I am not
certain this is something Mr. Migdal will get involved in at this point.
Mr. Bissell stated I cannot hear
everything which is being said.
Therefore, something must be done with our audio systems. Do you agree?
Mr. Cox responded you must have the
microphone towards you or we cannot hear you at all.
Mr. Teague stated I believe it is
Mr. Benson you are not hearing since he is at the far end of the table.
Mr. Cox stated we are having a
difficult time hearing anyone other than the person in front of the microphone.
Mr. Migdal stated we discussed this
prior to the meeting today the possibility a piece of equipment can be
purchased which is used for this type of speakerphone system. This equipment is not designed for a meeting
like this. It is only designed for a one
on one conversation.
Mr. Cox stated I thought the problem
was with the hotel’s telephone wiring. We
are going to have to look at the cost of rewiring this part of the hotel in
order to accommodate installation of a directional microphone and speakers. I do not have a problem helping with the
expense since I am probably the one who uses it two to three times per
year. However, we probably should not do
this until the hotel completes their renovations.
Mr. Lambert asked do you think it is