Commission Meeting Minutes 4-18-19 with Attachments 1<\/a><\/p>\nTo read the minutes please open or download the pdf from the link above, or you may see more below.<\/p>\n
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Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water and Sewer Commission<\/strong><\/p>\n1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520<\/strong><\/p>\nThursday, April 18, 2019 at 2:00 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong>COMMISSION MINUTES<\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/strong>PRESENT: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\nG. Ben Turnipseed, Chairman<\/strong><\/p>\nSteve Copeland, Vice-Chairman<\/strong><\/p>\nDonald Elliott, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nCornell L. Harvey, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nTripp Stephens, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nWayne Neal, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nBob Duncan, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong>ALSO PRESENT: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Jimmy Junkin, Executive Director<\/strong><\/p>\nCharlie Dorminy, Legal Counsel HBS<\/strong><\/p>\nAndrew Burroughs, Deputy Executive Director<\/strong><\/p>\nTodd Kline, Director of Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\nPam Crosby, Director of Procurement<\/strong><\/p>\nJohn D. Donaghy, Director of Finance<\/strong><\/p>\nJay Sellers, Director of Administration<\/strong><\/p>\nJanice Meridith, Exec. Commission Administrator<\/strong><\/p>\nMEDIA PRESENT:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\nTaylor Cooper, The Brunswick News<\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Neal provided the invocation and Commissioner Elliott led the pledge.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD<\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed opened the public comment period.<\/p>\n
Monica Smith, Sewer Sanitation<\/strong> \u2013 Mrs. Smith commented that she has concerns regarding sewer sanitation.\u00a0 After some research, she has concluded that Glynn County seems to have been moving backwards in this area.\u00a0 She noted that in the 1940\u2019s when subdivisions were laid out they provided space for parks, roads and eventual sewer installation.\u00a0 That was true of Brunswick Villa, Oglethorpe Park on SSI, and it was also true of Petersen Subdivision off of Demere Road.\u00a0 She added that Oglethorpe Park, Kings Terrace, and the south end of St. Simons Island were provided with central sewer services some time ago.\u00a0 Glynn County passed a resolution back in March 3, 1983 that said \u201cBe it hereby resolved by the Board of Commissioners, Glynn County, Georgia in regular meeting this third day of March 1983 that we allow impact fee free and reduced tapping fee sewer connections in the entire south end bypassed area for a period of 180 days after completion of the entire Arnold Demere Proctor Area Sewer Project on St. Simons Island and certification of availability of the final portion\u00a0\u00a0 \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Mrs. Smith said that she brings this to the attention of the Commission because now in 2019 we have a subdivision on St. Simons Island, Petersen Subdivision with 19 lots and adjacent to that is some 20 acres of undeveloped land without sewer service, and it has not had sewer service but now has a proposal to put in small pumps for the houses.\u00a0 She feels this is inadequate, if you are going to plan for the future and take into account that there are least 28 undeveloped acres on either side of that subdivision, then JWSC would put in a proper sewer line and a lift station, if required.\u00a0 Mrs. Smith advised that on the prior night the citizens of St. Simons had a town hall meeting and the main SSI representative to the County Commission indicated that they were seriously considering a SPLOST that may extend for as long as 6 years and should bring a considerable amount of money. \u00a0She further commented that we are counting on the Joint Water and Sewer Commission to bring forward a proposal to take care of many of the bypassed areas both on St. Simons Island, within the City of Brunswick, and in the unincorporated area of Glynn County around the city.\u00a0 She asked that as JWSC puts together the budget and also the SPLOST proposals together to please consider that there is a lot of catch up to do in addition to the repair and replacement, and thanked the Commission.<\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed thanked Mrs. Smith for her commentary, and then provided that JWSC currently has an engineering firm looking at certain areas to extend sewer and other areas will be considered after receiving that report.<\/p>\n
There being no additional citizens for public comment, Chairman Turnipseed closed the public comment period.<\/p>\n
COMMITTEE UPDATES<\/strong><\/p>\nFacilities Committee<\/strong> \u2013 Chairman Turnipseed<\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed provided an update on the Facilities Committee meeting from April 3, 2019.\u00a0 The proposals for the Engineering Services for the Academy Creek and Dunbar Creek Upgrades are due May 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 Smoke testing on SSI is expected to start May 1st<\/sup> with completion by the end of May or mid-June and will result in a determination of the sewer rehab needs for SSI.\u00a0 Chairman Turnipseed informed the Commission that today, there was a collapse in the 30\u201d sewer line on Whitlock Avenue, of which this portion of the line would not allow access to get the CCTV camera line through during inspection.\u00a0 He advised of the absolute need for ensuring this line is strong and can handle the additional capacity for the North Mainland.<\/p>\nFinance Committee \u2013<\/strong> Commissioner Copeland<\/p>\nCommissioner Copeland reported that the Finance Committee met on April 17, 2019 at 1:30 p.m.\u00a0 He noted that the review of the draft budget for FY2020 was completed and the committee recommended it be in front of full Commission today for approval to send to City and County for review and comment.\u00a0 He added that some administrative amendments to the Pension Plan were reviewed and approved to move forward to full Commission for final approval.\u00a0 The committee also considered two leak adjustments which are on the agenda for today and recommended those for approval. The committee also reviewed the Financial Policies and will revisit those again. The next Finance Committee Meeting scheduled for Wednesday May 15th<\/sup> at 1:30 p.m.<\/p>\nHuman Resources Committee<\/strong> \u2013 Commissioner Elliott<\/p>\nCommissioner Elliott updated that the Human Resources Committee met on the previous day at 10:00 a.m.\u00a0 He highlighted the items discussed at that meeting.\u00a0 The committee first reviewed the pay scales and recommended to staff to complete a market survey to determine if our pay scales are in line with the industry and in the local economy.\u00a0 Commissioner Elliott noted that the previous salary survey was done by Condrey and Associates and advised that Condrey will be asked to present a briefing for the Commission for understanding of the purpose of the study, how it is conducted, and what the expected results can be.\u00a0 Performance appraisals were discussed and the incorporation of changes in the job descriptions of the operations superintendents.\u00a0 He also reported that technical training (hard skills) as well as licensing and certification required for operations staff was discussed.\u00a0 The statistics of JWSC\u2019s workers\u2019 compensation were reviewed, and Commissioner Elliott indicated that staff is doing well in keeping work related accidents down.\u00a0 The current enrollment in health insurance was reviewed and compared with that of 2018.\u00a0 Finally the committee reviewed the amendments to the Pension Plan and determined that those changes were not significant.<\/p>\n
There were no additional committee updates.<\/p>\n
APPROVAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Minutes from the April 4, 2019 Regular Commission Meeting <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Commissioner Elliott made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens to approve the minutes from the April 4, 2019 Regular Commission Meeting.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 <\/u>Minutes from the April 4, 2019 Executive Session <\/strong><\/p>\nCommissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Harvey to approve the minutes from the April 4, 2019 Executive Session.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.\u00a0 <\/u><\/p>\n
\u00a03.\u00a0 <\/strong>Fiscal Year 2020 Budget \u2013 Plan Approval<\/strong> \u2013 J. Donaghy<\/span><\/p>\nJohn Donaghy provided the Commissioners with a copy of the proposed budget for the Fiscal Year ending 2020 and advised that staff began working on the budget back in February and has worked on it with the major emphasis of improving maintenance throughout the organization as well as providing the funding to the Repair and Replacement Reserve for the upgrade of infrastructure.\u00a0 He indicated that there was an intention of having no rate increases for the coming year, and the 2020 year rates will remain the same as the current year for JWSC\u2019s customers.\u00a0 Mr. Donaghy reported that the budget itself was $33,279,000.00, and there was an increase in the transfer to the Repair and Replacement Reserve of over a million dollars.\u00a0 With review and recommendations from the Commissioners staff finalized the budget numbers and presented it to the Finance Committee and the committee has recommended that it be approved by the full Commission to be forwarded to the City and County for their review and comment.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Copeland made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to move that the Brunswick Glynn County Joint Water and Sewer Commission approve submission of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2020 JWSC Budget to the City of Brunswick and to Glynn County for their review and comment, and approval of the Fiscal Year 2020 JWSC Budget in the amount of $33,279,000 subject to revision upon receipt of comments received from the City of Brunswick and\/or Glynn County.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n
\u00a04. <\/strong>Amendments to Pension Plan <\/strong>\u2013 J. Donaghy<\/span><\/p>\nJohn Donaghy advised that request was received from Georgia Municipal Association who administers the Defined Benefit Plan for JWSC.\u00a0 Request was made by GMA to amend the adoption of that plan and to the master plan due to some changes in the Tax Law of the 2017 Federal Tax Bill.\u00a0 The changes are mostly technical and administrative to make the plan and GMA\u2019s master plan be in compliance with the law, and there is no effect on JWSC\u2019s plan at this time.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Copeland made a motion seconded by Commissioner Elliott to move that the JWSC approve the amendments to the Defined Benefit Retirement Plan Adoption Agreement and the General Addendum to Defined Benefit Retirement Plan Adoption Agreement and that the JWSC Chairman, Executive Director and Attorney be authorized to execute the adoptions.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n\n- Ratification of NuRock Agreement<\/strong> \u2013 C. Dorminy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Charlie Dorminy advised that this ratification was a formality for the NuRock Purchase Agreements that were entered into on April 4, 2019 by the Commission.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Stephens made a motion seconded by Commissioner Harvey to move to ratify the NuRock contracts originally approved at the last meeting dated April 4, 2019. \u00a0Motion carried 7-0-0.\u00a0 <\/u><\/p>\n
\u00a06.\u00a0 <\/strong>Leak Adjustments <\/strong>\u2013 J. Junkin<\/span><\/p>\nMr. Junkin advised that leak adjustments in excess of $2,000 must come before the Commission for approval.\u00a0 Currently there are two leak adjustments requiring the Commission\u2019s approval, one for Raymond Trace and the second for The Hampton Club.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Copeland made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to move that the Brunswick- Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission approve leak adjustments in the amounts of $2,344.37 for Raymond Trace and $3,407.19 for The Hampton Club.\u00a0 <\/u><\/p>\n
Commissioner Harvey inquired as to how the amounts for leak adjustments are arrived at.\u00a0 Mr. Junkin replied that if the billed usage is twice the normal usage amount (a 12 month average) then it is determined as eligible for a leak adjustment in excess of that average. Andrew Burroughs advised that proof of an actual leak being repaired is required for leak adjustment approval.\u00a0 Mr. Junkin added that in some cases the landlord may be refusing to make the repairs, but the residents still have to make their payments.\u00a0 Commissioner Stephens noted that an adjusted 12 month average may be used for seasonal residences to include only the months of actual usage for this type of determination.\u00a0 Commissioner Neal indicated that he would like to meet with Mr. Junkin regarding those landlord owned residences and the possibility of a County and\/or City ordinance to mandate that landlords make those necessary leak repairs on rental properties. \u00a0Mr. Junkin stated that staff has discussed this on many occasions and there may be multiple issues with this that could affect the residents who are the most vulnerable in this process. \u00a0Commissioner Harvey added that there is software to help identify possible leaks by indicating spikes in usage.\u00a0 Charlie Dorminy advised that ordinance changes are to be handled by the Legislative Committee and that perhaps this and any other ordinance changes should be handled at the same time.\u00a0 He also noted that if there is anything needed for the legislation in 2020, it is time now to take care of that as well.\u00a0 Commissioner Harvey, Chairman of the Legislative Committee agreed.<\/p>\n
With no additional discussion Chairman Turnipseed requested a vote.<\/p>\n
Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR\u2019S UPDATE<\/strong><\/p>\nMr. Junkin stated that staff has been working very diligently to produce the budget and he thanked all for their hard work and efforts.\u00a0 He also thanked Commissioner Copeland for his leadership in making sure staff presented the budget and materials in a fashion and form that the Commissioners needed it in.\u00a0 Mr. Junkin added that through all of those efforts, there would not be a rate increase necessary this coming year.<\/p>\n
CHAIRMAN\u2019S UPDATE <\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed commended both the Chairman for the Human Resources Committee and the Finance Committee Chairman and their committee members for their efforts in addressing issues that affect staff and also customers.\u00a0 He noted appreciation for all the hard work.<\/p>\n
EXECUTIVE SESSION<\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed advised that there would be an executive session to discuss property, personnel and litigation with no vote to be taken after.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens to enter into Executive Session to discuss Property, Personnel and Litigation.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0. <\/u><\/p>\n
Return to Regular Session.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Elliott made a motion seconded by Commissioner Copeland to return to regular session.\u00a0 Motion carried 6-0-1.\u00a0 (Commissioner Harvey was not in the room at the time of the vote.)<\/u><\/p>\n
Chairman Turnipseed requested a motion to adjourn the meeting.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Elliott made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to adjourn the meeting.\u00a0 Motion carried 6-0-1.\u00a0 (Commissioner Harvey was not in the room at the time of the vote.)<\/u><\/p>\n
There being no additional business to bring before the Commission, Chairman Turnipseed adjourned the meeting at 4:12 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Commission Meeting held on Thursday, April 18, 2019. Commission Meeting Minutes 4-18-19 with Attachments 1 To read the minutes please open or download the pdf from the link above, or you may see more below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commission-meeting-minutes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}