Commission Meeting Minutes 8-22-19 with Attachments<\/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, August 22, 2019 at 2:00 PM<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nCOMMISSION MINUTES<\/h1>\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>\nTripp Stephens, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nWayne Neal, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nCornell L. Harvey, Commissioner\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>\nBob Duncan, Commissioner<\/strong><\/p>\nALSO PRESENT:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nAndrew Burroughs, Interim Executive Director<\/strong><\/p>\nCharles Dorminy, Legal Counsel HBS<\/strong><\/p>\nTodd Kline, Director of Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\nPam Crosby, Director of Procurement<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0John 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>\nPamela Permar Shierling, The Islander<\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM.<\/p>\n
Chairman Turnipseed provided the invocation and Commissioner Stephens led the Pledge of Allegiance.<\/p>\n
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD<\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed opened the public comment period.<\/p>\n
There being no 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 advised that the Facilities Committee had met and several of the items as discussed and approved in the committee session will be brought before the Commission today for approval.<\/p>\n
Finance Committee<\/strong> \u2013 Commissioner Copeland<\/p>\nCommissioner Copeland advised that the Finance Committee met on the previous day at 1:00 p.m.\u00a0 The North Mainland Smoke Testing Award was approved to be moved forward to the full Commission for final consideration and approval.\u00a0 Discussion items included the GEFA loan, project funding and a 5 year forecast of reserve balances, investments and reallocation of funds on-hand to bring in the greatest return, financial statement for month ending July 31, 2019, current budget, and high level goals staff will prepare for the 2020 Strategic Plan.<\/p>\n
The next Finance Committee Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.<\/p>\n
Human Resources Committee<\/strong> \u2013 Commissioner Elliott<\/p>\nCommissioner Elliott advised that the Human Resources Committee had met on Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. and went into Executive Session to discuss the search for a new Executive Director.<\/p>\n
Legislative Committee <\/strong>\u2013 Commissioner Harvey<\/p>\nCommissioner Harvey provided that the Legislative Committee had met on the same day at 11:00 a.m.\u00a0 Discussion involved city and county ordinances which are in need of revision to be in sync with Customer Service procedures and policies which have been adopted.\u00a0 The subject matter of those ordinances are billing per gallon, deposit credits, leak adjustments and metering of sewer only accounts.\u00a0 Those revisions were approved to be brought before the full Commission today for approval to recommend to the City and County to finalize within their ordinances.\u00a0 Commissioner Harvey also noted that JWSC has become more customer friendly and has concern for the citizens which is reflected in the recommended ordinance revisions and JWSC policies that have been implemented with more of a customer and community focus.<\/p>\n
The next Legislative Committee meeting will be a called meeting on an as needed basis.<\/p>\n
Emergency Preparedness Committee<\/strong> \u2013 Commissioner Stephens<\/p>\nCommissioner Stephens reported that the Emergency Preparedness Committee has not met since the last scheduled meeting.\u00a0 At that time general preparedness was discussed and there were no items for approval.<\/p>\n
APPROVAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Minutes from the August 8, 2019 Regular Commission Meeting <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Neal to approve the minutes from the August 8, 2019 Regular Commission Meeting.\u00a0 Motion carried 6-0-1.\u00a0 (Commissioner Stephens abstained due to absence from that meeting.)<\/u><\/p>\n\n- Minutes from the August 8, 2019 Executive Session <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Commissioner Neal made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to approve the minutes from the August 8, 2019 Executive Session.\u00a0 Motion carried 6-0-1.\u00a0 (Commissioner Stephens abstained due to absence from that meeting.) <\/u><\/p>\n\n- North Mainland Smoke Testing Award<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Chairman Turnipseed advised that the Smoke Testing Project on St. Simons has been completed and staff has recommended that Smoke Testing be done on the mainland.\u00a0 He added that staff prepared the specifications and plans for the RFP to be placed.\u00a0 There were 3 proposals received from which the evaluation team selected the proposal provided by PUMPS from Hollywood, Florida.\u00a0 PUMPS\u2019 proposal was in the amount of $231,648.81 which was below what the staff had estimated the cost to be.\u00a0 Chairman Turnipseed advised that both the Finance Committee and the Facilities Committee had reviewed the staff recommendation and approved for it to be submitted to the full Commission.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Stephens to move that the Brunswick Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission enter into a contract with Public Utility Management Planning Services, Inc. (PUMPS), in the amount of $231,648.81 for Smoke and Dye Testing Services for the Brunswick and North Mainland Districts.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0. <\/u><\/p>\n\n- Emergency Response Pay<\/strong> \u2013A. Burroughs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Mr. Burroughs provided that at the Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting the matter of how JWSC has been paying employees in the event of emergency response was discussed. \u00a0Upon that review it was decided that the policy itself was relatively solid with some clarifications of wording that were needed.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs provided redlined copies of the Human Resources Standards of Practice indicating the recommended revisions.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs confirmed for Chairman Turnipseed that this subject matter had already been approved by the Human Resources Committee to be moved forward to the full Commission for approval.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Elliott made a motion seconded by Commissioner Neal to approve amending Sections 4.1 and 6.2 of the JWSC HR Standards of Practice as shown in the attached documents.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n\n- Ordinance Revisions<\/strong> \u2013 A. Burroughs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Chairman Turnipseed provided that the recommendation for ordinance revisions had been discussed earlier in the Legislative Committee meeting and was approved to be moved forward to the full Commission.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs advised that there are four ordinance revisions and all are customer service related.\u00a0 The first recommendation was to change the ordinance language to reflect billing by the gallon.\u00a0 The second is to revise the deposit credits section of the ordinance which currently allows crediting deposits to only residential accounts.\u00a0 After the recommended revision the ordinance would provide for deposit credits to non-residential accounts after 60 months of payments.\u00a0 The third revision would simplify the leak adjustment policy for better understanding of the calculations, as well as allow leak adjustments for customers who currently have outstanding balances and were previously not granted those adjustments.\u00a0 The third revision would also allow an adjustment for those installing new sod.\u00a0 The fourth recommended revision regards metering of sewer only customers.\u00a0 The current ordinance requires a meter on the water service for a sewer only customer. The JWSC Rate Resolution provides for a flat rate billing for those customers and this revision would clean up that section of the ordinance to concur with the Rate Resolution.\u00a0 This fourth revision would also allow JWSC to install a lockable plug on a sewer only account that does not have a metered water service so the sewer services could be shut off in the event of non-payment.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs advised that this has been discussed extensively with the Department of Public Health and they are fully aware that JWSC is recommending this.\u00a0 He also confirmed that this request was to recommend these ordinance revisions to the City and County for their Commissions\u2019 approval.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Harvey made a motion seconded by Commissioner Neal to recommend to the City of Brunswick Commission and Glynn County Commission that the ordinances be amended as shown in the attached documents. Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n\n- Pump Station Dedications<\/strong> \u2013 A. Burroughs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Chairman Turnipseed stated that there are about 70 pump stations in JWSC\u2019s system for which the titles were never transferred to the JWSC.\u00a0 These pump stations are in the process of being transferred of which three, PS2052 at King\u2019s Point, PS2039 at Harrison Point, and PS2042 at The Commons are now ready for dedication.\u00a0 The Chairman noted that these dedications have been presented to the Facilities Committee and approved to go before the full Commission for final acceptance.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Harvey to move that the Brunswick Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission accept the 3 Wastewater Pump Stations described above as public infrastructure for ownership, operation and maintenance.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n\n- Dedication of Infrastructure (5) and Easement (1) <\/strong>\u2013 A. Burroughs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Chairman Turnipseed provided that this dedication of multiple projects has also been presented to the Facilities Committee and approved to go before the full Commission.\u00a0 This set of dedications includes the Ossabaw Low Pressure Force Main Extension, Holiday Inn Express, The Enclave Phase 2 (infrastructure and easement), Ash Street Water & Sewer Improvements, and Viewpoint Condos.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Harvey to move that the Brunswick Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission approve the projects described in the table above as public infrastructure for ownership, operation and maintenance.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n
DISCUSSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Mauldin & Jenkins Pre-Audit Discussion<\/strong> \u2013 J. Donaghy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
John Donaghy introduced Mr. Trey Scott and Ms. Samantha Jenkins from the auditing firm of Mauldin & Jenkins.\u00a0 The Commissioners asked several questions relating to the FY2019 Audit process and Mr. Scott responded.\u00a0 Commissioner Elliott requested that comments be provided regarding internal controls since previously noted issues were addressed.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs provided that he would confirm with GEFA as to provision of the specific audit letter required for the GEFA Loan.\u00a0 The Mauldin & Jenkins staff will present the audit findings to the Commission upon final completion, which is expected to be at the October 17th<\/sup> Commission Meeting.<\/p>\nEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR\u2019S UPDATE<\/strong><\/p>\nMr. Burroughs advised that the Board approval was received for the GEFA loan on the previous day.\u00a0 He also noted that a table-top exercise led by Michael Faulkner from FLETC would be coming up on September 4th<\/sup> for hurricane preparedness, and will begin at 9:00 a.m. that morning.\u00a0 For the North Mainland SPLOST Project contractors are mobilized doing the pre-cleaning and CCTV on the sections that will need lining.\u00a0 The lining of pipes is expected to being in 30 days.\u00a0 A public meeting will be scheduled prior to the lining due to some of the occurrences that may happen during that process.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs also mentioned that the Meter Request For Information was released the previous day and responses are due back on October 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 He provided that the meeting for the SPLOST Oversight Committee will be held during the following Wednesday evening at the Pate Building of which he and Mr. Kline will be attending.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs added that the equipment for testing the accuracy of the large meters has been received and testing will begin soon.<\/p>\nCHAIRMAN\u2019S UPDATE <\/strong><\/p>\nChairman Turnipseed advised that Mr. Burroughs and he met with the representative from the U.S.D.A. that morning and discussed possible funding of grant funds for sewer expansion.\u00a0 He recalled for the Commission that the study had been done for three of the unserved areas in Glynn County and that a letter will be sent out to the residents in those areas to determine the level of interest in connecting to the JWSC sewer system.\u00a0 Chairman Turnipseed provided that at the Facilities Committee Meeting the reports for the three treatment plants were reviewed and all three plants are operating well within permit.\u00a0 He then commented that the GEFA loan is a low interest loan, and since a sewer rehab will be done a conservation credit will be received for that. \u00a0The Chairman then commended the staff for their work in submitting the GEFA Loan Application and mentioned that the loan funding is for the Academy Creek Treatment Plant rehab and sewer rehab on St. Simons Island and the Mainland.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Stephens inquired as to the status of Electronic Bill Payments.\u00a0 Mr. Burroughs provided that for customers willing to bring in a cancelled check there is currently the capability to set up auto draft payments, and staff is working with the software vendor on the ability to do this without provision of a cancelled check.\u00a0 If the software update does not include the electronic payments procedure as desired, then the auto draft procedure using cancelled checks will be used.<\/p>\n
EXECUTIVE SESSION \u2013 Property & Litigation & Personnel<\/strong><\/p>\nCommissioner Elliott made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to enter into Executive Session to discuss Property, Litigation and Personnel with no vote to be taken.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.\u00a0 <\/u><\/p>\n
Return to Regular Session.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Elliott made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to return to Regular Session.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n
Commissioner Harvey made a motion seconded by Commissioner Elliott to adjourn the meeting.\u00a0 Motion carried 7-0-0.<\/u><\/p>\n
There being no additional business to bring before the Commission, Chairman Turnipseed adjourned the meeting at 3:25 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Commission Meeting held on Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 2:00 PM in the Commission Meeting Room. Commission Meeting Minutes 8-22-19 with Attachments 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-12230","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\/12230","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=12230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldenisleslepc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}