Meeting Minutes of February 12, 1991
The meeting was called to order by Acting Chairman Douglas Mayer. The roll was called. Present were Mrs. Frances Youngblood, Ms. Cathie Hutcheson, Mr. William Hardenbergh, Mr. Maurice Betts, Mr. Richard Parrish, and Mr. Douglas Mayer. Employees present were Mrs. Becky Roberts and Mr. Walter Butler.
People attending: Customers: Lets Get Rid of Walter Members present were Mr. and Mrs. Danny Williams, Mr. Herbert Stearns, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Newcomb, Mr. Jerry Burton, Mr. Dennis Weatherford, and Mr. Dennis Etherton. Other customers present were Mr. and Mrs. Richard Pearson, and Mr. Arthur Vincent.
Minutes of the January 15, 1991, meeting were approved with the following correction. In paragraph 4 the last sentence should read “The Southern Illinoisan, WCIL AM & FM Radio, Channel 12 News, and W3D Radio were all contacted to announce the cancellation and the rescheduled date on Tuesday, January 15, 1991,” instead of “Monday, January 10, 1990.”
Customer Requests: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Newcomb waived their right to a closed meeting. Mrs. Charles Newcomb stated that she had mailed her payment on the 19th of December but Buncombe PWD did not receive it postmarked until December 22. Mrs. Newcomb asked about his at the Carbondale Post Office, and they told her that some of the boxes were not collected for a few days due to bad weather. Mrs. Newcomb was of the opinion that she should not have to pay a late charge because of this. Mr. Hardenbergh made a motion to waive the ordinance concerning the $2.90 late charge on Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb’s behalf and Mr. Betts seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Hardenbergh – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, and Mr. Mayer – yes. Motion passed. For purposes of generating goodwill the Board agrees to this one time only in a non-precedent setting to waive the ordinance.
Customer Requests: Mr. Pearson was present to discuss his last months water bill. Mr. Pearson waived the right to a closed meeting. Mr. Pearson stated that he was billed for 13,440 gallons this last month. He and Mr. Butler checked for leaks and none were found. He then requested his meter be tested for accuracy and it was by Mr. Butler. The meter was registering 11.1 gallons more per hundred gallons than it should have been. Mr. Pearson requested that he be billed for his average months usage. Mr. Parrish moved to waive charges of the January bill and amend it to reflect an average of the last 6 months water usage. Mr. Betts seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Hardenbergh – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Mayer – yes, Motion passed. For purposes of generating goodwill the Board agrees to this one time only in a non-precedent setting to waive the ordinance.
Customer Requests: Mr. Dennis Etherton was present to address the Board. Mr. Etherton waived his right to a closed meeting. Mr. Etherton asked that BPWD was going to do about the meter in his yard. Mr. Mayer responded that when the meter well was filled in with dirt that the kid was missing, the Sherriff was notified. The meter is on BPWD easement. Mr. Etherton was notified by letter from BPWD’s attorney. BPWD is planning and working on it to find a solution. Mr. Etherton was then asked for his comment on a possible solution. He replied that he thinks BPWD should give him something in writing stating that the meter will be removed, and BPWD will take care of his yard and pay him $500 for damages. Mr. Mayer asked Mr. Etherton if he was in a hurry to get this taken care of and Mr. Etherton replied “that a few months have gone by, a few more wont hurt.”
The Secretary/Treasurer report was read and accepted.
The Financial Report was read and accepted. Mr. Parrish suggested that the Escrow account CD be rolled over that is to become due on 2/15/91 and to buy a $5,000 CD from both the Depreciation and the Reserve Acct immediately from SIU Credit Union for 12 months. Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Hardenbergh – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Mayer – yes. Motion passed.
Payment of Bills: The bills were presented in the amount of $7,268.57. Mr. Hardenbergh made a motion to pay the bills as submitted and Mr. Parrish seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Hardenbergh – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Parrish -yes, Mr. Mayer – yes, Motion passed. Mr. Dan Kimmel’s (now judge), bill was included in these bills for the SHWD Arbitration. The total bill was for $1,730. BPWD is to pay half of this for the amount of $865.00, and SHWD is to pay the other half.
Water Supply Operator Report: Mr. Butler reported that EPA has changed the required number of Coliform tests for BPWD from 2 each month to 1 each month per letter and handout dated December 7, 1990. Systems under 1,000 in population are now required to take 1 sample. Mr. Butler also performed leak tests of 1/7/91. BPWD may have a leak on Old 51 towards Cobden. Mr. Butler will investigate further.
Pressure Station No. 1 Proposal: Mr. Butler is trying to get in touch with Jones Plumbing to answer some of the questions on this before construction proceeds.
IEPA Sampling Program: This program provides for one lump sum of fees for the entire year’s testing costs starting July 1, 1991 through June 30, 1992 which was included in this months bills for $197.25. BPWD was in this last year. Significant laboratory costs may have saved by our district in the upcoming testing period. The Safe Drinking Water Act program for the next 18 months will require significant expansion of public water supply monitoring. Some major points to consider are numerous locations on distribution systems regardless of water source will be tested for lead, copper, and corrosivity indicators. Monitoring begins soon for Synthetic Organic Compounds and also the new requirements for quarterly trihalomethane testing.
Attorney review of Ordinances: Our attorney is in the process of updating the ordinances.
Mr. Burton, Mr. Hagler and Mr. Williams request for all financial record status: Mr. Mayer addressed Mr. Burton and told Mr. Burton “I thought I would hear from you before the meeting.” Mr. Burton said, “I haven’t had time to do anything about it, I need to check more into the Freedom of Information Act.” Mr. Mayer then asked Mr. Burton if he had a suggestion how to handle this request, since he had rejected BPWD’s two previous proposals. Mr. Burton said he would be in contact with us.
SHWD Dispute: SHWD has chosen to dispute the decision on the Arbitration decision.
Fixed Asset Inventory: This still has not been received from the Auditor.
Illinois Rural Water Association conference in Effingham, IL March 13 and 14, 1991: Mr. Mayer stated that this is a worthwhile meeting if anyone of the Trustees or employees were interested in attending. Mr. Hardenbergh made a moton for BPWD to pay the registration fee of $45.00 per person, for any Trustee or employee who chooses to attend. Mr. Parrish seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Hardenberg – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Parrish -yes, Mr. Mayer -yes. Motion passed.
Mr. Danny Williams addressed the Board and asked if there was a problem with payment of the bill that he had submitted for rock and hauling on Sheppard Lane for 3 tap installments in December. This was discussed in detail and Mr. Williams stated that after this work was completed, it rained all night and he went to check it the following morning and his vehicle got stuck in the trench that had been back-filled the previous day. Mr. Williams tried to contact Mr. Butler but was unable to do so, so he ordered rock to be hauled to the site. Mr. Hardenbergh made a motion to pay the bill and Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Hardenbergh – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Parrish -yes, Mr. Mayer – yes. Motion passed. Mr. Williams was asked by Mr. Mayer is he needed payment now and Mr. Williams replied that there was no hurry.
Motion to adjourn: The monthly meeting was adjourned by motion of Mr. Hardenbergh and seconded by Mr. Betts. Meeting adjourned at 7:52 pm.
After the adjournment, Mr. Betts told Mr. Mayer that his set of ordinances were not up to date. The latest one he had was for 1983. Mr. Mayer told Mr. Betts that Mrs. Roberts would get him copies of the missing ones to him by the next Board meeting. Mr. Mayer asked Mr. Betts if there were certain ones he needed right away and Mr. Betts said that by next meeting would be fine.