Meeting Minutes of September 14, 1992

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman Richard Jumps. The roll was called. Present were Trustees Mr. Maurice Betts, Mr. Stanley Hollister, Ms. Cathie Hutcheson, and Mr. Richard Jumps. Mrs. Frances Youngblood and Mr. Arthur Vincent were absent. Employees present were Mrs. Becky Roberts and Mr. Ron Lada.

People Attending: Lets Get Rid of Walter Members present were Mr. and Mrs. Danny Williams and Mr. Herbert Stearns. Others present were Mr. John Nannie.

Minutes of the August 10, 1992 meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Betts commented on the moving of the mail box question from last month. When the office is moved, i9f the mail can be delivered at the office building the address will be changed, and if it cannot be delivered at the building, there would need to be a locked drop box at the building. There being no corrections to the minutes they stand approved as submitted.

Communications for August 1992:

1. A letter from Senator Paul Simon was received, acknowledging the receipt of BPWD letter supporting bill S. 2900 for regulating EPA requirements on small districts. He stated that this is currently pending and he will be following the issue.
2. A letter from Eugenia Hunter was received stating that SHWD has called several times for action on the SHWD Dispute, stating that Mr. Broom has threatened to take the matter back to court in order to get the matter moving.
3. Mr. Jumps spoke to Sheila Simons about working on an hourly basis and she has agreed to this.
4. A letter from the Union County Board of Commissioners was received stating that Mr. Jerry Burton has been appointed to Buncombe Public Water District Board to fill the unexpired term of Richard Parrish.
5. A letter from EPA was received acknowledging the receipt of the new Notification of Ownership or Responsible Personnel form, informing them of Mr. Jumps as the new Chairman.
6. A letter from Joanne Simpson, Mayor of Makanda, granting permission for Mr. Paige to install his line extension was received. McGuire Road will be widened, but the water line will not have to be moved.

Customer Requests: Ms. Hutcheson asked what has been done about Barbara Schwartz’s proposal to pay all expenses if Mr. Betts would file all the papers against Mr. Vern Cornell in small claims court for an unpaid water bill. Mr. Betts thought that the bill had been paid and that she wanted to get her money back. Mr. Betts stated that we should not file in small claims court for her, but to follow the ordinances. Mrs. Roberts was directed to send Mrs. Schwartz a letter stating that the bill needs to be paid promptly or a lien would be placed on the property. Also it was asked if a meter had been installed for a trailer on Ms. Schwartz’s property. Mr. Danny Williams stated that he has already hooked up this trailer on the existing tap that Mrs. Schwartz is using. This is against current IEPA regulations, so Mrs. Robets was directed to send Mrs. Schwartz a letter stating that this hookup is illegal and that another meter will need to be installed for the trailer.

Customer Requests: Mr. Betts asked if the two existing that were relocated on the Jacobini extension had been sealed off at the corp stop. Mrs. Roberts will call Asaturian and Eaton to find this out.

Secretary/Treasurer Report was read and accepted.

The financial reports were read and accepted.

 Payment of the Bills: The bills were presented in the amount of $7,126.27. Mr. Jumps stated that Brockton Lockwood’s final bill of $990.00 was included in the bills to be paid. Ms. Hutcheson asked if this had been settled. Mr. Jumps stated that Mr. Burton decided to dismiss the case and the Board voted over the one (3 to 2) to dismiss. Mr. Betts made a motion to pay the bills as presented and Mr. Hollister seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes. There being 4 yes votes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.

Water Supply Operator Report: Mr. Lada reviewed the monthly work orders. Mr. Betts asked who was doing the water testing now. Mr. Coleman from Alto Pass has been hired to do the water samples. Mr. Lada stated that he has applied to take the test for a Class D License.

SHWD v BPWD Dispute: Sheila Simon will be contacted and the files will be gotten from Eugenia Hunter so Ms. Simon can get familiar with the case. Mr. Betts stated that SHWD called him to find out who BPWD’s new attorney was. Mrs. Roberts will call SHWD and inform them that Ms. Simon is the new attorney. Mr. Betts stated that the City of Carbondale is buying out SHWD and that is why SHWD is in a hurry to settle the dispute.

Committee to recommend new Water Supply Operator: Mr. Hollister and Mrs. Youngblood interviewed 4 applicants out of the 13 applicants that responded to the job. Our of the 4 interviewed, none of them had a valid Class D License, and according to the ordinances, a person has up to 9 months to become certified. The committee recommended to retain Mr. Ron Lada as the new Water Supply Operator. Mr. Hollister suggested that he would call the 3 of the 4 interveiwed that was not hired and the other 9 applicants will be sent a letter stating that the job has been filled. Mr. Betts made a motion to accept the committees report and go into Executive Session in accordance with the Illinois Open Meeting Act IRS 102, Sec 41, etc. in order to discuss the wages for the new Water Supply Operator (para 42, sec 2 (a)) at 7:47 pm and Ms. Hutcheson seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes. There being 4 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.

Guests were asked to leave.

Mr. Betts moved to return the regular open session with Ms. Hutcheson seconding the motion. A voice vote was taken. 4 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passed.

Mr. Betts stated that he would like to commend Mrs. Youngblood and Mr. Hollister for an excellent job done on the committee. Mr. Betts made a motion to accept the committees recommendation to hire Mr. Ron Lada at the pay rate discussed, for the new Water Supply Operator and Ms. Hutcheson seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes. There being 4 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.

Vacancy in Vice Chairman: This was tabled until all Board Members were present.

Sheppard Lane Break/Dongola Electric Bill: The total bill for the repairs on Sheppard Lane were $289.15. $221.50 was for labor and $67.65 was for water loss. Mr. Betts made a motion to bill Dongola Electric for the total cost of $289.15, explaining to them that this is just what it cost BPWD, and Mr. Hollister seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes. There being 4 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.

Overdue Bills: It was discussed that when Ms. Hunter was the attorney, she recommended that we keep the liens on and eventually the property might be sold and BPWD would be able to collect. Mr. Betts stated that if we start writing off bills, years back all the bills had to be paid and that would not be right to make some pay and now make others not have to pay. It was decided to keep the liens on and to refile them to keep them updated. Ms. Hutcheson recommended that before anything was decided, that this be put off until all Board Members were present.

Mr. Hollister asked to go back to September of 1991 to the minutes when the Board rejected Danny Williams as doing work for the district. Mr. Hollister read part of those minutes. Mr. Hollister made a motion to allow Mr. William to do work for the district if he has submitted the appropriate certificate of insurance and Mr. Betts seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – abstain, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes. There being 3 yes and 1 abstain the motion passes. Mrs. Williams submitted a current certificate of insurance at that time.

Mr. Jumps mentioned that it was the time of year for the yearly inventory. It was discussed that in the 1991 audit the auditor added this into the yearly audit. Mrs. Roberts was asked to talk with Kemper CPA Group to see if this would be included in the audit every year. Mr. Betts recommended` that this be tabled until all the Board members are present and discuss if the ordinance could be changed to accept the inventory as included in the yearly audit.

The monthly meeting adjourned by motion of Ms. Hutcheson and seconded by Mr. Hollister. Voice vote – all yes. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm