Meeting Minutes of September 11, 2007
Chairman Daniel Cook called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. A roll call was taken and present were: Chairman Daniel Cook, Vice Chairman Joseph Burrow, Secretary/Treasurer Mike Williamsen, District Secretary Karen Dunn, Water Supply Operator Ron Lada, Trustees Tammy Davis, Jenny Jaros, Steve Williams, and Mike Starling.
Visitors in attendance were Mrs. Pat Hoke, District Attorney; Mr. Lynn Bush and Mr. Brian Bush of LD Bush Construction, INC; and Mrs. Donna Williams.
The meeting opened by reviewing the minutes of the August 2007 meeting. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Burrow to accept the minutes as presented. Seconded by Mrs. Davis and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried.
Mr. Lynn Bush addressed the Board. Mr. Bush had concerns about a call he received from the Attorney Pat Hoke related to a request by Danny Williams of DD Williams Construction to do work which may conflict with the existing agreement between LD Bush Construction and the Water District. After brief discussion, Chairman Cook reassured Mr. Bush that the Water District would comply with and had no intentions of breaching the agreement.
No other visitor or customer requests.
Next, an I/Fax newsletter was presented from the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office for review. After discussion, it was agreed by members that the information was not applicable to the operations of the district and to discontinue its presentation at future meetings.
A letter was presented from the Illinois Association of Public Water Districts for membership recruitment. Already members of the IRWA, there was no interest in membership at this time.
The Annual Notification Update was presented from the IEPA for update and submission. Verifying that all information was accurate, the document was signed by both the Chairman and Water Supply Operator.
NOTE: at this juncture in time, it was noticed by the Chairman that the tape recording device had not been plugged into an outlet and had not been recording. This was corrected immediately.
Under the order of old business, the Board readdressed the issue of DD Williams Construction request to lower a District water line when cutting into embankments on S. Poplar Camp Roaed. Pat Hoke referred to the “first right of refusal” clause of the LD Bush agreement and questioned the Board’s understanding of the clause at the time of the agreement was signed. It was discussed and agreed by Board Members that this only applied if LD Bush Construction was unable to perform the services. It did not apply should another contractor be willing to perform the services for a lesser rate. Chairman Cook noted that the Water District has an obligation to this contract. Mr. Starling added that using other contractors opens the DIstrict to potential problems and also questioned the timing and urgency of this project. Chairman Cook recommends that at the time DD Williams Construction must be called in to work on the line with related costs at the expense of the customer requesting the work.
It was discussed that future project require engineering services to oversee the work, and that engineered drawings and cost estimates be provided at the expense of the person proposing to do the work. It was recommended that an agreement/acceptance of responsibility be signed by the person proposing to do the work to protect the District. Mrs. Davis noted it was important to set a precedence. Mr. Lada referred to a previous situation when the Village of Makanda’s excavation required the relocation of a District water line. The Village provided drawings and also paid for the relocation of said water line.
The next order of business was the purchase of a new computer system for the District Office. A quotation was presented from Carbondale Computer Repair itemizing a system as researched by Secretary/Treasurer Mike Williamsen in cooperation with the District Secretary Karen Dunn. Slight modifications were required to the quote, but had not yet been received for presentation at this meeting. A motion was made by Mrs. Jaros to proceed with the purchase of new computer equipment as specified on the quote with modifications not to exceed the total purchase price of $1,800. In lieu of forthcoming information and concern that a cap of $1,800 may be insufficient, there was not a second to the motion at this time.
No items of new business was presented.
No South Highway Water District business was presented.
Financials for August 2007 were reviewed by members of the board.
The Secretary/Treasurer Report was presented by Mr. Williamsen along with the Accounts Payable Report detailing bills for payment in September. After review and discussion, a motion was made by Mrs. Davis to accept the Secretary/Treasurer Report and pay the bills. Seconded by Mr. Starling and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion was approved.
The Water Supply Operator Report was presented by Ron Lada with no major discrepancies.
No additional public comments or questions were presented.
There was no move for executive session.
There being no further business, a motion was made for adjournment. A voice count was taken and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the meeting adjourned.