Meeting Minutes of May 13, 2008
Chairman Starling called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. A roll call was taken and present were: Chairman Mike Starling, Vice Chairman Joseph Burrow, Secretary/Treasurer Mike Williamsen, District Secretary Karen Dunn, Water Supply Operator Ron Lada, Trustees Jenny Jaros, Wally Earll, Debbie Wheetley, and Tammy Davis. Absent was Steve Williams.
Visitors in attendnace were Mrs. Lucille Burrow and Mrs. Mildred Allen.
Chairman Starling immediately turned the meeting over to Secretary/Treasurer Mike Williamsen who opened by presenting digital pictures of he Water District on his laptop which he had recently received via the internet. He explained the images were from 2007, originally used for vegetation and crop studies. Ron Lada provided quadrants for exact location. CDs are available with higher resolution. Pictures can be printed to any map size. Overlays were discussed and could possibly be obtained from University of Illinois students.
Mr. Williamsen also noted his conversations with Mr. Bronson Nack, Public Relations of the Las Vegas Valley Water District. He noted there are federal regulations as to what can and/or cant be mailed to customers.
The Secretary/Treasurer Report was presented by Mike Williamsen along with the Accounts Payable Report detailing the bills for payment in May. Mr. Williamsen noted that because of low revenue for the second month in a row and high expenses, both resulting from excessive precipitation and multiple water main repairs, additional funds were required to pay the bills. A motion was made by Mrs. Davis to advise Brooks Venable of Edward Jones to cash CDs of his recommendation in the amount of $12,000 to cover additional expenses; seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried.
At this time, Mr. Williamsen excused himself from the meeting due to a prior commitment.
The meeting continued by reviewing the minutes of the April 2008 meeting. A correction was noted that Vice Chairman Burrow opened and conducted the final portion of the April meeting in Chairman Starling’s absence. Noting this correction, a motion was made by Mrs. Wheetley to accept the minutes. Seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the minutes were approved.
Visitor Mildred Allen, customer #31300, of 773 Old US Highway 51, Makanda, addressed her billing for the past several months. Notified of a leak by both the District Secretary and Water Supply Operator, Mrs. Allen insisted there was no leak. As the meter had been recently replaced with a new one to rule of the possibility of a malfunction and usage continued above Mrs. Allen’s monthly average, members of the Board encouraged her to seek the service of a plumbing specialist.
With no changes to the existing Certificate of Status of Exempt Property, the document was signed by the Chairman to be filed in the Jackson County Courthouse.
Old business related to the GPS device was discussed earlier this meeting.
Letters from David Dardis, Meter #05300, related to a substantial past due balance on his rental property at 38 Cracker’s Neck and contested the water usage were presented. After review and discussion, it was determined by the Board that the charges in question were legitimate and district employees should follow through with disconnection proceedings.
Under the order of new business, the annual election for Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary/Treasurer positions (per Ordinance 2.02) were addressed. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Burrow to retain Mike Starling in the position of Chairman. Seconded by Mrs. Wheetley, and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. A motion was made by Mrs. Davis to retain Joseph Burrow in the position of Vice Chairman. Seconded by Mr. Earll and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. A motion was made by Mrs. Wheetley to retain Mike Williamsen in the position of Secretary/Treasurer. Seconded by Mrs. Jaros, and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried.
Next addressed was the annual appointment of a District Attorney and Engineer(s) (per Ordinance 2.02). A motion was made by Mrs. Davis to retain the services of Barrett, Twomey, Broom, Hughes, and Hoke, LLP, as District legal council and Asaturian Eaton and Associates, PC, as engineering council. Seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes the motion carried.
Annual employee contracts were reviewed. After review and discussion, an offer of contract renewal was made by Ron Lada for the position of Water Supply Operator in which he accepted. A motion was made by Mrs. Wheetley to renew the contract with Mr. Lada for the position of Water Supply Operator. Seconded by Mrs. Davis, and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. A second motion was made by Mr. Earll to increase salary of the Water Supply Operator by 3.5% (from $20.50 to $21.07/hour). Seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion was approved.
After continued review and discussion, an offer of contract renewal was made to Karen Dunn for the position for the position of District Secretary in which she accepted. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Burrow to renew the contract with Karen Dunn for the position of District Secretary. Seconded by Mr. Earll, and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. A second motion was made by Mr. Earll to increase salary of the District Secretary by 3.5% (from $16.63 to $17.22/hour). Seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried.
After review and discussion of the final contract, an offer of contract renewal was made to Karen Dunn for the position of Meter Reader in which she accepted. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Burrow to renew the contract with Karen Dunn for the position of Meter Reader. Seconded by Mrs. Jaros, and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. A second motion was made by Mr. Earll to increase pay rate for $1.00 per meter to $1.25 per meter. Seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion was approved.
No South Highway Water District related business.
Financials for March 2008 were reviewed by the Board with no related discussion.
The Secretary/Treasurer Report was presented by Mike Williamsen earlier in the meeting.
The Water Supply Operator Report was presented by Ron Lada with no discrepancies.
Mr. Earll recommended placing rock and/or concrete beneath the payment drop box for easier and cleaner customer access. Also discussed was the possibility of a new sign indicating correct office hours and other pertinent information. Specifications and price quotes will be obtained on these improvements and presented to the Board at a future meeting.
There was no further 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.