Minutes of December 8, 2020
1. Chairman Robert Hughey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the B.C. Ross Community Center in Makanda. A roll call was taken and Board Members present were: Chairman Robert Hughey and Trustees Grace Brewer, Pat Brierton, Joseph Burrow, Kim Cole, and John Dickson. Also present were: District Secretary Karen Dunn, Water Supply Operator Ron Lada, and Treasurer Mike Williamsen. Trustee Paul Heern was not in attendance.
2. Professionals and visitors in attendance at the meeting were Mr. Mike Twomey and Ms. Lucille Burrow.
3. The Board reviewed the minutes of the November 10, 2020, regular meeting. A motion was made by Ms. Brewer to accept the minutes as presented; seconded by Mr. Burrow and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the minutes were approved.
4. No visitor or customer requests were presented at this time.
5. No items of communication were available for presentation.
6. Under the order of new business, the 2021 Regular Meetings Schedule was presented and reviewed. A motion was made by Ms. Brewer to approve the Meetings Schedule as presented and seconded by Ms. Brierton. With (5) yes and (0) no votes, the document was approved.
Next discussed were venue options for future meetings of the Board in order to comply with the State of Illinois Coronavirus regulations and mandates pertaining to public gatherings. The manner given most consideration and discussion was to conduct future meetings virtually via ZOOM conferencing. Those in attendance whom have participated in other ZOOM meeting forums shared their knowledge and experience. After considerable deliberation, the task to assess the needs and knowledge, as well as training, of all Board Members in preparation for successful ZOOM meetings was accepted by Ms. Cole and Mr. Williamsen.
At this time, employees were dismissed from the meeting as Board Members discussed specifics related to employee Christmas bonuses. A motion was made by Ms. Brierton to extend to each employee a Christmas bonus as discussed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burrow and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the motion was approved.
7.        The 2021 customer rate increase, which was approved with the 2021 Operating Budget at the November 10, 2020, meeting, was readdressed. Conversation ensued related to the manner in which the rate increase would be implemented in the billing process. After careful deliberation, a motion was made by Ms. Brewer to apply an Infrastructure Surcharge in the amount of $3.40 to each water meter in use. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burrow and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the fee was instated. An email from Joe Boyke was presented, which reported updates pertaining to the bid process of the current IEPA Project. No action was taken at this time. Next, the status of leak detection meter installations was briefly discussed with no action required at this time. There were no issues to report related to outstanding collections at this time.
8. No new information related to the Carbondale Water District was presented for discussion.
9. Financials for October 2020 were presented and reviewed with brief discussion.
10. The District Secretary/Treasurer’s Report and the Accounts Payable Report for December 2020 were presented and followed by conversation. A motion was made by Ms. Brewer to transfer $8,803.00 from the Repairs/Improvement account to the Operations/ Maintenance Account to fund costs for the third leak detection meter installation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Burrow and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the transfer was approved. Another motion followed from Ms. Brewer to pay the bills for December 2020. The motion was seconded by Ms. Brierton and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the motion carried. A third motion followed by Mr. Burrow to accept the Secretary/Treasurer’s Report and Accounts Payable Report as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Brierton and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the reports were approved.
11. The Water Supply Operator’s Report was reviewed with no discrepancies. Discussion followed related to recent communication failures as a result of antenna issues.
12. No additional public comments or questions were presented.
13. There was no move for an executive session.
14. There being no further business, a motion was made by Mr. Burrow to adjourn, which was seconded by Ms. Brewer and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the meeting closed.