Meeting Minutes of July 11, 2006
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 Karen Dunn, Trustees Greg Dunn, Tammy Davis, Debbie Wheetley, Jenny Jaros, Mike Starling, and Water Supply Operator Ron Lada.
Visitors in attendance were Mr. Sean Henry, and Mr. Praveen Sunny, PE, Asaturian Eaton and Associates.
Mr. Henry and Mr. Praveen opened by discussing the proposal status for the new pump station. After continued discussion related to direct purchase, a motion was made by Vice Chairman Burrow to proceed with the direct purchase of the new pump station. Seconded by Mr. Starling and with 6 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. Following a motion from Mrs. Wheetley to also move forward with the public bidding process; seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 6 yes and 0 no votes, the motion was approved.
Visitor, Mr. Joe Schlitt, Real-estate Representative, Drury Southwest Signs, Inc., who had requested to be placed on the agenda was not in attendance.
The meeting continued by reviewing the minutes from the June 2006 meeting. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Burrow to accept the minutes. Seconded by Mr. Dunn and with 6 yes and 0 no votes, the minutes were approved.
No further visitor or customer requests were presented at this time.
Financials for June 2006 were reviewed by members of the Board with no related discussion.
Under the order of old business, Mr. Henry noted again that we are still awaiting approval from the IEPA for the new pump station.
Next on the order of old business, was the renegotiation of employee contracts based on salary comparison with other comparable water district in the area as supplied by the Audit Accountant, Scott Hickam. Documentation indicated the Secretary’s hourly rate to be considerably less than that paid by other Districts in the area. It was noted that comparable District included in their payment packages health insurance allowances, and/or pension whereas the Buncombe Water District does no t. At that time a motion was made at the Chairman’s direction by Mrs. Wheetley to go into Executive Session; seconded by Mr. Starling and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried. Discussion continued in the absence of the Secretary, Water Supply Operator, and both Engineers. Upon conclusion of the executive session and return of employees and engineers, a motion was made by Mrs. Wheetley to extend a 6% increase in Salary to the Secretary and a 3% increase to the Water Supply Operator. The motion was seconded by Mr. Starling. Voting was as follows: Debbie Wheetley – yes, Jenny Jaros – yes, Tammy Davis – no, Mike Starling – yes, Joseph Burrow – abstain. With three yes votes being the majority, the motion carried. Ms. Dunn questioned the Board to explain what she was doing wrong to keep her wage so far below the standard wage for this position and/or how she could improve for advancement. The Chairman explained her performance to be excellent, that she does everything fine and does a wonderful job. He explained the decision had to go with the long term picture of the water department; the District may get into a water loss and start losing money, so we have to be careful in what we do. At that time the Secretary requested to be allowed a period of time to consider signing the agreement. A motion was made by Mr. Starling to allow the Secretary one week for consideration; seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 5 yes and 0 no votes, the motion carried.
No new business was introduced.
No South Highway Water District business was presented.
The Secretary/Treasurer Report was presented by Karen Dunn along with the Accounts Payable Report detailing bills for payment in July. It was noted that a transfer of $3,989.77 was required from the Repairs/Improvement account to pay Asaturian Eaton for services related to the Pump Station Project and an additional $2,000 was required from the Reserve Account to cover expenses to LD Bush Construction. A motion was made by Mr. Starling to transfer funds as indicated, to accept the Secretary/Treasurer Report, and to pay the bills as presented. Seconded by Vice Chairman Burrow and with 6 yes and 0 no votes, the motion was approved.
The Water Supply Operator Report was presented was Ron Lada with no major discrepancies. Mr. Starling asked Mr. Lada if he would like a period of time to consider the employment contract and Mr. Lada indicated no. The secretary then asked his new wages should be paid retroactive to May 2006 and the Chairman answered yes for both the WSO and Secretarial contracts.
No additional District related comments or questions.
There being no further business, a motion was made for adjournment. A voice count was taken and with 6 yes and 0 no votes, the meeting adjourned.