Meeting Minutes of July 13, 1992

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

People Attending: Lets Get Rid of Walter Members present were Mr. and Mrs. Danny Williams, Mr. Jerry Burton and Mr. Herbert Stearns. Others present were Mrs. Marth Heern, Mrs. Barbara Schwartz, Mrs. Margee Betts, and Mr. Don Page.

Minutes of the June 8, 1992 meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Betts said that in paragraph 3 it should read a committee of Mr. Betts and Mr. Parrish will beet with the Water Supply Operator and discuss the terms of employment instead of “Mr. Betts and Mr. Parrish will meet with Water Supply Operator to discuss current contracts”. Mr. Vincent made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected and Ms. Hutcheson seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken, with all in favor vote.

Communications for June 1992:

1. A letter from Ms. Hunter, BPWD Attorney, stating that she has reviewed the requirements for volunteers for lead testing. She has made a sample survey and customer letter for the Board’s review.
2. A letter form IEPA was received stating that due to budget cuts some of the monthly water sample testing will not be covered in the once a year fee paid for testing.
3. Mr. Lockwood in the case of Burton v BPWD, made a motion for Santions after the last meeting.

Customer Requests: Mr. Don Page addressed the Board on two issues. The first issue was on behalf of the Village of Makanda about widening McGuire Road to 20 feet from Old 51 to the intersection of Oak Grove Road. The telephone company and CIPS will move their lines at their expense. The water line would also have to be moved. Mr. Page stated that an estimate for this was about $500 for engineering costs, including the EPA regulations that would need to be followed, about $0.84 a foot for materials, about $0.50 a foot to open and close the trench, and he did not know how much the labor would be, for moving the line for about 1,000 feet. The question that the Mayer of Makanda has was who would pay for moving the water line. Mr. Parrish stated that this needs to be researched and decided whether BPWD will pay for moving this or not. Mr. McEvers with the Village of Makanda is the one to contact with any information on this. Mr. Page’s second issue was to discuss the possible 6 hook ons right away and the possible 8 hook ons in the future. Mr. Page will have Blankenship Engineers draw up a formal proposal if there are no objections. Mr. Betts made a motion to accept Mr. Page’s application for a line extension and to file necessary forms with IEPA and to follow BPWD guidelines for a line extension and Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes. There being 7 yes votes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.

Customer Requests: Mrs. Barbara Schwartz addressed the Board on the issue of her old renter, Mr. Vern Cornell, leaving an unpaid water bill. She discussed the rules that are in effect for landlords being responsible for renters unpaid bills. Since the renter had moved out, an ordinance changes was made to raise the renter meter deposit to $75.00 and that the owner would be contacted if the renter was not paying the bill. Mrs. Schwartz asked that the Board try to collect from the renter first and then if they were unsuccessful collect from the owner. This has been done through the regular billing and through BPWD Attorney letter. Mr. Cornell replied through letter that he does owe the bill but has no intentions on paying the bill. Mrs. Schwartz stated that she would make a donation in the amount of Mr. Cornell’s bill and that she would pay for all costs to file a claim in small claims court. Mr. Betts volunteered to go and file a claim against Mr. Cornell if Mrs. Schwartz would pay for all expenses. Mr. Parrish stated that the City of Carbondale still holds the owner responsible for an unpaid bill from a renter. Mrs. Schwartz stated that the partnership will pay the expenses for filing a claim against Vern Cornell in small claims court and would make a payment of the bill owed. Mr. Betts make a motion to accept Mrs. Schwartz proposal to pay all expenses for filing a claim against Vern Cornell in small claims court, subject to BPWD’s attorney’s approval and Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – abstain, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes. There being 6 yes and 1 abstain vote, the motion passes.

Customer Requests: Mr. Betts addressed the Board on the location of the office of Buncombe Public Water District. Mr. Betts stated as a customer he would like to see the office located at the building by the water tower. He stated that he had talked with several customers of the district and that they would like a regular office with office hours. The costs involved in maintaining office hours versus the way that the district is being run to date was discussed. Mrs. Youngblood stated that she had talked with several customers of the district and that they are happy with the way things are now that they can call Mrs. Roberts at 7:00 am or 9:00 pm. Mr. Betts stated that as a Trustee he proposes a motion to locate the business office in the building by the water tower as soon as possible and the office hours being from 9a-12p and 1p-4p, Tuesday through Friday with the exception of holidays and that sings be put up at the location for the convenience of the public and that the mail box be moved to the building instead of at the Post Office and Mr. Hollister seconded the motion. Mr. Parrish stated that a septic system and bathrooms would need to be installed and have a new payment structure for the availability during non office hours. Mr. Betts stated that according to the hours Mrs. Roberts turns in now, she would spend only one more hour a month to work at regular office hours so there would be no need to change the payment structure. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – no, Mrs. Youngblood – no, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Parrish – no. There being 4 yes votes and 3 no votes, the motion passes.

Customer Requests: Mr. Betts addressed the Board on the Burton v BPWD law suit. He stated that if the records would be made available in the business office to be viewed by customers, that the law suit would be dropped and would save the District a lot of money in legal fees. Mr. Parrish stated that BPWD Attorney has advised the Board that the customer records are private. It was discussed that these records could be viewed if the customer names and tap numbers were masked according to the Judge. Mr. Parrish stated that there is an ongoing litigation and that the question will be decided in court. Mr. Betts made a motion to have all the records available at the building for the public to view, except for the personnel employee records and Mr. Hollister seconded the motion. Mr. Parrish stated that if the motion passed he would resign from the board immediately because it was not right. Mr. Hollister asked if he was allowed to view the records as a member of the Board. Mr. Parrish stated that as a Trustee, Mr. Hollister could view all the records, but that he would be liable if he shared them with people other than Board Members. Mr. Betts stated that when he came on the Board and the viewing of the records were discussed, Mr. Hardenbergh and Mrs. Youngblood were the only Trustees that could view the records. Mrs. Youngblood stated that was not true. She and Mr. Hardenbergh volunteered to be present when Mr. Burton was to view the records and that none of the Trustees were denied access to any of the records. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – no, Mrs. Youngblood – no, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Vicent – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Parrish – no. There being 4 yes votes and 3 no votes, the motion passes. Mr. Parrish stated that at the close of the meeting he will submit his resignation from the Buncombe Public Water District Board. Mrs. Youngblood stated that the Board is acting in violation to the Law and Mr. Parrish agreed.

Secretary/Treasurer report was read and accepted.

The financial report was read and accepted. The Certificate of Deposits for Depreciation #2 and Reserve #2 are to mature on 7/24/92 and 7/19/92. Mr. Parrish stated that SIU Credit Union is paying 4.0% on passbook savings through September. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to place these accounts in a passbook savings account at SIU Credit Union and Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Parrish – abstain. There being 6 yes and 1 abstain, the motion passes.

Payment of the Bills: The bills were presented in the amount of $5,499.07. Mr. Betts asked how many work orders were included in Mr. Bulter’s bill. Mr. Bulter stated that included 10 work orders from the month. Mrs. Youngblood made a motion to pay the bills as submitted and Ms. Hutcheson seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Parrish – abstain. There being 6 yes and 1 abstain, the motion passes.

Water Supply Operator Report: Mr. Butler stated that the radio was repaired and everything was working smoothly, and the phone alarm for overflows is hooked up. Mr. Butler stated that he is resigning effective immediately because he cant work for a Board that is breaking the law in his opinion. He will turn in all water district property on Tuesday.

Discussion and approval of new contract for Secretary: Mr. Parrish recommended that this be tabled in lieu of changes under the motion to move the office to the building by the water tower and that it needed to be renegotiated. Mrs. Youngblood stated that she felt that the time spent going over this contract was not spent in good faith. The office hours were discussed and the confidentiality of the records were discussed. Mr. Jumps stated that all the issues were gone over and these were the ones that were not agreed on totally.

SHWD v BPWD Dispute: No further correspondence on this subject has been received.

Lets GROW request for copies of all financial records status: Mr. Parrish stated that no new developments have been made, and in his opinion this has been illegally resolved.

The monthly meeting adjourned by motion of Mr. Jumps and seconded by Mrs. Youngblood. Voice vote all yes. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.