Minutes of September 14, 2021
1. Chairman Robert Hughey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Makanda Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Makanda. A roll call was taken and Board Members present were: Chairman Robert Hughey, Vice Chairman Kim Cole, and Trustees Grace Brewer, Pat Brierton, Joseph Burrow, John Dickson, and Paul Heern. Also present were: District Secretary Karen Dunn, and Water Supply Operator Ron Lada. Treasurer Mike Williamsen was absent.
2. The professionals at the meeting were Mr. Mike Twomey, Mr. Scott Hickam, and Mr. Joe Boyke. Also present were Ms. Lucille Burrow and Mr. Greg Dunn attending as visitors.
3. The Board reviewed the minutes of the August 10, 2021, regular meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Burrow to accept the minutes as presented; seconded by Ms. Brewer and with (6) yes and (0) no votes, the minutes were approved.
4. Mr. Joe Boyke opened by reporting the progress on the repairs and painting of the water tower by Maxcor. Mr. Boyke presented and reviewed Request #4 for IEPA Loan Disbursement followed by the presentation of Invoice #21061 from Clarida & Ziegler Engineering in the amount of $2,777.50. After related discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Dickson to approve the Loan Disbursement Request as presented; seconded by Ms. Brierton and with (6) yes and (0) no votes, Request #4 was approved. Next, a motion was made by Mr. Dickson to approve payment to Invoice #21061 as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Brierton and with (6) yes and (0) no votes, the payment was approved. The Request for Loan Disbursement #4 was endorsed by Chairman Hughey. Conversation followed pertaining to painting inside the tower as Mr. Boyke presented pictures of the project’s progress. He also noted that completion of the entire project was estimated to be two months out.
Next on the agenda was a presentation by Mr. Scott Hickam pertaining to the Financial Statements and Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended December 31, 2020. Mr. Hickam began with a review of financial highlights and a condensed statement of net position, outstanding debt, and assets liability. He followed with a graphical representation of the reported figures and a pie chart revealing a comparison of expenses to previous years. Also discussed was long term debt, payment on bonds, and water revenue, to name a few. Upon completion of Mr. Hickam’s presentation, a motion was made by Ms. Brewer to approve the Financial Report for 2020 as presented; seconded by Mr. Burrow and with (6) yes and (0) no votes, the Financial Report was approved.
5. No items of correspondence were presented for discussion at this time.
6.        No new business was addressed at this time. 7.        A report was presented by Vice Chairman Cole to update Board Members on the progress of the Special Ordinance Review Workgroup pertaining to priorities such as: addressing employee matters, the development of an employee handbook, and the review and revisions of District ordinances. Conversation followed. No action was taken at this time. The discussion related to employee benefits was tabled for Executive Session. District insurance coverage alternatives were briefly discussed pertaining to the status of outstanding proposals and quotes from prospective insurers. Discussion followed with no action taken.
8. No new information related to the Carbondale Water District was presented for discussion.
9. Financials for July 2021 were reviewed with brief discussion.
10. The District Secretary/Treasurer’s Report and the Accounts Payable Report for September 2021 were presented by the District Secretary. A motion was made by Ms. Brewer to accept the reports as presented and to pay the bills, which was seconded by Ms. Brierton and with (6) yes and (0) no votes the motion carried.
11. The Water Supply Operator’s report was presented with no discrepancies. Leak detector meter reports were reviewed and discussed, along with methods to further detect District water leaks. Also discussed was locking flush hydrants to prevent theft. A motion was made by Ms. Brewer to purchase locks for the flush hydrants. The motion was seconded by Mr. Heern and with (5) yes and (0) no votes, the purchase was approved.
12. No additional public comments or questions were presented at this time.
13. Executive Session – UNAVAILABLE
14. There being no further business, a motion was made by Vice Chairman Cole to adjourn, which was seconded by Ms. Brewer. With a voice vote of all ayes, the meeting closed.