Town of Germantown

Official Website of the Town of Germantown, Juneau County, WI

O’Dell’s Bay Sanitary District No. 1

BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING

MINUTES

Held remotely via Skype

November 11, 2021

9:00 a.m.

  1. Present: (all via Skype) Board Members Jim Murphy, Jim Keene, Brad Pavloski, Ken Jax, Rod Abbrederis. Administrator Kathy Oliver, Tom Fitzwilliams from MSA, Kyra Cassidy from MSA, Jason Terry from MSA

    Call to Order/Approve Agenda-

    The meeting was called to order via Microsoft Teams at 9:02 AM and the agenda was approved by the board. With all board members present, we did have a quorum.

    Minutes-

    A motion was made by Ken Jax, seconded by Jim Keene, to approve the minutes from the September 9, 2021 regular meeting with no changes or corrections. Motion carried with all in favor.

    Administrator’s Report –

    -Financial Status Summary – Financial information was provided by Kathy Oliver, including bank account balances, accounts payable and accounts receivable. In addition Kathy presented an updated report on Expenditures and Loan Disbursements for the WWTF Upgrade Project. We have had 38 connections year-to-date, with an additional 28 requested but not yet complete. Our current members, Connected and Non, total 1,291. Delinquent Fees from 2021 in the amount of $2,283.23 have been submitted for Special Tax Assessment to the Township of Germantown.  A motion was made by Jim Keene, seconded by Brad Pavloski,  to approve the Administrators report. Motion carried with all in favor. 

    Discussion and Possible Action on Local Government Investment Pool Investment Options-

    Jim Keene explained that he and Kathy Oliver have found an option to invest some of our reserves in the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP). This program provides a secure investment option for all Wisconsin local governments, including counties, cities, villages, towns, school districts, and other entities. By pooling local government funds with State funds, local governments may be able to realize generally higher yields over time. The LGIP provides local governments with the best of both worlds – overnight availability and improved earnings. The LGIP funds are invested by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. The daily LGIP operations are managed by the Wisconsin Dept of Administration-State Controller’s Office. Kathy consulted with our Auditor/CPA, Hillary Sorge with MBE CPA’s, and Hillary advised that this was an option their firm recommends for entities like ours. Jim Keene recommended that we move $1,000,000.00 of our funds into the LGIP. After some discussion a motion was made by Brad Pavloski, with a second by Jim Keene,that Jim and Kathy consult with Britta Moline from MSA, who is assisting with WWTF Upgrade Project costs, and make a decision on the right amount to move, up to $1,000,000, and do so when the time is right, to coordinate with project expenses.   Motion carried with all in favor.

    Discussion and Possible Action on District Insurance Policy Renewals-

    Kathy Oliver presented the renewal quotes for Liability, Workers Compensation, Property & Equipment, and Special District Coverage for 2022. There is an overall premium increase of $468. Jim Keene commented that with overall rising costs and inflation he was pleased with the small increase, and he made a motion to renew all coverage as quoted. The motion was seconded by Brad Pavloski, and carried with all in favor.

    Discussion and Possible Action on WWTF Operations Update-

    Tom Fitzwilliams reported on the daily operations. Average influent and effluent flows are in-line with expectations for the time of year.  Effluent ammonia concentrations have continued to be below DNR limits since April. No effluent flow for October and first few days of November due to construction on Lagoon #3.  

    Discussion and Possible Action on WWTF Construction Update-

    Kyra Cassidy and Tom Fitzwilliams reported that Wapasha Construction has completed work to put the project in a good place for the time of year. Lagoon 3 has been drained, a new manhole installed, along with a bypass line, polishing reactor bypass line, and 4 insertion valves. Underground air piping to the polishing reactor was installed. The exterior and interior of the Control building have been framed, with weather barriers on the walls and roof. Electrical and plumbing utilities have been roughed in and the control and power at the Lift Station has been installed and inspected. Kyra mentioned that Wapasha has requested an extension for project completion date. She and Tom agreed that physical work is going well, but they have concerns with planning issues. There have also been supply issues. There was some discussion of whether to grant the extension. Tom explained the penalty clause that is built in to the contract and felt that we could wait and re-visit the issue at our next meeting. No action taken.

    Discussion and Possible Action on 2022 Member Fees, Annual Letters, Invoicing, Employee Compensation and 2022 District Budget-

    Discussion included a review of 2021 Budget vs Actuals, changes in plant function and monitoring after the upgrade is complete in 2022, employee compensation changes, upgrade project expenses and funding.

    During discussion Tom Fitzwilliams from MSA explained that with the elimination of daily on-site checks by a district employee due to the upgrade, coupled with changes in equipment and DNR requirements. The upgrade will address new phosphorus, Ph &  Ammonia limits, and  higher levels of disinfection. MSA proposed 1 more site visit by them each week. The increased expense for this, partially offset by the decreased expense from the elimination of a district employee, is approx $13,000  per year.   A motion was made by Jim Keene, with a second by Brad Pavloski, to accept the new contract from MSA, and to adjust the 2022 budget to reflect the change in cost. Motion carried with all in favor.

    A motion was made by Jim Keene, with second by Brad Pavloski to give a 10% compensation increase to the District Administrator for 2022, along with a $500 Bonus. Motion carried with all in favor.

    Ken Jax questioned the insurance renewal rates and asked about the possibility of rates increasing during 2022, with the completion of the facility upgrade. The insurance company is aware of the project and will most likely do a site visit upon completion. Until then we can’t predict what/when increase may occur. Ken commented that we should consider a small Member Rate increase this year, and possibly annually, to avoid doing future large increases, like was done for 2021. We currently have a built-in 3% annual increase to the NMRCA fee and Ken feels that policy keeps our collections better in-line with annually increasing expenses. Brad Pavloski asked Tom Fitzwilliams how our current rates compare to other Districts that are similar in size. Tom said that we are still at right around the 50th percentile for rates in the state. Ken Jax made a motion to increase 2022 fees to $465 for Connected Members and $233 for Unconnected Members, from the current rates of $450 and $225. The motion was seconded by Jim Keene and passed with all in favor. 

    A motion was made by Jim Keene to make changes to the proposed 2022 budget to reflect the actions taken at today’s meeting and to approve the budget as such. The motion was seconded by Brad Pavloski and passed with all in favor. 

    Discussion and Possible Action on League of WI Municipalities Mutual Insurance Grant-

    Kathy Oliver explained that we received a grant from League of WI Municipalities Mutual Insurance in the amount of $500.00. The money is to be spent on parks and recreation or to purchase items that enhance the beauty and useableness of our location. Kathy suggested we consider donating the money to the Township of Germantown for their proposed park expansion project, or that we could use it to improve the look and function of the new generator at the lift station. After some discussion of the options Jim Keene made a motion that we apply the grant money to the lift station project, with the intent to improve the appearance of the area at the entrance to the O’Dell’s Bay development. The motion was seconded by Brad Pavloski and passed with all in favor.

     Public Comment –

    No public comments

    Adjourn

    A motion was made by Jim Keene, Seconded by Brad Pavloski, to adjourn at 10:44 AM.  Motion carried with all in favor.  The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 13th, 2022 at 9:00AM.

    Respectfully Submitted,

    Kathy Oliver, Administrator