Shortly after the Board of Supervisors began their meeting on January 9, 2018, they adjourned so the Service Authority could conduct their meeting. While this is slightly out of order from a typical meeting night, this was done because the Board of Supervisors needs to open their meeting in order to choose who sits on the Service Authority Board of Directors. Once the Board of Directors is chosen, then the Board of Supervisors can temporarily recess so the Service Authority can meet. This same process is followed for the Wireless Authority Board of Directors which followed shortly after the Service Authority meeting.
The Service Authority opened their meeting at 6:41pm. Both Richard Granger and Christopher Werle were nominated as Chairman of the Board but Supervisor Granger declined in favor of Mr. Werle. Mr. Werle was then voted in as Chairman. For Vice-Chair, Michael Bennett was nominated. Before being voted into that position, County Administrator Neiman Young read a letter from Mr. Bennett stating that he would be absent from the January meetings due to travel but, if nominated for Vice-Chair, was more than willing to serve in that role. Dr. Neiman Young was then voted in as the Secretary/Treasurer.
The calendar of meetings was voted and will follow the previously approved Board of Supervisors calendar for 2018. It will be the same schedule in the Agenda but with no meeting in July, the March 6th meeting was moved to the 7th, and the November meeting would remain. The Board then adopted the Rules and Procedures.
Howard Yarus was the only person to speak during public comment. He wanted to thank the Service Authority for providing him with a copy of the regulations. He came before the Board to speak about the building in Dahlgren [on Rosedale Drive] that was previously owned by the County and is now a residence. He said the Service Authority should follow their regulations in regard to the connections, specifically the sewer connection. Mr. Yarus wrote three letters to the Service Authority Board and delivered one prior to the meeting beginning. The first letter and the two other letters were also provided to the media.
Richard Granger began his report but was interrupted by Mrs. Kim Dodge. Unfortunately the time for public comment had already passed so she was not allowed to speak. She would speak later in the evening during the public comment for the Board of Supervisors.
Ruby Brabo's report was short as she thanked Jeff Bueche for allowing another Service Authority customer to serve on the Board of Directors. Cathy Binder thanked Mr. Yarus for speaking. Mr. Bennett wasn't present to give a report. Christopher Werle's report began with an update on Chris Thomas, General Manager. Werle said he had met with Human Resources about Thomas' annual review and, in what appeared to be an attempt at humor, was pleased to report that Mr. Thomas was "still here" and added a comment along the lines of the report bust have been good. Mr. Werle also thanked Mr. Yarus for speaking and regarding the building on Rosedale, he would defer judgement to the General Manager for fees and connections.
The Consent Agenda was approved and there was no report from the County Attorney, Eric Gregory.
Chris Thomas, the General Manager of the Service Authority, then gave his report in three parts. The first part was regarding the water issues in Oakland Park. He said calls began coming in on December 26, 2017 regarding low water pressure or no water. Service Authority technicians were dispatched but there was difficulty in determining where the issue originated. Upon more troubleshooting, it was found that the pressure transducer and the pressure gauge for the elevated storage tank were both frozen. Once thawed and replaced, water was flowing as expected however calls were coming in regarding discolored water. The Service Authority informed these customers to flush the lines inside their house and that the Service Authority would adjust their bills. This was done so as not to cause any dangerous ice conditions by flushing the lines outside or using hydrants like it is typically done in warmer temperatures.
Thomas' second portion of his report was regarding similar calls in the Canterbury subdivision with low water pressure and no water calls being made. Unlike Oakland Park, there is no elevated storage tank. Instead, the system uses a ground level storage tank and booster pumps to supply sufficient water pressure to customers. Upon examining the system, the Service Authority discovered the inlet valve for the storage tank was frozen. Control issues were also discovered and some parts were placed on order but the system was working properly at the time.*
Before getting into the third part of his report, Mr. Thomas thanked both groups of customers for being patient. Richard Granger asked if there were any steps that could be taken to use newer or more rugged equipment to prevent this issue in the future. Thomas said some of the issues could have been caused by age. Ruby Brabo said some citizens contacted her asking why the KGALERT system wasn't used during either event. Thomas said it wasn't used due to the holidays and a limited number of people that can issue alerts. His hope was that the new website would alleviate that and did say that Service Authority employees did go door-to-door in Oakland Park to let customers know about the issue.
Thomas finally got to the last part of his update regarding the Rosedale Drive building that has become a home. He said a connection fee is typically charged due to a change of use. He said the building was the previous home of the Dahlgren Sanitation Office and that it did have a toilet and sink that were added with an addition. Thomas said there was no record of any connection fee being paid in the past and that there is no connection for water now but there is a sewer connection now.
There was some brief mention of the proposal of the Board meeting at 6pm but that it would not happen because it would not work for all Board members. There was also a reminder to the Board to expect to name a citizen to the Citizen Budget Advisory Board at the January 23, 2018 meeting.
With no closed session, the Board adjourned at 7:03pm.
*The day after the meeting, January 10, 2018, the Service Authority issued a KGALERT notifying users that "A water leak has been located & is going to be repaired a [sic] soon as utility markings are complete. This problem may be the catalyst of the problems the Canterbury system has been experiencing. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation." It was later announced that the leak had been fixed and that customers could expect discolored water. Another alert was issued the evening of January 11, 2018 stating "crews are on site and water service will be restored as soon as possible" and that the "YMCA is opening its showers to Canterbury residents through Sunday," January 14, 2018.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Michael Bennett (Citizen)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on January 23, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
The Service Authority opened their meeting at 6:41pm. Both Richard Granger and Christopher Werle were nominated as Chairman of the Board but Supervisor Granger declined in favor of Mr. Werle. Mr. Werle was then voted in as Chairman. For Vice-Chair, Michael Bennett was nominated. Before being voted into that position, County Administrator Neiman Young read a letter from Mr. Bennett stating that he would be absent from the January meetings due to travel but, if nominated for Vice-Chair, was more than willing to serve in that role. Dr. Neiman Young was then voted in as the Secretary/Treasurer.
The calendar of meetings was voted and will follow the previously approved Board of Supervisors calendar for 2018. It will be the same schedule in the Agenda but with no meeting in July, the March 6th meeting was moved to the 7th, and the November meeting would remain. The Board then adopted the Rules and Procedures.
Howard Yarus was the only person to speak during public comment. He wanted to thank the Service Authority for providing him with a copy of the regulations. He came before the Board to speak about the building in Dahlgren [on Rosedale Drive] that was previously owned by the County and is now a residence. He said the Service Authority should follow their regulations in regard to the connections, specifically the sewer connection. Mr. Yarus wrote three letters to the Service Authority Board and delivered one prior to the meeting beginning. The first letter and the two other letters were also provided to the media.
Richard Granger began his report but was interrupted by Mrs. Kim Dodge. Unfortunately the time for public comment had already passed so she was not allowed to speak. She would speak later in the evening during the public comment for the Board of Supervisors.
Ruby Brabo's report was short as she thanked Jeff Bueche for allowing another Service Authority customer to serve on the Board of Directors. Cathy Binder thanked Mr. Yarus for speaking. Mr. Bennett wasn't present to give a report. Christopher Werle's report began with an update on Chris Thomas, General Manager. Werle said he had met with Human Resources about Thomas' annual review and, in what appeared to be an attempt at humor, was pleased to report that Mr. Thomas was "still here" and added a comment along the lines of the report bust have been good. Mr. Werle also thanked Mr. Yarus for speaking and regarding the building on Rosedale, he would defer judgement to the General Manager for fees and connections.
The Consent Agenda was approved and there was no report from the County Attorney, Eric Gregory.
Chris Thomas, the General Manager of the Service Authority, then gave his report in three parts. The first part was regarding the water issues in Oakland Park. He said calls began coming in on December 26, 2017 regarding low water pressure or no water. Service Authority technicians were dispatched but there was difficulty in determining where the issue originated. Upon more troubleshooting, it was found that the pressure transducer and the pressure gauge for the elevated storage tank were both frozen. Once thawed and replaced, water was flowing as expected however calls were coming in regarding discolored water. The Service Authority informed these customers to flush the lines inside their house and that the Service Authority would adjust their bills. This was done so as not to cause any dangerous ice conditions by flushing the lines outside or using hydrants like it is typically done in warmer temperatures.
Thomas' second portion of his report was regarding similar calls in the Canterbury subdivision with low water pressure and no water calls being made. Unlike Oakland Park, there is no elevated storage tank. Instead, the system uses a ground level storage tank and booster pumps to supply sufficient water pressure to customers. Upon examining the system, the Service Authority discovered the inlet valve for the storage tank was frozen. Control issues were also discovered and some parts were placed on order but the system was working properly at the time.*
Before getting into the third part of his report, Mr. Thomas thanked both groups of customers for being patient. Richard Granger asked if there were any steps that could be taken to use newer or more rugged equipment to prevent this issue in the future. Thomas said some of the issues could have been caused by age. Ruby Brabo said some citizens contacted her asking why the KGALERT system wasn't used during either event. Thomas said it wasn't used due to the holidays and a limited number of people that can issue alerts. His hope was that the new website would alleviate that and did say that Service Authority employees did go door-to-door in Oakland Park to let customers know about the issue.
Thomas finally got to the last part of his update regarding the Rosedale Drive building that has become a home. He said a connection fee is typically charged due to a change of use. He said the building was the previous home of the Dahlgren Sanitation Office and that it did have a toilet and sink that were added with an addition. Thomas said there was no record of any connection fee being paid in the past and that there is no connection for water now but there is a sewer connection now.
There was some brief mention of the proposal of the Board meeting at 6pm but that it would not happen because it would not work for all Board members. There was also a reminder to the Board to expect to name a citizen to the Citizen Budget Advisory Board at the January 23, 2018 meeting.
With no closed session, the Board adjourned at 7:03pm.
*The day after the meeting, January 10, 2018, the Service Authority issued a KGALERT notifying users that "A water leak has been located & is going to be repaired a [sic] soon as utility markings are complete. This problem may be the catalyst of the problems the Canterbury system has been experiencing. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation." It was later announced that the leak had been fixed and that customers could expect discolored water. Another alert was issued the evening of January 11, 2018 stating "crews are on site and water service will be restored as soon as possible" and that the "YMCA is opening its showers to Canterbury residents through Sunday," January 14, 2018.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Michael Bennett (Citizen)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on January 23, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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