The King George County Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting at 6:31 pm. There were no amendments to the Agenda.
When the floor opened for Public Comment, one gentleman approached the podium. Chris Werle, Chairman of the Board, clarified for the gentleman that this was the public comment period for the Service Authority and that if he had a comment about the upcoming Public Hearing on the changes to Service Authority Regulations, he would have time later. So the gentleman sat down and waited.
Werle asked Neil Richard [EDITOR'S NOTE: That's me.] if the letter from Yvonne Richard was to be read into the public record [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the spouse of Yvonne Richard.]. Mr. Richard advised Mr. Werle that no, the Board could read it at their leisure. As I was informed later, it was supposed to be read into the record so a copy of the letter is below.
There being no further public comment, the Board began with their reports. Mike Bennett, Richard Granger, and Ruby Brabo had no report. Cathy Binder was absent at the time, although she would arrive later during the meeting.
Chris Werle reported that on May 7, 2018 he visited the Hopyard Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). He noted the Ultra Violet (UV) Systems were in operation and that he read the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manuals. He said these O&M Manuals included a cover letter from Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that said they had been reviewed and approved. Werle said the DEQ approval letters were also present at all other plants in the county.
Taking a short deviation from the meeting notes to provide further details and an opinion, the mention of the O&M Manuals being present at all plants appears to be a reference to an inspection of the Oakland Park WWTP where DEQ noted that they were missing. In a response to the February 13, 2018 inspection visit, Chris Thomas, General Manager, told DEQ in a March 30th letter that "The operator on site during the inspection was unaware of the location of the O&M Manuals. The Manuals were not located in the laboratory area. However, they were in the back control room. These Manuals have been relocated to the laboratory area." Unfortunately, these are the least of the issues found at Hopyard Farm's WWTP. According to a DEQ email, part of a pending Consent Order may include signage at the Hopyard pier warning users of potential E. coli exposure. This warning is based on frequent "UV maintenance issues, the difficulty in obtaining replacement parts for this system, the regularity of high E. coli numbers, and the proximity of the outfall..." While these details are still being drafted, it's clear there are issues at Hopyard Farm's WWTP.
Returning to the meetings notes report, Werle continued his report by stating that on the 11th he received the proposed agreement from KGI Communications and that it included all of the modifications previously discussed. The lease will be for five years at $1,000 per month. After that, the lease would have a three percent escalation factor applied for the next five years. The first 12 months would have lease payments waived and an additional six months would be waived if KGI showed documentation proving it was necessary. There was also a stipulation that if any funds were received from the Economic Development Authority (EDA), it was to be used to pay any waived lease payment first. Werle said on the 14th he met with Chris Thomas, Travis Quesenberry, County Engineer, and Steve Lynd, Emergency Management Coordinator, regarding the engineering contract for the Fairview Beach stabilization project.
The Consent Agenda was approved and the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Next up was the Public Hearing regarding the proposed changes to the Service Authority Regulations, Section 9, Paragraph I. Werle read some highlights from the changes before opening the floor for public comment. The gentlemen from earlier in the evening approached the stand and identified himself as Phil Grimes. Mr. Grimes stated his issue is that there are old pipes in Fairview Beach and if there was an emergency break between the meter and the building, the property owner would be responsible. But since "pipes don't break at 9 am" he would like to see some language that allows citizens, especially customers, to turn off their meter in an emergency. Grimes also said the language about "authorized representatives is unclear" and asked if that meant a plumber or somebody else. He asked if the Board could issue something to those that are considered designated representatives so they could be easily identified.
Werle said he made a good point about the emergencies. He said if a break was on the customer side and the flow were sufficient enough, it would be reasonable for the property owner to turn off the meter and then notify the Service Authority of the situation. He said this has happened in the past and "we have not and would not charge a penalty." Werle suggested maybe adding a preface to the first paragraph about emergency situations but would need to define what an emergency situation is as well as what a designated representative is.
Ruby Brabo asked Eric Gregory, County Attorney, if that would require another call for a public hearing. Gregory said no, that the suggested revisions would not be substantive enough to require another public hearing. He said the Board could adopt it tonight with those revisions in mind or they could direct state to make changes and vote later.
Brabo said she would rather come back and vote later after everything is defined. Gregory advised against trying to craft the new language tonight. Brabo concluded her comments by saying "this is why citizen input is needed." No action was taken by the Board, effectively tabling the discussion and adoption of the changes until a later meeting.
Next on the Agenda was the lease agreement with KGI Communications. Werle again reviewed the tentative agreement citing the five year lease, three percent escalation, and waived payments. He did clarify that the escalation rate of three percent would be for the second five year period, not each year within that period. He said that the loss of income would be minimal and only about $1,500 and he felt that any back and forth negotiations wasn't really worth it. Werle further clarified and corrected that statement in a May 16th email stating that "KGI wants to apply a blanket lease escalation factor of 3% across all 5-years of the second 5-year lease period. I then said we would lose about $1,500 in revenue if we didn't apply the escalation factor each year. That was not correct." He went on to show the math behind the potential loss of income to be $3,828 over the life of the second five year lease.
Brabo chimed in by saying she, Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, and Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, met with KGI Communications regarding the addition of a second tower lease under the same terms. Werle was surprised to not have known about this discussion and said a second tower wasn't in the draft contract. Brabo said the Board can do one now and work on the second one later. The Board approved the first contract.
Chris Thomas, General Manager, began his report by saying he had three items to discuss. The first was the numerous water leaks during the week, saying that there were six leaks total. They were located on Dahlgren Road, Delegate Drive, Roosevelt Drive, Inaugural Drive, and Owens Drive. He said the leaks on Delegate Drive, Inaugural Drive, and Owens Drive were all caused by contractors and that the one on Inaugural Drive would be charged back to the contractor.
Brabo asked if Miss Utility had been called by the contractors before digging. Thomas said yes, but they still hit the lines. Bennett asked why only one contractor was being charged and Thomas said the other contractors remained on site and helped make the repairs. This particular contractor did not help and would therefore be charged.
Thomas' second update was regarding the industrial park sewer pump station. He said Virginia Power has transferred power and that the station was started up today and is in service. He said they were only waiting for the phone service to be installed for the auto-dialers.
The third update from Thomas was regarding the three years of data on commercial connections that Bennett had requested in a previous meeting. He said there was no real way to look at and find what an average would look like. He said it depends on the service being provided, either water, sewer, or both, the size of the meter, as well as the average daily consumption. He said without knowing the particulars of the business, it's hard to know what the average would be.
Brabo said if the meter was the same size, why was sewer larger than water. She said that didn't seem right that connection fees are so different. Werle said that sewer is higher than water. Brabo asked why the connection was more. Thomas said each connection has three pieces; the actual connection, the availability, and the debt service which is higher for sewer. Brabo said this is just the connection, not the service. Werle and Thomas both said yes. Brabo again asked if debt fee is included in connection fee to which Werle and Thomas both said yes. Werle then added that it was described in painful detail in the regulations. Bennett asked Ryan Gandy, who was sitting in the audience, if he got a copy. Gandy said no to which Bennett said he would make sure he got a copy.
Brabo, still looking at the spreadsheet (as seen above), said she didn't expect to see such a difference between all the businesses. Bennett said to the audience, trying to clarify for those that didn't have a handout from Thomas, that the Board was trying to review the connection fees to see if it really is a burden for new businesses, especially small ones, coming to King George.
Brabo again said it was quite a range. Bennett said that was more polite than what he was thinking in his head which drew a few laughs. He said some businesses have a reasonable amount while others are much more. Brabo said when people ask why it's hard for a small business to open, she said Murphy's Express can afford $8,662 for water but it's hard for Blush Salon to afford $11,183 for sewer.
The Board then went into Closed Session at 6:55 pm to discuss, possible litigation, personnel matters, and potential disposition of public property. Invited were John Jenkins, Board of Supervisors, Jeff Bueche, Board of Supervisors, Eric Gregory, County Attorney, and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator. At 7:25pm, Bueche left to take a phone call and returned about 15 minutes later. At 7:32pm, Cathy Binder arrived and joined the Closed Session. At 8:15pm, Bueche, Jenkins, and Chris Thomas left the meeting. The Board returned from Closed Session at 9:03pm, making it the longest Closed Session of the year at two hours and eight minutes (the Closed Session on April 17, 2018 was a mere two minutes shorter).
The meeting adjourned at 9:03pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors) - arrived at 7:32pm
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on June 5, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
When the floor opened for Public Comment, one gentleman approached the podium. Chris Werle, Chairman of the Board, clarified for the gentleman that this was the public comment period for the Service Authority and that if he had a comment about the upcoming Public Hearing on the changes to Service Authority Regulations, he would have time later. So the gentleman sat down and waited.
Werle asked Neil Richard [EDITOR'S NOTE: That's me.] if the letter from Yvonne Richard was to be read into the public record [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the spouse of Yvonne Richard.]. Mr. Richard advised Mr. Werle that no, the Board could read it at their leisure. As I was informed later, it was supposed to be read into the record so a copy of the letter is below.
There being no further public comment, the Board began with their reports. Mike Bennett, Richard Granger, and Ruby Brabo had no report. Cathy Binder was absent at the time, although she would arrive later during the meeting.
Chris Werle reported that on May 7, 2018 he visited the Hopyard Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). He noted the Ultra Violet (UV) Systems were in operation and that he read the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manuals. He said these O&M Manuals included a cover letter from Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that said they had been reviewed and approved. Werle said the DEQ approval letters were also present at all other plants in the county.
Taking a short deviation from the meeting notes to provide further details and an opinion, the mention of the O&M Manuals being present at all plants appears to be a reference to an inspection of the Oakland Park WWTP where DEQ noted that they were missing. In a response to the February 13, 2018 inspection visit, Chris Thomas, General Manager, told DEQ in a March 30th letter that "The operator on site during the inspection was unaware of the location of the O&M Manuals. The Manuals were not located in the laboratory area. However, they were in the back control room. These Manuals have been relocated to the laboratory area." Unfortunately, these are the least of the issues found at Hopyard Farm's WWTP. According to a DEQ email, part of a pending Consent Order may include signage at the Hopyard pier warning users of potential E. coli exposure. This warning is based on frequent "UV maintenance issues, the difficulty in obtaining replacement parts for this system, the regularity of high E. coli numbers, and the proximity of the outfall..." While these details are still being drafted, it's clear there are issues at Hopyard Farm's WWTP.
Returning to the meetings notes report, Werle continued his report by stating that on the 11th he received the proposed agreement from KGI Communications and that it included all of the modifications previously discussed. The lease will be for five years at $1,000 per month. After that, the lease would have a three percent escalation factor applied for the next five years. The first 12 months would have lease payments waived and an additional six months would be waived if KGI showed documentation proving it was necessary. There was also a stipulation that if any funds were received from the Economic Development Authority (EDA), it was to be used to pay any waived lease payment first. Werle said on the 14th he met with Chris Thomas, Travis Quesenberry, County Engineer, and Steve Lynd, Emergency Management Coordinator, regarding the engineering contract for the Fairview Beach stabilization project.
The Consent Agenda was approved and the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Next up was the Public Hearing regarding the proposed changes to the Service Authority Regulations, Section 9, Paragraph I. Werle read some highlights from the changes before opening the floor for public comment. The gentlemen from earlier in the evening approached the stand and identified himself as Phil Grimes. Mr. Grimes stated his issue is that there are old pipes in Fairview Beach and if there was an emergency break between the meter and the building, the property owner would be responsible. But since "pipes don't break at 9 am" he would like to see some language that allows citizens, especially customers, to turn off their meter in an emergency. Grimes also said the language about "authorized representatives is unclear" and asked if that meant a plumber or somebody else. He asked if the Board could issue something to those that are considered designated representatives so they could be easily identified.
Werle said he made a good point about the emergencies. He said if a break was on the customer side and the flow were sufficient enough, it would be reasonable for the property owner to turn off the meter and then notify the Service Authority of the situation. He said this has happened in the past and "we have not and would not charge a penalty." Werle suggested maybe adding a preface to the first paragraph about emergency situations but would need to define what an emergency situation is as well as what a designated representative is.
Ruby Brabo asked Eric Gregory, County Attorney, if that would require another call for a public hearing. Gregory said no, that the suggested revisions would not be substantive enough to require another public hearing. He said the Board could adopt it tonight with those revisions in mind or they could direct state to make changes and vote later.
Brabo said she would rather come back and vote later after everything is defined. Gregory advised against trying to craft the new language tonight. Brabo concluded her comments by saying "this is why citizen input is needed." No action was taken by the Board, effectively tabling the discussion and adoption of the changes until a later meeting.
Next on the Agenda was the lease agreement with KGI Communications. Werle again reviewed the tentative agreement citing the five year lease, three percent escalation, and waived payments. He did clarify that the escalation rate of three percent would be for the second five year period, not each year within that period. He said that the loss of income would be minimal and only about $1,500 and he felt that any back and forth negotiations wasn't really worth it. Werle further clarified and corrected that statement in a May 16th email stating that "KGI wants to apply a blanket lease escalation factor of 3% across all 5-years of the second 5-year lease period. I then said we would lose about $1,500 in revenue if we didn't apply the escalation factor each year. That was not correct." He went on to show the math behind the potential loss of income to be $3,828 over the life of the second five year lease.
Brabo chimed in by saying she, Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, and Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, met with KGI Communications regarding the addition of a second tower lease under the same terms. Werle was surprised to not have known about this discussion and said a second tower wasn't in the draft contract. Brabo said the Board can do one now and work on the second one later. The Board approved the first contract.
Chris Thomas, General Manager, began his report by saying he had three items to discuss. The first was the numerous water leaks during the week, saying that there were six leaks total. They were located on Dahlgren Road, Delegate Drive, Roosevelt Drive, Inaugural Drive, and Owens Drive. He said the leaks on Delegate Drive, Inaugural Drive, and Owens Drive were all caused by contractors and that the one on Inaugural Drive would be charged back to the contractor.
Brabo asked if Miss Utility had been called by the contractors before digging. Thomas said yes, but they still hit the lines. Bennett asked why only one contractor was being charged and Thomas said the other contractors remained on site and helped make the repairs. This particular contractor did not help and would therefore be charged.
Thomas' second update was regarding the industrial park sewer pump station. He said Virginia Power has transferred power and that the station was started up today and is in service. He said they were only waiting for the phone service to be installed for the auto-dialers.
The third update from Thomas was regarding the three years of data on commercial connections that Bennett had requested in a previous meeting. He said there was no real way to look at and find what an average would look like. He said it depends on the service being provided, either water, sewer, or both, the size of the meter, as well as the average daily consumption. He said without knowing the particulars of the business, it's hard to know what the average would be.
Brabo said if the meter was the same size, why was sewer larger than water. She said that didn't seem right that connection fees are so different. Werle said that sewer is higher than water. Brabo asked why the connection was more. Thomas said each connection has three pieces; the actual connection, the availability, and the debt service which is higher for sewer. Brabo said this is just the connection, not the service. Werle and Thomas both said yes. Brabo again asked if debt fee is included in connection fee to which Werle and Thomas both said yes. Werle then added that it was described in painful detail in the regulations. Bennett asked Ryan Gandy, who was sitting in the audience, if he got a copy. Gandy said no to which Bennett said he would make sure he got a copy.
Brabo, still looking at the spreadsheet (as seen above), said she didn't expect to see such a difference between all the businesses. Bennett said to the audience, trying to clarify for those that didn't have a handout from Thomas, that the Board was trying to review the connection fees to see if it really is a burden for new businesses, especially small ones, coming to King George.
Brabo again said it was quite a range. Bennett said that was more polite than what he was thinking in his head which drew a few laughs. He said some businesses have a reasonable amount while others are much more. Brabo said when people ask why it's hard for a small business to open, she said Murphy's Express can afford $8,662 for water but it's hard for Blush Salon to afford $11,183 for sewer.
The Board then went into Closed Session at 6:55 pm to discuss, possible litigation, personnel matters, and potential disposition of public property. Invited were John Jenkins, Board of Supervisors, Jeff Bueche, Board of Supervisors, Eric Gregory, County Attorney, and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator. At 7:25pm, Bueche left to take a phone call and returned about 15 minutes later. At 7:32pm, Cathy Binder arrived and joined the Closed Session. At 8:15pm, Bueche, Jenkins, and Chris Thomas left the meeting. The Board returned from Closed Session at 9:03pm, making it the longest Closed Session of the year at two hours and eight minutes (the Closed Session on April 17, 2018 was a mere two minutes shorter).
The meeting adjourned at 9:03pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors) - arrived at 7:32pm
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on June 5, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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