by Neil Richard
The Service Authority Board of Directors opened their February 5th meeting at 6:30pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
Yvonne Richard was the only one to speak during Public Comment. She began by saying thank you to everyone for serving on the Board. Her suggestion was to give customers more than twenty minutes notice when performing maintenance on water lines. She said some people may be negatively impacted if they set a dishwasher to run during the day and service is interrupted [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the spouse of Yvonne Richard.].
Chris Werle began his Board Report by saying he had reviewed and made comments on the draft feasibility study that was being created on the decommissioning of the Purkins Corner and Oakland Park Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). He said his comments were mostly focused on the upgrades, the costs, and the new ammonia regulations coming in the future. He said the County Engineer, Travis Quesenberry, also gave his comments as well. He reminded the Board that at a previous meeting, they said an update from Draper Aden would be done at an upcoming budget work session but he felt a meeting was necessary before that to wade through the technical comments first. Werle said Jonathan Weakley, General Manager, would schedule that meeting soon. On January 25th, Werle said he met with Weakley to discuss the upcoming budget work sessions.
Richard Granger apologized in his Board Report that he still had not found anyone to serve as his representative on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Granger said Mrs. Richard, who was still in the audience, volunteered even though she did not live in his district. With that, the Board approved Mrs. Richard to serve on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee for the Service Authority.
Cathy Binder had no Board Report.
Ruby Brabo's Board Report began with an update from a meeting she held on January 29th with Cliff Parker from AQUA. She said he presented some interesting charts and data on the average water and sewer rates across Virginia that may help when the Board looks at rates in the future. Brabo said that, with apologies to Werle and Mike Bennett, Chairman, that going forward Binder, Vice-Chair, should be in as many meetings as possible as this was her training year. Brabo said she understood Werle's role on the Board but felt Binder should be included whenever practically possible.
Bennett said he had a brief discussion before the meeting about that and said they would do everything possible to keep Binder in mind and trained for her to assume the role of Chair next year. Bennett said the Draper Aden report had a fair amount of engineering content so Werle and the County Engineer would understand it better.
Werle said that Binder should be at that meeting but Brabo said that three Board members can't be present as that would constitute a meeting. Brabo said she was just looking to include Binder in meetings when feasible. Bennett said they definitely wanted to get Binder up to speed.
Mike Bennett began his Board Report by thanking Werle for his two years serving as Chairman. He said there was obviously a rocky period of time in the past but thanked him for the incredible amount of time he put into the organization. Bennett said the only person that probably understands how much time Werle has put into this is Mrs. Werle. Bennett again thanked him and said he looked forward to working with Werle in the coming years.
Bennett continued his report by saying he met with Weakley about a variety of issues including staffing, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) compliance, pump stations, and more. Bennett said he is aware of how a lengthy Service Authority meeting impacts his fellow Board members that serve on the Board of Supervisors as well as those members in the audience waiting for that meeting. Bennett said that he still wants to remain transparent and get the job done but felt that if some things could be accomplished in budget work sessions, they should try to do that. He cautioned that he didn't want to do anything inappropriate but there were certain discussions that were directly tied to the budget that could be handled. His big example was the feasibility of decommissioning the Purkins Corner and Oakland Park WWTP as well as pump stations. He said both issues are complicated and very expensive but he felt it could help save time in future meetings by discussing them in work sessions. The rest of the Board seemed to agree.
Bennett concluded his report by thanking everyone that volunteered for the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee and that Weakley needed their contact info to ensure they were available on the scheduled dates and to be able to share material before the meeting.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, then began his report by thanking Mrs. Richard for volunteering to serve as well. He also said the KGALERT system was something they're becoming accustomed to and that more advanced notice is certainly best. He gave the recent example of the Walnut Hill connection that went out the night before scheduled work was to begin.
Weakley continued with an update on the water system. He had a meeting with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on January 24th, repairs were made at the Arnold's Corner well house, and switches were replaced in Cleydael. He also added that in making their repairs in Cleydael, they tested the Peppermill well to ensure it could maintain pressure in the system. Weakley also said required survey letters were submitted to VDH and that the Walnut Hill water tie-in between St. Paul's/Owens and Dahlgren would be made February 6th.
Deviating from his written report, Weakley said they have scheduled meetings with administration and maintenance at King George High School to investigate reports of intermittent discoloration in the water. He said this was also an ideal time to build rapport with all interested parties as well as ensure there is a owner/agent document in place so all parties know their responsibilities.
Weakley then began to give an update on the sewer system. He said that Fairview Beach and Dahlgren WWTPs have nutrient requirements for the permit as well as the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant each facility received. He said that while Fairview Beach WWTP has the same requirements in both the permit and the grant, Dahlgren has a stricter requirement for the grant than the permit. Weakley said the Total Nitrogen (TN) was limited to 4 mg/l by permit but the WQIF grant required 3 mg/l. He said within the grant language, if limits are exceeded, DEQ can assess a fee but he isn't sure what that fee amount would be.
For historical context, DEQ issued a letter in March 2018 stating that the Dahlgren WWTP exceeded allowed limits for Total Phosphorus (TP). The limit in the grant was 0.30 mg/l and the annual average was 0.44 mg/l. DEQ assessed a rate of $8,500 per 0.1 mg/l overage for a total fee of $11,900. That same month, Fairview Beach WWTP has a similar fee assessed for $3,976.
Bennett asked if he had any thoughts about which took a priority, the grant or the permit. Eric Gregory, County Attorney, said the permit is the legal authority while the grant will only govern funds for a project. Bennett wondered if there was a way to make the limits the same and asked Weakley if he had seen this before. Weakley said he hasn't really seen this much before. Gregory added that often the grant is to fund equipment upgrades to get a certain level or reading above the permit and when it falls below, then the funds could be impacted. Gregory said that has happened before. Werle added the regulations and guidelines say they can collect funds. Weakley said he was happy to see if there's any wiggle room or if they can get them to match. Gregory agreed that it was certainly worth a try.
Weakley continued his report stating new operating procedures and manuals were being completed, a sampler was installed at Purkins Corner WWTP, and an algae evaluation was being completed. He also said pump stations were continuing to be an issue noting that there were two sanitary sewer overflows recently. He said both were reported as required to DEQ but the pump failures and lack of redundancy were an issue. Weakley said he didn't like coming to the Board with reports like this but he was being honest and transparent. He did give more positive news with revenue coming in with connections in Hopyard. Werle added that Ryan Homes built 41 homes last year and were on track to build more than that this year. Werle also said that Hazel Homes is working on the infrastructure in the final three sections for the remaining 450 homes. Weakley said it helps the bottom line.
Weakley also thanked Dr. Young, County Administrator, and Travis Quesenberry for their help with the decommissioning proposal and the utility plan submission. Weakley said two tampering fee letters were sent, hiring wastewater operations staff is ongoing, and meetings on the feasibility study for decommissioning are planned. The meeting for the feasibility study was discussed at length to determine who could and who should attend the meeting. With only two Board of Director members being allowed to attend, the timing of the meeting, and the technical knowledge needed, the Board agreed that Werle would attend the first meeting and that Binder would attend meetings after that. Also invited were Dr. Young and Travis Quesenberry.
Weakley also said that a billing issue related to the encryption codes for water meters was discovered and resolved. He said about 70 meters were not billing correctly and those customers would be put on a payment plan. Weakley said he has already reached out to the Finance Department to develop a new quality control process to ensure this doesn't occur again.
Brabo asked about the water systems being combined and what the benefit would be for combining them under one permit. Weakley explained that it would save money in the end because of the reduction in sampling, lab analysis, and correspondence. Brabo also said that in the past, the General Manager would provide the Board monthly updates on the current revenue and where it tracked with the projected revenue to see if the Service Authority would meet it's budget. Weakley said he would gather the information for a future meeting.
Bennett then discussed the pump issues at some length. He said the issue was complicated and that most pump stations should have two pumps. Weakley agreed that most larger stations have two. Bennett said the problem with ours was that we only had one working pump. Similar to the earlier, and still on-going, issues with having the correct number of wells working or available for use, the pump stations need redundancy. He said DEQ took special notice of this lack of redundancy and may continue to focus on it in the future. Bennett said we don't know what DEQ will require but wanted to give the Board and customers a preview of coming attractions but said "it may be a horror movie." He continued by saying it would cost a lot of money to get them up and running but they're hopeful DEQ will let them phase it in over time so there wouldn't be such a blow to the bottom line.
Bennett said he talked to Weakley over the phone a few weeks ago and asked him how it was going being the General Manager. Bennett said Weakley told him he loved a challenge "but man, this has a lot of challenges." Bennett said that was dead honest and we're here to help. Bennett then spoke to Mrs. Richard, who was still in the audience, that he didn't respond to her public comment because he felt like, with all due respect, it was a no-brainer that more notice should be given.
Bennett made two final points. First, he felt that Weakley should give a State of the Union of sorts for the Service Authority. Bennett said Weakley would have a fresh look on things and it may help. Bennett said he's been impressed so far with Weakley's performance, noting that he recently caught an issue where a vendor had over billed them. Bennett's second point was surrounding Weakley's power to change job descriptions and pay. Bennett wanted to know how much the Board was involved with that. Brabo said the only employee the Board oversees is Weakley. She said it was up to Weakley to run his shop how he saw fit. Regarding pay, Brabo said Weakley would need to put it in his budget and bring it before the Board for approval.
There was no Closed Session.
With that, the meeting adjourned at 7:20pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Board of Directors)
Jonathon Weakley (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Chairman, Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on February 11, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
The Service Authority Board of Directors opened their February 5th meeting at 6:30pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
Yvonne Richard was the only one to speak during Public Comment. She began by saying thank you to everyone for serving on the Board. Her suggestion was to give customers more than twenty minutes notice when performing maintenance on water lines. She said some people may be negatively impacted if they set a dishwasher to run during the day and service is interrupted [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is the spouse of Yvonne Richard.].
Chris Werle began his Board Report by saying he had reviewed and made comments on the draft feasibility study that was being created on the decommissioning of the Purkins Corner and Oakland Park Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). He said his comments were mostly focused on the upgrades, the costs, and the new ammonia regulations coming in the future. He said the County Engineer, Travis Quesenberry, also gave his comments as well. He reminded the Board that at a previous meeting, they said an update from Draper Aden would be done at an upcoming budget work session but he felt a meeting was necessary before that to wade through the technical comments first. Werle said Jonathan Weakley, General Manager, would schedule that meeting soon. On January 25th, Werle said he met with Weakley to discuss the upcoming budget work sessions.
Richard Granger apologized in his Board Report that he still had not found anyone to serve as his representative on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Granger said Mrs. Richard, who was still in the audience, volunteered even though she did not live in his district. With that, the Board approved Mrs. Richard to serve on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee for the Service Authority.
Cathy Binder had no Board Report.
Ruby Brabo's Board Report began with an update from a meeting she held on January 29th with Cliff Parker from AQUA. She said he presented some interesting charts and data on the average water and sewer rates across Virginia that may help when the Board looks at rates in the future. Brabo said that, with apologies to Werle and Mike Bennett, Chairman, that going forward Binder, Vice-Chair, should be in as many meetings as possible as this was her training year. Brabo said she understood Werle's role on the Board but felt Binder should be included whenever practically possible.
Bennett said he had a brief discussion before the meeting about that and said they would do everything possible to keep Binder in mind and trained for her to assume the role of Chair next year. Bennett said the Draper Aden report had a fair amount of engineering content so Werle and the County Engineer would understand it better.
Werle said that Binder should be at that meeting but Brabo said that three Board members can't be present as that would constitute a meeting. Brabo said she was just looking to include Binder in meetings when feasible. Bennett said they definitely wanted to get Binder up to speed.
Mike Bennett began his Board Report by thanking Werle for his two years serving as Chairman. He said there was obviously a rocky period of time in the past but thanked him for the incredible amount of time he put into the organization. Bennett said the only person that probably understands how much time Werle has put into this is Mrs. Werle. Bennett again thanked him and said he looked forward to working with Werle in the coming years.
Bennett continued his report by saying he met with Weakley about a variety of issues including staffing, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) compliance, pump stations, and more. Bennett said he is aware of how a lengthy Service Authority meeting impacts his fellow Board members that serve on the Board of Supervisors as well as those members in the audience waiting for that meeting. Bennett said that he still wants to remain transparent and get the job done but felt that if some things could be accomplished in budget work sessions, they should try to do that. He cautioned that he didn't want to do anything inappropriate but there were certain discussions that were directly tied to the budget that could be handled. His big example was the feasibility of decommissioning the Purkins Corner and Oakland Park WWTP as well as pump stations. He said both issues are complicated and very expensive but he felt it could help save time in future meetings by discussing them in work sessions. The rest of the Board seemed to agree.
Bennett concluded his report by thanking everyone that volunteered for the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee and that Weakley needed their contact info to ensure they were available on the scheduled dates and to be able to share material before the meeting.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, then began his report by thanking Mrs. Richard for volunteering to serve as well. He also said the KGALERT system was something they're becoming accustomed to and that more advanced notice is certainly best. He gave the recent example of the Walnut Hill connection that went out the night before scheduled work was to begin.
Weakley continued with an update on the water system. He had a meeting with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on January 24th, repairs were made at the Arnold's Corner well house, and switches were replaced in Cleydael. He also added that in making their repairs in Cleydael, they tested the Peppermill well to ensure it could maintain pressure in the system. Weakley also said required survey letters were submitted to VDH and that the Walnut Hill water tie-in between St. Paul's/Owens and Dahlgren would be made February 6th.
Deviating from his written report, Weakley said they have scheduled meetings with administration and maintenance at King George High School to investigate reports of intermittent discoloration in the water. He said this was also an ideal time to build rapport with all interested parties as well as ensure there is a owner/agent document in place so all parties know their responsibilities.
Weakley then began to give an update on the sewer system. He said that Fairview Beach and Dahlgren WWTPs have nutrient requirements for the permit as well as the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant each facility received. He said that while Fairview Beach WWTP has the same requirements in both the permit and the grant, Dahlgren has a stricter requirement for the grant than the permit. Weakley said the Total Nitrogen (TN) was limited to 4 mg/l by permit but the WQIF grant required 3 mg/l. He said within the grant language, if limits are exceeded, DEQ can assess a fee but he isn't sure what that fee amount would be.
For historical context, DEQ issued a letter in March 2018 stating that the Dahlgren WWTP exceeded allowed limits for Total Phosphorus (TP). The limit in the grant was 0.30 mg/l and the annual average was 0.44 mg/l. DEQ assessed a rate of $8,500 per 0.1 mg/l overage for a total fee of $11,900. That same month, Fairview Beach WWTP has a similar fee assessed for $3,976.
Bennett asked if he had any thoughts about which took a priority, the grant or the permit. Eric Gregory, County Attorney, said the permit is the legal authority while the grant will only govern funds for a project. Bennett wondered if there was a way to make the limits the same and asked Weakley if he had seen this before. Weakley said he hasn't really seen this much before. Gregory added that often the grant is to fund equipment upgrades to get a certain level or reading above the permit and when it falls below, then the funds could be impacted. Gregory said that has happened before. Werle added the regulations and guidelines say they can collect funds. Weakley said he was happy to see if there's any wiggle room or if they can get them to match. Gregory agreed that it was certainly worth a try.
Weakley continued his report stating new operating procedures and manuals were being completed, a sampler was installed at Purkins Corner WWTP, and an algae evaluation was being completed. He also said pump stations were continuing to be an issue noting that there were two sanitary sewer overflows recently. He said both were reported as required to DEQ but the pump failures and lack of redundancy were an issue. Weakley said he didn't like coming to the Board with reports like this but he was being honest and transparent. He did give more positive news with revenue coming in with connections in Hopyard. Werle added that Ryan Homes built 41 homes last year and were on track to build more than that this year. Werle also said that Hazel Homes is working on the infrastructure in the final three sections for the remaining 450 homes. Weakley said it helps the bottom line.
Weakley also thanked Dr. Young, County Administrator, and Travis Quesenberry for their help with the decommissioning proposal and the utility plan submission. Weakley said two tampering fee letters were sent, hiring wastewater operations staff is ongoing, and meetings on the feasibility study for decommissioning are planned. The meeting for the feasibility study was discussed at length to determine who could and who should attend the meeting. With only two Board of Director members being allowed to attend, the timing of the meeting, and the technical knowledge needed, the Board agreed that Werle would attend the first meeting and that Binder would attend meetings after that. Also invited were Dr. Young and Travis Quesenberry.
Weakley also said that a billing issue related to the encryption codes for water meters was discovered and resolved. He said about 70 meters were not billing correctly and those customers would be put on a payment plan. Weakley said he has already reached out to the Finance Department to develop a new quality control process to ensure this doesn't occur again.
Brabo asked about the water systems being combined and what the benefit would be for combining them under one permit. Weakley explained that it would save money in the end because of the reduction in sampling, lab analysis, and correspondence. Brabo also said that in the past, the General Manager would provide the Board monthly updates on the current revenue and where it tracked with the projected revenue to see if the Service Authority would meet it's budget. Weakley said he would gather the information for a future meeting.
Bennett then discussed the pump issues at some length. He said the issue was complicated and that most pump stations should have two pumps. Weakley agreed that most larger stations have two. Bennett said the problem with ours was that we only had one working pump. Similar to the earlier, and still on-going, issues with having the correct number of wells working or available for use, the pump stations need redundancy. He said DEQ took special notice of this lack of redundancy and may continue to focus on it in the future. Bennett said we don't know what DEQ will require but wanted to give the Board and customers a preview of coming attractions but said "it may be a horror movie." He continued by saying it would cost a lot of money to get them up and running but they're hopeful DEQ will let them phase it in over time so there wouldn't be such a blow to the bottom line.
Bennett said he talked to Weakley over the phone a few weeks ago and asked him how it was going being the General Manager. Bennett said Weakley told him he loved a challenge "but man, this has a lot of challenges." Bennett said that was dead honest and we're here to help. Bennett then spoke to Mrs. Richard, who was still in the audience, that he didn't respond to her public comment because he felt like, with all due respect, it was a no-brainer that more notice should be given.
Bennett made two final points. First, he felt that Weakley should give a State of the Union of sorts for the Service Authority. Bennett said Weakley would have a fresh look on things and it may help. Bennett said he's been impressed so far with Weakley's performance, noting that he recently caught an issue where a vendor had over billed them. Bennett's second point was surrounding Weakley's power to change job descriptions and pay. Bennett wanted to know how much the Board was involved with that. Brabo said the only employee the Board oversees is Weakley. She said it was up to Weakley to run his shop how he saw fit. Regarding pay, Brabo said Weakley would need to put it in his budget and bring it before the Board for approval.
There was no Closed Session.
With that, the meeting adjourned at 7:20pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Board of Directors)
Jonathon Weakley (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Chairman, Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on February 11, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
Good report. I really appreciate Mr. Weakley's discussion of specific performance numbers, and the details of relationships with state agencies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
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