Mohawk Valley Water Authority – January 26, 2009
Chairman Gaston called the meeting to order at 5:04 PM and opened with the
Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call:
Present: Rocco Arcuri, Bruce Brodsky,
Chairman Gaston presided and Suzanne Harmon took the minutes.
Approval of the December 15, 2008 Minutes:
Motion made by: Mr. Trevisani
Seconded by: Mr. Brodsky
Vote: (10) Ayes
(0) Nays
(0) Abstain (2) Absent
Motion carried.
Chairman Gaston stated that agenda items 4 and 5 will be switched.
Budget Vote Considerations: Proposed Amendments 2009-2010 Budget
Mr. Brodsky read each amendment and they were voted on separately as follows:
Motion #1
That the Board directs staff to secure appropriate services necessary to conduct
a periodic re-bidding of employee health insurance coverage.
Motion made by Mr. DeLia. Seconded
by Mr. Trevisani
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Motion #2
Shall the Board increase the table of organization for a position related
to public communications and marketing.
Motion made by Mr. Snyder. Seconded by
Mr. Arcuri.
Vote: (0) Ayes
(12) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion did not carry.
Motion #3
Shall the Board increase the table of organization for a position to
accommodate responsibilities for a
distribution engineer, SCADA/Security Operations and related backfilling of
positions.
No motion necessary – keep in budget.
Motion #4
Shall the Timber Harvest payment in Dec. 2009 of $100,000 currently
allocated to the general fund be Board restricted and therefore reduce
unrestricted revenue available to the 2009/10 budget?
No motion necessary – keep in budget.
Motion #5
Shall the Board increase service/collection charges to the part-county
and City of
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky.
Seconded by Ms. Szesny.
Vote: (11) Ayes
(1) Nays – Mr. Wicks (0)
Abstain (0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Motion #6
Shall the Board set a minimum billing amount for water charges of $250
per month, to permit a customer account remain as a monthly billed account
without a special service charge?
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky.
Seconded by Mr. DeLia.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Motion #7
That the overdue charge assessed seven months after the billing date be
increased from 1% per month to 1.50% per month.
Motion made by Mr. DeLia. Seconded
by Mr. Snyder.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Motion #8
For Ancillary Services/Incidents related to Special Meter Readings: 1)
Meter reading for final bill, increase from $10 to $25, 2) Re-inspection of
meter or related apparatus, increase from $20 to $25 per incident, 3)
re-inspection of property for water leak, increase from $20 to $25 and 4)
Current re-read of meter at owners request, remains at $25.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky.
Seconded by Mr. Wallace.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Motion #9
Authorizing up to $12,000 for securing facilitator services in the
conduct of emergency readiness exercises.
Motion made by Mr. Arcuri. Seconded
by Mr. Snyder.
Vote: (9) Ayes
(3) Nays – Mr. Coyne, Mr. DeLia and Mr. Trevisani
(0) Abstain (0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Motion #10
Reducing the 2009/10 allocation to “reserves” sufficient to assure an
average rate increase of 5% for 2009/10.
No motion necessary.
Mr. Brodsky thanked the MVWA staff for working very hard on this budget along
with the Executive Director and Comptroller.
The Board of Directors has done excellent work in regards to their fiscal
responsibility to this organization.
Mr. Becher stated that the MVWA’s rate consultant, Ed Marcus of Amawalk
Consulting reviewed the budget and rate structure and Mr. Marcus stated that he
will certify it and a rate certification letter will follow.
Approval of the 2009/10
A proposed annual budget for the MVWA was discussed by Board Members at a
workshop meeting held on January 5, 2009.
The Executive Director and Comptroller explained MVWA’s proposed annual
budget to the public at the rate hearing held on January 20, 2009 in the Common
Council Chambers in
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the budget as presented and amended by the
Board.
Seconded by Mr. DeLia.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Decision Regarding Establishment of Water Rates, Fees and Charges Effective
April 1, 2009
The increases in fees and charges, together with an increase in water rates of
5.6% are reasonable and are expected to meet the operational and capital
improvement costs contained in the proposed 2009-10 budget, as amended by the
Board at its January 26, 2009 meeting.
To the average four person household, the 5.6% increase in rates would
mean an approximate increase of $1.67 per month and $20.02 in the annual cost of
service.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the water rates, fees and charges as
amended by the Board.
Seconded by Mr. Wallace.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Resolution:
Award of Contract for Leak Detection Survey Phase V
The MVWA‘s water supply permit requires the MVWA to implement a program to
reduce water leakage from its system.
The current phase of leak detection will include a survey of 250 miles of
mains in the low and intermediate service zones.
The lowest bid received was in the amount of $23,100 from Distribution
System Maintenance Solutions, Inc. (DSM),
Motion made by Mr. DeLia.
Seconded by Mr. Brodsky.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Committee Reports:
Capital Projects:
Mr. DeLia stated that the committee did
not meet this month.
Budget and Finance:
Mr. Brodsky stated that the MVWA is
breaking even.
Personnel Committee:
Mr. Ryan stated that the committee did not meet this month.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 3 at Noon in the MVWA
conference room.
Operations:
Mr. Price stated that the committee did not meet this month.
Executive Director’s Report:
-
The Marcy tank is out to bid for construction and the MVWA is pursuing every
avenue for assistance for financing
under the shovel ready initiatives under the Economic Stimulus Program.
-
The MVWA will be renegotiating the teamster contract, which expires March
31, 2009. If you have any concerns,
please give Don Ryan a call.
-
Service Line Program – Mr. Becher and Mr. Jones have met with several
contractors and will finish the proposal through the Operations Committee in
60 days or so.
-
The River Keepers have filed a motion.
The River Keepers are people that live on the lower West Canada
Creek. The River Keepers are asking
Judge Hestor to allow them to become part of the Lawsuit that the MVWA has
against the NYS Canal Corporation.
Old Business: Audit Resolution
Bruce Brodsky and A. Eugene Snyder move in the absence of an Audit Committee’s
annual report on audit recommendations, that this board accept the financial
committee’s review dated 12/08 and the Comptroller’s letter dated 12/18/08 as
our plan of action to implement the independent auditor’s 2008 annual audit
recommendations.
Vote: (12) Ayes
(0) Nays (0) Abstain
(0) Absent
Motion Carried.
Mr. Trevisani expressed the sympathy of the Board to the family of Bob Fowler, a
former MVWA Board member, who recently passed away.
The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 23, 2009 at 5:00 PM.
Mr. Coyne moved to adjourn the meeting and go into Executive Session to discuss
an update on litigation and theft of service issue at 6:28 PM.
Seconded by: Mr. Trevisani.
Mr. Trevisani moved to come out of Executive Session.
Seconded by: Mr. Ryan.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
__________________________
Suzanne M. Harmon, Secretary
