Mohawk Valley Water Authority Minutes
August 15, 2022
Chairman DeLia called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.
Chairman DeLia presided and Amy Passacantando took the minutes.
Roll Call
Present: Carl Annese, Dennis Bova, Bruce Brodsky, Vincent Coyne, Elis DeLia, Mark Ford,
Richard Karam, Frank Mutolo and Joe Samson. Rocco Arcuri arrived at 5:05.
Absent: Bette Szesny
Also Present in Boardroom: Patrick Becher, Anne Milograno, Eric Schuler, Jim Mack,
Jim Korfonta and Ken Bobrow Esq. arrived at 5:07
Approval of the July 18, 2022 Minutes
Motion made by Mr. Ford to approve the minutes. Seconded by: Mr. Bova
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried.
Resolution: Intermunicipal agreement between MVWA and HCIDA
Mr. Becher stated that there’s a project going on at the Schuyler Business Park. The Herkimer County
Industrial Development Agency (HCIDA) has been aggressively marketing land for development in Herkimer County.
The Business Park in Schuyler has some tenants coming in who need to get connected to water service right away.
They were not able to get pipe soon enough to keep the project on track. John Piseck met with Mr. Schuler
and myself and determined that we have enough pipe on hand for a project that we won’t be starting until
next year, which will allow us time to order more pipe. What this agreement does, and Ken Bobrow Esq.
worked it out with the HCIDA’s attorney, is allow them to use our pipe and replenish our supply with a
small administrative fee.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Ford
Vote: (10) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (1) Absent Motion Carried
Resolution: Professional Engineering Services to GHD
This resolution went in front of the Capital Committee last week. It is for our disinfection conversion
project that is currently under construction. We are switching from gaseous chlorine to liquid. The original
agreement was passed by the Board in 2020 with GHD. In 2021 there were significant design changes to the project.
Also, with the progression of our new SCADA infrastructure that we are implementing, we are required to have
new programming and panel design, which falls on GHD to incorporate, and that was not part of their fee.
This will get us through the construction administration phase and the construction inspections phase
of the project.
Motion made by Mr. Coyne to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Brodsky
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Please note that the vote count is different for this resolution due to Mr. Arcuri arriving late, and this
resolution was the first to be presented to the Board Members.
Resolution: Professional Engineering Services to Larson Design Group
This resolution is part of the initiative to update our hydraulic modeling software and our GIS framework.
The last time our hydraulic model was calibrated and updated was 2007. Work will be done over the next 18 months.
It will be paid for out of two different budget years from our cash capital accounts. Mr. Schuler budgeted
one hundred thousand dollars this year from money that’s in a reserve fund that’s accumulated from prior years,
and we will budget the balance for next year out of the same cash capital account.
Motion made by Mr. Arcuri to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Brodsky
Vote: (10) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (1) Absent Motion Carried
Committee Reports:
Finance: July Finance Report
Mr. Korfonta said that water consumption is up over 10% compared to the prior year. Water sales were up
$200,000 compared to budget. We are up close to a million dollars compared to last year. Cash flow is
up about a million dollars right now, which we’ll need in the fall to pay some bills. Budget calendars
are in your binders. The department budget requests are in, and we’ll be getting together and reviewing
them over the next couple of weeks.
Mr. Becher added that the September Board Meeting will be a Board Meeting as well as a budget workshop.
Executive Director’s Report
- Mr. Becher wanted to bring this to the Boards attention as an informational piece only. The City of
Utica did some work at the zoo and were then later told that they need to create some recreational space
to compensate for the approximate 2 acres that was used at the zoo. MVWA was approached quite a while
back about our land at the southern reservoir that might be suitable as a land spot. Mr. Schuler and
Mr. Goodney have looked at the parcel along Valley View Rd. and think it would be suitable.
Mr. Becher wanted to make the Board aware of this because there may have been discussions regarding
this between the City of Utica and the Town of New Hartford. We may hear more in the next couple of months.
Once a request is received it will need to go to the Board.
- Mr. Becher stated that there will be a conference call tomorrow with the AMI consultant to discuss the Neptune
proposals and to discuss some of the assumptions that are built into the proposals.
- Mr. Becher says that the contract for the Water Treatment Plant which was Suez and is now Veolia was
approved as a 5-month extension to get through the end of the year. We now have a proposal for a
full 5-year renewal contract that will take effect January 1, 2023. Mr. Becher says that he and
Mr. Tangorra need to go through some of the fine print on it and discuss it with Ken Bobrow Esq.
Once it meets our terms, we will bring it to the Board at the September meeting.
- The Hinckley reservoir is looking good. It is a little less than 2 feet below the normal level.
- Mr. Becher said he was at Cosby Rd this afternoon to meet with WKTV. They interviewed Mr. Schuler
previously and wanted to meet again. There was a water main break that caused a 260’ portion of the
road to collapse. Mr. Schuler and his department along with the paving manager, Joe Gazzal did
a phenomenal job repairing the road quickly. It should be completed within 5 business days.
The interview with WKTV was a good opportunity to talk about our aging infrastructure, along with
the costs and work associated with the maintenance.
- We will be offering a tour of the Water Treatment Plant for any Board Member interested.
An email will go out with the day and time.
Old Business:
New Business:
Executive Session:
Chairman DeLia asked for a motion to go into Executive Session at 5:35 PM to discuss a personnel matter.
Motion made by: Mr. Brodsky to go into Executive Session. Seconded by: Mr. Karam.
Vote: (10) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (1) Absent Motion Carried.
The Board votes for a 3-year sequence of salary adjustments for the Executive Secretary to take effect
annually on July 12 for 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Motion made by: Mr. Arcuri Seconded by: Mr. Mutolo
Vote: (10) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (1) Absent Motion Carried.
Motion made to come out of Executive Session at 5:44 PM by Mr. Bova. Seconded by: Mr. Mutolo.
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (4) Absent Motion Carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Passacantando, Secretary
Mohawk Valley Water Authority