Mohawk Valley Water Authority Minutes
May 15, 2023
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, Bruce Brodsky, Vincent Coyne, Elis DeLia, George Haskell, Richard Karam and Bette Szesny
Absent: Dennis Bova, Mark Ford, Frank Mutolo.
Also Present in Boardroom: Patrick Becher, Dan Faldzinski, Phil Tangorra, Anne Milograno, Jim Mack, Scott Gorgas, Geralynn Powers, Sandra Dare and Ken Bobrow, Esq.
Approval of the April 17, 2023 Minutes
Motion made by Mr. Annese to approve the Minutes. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (3) Absent Motion Carried.
Chairman DeLia stated that Rocco Arcuri has resigned from the MVWA Board since he has moved and no longer meets the requirements to be on the Board.
Mr. Becher added that Mr. Arcuri was also the Treasurer, so that position will need to be filled.
BST 2022 Audit Presentation
BST needed to reschedule the presentation.
Proposal for Lead Sampling Incentive
Mr. Tangorra talked about this proposal to solicit volunteers that will let us collect water samples every 6 months and in return they will receive a $25.00 credit on their MVWA water account.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the proposal for the lead sampling incentive. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (3) Absent Motion Carried
Committee Reports
Finance: March and April Finance Reports:
Mr. Gorgas stated that consumption is down from last year by about 6%. Cash flow is positive, the three main reasons are due to LIHWAP – NY State program, investment income has gone up, and we have also received some grant funds.
Approval of 1st Quarter Investment Statement:
Mr. Gorgas said that we have about $31 million in investments and that we are only allowed to invest in guaranteed funds. To date we have earned approximately $192K in interest compared to last year, which was $22K.
Motion made by Mr. Annese to approve the Investment Statement. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (3) Absent Motion Carried
Executive Director’s Report:
- Mr. Becher stated that the lead sampling incentive plan will cost about $5K and that the bigger cost will be processing the samples of water. Mr. Becher had Mr. Tangorra explain what is being done to help contain these costs.
Mr. Tangorra explained that MVWA has purchased an ICP-MS, which is Induced Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. This unit will allow us to do lead and copper analysis in-house. This was built into the long-term assets in the budget that was approved in the fall. The initial set-up and verification were completed last week with additional training to be completed next month. We should have the accreditation from the state by the end of the year so that we can do all of that sampling in-house. This will improve the turnaround time for customers. We will be able to talk about how we are handling this ourselves. Additionally, we will be able to offer this service to the Health Dept. and other Utilities that also need to comply with this rule in some fashion or another.
- A letter from the local chapter of the NAACP was sent to Mr. Becher - Executive Director, Chairman DeLia, and Vice-Chair Brodsky. The letter was specific to applying for funding through the State Revolving Fund to begin the process of replacing lead services. However, we are still working on the lead service inventory. Mr. Becher, Mr. Tangorra, and Mr. Faldzinski will respond to the letter.
- An update on collection of payments since the moratorium has expired is $3.2 million. In 2022 $730K came from the NY State LIHWAP program and YTD we have received $258K from the NY State LIHWAP program.
- Mr. Becher said there are still 2 vacancies in the Engineering Department and he, Mrs. Dare, and Mr. Faldzinski will be meeting with a potential candidate tomorrow.
- Mr. Brodsky raised the question of the employee retirement percentage over the next couple of years. Mr. Becher stated that there will need to be succession planning in the near future.
- Mr. Brodsky asked Mr. Becher how close our water system is to the City of Rome’s water system.
The reason for the question was to see if we are in a position where we would be able to supply the City of Rome temporarily with water while they perform some repair work.
Executive Session
Chairman DeLia asked for a motion to go into Executive Session at 5:23PM to discuss possible litigation.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to go into Executive Session. Seconded by Ms. Szesny.
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (3) Absent Motion Carried.
Went into Executive Session at 5:25PM.
Motion made to come out of Executive Session by Mr. Haskell. Seconded by Mr. Karam.
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (3) Absent Motion Carried.
Came out of Executive Session at 5:59PM
The meeting was adjourned at 5:59PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Passacantando, Secretary
Mohawk Valley Water Authority