Mohawk Valley Water Authority Minutes
December 04, 2023
Chairman DeLia called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.
Chairman DeLia presided, and Amy Passacantando took the minutes.
Roll Call
Board Members Present: Carl Annese, Bruce Brodsky, Vincent Coyne, Elis DeLia, Mark Ford, George Haskell, Richard Karam, Frank Meola and Bette Szesny
Absent: Dennis Bova, Frank Mutolo.
Also Present in Boardroom: Patrick Becher, Jim Korfonta, Dan Faldzinski, Jim Mack, Anne Milograno, and Ken Bobrow, Esq.
Approval of the October 23, 2023 Minutes:
Motion made by Mr. Ford to approve the Minutes. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (2) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried.
Abstained by Vincent Coyne and Frank Meola
Resolution: Award of Contract to Diversified Wireless for Ph 1 of 2019 FEMA Project
Mr. Brodsky mentioned that it was very generous to receive 75% of the funds from FEMA and another 12 ½% from NYS, however it will still cost us about $500,000. to do this work.
This resolution is for restoration of creek beds to pre-storm levels and providing adequate cover over all water mains while maintaining flow paths, and replacement of water mains where necessary. Awarded to Diversified Wireless, Inc. who was the low bidder in the amount of 2.5 million dollars.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Annese
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Resolution: Board Approval to solicit professional services for Ph 3 Water Main Ext. Project
Mr. Becher gave an overview of the purpose of this project. He stated that we have 2 transmission lines that go from the Hinckley Dam to the Water Treatment Plant which is approximately 3 miles. The 24” line was built in 1905 and the 36” line was built in the 1950’s. We’ve known for quite a few years that we need a new line from the intake tower at the dam down to the plant. Phase 1 is happening now, after several years of delays. The new pipe bridge has been set in place and a main will be strung across that in the next couple of weeks. Phase 2 is five thousand feet of line that is going to be placed in between the dam and here. These updates will allow us to get more water when the reservoir is at a lower elevation. Phase 3 is the remainder of the project and has been divided into smaller phases.
Mr. Faldzinski stated that the EFC requires that in order to enter into this agreement to receive the three-million-dollar allocation of funds that we need to have an engineering consultant on retainer by March 1, 2024.
Mr. Brodsky said that he is fully in favor of this, and we need to be looking at the future of the community. The potential of bringing in large manufacturing particularly up at SUNY. We have started a process that, in the end over the next 10-15 years, we are looking at approximately one-hundred and twenty-five million dollars. Mr. Brodsky thanked the staff for pursuing and receiving grant funds that have gotten MVWA to this point with some local contributions. Mr. Brodsky asked the Board to keep in mind that they have a couple of
responsibilities basically. A responsibility today for potable water for the people that use it in our community and a responsibility tomorrow when the opportunity presents itself, which we have done in the past to invest in the system so that we can bring jobs and bring economic growth to the community. We have to be ready because the number one resource that is needed is water, for most industries that want to come to a new community like ours.
Mr. DeLia stated that this is the most forward-looking organization that he has ever worked with, and on any Board that he has served on and keeping in line with this and hopefully continue to.
Resolution to retain engineering consulting services for the design of project improvements by no later than March 2024.
Motion made by Ms. Szesny to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Resolution: Award for Leak Detection Survey
Award of contract to New England Water Distribution Services, of Windham NH, who was the low bidder in the amount of $48,979.00 for a comprehensive leak detection survey.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Annese
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Resolution: Board Approval for Phase 2 Raw Water Transmission Main Ext Project: Land Exchange for Easement
Resolution for the Phase 2 project where MVWA needs to obtain permanent easements from real property owners over whose properties the water mains will be placed. Michael Lynskay has agreed to execute an easement in exchange for a portion of the adjacent property which serves no benefit to MVWA and has little value. With consent from the City of Utica the MVWA will effect this transfer.
Motion made by Mr. Haskell to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Coyne
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Approval to Pursue Negotiations to Lease Building at 470 French Rd Utica
We are looking to lease a building at 470 French Rd, Utica to move our mechanics to. This is a suitable location with ample space, and we will be able to move our lift from Kemble St to this location. We have money in the budget to lease a building.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the Resolution. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Award of Professional Service for Actuarial Services
This is a letter from Burke Group, which is a 4-year proposal for Actuarial Services. Calculations for post-retirement health benefits. We are required to report on an annual basis on our employees that will be retiring and what that liability is to us. They take a lot of data from us for all our current employees, and they project out what the future liability is going to be. This falls under GASB-75.
Motion made by Mr. Annese to approve the Award for Services. Seconded by: Mr. Ford
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Approval of Rate Consultant Proposal
This is a proposal for a continuation of our rate consultant, Edward Markus, Amawalk Consulting Group, LLC. Under the Public Authorities Law, we are required to have an outside rate consultant review and certify when we are setting the rates and developing the budget. We need to know that the budget we develop and the rate structure work, so that the rate structure will generate the revenue needed to support the budget.
This proposal is for a three-year term.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the Proposal. Seconded by: Mr. Coyne
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Committee Reports:
October Finance Report:
Water consumption is rebounding a little bit. In September it was at negative 7.3% and has recovered a little to 6.8%. We are anticipating that we will be down approximately 5-6% for the year. Cash flow, we are holding our own, which is good because we have a retirement payment and some insurance payments that will be coming due soon, and we also have to fund our reserves.
Re-affirmation of The Workplace Violence Prevention Policy
Under the Public Authorities Reform Act, we have policies that need to be brought to the Board for renewal annually. Workplace Violence Prevention Policy is one of them. There are no changes to the policy. The only change is the contact name which has been changed to Sandra Dare, our Personnel Director.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the re-affirmation of policy. Seconded by: Ms. Szesny
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried
Executive Director’s Report:
Mr. Becher stated that the Hinckley Reservoir has been low going into the fall season. We are currently about 9 feet below normal. Mr. Becher has been in touch with the Canal Corp and they have made temporary reductions in outflows for us. Currently it is coming back up with the rain we have had, and we expect it to be around 1209 or a little higher. By the weekend we should be about 3 or 4 feet below normal.
On January 15, 2021, the EPA released a set of guidelines that they were considering for revisions to the lead and copper rule for water quality purposes. However, after the new administration came into office, that was pulled back and the EPA has now proposed new revisions to the lead and copper rule. There will be a public hearing on it in January and finalizing it next spring. What this means for us, is chemical testing or no chemical testing, buffering the water etc… Even if we comply with the new regulations, they are saying all lead service pipes will need to be removed from every water system across the US over a 10-year period. So, we have to start planning now to start tearing lead pipes out of the ground and figuring out over 10 years how we are going to do that. The regs are not real clear yet on who pays for it, especially on the private properties. We believe that there are approximately 3-4 thousand lead services out there right now. We will be meeting next week to go through housing data to narrow down that number. By next October we need to hand in the lead service line inventory. There will also be changes with the action levels, the number of samples we collect, and how we collect samples. We have purchased sampling equipment to help offset costs. We will be bringing additional information to the board regarding this in the future.
Chairman DeLia asked for a motion to go into Executive Session at 5:58PM to discuss confidential security matters.
Motion made by Ms. Szesny to go into Executive Session. Seconded by Mr. Brodsky.
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried.
Went into Executive Session at 6PM.
Motion made to come out of Executive Session by Mr. Karam. Seconded by Mr. Haskell.
Vote: (9) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (2) Absent Motion Carried.
Came out of Executive Session at 6:12PM
The meeting was adjourned at 6:12PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Passacantando, Secretary
Mohawk Valley Water Authority