Mohawk Valley Water Authority Minutes
March 25, 2024
Chairman DeLia called the meeting to order at 5:12 PM.
Chairman DeLia presided, and Amy Passacantando took the minutes.
Roll Call
Board Members Present: Bruce Brodsky, Vincent Coyne, Elis DeLia, Richard Karam, Frank Meola (arrived at 5:12), Eugene Santa-Croce III and Bette Szesny
Absent: Carl Annese, Dennis Bova, Mark Ford, and George Haskell
Also Present in Boardroom: Patrick Becher, Jim Korfonta, Dan Faldzinski, Jim Mack, Phil Tangorra, Sandra Dare and Ken Bobrow Esq.
Approval of the February 5, 2024 Minutes:
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the Minutes. Seconded by: Ms. Szesny
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (4) Absent Motion Carried.
Committee Reports:
January and February Finance Reports:
Mr. Korfonta stated that our year-to-date consumption is down 1.5%, revenue is down $140K compared to budget. Cash flow is at a breakeven point after the first two months of the year. MVWA is finalizing the audit for the year which needs to be filed by March 31, 2024.
Re-affirmation of Human Resource Policies:
Mr. Becher stated that under the Public Authorities Reform in New York State we are required to have certain policies re-affirmed by the Board of Directors each year. The following policies were reviewed by our Personnel Director, Sandra Dare and there are no changes.
Cancer Screening Leave Policy
FMLA Policy
Right to Express Breast Milk
Motion made by Ms. Szesny to approve the re-affirmation of policies. Seconded by: Mr. Santa-Croce
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (4) Absent Motion Carried
Executive Director’s Report:
Mr. Becher stated that the Hinckley Reservoir is quite full currently. It’s 4 ½ ft from the top of the dam. However, there is not a lot of snow up there. We like to see it full and spilling over the top on May 1. Unless we get more rain or snow this will likely not happen.
An update on the Buck Apartments that are owned by Millenia Co., an out-of-state Company. The account was paid up to date as well as their other accounts with us. Mr. Becher said that he would like to meet with local officials such as county social services and city codes department etc. to be able to set up a system to be able to detect these problems early on and possibly strategize on ways to get these types of properties into local hands that will care for them better.
Each Board Member received a handout showing the proposed fee schedule for accounts with large meters that are non-compliant. If the board agrees to proceed with this proposal,
a public hearing will be scheduled and published. The hearing will be held here at MVWA on the 3rd floor and open for public comment. Once the public hearing is held the board will vote at the next Board meeting to put this into place.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to approve the new proposed fee. Seconded by: Mr. Karam
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (4) Absent Motion Carried.
By October 2024 MVWA will need to hand in our lead service inventory. This will be the MVWA’s best determination of how many properties have lead service pipes in our system and where they are located. This will be very costly to do, and we are waiting for some funds that we were told would be available to us from the State. MVWA would like to offer a $25.00 credit to property owners that we believe have lead services and are willing to perform a test on their pipes and email/send us a photo of the test they performed.
Mr. Tangorra stated that once the lead service inventory is completed in October 2024, MVWA will need to have a publicly facing interactive map on the website that identifies when you click on a premise what the service line is made of on the utility side and on the property owners’ side. This will need to be updated annually.
Chairman DeLia asked for a motion to go into Executive Session at 5:42PM to discuss Labor relations and possible litigation.
Motion made by Mr. Brodsky to go into Executive Session. Seconded by Mr. Karam.
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (4) Absent Motion Carried.
Went into Executive Session at 5:44PM.
Motion made to come out of Executive Session by Mr. Meola. Seconded by Mr. Karam.
Vote: (7) Ayes (0) Nays (0) Abstain (4) Absent Motion Carried.
Came out of Executive Session at 6:22PM.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:22PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Passacantando, Secretary
Mohawk Valley Water Authority