PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT #13
Minutes of the December 9, 2009
Regular Session of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Directors of Public Water District #13, Jefferson County Missouri met in regular session at 7:13 p.m. on December 9, 2009 at the Lake Tishomingo Community Center, Hillsboro, Missouri.

Roll Call of Directors
The following Directors being present or absent as indicated:
	Name	Present/Absent
	Marilyn Meyer	Present
	Rich Hirsch	Present
	Rick Lippitt	Present
	John Hindrichs	Present
	Ken Jost	Present
Also in attendance was Janet Hirsch (JWH, LTPOA Board member).

Approval of Agenda
Motion was made by John Hindrichs and seconded by Ken Jost to accept the agenda. On voice vote, all Directors were in favor of accepting the agenda.

Approval of Minutes of Past Meetings
The Minutes of the November 11, 2009 regular session meeting were emailed to the Directors prior to the meeting. Motion was made by Rick Lippitt to approve the Minutes as written. Second was by John Hindrichs. On voice vote, the Minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Marilyn reported that there was an update from Taylor Engineering that was confusing because there was a credit listed. Marilyn will get clarification of the bill.

Old Business
WWTP & collection system design plans -- status report
RH: Tim sent me this report on Dec. 9: "We are working on addressing Donna's and Ted's comments [Ted is the USDA-RD engineer reviewing the plans and specs.]. We hope to have everything ready to submit to them this week, early next week at the latest."
RH: On Dec. 1 Tim sent me this report: "The money for the electrical connection is technically out of the budget. We will probably work the money back into other items but I haven't finalized everything yet. I am waiting on a quote from Ameren regarding installation of the electric service at the treatment plant site and we really need to get the whole access road thing figured out."
RH continued, "Donna does not want an electrical survey since we decided to change our tactic and make the homeowner provide the electrical disconnect."

RH: Here's my interpretation of how the latest sewer connection plan will work. This plan was agreed upon by Tim and Donna:
1) All houses that have a sewer service line located within 300 ft of a sewer main line will have the following equipment installed by the District at no charge to the homeowner:
•	STEP tank and effluent pump
•	Pump control box: If the homeowner has installed an electrical disconnect box to power the effluent pump, the pump control box (PCB) will be installed on the house. Otherwise, the PCB will be installed on a post in the yard near the STEP tank 
•	Sewer lateral line: The lateral line could be installed when the STEP tank is installed, or it could be installed right before an individual's new sewer system is "turned on". The problem with installing the lateral line when the STEP tank is installed is that it may interfere with the operation of the private septic system. (The STEP tank may be installed weeks before the system is "turned on" so the owner could be without a working sewage system for some time.) A "stub" connection to the main sewer line would be made so the roadway would not need to be torn up again to connect to the lateral line.
 
2) If the homeowner has an electrical disconnect box mounted on the outside of his house when it is time to "turn on" his sewer system:
•	The District will connect the homeowner's disconnect box to the pump control box.
•	The District will connect the homeowner's sewer service line to the STEP tank.
•	The District will block off the homeowner's old septic tank and mark it for retirement. (At a later date the tank will be pumped and filled with rock by the District.)
•	The District will possibly install the sewer lateral line, if it has not already done so.

3) If there is NO disconnect box mounted on the outside of the house, when it is time to "turn on" his sewer system:
•	The District will NOT make the electrical connection to the pump control box.
•	The District will NOT connect the sewer service line to the STEP tank.
•	The District will NOT mark the old septic tank for retirement.
•	The District will NOT install the lateral line, if it has not already been installed.
•	To make the sewer system operational, the homeowner must:
o	Obtain a permit from PWSD #13 to connect to the sewer system 
o	Hire a plumber to connect the sewer service line to the STEP tank and install the sewer lateral line (if necessary)
o	Hire an electrician to connect the electrical line to the pump control box. 
o	Have all required inspections performed before the connections can be made.
o	Retire his old septic tank. 

4) When sewers in an area go online, all homeowners in that area will be billed monthly for the user fee. If a homeowner's sewer is not operational due to the fault of the homeowner, he will be billed monthly for a large percentage of the user fee.

KJ: Did they decide on the wire size needed for the electrical connection to the effluent pump?
RH: I don't know. Tim got in touch with Vandevanter Engineering and they told Tim that the pump could be operated off of a 20 amp 120v supply. But we don't have a written spec yet.

JH: We're paying Tim and Frank to design a plant and collection system for us and the USDA-RD engineer that is reviewing the plans and specs seems to be downsizing the pipe size that was specified by Tim and Frank. If it turns out that the pipe is undersized, can we sue USDA-RD for compensation? Who has liability in that case?

JH: Ultimately we know that we are going to have to connect Lake Bonodel to our sewer system. We've heard rumors for years that sewage is flowing into their lake and then into ours. Is the sewer main sized big enough to tie in another 20 to 25 houses east of Lake Tishomingo? Or could the downsized pipe size be a problem?
 
USDA-RD Checklist Items Pending
The Board went over USDA-RD's checklist of items pending that the Board is responsible for:
Proposed Operating Budget for first 2 yrs of operation--JWH is waiting for Tim's input on the budget numbers.
Sewer Use Ordinance--RH has submitted a draft of the ordinance to USDA-RD and MO DNR. Donna (USDA-RD) suggested that requirements that are in effect during the construction phase of the project be put into a separate interim report. RH agreed that it would simplify things to write two ordinances, a construction-phase ordinance and a "normal operation" ordinance.
JH remarked that there is a problem with the current draft of the use ordinance. In the ordinance it says that all buildings have to install toilet facilities and must hook up to the sewer. So even Jerry's property would have to hook up, even though it doesn't have electricity or a well.
RH: There are sheds and the guard shack that also might require toilets to be installed, based on the use ordinance. This is a problem with the ordinance as it now stands. I'll try to fix this so it somehow is limited to buildings that are suitable for human habitation.
Guide 64 – Right-of-Way--RH: Bob has responsibility for filling out the right of way opinion and the Board needs to provide a right of way certificate. I don't know if Bob is working on this. The Board hasn't done anything on this yet.
Written Evidence of Acceptable Accounting System, CPA Engagement Letter, and Bookkeeping Agreement--JWH: Marilyn and I have been working on this. It's tied in with hiring a CPA, a bookkeeper and setting up the accounting system. We talked to two CPAs for doing the audit. One does a number of sewer and water districts including Cedar Hill Lakes. They would charge us $6800 per year for the audit. We were very impressed with them. 
JWH: The second CPA we talked to thought it would cost $7000 to $9500 ($125 per hr.) (it would take 56 to 80 hrs). He does non-profit work, but not much experience with govt. agencies. 
MM: One problem is that while either CPA can do the audit, they cannot set up the bookkeeping system. But they did give us the name of another accountant that can help us set up the bookkeeping system using QuickBooks. [The LTPOA uses QuickBooks also.] This accountant would be paid as a consultant. 
MM: Another issue is that we need someone to do the bookkeeping for the District. It would be nice if we can find someone local that can do the work on her own computer from home. 
JWH: Only problem is that there needs to be monthly reports generated in a particular format, so the bookkeeper will have to be conscientious.
Attorney’s Opinion on Adequacy of Insurance--RH: I don't know where Bob stands on this.

Missouri DNR Checklist Items Pending
User Charge Ordinance--JWH: I'm working on that. Bob has provided use with a bunch of definitions that I've dropped into the template we got from MO DNR. The critical part is the calculation of the user fee and the amount of money we're to set aside each year for short term asset replacement. I need Tim's input to tell me what the numbers are.
JWH: Another part of the user charge ordinance is setting up user classes. Class 1 is residential user, single family contributor. In their template, they have many classes, like commercial, that don't apply to us. I did add one class, however. I added class NE for "no electric" which will apply to users that have not provided an electrical hookup for their effluent pump, so they will not have full sewer service. 
KJ: What class would the Community House be?
JWH: Class 1.
KJ: Even though it's much larger and could potentially supply more sewage?
JWH: Yes. It is a building that is only used part time.

Election of Board officer for sub-district 5
RH read a resolution establishing an election to be held April 6, 2010. The election is for sub-district 5, which is currently represented by Director Rick Lippitt.
RH moved that the resolution be adopted. JH seconded the motion. On voice vote, all directors were in favor of adopting the resolution. [A copy of the resolution, #2009-12-09, is attached.]
RH: An ad for the opening was placed in The Countian -- Jefferson County.

Attorney’s Report
There was no attorney's report
Engineer’s Report
There was no engineer's report
Adjournment
There being no other formal business to come before the Board, a motion to adjourn was made by John Hindrichs and seconded by Ken Jost at 8:30 p.m. Motion passed with all Directors in approval.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rich Hirsch
Recording Secretary

Approved this 13th day of January 2010.

___________________________	_________________________________
Secretary	Chairman
December 21, 2009