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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-03-05-STB SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING MARCH 5TH, 2010 * * Note the full discussion of this meeting is available on the Ulysses web site @ulysses.ny. us Present : Supervisor Roxanne Marino ; Board Members Liz Thomas and Lucia Tyler; David Kerness and Kevin Romer absent; Town Clerk Marsha Georgia; James Weber, Highway Superintendent Director of Public Works and Herb Engman, Town Supervisor both from the Town of Ithaca; Douglas Austic, Water Superintendent and Richard Coogan Water Superintendent Assistant; Diane Hillman Chair of the Water Commission. Supervisor Marino called the meeting to order shortly after 1 : 30 pm and said that the purpose of the meeting was to get some sense as to what the Town of Ulysses owes the Town of Ithaca for the water purchases because there are some differences and also to discuss the installment of a meter to have a better record of the water use . Ms . Marino distributed the packet of information that was provided by Mr. Engman of Ithaca. One of the items of information provided was a spread sheet of the Town of Ulysses Water Rents which included the consumption billed to Ulysses, payment from Ulysses, penalties charged to Ulysses and some adjustments . Also the drawings for the purposed pump house with a new meter were distributed . Ms . Marino said that Eric Pond of Barton & Logudice was asked to look over the drawings that Ithaca had provided and give the Town an estimate on if the cost was reasonable or not. The email answer Ms . Marino received from Mr. Pond was provided to the group . The last item in the packet provided by Ms . Marino is the 2003 water agreement with the Town of Ithaca and Ulysses that is presently being operated under. Ms . Marino said she believes we are all interested in keeping the cost as low as possible to the tax payers and the water user' s and in being fair to both municipalities, and that Ulysses really appreciates receiving the water from the Town of Ithaca for our water districts Ms . Marino said that today there are two goals but first and foremost is to try to evaluate the amount and the magnitude of the problem here both in terms of missing water volume and dollars, and if there is any idea as to where the water is going that the Town is not metering to their users . We need to find a way to work from here that is fair and g Y reasonable and agreed upon. In that light we have the proposal that was discussed earlier, before Ms . Marino came on the Board, to put in a meter to measure the water used by Ulysses customers more accurately. Town of Ithaca Supervisor Engman said that they are here today to provide any further information beyond what was previously asked for. Mr. Engman said that it was clear that in the beginning there was some confusion to the amounts billed and some adjustments were made . *Note Mr. Engman provide a spread sheet of all charges, adjustments, payments and penalties made to the Town of Ulysses from the Town of Ithaca from 9/4/2004 to 3/ 1 /2010 . Mr. Engman said that part of the reason the history of billing is rather complicated is that there have been adjustments made over time for various reasons that are not clear, so it may get a little confusing when you read down through the spread sheet. Mr. Engman explained the spread sheet in more detail . Mr. Engman asked Mr. Austic if he knew the answer to why the Town of Ithaca made an adjustment of $ 37,950 . 59 in 2005 which wiped the slate clean and brought the balance that the Town of Ulysses owed the Town of Ithaca to zero . Mr. Engman had no idea Special Town Board Meeting 2 03/05/2010 what this adjustment was for. The balance that is owed the Town of Ithaca at 3/ 1 /2010 is $45 , 584. 01 including penalties . Mr. Austic did not know the answer. Mr. Engman said when he came on as Town Supervisor in January 2008 he reviewed all Town of Ithaca contracts and with this billing to the Town of Ulysses it was apparent to him that Ulysses was not paying Ithaca for what they were being billed. Mr. Engman said at that time he started working with Mr. Austic to try and figure this out. Mr. Austic said that he would like to point out that as far as he can remember the Town had one bill that was received from Ithaca/Bolton Point prior to the end of 2007 . What the Town has been doing is paying for what the Town used according to total customer meter readings plus 10% . Mr. Engman said he understood that Ulysses was being billed and can not understand Ulysses paying if they were not getting bills . Mr. Austic said that the agreement was to pay for what the Town used plus 10% . Mr. Engman asked what Ulysses was using for a backup . Mr. Austic said Ulysses gave the meter readings as to what the Town billed plus the 10% . Mr. Austic said that in 2007 the Town started getting bills from the Town of Ithaca. Mr. Engman said that it was changed in 2007 because another person was running things and wanted to do it more by the book. Mr. Engman said he was told that Bolton Point sent bills prior to that. Mr. Austic said he never received bills . Mr. Weber said that he has copies of bills from Bolton Point and beginning in 2006 Dan Walker' s name appears but prior to that the bills indicate they were mailed to Ulysses Town Hall. More discussion took place about the bills, not receiving the bills, and the current balance . There has been penalties assessed that have never been sent to Ulysses . Ms . Marino said she tried to put things into perspective and had started at the point the balance was zero and stopped at 2009 where a balance had built up to $36,000 over roughly 4 years, or about $ 9000 per year. Ms . Marino said that about $ 10,000 of is this is in penalties and does not have to do with direct water use . So roughly $26,000 over four years or $6 , 500 a year in missing water . If the Town keeps averaging that much each year and using the current water rate of $4. 35 per thousand gallons you would estimate 1 , 500,000 gallons a year as the discrepancy missing water. Ms . Marino said that after looking over the figures Mr. Engman gave her it looks like the use is reasonably constant over time and the water that is unmetered by Ulysses is 8 to 10% of the total water billed for. Mr. Engman asked what the practice in Ulysses is for flushing hydrants or selling water to those with water tankers . Mr. Austic said that all that water is metered and included in the total. A meter is attached to a hydrant and a total is kept of the amount sold or flushed. Special Town Board Meeting 3 03/05/2010 Mr. Engman said that he and Mr. Weber had a discussion about all of this in relationship to the pay back period and they were looking at figures coming up with about $ 10,000 a year disputed charges . Mr. Engman said that for each town to invest $60,000 in a two way meter to make sure to understand where the water is going results in a 6 year pay- back time . Ms . Marino was also trying to figure out a pay-back cost and in that context if it would be reasonable to investing in the meter or just living with the mystery and making an agreement that everyone can stick to and live with . Mr. Engman said would the two way meter solve all of the problems of knowing where all of the water is going. Mr. Weber said what you would is a two way metering of water and that Ulysses would be billed according to the meter and so the question of where the loss is actually occurring would be resolved. The discussion followed to the pros and cons of the two way meter. Mr. Coogan pointed out that it is normal to have a 3 to 5 percent loss at anytime and that he felt that the 8 to 10 percent loss was high and sees it only fair that both Towns share a loss factor. A discussion followed about revising the agreement with the Town of Ithaca as may be necessary. Both Ithaca and Ulysses will take this information back to their Boards . The next time Ithaca will be meeting is March 22 , 2010 . Hearing no further discussion the meeting adjourned at 2 : 55 pm. Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mlg