Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SJC-2022-04-132022-04-13 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 1 SJC MEETING April 13, 2022 SJC Members Staff Cynthia Brock, Chair Steve Thayer Bill Goodman CJ Kilgore Rich DePaolo Matt Sledjeski Ray Burger; Town of Dryden (alternate) Scott Reynolds Guest Jeffrey Barken Joe Slater: Town of Ithaca David Warden Ken Scherrieble: Camden Group Absent Supervisor; Jason Leifer Rob Rosen Cynthia called the Zoom meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. Rich MOVED to Approve the February 9th minutes. Seconded by Ray. Approved 7:0. Financial Report – Steve Thayer March 2022 Financial Activity Revenues – Septage service revenue is limited to date - the first two or three months are attributed to 2021 receivables - it will be ramping up during the next few weeks. All three owners first quarterly payments have been received. We have collected $850,000.00 to date. Expenses – to date just over $1,635,000.00. It is still early – no real surprises. The contract account (5435) will include our payments to the Camden Group. The lump sum payment was paid in January. We should be under budget with our insurance account (5455). Employee health insurance (9060) reflects four payments – it is generally paid one month ahead. We currently have a deficit of $785,000.00 to date. This deficit is to be expected as the owner’s second quarterly payment is coming due in April. December 2021 Financial Activity: Not Final 2022-04-13 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 2 Revenues: We have collected $5,146,000.00 to date. We are over $267,000.00 mainly related to septage service collections. Expenses: We have spent just over $4,803,000.00. We are approximately $76,000.00 under budget. There are still a few payables to book for 2021. The employee health insurance (9060) premium contribution (around $56,000.00) will be posted next week. This amount will bring this account within budget. The largest budget overage in 2021 was Equipment Parts and Supplies (5477) mostly related to the blower repairs. Most overages will be able to be covered by the accounts that were under. Our current activity reflects a surplus of $343,000.00. Steve expects a bit higher surplus at year end after all activity is posted. Keep in mind that not all expenses follow the calendar. Capital Projects: CAP414J – Flow Meters – MRB Engineering Services $971.00. CAP422J – Plant Improvements – roughly $230,000.00 in expenses related to construction and $37,000.00 in Engineering Services – related to digester work. Steve said that they are still looking for qualified applicants to fill the position of Chief Operator. It is likely that a large signing bonus might be offered. Scott Reynolds asked about the contract services for the plant and how much has been budgeted for the contracting of the chief operator position. Steve said that funds for unfilled open positions will be used to cover the cost in the short term. We may have to move money around depending how long the contact is in place. CJ offered that the Camden Group will be making an overall evaluation and will be making a presentation of recommendations. Ken added that the current agreement ends in June. Cynthia asked about the 2021 fund balance. Steve thought that the figure should be available within the next two months. Joe asked which flow meters are being studied by the MRB Group. CJ replied that it is the monitoring stations I/I study. Operations and Engineering Report – CJ Kilgore 1. Plant Maintenance & Operations – a. Aeration System – Turblex Blower Replacement Authorization – The blowers estimated return is early May. They should be installed the second week of May. 2022-04-13 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 3 b. Gas Skid Chiller – The micro turbine gas skid chiller is expected to be on site towards the end of June 2022. c. Boiler – CJ and staff will be issuing a request for proposal for the HVAC system as a whole. He had hoped to include this in the next capital project as it does relate to sludge drying. He will be talking with companies and is comparing/considering design-build and design-bid-build. More information will be forth coming. Cynthia asked CJ last day – CJ replied that his last day on payroll will be June 24th - he plans to take a day or two here and there prior to his retirement. David asked about the boiler failure - he thought this was being looked at a few years ago. CJ said that he brought this up a couple years ago and he commissioned a study to evaluate the needs. He had thought the boiler replacement could be rolled into the next capital project. A month or two ago the largest duel-fueled boiler developed a crack. David remarked that this looks like a disaster waiting to happen. CJ had hoped to get a new boiler prior to the next heating season. He hopes to be able to look at the boiler replacement as a system as a whole. Scott Reynolds wondered how we would operate without a boiler system – he asked about skid mounted units. David offered to meet with plant staff to examine the boilers with them. CJ hopes to get the RFP out that Scott Gibson, Ethan, Matt and he have been working on to look at our entire heating and cooling needs. The plant (as a whole) needs to be considered (sludge drying). CJ hopes to get this moving to be able to review the options. Cynthia offered that the micro turbines provide energy that offsets our need to purchase electricity - they have been down since December. Should we expect an increase in utility cost? CJ thought that the behind the meter battery might help offset the increase. Steve will watch the utility account closely in case adjustments are necessary. David asked about the waste flare. We are presently running the smaller boiler 24 hours at half speed – we are flaring the excess. Ken said that he would love to purchase a boiler now - but would rather have a long-term solution that will include future needs of loads for the next five to ten years. CJ said that he feels very comfortable with Ken – he believes that we will be in good hands as Ken is very knowledgeable. CJ added that having Ken here to consult with has been a nice change. 2, Facilities Maintenance & Operations - a. Flow Monitoring I/I – Tim Carpenter and Chris Kianka b. Camden Group – Ken Scherrieble 3. Staff Management – 2022-04-13 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 4 4. Reporting – 5. Business, Long Term development – 6. Energy Production Statistics – provided by CJ. Voting Items – Discussion Items – Long Term Planning - CJ, Matt, Ethan and Scott Gibson have put together an RFP. CJ will have more to offer at the next SJC meeting. Announcements / Other Business – Group of Six – Bill Goodman – the next meeting will be He said that as we all know – they have been working towards an arrangement with Cayuga Heights. They will be paying us for the sewage that they send through the Kline Road bypass. Cayuga Heights had been sending sewage from the “Old Village” directly down the Kline Road bypass. Back in August a weir was set up which allowed Cayuga Heights to take the sewage into their own plant. The new arrangement will allow Cayuga Heights to send their overflow through the Kline Road bypass to our plant. The overflow agreement incorporates a draft of the Plant to Plant Agreement from 2003/2004. The completed draft Plant to Plant Agreement draft was sent to Cayuga Heights by Susan Brock at the end of March. Bill briefed the members of the comments received from Cayuga Heights. They questioned the requirement that they set up of a rain gauge. They said that they felt that the penalty for an inoperable meter was too punitive. They did not agree with the limited number of “emergencies” or the 500,000 gallon exceedance that was included in the draft agreement and would like more flexibility. They will be doing some work on their digester this year and will need to send more sewage through the bypass. Cynthia and Bill will be meeting with them again to discuss these issues. Bill relayed that Susan Brock offered that the section pertaining to emergencies be revised and that another provision be added to deal with plant repair/maintenance and excess I/I (spring thaw). CJ stated that during dry and during wet weather the flow coming from Kline Road is not noticeable and has no significant impact on the plant. Bill added that for the past eight years the Kline Road bypass had been open – we were taking the flow year-round. He said that we need watch for rises in lake level and be prepared for the increased I/I especially in the flats of the City. With the March 2022 weather (increased I/I) and the fact that Borge Warner has not yet begun treating their own sewage - additional pressure was put on Cayuga Heights. Cayuga Heights has written to the Town of Dryden, the Town of Ithaca, the Town and Village of Town of Lansing requesting that they put a hold on new development of areas that feed into the Cayuga Heights plant until they get this figured out. David asked how Cayuga Heights I/I compares to the rest of the system. 2022-04-13 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 5 Cayuga Heights has used some ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds and did I/I work on some old pipes. They have a number of pipes that cross under creeks/streams and they are looking at those. The Town of Ithaca has been working on tightening/sealing up their system. Cynthia offered that the preliminary plant I/I study was included in the February agenda. During the study some of the flow meter were not fully operational - the study has been extended to provide a more complete analysis of our I/I. In some locations we are seeing three to six times our base flow during high flow events. Lake level I/I was not measured/included in the study. Cynthia hopes that the ability to shut off the Kline Road intercept during high flow events should be a recourse that is available. Rich questioned that as long as we have capacity what difference does characterization as normal flow or emergency flow make? The Kline Road bypass flow is minimal. Cynthia said that the Village of Cayuga Heights wanted to reclaim their customers. They insisted that all they wanted was an emergency operational “valve”. The draft agreement was framed on the expectations of Cayuga Heights. It appears that they would prefer to use this bypass more frequently. Cynthia re-iterated that Cayuga Heights is able to defer/offset/avoid expansion costs. This is an equity issue. Rich believes that we will be compensated for treating the flow from Kline Road. He asked CJ how long we experience capacity exceedances due to I/I during rain events? CJ believes that anything coming from Kline Road would not be a determining factor regarding a violation - it is such an insignificant portion whether wet or dry. Violations are typically a one-time one-day thing. He has not had an ongoing problem with meeting permit. Bill thought that the emergency provision could be analyzed. Things that we can anticipate could be considered under other provisions. We are charging them three times our treatment rate as an incentive to tighten up their I/I. Bill said to keep in mind that this new agreement will expire in 2025 (as will the signed agreements of 2003/2004). He added that the installation of a Remington Road bypass could be an option if both the Town and Village of Lansing continue to grow and develop. Scott Reynolds said that it is never too early to plan for the future. Cynthia and Bill agreed. Bill thought that they might be able to have an expanded gang of six meeting to discuss future planning. He has been focused on getting the new agreement in place and said that as soon as it can be wrapped up he will propose a larger meeting to begin preparing for the future. Joe asked if Cayuga Heights always had a 2,000,000 gallon capacity. CJ wasn’t sure but their increasing the height of the trickling filter and with the addition of new media could have allowed for an increase in capacity. For a small plant they have a lot going on. They are severely restrained by their footprint and have some significant challenges. Joe will ask Brent. David Moved to Adjourn. Seconded by Scott. Approved 6:0 The meeting was adjourned at 2:09 p.m. 2022-04-13 APPROVED SJC Minutes.doc 6 Bill asked about the new open meeting law. Cynthia hopes that virtual meetings will be an option for the SJC. Cynthia will put this on the agenda for the May meeting. The Next Meeting will be May 11th, 2022, 1:00 pm.