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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SJC-2017-04-122017.04.12 APPROVED SJC minutes.doc 1 SJC MEETING April 12, 2017 SJC Members Staff Cynthia Brock, Chair Steve Thayer Supervisor Bill Goodman Erik Whitney MaryAnn Sumner (Dryden Alternative) Mike Thorne Donna Fleming CJ Kilgore Dave Warden Mike Raftis Rich DePaolo Jose Lozano Katie Sweeney Guest Absent Tee-Ann Hunter Supervisor Jason Leifer Cynthia called the meeting to order at 12:36 p.m. Quorum was obtained at 12:40. Dave MOVED to accept the March 8th minutes. Seconded by Bill. Approved 6-0. Financial Report – Steve Thayer 2016 Activity – not quite final – we are still waiting on the health insurance adjustment which should be complete next week - items in bold are the changes in activity. We currently have a surplus of approximately $211,000.00. Revenues – our septage service revenue was greater than anticipated. Expenses – some expenses were less than anticipated. Overall 2016 will result in an increase in the fund balance. Cynthia asked and Steve confirmed that staff salaries were under budget due to vacancies and early departures. The contract line was lower because items did not come in as anticipated. Steve looks at history and trends to bring numbers in line. 2017 Activity through March – Revenues – septage service revenue is beginning to trickle in. Expenses – keep in mind that all expenses do not follow the calendar. We presently have a $448,000.00 deficit. Everything is coming in as anticipated. Fund Balance – activity includes 2015. 2017.04.12 APPROVED SJC minutes.doc 2 Final figures for 2016 should be available at the next meeting. We have a healthy fund balance that Steve will continue to watch. He will look at prior year encumbrances and will put those amounts into the fund balance if necessary. Capital Projects – $33,000.00 in expenses. 419J Bar Screen and Dewatering – engineering services. 420J Feasibility Study - Enhanced Primary Treatment – engineering services. Operations and Engineering Report – CJ Kilgore 1. Plant Maintenance & Operations a. DEC – Matt Russo visited. Everything went well. CJ added that he survived his first wet weather event with sustained flows. b. Screw Press & polymer – adjustments to the equipment have been made and we now have consistency. c. Tour – CJ encouraged the members of the SJC and the Board of Public Works to tour the plant April 22nd and 29th from 10:00 am until noon. He will point out things – from an operator’s point of view – that are his priorities and concerns. Cynthia will send out an email to remind the members of tour dates. 2. Facilities Maintenance & Operations a. Monitoring Stations – Scott and CJ met with Chris Kianka (Lectre Solutions) and the Town of Ithaca personnel about getting our twelve stations (located at the City/Town borders) back up and operational. The technology for gathering data has greatly improved and will be useful to monitor flow and to identify problem areas. Real time monitoring during wet weather events will help us identify infiltration and inflow issues which can be addressed to tighten up the system. CJ suggested to establish a Capital Project to hire an engineering firm to assess things and to lay out a plan with the cost and a time frame. We need to define a scope that will establish the type of equipment and the type of data to be gathered. Erik added that the monitoring stations are a requirement of the EPA. A few years back structural repairs were completed and the flumes were made more accessible. Phase two (not yet complete) involved the replacement of the electronics and the establishment of routine maintenance protocol using the DPW sewer cleaning personnel. MaryAnn MOVED to authorize staff to contact engineering firms requesting a quote for engineering services related to the monitoring stations and some infiltration and inflow analysis. Seconded by Dave. Approved Unanimously (6-0). Bill added that we might wish to open it up to other engineering firms. Rich added that we are only asking for an estimate at this time. Erik will put an RFP together for the next meeting. 3. Staff Management a. Amber Mase passed the 4A Wastewater Operator licensing exam. We will be interviewing for the operator trainee positon on April 20th. The Chief Operator and the Assistant Chief Operator application deadline is April 14th. The Executive Unit approved their contract – which was approved by Council. 2017.04.12 APPROVED SJC minutes.doc 3 4. Reporting – N/A 5. Business, Long Term Development – Brent Cross spoke with Scott Gibson about the possibility of accepting excess flow from the Cayuga Heights plant. Erik said that Brent was looking at the Inter-municipal agreement between the Village of Cayuga Heights, the Village of Lansing, the Town of Lansing, the Town of Dryden, the Town of Ithaca and the City of Ithaca (signed in 2003) to possibly move equivalent flows. The agreement stipulates that flow metrics be set where they can be used to look at the flows coming between, passing through or crossing municipal boundaries. They want to measure the flows from the Town of Ithaca going through Cayuga Heights. Erik clarified that this would be steady flow on a daily basis – not peak flow. The agreement stipulates that the pretreatment ordinances be in exact compliance of our existing ordinance. Rich brought up the unresolved issue of the TMDL and our current phosphorous limit of 40# per day – if our permit limit is tightened – we may not have as much capacity as we think. Rich added that he thought the initial numbers should be out within the year. Cynthia – we need to look at how this develops. If more waste is coming in - it may change the ownership percentages. Lystek will present at the June14th meeting. Scott and CJ viewed a power point presentation of a low temperature thermal hydrolysis process developed by Lystek. They take digested sludge and turn it into a Class A Biosolid - they market and dispose of it. Jose suggested that we approach this with caution as we have many emerging contaminants in our biosolids. 6. Energy Production Statistics – provided by CJ. We are wasting less gas – due to our new regulator. Discussion Items Hiring committee – Cynthia would like to touch base after this meeting – she will circulate the questions that they have so far and will take comments and suggestion into consideration. Agreement Review Committee – they met last week – they are going to wait and see what happens through the hiring process. They will direct their focus on the three agreements (interceptor agreement, inter-municipal agreement and the ownership agreement). MaryAnn suggested that the TG Miller infrastructure survey study of Tompkins County might be helpful. MaryAnn will find the link and circulate it. Jose reported that the Cayuga Lake Management Plan renewal is finished and will be published soon. He mentioned that the chapter on emerging contaminants allows us to continue to improve our plant and to continue our research and will provide grant opportunities. We are working with Cornell’s water institute and Ithaca College on synthetic fibers. Jose talked of the DEC and EPA possibly placing the emphasis on non-point sources for the TMDL. The work of the IO, the Cayuga Lake Partnership and our monitoring data has been useful to help in this decision. He added that we are no longer going to pursue becoming a stakeholder. 2017.04.12 APPROVED SJC minutes.doc 4 Our monitoring of the lake will continue as much of it is in the southern portion and deals with phosphorous loading and is not part of other monitoring programs. Cynthia added that she attended a fascinating presentation which demonstrated that the lake circulates from bottom to top on a twenty four hour basis - it migrates and recirculates almost immediately. Rich pointed out the Cornell is relocating reactive phosphorous which may be addressed by the DEC. Other Business Cynthia mentioned that the Waterfront Rezoning Working Group has put forth a proposal to re- zone this area. The Market District requires that the light industry will not discharge odors. She will inquire as to the impact that this might have on the plant for possible future expansion. Cynthia will forward the material to the members for review and asked for their input. Bill moved to adjourn. Seconded by MaryAnn. All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned @ 1:54 p.m. The Next Meeting is May 10th, 2017, 12:30 pm.