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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SJC-2018-05-16MN-SJC-2018-05-16.doc 1 SJC MEETING May 16, 2018 SJC Members Staff Cynthia Brock, Chair Steve Thayer Supervisor Bill Goodman CJ Kilgore Laura Lewis Tee-Ann Hunter Brian Davis Dan Lamb (Dryden Alternative) Dave Warden Absent Guest Supervisor Jason Liefer Rich DePaolo Cynthia called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m. Introductions were made. Brian asked that today’s agenda include a discussion of the NYSEG sheet piling driving project near the fence line/water front trail. Tee-Ann MOVED to accept the April 18th minutes with corrections. Seconded by Brian. Approved 6-0, Abstained 1. Financial Report – Steve Thayer 2018 Activity through April – Revenues- running just about at budget. Expenses- we are running a bit over budget – mostly due to timing. All looks reasonable. We budgeted for a deficit – we have expended $1,528,000 to date. Municipal Association Dues - due in January; Insurance - the largest portion has been paid. Keep in mind that all revenues and expenses do not necessarily follow the calendar year. Capital Project 414J – Flow Meters – one $5,500.00 expense - Engineering services. Fund Balance – Activity through 2017 – balance of $1,933,000.00. Best practices dictate that we should be between ten and twenty percent of our operating expenses – we are closer to twenty nine to thirty one percent. We did appropriate $250,000.00 of the fund balance for 2017. This will bring us to under $1,000,000.00 which is more in line with where we should be – we continue to make attempts to reduce our fund balance. Staff has done a good job keeping expenses low. MN-SJC-2018-05-16.doc 2 It is time to start thinking about the 2019 budget. Cynthia mentioned the need to renew our five year Capstone turbine maintenance contract with GEM Energy. It is due to expire as we are rapidly approaching 40,000 hours. The first five years were included in the Johnson Controls Energy Project. CJ is waiting for the proposal and will evaluate it. Cynthia inquired about incorporating sludge drying into a Capital Project – most likely in 2020. GHD will be here next week to discuss grit removal – CJ plans to have Jose ask them for a sludge drying reality check. Operations and Engineering Report – CJ Kilgore 1. Plant Maintenance & Operations a. NYSEG Proposal – Behind the Meter Battery Storage Program - the legal documents dealing with the preliminary demonstration have been forwarded to Susan Brock. Cynthia will resend the packet of documents to the members. The final schematics have not yet been made available. b. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) control/blower system – two to three weeks ago the DO dropped – there was a minor plant upset. CJ put the blower controls in manual (manual uses more energy and is less efficient) and so far everything looks good. The blower was not ramping up – he thought the problem was resolved – but as the cool water warmed he realized the biology was not being properly aerated and was not as vibrant as it should have been - it was not properly ingesting or digesting the food. The wastewater going out contained more suspended solids causing us to use more chlorine. CJ has not yet figured out the source of the problem – something in the dissolved oxygen system needs to be checked - it should be signaling the blower to run faster. We may not have violated permit as it appears that actiflow has taken care of it. CJ will be reaching out to Chris of Lectre to verify valve position indications and dissolved oxygen levels - we may need to calibrate/tune the system. c. Pennsylvania Derry Township Wastewater Treatment Plant visit – they have an aerated grease treatment process with a Venturi Pump. They feed septage and grease directly to their primary screening and treatment via an open air connection. The grease goes through a degritter/de-forker which dumps directly to a 40,000 gallon tank containing two submerged pumps. As long as the pH is high enough (6.5 – 6.8 pH) using magnesium hydroxide (and it is aerated) there is little odor. Micro biology cabinets heat and mix for 24 hours – they dose four times per day and pump it to the head of the plant. CJ is researching different processes to treat grease – this low technology might be able to be incorporated into our system. He will talk with GHD about possibly considering this process as part of our future septage receiving improvements. Tee-Ann mentioned that we might wish to broaden our circle of engineering firms for new ideas. Cynthia offered that we should have an environmentally safe way to accept grease - there is clearly a demand for providing this service. She is intrigued with the simplicity of what has been done at this plant in Derry. 2. Facilities Maintenance & Operations MN-SJC-2018-05-16.doc 3 a. Ithaca Beer – Bill, Scott, Ed and Dan Tate met on May 11th with Dan Mitchell and three engineers from OBG. Ed presented the order of compliance. They discussed how to come into compliance with respect to the pH levels, the temperature and the flow. They questioned what would happen if their effluent exceeded our other limits - which would require a different type of pretreatment. Our sewer use law indicates the levels but does not indicate what the surcharge would be – Ed is working on a surcharge number. Ithaca Beer is waiting for that number to help them decide whether to have the waste trucked to the plant instead. Ithaca Beer needs to submit a pretreatment plan which will have to be approved - the initial timeline may need to be adjusted. Cynthia said that Susan Brock confirmed that all of the municipalities including Cayuga Heights must have the same regulations with pretreatment standards - they need to be updated and signed. Susan said that our laws appear to be sufficient. Cynthia added that we should be looking at the review processes to be sure they are appropriate and that they are being utilized. We need to update our procedure of communicating with new industrial users as they come on line. 3. Staff Management – a. Operator/Trainee – the civil service exam is scheduled for June 9th. b. Senior Operator position – interviews will be held June 15th. c. Maintenance Worker position – interviews scheduled for May 18th. 4. Energy Production Statistics – provided by CJ. Presentation/Discussion Items – a. Ithaca Beer Update – above b. Meeting of six Update - April 30th. Bill shared that Cayuga Heights is discussing ways to increase their capacity. Their Village Board is working through the process – they are considering a plant expansion ($10 million est.) or the Remington Road bypass ($1.5 million est.) to take pressure off of their plant. The Village and the Town of Lansing are working on a new sewer main going down East Shore Drive. They discussed I/I and capacity issues during wet weather events and they talked a little bit about pretreatment. Bill said that the next meeting of the six will probably focus more on I/I. Cynthia wondered if the members wanted to hire a consultant to review the possible changes due to their complexity and the amount of time that will be required. A discussion followed. Brian offered to contact an engineer (before the next meeting) that was experienced in looking at both the political and spatial infrastructure. Dave thought that based on what we do know – we can make some logical assumptions and set guidelines to which we can handle. CJ said that our design capacity should allow for future development for decades. Bill added that the main concern is capacity during wet weather events – which may not show up due to the 30 day average reporting. During a wet weather event we may exceed some numbers – technically we have capacity. There are different types of capacities. Cynthia reiterated that the DEC requires that we work together. MN-SJC-2018-05-16.doc 4 c. NYSEG – sheet piling will be installed below the surface near the edge of the plant. The initial plan estimates that it will take a month or so this coming winter. They will restore the fence when they are finished. The dewatering that had been suggested previously (relating to the dredging project) will not be occurring on our site. Brian mentioned that he might be interested in proposing/suggesting improvements/plans to discuss with NYSEG. CJ said that the owner of City Harbor is concerned about the appearance. CJ reached out to the City Forester – she is interested in planting some native plants and trees that would thrive in this area. Cynthia MOVED to adjourn. Seconded by Dan. All were in favor. Approved 6-0. Meeting was adjourned @ 2:57 p.m. The Next Meeting is June 20th, 2018, 1:00 pm.