PLUM CREEK MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
March 2011
A regular meeting of the Board of The Plum Creek Municipal Authority was held on March 15, 2011 at the Plum Creek Municipal Authority Business Office Building, South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
Board members present at the meeting were Jim Ridderhoff, Tom Nagle, Dennis Scharadin, Jerry Weiss, and Matt Gruber. Also in attendance were Dave Bright (PCMA Engineer), Mike Stewart (American Water Service) and his daughter Sarah, PCMA attorney Joe Zerbe, and Kelly Klamfoth.
Jim Ridderhoff called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
The first item of business was reorganization. Upon motion by Dennis Scharadin, seconded by Matt Gruber, and carried by all, the officer positions for 2011 are: Jim Ridderhoff – Treasurer & Co-Chairman, Tom Nagle – Co-Chairman, Jerry Weiss – Secretary & Co-Chairman.
The minutes for November, 2010 and January, 2011 were reviewed and accepted by motion of Jerry Weiss, seconded by Jim Ridderhoff, carried by all.
The Treasurer's reports for November 2010, December 2010, January 2011, and February 2011 were reviewed and accepted by motion of Tom Nagle, seconded by Jerry Weiss, carried by all.
Upon motion by Tom Nagle, seconded by Dennis Scharadin, carried by all, the engineering firm of Spotts, Stevens & McCoy was reappointed for the year 2011.
Upon motion by Dennis Scharadin, seconded by Jerry Weiss, carried by all, the legal firm of Derenzo and Zerbe was reappointed for the year 2011.
Upon motion by Jerry Weiss, seconded by Tom Nagle, carried by all, Hauptly Insurance was reappointed as the insurance agent for the year 2011.
Upon motion by Tom Nagle, seconded by Matt Gruber, carried by all, the accounting firm of Jones & Co. was reappointed for the year 2011 to perform the 2010 audit of the Authority.
Mike Stewart reviewed his written report relating to managerial matters (submitted to the Board prior to the meeting) which addressed water and sewage operations. In water matters, he reported that:
In engineering matters, Dave Bright said he brought along a specification report that Ed Enoch of Tnemec Co. prepared in relation to repainting of the two water storage tanks. He said there were basically two options, one being rust spot repair and repainting. Or, if the Authority wanted to, it could do an overcoat of the exterior paint in addition to the rust spots. Dave said he stopped at the site before he came to the meeting, and he and Ed Enoch didn’t think they were really in need of an overcoat at this time. Ed hadn’t looked at the interior, however, and Dave said Mike would be getting a call to set something up to look inside the tanks. Dave said the Board can decide what it wants to do next, if anything, depending on what Ed finds when he inspects the interiors of the tanks. Jerry asked if there was any way to tell how long the paint on each tank will last. Dave said the smaller tank was repainted in 1998 and the big storage tank was built in 1996. He said he’s pretty sure the paint system on the tanks would be good for 20 years, although many factors could affect that assessment. Mike said he didn’t think there would be a problem for the painting to be done in house, especially on the large tank. The small tank could be more challenging, though.
Dave said he also mentioned to Mike that some tree trimming around the tanks might be in order. He said the trees look nice but they’re really not in the best interest of the tanks. He said even the smaller trees were getting close to overhanging the one tank, and there’s always the issue of ice bringing down some of the larger trees.
In legal matters, Joe Zerbe said routine legal matters, such as lien satisfactions and filings, had been taken care of since the last meeting. He said he would keep his ears open in regard to the sprinkler system law.
It was noted that South Manheim Township reappointed Jim Ridderhoff to another five-year term on the PCMA Board.
The 2010 write-off of delinquent accounts in the amount of $25,071.48 for the years 2005 and prior was approved by motion of Jerry Weiss, seconded by Tom Nagle, carried by all.
Jim and the Board discussed the sewage PIR (Problem Identification Report) paperwork Nancy Wesner submitted. He said Mike talked to Sewage Enforcement Office, Wayne Bowen, within the last few weeks about submitting his paperwork for resolved sewage problems. Jim said not all problems had been resolved but Wayne did submit a number of completed PIRs that had been resolved.
Jerry asked if the PCMA should approach the Lake Wynonah Property Owners’ Association about any plans that might be in the works on the big dam, seeing as the PCMA’s sewage treatment plant, business office, and dump station are sitting at the bottom of the dam. Joe Zerbe said he would contact their attorney to see if the PCMA could be kept informed in the event the LWPOA decided to do any work on the big dam.
There being no further business, Jerry Weiss motioned for adjournment, Dennis Scharadin seconded the motion, carried by all. The meeting was adjourned by Jim Ridderhoff at 6:55 p.m.
Meeting minutes were taken, prepared, and submitted by Jennifer Hoy.
In sewage matters:
Jim noted that it looked like the home sprinkler system law was going to be repealed. Joe Zerbe said the House passed the repeal and the Senate is supposedly going to pass it. He said we could still keep the regulation in our procedures in case someone wants to put one in. Jen said the policy had been rewritten to accommodate homes with or without sprinkler systems. Mike said we can use the pit meters for normal use, if a customer wants one, by removing the meter and piping for the sprinkler system portion. Jim said no water permits were issued by the Authority this year.
