MEETING MINUTES OF THE
LAKE WYNONAH MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
July 2009A regular meeting of the Board of The Lake Wynonah Municipal Authority was held on July 21, 2009 at the Lake Wynonah Municipal Authority Business Office Building, South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
Board members present at the meeting were Jim Ridderhoff, Dennis Scharadin, Jerry Weiss, and Phil Cotroneo. Also in attendance were Dave Bright (LWMA Engineer) and LWMA attorney Joe Zerbe.
Jim Ridderhoff called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
The minutes of the prior meeting were reviewed and accepted by motion of Jerry Weiss, seconded by Dennis Scharadin, carried by all, with the following grammatical correction in the 4th paragraph on the 2nd page: “… Jim asked if any anything …” is replaced with “… Jim asked if anything … .”
The Treasurer's reports for May and June 2009 were reviewed and accepted by motion of Jerry Weiss, seconded by Phil Cotroneo, carried by all. Jerry asked if we received an official statement from PPL Electric yet as to how high the rate increases for 2010 will be. Jen said she received nothing official, but she was told by a PPL representative to expect a 30% increase for certain, and possibly a 50% increase. Dennis said the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce is getting groups together to buy a larger amount of power at a reduced rate. Jen said she attended a webinar regarding that, and the LWMA will have to join the Chamber of Commerce to participate. She asked the Board members if they wanted to join. Dave Bright said there’s a co-op group forming in Berks County too. Joe Zerbe said he has a contact who’s involved in utilities consulting, and he will ask him to contact the LWMA to see if he could help. Joe said to wait to join the Chamber of Commerce until we’ve talked to him.
Mike Stewart was not able to attend the meeting, but he submitted his written report concerning managerial matters to the Board prior to the meeting. Jim Ridderhoff read the report to those in attendance. In water matters:
In sewage matters:
- Continue normal operations.
- LWMA personnel are mowing the grass at the wells and the booster station. Walt Russell will continue to mow Well #8.
- Hydrant flushing is complete.
- The storage tanks are being treated with sodium hypochlorite to kill the algae and, are being pressure washed by LWMA personnel.
- Leaks have developed in the water system and Well #3 was put in service on 7/08/09. Well #3 was surged repeatedly to waste and was then run to waste for several hours prior to placing it online. In addition, the chlorine content chamber was back flushed as well. The chemical feed pumps were serviced and the chlorine day tank was replaced. Well #3 is operating normally.
- Dave Bonkovich will be conducting a leak detection survey, and leak repairs will follow. Faron Breiner of Breiner contracting was called and given a heads up that his crew will be needed for leak repairs as soon as the leaks are located.
- It is suggested that Well #2 receive a cosmetic upgrade while Breiner contracting is here for the leak repairs. The old rusty fence would be removed, and the fence posts will be pulled out of the ground. Since Well #2 is no longer on the LWMA’s allocation from the DRBC, the well pit will be filled in with stone for safety. A large concrete slab will be placed over the gravel. The well house will not require additional security since the piping is isolated at the street and any possible vandalism should not affect the water system. [The Board agreed to the upgrade.]
- A leak was detected at the LWPOA office after high usage was observed when preparing the water bills. The POA office was checked with Dave Readinger and the LWPOA Maintenance crew attending, and a 1,500-per-day leak was found in the water line between the LWPOA office and the guard shack. When Dave Readinger asked if we could pinpoint the leak, he was told that we can only determine the general area of the leak especially with the relatively small size of the leak. He was also told that we had already isolated the general area of the leak by shutting off the valve to the guard shack, and that replacing the line is the best course of action. They called in Dave Bonkovich to try to pinpoint the leak. Dave Bonkovich called Mike with questions because he was having difficulty in pinpointing the leak. According to Dave Bonkovich, a copper line leaves the LWPOA office and transitions into plastic to the guard shack. Dave Bonkovich thinks that the line may be leaking at the transition point or in the plastic line. Note that we only inspect the service line from the curb stop to the water meter, per our regulations, and that is the only section where we mandate K copper. Although repairs have yet to be made, it seems the intent is to just patch the leak to avoid digging up the pavement.
In engineering matters, Dave Bright said he had nothing to report. Dave said he would check with Mike to see if any official action was taken by DEP to officially put Well #2 out of use.
- Continue normal operations.
- The white Mack required some body work to replace and repair the cab mounts at approximately $3,900. Note: no tires were needed for inspection.
- The holding tanks are being stripped down to bare metal and will be painted bolt brown when the prep work is complete. The prep work is being done in sections and the completed sections are currently painted with clear primer.
- The annual DEP inspection was very satisfactory.
In legal matters, Joe Zerbe said routine legal matters, such as lien satisfactions and lien filings were addressed. He said that Jen forwarded information to him regarding new DEP regulations for contacting customers in the event of an emergency, including water advisories. He’s not sure exactly what these new regulations are, but he’s in the process of reviewing them. There was an article in the newspaper regarding it, and the article referenced the Hegins-Hubley Township. Joe called the Hegins-Hubley Township and he was given more information about it. He said it doesn’t look like anything has to be done until 2010, but his concern is the initial cost, which could be high because it involves an auto-dial system. Dave Bright said he wasn’t aware that it was mandatory. Joe said he wasn’t sure, but he'll look at it to see what has to be done.
Also, Joe said Jen had contacted him in June about a customer who passed a couple of bad checks, one of which was returned NSF twice, and the second check was returned NSF once. He explained that charges could be pressed through the District Attorney or the State Police. Joe said he sent a certified letter to the customer indicating that the check was returned NSF, and that he had 10 days to make the check good or the LWMA would prosecute. The customer did not make the check good and Jen contacted the State Police to press charges, which they are in the process of doing now. Joe said a hearing would most likely take place regarding the matter, and he added that the Trooper in charge of the case agreed that we should follow through with prosecution. The Board agreed that the LWMA was proceeding properly regarding the situation, and should see the process through to a conclusion.
In regard to the LWMA changing its name to Plum Creek Municipal Authority, Joe said he prepared the resolution documents that needed to be signed by the LWMA to proceed with the name change. He said the resolution is basically a request to Wayne and South Manheim Townships to pass a resolution of their own giving the LWMA authority to amend its name. In the course of doing research regarding the name change, Joe said he found that the original Articles of Incorporation only had a lifetime of 50 years. He suggested that, since the Articles were to be amended for the name change, it would be a good time to extend them another 50 years. Also, in the procedure to do an amendment of the Articles, Joe said there was no registered address when the LWMA was formed. He said there are three amendments in the resolution: to change the name of the Authority, to extend it for 50 years, and to designate 686 Berne Drive, Auburn, PA 17922 as the registered address. Joe said the resolution signed by the LWMA would be sent to both Townships. The Townships would then have to approve their resolutions (which Joe already repaired for review by their attorneys). If the Townships approve, then the LWMA would have to advertise its intent to change its name. When the advertisement has run for the legal amount of time, the amendment can then be filed with the Commonwealth.
A week prior to the meeting, Joe and Jen thought of the possibility of the new name not being available. Joe called the Department of State to see if the name was available. He said the State Department will not say if a name is available, but if you give them the name you will be told if the name is not available or if it appears to be available. Joe was told that it appears to be available. Both he and Jen then went online to see if Plum Creek Municipal Authority was detected. He said a lot of items were found involving the name Plum Creek but not Plum Creek Municipal Authority. But there is a Plum Creek Township near Pittsburgh, PA. Both he and Jen didn’t think it was an issue.
Joe said it may not be possible for the name change to take effect January 1, 2010 as the LWMA would like because he’s not sure an effective date can be dictated. He said once the advertisement is made and the documents are filed, generally the name changes. Jim asked what the purpose was for waiting until the beginning of the year. Jen said that the LWMA’s auditors said it would make it easier because of filing payroll taxes, year-end W2s, and other year-end filings. Joe asked Jen to talk to Ed Ebling from Jones & Co. (LWMA’s auditing firm) to find out if it matters greatly when the name changes.
Upon motion by Dennis Scharadin, seconded by Phil Cotroneo, and carried by all, the Board approved, adopted, and signed the resolution to amend the Articles of Incorporation to change the name of the Lake Wynonah Municipal Authority to “Plum Creek Municipal Authority;” to extend the life of the Authority 50 years from the date of the meeting (July 21, 2009); and to reflect in the articles the registered address of the Authority as 686 Berne Drive, Auburn, PA 17922.
Dave Bright said he was aware of two authorities in close proximity with the same name, one in Lebanon County and one in Berks County, and there doesn’t seem to be a problem with it.
A minor change was made in the design of the septic tank inspection form used by the Authority, and Jen submitted it for review and approval by the Board. The Board said the document was fine.
There being no further business, Dennis Scharadin motioned for adjournment, and Jerry Weiss seconded the motion, carried by all. The meeting was adjourned by Jim Ridderhoff at 7:05 p.m.
Meeting minutes were taken, prepared, and submitted by Jennifer Hoy.
