The regular monthly meeting of the Board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District was held in the Boardroom of MSD's Administration Building at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 11, 2000. Vice Chair Sobol presided with the following members present. Aceto, Bryson, Graham, Kelly, Pace, Spell and Venable. Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Gantt and Ms. Field were absent.

Others present were: William Clarke, General Counsel, William H. Mull, General Manager, Gary McGill of McGill Associates, Tom Hartye, Jim Fatland, Stan Boyd, Ann LeMieux and Sondra Honeycutt, MSD.

Mr. Pace moved that the Minutes of the September 20, 2000 meeting be approved as presented. Ms. Graham seconded the motion. Voice vote was unanimous in favor of the motion.

1. Consideration of Construction without Easement or Condemnation - Riverside Cemetery:

The Right of Way Committee recommends proceeding with Construction without easement or condemnation action at this time. If owner or heirs do come forth, staff will negotiate or condemn if necessary for taking at that time.

2. Consideration of Bids - London Road & Smith Mill Creek - Asheville Master Plan Projects:

The following bids for the London Road & Smith Mill Creek projects were received September 28, 2000: Buckeye Construction Company with a total base bid of $774,363.40; Terry Brothers Construction with a total base bid of $825,458.00 and Cooper Construction Company with a total base bid of $831,712.00. Staff recommends the Board award this contract to Buckeye Construction Company, in the amount of $178,848.50 (London Road) and $595,514.90 (Smith Mill Creek) for a total bid amount of $774,363.40, contingent upon attorney review and approval, and upon final grant approval by NCDENR.

3. Consideration of Resolution Establishing Unclaimed Sewer Rehab Fund:

Staff recommends approval of the Resolution Establishing Unclaimed Sewer Rehabilitation Fund.

 

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October 11, 2000

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4. Consideration of Monthly Investment Report - Period Ended August 31, 2000:

Mr. Clarke reported that the By-laws Committee met September 25, 2000 and recommended a number of changes to the existing By-laws. He stated that the recommended changes were made and circulated to Committee Members for comment. He further stated that he would incorporate a few minor changes suggested by Mr. Spell. A copy of the latest draft of the By-laws was distributed at the meeting.

Mr. Pace stated that the reason the District is proceeding with the Riverside Cemetery Project, without an easement or condemnation, is because the deeds for the property and neighboring owner do not come together, leaving a deed gap and an area of unknown ownership. A discussion followed regarding whether any recent condemnations would be going to trial and what they involve.

Mr. Sobol reported that the CIP Committee met September 28, 2000 to discuss the MSD Master Plan; Unauthorized Connection Program and Preventative Maintenance Program. Regarding the Master Plan, Mr. Hartye reported that a presentation was given by Mr. Tsang of Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM) on the scope of work to be performed by CDM. He stated that an update of what has happened during the last month was discussed, which included comprehensive, strategic, technical and regulatory issues. Mr. Sobol stated that a discussion was held regarding the need for an evaluation of the financial impact of the CIP programs in the future.

Regarding the Unauthorized Connection Program, Mr. Hartye reported that Mike Butler and Shelia Freeman gave a presentation explaining how and why the program was initiated. He explained how the program works and stated that staff is in the process of notifying the media and property owners as to where smoke testing will take place.

Regarding the Preventative Maintenance Program, Mr. Hartye stated that he has been asked by the CIP Committee to evaluate ways to cut costs and evaluate whether the work should be done in-house or contracted out. He explained that over the last two years the MSD has been contracting for approximately 500,000 L.F. of line to be cleaned and TV'ed each year at an approximate cost of $1Million per year. He stated that staff did a cost analysis of performing this work in-house vs. contracting, and based on this information and

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October 11, 2000

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the footage now being done, the costs were found to be very close. MSD is required to inspect and clean 10% of it's system each year. MSD has been advised by NCDENR that it can count lines cleaned by it's own crews as a part of operations and maintenance towards the 10%. As a result, staff will go out with a small contract next year for $250,000 linear feet to be cleaned and inspected by an outside contractor. He further stated that before the end of the fiscal year staff would seek contractor pricing to see if the costs is competitive for a reduced program and present these findings to the CIP Committee in March.

Mr. Venable asked if the District would still meet the 10% line-cleaning requirement by reducing the costs of the program. Mr. Hartye stated this will be assessed over time, but there is no way to know whether the work orders or sewer system overflows will decrease. He pointed out that another part of the program is to televise the lines following cleaning, which can then be used for design purposes. He stated that there will always be preventative maintenance, it's just a matter of magnitude. He further stated the District could cut the program in half and clean the basins that are scheduled for rehab and then utilize the rest of our system services cleaning as credit toward the 10% annual requirement. Mr. McGill stated as the District cleans more segments of the system and more information is gathered the program could be adjusted in the future and still stay within the requirements of the State. Ms. Graham asked how often the District runs into situations where line cleaning forces a clog into a private system. Ms. LeMieux stated that the District has had some complaints and explained the procedure used in cleaning lines.

Mr. Mull reported that the Citizen's Participation Committee met September 28, 2000. He stated that the turnout for this meeting was less then expected and that a presentation on the Master Plan was given. He further stated that following this meeting he met with representatives from Henderson County who expressed an interested in having CDM do some additional detailed analysis of the Cane Creek drainage basin as they are doing the District's Master Plan. Also, Henderson County is interested in working out an arrangement with the District to clear some of it's rights-of-ways and perform inspection work in the process of doing their own. In turn, Henderson County will ask the District to consider doing some sewer taps and emergency maintenance on their system.

Mr. Pace expressed his appreciation to Mr. Mull for protecting the District's interest on the various issues discussed.

Mr. Sobol stated that a report would be given in closed session.

Mr. Kelly asked about the projected completion date on the new administration building. Mr. Hartye stated that partial occupancy would take place December 6, with System Services being the first to relocate.

Mr. Sobol presented a Resolution of appreciation to Bob Selby for his service on the District Board. Mr. Venable moved that the Board approve the Resolution as presented. Mr. Pace seconded the motion. Voice vote was unanimous in favor of the motion.

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None

At 2:45 p.m., Ms. Graham moved that the Board go into closed session to discuss a personnel matter. Mr. Pace seconded the motion. Voice vote was unanimous in favor of the motion.

At 3:37 p.m., the regular meeting was reconvened.