Board Meeting Minutes – September 24, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD September 24, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.

 

Board Members Present: Linda Fountain, Mark Franzen, Ken Aberle, Lisa Dutz, Mike Steffl, Amber Morgan

Board Members Absent: Don Wicks, Tom Gunn, Malcolm Moreno

Staff Present: Laurie Lago

Members Present: None

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:18pm by Ken Aberle, Vice Chairman

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the August 2020 meeting were presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Amber Morgan.
Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mike Steffl.
Voted & Passed

Business Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Linda Fountain.
Voted & Passed

Water Loss Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Amber Morgan.
Voted & Passed

Field Report – Report presented in writing and below.

Hagg Lake Power Outage: The Hagg Lake fire caused a power outage that affected our Withycombe pump station. The Withycombe pump is the bottom rung of the ladder for pumping water up the line and keeping the Reservoirs full as well as keeping pressure on the valley floor. As a result of the power outage we had lower pressure for 2 days all over the system and a few customers eventually had no water if their meters are lower than their house and they do not have a booster pump on their system. We rented a generator and were getting it hooked up when the power was restored. Most reservoirs were pretty low when we were finally able to get things restored. We kept the generator through the weekend to ensure we would be good if power was lost again due to the fires as generator rentals were sparse.

New Service Tap on Elsinore: Tapped new service tap on Elsinore.

Smoke and Air Quality Issues: Due to the poor air quality, the crew spent more time inside on equipment maintenance, inventory checks, and cleaning and organizing the vehicles, shop and equipment.

Call out for water shooting into Hwy 47 – Old meter tap in corner of field was run over and damaged. Redirected water from roadway and next morning disconnected service line and removed old meter.

Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Amber Morgan.
Voted & Passed

 

Old Business

1. Easements and service taps on Bald Peak – In progress

2. New office hours – Updated board

New Business

1. Leak Credits – Submitted in writing
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

2. Oregon Health Authority Water System Survey – Scheduled for Oct. 7th.

 

Other Business

1. Generator – Informed board we have requested quotes to upgrade essential pump houses for quick generator connecting in case of future long-term outages. Asked that I also look at the cost of purchasing a generator.

Motion to Adjourn by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mike Steffl.
Voted and Passed

Meeting Adjourned at 6:48pm

Board Meeting Minutes – August 27, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD August 27, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.

 

Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Linda Fountain, Mark Franzen, Ken Aberle, Lisa Dutz, Tom Gunn

Board Members Absent: Malcolm Moreno, Amber Morgan, Michael Steffl

Staff Present: Laurie Lago

Members Present: None

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:37pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the July 2020 meeting were presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Ken Aberle.
Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Tom Gunn.
Voted & Passed

Business Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Tom Gunn.
Voted & Passed

Field Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Water Loss Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Ken Aberle.
Voted & Passed

Gaston Bridge Project – Pre-construction and Utility meetings were held this month and work has started. Expect the temporary line to be installed early September.

Bald Peak Reservoir – Emergency Callout for low pressure and water loss. The reservoir was low and Kyle spent hours looking for a leak with no luck. With help from Jerry Nethkin it was determined our transducer in the reservoir may be not working. The transducer tells the pumps when to turn on to keep the level up in the tank. Turned on the pumps and left them running all night to keep reservoir full. By morning, a leak had shown up across from Bald Peak park. Leak repaired but did not solve the problem, so parts were ordered to replace the transducer and Kyle and Mason took turns monitoring pumps and reservoir levels through the weekend until we could install the new part the following week, which solved the problem. Ordered back-up transducers for the other reservoirs to have on hand.

Leak on Bald Peak – Mainline leak, caused by a tree root when trees were removed by a contractor working across from the State Park. Contractor used his equipment to assist in repair, so we did not have to mobilize our equipment. Our locates were off.

Albertson Road Leak – Line leak on Albertson Road repaired by Schmidt Contracting. We had mobilized Schmidt to help with what looked to be a large leak on main line near Fire Department because it was test day for Kyle. Leak turned out to be Gaston’s line, not ours. Since we had already mobilized Schmidt, we rediverted them to repair the Albertson Road leak we had been unable to get to due to the Bald Peak issue.

Wisby – Line leak on Wisby repaired.

Bald Peak & Sunrise Peaks 2” Meter – replaced 2” meter on bald peak line that was scheduled to be replaced.

Southwind Drive – Line leak on Southwind Drive repaired.

Springhill Road – Line leak repaired on Springhill across from Gibson Rd.

Parmele – Line leak on Parmele repaired.

Lambert Pump – New pump to replace the blown out pump from June arrived and was installed by Kyle with the assistance of Ferguson & Brightside electrical.

Bald Peak PRV – Parts were replaced on the 6” PRV that failed in July. This week the new box will be placed around the PRV like it should have been when originally installed and we have flaggers hired for traffic control.

Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Tom Gunn.
Voted & Passed

 

New Business

1. Leak Credits – Submitted in writing
Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Mark Franzen.
Voted & Passed

2. New Certificate Request – Elsinore Lane
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Tom Gunn.
Voted & Passed

3. Lambert Lane – Discussion regarding 2 properties that have applied for service and been denied due to no storage capacity available on Jordan Reservoir.
No Motion

4. Easements and Service Taps on Bald Peak – discussion regarding service taps on Bald Peak for some inactive certificates becoming active. Customer willing to work with us and give us easements for our lines on those properties. Operations Manager will proceed securing details and bringing back to the Board for consideration.
No Motion

5. Office Hours – Operations Manager requested changing office hours to 7:30 to 4:00 with no closure for lunch. Change allows for all staff to arrive and depart at same time. The change will improve the efficiency of operations, eliminate the hourlong mid-day closure, and improves safety for staff.
Motion to approve with the Operations Manager reporting back next month if there are any negative effects of the change by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Linda Fountain.
Voted & Passed

Motion to Adjourn by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Ken Aberle.
Voted and Passed
Meeting Adjourned at 7:16pm

Board Meeting Minutes – July 23. 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD July 23, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.

 

Board Members Present:   Don Wicks, Linda Fountain, Mark Franzen, Ken Aberle, Michael Steffl, Amber Morgan

Board Members Absent:   Malcolm Moreno, Tom Gunn, Lisa Dutz

Staff Present:   Laurie Lago

Members Present:   None

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:03pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the June 2020 meeting were presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Amber Morgan.
Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted & Passed

Business Report – Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

 

Field Report – Report presented in writing.

Gaston Bridge Project – The project went out to bid and the construction company selected was Legacy Contracting Inc. They were the lowest responsible bidder at $1,893,744.35. They also are the company that completed the USFW bridge project right next to the Gaston Bridge. Our original engineers estimate for the waterline work, not including mobilization and project management costs, was $184,115.00. Bid came back at $165,761.00. Project is expected to start August 15th.

Bald Peak Main Line Repair (after hours) – Customer drove a piece of rebar into our line resulting in a call-out on a Friday night. Only 4 customers were affected by shut-off of that section, so water was shut-off for the remainder of the night and the crew came in early Saturday morning and ended up having to replace a 10ft section of line because the rebar caused the line to splinter horizontally. Person who damaged line is not a customer and has been billed for the damage.

PRV Fail on Bald Peak (after hours) – Called out for high pressures on bald peak. The 6” PRV had failed. Diverted water through the 2” bypass PRV and pressures stabilized. Parts to repair the 6” PRV on the way.

Leak on Bald Peak – The high pressure from the PRV fail caused a leak further down the line which required replacement of a 5ft section of 6” pipe.

Fire Hydrants Testing and Evaluation – Crew did pressure tests, gallon per minute testing, and use ability evaluation on all remaining fire hydrants. Attached report included for discussion.

Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

New Business

1. Leak Credits – Submitted in writing
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mike Steffl. Voted & Passed

2. Request to transfer a certificate from one lot to another – Customer owns 5 lots, four with certificates, asking to transfer one certificate from one lot to another.
Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed

3. Fire Hydrant Use Report – Reviewed report showing GPM & PSI and discussed affect on system.
Motion to put signage next to any hydrant that has enough PSI & GPM to fill a tanker and remove any hydrant that can not support the filling of a tanker without adverse effects to our system made by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted & Passed

Other Business

1. Staff member requested selling the older flatbed trailers, decision made to keep as backup.

2. Customer’s husband passed away and she no longer wants the inactive water certificate. They received the certificate in lieu of easement, so no cost to the Co-op. Customer to submit letter releasing interest in the certificate for file.

Motion to Adjourn by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted and Passed
Meeting Adjourned at 7:20pm

Board Meeting Minutes – June 25, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD June 25, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.

Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Linda Fountain, Mark Franzen, Ken Aberle, Thomas Gunn, Michael Steffl

Board Members Absent: Malcolm Moreno, Amber Morgan, Lisa Dutz

Staff Present: Laurie Lago

Members Present: None

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:03pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the May 2020 meeting was presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Tom Gunn.

Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – Report presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

Business Report – Report presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Field Report – Report presented in writing.

Gibson Pump House The drive that tells the pump house when to pump up to next reservoir, burnt up and 2 reservoirs were almost empty when we discovered it. Called Brightside out and they were able to repair the same day and water was restored with only one customer noticing slight pressure decrease.

Lambert Pump House – Piping blew out on Pump #2 which is the one that was leaking. Blown piping was a result of the drive issue at Gibson. When the system kicked back after the drive repair, the pressure surge blew the piping on that pump. The pump had been piped by a previous employee and PVC pipe was used which was the incorrect material for the job. Pumps should be plumbed with galvanized or brass. Hurley was not responding promptly on the leaking pump, so we called HPS when the piping blew. They responded quickly and have pulled the pump, unfortunately the pump is too old to get parts and we need to replace the pump. Pump Cost $4258.33 and Kyle will replumb with brass.

ARV Valve on Dixon Mill – An Air Release Valve on Dixon Mill was hit by Washington County Road crew while mowing. Our box was not clearly marked so unable to charge repair to Washington County. Crew repaired and are reviewing markings in other areas to be sure they are clearly visible.

Poppy Road Main Line Damaged – Customer hit our main line while trenching, line repaired and customer billed.

Weekend Callout for Cloudy Water – determined it was sediment from mainline break the day before that cleared after additional flushing.

Pump House Maintenance – Due to the continuous problems with the pump houses recently, Kyle is going through each pump house and making notes of any and/or all deficiencies that we need to look at addressing.

Bald Peak Leak – A line bored under the road up at Bald Peak which has been fixed previously is leaking again and undermining the road. We will be hiring AT Underground to assist in boring under the road and replacing the twice repaired line with a new line.

City of Hillsboro Testing Shutdown – The City of Hillsboro and the Joint Water Commission are planning to perform Breaker Testing at the WTP next week. Starting Tuesday, June 23rd the JWC WTP will shut down around 7:30 am and expect to be offline for 6-8 hours. This will continue both Wednesday the 24th and Thursday the 25th. If the work is not completed in this time frame, we may need another shutdown on Friday the 26th.

They have supplied a “Mitigation Plan” and will be providing a daily status report starting the afternoon of Tuesday the 23rd once they are back online, regarding how things went with the breaker testing, system demands and forecasts, Fernhill Reservoir levels and any other pertinent information that is worth sharing.

Kyle is working on making sure all reservoirs are full before each shut off and will be monitoring our system closely to ensure no area on our system runs out of water.

Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

Old Business

  1. Fire Hydrants – In discussion with Dave Nemeyer of Tualatin Valley Fire District to leave hydrants that are usable for tank filling with signs posted. Dave is agreeable to that possibility and we are in the process of compiling information he requested then we will meet to discuss options.

New Business

  1. New Certificate Requests – Elsinore Lane – Motion to tentatively approve for 30 days on condition of purchase and close of property, by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted & Passed

Motion to Adjourn by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted and Passed

Meeting Adjourned at 6:30pm

Board Meeting Minutes – May 28, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD May 28, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.

Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Linda Fountain, Amber Morgan, Mark Franzen, Thomas Gunn, Michael Steffl, Lisa Dutz

Board Members Absent: Malcolm Moreno, Ken Aberle

Staff Present: Laurie Lago

Members Present: None

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:16pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the April 2020 meeting was presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Amber Morgan.

Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – April reports presented.

Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

Business Manager’s Report – Report presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

Operations Manager’s Report – The field manager’s report was presented in writing.

  • Meter Reading – The Laptop has checked out as being ok and it was the Sensus VGB unit that was malfunctioning. Sensus gave us a loaner VGB for this month’s reads and took ours in for repair.

  • Dixon Mill Pump – The pump that was replaced in April started failing. Turned out to be a faulty pump and is being replaced under warranty. HPS has provided and installed a back-up pump in the interim until the other pump is replaced.

  • New Meter Tap – Tapped meter on Albertson Road which required boring under the road. Customer hired AT Underground for boring, which we have worked with in the past, and installation went smoothly.

  • Lambert Pump House – Pump #2 is leaking. Hurley engineering will be attempting to fix the pump, possibly will have to replace.

  • Hartley Road Monitor Meter Install – Installed 3” monitoring meter and re-routed the line on Hartley road to replace the meter that had blown out back in November when the mainline broke. Completed landscape repair from break during the winter and the recent repair.

  • Edna Lane Subdivision – Did locating and potholing on Edna Lane to determine line size and location to update maps and be ready for meter hook-ups for the 4 lots for sale on that road. Informed developer that all customers will need PRV’s and Double Check Vales installed on customer side of the meter.

  • Shop and Grounds Clean-up – Any spare time Kyle and Mason have they been working on cleaning up around the shop and grounds. They have taken loads of metal in for recycling and garbage to the dump. They are also working on organizing all inventory and making sure we have commonly used items on hand to eliminate the needs for numerous trips to town for parts when working a job or emergency call-outs.

Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

Old Business

  1. OAWU rate study – Spoke with Tim regarding the one year review – they will freeze the one year and check back with us in the 4th Quarter, due to the economic situation.

  1. Astleford Easement & Fire Hydrant Letter – Working with Fire Department to confirm Hydrant can be used for tanker fill only.

New Business

  1. Leak Credits – Tom Gunn moved to review cost of water and adjust leak credit if needed and send out credits. Seconded by Mike Steffl. Voted & Passed
  2. Two New Certificate Requests – Bald Peak & Flett Rd – Motion to deny based on storage capacity, by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted & Passed
  3. Storage Capacity requirements for new certificates – discussion but no motions

Motion to Adjourn by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted and Passed

Meeting Adjourned at 7:10pm

Executive Session Held

Board Meeting Minutes – April 23, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD APRIL 23, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.

Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Ken Aberle, Linda Fountain, Amber Morgan, Mark Franzen, Thomas Gunn, Michael Steffl, Lisa Dutz

Board Members Absent: Malcolm Moreno

Staff Present: Laurie Lago, Kyle Culley

Members Present: None

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:01pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Officers were elected:

President/Chair – Don Wicks

Vice President – Ken Aberle

Secretary – Linda Fountain

Treasurer – Amber Morgan

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the March 2020 meeting was presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Linda Fountain.

Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – March reports presented.

Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted & Passed

Business Manager’s Report – Report presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Operations Manager’s Report – The field manager’s report was presented in writing.

  • Meter Reading – The Sensus laptop crashed and after several attempts to repair, we ended up having to hand read approx. 300 meters, which caused the March billing to be delayed a week. Due dates were extended for March and Sensus is working to have the laptop repaired before we read in April.

  • Dixon Mill Pump –Kyle met with both Brightside Electric and HPS to determine the correct size pump and set-up which should prevent the problems we have been having from occurring again. The new pump was installed.

  • Laurelwood Line Extension – This line was completed and the 5 inactive certificates made active.

  • LaSalle Road Meter Repair – Customer with broken line, turned off our side of the meter and broke the valve. Crew repaired the meter and we are charging customer for repairs.

  • Electrical needs – Brightside Electric has been very responsive and we will continue to work with them for electrical needs. Kyle has been talking with Jerry Nethkin (our old electrician and he is willing to teach and assist Kyle so Kyle can trouble shoot alarms and know how to read the codes. Something our field tech’s need to understand.

  • Leak Detection Equipment – Purchased leak detection equipment for $1498.00. Leak Detection companies were costing us an average of $500 per call out when using the same type of equipment we just purchased. The crew has started proactively working leaks when they have spare time and have already confirmed 3 suspected leaks and are investigating a possible 4th. This will be a great tool for locating or confirming leaks.

  • Gaston Bridge Project – This project is still slated to start this summer. In talks with our Engineer (Denny @ WestTech) and the Project Manager for Washington County (Andrew Morris) for the project.

I don’t believe the Board had been kept fully apprised of the scope of the work involved

and the cost to L.A. Water Coop by the previous operations manager. I have provided

below a breakdown of the estimated costs totaling $247,358.00.

The IGA agreement for the project with Washington County was presented. Washington County has agreed to extend us a payment plan to pay off our portion of the project over a 5 year period.

Gaston Bridge Project Budget Estimate

Our Engineer’s Cost Estimate (details attached)

$ 169,745.00

Subtract our Engineer’s Mobilization Estimate

$ (16,500.00)

Add Washington County’s Mobilization Estimate

$ 30,000.00

IGA/Design Cost

$ 16,113.00

Est. WA County 12% fee for managing (reduced from normal 15%)

$ 20,000.00

Our Engineer’s Fees Estimate (WestTech)

$ 28,000.00

Estimated Total Job Cost

$ 247,358.00

Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Old Business

  1. OAWU rate study – Informing Tim we are holding off on rate increases due to the current economic situation. Will speak to him about extending our 1 year follow-up time.

  1. Astleford Easement & Fire Hydrant Letter – Lawyer reviewing. Do flow test and confer with Fire Department.

New Business

  1. Board Member Voting Results – Linda Fountain, Ken Aberle, and Tom Gunn were re-elected.
  2. Leak Credits – Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed
  3. Request to Sell Back Certificate – Motion to Approve buy back of certificate less Hillsboro SDC Charges and current account balance by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Tom Gunn
  4. New Certificate Request – Motion to deny based on supply evaluation by staff, by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed
  5. Gaston Bridge Project IGA – Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed
  6. Discussion on how to make the board meetings available to members during this social distancing mandate. Due to the difficulty of large online meetings, members who have issue to address the board with will be sent an invite to join the meeting for their specific session. To be re-evaluated each month until this is over.
  7. Discussion on looking at the budget and seeing if we can cut back in areas due to the economic downturn. Reminded staff to hold off on any purchases that can be delayed at this time.

Motion to Adjourn by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted and Passed

Meeting Adjourned at 7:06pm

Board Meeting Minutes – March 26, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD MARCH 26th, 2020 VIA ZOOM DUE TO COVID-19 SOCIAL DISTANCING MANDATES

Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Ken Aberle, Linda Fountain, Amber Morgan, Mark Franzen, Lisa Dutz, Michael Steffl

Board Members Absent: Thomas Gunn, Malcolm Moreno

Staff Present: Laurie Lago

EXECUTIVE SESSION ONLY

Board Meeting Minutes – February 27, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD FEBRUARY 27, 2020 AT THE GASTON FIRE HALL.

Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Ken Aberle, Linda Fountain, Amber Morgan, Mark Franzen, Thomas Gunn, Michael Steffl

Board Members Absent: Lisa Dutz, Malcolm Moreno

Staff Present: Kris Conway, Laurie Lago

Members Present: Lester & Julia Hannah, Jim Hinze, Jonathon Douglas

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:03pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the January 2020 meeting was presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report – January reports presented.

Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Business Manager’s Report – Report presented in writing.

Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed

Operations Manager’s Report – The field manager’s report was presented by Kris Conway.

  • Emergency Repair Callout – Dixon Mill Rd, leak on customer side

  • Hydrant removals – 7 hydrants were removed this month – During removal of the hydrant at the intersection of Bald Peak and Laurelwood there was an undocumented line with meter taps off the hydrant line that was hit during removal. This caused water outage for a few hours while we repaired the line.

  • Sampling conclusion with county – will still do extra testing through March, then we can go back to normal sampling schedule. Requested that some retraining is done with staff to ensure sampling is being done correctly.

  • Gaston Bridge Project – Washington County has completed 90% of the planning process for the bridge project which includes LA Waters’ design standards in regard to a new water line.

  • Clamped joint on Quail Run – Leak detection found joint leak on Quail Run which was repaired. Did not fix the water loss problem entirely.

  • Installed In-line valve on Quail Run Dr. – This was done to isolate a section of line which seems to have multiple leaks, which it did verify that the water loss is coming from that stretch of line. Currently pricing out if the best option is to continue to pay for leak detection and repairs leaks one by one, or just replace that full section of line.

  • Hydrant training for team – North Plains Public Works invited the crew to attend Fire Hydrant training with their staff. They spent an afternoon learning about the inner workings of fire hydrants and proper maintenance.

  • Water tap Mellott – Installed meter for new residence on Mellott.

Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed

Old Business

  1. OAWU rate study – Rate analysis from Tim Tice received and reviewed.

  1. Jet Pay – customers are starting to us, working well.

  1. Bill Pay vs Checks – Business Manager researched and bill pay can be done, but recommended with such a small office staff it would not be recommended for security purposes.

New Business

  1. New Certificate Requests – 3 certificate requests presented. One certificate approved with the condition they install a cistern to cover storage shortage on Jordan Resevour that they would be drawing from, as Jordan is over capacity. Other 2 certificates approved. One member spoke regarding certificates and wanted to know why we were not approving past capacity. A discussion was had regarding our state requirements and the process used to determine whether a tank has capacity or not.

Motion to approve one certificate with conditions and 2 certificates as normal by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Amber Morgan Voted & Passed

  1. Astleford Easement & Fire Hydrant Letter – Send to legal for advice.

Motion to send to legal by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mike Steffl.

Voted & Passed

  1. Caselle Software – Business Manager researched and while the program is a very good accounting and billing software, it is very expensive and at this time would not be a good use of our money with as many other infrastructure needs pending.

Motion to Adjourn by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted and Passed

Meeting Adjourned at 7:47pm

Executive Session Held

Board Meeting Minutes – January 23, 2020

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD JANUARY 23, 2020 AT THE GASTON FIRE HALL.

Board Members Present:   Don Wicks, Ken Aberle, Linda Fountain, Lisa Dutz, Mark Franzen, Thomas Gunn, Michael Steffl

Board Members Absent:   Amber Morgan, Malcolm Moreno

Staff Present:   Kris Conway, Kyle Culley, Laurie Lago

Members Present:   Cam Dutz,

This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:00pm by Don Wicks, Chairman

Secretary’s Report:   The minutes of the December 2019 meeting was presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Mark Franzen. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted & Passed

Treasurer’s Report:    End of year P&L statement presented.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Votes & Passed

Business Manager’s Report:   Report presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted & Passed
Laurie Lago informed the board she was looking into options for handling bad debt collections .

Operations Manager’s Report:   The field manager’s report was presented by Kris Conway.

  • Emergency Repair Callout – Hartley road had a mainline break, large rock underground shifted and broke line. Leak on customer side on 405th Place.
  • Capital Planning 2020 – East Gaston Bridge Project moving forward.
  • Quail Run Leaks – 5 joint separations repaired which will save an estimated 50K gallons of water loss.
  • Southwind Leak – broken pipe found and repaired which will save and estimated 20K gallons of water loss.
  • Dixon Mill – pump and pressure switch replaced.
  • Equipment Maintenance – Currently having maintenance done on equipment in preparation for the spring and summer, which is our busy time for projects.
  • Sample complications

Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted & Passed

 

Old Business

  1. OAWU rate study – Rate analysis from Tim Tice – Don to work with Tim to complete to present at next meeting so we can have something ready for the Annual Meeting.
  2. Bald Peak property buyer wanting to move easement – Proposed new spot is a low point and there is concern about it being too low and would require pumping if needed for Bald Peak back-up. Motion to deny moving easement by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Mike Steffl. Voted & Passed. Kris Conway to notify property buyer.
  3. Hydrant replacement – 5 hydrants on list to complete in February
  4. Jet Pay – RVS has sent CD for update – Loaded and successfully transferred files, working, but security not ideal. Working with RVS & Jet Pay to fix. Do not want to spend much more money or time if we are planning on changing systems. Look into removing one-time payment option which is the security issue.
  5. QuickBooks – Waiting on server

 

New Business

  1. Leak Credits:
    Baughman – Not approving bill reimbursement with explanation but Leak Credit is approved
    Spry – approved
    Motion to approve by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed
  2. A/P Checks:   Laurie Lago to check bylaws and legal issues on non-profits doing online payments.
  3. Hartley Road Leak:   Kris Conway explained break and repairs and showed pictures.
  4.  Lab Results:  Kris Conway – hot (chlorine) lab samples – our test showing .5 but lab coming up with 10.0 – flushed line thoroughly – switched out sample bottles for new ones and test came back clean. Appears to be bad sample bottles. Kris Conway will be meeting with State regarding bad samples on Friday 1/24/20.
  5. 2019 Total Water Loss Report:   Kris Conway – Presented last ten years, shows that we are down from last year.
  6. East Gaston Bridge Project, Phase 1:   Kris Conway –This will impact capital projects. 16K for IGA and design to Washington County needs to be approved by board. 25K if WestTech Engineering does the work, cost effective to have Washington County do the work.
    Motion to approve the 16K by Ken Aberle. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed.
  7. New Certificate Request:   Kris Conway – Due to storage shortage at Jordan Reservoir, it was recommended to deny and provide customer with all options and cost details.
    Motion to deny certificate by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted & Passed

 

 

Motion to Adjourn by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted and Passed

Meeting Adjourned at 7:40pm

Board Meeting Minutes – December 19, 2019

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L. A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD DECEMBER 19, 2019 AT THE GASTON FIRE HALL.

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Don Wicks, Ken Aberle, Tom Gunn, Linda Fountain, Lisa Dutz, Amber Morgan, and Mike Steffl.

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Malcolm Moreno

STAFF PRESENT: Kris Conway

STAFF ABSENT: Laurie Lago

MEMBERS PRESENT: Cam Lutz

This meeting of the L. A. Water Cooperative Board of Directors was called to order at 6:00 PM by Don Wicks, Chairman.

Secretary’s Report: The minutes of the November 2019 meeting was presented in writing.

Motion by Mike Steffl to accept the minutes. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted and passed.

Treasurer’s Report: P&L statement was presented in writing. Jones & Roth will be generating the 990 for this year and next year the Cooperative will switch to using Pedro’s services. The finances are looking very good based on a comparison of 2019 budget to actuals. The 2020 budget will be entered into QuickBooks so the comparison to actuals can be done frequently.

Motion by Linda Fountain to accept the minutes. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted and passed.

Business Manager’s Report: The business manager’s report was presented in writing.

Motion by Tom Gunn to accept the Business Manager’s report. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted and passed.

Our attorney is to be contacted to find out if there is a statute of limitations on outstanding debits. What, if any, other criteria may be involved in determining the viability of aging debits.

Field Manager’s Report: The Field Manager’s Report was presented by Kris Conway.

Motion by Amber Morgan to accept the Field Manager’s Report as presented. Seconded by Linda Fountain. Voted. Passed.

Dixon Mill Pump re-plumbing: The pump was previously installed improperly and required re-plumbing.

A pressure switch was installed on Dixon Mill Road.

Leak Detection was done on Quail Run based on readings from the master meter. Two joints had separated. The repairs took the water loss down from 100,000 gallons to 30,000 gallons.

Service was installed on View Ridge.

Installed and air relief valve on the new lower section of the Laurelwood line.

Cleaned up all but one of the job sites from the Parmele project.

Addressed an electrical issue at Lambert.

Continued to meet with Washington County regard the bridge project on Gaston Road. The plans are approximately 70% complete.

Worked with Amber Morgan, Don Wicks, and Laurie Lago on the 2020 budget.

Reviewed Tim Tice’s analysis.

Don Wicks asked how Bright Side Electric is working out. This is the company that replaced Jerry Nethken. Kris Conway said they were working out well and keeping in touch with Jerry as needed. They have been very responsive. Bright Side is pulling data and have access to everything. They have set up data logs to show trending. They are supposed to present their first reporting by Jane 15, 2020.

OLD BUSINESS

1. OAWU rate Study:
Linda Fountain was asked to redo the original rate study spreadsheet. The new sheet to include the lowest and highest months, removing members who receive “special deals”, and members who left in the middle of a month. This sheet will exclude the electric surcharge but include both Options 1 and 2. Once the spreadsheet is available Don Wicks, Amber Morgan, Linda Fountain and Laurie Lago will do the first review.

2. Potential buyer of Bald Peak Road property asking to have easement removed. Laurie Lago and Kris Conway to send a joint letter explaining that the easement cannot be removed as additional capacity is needed for the area.

3. Jet Pay: RVS has provided a CD with updates for the Jet Pay processing. The CD can also be used to install RVS on the new PC.

4. QuickBooks: Still need to make a decision on with to use a server or purchase multi-user licensing.

 

NEW BUSINESS.

1. Leak Credits: Linda Fountain provided four potential leak credits in writing.
Motion by Tom Gunn to approve the four leak credits. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted and passed.

2. 2020 Budget: Amber Morgan provided copies of the proposed 2020 budget.
Motion by Tom Gunn to approve the 2020 budget as presented. Seconded by Ken Aberle. Voted and passed.

3. Hillsboro Fee Schedule Adjustments:  For purposes of potential buy back of a Water Certificate, the original purchase price (excluding the Hillsboro SDC) should be printed on the face of the Water Certificate when purchased. Need to review the By-Laws. Confirm there is no buy back option for Water Certificates transferred to new owner. Review the Kenneth Fowler buy back to determine what amount is on the face of his water certificate. On April 1, 2020 the Cooperative’s Water Service form must be updated with the new SDC amount. New Fee Schedules for 2020: Base price of water certificate remains the same as 2019 ($13,812) and the Hillsboro SDC will remain at $8,657, until April 1, 2020 when it will decrease to the new rate of $6,939. Motion by Tom Gunn to approve the changes for the 2020 Fee Schedule. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted and passed

OTHER BUSINESS

NONE

MOTION by Tom Gunn to adjourn at 7:35 p.m. Seconded by Mark Franzen. Voted. Passed.