MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING OF L.A. WATER COOPERATIVE HELD December 17, 2020 VIA ZOOM ONLINE.
Board Members Present: Don Wicks, Linda Fountain, Mike Steffl, Amber Morgan, Tom Gunn
Board Members Absent: Lisa Dutz, Ken Aberle, Malcolm Moreno
Staff Present: Laurie Lago
Members Present: None
This meeting of the LA Water Cooperative was called to order at 6:10pm by Don Wicks, Chairman
Secretary’s Report – The minutes of the Nov. 2020 meetings were presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed
Treasurer’s Report – Presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Linda Fountain. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed
Operation Manager’s Reports – Business, Field, and Water Loss Reports presented in writing.
Motion to approve by Amber Morgan. Seconded by Tom Gunn. Voted & Passed
Field Report – Report presented in writing is below:
- Hydrants: Removed 2 of the inadequate hydrants.
- Gaston Bridge Project: Running behind schedule, new finish date is now January 15th. Over the next few weeks is when most of the water line work will be done.
- Gibson Pump House: Pad installed for Isolation Transformer which will be arriving any day. Brightside Electrical will be connecting transformer and then installing new drive.
- Muddy Gulch: Has been in constant alarm for the past year and not addressed as it was not affecting water supply. Previous operation manager had just disconnected the alarm light to prevent call outs. Kyle and Jerry have been working on figuring out the problem. Kyle downloaded the program and Jerry cannot see an issue. Ordered a new computer interface that will record everything in real time which should allow them to see what is triggering the problem alarm. We have these already in a few pump-houses, but not at Muddy Gulch.
- Bridgefarmer Pump House: Olsen Tank and Bridgefarmer pump house were not communicating correct levels. We had to manually turn pumps on and off for a few days while troubleshooting and even though we replaced the transducer recently that sends the tank level signals between the tank and pump house, it apparently got too cold and malfunctioned. We had a spare transducer in stock and it fixed the problem. The crew is now re-checking that all transducers are properly insulated on all tanks.
- Winter Projects: When weather is bad the crew will be completing the office side of the shop area. Ceiling insulation was not covered with plywood and is falling. They will be replacing all damaged insulation and finishing off interior roof and walls with plywood. They will also be cleaning and reorganizing the upstairs storage area.
NEW BUSINESS
- Leak Credits – Submitted in writing
Motion to approve by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed - Gaston Line Disconnection and Blow-off Installation – discussed if the previous desire to disconnect from Gaston is still an option as we need to add a blow off on that line for the completion of the Gaston Bridge Project. With the change in staff at L A Water and Gaston, contact the new water operator at Gaston and assess whether we can improve the working relationship between Gaston and LA Water, before deciding to disconnect.
- 2021 Budget – presented a recommended 2021 Budget for board review.
Motion to adjust Gaston Bridge line item and approve by Tom Gunn.
Seconded by Amber Morgan. Voted & Passed.
Other Business
- Water System Survey Report came back from the October Inspection. Only deficiency was state filing of the CCR’s for 2018 and 2019. Operations Manager confirmed 2019 was filed, but was submitted late and will check on status of 2018 and correct issue.
- Discussion on Annual Meeting and how to handle due to Covid. Looking at options. Also discussed ways to lower mailing and packet production costs.
- Customer had questions on swapping a certificate from one lot to another, reviewed policy.
Motion to Adjourn by Tom Gunn. Seconded by Mike Steffl. Voted and Passed
Meeting Adjourned at 6:51pm
