Facilities Committee Minutes – October 8, 2015
For your consideration, please review the minutes for the Facilities Committee Meeting from October 8, 2015:
BGJWSC_Facilities_Committee_Minutes_October_8,_2015
To read the minutes, please open or download the pdf from the link above or you may see more below:
PRESENT: Ronnie Perry, Chairman
Clifford Adams, Commissioner
David Ford, Commissioner
Todd Kline, Senior Engineer
Steve Swan, Executive Director
ALSO PRESENT: Donald Elliott, Commissioner
Chairman Perry called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
There being no citizens who wished to address the Commission, Chairman Elliott closed the Public Comment Period.
Commissioner Perry and Pam Crosby introduced Janice Meridith as the Purchasing Directors Assistant. She began her position on Monday. The Committee welcomed Janice to JWSC.
ADOPT:
Commissioner Ford made a motion seconded by Commissioner Elliott to add item #5 to Discussion Elevated Storage Tank.
Commissioner Ford made a motion seconded by Commissioner Elliott to adopt the minutes of the September 24, 2015 Facilities Committee meeting. Motion carried 3-0-0.
DISCUSSION
RED LG Project Update – S. Swan
Steve Swan updated the committee on the RED LG Project which includes water improvements at the airport. It involves tying the City and County systems together which were never done. It is a 6.3M dollar project. The funding is fronted by the USDA in Washington, DC. It will create 60 jobs and an additional 60 more when it is up and running. The letters from Thomas & Hutton and Rob Roberson and Associates were discussed. It was stated that funds are not available yet but soon will be. There is no word as to when funding will be available but is recommended that we go ahead and start the projects and then be reimbursed. Mr. Swan suggested a conditional letter in writing be received from USDA, which is the funding source.
Pinova Update – A. Walker
Steve Swan updated the committee on the water discharge in which Ashland and Hercules were asking for ground water discharge under their current permit. JWSC had asked for a cease and desist on the project until further adequate information was provided. JWSC staff met with each party, the attorney’s plus and Brown and Caldwell requesting certain information. Angela Walker, introduced the letter from Scott Recker stating Hercules is evaluating other options and avenues. They would like to keep the line of communications open with JWSC.
AVANTI Benefits of Manhole and Pipeline Rehabilitation – D. Rigby, Avanti
Don Rigby of Avanti presented strategies in addressing I&I (infiltration & inflow) and discussed the various kinds of grout. He stated there are 4 major points of entry where water will leak out of a system or water will intrude into a system: Manhole, joints, service line connections, first few feet of the service line. Don Rigby discussed grouting, processes, benefits of using acrylic grouts for mainlines and laterals, and costs. The staff was able to review and believe it is well worth looking into. Kirk Young explained that recently a line was found to contain a lot of soot. The soot is not coming from home owners flushing but from a system that is not tight. A grout approach will stop the migration of soot and this increases our capacity at the treatment plant.
A handout was provided of the Manhole Count for JWSC. It was noted that Brunswick is included in the Mainland count, and then there is Brunswick City proper and Glynn County.
Utility Services, Inc. Contract Update – P. Crosby
Pam Crosby updated the Committee on the Utility Service Group, Inc. and the 30 day follow up meeting. Utility Services, Inc is the contractor that maintains the water tanks. It was previously discussed by the Commission that the contract will need to go out as an RFP for this service. We have a year left on their contract and they presented an update on the general deficiencies that were found and they are addressing our questions and concerns. The Work Plan schedule was discussed on each tank location. Industry standards indicate a 4 – 6 year contract is usual. JWSC will be following behind to review work and an outside company will be contracted to review completed work as well.
St. Simons Island Elevated Storage Tank – B. Simmons / T. Kline
Billy Simmons updated the committee on the SSI / Demere water tower. The issue of elevation is something that needs to be discussed. It was always known that the Oglethorpe tank was always higher in elevation then the Demere tank. The Oglethorpe tank is in dyer need for changes as the overflow is 18.55 feet higher. If the Demere tank is leveled by jacking up the five legs it will allow the tanks to drain at the same rate. We can operate at this time but the water in the Demere tank is not being used properly due to the differences in elevation. The plan is to verify elevations, obtain costs estimates, and prepare an RFP. The staff wanted to bring to the committees attention.
Director’s Update
Mr. Swan updated the Committee on the Master Plan draft presentation scheduled for November 5th. It may be a full day workshop and we can invite the County and the City to listen and develop questions and finalize our master plan. Once the flow presser information is received on the Brookman facility it will take approximately 2 weeks to finalize the numbers.
Mr. Swan updated the Committee on the Pinova / Terry Creek project and the open records request from Hercules, EPD, and EPA. We received records of documentation showing test results with traces of benzene and actone. JWSC requested Hercules to fund water to the 14 (or more) residents. The cost estimate for the tap fees would be approx. 800K.
Mr. Swan updated the committee on the Dunbar Creek Waste Water Treatment Facility. For the last 30 days the island received approx. 25 + inches of rain. The factors causing this increase were the high tide, blood moon, and hurricane off the coast. The combination of all three items created a severe I&I situation. The facility processed approximately 13.5 million gallons in an hour. Our engineering limits at the plant are 6.8 and exceeded our hydraulic limits. JWSC holds the permits for both treatment and water production and have obligation to the EPD, EPA and the public. JWSC decision on Friday to put water restrictions in place was a proactive move to reduce the high volumes being experienced at the plant. During the climbing numbers of millions of gallons being pushed through the systems JWSC did a lot of research. It was discovered that 3 manholes were opened in residential neighborhoods to relieve water. There are severe issues when the manholes are tampered with and we are bringing public awareness to the surface. The issues are: gas danger, dangerous water suction, environmental hazard, and it’s against the law to lift manholes. The notice of why the restrictions were necessary have been published in the paper as a follow up. The EPD approved and applauded JWSC for the pro-active actions.
There was additional discussion on expansions on SSI. Mr. Swan stated this could be part of the Master Plan to grow.
Meeting adjourned at 3:16 pm.