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Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Written by Janice Meridith on . Posted in Facilities Committee Minutes.

For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.

Facilities Committee Minutes 2-10-19 with Attachments

To read the minutes, please open or download the pdf from the link above, or you may see more below.

Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission

1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520

Commission Meeting Room

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 1:00 PM 

FACILITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES

PRESENT:                             

Ben Turnipseed, Chairman

Bob Duncan, Commissioner

Donald Elliott, Commissioner

Jimmy Junkin, Executive Director

Pam Thompson, Glynn County

Janice Meridith, Exec. Commission Administrator

MEDIA PRESENT:               

Pamela Permar Shierling, The Islander

Taylor Cooper, The Brunswick News

ABSENT:                               

Steve Copeland, Commissioner

Chairman Turnipseed called the meeting to order at 1:05 PM.

Chairman Turnipseed gave the invocation.  

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Commissioner Turnipseed closed the Public Comment Period.

Chairman Turnipseed advised that Discussion Item #1 would be presented first.

DISCUSSION

  1. Glynn County Growth Patterns – Pam Thompson, Glynn County Community Development

Pam Thompson the Glynn County Director of Community Development presented the discussion on Glynn County Growth Patterns.  She informed the Committee that the Glynn County Comprehensive Plan update was started in 2017 and was a 15 month process for completion.  This update is required every 10 years to be a qualified local government.  One product from the update was the Future Land Use Map which is based on input from citizens, growth patterns, and desirable usage.  This map was adopted by Glynn County in October 2018 and is available for viewing online.  Ms. Thompson gave an overview of the map, indicating the various areas of land use density and explaining the terms of density.  She also explained that regarding development, this area has just caught up with permitting levels of the years 2006 and 2007 during these past couple of years.  Commissioner Duncan asked how many units this was annually, and Ms. Thompson noted that for St. Simons Island growth is expected at 120 homes per year, but she would need to confirm the number for the mainland and overall Glynn County.  Commissioner Elliott requested a map indicating where permits are being issued which would then indicate exactly where the growth was, and Ms. Thompson will provide that at a later date.  

APPROVAL

  1. Wade Jurney Unsolicited Proposal Application – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin advised that Wade Jurney Homes, LLC is a developer that has plans to develop 41 homes in the Saddle Brooke Subdivision.  The developer has submitted an unsolicited proposal to provide capacity upgrades to PS4105 in order to provide services to these homes.  Even though the developer for Bergen Woods has already submitted an unsolicited proposal to increase the capacity at PS4105, which will provide just enough capacity to support Bergen Woods. Therefore, it will be necessary for additional upgrades to support capacity for the new homes in Saddle Brooke.  The approval requested at this time is for JWSC staff to accept the unsolicited proposal application and review the possibilities for force main upgrades.  JWSC staff has determined a possible most economical and reasonable solution for the force main upgrade, however the lines will need to be CCTV’d and inspected to ensure the condition is acceptable for this upgrade.  Mr. Junkin advised that if the unsolicited proposal is approved to move to full commission, then a separate approval would also need to be granted to have the lines CCTV’d of which quotes have already been received for.  Chairman Turnipseed noted he would like to receive a map of that area.

Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Chairman Turnipseed to move to direct the Executive Director to proceed with an unsolicited proposal from Wade Jurney Homes for an engineering solution that will support the addition of the 41 platted lots in the Saddle Brooke Community.  Motion carried 3-0-1.  (Commissioner Copeland was absent for the vote.)

Chairman Turnipseed made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to approve the necessary CCTV work contingent upon receiving a map of the area.  Motion carried 3-0-1.  (Commissioner Copeland was absent for the vote.)

  1. Property & Liability Insurance Renewal – Fred McGinty, McGinty-Gordon & Associates

Fred McGinty of McGinty-Gordon & Associates advised that the property & liability insurance renews on March 15th.  A firm proposal had been received on the liability insurance with Guard with that total premium $638 lower than last year.  The property insurance premium proposed with Ace American increased by 3% on the rate with the insured property values also increasing by 3%, causing a total increase of 6% in the premium.  Mr. McGinty suggested that he go back to Ace and propose to increase the property values by 3% but to keep the same rate as last year, and that he would go back to Ace with the request for consideration with the approval of the commissioners.  The cyber liability premium cost remained the same as from last year at $5,781. The commissioners requested that Mr. McGinty negotiate and request the modification to the proposal for property insurance as discussed.   It was also requested that Mr. McGinty provide one chart reflecting all the insurance premiums and information on one page.

  1. USGS Contract for 2019 Data Collection of WRMAC – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin provided a brief background history of the USGS Modeling and Data Collection regarding the salt plume in the Floridian Aquifer.  JWSC has contributed to this study each year as the main stakeholder providing public water.  It was requested that JWSC once again approach the other two largest stakeholders (Ga. Pacific and Pinova) to request their contributions to this effort.  The cost for this year’s agreement will be $60,000 on the part of JWSC and $60,000 provided to USGS through a federal grant.  USGS does require the matching funds in order to do the 2019 data collection.

Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Chairman Turnipseed to move to approve the Executive Director to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior and the USGS to continue a study on behalf of the JWSC for evaluation of the salt water plume impacting the Floridian Aquifer.  Motion carried 3-0-1.  (Commissioner Copeland was absent for the vote.)

DISCUSSION cont.

  1. Engineering Selection RFP for Academy Creek WPCF and Dunbar Creek WPCF Status –J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin provided that a draft had been prepared for review for the engineering services for Academy Creek WPCF and Dunbar Creek WPCF improvements.  He briefly explained the information as contained within the packet provided. Mr. Junkin then summarized the anticipated improvements, priorities and costs for each of the plants.  There was further discussion regarding the consolidation of inventory and improved inventory control in the warehouse at Academy Creek, as well as staffing and operations efficiencies.  The RFPs are expected to be ready for advertisement at the end of the month contingent upon finalized reviews. 

  1. RFP for St. Simons Island Smoke Testing & Dye Testing Study – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin advised that the proposals for the Smoke & Dye Testing Study on St. Simons Island were received at noon that same day.  The responses had been opened and the lowest responsive bidder was McKim & Creed who recently completed the flow monitoring on St. Simons Island.  JWSC is very familiar with McKim & Creed as they have done other work for JWSC in the past as well.  McKim & Creed’s quoted price for this study was $119,656 as compared to Gulf Coast Underground at $189,221.  JWSC staff will complete their evaluation of the proposals.  Mr. Junkin is to confirm the possible start date for McKim & Creed’s proposal, and he did note that the duration of the project was to be 180 days from the start date. It was agreed that this item should be forwarded to the commission for approval.

Chairman Turnipseed made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to award this study to McKim & Creed and place it on the full commission agenda.  Motion carried 3-0-1.  (Commissioner Copeland was absent for the vote.)

  1. SPLOST 2016 North Mainland District Sewer Improvements Project Phases 2 & 3 –
  2. Junkin

Mr. Junkin advised that the submissions for the engineering selection RFP for the North Mainland Phases II & III are due on February 27th.   

Chairman Turnipseed requested to discuss item #6 next. 

  1. Presentation on Whitlock Avenue Interceptor Video – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin noted that the contractor has completed the video of the Whitlock Avenue line.  He provided that most of the lines have liners and the pipes that are lined are in good shape, as well as most of the concrete sections.  The main exception was the possibility of leakage around the flanges, of which external grouting can repair if necessary.  Mr. Junkin further commented that manholes were identified to be in need of rehabilitation, but pictures and videos of the manholes have not been received as of yet.  The full report is due on March 1st.

Chairman Turnipseed then asked Mr. Junkin about the remaining work on the SPLOST 2016 Project with expected costs of $11.2M being reassessed due to not as much work being needed on Whitlock Avenue as anticipated.  JWSC may be able to save some of the Capital Improvement Funds that were expected to be applied towards supplementing the SPLOST funds on the project. 

  1. RFP for Sewer Expansion – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin summarized that the RFP has been drafted for this project.  He provided 3 exhibits showing the 3 areas that would be studied for sewer expansion and mentioned that the study will be looking at low pressure systems versus gravity systems to sewer these areas providing costs on a per household basis. Staff will be considering water service expansion into these areas as well on a per household basis.  Commissioner Elliott asked about the areas on the west side of I-95 and south of 25 that also have issues but were not included.  Mr. Junkin noted he thought about those as well, however was addressing the specific areas within a particular boundary of existing service, and he added that additional areas can be added to the study.  The RFP is expected to be available for release at the end of the month depending on final reviews.  After the analysis is complete and estimates are provided, there will be meetings with the community. 

  1. Water & Sewer Engineering & Construction Standards Revisions Status – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin summarized that within the next month the compiling should be completed, drafted and have third party vetting and review.  It would then be provided in draft form to community stakeholders for feedback.  Final drafting would incorporate that feedback and the presentation should be ready for the Commission by June 2019.

  1. Water Meter Replacement Considerations – GPC Proposal Review – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin provided that Commissioner Duncan, Commissioner Stephens, Andrew Burroughs and he met with representatives from Georgia Power the previous week to discuss their system.  JWSC is in need of looking at an overall replacement program for the meters and registers.  He noted that JWSC has been moving towards Metron’s cellular technology which provides basically a built-in ability to get AMI results out of the meters already on hand without a booster station or relay stations.  Currently about 150 batteries are dying per month and about 2,000 meters already need to be manually read by staff.  Mr. Junkin commented that the current program used by JWSC as compared with the GPC program calculate to be about the same cost, within $200,000, over a 20 year period.  There were some questions that still need to be answered such as will the telemetry equipment used by GPC can be applied to the Baxter meters already in use by JWSC.  GPC is to advise if their GPC Sensus approach will work with the various sizes and types of meters currently in use by JWSC, of which staff has provided the information to GPC.  Final questions arise from the customer service aspect which are to be addressed.  Commissioner Duncan noted that when this was addressed at the previous Commission meeting, it was deferred to go to the Facilities Committee and to return to the full Commission on the next meeting after that, however this subject matter is not ready to return back to full Commission yet.  

  1. EPD Waste Load Allocation for New North Mainland WPCF – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin commented that Andrew Burroughs had sent a request to the Georgia EPD for an extension on both of the waste load allocations. 

  1. Current Maps – Areas without Water and/or Sanitary Sewer Service – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin presented the current map indicating the areas in Glynn County without water and/or sanitary sewer service and briefly explained the map legend.  The maps will be available for reference. 

  1. Updated Master Plan Asset Scorecard by Pertinent JWSC Staff – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin advised the he and appropriate staff had each completed a scorecard regarding the condition of water and sewer assets.  Their scores were cumulated and compared with the scores applied by Four Waters Engineering in the Master Plan.  There was discussion regarding the criteria for assessment, alignment with the improvement plan, the broadness of the evaluation, subjective judgements, a more defined rating of the assets, areas with deficiencies being identified enough to define a solution, prioritization, rehabilitation, funding, etc. 

  1. Project Report – J. Junkin

Mr. Junkin noted that there was little change in the reporting status of ongoing projects.  Projects are progressing as expected.  Chairman Turnipseed requested to see photos of construction in progress at the next facilities meeting. 

  1. WPCF Plant Flows Report – J. Junkin

There were no significant issues on the monthly plant flows report for the water pollution control facilities.  Commissioner Elliott requested the BOD to be superimposed on the graphical charts. 

  1. Map of Pre-Construction Projects – J. Junkin

The map of pre-construction projects was reviewed and discussed.  Chairman Turnipseed noted that he would like to see all of the projects that have had some engineering work done, but were placed on hold.  He would like to review the status of those projects and the reasons that some have not progressed to the construction phase.

APPROVAL cont.

  1. Property & Liability Insurance Renewal cont.

Fred McGinty of McGinty-Gordon & Associates had returned to his office and e-mailed the one page spreadsheet as promised with the details of the property and liability insurance renewals.  He had already contacted Ace American and negotiated for the property values to be increased by 3% and for the rates to be held at the same from the previous year.  Final result was an increase of only 3% in the premium for the property insurance with the liability insurance decreasing by $638.

Commissioner Duncan said he would support this renewal and made a motion seconded by Chairman Turnipseed to move this item to the full Commission on the next day.  A formal vote was not taken.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:24 p.m.