Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 15, 2019
For your consideration please read the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on Wednesday, May 15, 2019.
Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes 5-15-19 with Attachments
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Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission
1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520
Commission Meeting Room
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 10:00 AM
FACILITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES
PRESENT:
Ben Turnipseed, Chairman
Steve Copeland, Commissioner
Bob Duncan, Commissioner
Andrew Burroughs, Interim Executive Director
ALSO PRESENT:
Donald Elliott, Commissioner
Todd Kline, Director of Engineering
Ellis Zettler, Engineering Systems Analyst
Janice Meridith, Exec. Commission Administrator
MEDIA PRESENT:
Taylor Cooper, The Brunswick News
Pamela Permar-Shierling, The Islander
Chairman Turnipseed called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM.
Chairman Turnipseed provided the invocation.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Commissioner Turnipseed closed the Public Comment Period.
APPROVAL
- Minutes from Facilities Committee Meeting April 3, 2019
Commissioner Copeland made a motion seconded by Commissioner Duncan to approve the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on April 3, 2019. Motion carried 3-0-0.
- Minutes from Facilities Committee Executive Session April 3, 2019
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Copeland to approve the minutes from the Facilities Committee Executive Session held on April 3, 2019. Motion carried 3-0-0.
- Academy Creek Engineering RFP Recommendation Award – A. Burroughs
Mr. Burroughs advised that the recommendation was not ready at this time. Interviews with the proposing firms were conducted on Monday, May 13 and Tuesday, May 14. Reference checks and verification of some information was still in process and needed completion for a proper comparison. Mr. Burroughs advised that the recommendation will be ready for the next Facilities Committee Meeting.
- Harrington Lane Sewer Dedication Acceptance – T. Kline
Todd Kline presented the recommendation for infrastructure dedication. He explained that the private developer had extended the sewer infrastructure down Harrington Lane on St. Simons Island, at their cost and is now dedicating that infrastructure to JWSC. Mr. Kline added that it is all within the right of way and there was no easement dedication involved in this transfer of private assets to the public JWSC system. All necessary documents were provided within the packet of information for the committee to review in their decision to forward to the full Commission for official acceptance of ownership of the infrastructure.
Commissioner Duncan made a motion seconded by Commissioner Copeland to accept the dedication as submitted. Motion carried 3-0-0.
DISCUSSION
- SPLOST 2020 Recommended Projects Detail
Mr. Burroughs provided that the previous discussions on the possible SPLOST 2020 projects were an overview of those projects. Today, the discussion will pertain more to “where” those projects are going based on the City and County’s anticipated SPLOST 2020 projects. Mr. Burroughs noted that the specifics of exactly where their projects will actually be has not been provided yet. The City has indicated they will be doing paving and drainage improvements in the City. The County has provided an overall list of projects and will be holding a workshop in the next month to discuss the list further and determine priorities. JWSC staff will review the lists more closely when the details are provided. Mr. Burroughs then stated that for JWSC’s purposes, the need to rehab sewer lines in large portions of the county is important. He has asked the sewer crews to provide a list of the most immediate or catastrophic needs they see. He added that the gravity sewer lines crossing under Altama Avenue have been mentioned to him several times, that these lines have been TV’d and there are some issues there. Those could likely be on the project list for some CIPP work, as well as additional high priority CIPP work needed in the area. In the south area of Brunswick there are some old clay pipes with issues and deterioration and in need of rehab, but Mr. Burroughs added, not all of those lines have issues; as seen by the videos of the lines, some of the old clay pipes appear to be in very good condition. The work done will be very specific and not in entire basins, but only on lines in need of rehab. The area by the hospital does show significant amounts of inflow & infiltration (I&I) and more investigation will be done in that area. Mr. Burroughs also noted some water projects in neighborhoods off of Altama, such as Fairway Oaks and Beverly Shores where there are some old transite and galvanized lines that may need repair. Commissioner Duncan had previously suggested consolidated operations and emergency management area to be on the SPLOST project list. Mr. Burroughs provided that this was currently included in the proposals being reviewed for Academy Creek, but as there may not be enough money to do everything at Academy Creek on the proposed list, this could be shifted from that list to the SPLOST project list. Mr. Burroughs advised the committee that hopes are to provide more details, exhibits, and cost estimates on the projects for the SPLOST list, and he further noted that only lines that have been TV’d and identified as having a “4” or “5” defect in them would be considered for rehab on the SPLOST list.
Chairman Turnipseed requested to move the discussion on Smoke Testing up on the agenda for the staff present.
- Project Report / SSI Smoke Testing
Mr. Burroughs provided that the smoke testing on St. Simons Island began on May 1st and should be completed within the next day. Updates on what has been found have been provided on a daily basis. He noted that the door hangers were placed and everything seemed to be quietly moving along in the process. He stated that two significant cross connection issues have been found in front of The King & Prince where 6 storm grates are tied into the JWSC system for which JWSC will work with the County to determine the best means of addressing that issue. At St. Andrew’s Circle the tidal creek flows into the JWSC system when the tide is in, and this also needs to be addressed. He stated that taking care of those 2 issues would provide significant reductions in the inflow & infiltration. Ellis Zettler provided that also on St. Andrew’s Circle there is a storm drain cross connection. Mr. Burroughs indicated that about 30 broken cleanouts have been found, along with a substantial of missing cleanouts and those had already been replaced, while the broken cleanouts were mostly the lower ones of which JWSC construction crews would be repairing. Mr. Zettler’s report indicated a few “engineered” cleanouts that were set up for drainage of properties and likely set up by the property owners were found and would be addressed. Letters would be sent to those property owners who had issues needing to be taken care of such as upper cleanouts. There were a few broken laterals found as well as ground fissures which may be good candidates for lining. At this time, it appear that the findings are items with relatively quick and easy fixes. Mr. Zettler indicated that the vast majority of the issues found were on the public JWSC side of the system, aside from the number of upper cleanouts and internal plumbing issues to be addressed on private properties. Mr. Zettler also provided that about 50% of the length of the lines on St. Simons Island will have been smoke tested at the completion of this process, and clarified that all of the lines had been flow monitored but not all were deemed to need smoke testing for I&I. Chairman Turnipseed inquired about what was found from the smoke testing of the newer sections of the island and what was found in the older sections. Mr. Zettler advised that the older sections issues were more of the cross connections and ground fissures in the system. In the newer sections the issues were due more to improper installation of cleanouts, lines not being set properly, manhole issues, covers, etc.
- WPCF Plant Flows Report
Mr. Burroughs provided the report for the WPCF plant flows for the period ending April 2019. He noted a reduction in flow at Academy Creek likely due to the drier weather conditions, and resulting in an increase in the BOD with less I&I coming into the system. Mr. Burroughs recalled that at the last Facilities Committee meeting the elevated phosphorous levels were discussed and were noted to be due to the solids processing issues. Those levels remained elevated for the current monthly report, however he mentioned that the effluent levels were beginning to drop down. The drier weather has also reduced the flows at Dunbar Creek WPCF with the same results on the BOD as at Academy Creek. The Southport WPCF levels are doing well, yet still with some I&I issues to be addressed. Mr. Burroughs also commented that the dryer at Academy Creek is now running and only 4 days per week run time is necessary since the repairs have been done.
- Project Report
L Street Project – Todd Kline reported that the L Street project was moving along well and crews are now at Lee Street. There have been some unforeseen existing utilities discovered which there was no mapping for. Crews are working with the contractor on the routing. Final Completion on the waterlines is expected to be in the fall of 2019, with the entire project duration expected to be one year.
Magnolia Park Project – Mr. Kline advised that the City is working with the engineer on the final storm drain design for the bid package, which should be ready by late spring 2019. JWSC’s final design has been submitted.
SPLOST North Mainland Project – Mr. Burroughs advised that Thomas & Hutton expedited the engineering work and this project was placed for bid on Friday, May 10th. Bids are due back in 30 days with the contract award soon thereafter. This includes the structural lining for the RCP pipe and the manhole lining for the indicated sections. Mr. Burroughs noted that 6,000 feet of the 14,000 feet are to be lined, which based on the findings of the TV work done in the lines is less than the original estimate. The cost of lining is an estimated $250 to $300 per foot for this size of pipe.
SPLOST Pump Station 4003 – Mr. Burroughs advised that there were some issues with the incoming gravity line being lower than anticipated requiring adjustments to be made to that line. Due to this being a 42” line, it is coming in lower than desired, and may affect the chances of maintaining the existing lift station. This gravity line will be reduced to match the flow lines and inverts on the gravity instead of where it currently matches crowns so there will be adequate flow through the lines. Staff is looking at a couple of options for the wet well and lift station, with hopes of bringing advice and cost estimates to the next Facilities meeting regarding the options reviewed and recommended.
Pump Station 3114 – Mr. Burroughs informed the committee that all of the pumps and panels have arrived along with all necessary supplies for the job. Slabs for the panels are to be poured at the end of the week, and construction of covers to protect the panels has started. This station should be running on new pumps by the end of May 2019. This should add about 300 additional REU’s to this station without doing any work to the forcemain.
Whitlock Avenue Sewer Repair – Mr. Burroughs stated that all of the sewer repair work is complete on Whitlock Avenue, service is in place and paving is done. The line has been camera’d with JWSC staff onsite at the time to witness the flow. There were a total of 4 sinkholes on this line, 2 that were fairly substantial and 2 smaller ones. All 4 have been addressed.
Academy Creek Oxygen Project – Mr. Burroughs commented that this project had been on hold for a short while waiting on some issues with the tank, however new tanks are now in place. The new manifolds and LELs are due to be delivered on next Tuesday and should be installed within a week or two by Matheson. Staff is doing work on the valves. This project is expected to be complete by early June. The new tanks and system will reduce the amount of oxygen used at Academy Creek.
Ridgewood Water Production Facility – Mr. Kline stated that the proposal was received back from the original engineer of record and staff has reviewed it. He noted that the original proposal had an extended period of time in it, which was reduced to reflect what was seen in the construction of the Hampton Water Production Facility which is similar and had the same engineer of record. Mr. Kline also commented that staff would like to use the same engineer of record and that the original plans do need updating in the design. Staff will come back to the committee with recommendations on this project.
Sea Palms Water & Sewer Rehabilitation and Upgrade – Mr. Burroughs stated that the County does have the approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement for this project funding on their agenda for this week. The TV’ing should be done within the week, and staff already has a list of the pipes with grade “4” and “5” immediate needs in the area. Smoke Testing has been conducted and is currently being conducted in the Sea Palms Area. Regarding the water system, Mr. Burroughs noted that the 8 inch crossing from the west side of Frederica across to tie in at Colonial. This tie in has not been made yet due to a 6 inch transite line failure in Frederica which has since been repaired. This line was not identified in the original model, and staff will update the model to include the found 6 inch line to see what it does to the model prior to digging and working in the area.
Purchase/Lease “Smart Ball” for Critical Force Main Evaluation – Mr. Burroughs remarked that there are older cast iron force mains that staff would like to have investigated by a technology called “Smart Ball.” This technology uses the flow of the pipe to suspend a ball that floats down the line and via a sonar type of perspective of what the inside of the line looks like. Staff will meet with the vendor to gather more information and pricing to provide to the committee. Mr. Burroughs commented that he has previously used this method and it is effective as long as there is enough water to keep the ball suspended the entire time.
Chairman Elliott commented that he went to the County Town Hall Meeting and spoke to Pam T. after the meeting about necessary County Ordinance revisions. Mr. Burroughs responded that staff is in the process of working on items which may require ordinance changes. Chairman Elliott also provided that staff needs to be looking at the supply chain, and added that especially with the tariffs to be imposed on China staff needs to understand where the manufacturers are getting their materials from to create the products used by JWSC. Mr. Burroughs remarked that with the upcoming GEFA project, there is a requirement to have a certain percentage of American iron and steel pipe. With those tariffs it may become that JWSC will use more of the American iron and steel pipe due to the effects of the tariffs on prices.
Commissioner Copeland asked if there is a “Lock-out Tag-out Program” and Mr. Burroughs responded that JWSC does have an informal program which does need to be more formalized and updated, specifically at the plants. After this discussion, Commissioner Elliott commented that the “Lock-out Tag-out” and log-keeping should be added to the drafted job descriptions for the superintendents.
There being no further committee business, Chairman Turnipseed adjourned the meeting at 11:14 a.m.