DeKalb Sanitary District Board Meeting Minutes
DeKalb Sanitary District
August 16, 2006
Minutes
Approved September 20, 2006
The August meeting of the DeKalb Sanitary District Board of Trustees was held at the office of the District at noon on August 16, 2006. In attendance were Trustees Dennis Collins, Tim Struthers and Carol Zar and Attorney for the District Keith Foster and District Treasurer Richard Stokke. Michael Zima, District Manager; Janice Tripp, Assistant Manager Administration; Steve Olsen, Plant Foreman; and Betty Jones, Secretary were present. Scott Trotter, P.E. and Mark Eddington, P.E. of Trotter & Associates attended. Lou Gerrison, Partner Sikich LLP was present for a portion of the meeting, as were Ray Keller, City of DeKalb Department of Community Development, James Tucker of Cavel International, Jim Schneider, Allan Metzer, Pam Mau, Joan Mosher and Tom Engstrom.
President of the Board Collins called the meeting to order.
Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Struthers seconded approval of the August agenda. Motion carried..
Trustee Struthers moved approval of the July minutes. Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to approve the transfer of:
- 425,000.00 from the Revenue Fund to the O & M Fund
- $6,526.07 from the Dedicated Tax IMRF Fund to the O & M Fund
- $4,665.24 from the Dedicated Tax FICA Fund to the O & M Fund
Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Struthers moved to pay bills as presented. Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried.
In the Public Input and Communications portion of the meeting, Jim Schneider asked questions about the impact of plant changes on the river. Scott Trotter explained the regulatory agencies and water quality legislation that oversee the plant’s discharge to the river. Pam Mau praised the District’s handling of the last plant expansion’s impact on her neighborhood and expressed her concern that the existence of the plant be screened from view from Sycamore Road.
There have been no annexation or preannexation requests this month.
Trustee Struthers moved and Trustee Zar seconded Resolution No. 2006-8-16-1 a five-year decreasing term tax abatement for Panduit and Resolution No. 2006-8-16-2 a five-year decreasing term tax abatement for 3M Corporation. Motion carried.
In the Engineer’s Report, Scott Trotter reported on phone contacts and District/City meetings with Illinois Department of Transportation representatives that resulted in IDOT’s agreement to correct eleven of the below grade manholes on Route 23. A list prioritizing the manholes to be corrected will be supplied to IDOT with a request that funding be earmarked for the correction of the remaining manholes next year.
Scott also encouraged the Board to send District staff to the Wastewater Environment Fund’s Technical Conference in Dallas this year. The Board asked him to provide them with more information so that they can decide at next month’s meeting.
Scott Trotter and Mike Zima have been in touch with the Wastewater Environment Fund’s public education facilitator about possible participation in that program.
Mike Zima described proposed plans for the Greentree Villas development and the Windsong Acres development and discussed the impact on public infrastructure of each.
Treasurer Stokke gave the Treasurer’s Report and discussed investment strategies and interest rates.
Lou Kerrison of Sikich LLP reviewed the draft Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Audit and submitted it for the Board’s review preparatory to next month’s vote on its acceptance.
Scott Trotter and Mark Eddington, at the Board’s request, showed plans of the plant layout that would be their choice and explained their reasons. As the only part of the Facilities Plan Update that will be implemented in the near future, the Storm water improvements – Wetlands Mitigation project was discussed with the neighbors and their feedback was sought.
Scott Trotter was asked by the Trustees what other parts of the Facilities Plan Update need to be addressed in more depth, and at his suggestion a discussion of connection and annexation fees was scheduled for next meeting.
Mark Eddington reported on the completion of the 2006 Lining Project and presented Change Order #2 in the amount of $7,185.00 for the addition of cutouts to storm sewers that was not included in the bid packet. Trustee Collins moved for its approval. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
District Administration and Trotter & Associates have met with the DeKalb Park District and are continuing to work with them to plan for improvements to the Lions Park lift stations.
Mike Zima has not heard any more from the Environmental Protection Agency about the District’s request for a Facilities Plan Area expansion.
Keith Foster says that insurers of both parties are still working on the Greenwood Acres Drive sewer backup situation.
Janice Tripp and Mike Zima are still gathering information from other communities about how they handle their sewer billing preparatory to a meeting with City of DeKalb administrators about the District’s future purchases of invoicing services from the City.
Despite the extension of bidding, only two bids were received for the Blacktop Repairs on the plant site. One of the bids was not for removal and replacement but for an overlay. Since the District wants removal and replacement, Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Zar seconded awarding the contract to Meyer Paving (the only bidder who meets the specifications) at a cost of $75,458.00. Motion carried.
Mike Zima requested and received quotes for an outside review of the Facilities Plan Update from the two engineering firms who took second and third place to Trotter & Associates in the District’s engineering selection process (CTE and Strand). After discussion, Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Struthers seconded awarding the contract to Strand Engineering at a cost of $7,500. Motion carried. Note: At a later point in the meeting, Scott Trotter informed the Trustees that he had been reminded of a working partnership his company has with Strand Engineering for another municipality. After discussion, the Board decided that since the proposed review cannot result in any monetary gain or loss for Trotter & Associates, they would not reconsider their vote. However, in the interests of full disclosure, they asked Trotter & Associates and will ask Strand Engineering to submit letters outlining their relationship.
Jim Tucker was present representing Cavel International. Mike Zima sent that company a letter anticipating another administrative order and larger fines for 2006 because they have continued in noncompliance with the limits of their permit despite last year’s monthly notifications, administrative order and yearly fine. Mr. Tucker said that they have been using mechanical systems to remove BOD from their discharge but will have to add biological processes. This will entail a large expenditure. He said that his company has been putting money into correcting the system all along and stressed that they have not been avoiding addressing the problem. Trustee Collins told Mr. Tucker that the District will require Cavel International to come into compliance with their permit by any means necessary. Mike Zima said that there have been 34 violations this year and recommended a fine of $1,000 per violation with continuing fines per violation in the future. He said that if Cavel cannot meet their permit discharge limits, they have a duty to reduce or halt plant activity in order to come into compliance. The Trustees decided to address the fines at the next meeting.
The Parkside Oaks water main easement documents and plats have been submitted and found to be acceptable. The Board signed the easement agreement.
The Board declined to attend the Illinois Association of Wastewater Agencies meeting this year but asked Janice to budget for their attendance at next year’s meeting.
The Board reviewed the letter from D & M Builders requesting a refund of sewer charges for water that was used to water the lawn at a house built for resale. They declined to change their universal policy of requiring metering for refunds.
Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Struthers seconded approval of the request of Phillip Pearson for catastrophic loss relief for water lost to malfunctioning toilets at his home at 6 Greenwood Court. The request did meet all the requirements of the City and District’s Catastrophic Loss Relief Policy. Motion carried.
In New Business, Mike Zima presented Lukulos Restaurant’s request for a second extension of the deadline for grease trap installation. The Board agreed with Mike’s intention to allow a 30 day extension to be followed by a $500 per week fine. No intervention at the Board level was required as this is an existing part of the administrative structure.
Mike said that Ed Siefert of Intech Consultants has requested time at the next meeting of the Board to present plans for a development under consideration by The Northern Trust.
Mike responded to the Board’s request for an explanation of the difference in the price for solids removal from the two bidders for the biosolids contract as requested at the last meeting.
The Board went into Executive Session to discuss land acquisition.
Upon return from Executive Session Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Zar seconded to continue the meeting to 7:30 A.M., August 30, 2006 for the purpose of an Executive Session on land acquisition. Motion carried.
DeKalb Sanitary District
August 30, 2006
Minutes
The continued August meeting of the DeKalb Sanitary District Board of Trustees was to be held at the office of the District at 7:30 A.M. on August 30, 2006 for the purpose of discussing land acquisition.
In attendance were Michael Zima, District Manager; Janice Tripp, Assistant Manager Administration and Steve Olsen, Plant Foreman as well as Keith Foster, Attorney for the District.
The meeting was adjourned for lack of quorum.
Dennis J. Collins, President