DeKalb Sanitary District Board Meeting Minutes
DeKalb Sanitary District
October 18, 2006
Minutes
Approved November 15, 2006
The October meeting of the DeKalb Sanitary District Board of Trustees was held at the office of the District at noon on October 18, 2006. In attendance were Trustees Dennis Collins, Tim Struthers and Carol Zar and Attorney for the District Timothy J. Conklin 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. of Trotter & Associates attended. Allan Metzger, Sam Phelps, Pam Mau, Joe Bonomo and Amy Newman also attended for a portion of the meeting. Jim Schneider attended the meeting.
President of the Board Collins called the meeting to order.
Trustee Struthers moved and Trustee Zar seconded approval of the October agenda. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved approval of the September minutes. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to approve the transfer of:
- $120,000.00 from the Revenue Fund to the O & M Fund
- $6,591.45 from the Dedicated Tax IMRF Fund to the O & M Fund
- $4,487.70 from the Dedicated Tax FICA Fund to the O & M Fund
Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to pay bills as presented. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
During the Public Input and Communications portion of the meeting Jim Schneider asked questions about the date for Cortland’s disconnection from the DeKalb Sanitary District. Mike Zima said that he has been given a second quarter 2007 date for opening of their plant, but explained that rerouting of force mains and plugging the 15” main that would have to occur after that date.
The Board moved agenda item 11 C to this spot in the meeting for the convenience of the community members in attendance. As promised at the last meeting, Trotter & Associates staked the proposed creek placement and each of the Trustees separately visited the site with interested community members. Each of the Trustees gave individual feedback about their reactions to the site. They expressed their awareness of the need to balance between the needs of the greater community to optimally utilize the property here and the esthetic impact on the neighborhood of whatever is to be built. After discussion, the Trustees asked Scott Trotter to investigate the possibility of a buried culvert instead of an exposed waterway. They also decided to postpone a decision on the waterway placement until the Facilities Plan Update has been adopted and the final placement of the necessary buildings has been decided. Trustee Collins estimated that this would bring the issue before the Board next spring. He told those present that notification of interested parties will be done in advance so that they can attend any meetings addressing these issues. He assured them that “no decision will be made until everyone is well informed.” The other Trustees concurred.
Treasurer Stokke gave the Treasurer’s Report. The Trustees made suggestions for improvements in the graphs used to track weighted time of investments.
There had been no Annexation or Pre-Annexations requests this month.
Mike Zima supplied the Trustees with data on the current annexation and connection fee structure. The Board’s consensus seemed to be that they are comfortable with the current annexation fee structure but would like to address the connection fees. The Board will deliberate and will plan to vote on this before year’s end.
Scott Trotter urged the Trustees to consider a policy that would let District staff and consultants delineate the District’s stance clearly for developers and provided a decision tree structure as one tool for doing this. After discussion the Trustees asked Scott to write up a proposed policy statement for what he is suggesting (with the caveat that any such policy would have to be reviewed by the District’s legal consultant and voted upon before adoption). They also decided to consider setting aside time every two months for Committee of the Whole meetings at which development issues could be addressed apart from the general business meetings. This will be voted upon next meeting.
Mike Zima showed the Board preliminary plans for the Prairie Pathways, Twombly Road and Bethany Ridge developments and discussed the probable impact of these large developments on the District’s northwest section. Because of the heavy usage loads proposed, consultations by the engineers will be needed. The Trustees advised Mike that the District’s planning fees structure is to be applied to these developments.
Mike has met with the DeKalb Business Center developers about their proposals and advised them of the District’s requirements for development in the southern area of its F.P.A. .
The County’s Windsong Acres development is ready for the IEPA sewer construction permit process and those applications were signed.
Scott Trotter presented a written Engineer’s Report and deferred discussion to individual agenda items.
The Facilities Plan Update documents are under review by Strand Engineering as an outside consultant.
Mike Zima gave the Trustees the timeline for the development of the District’s Emergency Response Plan.
Mike Zima and Scott Trotter reported on meetings with the DeKalb Park District about placement for the Lions Park Lift Station improvements. The site approved by the Park District will have to be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers for review and approval. Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Zar seconded this work proceeding on a time and materials basis. If permission for the site is obtained, the District’s Attorney will be instructed to develop intergovernmental agreements for access and easements.
The District and the City of DeKalb have informed Alderman Kapitan of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s agreement to bring manholes on Route 23 up to grade (as per his request at the July 19, 2006 meeting) and are waiting for the work to begin.
Nothing has been reported to those present about the status of the Greenwood Acres Drive backup issue. An inspection at Oakcrest has shown the grease trap to be clean but not in accord with Illinois Plumbing Code specs. Given the grease excursion that occurred this year from that facility, Mike Zima has recommended that they install an exterior grease trap as per the District’s current specifications for food service establishments.
Mike Zima reviewed the Administrative Order to be issued to Cavel International. They will be assessed a fine of $500 per violation for all violations between January 1, 2006 and September 30, 2006. They will be assessed a fine of $1,000 per violation for each violation occurring between October 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007. If they are not in compliance with the District’s regulations by May 31, 2007, they will be ordered to stop discharge to the DeKalb Sanitary District.
Mike Zima reported on the bid process by which the District contracted with Constellation New Energy to supply electricity for the first 17 months following deregulation.
There were no requests for Catastrophic Loss Relief this month.
Steve Olsen updated the Trustees on emergency repairs to sewer mains and manholes identified by this year’s Sewer System Evaluation and Survey. Some of these have been repaired by Elliott and Wood on an emergency basis and two more will be completed soon.
Trustee Collins moved to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried. Trustee Collins adjourned the meeting.
Dennis J. Collins, President