The May meeting of the DeKalb Sanitary District Board of Trustees was held at the office of the District at noon on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. In attendance were Trustees Dennis Collins and Tim Struthers. Michael Zima, District Manager; Janice Tripp, Assistant Manager Administration; Steve Olsen, Plant Foreman; and Betty Jones, Secretary were present. Attorney for the District Keith Foster and District Treasurer Richard Stokke attended, as did Mark Eddington, P.E. of Trotter & Associates. Jim Schneider was present for the entire meeting. David Patzelt (Shodeen), Ed Siefert (Intech Consultants) and Sam & Teresa Hiatt attended for portions of the meeting.
President of the Board Collins called the meeting to order.
Trustee Struthers moved to approve the May agenda. Trustee Collins seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to approve the April minutes. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to approve the following transfers:
Trustee Collins moved to approve payment of bills as presented. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
During the Public Input portion of the meeting, Jim Schneider voiced concerns about the financial problems of some developers who own land around DeKalb and its implications for the future of the area. He raised questions about the wisdom of the District’s upcoming projects and was reminded by Trustee Collins that the immediate plan is for a quality upgrade.
Trustee Struthers moved that officers for the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year be Dennis Collins as President, Timothy Struthers as Vice President, Carol Zar as Clerk and Janice Tripp as Assistant Clerk. Trustee Collins seconded. Motion carried.
Treasurer Stokke submitted the Treasurer’s Report and discussed current investment rates.
The required fees, petition and plat having been submitted to the District by Shodeen Development, Trustee Struthers moved to approve Ordinance #511 Annexation #222 annexing to the District 63.78 acres at their Four Corners project. Trustee Collins seconded. Motion carried.
The public hearing on the District proposed 2008-2009 Fiscal Year Budget was held at 1 p.m. Jim Schneider questioned how the medical insurance line item came to be less than last year and received feedback from Janice Tripp, Assistant Manager Administration, on the procedure used to identify a more cost-effective plan. There was no further public input. Trustee Collins moved to close the public hearing. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried. Trustee Collins thanked Janice Tripp for her work on the budget and praised her expertise.
Trustee Struthers moved and Trustee Collins seconded approval of Ordinance # 510, "AN ORDINANCE MAKING APPROPRIATION FOR CORPORATE PURPOSES OF THE DEKALB SANITARY DISTRICT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF SAID DISTRICT, FROM MAY 1, 2008 TO APRIL 30, 2009 INCLUSIVE." Motion carried.
Mark Eddington submitted a written Engineer’s Report on behalf of Trotter & Associates. He described the meeting with a flow monitoring equipment vendor and said he is waiting for a quote on installing four permanent flow monitoring stations. Answering questions from the Board, he said that establishing a base line of flow into the plant from the four major interceptors is a necessary precursor to measuring the effectiveness of collection system repair efforts.
Skipping ahead to agenda items 13D and 21, Mark asked the Trustees to set up a time for two workshops. The first would be to hear a presentation from Trotter & Associates on projects to begin the Capital Improvements Plan. A separate workshop is recommended. The Trustees asked that planning for these workshops be considered at the June meeting when Trustee Zar can be a part of it.
Mike Zima, District Manager, had nothing to discuss in Plan Review, but asked that agenda item 13C be moved forward in the agenda because of the presence of Ed Siefert of Intech Consultants, the Engineer for a large potential project under consideration by The Northern Trust. Mark Eddington presented the potential costs of the placement of two sections of large diameter pipe under the Twombly and Hillcrest intersections of the Bethany Road extension while County road work is being done this summer versus later when the installation method necessary to bore under established pavement would be more expensive. While the savings would be large, the Board was reluctant to deviate from its policy of following rather than predicting development. Mike Zima said that the proposal to do the work this summer had been initiated by discussion between the District, NIU, the City and the County, although representatives of the Northern Trust had been present. Asked for an estimate of the capacity of the pipe in question and how much would be required by the amount of land owned by The Northern Trust, Mark said the Northern Trust’s land, at full development, would require about one-third of the capacity. Trustee Collins moved to approve the project for this summer contingent upon a participation agreement with The Northern Trust for them to pay one-third the cost. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried. Mike Zima was charged with finding out the Northern Trust’s decision about participating, and Keith Foster with preparing the agreement.
Mike Zima asked that agenda item 20 be moved forward for discussion to accommodate the residents of #4 Morraine Terrace. Teresa Hiatt described the damage to her basement and equipment from a backup found to have been caused by tree roots growing in the public system between the clay sewer main and the U-liner and eventually blocking the opening of her lateral which is cast iron and has no roots problem (visible from DSD’s mainline camera). Mrs. Hiatt was requesting reimbursement for damages beyond that covered by her insurance. Janice Tripp has already also submitted a claim to the District’s insurance. The Board agreed to this and instructed Mrs. Hiatt to submit receipts for the expenses. They asked Keith Foster to prepare a letter warning nearby homeowners to watch for problems. They instructed Mike to come up with repair options for the main and to find out what can be done about the neighborhood trees that are causing the root problem.
The District’s Low Interest Loan Pre-Application is still under review by the IEPA.
River City Construction submitted Change Order #4 which was a request for a 21 day time extension due to delays caused by weather. Trustee Struthers made a motion to approve it. Trustee Collins seconded. Motion carried.
Mike Zima reported the District’s activities towards purchase of a south side treatment plant property have ended and its deposit has been refunded.
National Power Rodding is somewhat ahead of schedule on the 2008 Large Pipe SSES with Cleaning project.
Mike Zima says that the IEPA sewer construction permit has been submitted for the 10th & Locust project and approval is expected this week. Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Struthers seconded approval to proceed with the project contingent upon receipt of the three homeowners’ financial participation as specified in the October 2007 and January 2008 meeting minutes. Motion carried.
Keith Foster has heard nothing from Cortland and will contact them to set up the governmental agreement renegotiation meeting to which they had previously agreed.
Foster has filed a motion for summary judgment against Eagle Homes.
Trustees declined a request from a Timber Creek homeowner to install a shut-off on the public main and said that should remain a private consideration.
The consideration of the District’s 2008 pledge to DeKalb Economic Development Corporation was rescheduled for the June meeting.
Mike Zima has advertised for quotes do to the South 9th Street Sewer Extension to resolve the shared lateral situation between two homeowners there. Quotes will be received June 2. No work will be contracted for until the owners of 111 and 113 South Ninth Street pay to install new laterals to the public main as per the Board’s September 2007 proposal.
Trustee Collins moved to approve Trotter & Associates Engineering proposal for the Country Club Lift Station Replacement Project which will be resumed as per the plans developed prior to the January 2006 Board Meeting when the urgency of the Lions Park Lift Station problems caused the District to put it on hold. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried and contract was signed.
The Trustees asked that the catastrophic loss relief request of Harriett Sauser of 181 Buena Vista Drive be investigated further and brought up again at next month’s meeting. Trustee Struthers moved and Trustee Collins seconded a motion to approve the catastrophic loss requests of Lauri Hillman of 525 Davy and Felicia Cichy of 512 Woodley, both of which did meet policy requirements. Motion carried.
There was no new business.
Trustee Struthers moved to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Collins seconded. Motion carried, and Trustee Collins adjourned the meeting.
Dennis J. Collins, President