DeKalb Sanitary District Board Meeting Minutes
DeKalb Sanitary District
July 16, 2008
Minutes
Approved August 13, 2008
The July meeting of the DeKalb Sanitary District Board of Trustees was held at the office of the District at noon on Wednesday, July 16, 2008. In attendance were Trustees Dennis Collins, Tim Struthers and Carol Zar. 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 Scott Trotter, P.E. and Mark Eddington, P.E. of Trotter & Associates.
President of the Board Collins called the meeting to order.
Trustee Collins moved approval of the July agenda. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Zar made a motion to approve the June minutes. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to approve the transfer of:
Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Zar made a motion to approve the payment of bills as presented. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried.
During Public Input and Communications, Mike Zima, District Manager informed the Board of the re-submittal of plans for a Parkside Oaks project that had been started some years ago but not completed.
Treasurer Stokke gave the Treasurer’s Report. There was much discussion of the current market climate. At this time it was indicated that future investments should be Treasury Bonds, Treasury Bills, or FDIC-insured Certificates of Deposit. The secondary market can be used through The Northern Trust. The collateralization policy was discussed but no changes were made at this time.
Mike Zima said there had been no requests for annexation or pre-annexation this month.
Scott Trotter presented a written Engineer’s Report and deferred discussion to the individual agenda items.
Mike said the engineers for the new high school have submitted documentation on water usage and he is in the process of assessing their needs.
Discussion of the Capital Improvements Plan was deferred until the end of the meeting.
River City Construction submitted Pay Request #8 in the amount of $278,889.12 for approval, and Trotter & Associates reviewed it and recommended payment, which was done with today’s bills. The contractor did not achieve the substantial completion date and liquidated damages have begun to accrue. The underground subcontractor who is running late has filed a claim for differing site conditions and has requested a meeting. Scott Trotter was directed to handle the negotiations on behalf of the District. The Trustees stressed that the District expects performance to contract specifications from all of its contract holders.
After discussion the Trustees unanimously agreed not to pursue installation of pipe at crossings on the extension of Bethany Road. Mike Zima was asked to inform The Northern Trust that if they wish to pursue the installation at their own cost they may do so and whatever sewer later was made public would be reimbursed at that time.
National Power Rodding has completed the 2008 Large Diameter Interceptor Inspection and Cleaning Project and has delivered the final inspection videos and reports to the District. Pay Request #1 in the amount of $70,624.80 was submitted, recommended for payment by Trotter & Associates and paid with today’s bills.
Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Struthers seconded issuing the Notice to Proceed to Elliott & Wood who won the bid for the Locust Street Sanitary Improvements Project. Motion carried. Trustee Collins offered accolades to Mike Zima and Janice Tripp for their work in coordinating the project and securing the financial cooperation of all three homeowners so that the District will be able to extend the public sewer to individually serve the three residences now sharing a lateral.
The Trustees decided to proceed with the South 9th Street Sanitary Sewer Extension despite the refusal of one of the owner of 111 South 9th to participate. The 113 S. 9th Street situation will be corrected independently. The contract, with modifications, was awarded to Wagner Excavating.
Janice Tripp reported that Teresa Hiatt of #4 Morraine Terrace was compensated by the District’s insurer for damages 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. There have been no responses to the letter Keith Foster sent out warning nearby homeowners to watch for problems. The Trustees feel that a project to replace the main will be useless until the City removes the trees in the parkway that are producing the roots. They did instruct Steve Olsen to schedule regular root cutting on that street, and asked that a meeting be scheduled to show the TV footage to the Morraine Terrace residents.
The Trustees asked to see rate comparisons for past years in order to prepare for determining if the NIMEC three-year bid results would be in DSD’s best interest.
Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Zar seconded approval of the purchase of a 200 HP raw pump from ITT Industries at a cost of $56,143.95. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved to accept the lowest quote for a 60-inch diesel “Z” type riding mower which was made by DeKalb Lawn and Equipment. Trustee Struthers seconded. Motion carried. The cost will be $7,700.00 after trade in.
Bowman Tree Service gave the lowest quote ($2,000) on the removal of a tree on the District’s property behind Woodlawn. Trustee Collins moved to hire them. Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried.
Trustee Zar moved and Trustee Struthers seconded a motion to have Janice contract with Dave Strand to remove and replace dying evergreens along the jogging path. Motion carried. The work will be done in August.
Because of a conflict, Trustee Collins moved to change the date of the August Board Meeting from August 20 to August 13, 2008. Trustee Struthers seconded. Trustee Zar noted she will not be able to attend on that date. Motion carried.
Trustee Collins moved and Trustee Struthers seconded approval of the request for catastrophic loss relief from Ennio Garcia of 2509 Alpha Court West. Motion carried. This is the first request under the City’s new policy which has reduced the amount of the refund given to 50%. The owner or tenant is responsible for paying the remaining 50%.
The request of Harriett Sauser of 181 Buena Vista Drive is still on hold because DSD has not received an explanation of how such a great amount of water came to be lost.
In New Business, Mike Zima informed the Trustees that contrary to the 2008 TIF Redevelopment Plan, the City of DeKalb seems to be uncertain about providing TIF funds for the correction of sewer infrastructure problems in the downtown area. The Trustees asked that the issue be put on the August agenda.
Scott Trotter presented a draft of a capital improvement plan aimed at replacing equipment that has far exceeded its expected service capacity. The first phase undertaken if his plan is accepted would be repairs to the digesters and installation of sludge de-watering equipment. The Trustees directed that an engineering agreement for the design phase of such a project be brought to the August meeting for consideration.
Trustee Collins moved to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Zar seconded. Motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned.
Dennis J. Collins, President