Municipal Water Authority Meeting Minutes 2011
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt, Joe Sharrah
Guests present: Jeremy Davis & Shannon Trostle
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by acting Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Election of Officers:
Motion by Kane, seconded by Sharrah to appoint Robert Cullison as Chairman.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Sharrah to appoint Wally Kane as Vice-Chairman
Motion by Sharrah, seconded by Hewitt to appoint Debra Hahn as Secretary Treasurer.
Motion by Hahn, seconded by Kane, to appoint Bill Hewitt as Open Records Officer
All motions were unanimously approved.
Appointed Positions:
Motions were made and unanimously approved for the following appointed positions:
D&T Excavating as Excavators/Plumbers
Carl Frantz as Backup Plumber
ACNB as Depository
Robert McQuaide as Solicitor
Trent Stumbaugh of Negley’s Well Drilling as Testing Agent
Glace Associates as Engineer
Musselman & Creager as Accountants
Coyne Chemical as chemical supplier
Robert Cullison as plant manager
Cullison advised monthly board meetings would be held on the following days in 2011:
January 4, February 1, March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, August 2, September 6, October 4, November 1, December 6.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hewitt, to approve the Minutes from the December meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Sharrah, seconded by Hewitt to approve Bill List #1 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for January. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Cullison presented the Board with End of year reports for water pumped from both the Rock Top & School well. Also presented was the year summary analysis SDWA-S. Copies of both these reports are attached to these Minutes. Cullison also the Board that in 2010, he spent 18 hours reading meters, 547.5 hours performing daily maintenance work, 25 hours of misc. water business for a total of 590.5 hours. He also noted that he uses his own personal vehicle to read meters & go from plant to plant & to transport chemicals to the upper plant.
Jeremy Davis reported that he had approx 26 new water meters left to replace.
Davis also reported that he had recently visited the Rock Top Well site property to check on the driveway installation to the Heckman property. He inspected the area to make sure the driveway was being installed in compliance with the approved plan. Davis reported that the base was in. He found no side ditching for water runoff. The 8 retention berms listed on the proposed plan, were not there. Davis expressed his concern that if heavy rain fell, the water plant could suffer damage. He wanted to be sure that the Board knew the approved plan for the driveway installation was not being followed. Board members request that Kane contact Solicitor McQuaide to update him on the situation and to request that he contact the CS Davidson to request that they cease any further driveway construction, until the work that was done was brought into compliance.
In other business, Boards members discussed the proposal to re-locate indoor water meters in the homes at Edwards Court to outside water pits. Jeremy Davis advised that the estimated cost for each home would be approx. $1350. He did suggest that the Authority purchase the supplies for this project through RF Fager out of Hanover PA, as they could offer a considerable discount on supplies. Davis said he would get a credit application for the Authority so they could purchase items from Fager. Motion by Cullison, seconded by Hewitt for Jeremy Davis to remove the water meters from 10 homes in Edwards Court and move them to outside water pits. Motion carried unanimously. Board members suggested that the work be done early Spring and completed before Summer’s end 2011.
Cullison advised that he recently received a complaint letter in the mail from the Selective Insurance Agency that the Authority was being sued for harassment by Jesus Is Lord Ministries. Cullison contacted Selective and they advised the letter was sent to him in error, as it was the Franklin Township Supervisors that were being sued, not the Authority. He also received a call from Hockley & O’Donnell Insurance Agency, requesting the Authority’s presence at a hearing scheduled for 1/3. Again, Cullison found that he had been contacted in error, that it was the Supervisors that were to be contacted.
Cullison announced that Supervisor Sandy Spence had informed him that she was working to form a Sewer Authority Board.
Board members reviewed end of year Financial Reports of the Authority. They then worked on preparing the 2011 Budget. Hahn will put together the figures for the Budget to present to the Board for approval at the February Board meeting.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Debra Hahn, Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, Joe Sharrah
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Kane, seconded by Sharrah, to approve the Minutes from the January meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hahn, seconded by Kane to approve Bill List #2 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Sharrah, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for February. Motion carried unanimously.
Board members reviewed the final Budget sheet from last month’s meeting. MOTION by Kane, seconded by Sharrah to approve the 2011 Budget as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Cullison advised he was still having problems with the new chlorine pump at the well house. He advised that Trent Stumbaugh had been working with him to correct the chlorine from back feeding into the barrel. Stumbaugh was going to check with the pump manufacturer to see if they could assist.
Kane advised he spoke with Bob McQuaide concerning the driveway construction at the Rock Top plant. Jeremy Davis reported at January’s meeting that the driveway was not being constructed per the plan presented to the Board by General Contractor, Terry Lautenslager. McQuaide advised Kane that the road must be constructed per the plan and to the Board’s satisfaction before any utility lines could be installed. Kane advised he would try and contact Mr. Lautenslager to discuss the matter.
Cullison advised he received a phone call from Bob Castro of Selective Insurance, concerning the home damage that had occurred at the Rathgeber residence. Castro advised that Mr. Rathgeber had filed a claim for damages, due to a leaky water meter. Cullison noted he gave Mr. Castro the necessary info to file the claim.
Cullison also reported that Jeremey Davis was presently installing 3 new water meters.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary/Treasurer
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane
Guests present: Jeremy Davis
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane, to approve the Minutes from the February’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to approve Bill List #3 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for March. Motion carried unanimously.
Wally Kane advised that he had recently spoken to General Contractor Terry Lautenslager concerning the driveway construction to the Heckman property. Kane advised Lautenslager that the driveway had to be constructed per the specifications in the legal agreement, before any house construction was to begin. Lautenslager appeared to be somewhat confused in understanding that the driveway had to be completely constructed before they could begin building. Kane also advised Lautenslager that he still did not have the power/telephone right away agreements. Lautenslager said he thought with the right of way agreement from the Municipal Authority, the power/telephone right of ways were included. Kane advised him they were not and he needed to pursue those right of ways. It was also noted by Davis, that there is a huge risk of the driveway washing out down through the Authority’s property, if a heavy rain fell, before the side ditches were installed. Kane suggested board members informally meet with Lautenslager to go over the agreement. Kane said he would set up a time and let board members know.
Chairman Cullison advised that water customers Ron & Lisa Schultz have requested that their water curb box be lowered. Mr. Schultz told Cullison that the box was too high and was getting hit with snow removal equipment. Cullison requested Davis lower their box.
Cullison reported that the leaf guards at the upper well house had been pushed out of the spouting, due to snow sliding down the roof. He asked the board’s approval to hire someone to install snow guards on the roof, to prevent this from happening. MOTION by Kane, seconded by Hewitt for Cullison to hire someone to purchase and install the guards. Motion carried unanimously.
Cullison reported that he and Trent Stumbaugh were still working on getting the chlorine pump at the new well house, operating properly.
Davis reported that he had a few more new water meters to install.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary/Treasurer
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt & Joe Sharrah
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hewitt, to approve the Minutes from the March’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hahn, seconded by Kane to approve Bill List #4 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for April. Motion carried unanimously.
Kane advised that he met Terry Lautenslager along with Robert Cullison & Jeremy Davis @ the Heckman property since the last board meeting. They discussed the Legal Agreement that was made between the Authority & the Heckmans for the construction of the driveway, before any house construction could begin. Board members informed Lautenslager at that meeting that he had to abide by the agreement. Kane said that Lautenslager agreed. Kane also advised Lautenslager that Davis could perform the construction of the driveway. Lautenslager requested a quote from Davis for the work. Davis advised Kane he would be presenting Lautenslager with a quote. Kane advised that any contractor could do the work, but Davis would be assigned by the Board to inspect the construction of the driveway. It was noted that the Board reiterated with Lautenslager that the agreed up Legal Agreement was still in effect.
Kane discussed the Reuille property located at 1245 Old Route 30 that was under mortgage foreclosure. He said that if Chairman Cullison was asked by anyone what the payoff would be to satisfy the Municipal Lien, that no amount was to be given. All requests for amount of payoff, needed to be directed to Solictor McQuaide.
Board members reviewed a recent request from PA DEP concerning GVWR 4-log Treatment of Viruses. The letter was to inform the Authority of approaching deadlines. Cullison advised he contacted Testing Agent Trent Stumbaugh and requested that he prepare the necessary paperwork & submit it to DEP, before the deadlines.
Cullison advised that the Authority needed to find a way to keep track of all water pumped through the meter, connected to the school well, by the Cashtown Fire Department. Hahn advised she could set up a “Fire Department” account to track usage. Water would not be billable as it was to be used for fire protection within the Cashtown Community. Cullison requested Hahn to set up the account.
Cullison advised that Fred Steimeling, a Franklin Twp resident who works as a Salesman for LB Waters expressed an interest in serving on the Water Authority Board. Board members discussed and advised they would consider Steimeling if an opening became available.
Hewitt reviewed the recent graph he prepared which shows the Authority’s financial balance. He advised the general ccount was holding $54,000.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned @ 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary/Treasurer
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt & Joe Sharrah
Guests present: Bill & Kathy Hewitt, Jeremy Davis & Robert McQuaide
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane, to approve the Minutes from the April’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Sharrah, seconded by Kane to approve Bill List #5 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Sharrah to approve General Account Report for May. Motion carried unanimously.
Kane updated Solicitor McQuaide on the situation at the Rock Top well site with the Heckman property. Kane advise that Terry Lautenslager, building contractor for the Heckmans had pushed open a road through the Authority’s property to the Heckman property without having a survey done, to show the exact location of the right of way. Kane said Lautenslager pushed the road through to the top of the hill, and then clear cut the area, destroying valuable oak & white pine trees on the Authority’s property. The required breaks were not installed along the roadway, which resulted in erosion & flooding, when heavy rain fell. Lautenslager had also began construction of the foundation for the Heckman’s house on approx 200’ of the Authority’s property. Members requested Solicitor McQuaide to send the Heckman’s attorney a letter, advising her of the situation. Members requested that the letter state that the roadway had not been installed in accordance with the plan approved by the Authority and request the Authority’s property be restored to its original condition in the area that had been clear cut & compensation for the felled trees. They also requested all future work cease & desist, until all issues had been addressed and resolved.
Attorney McQuaide addressed the board on the issue of delinquent water customers. Cullison advised that the Board of Supervisors had recently began proceedings to file municipal liens against various properties throughout the township that were behind in their sewer payments. McQuaide advised that once the municipal lien was files, the township could inevitably seize the property and force it’s sale to collect the amount owed. The sale would be handled by the sheriff. Cullison was concerned because some of the properties listed for liens, are the same delinquent customers on the water line. McQuaide advised that collection on municipal liens supercede all other debts on the property, so if there were any monies available, the Township/Authority would be paid first. He also advised that the Township Sewer Authority could request that the Water Authority turn off the water to any property that is in arrears with the Sewer Authority for non-payment.
Members reviewed the water usage for the customer living at 942 Old Route 30. Customer received a water bill for 12,000 gallons for the last quarter. Their water usage over the past few quarters averaged around 4,000 gallons. No residential changes had occurred since the previous billing. Cullison advised he has been monitoring the meter daily. Several days go by with ‘0’ usage, and then meter will read 100 gallons. Since 3/30, customer has used 2,200 gallons which is normal usage. Members were in agreeance that Cullison continue to monitor the usage through-out the quarter and a decision could be made at the end of the quarter whether or not the meter was working properly.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary/Treasurer
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt & Joe Sharrah
Guests present: Jeremy Davis, Robert McQuaide, Terry Lautenslager, Roger & Nathan Heckman
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hewitt, to approve the Minutes from May’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Sharrah to approve Bill List #6 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Sharrah, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for June. Motion carried unanimously.
Solicitor McQuaide opened the meeting by going over the letter sent to the Authority by the Heckman’s attorney, Andrea Singley, advising that the Heckman’s intentions were to direct their contractor Terry Lautenslager to follow the original driveway plan that led to the Easement Agreement between the Authority and the Heckmans.
Roger Heckman advised the Board that when the original driveway plans were done, he & Lautenslager felt that his engineer had ‘overdone’ the plan. Heckman advised at that time that Lautenslager approached the Board at their December board meeting with a revised set of plans and he thought the Board had approved those revised plans at that time. Heckman said that they would fully cooperate with the Board and have the driveway installed in the right-of-way area, per the original agreement, if that is what the Authority wanted them to do. Solicitor McQuaide reminded Mr. Heckman that the work that had been done, had been done outside the agreed upon plan. He asked if the right of way had been marked in anyway. Lautenslager advised there were no surveying marks on the right of way plan. He advised he was told at the Demember meeting to ‘run up the old logging road’. McQuaide advised if the plan was to be followed, that the property needed to be marked. Lautenslager noted that had he known that Jeremy Davis was a contractor, he would have allowed him to do the project with him. Kane addressed Lautenslager on the fact that he had constructed part of the house foundation on the Authority’s property. Lautenslager admitted that he was at fault in doing this and was going to ‘make it right’. Jeremy Davis offered to shoot the grade of the property with a GPS to get and mark the exact location of the driveway. Roger Heckman advised he would be perfectly willing to work with Davis, working with the originally agreed upon plan, to finish the job. After much discussion, everyone was in agreeance to the following items:
- Davis would be the appointed person to work with Lautenslager/Heckmans on all aspects of the construction of the driveway.
- Davis would mark the exact location of the driveway.
- Lautenslager would clean up all trees that had been felled, in a reasonable amount of time.
- The Authority’s property would be restored to its original condition with property being seeded & replanted with trees.
- Roger Heckman will return information to the Board, concerning the location of the Met-Ed pole, after Met-Ed responded to him. At that time, it would be know whether the pole would be moved. Also at that time it could be decided whether or not guard rails be installed to prevent anyone sliding off the drive way, into the pump house.
- All labor/time performed by Davis on the project, would be invoiced to the Heckmans.
- Once the driveway was installed to specs, the Authority would agree to the Utility Right of way.
In other business, Cullison advised that the home owner at 1245 Old Route 30 had returned to the home, after being absent for over a year. It was noted that the Authority had already filed a Municipal Lien on the property for past due water invoices. Hahn noted that the water invoice owed was in excess of $600. McQuaide advised it would be permittable to post a notice on the property owner’s door, requesting that payment for overdue water invoices be paid within 30 days, or the water would be shut off. Hahn will send Cullison the notice, so he can have it posted on the door.
Cullison advised that he had met with Fairfield Landscaping to request that they present a quote to the Authority, for replacing the shrubbery that is around the School well pump house. He advised that the quote would be available on Thursday, June 9 and he would email copies of the quote to all Board members for review.
Cullison advised that the 100# pressure relief valve had been replaced by Carl Frantz at the school pump house. He said the valve blew when he had shut down part of the system to try and locate the water leak. He advised that Frantz had originally installed a valve that was not strong enough to handle the pressure. It was replaced with a stronger pressure hold valve. He was not sure if Frantz would be invoicing for the work. Board members agreed that if an invoice arrived for the work, discussion should be held with Frantz, before it was paid/not paid.
Cullison advised that the Young property at 328 High Street, had a water leak that caused 84,000 gallons of water to run through the meter from April 1 – May 20. When Davis replaced the meter on the 20th, he advised that the bottom of the meter had blown out, causing the leak. The meter was located in the crawl space of the home, and the people living in the house, had apparently not been aware that there was a leak. Members agreed that because the leak sprung from the meter, the owner of the property would not be responsible for the water usage.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn, Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane, to approve the Minutes from June’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hahn, seconded by Hewitt to approve Bill List #7 for 2011, with the exception of the $1027.22 invoice for Carl Frantz. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for July. Motion carried unanimously.
The Board held discussion on the invoice received from Carl Frantz, for $1027.22, to replace the pressure relieve valve at the School Well House. Cullison advised that the valve blew apart, when he was working to shut down sections of the water line, to detect the location of a water leak. It was discovered that Frantz had previously installed a 100# pressure valve, when the correct valve should have been 110#. When the pressure built up over 100#, the valve blew. Frantz was called to cap off the valve. They returned later to install the new relief valve. The Board felt that since Frantz originally installed the incorrect valve, some compensation should be given on the work performed to replace that valve. Hahn was instructed to send a letter to Frantz, requesting him to review the invoice and advise if some compensation could be given.
Board reviewed the Annual Drinking Water Report which was mailed to all customers on 6/29/11.
Cullison also approached the Board about switching from Met Ed Electric to Patriot Energy. He advised that the Sewer Authority had made the switch and they are expecting a savings of $300 a month. Hahn advised she would like to do some future research on savings for the additional charges found on the current Met-Ed invoice. She also advised she would check with the Sewer Authority to get a copy of their new Patriot Energy invoice so some comparison could be done with the Authority’s Met Ed invoice. Cullison advised that Patriot did offer a lower kilowatt charge than Met-Ed. The Authority would have to enter into a one year contract with Patriot, if the decision was made to switch.
Board reviewed a list of curb boxes that needed to be raised & meters to be replaced. Cullison was going to see that Jeremy Davis got the repair list, so he could finish the work needed to raise the boxes & replace meters. Kane asked if the Authority had gotten any compensation for the three faulty meters that had ‘blown’ out at the bottom. Cullison advised that Davis offered to take care of this. Kane offered to contact Davis to get an update on the status.
Cullison advised that the water had been shut off at 997 Old Route 30, due to non-payment of water invoices. He also advised that the property at 1245 Old Route 30 was slated to be disconnected on Saturday, July 9, if the owners did not make any payments by that date.
Cullison gave the board a proposal from Glace Associates for their engineering services for Groundwater Disinfection Rule Compliance. The proposal could possibly cost the Authority over $4,675. Kane, Hewitt & Hahn felt that proposals from different engineering firms should be sought, before agreeing to Glace’s proposal. Hewitt offered to research the matter and return info at the August meeting. Cullison did note that the Compliance info had to be filed with DEP by October, 2011.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt, Joe Sharrah
Guests present: Jeremy Davis, Jaime Gebhart
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane, to approve the Minutes from July’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Sharrah to approve Bill List #8 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Sharrah to approve General Account Report for August. Motion carried unanimously.
Board members reviewed a response from Carl Frantz, concerning Frantz’s invoice dated 6/22/11. Board members voted at their July meeting to not pay the invoice before asking Frantz for a concession in the price. Frantz sent a letter to the Authority in response to the letter Hahn sent at the request of the Board. After reviewing Frantz’s letter, Board members noted that the letter did not directly answer the letter sent to Frantz and no concession was mentioned. After further discussion, MOTION by Cullison, seconded by Hewitt to pay the invoice. Motion carried unanimously.
Board members reviewed estimates from Glace Associates & Martin & Martin for planning & engineering services for the preparation of required documents to file a demonstration of the 4-log treatment of viruses for the Authority’s groundwater sources. It was noted that Martin & Martin’s estimate was approximately $2,000 less than Glace Associates. MOTION by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to contract the services of Martin & Martin for the work. Motion carried unanimously.
Cullison advised he was trying to locate information on what customer’s water sources were used to do the last lead & copper testing in 2006. He advised that the testing needed to be done again and the water draws needed to be made from the same sources. He advised that Trent Stumbaugh would not be performing the testing. Cullison would be taking the water samples and forwarding them on to DEP. He advised that Trent was contacting DEP to see if they had record of where the last draws were made.
Cullison advised that DEP had recently changed their criteria for water testing, requiring testing to be done on the first draw of water from the well source. Cullison said a special line/spigot would need to be installed at the School pump house to draw water for the test. MOTION by Sharrah, seconded by Hewitt to contract the services of Jeremy Davis to install the line/spigot. Motion carried unanimously. It was also discussed to have Davis remove the shrubs surrounding the school pump house at the same time. MOTION by Kane, seconded by Sharrah to have Davis remove the shrubs and place top soil around the pump house for grass seeding. Motion carried unanimously.
Cullison approached the Board about the recent interest of Aqua America to purchase both the Franklin Township water and sewer systems. Cullison advised that the Sewer Authority was seriously entertaining the idea of selling their system. He noted that he felt both DEP & the township supervisors were in favor of the sale. Kane said that he felt the Water Authority needed additional information before a decision could be made. He said he would be willing to listen to the proposition Aqua America had to offer. Hewitt, Kane and Hahn advised they had concerns that the water rates would be raised, if a private firm bought out the Authority. Hahn suggested waiting to see how the sale of the Sewer system to Aqua America went, before entertaining the idea of selling the Water system. There was no formal motion made on this matter.
Jaime Gebhart, Township Sewer Secretary approached the Board on working out a plan to stager the billing cycles of the water/sewer invoices, so residents on the water system did not get their water/sewer invoices due at the same time. Gebhart said she would approach the Sewer Authority on the matter. Hahn advised she could wait until the end of the month that the meters were read, before sending out invoices. This would allow about a month’s time between when the sewer/water invoices would be due.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hahn, to approve the Minutes from August’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hahn to approve Bill List #9 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hahn to approve General Account Report for September. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Cullison announced that the recent testing for lead & copper had failed. He advised that the Authority would need to now test for these minerals two times in 2012, due to the failed results. He also noted that the locations for the water draw would be changed for the testing in 2012. He noted that if the testing failed again in 2012, chemicals would need to be added to the water to remove these minerals.
Board members reviewed a letter from DEP concerning changes in the PA Safe Drinking Water Regulations, known as the Groundwater Rule. They also reviewed a quote from Martin & Martin of $2,200 to prepare the PWS Minor Modification Application. The quote was to file the application to eliminate the existing 1,500 gallon chlorine contact tank at the school well and replace it with 50’ of 24” PVC pipe. Martin & Martin also estimated approximately $7500 for the contractor work, to remove the tank and install the new piping. Board members felt that the $7500 estimate for this was high. MOTION by Hahn, seconded by Kane to allow Martin & Martin to file the application for the work, per the estimate of $2,200. Motion carried unanimously. MOTION by Kane, seconded by Hahn to contract the services of Jeremy Davis, to remove the tank and install the new piping. Motion carried unanimously.
Board members also reviewed a $4500 Martin & Martin quote, to perform the SOC Monitoring Application. With no other engineer quotes available to compare, no decision was made to award the work to Martin & Martin. Members requested that Chairman Cullison contact Glace & Associates for a quote. Kane advised he would check around to see if he could obtain a quote from another engineer. Additional quotes would be brought back to the October meeting for review. Cullison also advised that when the SOC Monitoring was performed, the Authority would need to have information on all pesticides used, within a half mile radius of each well site. If the Authority could not obtain this information from the local fruitgrowers, there would be a $6000 fee per well, to test for the pesticides. Secretary Hahn was instructed to send a letter to Bream & Kuhn Orchards, to request a list of pesticides used near the well sites.
Cullison advised he was contacted by a representative of Century Link, requesting a copy of the Right of Way agreement for utility lines, going through the Authority’s property to the Heckman property, above the Rock Top well site. Cullison said he contact Attorney McQuaide, who advised him that no such Right of Way had ever been drawn up for the utility lines. Members looked through previous Minutes and it was confirmed that no Right of Way would be granted, until the Legal Agreement for the construction of the driveway was fulfilled. Cullison stated that the ditch for the lines had already been dug, and the lines laid. Members agreed that they would wait for a request from the Heckmans, before any action was taken for the Right of Way agreement. Kane also noted that any legal expenses incurred to have the Right of Way drawn up, would need to be paid by the Heckmans.
Cullison advised that a water customer had asked if they could take firewood off the Rock Top well site for their own personal use. Kane noted that there were presently some felled logs on the property that were to be sold by the Authority. He stated that Jeremy Davis was to take care of contacting a buyer for the logs. He advised he would contact Davis, to request he have this taken care of as soon as possible. Cullison advised he would contact the water customer to let him know that no firewood would be available at this time.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt & Debra Hahn
Guest present: Jeremy Davis
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane, to approve the Minutes from September’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hahn to approve Bill List #10 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane to approve General Account Report for October. Motion carried unanimously.
Board members reviewed the Musselman & Creager prepared Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report for December 31, 2010. A letter from Musselman & Creager stated that they did find a few checks with only one signature, when the checks are required to have two signatures. These checks were found to be written towards the later half of 2010, after the Authority had been advised of this, when the 2009 audit was discussed with Musselman & Creager. Secretary Hahn advised that all checks since that time, had two signatures. Musselman & Creager also prepared the Annual Report of Municipal Authorities for the Department of Community and Economic Development, as required by law.
Cullison advised that Martin & Martin had submitted applications to DEP for the work needing done at the two well sites. The work involved is to replace a tank with pipe, & replace other piping, so water could be drawn for water testing, per DEP requirements. Cullison noted he was waiting on DEP approval, before giving D&T permission to proceed with the work.
Cullison advised that there were 17 water customers who have not responded to the Authority’s request, to make arrangements with Jeremy Davis to have their water meters replaced. Hahn advised she sent letters in May and a second set of letters on Monday 10/3, asking these customers to contact Davis, to make arrangements to have their meters replaced. Hewitt noted that in the Rules & Regulations of the Authority, the Authority could actually have the customer’s water service disconnected, if a customer refused to allow the Authority access to the property to replace the meter. Hahn suggested waiting to see if the last round of letters sent got results. If not, it could be discussed at the November meeting to have certified letters sent to those who did not respond, to advise them that their water service would be disconnected, if they did not allow the Authority access to replace their water meters.
Hahn advised she had sent letters to both Bream & Kuhn Orchards, requesting a list of all pesticides that were used within the vicinity of both well sites. She noted that she did receive the list from Bream Orchards but not Kuhns. Hahn advised she would contact Kuhns again, for the list.
Cullison advised he was looking for someone to help take over the daily water testing on the weekends. He noted he wanted to put the offer out to Board members to see if anyone would be interested, before looking outside the Board. Both Kane and Hahn noted that they would not be interested.
Davis advised that the contractor at the Heckman property was still working on the driveway project. He noted that he was planning to soon plant the replacement trees. Kane made note that the Right of Way over the Authority’s property for the utility lines would be given, once the driveway project was completed to specifications. He also noted he was surprised that Met-Ed had already installed the electric lines, without a Right of Way in place. Cullison noted that he had been approached by Century Link twice, asking status of the Right of Way. Davis also advised that he had contacted Klinger’s Sawmill, for them to inspect the logs on the property to see if any were worth purchasing. He also advised he had asked Klinger to remove any logs that were not saleable, to his property for firewood. Davis advised he would followup with Klinger to remind him this still needed done.
There being no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, Joe Sharrah William Hewitt & Debra Hahn
Guest present: Jeremy Davis
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Sharrah, seconded by Hewitt, to approve the Minutes from October’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt , seconded by Sharrah to approve Bill List #11 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Sharrah to approve General Account Report for November. Motion carried unanimously.
Board members reviewed the third quarter billing. It was noted that there were a few customers with outstanding balances due, for more than two quarters. Hahn advised she would send notices of intent to discontinue water service to those customers.
It was noted that board member William Hewitt was running for a Gettysburg Area School Board position in the November General Election. It was questioned whether Hewitt could remain on the Board, due to a conflict of interest, with the Authority supplying water to the Franklin Township School. MOTION by Hahn, seconded by Sharrah, for Hahn to contact Solicitor McQuaide to asked if Hewitt would be able to remain on the Board. Motion carried unanimously.
Cullison advised that Kuhn Orchards had submitted their list of chemicals/pesticides used in the area surrounding the School well site. This info would submitted to DEP when the SOC Monitoring was performed.
Cullison asked Davis, the status of customer’s response to making arrangements in having their meters replaced. Davis advised they were ‘slowly’ coming around in contacting him to have the meter replaced. Cullison also advised that there were several meters that were giving ‘wacky’ readings. Cullison requested that Davis replace those meters, and segregate them from the other meters that were being removed. It was undecided as to whether or not the Authority wanted to pay to have the meters tested, to see if they were defective. The meters to be replaced were at the homes of Janet Mickley, Harriet Cameron & Lucas Wolfe.
Cullison advised the Authority was waiting on approval from DEP, to start the work at the School well site, to comply with the new regulations for water testing to be done on the first draw of water from the well source. He also noted that the shrubs around the pump house would be removed at the same time.
Cullison advised there was a water leak on High Street in October. A customer noticed water bubbling out of the ground and contacted Cullison. He noted that the leak was detected early, and there was not a significant amount of water loss.
Hahn advised that the Authority had received information from Met-Ed, about choosing an electric supplier. MOTION by Cullison, seconded by Hewitt to choose First Energy. Motion carried unanimously. Hahn was requested to contact Met-Ed to let them know.
Cullison advised that the valve boxes needed cleaned out. Davis said he would work on these as time allowed.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned @ 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members present: Robert Cullison, Debra Hahn, Wally Kane, William Hewitt & Debra Hahn
The meeting held at the Franklin Township Municipal Building was called to order by Chairman Robert Cullison at 7:00 p.m.
Approval of Reports:
Motion by Hewitt, seconded by Kane, to approve the Minutes from November’s meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hewitt , seconded by Kane to approve Bill List #12 for 2011. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Kane, seconded by Hewitt to approve General Account Report for December. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Cullison advised that the 4 Log Determination application, submitted on behalf of the Authority, was not approved by DEP. Board member’s reviewed DEP’s letter of rejection, which listed the criteria that needed corrected, in order for the revised application to be approved. Cullison advised that Martin & Martin had already prepared the revised application and submitted it to DEP. Board members had concerns on the amount Martin & Martin would charge, to prepare the revised application. It was noted by Secretary Hahn, the Authority had already paid over the quoted amount by Martin & Martin for the initial application. Kane advised that if the Authority was charged by Martin & Martin for the revised application, payment of the invoice would need to be discussed by the Board.
Cullison read a letter sent to the Board by Craig Zack, Township Sewer Engineer, concerning construction of two classrooms at the Franklin Township School. The letter was to inform the Board of the pending construction.
Cullison discussed correspondence, written and verbal, he recently had with water customer Lucas Wolf of 929 Old Route 30. Mr. Wolf had concerns that his water invoices over the past two years, had been sporadically, out of the normal usage. His last quarter usage was 28,900 gallons. 17,100 gallons above the previous quarter. He advised that there were no changes in his household that would warrant such an increase. His present invoice was in the amount of $138.00. Cullison advised Mr. Wolfe he could pay the minimum of $100 for the quarter. Board member’s reviewed Mr. Wolfe’s water usage for the past four years, and did not feel any of the readings were out of normal, with the exception of the last quarter. Cullison advised he had been monitoring Mr. Wolfe’s usage daily and was seeing normal usage. It was discussed that there seem to be issues with two other water meters, within the radius of Mr. Wolfe’s meter. Janet Mickley & Harriet Cameron’s. It was mentioned that perhaps the Authority had gotten a batch of ‘bad’ meters. The only way that could be determined though, would be to remove the meters and have them tested. Secretary Hahn was requested to send Mr. Wolfe a letter to advise him that at his request, the Authority would have his meter removed and tested. If the meter would be found faulty, the Authority would replace the faulty meter at no charge. If the meter was found to be working properly, Wolfe would be responsible for the charges involved in removing, testing & re-installing the meter, as referenced in the Rules & Regulations of the Authority.
Kane volunteered to talk to Jeremy Davis, to see if Jeremy could have three of the newly purchased water meters tested and get written certification that they were working properly. Kane also suggested that the Authority purchase packets to give to customer’s to check to see if their toilets were leaking. Cullison said he would check into purchasing some packets.
Hahn advised that the Authority had two checks returned from ACNB, for non-sufficient funds. She noted that ACNB had charged a $15.00 return check fee for both. Members discussed charging a $25.00 return check fee for any NSF returned checks. Secretary Hahn was requested to prepare a NSF check fee Resolution for 2012, to be voted on at the January meeting.
Kane also noted that Solitor McQuaide informed him that he had received numerous requests from the Heckmans for their Right of Way across Authority property. Cullison advised he had also received phone calls from Century Link for the same. Kane said he advised McQuaide to inform the Heckman’s that the Right of Way would be granted, when all stipulations concerning the construction of the driveway had been completed as stated in the written agreement between the Authority and the Heckmans.
It was note that Joe Sharrah’s term on the Board, would expire December 31, 2011. Cullison volunteered to get in contact with Joe, to see if he wanted to serve another term. Cullison also advised he would speak to the gentleman that had been interested in serving on the Board, earlier in the year, to see if he might still be interested in serving.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Hahn
Secretary