PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT #13
Minutes of the February 25, 2009
Regular Session of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Directors of Public Water District #13, Jefferson County Missouri met in regular session at 7:05 p.m. on February 25, 2009 at the Lake Tishomingo Community Center, Hillsboro, Missouri.

Roll Call of Directors
The following Directors being present or absent as indicated:
	Name	Present/Absent
	Marilyn Meyer	Present
	Rich Hirsch	Present
	Rick Lippitt	Present (arrived at 7:15)
	John Hindrichs	Present
	Ken Jost	Present

Also in attendance was Janet Hirsch (JWH, LTPOA Board member), Mary Leiweke (ML, sewer cmte), Tim Robbs (TR, Taylor Eng.), Frank Taylor (FT, Taylor Eng.) and Bob Sweeney (RS, PWSD #13 attorney).
Approval of Agenda
Motion was made by Rich Hirsch and seconded by Ken Jost to accept the agenda. On voice vote, all Directors were in favor of accepting the agenda.

Approval of Minutes of Past Meetings
The Minutes of the February 11, 2009 regular session meeting were emailed to the Directors prior to the meeting. Motion was made by John Hindrichs to approve the Minutes as written. Second was by Rich Hirsch. On voice vote, the Minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report
There was no change since the Feb. 11 meeting.

Old Business
Electrical circuit installation
Electrical easement issues
Stimulus funds application
FT: In talking with AmerenUE (AUE) they're saying we will most likely have to put in new meter bases if we get electric power from the pole. This could cost $1500 or more per house, which is over $400,000 for the project. We still have to talk to Donna (USDA-RD) about this. She's opposed to us going into the house to get power. 
FT: I suggest we make the homeowner put in the circuit and then rebate the homeowner a fixed amount off of their first two or three months user fee payment. That way there would not be an out-of-pocket payment by the homeowner, unless there needed to be a service upgrade.
MM: I'm afraid the USDA-RD would not allow a rebate.
TR: I'm afraid of that too.
FT: Spending $400,000 to provide electrical power is a problem. It wasn't in the original facility report either. 
FT: I'm also worried about bidding the project out as a lump sum, rather than bidding it out per cubic yard or linear foot of trenching in rock. A serious contractor will come out and poke some holes, but if they don't do that, they'll assume a worst case scenario. Trenching in rock is ten times more expensive than trenching in soil. 
FT: Either the $400,000 for electrical or the getting a lump sum bid could cause us to go over budget.
FT: Incentive for the homeowner to install his own electric circuit is that, if he doesn't do it, there's the possibility that we'll get power from the meter base and charge the homeowner $1500 if we go over budget or we don't get stimulus money.
FT: If Donna allows us to give rebates and the homeowner installs the electric circuit from inside the house, it's free for the homeowner. The homeowner will pay a couple of hundred dollars upfront for circuit installation, but he'll get that back. The alternative is for the District to get the electric power off the pole. If this is the case, we may have to charge the homeowner $1500. 
MM: What does $1500 include?
TR: At this time we're not sure how far that $1500 will go; it's just an estimate. 
FT: AUE ran into some problems at Cedar Hill Lakes (CHL) when they allowed the sewer contractor to come off the meter base. The contractor "double-lugged" at CHL, which did not work out well for AUE, so AUE made the practice illegal in May 2008. 
JH: That practice is against the National Electrical Code.
TR: I talked to the head engineer at USDA-RD in Columbia. He said they were planning on "double-lugging" on another community sewer project and now they would have to rethink that.
TR: Mr. Friel (AUE estimator) wants us to get the electricity from the inside service panel. USDA-RD wants us to get it from the pole outside of the house. They've really got us in a catch-22.
TR: So we're probably going to have to do a combination of both. I think we should try to get as many homeowners as possible to install their own circuit. When it's time to hook them up to the pump, if they have not installed a circuit for us, we hook them up to the pole.
RS: Won't that lead to a hodge-podge? 
TR: Anyone that installs their own circuit will have to use a licensed electrician. USDA-RD will require that.
RS: As long as Donna is satisfied. She has the money. I'd rather fight with AUE than Donna.
TR: Well I talked to the chief engineer for USDA-RD, so anything he agrees to should be OK with Donna. His recommendation was to go thru the house and require a licensed electrician. And have it certified. That's what they're doing for other projects.
RS: I think it was pretty clear from the last meeting that Donna wants us to stay out of the house.
JWH: I talked to Donna and she knew about the "double-lugging" problem. Donna said that not going into the house is a guideline and not a regulation. It's a guideline to prevent them from being named in lawsuits. Based on my discussion, I think the USDA-RD would allow a District employee go into the house and inspect and certify. I think we could even have someone from the District do work in the house, if we had to.
TR: There's a chance that even if we take power from the meter base, we may have to go into the house anyway. 
TR: Another problem is that if we turn the power off, make changes at the pole and then turn the power back on, what happens if not everything turns back on? Someone might lose a freezer full of food, for instance. There's liability there. 
FT: I think it's a positive step that the USDA-RD engineer said that going thru the panel was an option. Somewhere someone has to give, because I don't think the project can stand the cost of all new meter bases. 
RL: Why would USDA-RD not allow us to do a rebate? Another option would be to reimburse the homeowner for installing the circuit.
FT: USDA-RD is real big on fixed costs, so a set fee would probably work better.
RH: So no matter who the homeowner hired as an electrician, the homeowner would get the same set amount, perhaps $200-$300. 
FT: We still have the situation of using existing 20 amp circuits that were installed to operate septic tank aerators. We should be able to use these circuits with just certification. 
JH: You might have problems getting an electrician to certify a circuit he did not install.
TR: We may want the contractor we hire to take care of having an electrician certify these outlets for us.
RS: I still think there's a timing issue if you let the homeowner install his own outlet. What's to make sure he gets the circuit installed on time?
FT: If the circuit isn't installed by a set date, we go to the pole and the homeowner may get a bill for $1500.
RS: You are also going to have to supply them with a list of electricians that can do the work.
TR: The Board can supply a list of electricians to do the work.
FT: Only problem is if the District supplies the electrician, you're taking on liability again.
JH: We can put together a list of contractors that are willing to do the work. We can tell the homeowner that they don't have to use someone on the list if they don't want to.
RS: When we connected to the meter base all we needed was a license from AUE. If we connect our pump to a homeowner installed circuit, we probably need to have a signed electrical easement agreement. 
TR: Well, that's part of the carrot, if you're going to come out of the house; you need to sign the electrical easement agreement. If we mount the panel on a stick in the yard, we probably don't need an electrical easement agreement.
JWH: At the last meeting we had we went thru all the pros and cons about how to make the electrical connection and everyone was so happy about coming off of the meter base. In the meantime we ran into this "double-lugging" problem because AUE changed the regulation in May 2008. The pros and cons are still the same. The only thing that's changed is that it may be an additional $1500 per home to connect. 
JWH: In the meantime we've been approached to apply for "stimulus money" that would come thru MDNR. We meet the qualifications for stimulus funds--we're "shovel-ready" and we're already on the MDNR list. MDNR is getting $108 million for waste water treatment.

JWH: Why don't we do it the way we decided to do it two weeks ago and connect to the meter base? We know it's an additional $1500 charge per home. Why don't we in the meantime also tell Traci that we need our grant money increased? We've seen Districts get more grant money when their costs went up. Maybe we don't have to apply for an additional $400,000, but maybe we can tell Traci about this new problem that came up with AUE and we know it's coming and for her to be prepared. 
JWH: I think we should go with our original plan to connect to the meter base. We get it done fast and we maintain control.    
RS: I think control is very important.

KJ: What if we don't get the money?
TR: That's my reservation. I don't know how much I'd count on getting this money. MDNR doesn't know what they're doing with this money yet. I have an application for stimulus funds that I filled out ready to be signed. In the application we put down $2,000 per household for 250 homes. We also added in some extra engineering funds in case there were some additional specific SRF requirements. [President Meyer signed the application.]

RS: Is there any way to get AUE to allow use to "double-lug" since their policy went into effect in May 2008 and this project was started earlier than that?
TR: I don't think so, the AUE guy said that they intend to "strictly adhere" to the new policy.
FT: The CHL project is very similar to ours and was the cause for AUE to adopt the policy, so I don't think AUE will relax it us.

RH: Have you talked to Traci about the stimulus money.
TR: Yes, Traci said that I should go ahead and send in the application because they didn't know for sure what was going to happen.
TR: These guys (MDNR) are getting overwhelmed. They're getting three years of funds piled onto them in this year, it'll triple their workload. It's going to clog up the system.

FT: We're down to 23 lots where we haven't been able to find the septic tanks yet. To do the hydraulic analyses we're going to assume the new septic tank will be at the same elevation as an adjacent tank.
TR: I brought the list of 23 addresses if you can contact the owners to help us locate the old septic tank.
FT: We're going to try hard to finish the design of the collection system by April 1.

JWH: So what do you think about going with our original plan of connecting thru the meter base and adding in an additional cost for making the electrical connection?
FT: If we don't get additional money, I can't say we can stay within budget. The District won't get a contract with a contractor, and the engineers and attorneys won't get paid either.
MM: I think we have to be upfront with the people-- that we've run into this problem and that this is their only cost. 
JWH: There are two choices; either connect to the homeowner's meter base or have the homeowner install his own electrical circuit to his service panel inside the house. 
TR: When we figure out what we're going to do, we need a written agreement from AUE.

FT: There are hungry contractors out there. We should bid this project as soon as we can. If we really hustle, with reviews and such, it will be about five months before we can advertise for bids. 
RS: I think we need to make a choice on the electrical connection now. If it turns out there's a problem with cost, we need to fix it, but I think we'll have time to do that. 
RS: We tell the homeowner that he has the option of providing a dedicated, certified circuit and a signed easement. If he doesn't do that, we'll connect to his meter base. Connecting to his meter base will cost a lot of money, and he may have to bear that cost.
RS: We also tell him that we're seeking additional funding, but that we can guarantee no additional cost to the homeowner if he gives us the dedicated line. 

RS: Exactly what does certification mean?
TR: We'll come up with the language of the certification. If it's a new installation, it should be certified by the installer. If it's an existing circuit, then maybe the District's contractor should certify it.

RH: The old septic tanks are supposed to be pumped and filled or collapsed. Whose responsibility is that, the Districts or the homeowners?
FT: I think we need to research this further. 

RS: On the electrical easement agreement, I made the modifications I thought should be made and if every resident gave us that, I think we have carte blanche to do whatever we need to do. 

JWH: We'll have to modify the cover letter to mention that we really plan to come off the meter base, but you have the option of installing your own electrical circuit. 
TR: The plan is to come off the meter base. If we get the grant funds, there will be no cost. If we don't get the grant funds there could be an expense to the homeowner. If the homeowner grants the easement and installs an electrical circuit we can guarantee there will be no cost. 

The group decided that there will be a special meeting on April 4, 2009, 11 a.m. at the Community House. The primary purpose of the meeting is to collect electrical easement agreement forms. A notary, hopefully Ann Schatzman, will be present at the meeting to assist.

Attorney’s Report
Bob Sweeney reported:
1) I brought the 911 map that has street addresses for all of the lots in the subdivision.
2) On the title commitments, I talked to Donna and we agree that we only need a title commitment for the property where the WWTP will be located. And that is on its way.
3) I did draft the legal service agreement and the resolution. [Adoption was put off until the March mtg.]
4) We're still missing a letter from bond counsel verifying that the bond election was valid.
RH: I sent a letter to Mr. Norrick's office requesting that our files be returned. I have not heard back from Mr. Norrick.

Engineer’s Report
There was no engineer’s report
Adjournment
There being no other formal business to come before the Board, a motion to adjourn was made by Rich Hirsch and seconded by Ken Jost at 8:50 P.M. Motion passed with all Directors in approval.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rich Hirsch
Recording Secretary

Approved this 11th day of March 2009.

___________________________	_________________________________
Secretary	Chairman
March 4, 2009