November Annual Shareholders Meeting - BRMWC

Best Road Mutual Water Company
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November Annual Shareholders Meeting

Meeting Minutes > 2019 > November
 
BEST ROAD MUTUAL WATER COMPANY
 
 
MONTHLY MEETING
 
 
Minutes of November 14, 2019
 
 

 
In attendance:            
Board members:  Julian Rogers, Nan Bustos, Marsha Poenisch, Summer Garcia
Guests:               Paul Levy, Bill Biermann, Jim Goetz, Pat McGuire, Mark Wright, Barb Taddeo, Nicholas Bawdon, Greg Bluhm
Meeting convened at 7:07 pm by Julian Rogers
Approval of Minutes from October 10, 2019 board of directors meeting
 
 
Financials
1.    Treasurer Report: As of October 2019
a.    CD:                                                $1,022.55
b.    Checking:                                       $64,189.69
c.     Repair & Replacement:                     $111,192.33
 
2.    Invoices and Expenditures: October 2019
a.    Ellen Fisher’s Bookkeeping:               $469.30
b.    Bracewell:                                       $1,882.00
c.     Bracewell (Filter system design):        $2,202.50
d.    PG&E:                                             $990.06

Water System Operations and Maintenance Report
  1. Backflow testing will be performed in December
  2. Float was adjusted by 1 foot, therefore it was adjusted
  3. Level gauge needs repair
  4. Bracewell continues working on the design of a water treatment system for Well 1.  After design is complete, next step will be to obtain permits.
  
Actions
  1. Summer will speak to Bracewell about getting more details of work performed monthly to be detailed in the monthly report
  2. Julian will progress with the installation of XIO system
  3. Julian to send Nan copy of status of well design from Chris to Jonathan
  4. Update all necessary documents with new board of directors members.  Julian will investigate which documents need to be updated and will advise.
  5. Nicholas will look into options for what is required for generators for our system.  He will come back to the board with price estimates.
  6. Summer will contact Bracewell regarding boundries for water responsibilities
  7. Julian will look into getting keys for new board members
 
New Issues / Information
Treatment system- Design work is complete, and design has initial approval from the state.  Next step is to get formal approval and permits.  The State may recommend that we have 2 5,000 gallon tanks.  Outstanding issue is determining chlorine contact time.
    1. Estimated cost is $50,000
    2. $15,000 for permits, operations manual, etc
    3. $56,000 for the treatment unit with filter membrane, storage tanks and pumps
    4. Spent approximately $11K to date
    5. Equipment will be located in the pump house to treat well 1, well 2 could be added
    6. Storage tanks located outside
    7. Capacity estimated at 70-80 GPM, now at 40 GPM on one pump
    8. Installation, testing and final sign-off by the state is estimated to be 1 year
  1. Scada System – Julian has installed the system and the server is online.  Connected amp meter on both wells which are operational. We will have a system at well 1, well 2, and the tank. Connections exist to view amps to the pumps.  Depth sensor, tank level, and flowmeter can be added to the SCADA system in the future.
  2. Capital Improvement Planning – Marsha is taking the action
  3. Asphalt under equipment in pump house is cracked and is deteriorating.  We will get quotes on repair/replacement in order to evaluate options.  Julian met with one contractor who has not yet responded with quote.  This could be a critical issue for the addition of the 2 5,000 gallon tanks to support the treatment system.
  4. Chlorine continues to be monitored.  
  5. Meter accessibility is becoming an issue for meter readings at some locations, including one meter behind an electric fence.  Bracewell was asked to provide a list of locations where meter accessibility is a problem.  
  6. Ongoing compliance issues:
    1. TTHM:  Compliance Order 02_05_17R_001 TTHM.  We are currently in compliance.  Need to continue to report for one year after we meet compliance.  
    2. Arsenic MCL:  02_05_16R-005 arsenic levels continue to be above recommended levels for drinking water.  Blending wells 1 and 2 should help us to get below recommended levels, however well 1 will need to come back online before this blending can happen.
    3. Well #1:  02_05_18R_002 Groundwater under the influence of surface water
  7. The board has previously approved expenditures up to the value of $2,000 for a backup generator for the pump.  After further investigation, it seems that $2,000 is not enough to purchase a generator.  We would likely need an automated generator, which would be somewhere in the area of $15-$20K.  Recommendation is to put this purchase on hold pending further information.  We will take an action to get additional information regarding requirements and get a quote to see how much it will cost.
 
Annual Meeting Notes:
 
  • Julian gave an update on the status of the water operator change from Dougherty to Bracewell
  • Approved design of treatment system which will enable us to get well 1 back online
  • Restarted chlorination in the system
  • SCADA system has been installed
  • Begun working on capital plan
  • Enacted delinquency plan
  • Julian gave an update on issues throughout the year
  • Board is considering a backup generator
  • Julian gave updates on the roles of the board of directors
  • Marsha gave an update on the financials
    • Approximately $16K saved last year due to change in professional services
 
 
Questions from meeting attendees:
 
Question:  When well 1 comes back online, how will that impact shareholders.
  • We will be able to blend water between the 2 wells in order to fix arsenic problem
  • State requirement that we are required to have 2 wells online
  • Estimated to be approximately 1 year, when treatment system is in place, to bring well 1 back online
 
Question: Will the surface water be an issue in the future
  • 3 issues, cracked casing, surface water, and livestock in the area that is creating contamination
 
Question: Why don’t we pursue enforcing the removal of the livestock in the area in order to solve the contamination issue.
  • The treatment system will resolve all 3 issues at once.  The state was not satisfied with the solution of simply removing the livestock, as this was not a guaranteed solution for all of the issues.
 
Question: Have we looked at point of use water treatment systems to address the arsenic issues.
  • The treatment system that we’re pursuing is our plan to address the arsenic issue.  We have no plan for point of use treatment systems.

Question:  Any idea what the water table is?
  • The SCADA system that has recently been installed will help us monitor the water monitoring.  We don’t know the level of the water table currently.
 
Question: What system are we using for nitrate system.
  • We’re not currently doing any nitrate treatment.  There are no issues with nitrate levels in our water at this time.
 
Questions: How do we deal with excess iron bacteria?
  • Bracewell has been flushing the lines to clear the clogging caused by iron byproduct.  The flow levels dropped to 22gpm due to the clogging, and the flushing has helped to resolve the issue.  
 
Questions: Barbara Taddeo asked for a resend of the chlorine information.  
  • A copy of the report will be delivered to her mailbox.
 
Question:  Do we have a plan for power outages in our emergency response plan?
  •  Yes, the Emergency Response Plan includes provisions for power outages.
 
 
New board member elections were held.  The following list represents the new board of directors for Best Road Mutual Water Company.
  • President, Julian Rogers
  • Vice President, Greg Bluhm
  • Secretary, Nan Bustos
  • Treasurer, Marsha Poenisch
  • Operations and Maintenance, Summer Garcia
  • Member at Large, Nicholas Bawdon
 
 
Executive Session
  1. 3rd late notices going to H07
  2. 1st late notice going to P05
  3. 1st late notice going to P09
  4. P08 backflow break, responsibility of shareholder
 
Next Board Meeting – Annual Shareholders Meeting
Date:  Thursday, December 12, 2019         Time: 7:00pm
Location:  Sunnyslope Water District, 3570 Airline Highway
Public portion of meeting adjourned at 8:47pm

 
Respectfully submitted,
Nan Bustos, Secretary, BRMWC
 
 
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