DOWNRIVER UTILITY WASTEWATER AUTHORITY

OCTOBER 10, 2019 MEETING MINUTES

Taylor City Hall City Council Chambers

1. Roll Call and Introductions

DUWA Chair Rick Sollars (Taylor) called the meeting to order at 9:05 AM and asked for roll call to be taken. At the time of the roll call, voting representatives were in attendance from 10 communities: Allen Park, Belleville, Brownstown Township, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, Romulus, Southgate, Taylor, Van Buren Township, and Wyandotte. A quorum (at least 7 members) was present. Riverview’s attorney, Kerry Morgan, was available for representation until Doug Drysdale arrived. Mr. Morgan is not a Board Commissioner, and thus, Riverview was not counted for Roll Call.

Subsequent to roll call, Chairman Sollars requested the Board and meeting attendees introduce themselves, as a new Commissioner, John Selmi (Dearborn Heights), was present for his first meeting.

Mr. Drysdale (Riverview) arrived shortly after the meeting commenced.

2. Approval of Agenda

Copies of the Agenda were made available prior to the meeting. A revised agenda was provided to the Board ahead of the meeting (Attachment 1). A motion as made and seconded to approve the Agenda. Motion passed unanimously.

3. Approval of Minutes from September 12, 2019 Board Meeting

Copies of the meeting minutes from the September 12, 2019 Board Meeting were distributed by email prior to the meeting (Attachment 2). Motion by Dustin Lent (Southgate) and seconded by Dave Flaten (Ecorse) to approve the minutes. Motion passed unanimously.

4. Legal Update

DUWA Attorney Andrea Hayden, of Fausone Bohn, provided the Legal Update.

a. Resolution to Implement Biosolids Project

Attorney Hayden reminded the Board of DUWA’s financial resolution, which is already in place. The resolution would be used to assist with securing financing for the biosolids project, in the event DUWA is not invited to apply for WIFIA financing.

Attorney Hayden, then, advised the Board of the following:

• The post-closing escrow transfer from Wayne County is expected to occur tomorrow. The teams will then begin work on review of Wayne County’s reconciliations.

• DUWA and WC have agreed on the terms of the extended Shared Services Agreement. The Agreement will be signed by Chairman Sollars after today’s Board meeting.
5. System Manager Update

System Manager Vyto Kaunelis, of OHM Advisors, provided a verbal summary of activities since the last meeting. A written summary was in the pre-meeting Board packet for the System Manager Report (Attachment 3), as well as a summary on biosolids efforts (Attachment 4).

a. System Manager Report

System Manager Kaunelis noted the following highlights from the System Manager Report:

• EGLE has required DUWA to evaluate their Industrial Pretreatment Program local limits. Based on a sampling effort, there will be required changes. The more major changes include a decrease to copper and phosphorus limits. The information from the local limits evaluation will be reviewed at the 10/16 technical committee meeting.

• Eramosa completed a pre-final design of the new SCADA split system, along with a a revised Transition Plan and Schedule of Work. Pertinent documents have been shared with Wayne County for their review and comment. The current schedule notes the project will be complete before yearend, but holidays may impact certain tasks.

• Van Buren Township previously brought a SEMCOG Asset Management funding reimbursement program to DUWA’s attention. OHM and Veolia attended a SEMCOG-led training meeting regarding the program’s application. Subsequent to the meeting, the teams prepared and submitted the application. SEMCOG is expected to provide a response to the application soon.

• Eramosa was solicited for a quote associated with replacement options of ‘PLC5s’ within the Biosolids Building. The PLC5s are program logic controllers, associated with SCADA systems, that are no longer supported. A couple options were provided in the proposal – one is a low-cost option, and the other is more expense. Based on Veolia’s awareness of the system’s function and on-site spare parts, Veolia recommends the lower cost option be implemented. This work will be completed in the future.

• PFM’s Financial Disclosure was compiled and submitted on time.

• DUWA’s website upgrade will be implemented by BTG, DUWA’s current website provider. There are no major changes to the design – the upgrade is mostly a refresh.

b. Biosolids Update

System Manager Kaunelis noted the following highlights related to the pending biosolids project:

• EPA informed OHM that prospective loan recipients will be announced next week.

• Draft RFPs are nearly complete. The drafts will be circulated next week for anyone interested in reviewing and commenting.

• The interest from potential bidders remains high.

c. Insurance Renewal

System Manager Lambrina Tercala (OHM Advisors) approached the Board to advise on insurance renewals. An update on an ‘all auto’ upgrade was included in the pre-meeting package (Attachment 5). System Manager Tercala noted the insurance policies presented at the September Board meeting have been renewed, as was presented, with the expectation of the following:

• DUWA purchased additional insurance coverage for the owned autos currently being leased to Veolia to
  
  o (1) conform with the O&M contract requirements and
  
  o (2) to adequately protect DUWA in case of an auto negligence claim filed against both DUWA and Veolia.
• The insurance coverage is provided by Hudson. The increase in policy cost for the ‘all auto’ coverage was $4,037.48. The total policy cost is $133,597.48 (formerly $129,560)

6. Requests for Authorizations

System Manager Tercala provided the following requests to the Board.

a. Riverdrive Interceptor (Alkali Sewer): HRC’s Proposal for Engineering & CA/CE Services

The pre-meeting package included a request for authorization of HRC’s proposal for services associated with the Riverdive Interceptor work (Attachment 6).

DUWA’s adopted Rate Package includes a budget of $2,028,000 for repair of Riverdrive Interceptor’s Alkali Sewer for CY2019 Q3/Q4. HRC recently completed an investigation of the sewer to identify the best approach for the repair. HRC has prepared a proposal (attached) that addresses the recommendations from the investigation.

The proposal includes design and engineering construction services. The cost and schedule associated with the work was noted as follows:

• Design & Bid Services:

o Not-To-Exceed Cost: $98,556.92

o Start of Design: 10/10/2019

o Issue for Bid: End of November 2019

o Bid Opening: Mid-December 2019

o Recommendation of Award of Contractor: January 2020

• Construction Engineering Services: $126,631.22

o January to April 2020 (12-week duration)

Bill Davis, HRC’s project manager for Alkali Sewer repair, will be available at the 10/16 Technical Committee meeting to discuss the technical matters of the work. A motion was made by Jim Taylor (Van Buren Township) and supported by Roberto Scappaticci (Romulus) to authorize HRC for a not-to-exceed cost of $225,188.14 associated with the Alkali Sewer repair. DUWA’s Chair or Vice Chair are authorized to execute the proposal once the proposal’s legal terms and conditions are to the satisfaction of DUWA’s General Counsel.

b. SRF Closeout: HNTB Final Invoice

System Manager Tercala noted project closeout is nearly complete for the SRF Project No. 5420-01. A request to approve HNTB’s final invoice was included in the pre-meeting package (Attachment 7). HNTB is the engineer on the project. The Invoice is No 44 and totals $13,269.15 for services rendered from June 29 through September 30, 2019. Greg Tupancy, of Wayne County, has been retained by DUWA via the Shared Services agreement. Mr. Tupancy assists with construction administration for the SRF project and recommends payment be processed.

Motion by Vice Chair Matakas (Allen Park) and supported Roberto Scappaticci (Romulus) to authorize the System Manager to recommend payment and DUWA’s accountant to approve payment for a total invoice amount of $13,269.15.

7. Contract Operator Update

Kelly Irving, Veolia’s Program Manager, and Jason Tapp, Veolia’s Assistant Project Manager, provided the Contract Operator update.

a. Staff Spotlight: Eric Graze, Maintenance Supervisor

Program Manager Irving introduced Eric Graze, Maintenance Supervisor, to the Board.

b. August 2019 MOR

An August 2019 Monthly Operating Report (MOR) was provided in the Board’s pre-meeting package (Attachment 8). Highlights from the summary and other updates included the following:

• No safety incidents over the reporting period.

• The DWTF is in compliance.

• DWTF’s flows were low. Ms. Irving also noted the DWTF experienced a recent all-time low flow in September of 30 MGD.

• Staff have focused on dry-weather efforts, including calibrating flow meters.

• No major equipment was out of service.

• Maintenance KPIs are tracking well.

c. Year in Review Presentation

Veolia presented a PowerPoint video to the Board and audience that shows the contrast between Day 1’s and Day 365’s site improvements, as well as staff photos. The Board was appreciative of Veolia’s hard work with the improvements.

8. Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Jason Couture (Taylor) provided the Treasurer’s Report.

a. Pending Invoices

Treasurer Couture presented the invoice register for a request for payment. The invoice register was provided in the pre-meeting package (Attachment 9). The invoice register includes a request for payment for 53 invoices for a total of $4,752,047.68. This is a higher dollar month because the invoices include Veolia’s previous monthly fees, an MFA debt payment, and insurance dues due to Aon. Motion by Vice Chair Bill Matakas (Allen Park) and supported Jim Taylor (Van Buren Township) to pay the invoices. Motion passed unanimously.

9. Public Comment

There was no public comment.

10. Other Business

Vice Chair Matakas advised the Board that he is term limited, and his last day as Mayor will be November 11. He does not expect to be at future DUWA meetings. Vice Chair Matakas thanked the Chair, Board, DUWA’s Professionals, and Veolia for their efforts and noted it has been a pleasure working with the teams.

There were no other items brought forth for consideration as “Other Business” items.

11. Next Meeting Date: November 14, 2019 (9:00 AM; Taylor City Hall)

Chairman Sollars (Taylor) reminded the Board that the next meeting would be the Board Meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2019 (9:00 a.m. Taylor City Hall).
12. Adjournment

There being no other business, Chairman Sollars (Taylor) announced that a motion to adjourn would be in order. Motion by Dave Flaten (Ecorse) and supported by Rick Rutherford (Belleville) to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously at 9:45 AM.
Meeting Minutes Prepared by:

Lambrina Tercala, DUWA System Manager

Attachments

1. Meeting Agenda

2. September 12, 2019 DUWA Board Meeting Minutes

3. System Manager Report for September 2019 Board Meeting (by OHM Advisors)

4. Biosolids Project Update (by OHM Advisors)

5. Memo regarding ‘All Auto’ Insurance Upgrade (by OHM Advisors)

6. Request to Authorize HRC for Alkali Sewer Design and CA/CE Services (by OHM Advisors/HRC)

7. Request to Authorize Invoice No 44 (Final) to HNTB re SRF No 5420-01 (by OHM/HNTB)

8. Monthly Operating Report for August 2019 (by Veolia)

9. Invoice Register, dated October 4, 2019 (by DNS Financial Services)