DOWNRIVER UTILITY WASTEWATER AUTHORITY
NOVEMBER 14, 2019 MEETING MINUTES
Taylor City Hall City Council Chambers
1. Roll Call and Introductions
DUWA Chairman Rick Sollars (Taylor) called the meeting to order at 9:06 AM and asked for roll call to be taken. At the time of roll call, voting representatives were in attendance from 8 communities: Allen Park, Belleville, Dearborn Heights, Lincoln Park, Southgate, Taylor, Van Buren Township, and Wyandotte. A quorum (at least 7 members) was present.Subsequent to roll call, Chairman Sollars requested the Board and meeting attendees introduce themselves, as a new Commissioner, John Zech (Lincoln Park), was present for his first meeting at a Lincoln Park representative.
2. Approval of Agenda
Copies of the Agenda were made available prior to the meeting (Attachment 1). Motion by John Zech (Lincoln Park) and seconded by Mayor Gail McLeod (Allen Park) to approve the Agenda. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Approval of Minutes from October 10, 2019 Board Meeting
Copies of the meeting minutes from the October 10, 2019 Board Meeting were distributed by email prior to the meeting (Attachment 2). Motion by Rick Rutherford (Belleville) and seconded by Jim Taylor (Van Buren Township) to approve the minutes. Motion passed unanimously, other than as noted. John Zech (Lincoln Park) abstained from approval, as he was not at the previous meeting.
4. Election of Interim Vice Chair for 2019
Chairman Sollars asked DUWA’s Attorney Jim Fausone (Fausone Bohn) to provide update on election for the Vice Chair position. Former Vice Chair Matakas (Allen Park) has termed out of his mayoral position. This leaves the Vice Chair position open for election.Attorney Fausone asked the Board to provide names of volunteers and a motion for a new Vice Chair. Jim Taylor made a motion for Mayor Gail McLeod to serve as the Vice Chair. Allen Park’s alternate Commissioner is Gail McLeod, who recently won the mayoral election. Moving forward, Mayor McLeod is expected to attend the DUWA meetings as the primary Commissioner. The Board’s pre-meeting packet included a memo regarding Mayor McLeod’s willingness to act as the interim Vice Chair (Attachment 3).
Motion by Jim Taylor and supported by Dustin Lent (Southgate) to elect Mayor McLeod (Allen Park) as DUWA Board Vice Chair for remainder of CY2019. Motion passed unanimously.
5. Legal Update
Attorney Fausone mentioned the Fausone Bohn team is working on a number of items that would be discussed in more detail under the System Manager update, especially as it relates to the Biosolids RFPs and related matters.
6. 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 4), as well as a summary on biosolids efforts (Attachment 5).
a. System Manager Report
System Manager Kaunelis noted the following highlights from the System Manager Report:
• EGLE has required DUWA to assess their Industrial Pretreatment Program local limits. A request for update to the Local Limits was referenced as being included as Item 7A on the Agenda.
• Sampling of PFAS compounds continues at DWTF, as required by EGLE. The most recent sampling event showed concentration above Water Quality Standards. The IPP team is working with DUWA’s industrial users to advance their PFAS minimization efforts.
• Design of the Alkali Sewer (along Riverdrive Interceptor) rehabilitation is underway. The design is expected to be complete this year, with bidding occurring next year. Since the work is weather dependent, the teams are assessing if it can be completed in the winter.
• EGLE has created a draft collection system permit, which is open for comment. The permit has been shared to DUWA’s Technical Committee. The permit includes some ‘CMOM’ requirements, which include ‘capacity, management, operation, and maintenance’ work efforts. CMOM requirements are associated with the desire to reduce or eliminate sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). The permit is a mechanism to allow communities to get a permit for those types of discharges. SSO events will lead to enforcement discretion since SSOs are not allowed. DUWA and Genesee County will be targeted for the permit as both of these areas experience flow blending. The Michigan Water and Environmental Association (MWEA) has been asked to comment on the permit. OHM has reviewed the permit and provided comments to MWEA. If others seek to make comments, they were asked to do so. It is expected the requirements of the permit will look like SAW grant work. Those that applied for SAW grants will have the necessary work in place. Those that didn’t apply for SAW grants may have a fair amount of work to do and will need to assess how to fund.
• Veolia’s 2019 CCTV work is almost complete. The team is compiling their paperwork. The inspected areas appear to be in good condition.
• Dye testing will commence soon under Veolia’s Flow Metering contract. This work will help assess meter accuracy.
• Veolia has developed good tools for asset management. The tools will help DUWA forecast rehabilitation and replacement needs. The tools use historic data, and it was cautioned that the historic data for the system may be incomplete or inaccurate. Veolia’s Year 1 experience with the system has been helpful in the planning. The tool will continue to be more and more helpful over time.
• With the most recent snow, it is expected that deicing/glycol flows from the airport will commence soon.
• Budget development is underway for 2020-2021. With the increased data associated with asset management and Veolia’s experience at the facility, it is expected budgeting for small capital projects and equipment will be better than the previous year.
b. Biosolids Update
System Manager Kaunelis noted the following highlights related to the pending biosolids project:
• DUWA’s Letter of Interest for WIFIA financing was accepted. The next step is to prepare an application, which is expected to be submitted around January.
• The RFPs have been published. Updates are as follows:
o Dryer Manufacturer: There are four interested vendors for supply of the Dryer equipment. DUWA’s Selection Committee held a confidential meeting with all four interested vendors; the meetings went well. DUWA should expect a proposal from each vendor.
o Design-Build Entity (DBE): It has been harder to keep interest with this RFP. First, the DBEs identified issues with requiring them to procure the Dryer due to the performance terms. That was identified as a higher risk than several were willing to accept. Seeing this, it was identified DUWA should make a change. The change will include DUWA self-procuring the equipment. This change will increase DUWA’s involvement in project coordination.System Manager Kaunelis expressed appreciation for the community representatives who are participating in the Selection Committee, as well as NEFCO’s involvement.
7. Requests for Authorizations
System Manager Tercala and Veolia’s Program Manager, Kelly Irving, provided the following requests to the Board.
a. Adopt Revised Local Limits
Veolia recently assisted DUWA with completing a local limits evaluation. The evaluation recommends new limits for arsenic, total chromium, total copper, cyanide, total silver, and total phosphorus. Veolia’s summary of the evaluation was attached in the pre-meeting package (Attachment 6).
The preliminary local limits have been reviewed by EGLE and are deemed as approvable. As such, DUWA’s next steps include
1) Approval the revised local limits,
2) Updating their Sewer Use Ordinance (SUO) with the revised local limits, and
3) Posting a Public Notice regarding the updated SUO.Information in the pre-meeting packet included the desire to add language within the SUO for PFAS minimization. While there are no local limits associated with PFAS, it is advantageous for DUWA to incorporate PFAS-reduction language into their SUO in the future. However, GLWA is in the process of this type of update to their SUO, and recently received several substantial comments associated with PFAS. As such, DUWA will stand down on updating the SUO with PFAS language, and only update the SUO with the new local limits. Adding PFAS luggage to the SUO will be revisited in CY2020.
Motion by Jim Taylor (Van Buren Township) and supported by Greg Mayhew (Wyandotte) to approve the local limits, update the SUO per the provided draft (Attachment 6), and post a joint public notice with EGLE regarding the SUO update. Motion passed unanimously.
b. Adjustment of Veolia’s Day 1 Polymer Volume
Pursuant to Veolia’s O&M Agreement, within thirty days after they begun services, Veolia prepared and provided a physical inventory of chemicals. The intent of collecting the inventory volumes was to provide DUWA with the same quantity and quality of chemical (or equivalent) upon termination of the Agreement. This inventory is generally referred to as the ‘Day 1 Inventory.’
Yearend reconciliations have identified an extremely high consumption of emulsion polymer than what was planned. This is attributable to the excess solids inventory. DUWA has reimbursed Veolia for transport and disposal of the excess solids, but not for associated chemical costs to process the solids.
Veolia has incurred extra expenses associated with this higher polymer use. The increased consumption of the polymer was not expected or planned and is not considered routine. Further, mannich polymer was also available on Day 1, but was found to be unusable and required off-site disposal. Rather than request reimbursement, Veolia has proposed an adjustment to their ‘Day 1’ polymer inventory. Additional detail on this request was provided in the pre-meeting packet (Attachment 7).
Motion by Dustin Lent (Southgate) and supported by Vice Chair McLeod (Allen Park) to approve the change in initial inventory for emulsion and mannich polymers to 0-gallons. This motion will not obligate Veolia to provide any polymer inventory to DUWA upon termination of the contract. Motion passed unanimously.
8. 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: Keith Jackson, Warehouse Manager
Veolia’s Collection System Manager, Mike Tapp, was the Staff Spotlight per the Agenda. However, due to a schedule conflict, Mr. Tapp could not attend. In his place, Veolia introduced Keith Jackson, Warehouse Manager, to the Board. Mr. Jackson reported he is actively working on preparing the new warehouse space for use as spare part inventory. Mr. Jackson is a long-time resident of Taylor. He appreciated the opportunity to attend the DUWA Board meeting.
b. September 2019 MOR
A September 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:
• The DWTF is in compliance.
• DWTF’s flows were extremely due to dry weather. There were no significant wet weather events during September.
• No safety incidents over the reporting period. The teams are working on satisfying items that were identified during their recent safety audit.
• There are several new pieces of equipment online to help automate the plant process and optimize chemical dosing.
• A new influent sample location has been identified by Veolia, and was presented to EGLE for their approval. The current sample location includes recycled flows, which is not ideal. A response from EGLE is expected soon. The cost for preparing the new sample location is expected to be near $20k, which is under DUWA’s budget for this work.
• MissDigs locates are proceeding well.
• CCTV work has not been completed in the section downstream of flow meter EC-6 due to high flows. The team hopes to inspect this stretch later in the coming weekend.
• There is an open position for a maintenance professional.
• The electrical inspection work by Veolia/UIS is nearing completion. Inspection of some areas required shut downs. A major shut down occurred from 7a to 3p one day, and the DWTF’s effluent remained within permit limits. Ms. Irving thanked Jason Tapp for his planning and sequencing of the work to make it a successful shut down.With no other items, Ms. Irving asked for questions. Attorney Fausone requested feedback on the following items:
• Would the change in sample location have any impact on reporting or treatment means?
o Ms. Irving responded that preliminary testing doesn’t show that it would. The testing is showing results are within typical domestic ranges.
• Can the CCTV work be shared?
o Ms. Irving responded that the results will be shared once the data is compiled, formatted, and reports are available. Veolia is currently in the process of scrubbing the field team’s reports.
c. Asset Management
Ms. Irving advised that the annual Asset Management report was submitted to EGLE at the end of October. The team has made significant progress on the Asset Management Program this past year. Approximately 1700 pieces of equipment, with their anticipated life expectances and replacement or repair costs, are included in Veolia’s asset management tools (model). With Veolia’s expansive footprint and history in this market, they have a great library to pull from for development of DUWA’s model. The DWTF team is continuing to review the model’s information and will update it, as required. For replacement and repair costs, Veolia is cognizant of DUWA’s budget, and will work on identifying areas where spending can be smoothed out.
9. Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Jason Couture (Taylor) provided the Treasurer’s Report, unless otherwise noted.
a. Quarterly Financial Statements – 2019Q3
Treasurer Couture presented the CY2019 third quarter financial statement. The report was included in the pre-meeting packet (Attachment 9). Treasurer Couture presented an overview of the quarterly report, which included general guidance on burn rates.
Revenues are projected to be $1.3M over budget by yearend. This is attributable to several items, including interest earnings being more than expected, and there is a gain industrial surcharges. Expenses are generally trending as expected. While a Budget Amendment was considered last month, it is no longer proposed since the higher revenues are net ‘to the good.’
Motion by Jim Taylor (Southgate) and supported by John Zech (Lincoln Park) to receive and file the third quarter finance statement. Motion passed unanimously.
b. CY2020-2021 Budget Preview
DUWA’s Financial Consultant, Beth Bialy, of Plante Moran, presented a preliminary budget for CY2020. The budget had been prepared by DUWA’s Accountant, Doug Drysdale (Riverview), of DNS Financial Services. Accountant Drysdale was not available for the day’s meeting, and thus Ms. Bialy assisted with the presentation.
The budget was provided immediately ahead of the meeting (Attachment 10). The budget was a preliminary preview of the CY2020 revenue and expenses. The preliminary budget included a 4% increase in rates, which was discussed at the most recent Financial Committee meeting. A 2-year budget will be provided to the Board for the December meeting.
The Board did not have questions or comments associated with the preliminary budget.
c. Pending Invoices
Treasurer Couture presented the invoice register for a request for payment. The invoice register was provided in the pre-meeting package and a supplemental register that was provided the day-of (Attachment 11). The invoice register includes a request for payment for 32 invoices for a total of $2,768,355.01. Motion by Vice Chair Bill Matakas (Allen Park) and supported Jim Taylor (Van Buren Township) to pay the invoices. Motion passed unanimously.
10. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
11. Other Business
a. CY2020 Meeting Date Discussion
System Manager Tercala noted that the December meeting will include proposed CY2020 Board meeting dates. Currently, DUWA schedules Board meetings on the second Thursday of every month. Ms. Tercala asked the Board to follow up with her on if there was a desire to change the dates.
There were no other items brought forth for consideration as “Other Business” items.
12. Next Meeting Date: Thursday, December 12, 2019 (9:00 AM; Taylor City Hall)
Chairman Sollars (Taylor) reminded the Board that the next meeting would be the Board Meeting on Thursday, December 12, 2019 (9:00 a.m. Taylor City Hall).
13. Adjournment
There being no other business, Chairman Sollars (Taylor) announced that a motion to adjourn would be in order. Motion by Bill Turner (Van Buren Township) and supported by Rick Rutherford (Belleville) to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously at 10:09 AM.
Meeting Minutes Prepared by:
Lambrina Tercala, OHM Advisors, DUWA System Manager
Attachments
1. Meeting Agenda
2. October 10, 2019 DUWA Board Meeting Minutes
3. Election of Interim Vice Chair for 2019
4. System Manager Report for October 2019 Board Meeting (by OHM Advisors)
5. Biosolids Project Update (by OHM Advisors)
6. Request for Approval of Local Limits Memo (by OHM Advisors)
7. Request for Adjustment to Polymer Chemical Inventory (by OHM Advisors)
8. Monthly Operating Report for September 2019 (by Veolia)
9. Quarterly Finance Report, dated November 3, 2019 (by DNS Financial Services)
10. CY2020 Budget Preview (by DNS Financial Services)
11. Invoice Register, dated November 8, 2019 (by DNS Financial Services)