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MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE

BINGHAMTON-JOHNSON CITY JOINT SEWAGE BOARD

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Village of Johnson City Conference Room

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Members Present: Eugene Hulbert, Chairman

                                    Kenneth Kinsman, Vice-Chairman

                                    Thomas Augostini

Thomas Dellapenna, Jr.

                                    Edward Crumb

                                    Kevin Transue-Absent

 

Also Present:          Robert C. Murphy, Esq., Co-Counsel

                                    Kenneth Helisek, Esq., Co-Counsel

                                 Catherine P. Aingworth, Interim Superintendent

                                    Beverly J. Palmer, Fiscal Officer

            Michele Cuevas, Confidential Secretary

            John Perticone, Esq.   

 

Guests:                     Bob Bennett, Village of Johnson City

                                    Jack Bills, Personnel Services Consultant                              

                                    Howard LaFever, Stearns & Wheler

Bob Palladine, C&S

Art VanGelder, C&S

John LaGorga, Stearns & Wheler

                                    Howard LaFever, Stearns & Wheler

Tom Behan, Broome County Personnel

                                    Pat Brennan, Deputy Broome County Executive

                                    Eric Reageal, Press & Sun Bulletin

                                    Mayor Lewis, Village of Johnson City

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Chairman Hulbert called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.   (Corrected Minutes)

 

At this time, chairman noted that the order of the agenda will be changed.

Fiscal Officer Report

 

Beverly Palmer gave the fiscal officer report.  Note:  Michele Cuevas was late to meeting and did not record the actual fiscal officer report.  Upon arrival the fiscal officer was discussing the flows from the municipalities for the 2006 year.  Michele Cuevas stated that two (2) municipalities have not turned in their numbers.  They were City of Binghamton, Town of Kirkwood.  Beverly Palmer had City of Binghamton numbers and Michele will check with the Town of Kirkwood and find out the status on their flows.  All of the information will be given to Beverly.

 

Motion to accept the fiscal officer report was made by Kenneth Kinsman.

Seconded by Thomas Dellapenna.

Motion carried.  5 yeas  0 neas  1 absent

 

At this time Beverly Palmer stated that her office received notification from the New York State Retirement that Mr. William A. Miller, Jr. will be retired effective date March 2, 2007.   All board members were given a copy of the letter.

 

Claims

 

The board listing was e-mailed to all board members and a copy was in their packages.  Board member Crumb did not receive a copy of the board listing and would like a few minutes to look over the copy that was in his board package. 

 

At this time Chairman Hulbert asked about the insurance claim for earthquake insurance.

Board member Mr. Augostini noted that he could have the carrier come to a board meeting and discuss the policy and coverage’s to the board.

Mr. Augostini will contact the insurance carrier and ask for a full presentation on current policies and coverage’s.  A special meeting will be held on March 2nd to discuss this at the Village of Johnson City starting at 1:30 pm. 

 

Motion to accept the claims totaling $316,250.61 was made by Mr. Augostini.

Seconded by Mr. Crumb.

Motion carried:       6 ayes

0  neas

1 absent

 

At this time chairman Hulbert opened the privilege of the floor.

 

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR

 

Broome County Personnel

 

Personnel Services:  Mr. Brennan spoke to the board members about the services that they could provide to the Joint Sewage Board.  Currently they provide personnel labor relations service for all of the public entities.  Currently the Village of Endicott is using their services.  Mr. Brennan gave an overview of the services and the charges are $55.00/hr. per person.  They have a labor lawyer and a county attorney.  In the first year with working with the Village of Endicott the savings was between 60 and 70 thousand dollars.   Question asked by board member Crumb was who is the attorney that the county uses?  Mr. Brennan stated that they use Mr. Bill Gibson as the attorney and Mr. Behan as a labor relations specialist who was present at the meeting.  Mr. Brennan also noted that in the first year of their services they resolved all 7 contracts with the Village of Endicott.

An inter-municipal agreement would need to be drawn up.  After a brief discussion it was determined that a contract could be drawn up between the board and Broome County Personnel services.  An inter-municipal agreement might not be needed.

Mr. Perticone will be handling this and will be presented at the special meeting on March 2nd. 

 

C&S Construction Management-Update

Update:  Mr. VanGelder gave the following report.

Contract 4 Solids Handling:  2 of the 4 boilers are back on site at the facility.  Contractors are currently working on them. 

Contract 1 & 3 Contract 1 working on the check out start up and testing plan.  A number of meetings were held over the past few weeks. Finalize stages for start up.  The backwash area will start up middle to end of March.  Contract 3 most major parts have been replaced and there are still a few outstand punch list items left. 

TPS Status:  Currently there are 2 pumps in the basement of the TPS location.  One (1) valve needs to be replaced on one of the pumps.  The pump base needs to be manufactured before the installation can proceed. 

Head house Pump Status:  Dudley Construction is still on track and should be no later than late February to middle of March. 

 

FEMA

Update:  Robert Palladine gave the following report:

Mr. Palladine passed out an update list for all board members to follow along. 

The updated costs from the flood of 06 are at 10.8 million.

On February 5th the first appeal was for the first 2 PW’s submitted. 

Everyone followed along with Mr. Palladine. 

On the engineering costs they have revamped these figures from the advice from SEMO and are currently waiting for response. 

Hazard Mediation Update:  Mr. Palladine noted that new information has come in on possible grant money for a flood wall. 

At this time Mr. Palladine went through the mediation project summary page. 

Mr. Palladine went through the ideas of water tight doors, flood wall and other flood prevention ideas.  The approximate cost for a flood wall is 7 to 8 million and the other projects like water tight doors etc. would be 2.5 to 3 million.  Interim Superintendent asked Mr. Palladine about the structure of the cells that are on the edge of creek.  Mr. Palladine will report on that issue at the next regular meeting.  Co-Counsel Helisek asked Mr. Palladine if pilings were installed under the structure next to the creek, and Mr. Palladine said yes.

 

Mr. Palladine mentioned that the primary clarifiers change order is in the works and should have to the board in a couple of weeks.

 

Lime Stabilization-Update

 

Mr. LaGorga gave the following report:

The lime stabilization unit has been installed and testing is being done and the first delivery of the bulk lime is anticipated on February 21st.  Training will be beginning on February 22 & 23. 

 

The biosolids report is in the final review for the Mrs. Aingworth signature and will be mailed out on Thursday the 16th.  Since there were no bio-solids produced the regional and state offices will be receiving a letter stating that.

 

Sludge/leachate option:

Currently Mr. Perticone and Mr. LaGorga are going over the Plant Rules and Regulations and will be amending these and presenting to the board at the next regular meeting.  Also, working on the dentists, waste haulers, restaurants and hospitals on the pretreatment program to have them comply with new federal and state laws for discharging to the facility.  John Perticone passed an outline of the procedure that needs to be done for amending the rules and regulations.  At this time, Mr. Perticone explained that currently the dentists are under Federal law on how to dispose of their waste. 

Chairman Hulbert would like a letter drafted and given to each municipality upon board approval.  This letter will be presented at the March meeting. 

A public hearing will need to be held.

Interim Superintendent Aingworth noted that she has visited other BAF plants and also knows from just attending the NYWEA conference that there are aggressive FOG programs in place in different municipalities in the United States.  The plant would benefit greatly from a FOG program.  Mr. Hulbert would like an information meeting setup and have Stearns & Wheler, Mrs. Aingworth and Mr. Perticone work on that. 

 

Capacity-County update

Howard LaFever gave an update on the future capacity of the facility and a draft report will be presented to the county in May or June of this year.  The board members received an outline and were asked to review it and make any comments or questions that they might have. 

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

Chairman Hulbert asked for a motion to approve the minutes from January 9th, 2007. 

 

Vice Chairman Kinsman made a motion to accept the minutes.

Second by Mr. Augostini.

 

Mr. Crumb made a correction to the January minutes pg.6 2 Absent votes.

Co-Counsel wants the record to state that the 41J referenced in the January minutes should state the name which is the New York State Retirement & Social Security Act 41J.

Motion was amended with the above corrections by Mr. Kinsman.

Seconded by Mr. Augostini.

Motion carried:       5 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent

 

 

Michele mentioned that the new Advantage Energy rate for the upcoming year was in everyone package.  There is considerable energy cost savings with this.

 

Michele also explained the PERMA report to the board members. 

 

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

 

Violation, Complaints & Problems

 

Violations of the IWPP consisted of two (2) they were Wilson Electroplating & Curcio Printing and were published in the local paper. 

 

  1. Urgent repairs to the Johnson City Pump Station and Binghamton main pumps are pending. 
  2. There continues low temperature controlled burn in the compost bioreactor.  FEMA representative were at the facility today.  We are currently asking for $50,000 to 1 million estimates.  Cathy noted that once the lime unit is finished and they can get to the reactor they would have a better idea of the cost.

 

Compliance

  1. The facility met all of the limits for the month of January.

 

Personnel

1.  We are continuing to work with Civil Service on job titles, duties & personnel changes.

2.    We have begun a training program for all employees.  The goal is for all employees to have a common base knowledge regarding equipment and the operation process of the facility.

 

3.  We have hired one shift lead supervisor and one operator trainee.  An additional operator trainee has resigned and we are currently working with civil service on this to fill the position. 

 

Operational

1.  All ten settling tanks are on line and when the weather breaks Cathy would like to get with Chairman Hulbert on the baffle design and installation .

 

Digester

            1.  The number 3 digester is working to stabilize the solids.

 

Centrifuges

            1.  Both centrifuges are on line.

 

Influent Pumps

            1.  Corrective action is being taken through C&S Engineers and the Village of Johnson City.  Mr. VanGelder gave an update on this earlier in the meeting.

 

IWPP

            1.  Stearns & Wheler assisting our staff with the program.

            2.  The NYSDEC in Kirkwood was called on February 6th, after a plant employee noticed an employee from the car dealership across from the facility dumping buckets of substances down the outside drain.  Next month a status on this will be given.

 

Plant Business

            1.  A meeting was held on January 11th regarding the CSO’s. 

            2. The facility has submitted approximately 8 million dollars for equipment, repairs and labor to FEMA.

            3.  The interim superintendent gave a presentation regarding the facility flood experience and recovery efforts at the annual NYWEA meeting in NYC.  And also she was invited to give the same presentation to the Conference of Mayor at a later date.

  

At this time Cathy passed out samples of other municipalities on FOG programs for the board to take a look at.

 

Chairman Hulbert asked the interim superintendent to attend another conference which will be held in Baltimore Maryland.  Mrs. Aingworth noted that she appreciated the offer to attend the conference but she felt that since the BAF were going to be started that she felt that she should stay at the facility and look over the startup of the BAF’s. 

 

Also at this time Mr. Wagner who is the plant head electrician is planning on having a lay out plan for the SCADA system for the March meeting. 

 

Cathy mentioned that in the board packages were the charts for the monthly and the 2006 yearly charts of BOD, TSS, and flow.

Reports

 

Mr. Kinsman and Mr. Hulbert met with Mr. Murphy and they have come to an agreement and all items have been discussed.   They have also meet with Joseph Abbott who is the union president at the facility and Mr. Hulbert & Mr. Kinsman listened to what he had said.  Further details on this will be discussed in Executive Session.

 

At this time Mr. Murphy spoke to board and went through the items that MR. Hulbert and Mr. Kinsman spoke to him about previous.  Mr. Murphy will drop off the files to Mr. Helisek office on the CSEA documents. 

 

Jack Bills update

 

At this time Mr. Bills spoke to the board members and he stated that by visiting the facility the attitude of the management is great.  They all have a positive work ethic. 

The biggest thing that Mr. Bill’s believes that needs to change is the employee’s ideas of work ethic.  Mr. Bills continued to explain the management of objectives.  Mr. Bill stressed that the board needs to set goals for Cathy and then a set of goals for the facility.   The board and Mr. Bill would like to sit down and come up with a set of goals.  Mr. Bill will be in contact with chairman to set up the meeting.

 

A copy of the program from Mr. Bill will be copied for Mr. Crumb.

 

Motion by Mr. Crumb to allow the Mrs. Aingworth with customary travel and lodging expenses to attend the conference in Baltimore.

Seconded by Mr. Kinsman.

Motion carried 5 yeas, 0 neas, 1 absent.

 

Old Business

At this time Vice-Chairman Kinsman asked for a motion for a 5 county residence policy.

Since the two municipalities are going over the agreement this type of request should be submitted to them.  After a brief discussion it was decided to hold this over. 

 

Resolution

 

Motion by Mr. Crumb to make a resolution that this board has a stated policy that a candidate for Civil Service Examination or job application is not bond by any residency requirement and if they accept the position then the applicant must comply with paragraph 19 of the inter-municipal agreement.

Seconded by Mr. Kinsman

Motion carried   5 yeas, o neas, 1 absent.

 

Kathleen Carney

 

Michele noted that Kathleen Carney has resigned from the position as transcriptionist.  Currently we are still looking for a transcriptionist.  Mr. Kinsman and Michele are working on this.  Mr. Kinsman did say that someone could be available later on in the year.

 

Website-update

Board member Crumb will give Cathy a contact at Cyberspace.  Also, Mr. Augostini has forwarded a website to Cathy and Michele and since they have only had a few minutes to review they will report at a later date on this.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

 

Mr. Kinsman made a motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel issues at 4:04 p.m.  Second by Mr. Augostini 

 

Motion carried:       4 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent

 

 

The next special meting will be held March 2nd at 1:30 pm at the Village of Johnson City, 2nd floor Conference Room.

 

 

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. at the City of Binghamton, City Clerk's Conference Room.

 

TIME & PLACE OF NEXT BOARD MEETING

 

 

Tuesday, March 13, 2007 @1:30 PM

City of Binghamton, City Clerk's Conference Room

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Michele A. Cuevas

Confidential Secretary

 

cc:       All Board Members

            Mayor Ryan, City of Binghamton

            Mayor Lewis, Village of Johnson City

            Kenneth P. Helisek, Esq.

            Robert C. Murphy, Esq.

            Beverly J. Palmer, Fiscal Officer

            Catherine Aingworth, Interim Superintendent

            City of Binghamton, City Clerk

Haylor, Freyer & Coon

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