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Commission Minutes
GREENWOOD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
MINUTES OF THE
MArch 26, 2008
Regular meeting
The regular meeting of the
Greenwood Metropolitan District Commission was held
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 3:00 p.m., in the Training Room
of Greenwood Metropolitan District Technical Service
Facility, 110 Metro Drive.
In attendance:
Commissioner Bob Haynie,
Chairman Richard Coleman Gayle Grogan
Commissioner Gene Hancock,
Secretary George Martin Roy Hemphill
Commissioner Michael G.
Monaghan Wayne Daniel Paige Holley
Commissioner Henry
Watts David Edwards
Brian Waldrep
Aaron
Frazier Danny Ware
Mara Givens
I.
Chairman Haynie called the meeting to order and Mr.
Martin gave the invocation.
II.
Chairman Haynie gave the statement of compliance with
the notification provision of the Freedom
of Information Act.
III.
Wilson Creek Plant Update
Mr. Danny Ware of Davis and
Floyd, Inc. distributed a change order summary sheet to the
Board. He will update the sheet as needed. Minutes from
the monthly progress meeting were given out. There were no
issues that came up in the meeting that will need to be
addressed. The construction at the site is progressing as
scheduled. Excavation for the BNR has started. The rough
grading is finished. The preliminary fencing around the
site is complete. The contractor has started the dewatering
of the #4 clarifier. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to know
how the 72” pipe will be attached. Mr. Ware said the line
work contractor is providing a piece that will be casted
into the wall of the pump station. The pipe contractor will
give the piece to Wharton-Smith for them to cast.
Wharton-Smith will then build the pump station and the line
work contractor will weld the pipe. Commissioner Hancock
asked for an update of the cracks on the floor at the
RAS/WAS pump station. Mr. Ware responded there is no
resolution. The contractor still feels like it is not their
responsibility. Mr. Ware is waiting on supplemental
information from their concrete specialist. Commissioner
Watts asked if the cracks have increased. Mr. Ware said
there is no change on the size of the cracks. An updated
construction schedule was provided to the Board along with
construction pictures.
Commissioner Monaghan made a
motion to accept the change order #1 for electrical work.
The amount is a deduction of $27,578. Commissioner Hancock
seconded, and the motion was unanimously approved.
IV.
Mr. David Edwards (134 Kingston Rd) and Ms. Mara
Givens (202 Runnymeade) addressed the
Board concerning
problems with the sewer lines in Wellington Green. Ms.
Givens described the
problems
she has when the manhole in front of her house overflows
along with a manhole on
Parkland Golf Course. She said there are a lot of children
that play around her house. She is
concerned about the health risk for the residents. Ms.
Givens said she does not know who to call
when the
problem happens on the weekend or after normal business
hours. Ms. Givens suggested
for Metro to bolt the manhole in her driveway down and
unbolt the manholes on Parkland.
Chairman Haynie said that is not a solution to the problem.
Ms. Givens said that is the solution that
was given to
Parkland. Ms. Givens said this problem became a nightmare
for her.
Mr. Edwards said the problem he has is that the rain will
back up his service line. He has to
remove the clean-out cap to eliminate the problem. He has
had this problem since 1998.
Mr. Edwards had a new
backflow valve installed to see if that would help with his
problem.
He said he has been
told since 1998 that there is a project going on to help
with this problem.
Mr. Edwards said this
is a public health hazard. Ms. Givens said the odor from
the overflow is
very strong. Mr.
Edwards said he understands the line capacity has something
to do with
the problem. He said
at 122 Kingston Road when an overflow occurs it goes
directly into
Turner Branch.
Mr. Edwards presented pictures of the problem at his
address.
Commissioner
Monaghan wanted to know when the Board was to discuss the
upsizing of the
Turner Branch
line. Mr. Martin replied it will be discussed later during
the meeting.
Commissioner
Hancock said Metro has not been taking care of the
collection systems for 20 years.
Metro
did not take over the collections system until 2000.
Commissioner Hancock asked if the
line was not big
enough to start with. Mr. Martin responded when the line
was constructed it
was big enough,
but Metro is having I/I problems every time it rains. He
informed the Board,
Mr. Edwards and
Ms. Givens that Metro is bringing the Turner Branch Pipe
Upsizing Project
to the
Board for their approval later at the meeting. Commissioner
Monaghan wanted to
know how
close is this project from starting. Mr. Martin said the
project is designed,
and Metro
needs approval from the Board to obtain bids. Manager
Coleman said Metro
first had to upsize the Rocky Creek line before they could
upsize the
Turner Branch line. Commissioner Hancock asked if Ms.
Givens was on an end-of-the-line
manhole. Mr. Martin said no, the trunkline is backing up.
Ms. Givens wanted to know
why the backups
only happen to certain homeowners. Mr. Martin said for Mr.
Edwards
it is because the
trunkline backs up his service line; Ms. Given’s problem is
from the low manhole
in her driveway. Ms.
Givens wanted to know about Parkland. Mr. Martin said there
was so
much pressure on the system
that the water had nowhere else to go. Ms. Givens wanted to
know who she could call when
this problem occurs after hours or on the weekend. Mr.
Martin
said Metro has an emergency
number listed in the phone book; Metro has someone on call
24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. Ms. Givens said she was not aware of the emergency
number.
Mr. Daniel gave Ms. Givens
the emergency call number of 864.993.1038. Commissioner
Monaghan said Metro did not
take over the collection system until 2000. He said prior
to
that time Metro did not
inspect the installation of the collection systems in
sub-divisions. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro currently
has a $40 million plant
upgrade underway. He
said the sewer portion of your bill might soon be higher
than your
electric bill. Mr.
Edwards said he appreciates the effort that Metro does to
help with this
problem. Ms. Givens agreed
with Mr. Edwards’ statement. Chairman Haynie wanted to
let them know that Metro has
been working on this project and they were aware of the
problem.
V.
Consideration of receiving bids for the Turner Branch
Phase 1 Project
Commissioner Monaghan asked
for Mr. Aaron Frazier to explain the Turner Branch Project.
Mr. Frazier explained the project. He informed everyone
where the project would start (Airport Road) and where the
project would end (past the two new schools). The sewer at
the start area is 12 inches in diameter and the new design
is to make the line size 24 inches in diameter. The project
is divided into two phases. Phase 1 starts at the Airport
Road and goes up Highway 254 to the Westminster Presbyterian
Church. Phase 1 of this project will solve the issue in
Wellington Green. Mr. Frazier said this phase should take a
year to complete and they will start at Airport Road first.
The total length of this project is 2.5 miles of big size
pipe and an estimated 1 mile of small size pipe. Mr.
Frazier said status of the project is the project is
designed and Metro is working to obtain the necessary
easements (estimated 2/3 of easements are obtained). Mr.
Hemphill said Joe Swofford from Metro is obtaining those.
Mr. Frazier said there are 34 right-of-way to obtain and
Metro has obtained 24 of them. The project is ready to
obtain permits from DHEC and go out for bids. Mr. Frazier
said they were to discuss with the Board the current
standing of the project to date and how long it might take
to do the project. His estimated time frame was a year once
the contractor starts the project. Metro will need to
obtain bids for this project. Mr. Frazier said the
estimated cost for this project is $4.3 million. He has
spoken to contractors to see if the estimated cost is in
line with their current unit prices. The contractor said
those unit prices should be fine for budgeting purposes.
The contractor said that some bids could come in lower than
the estimated unit prices. Mr. Frazier said contractors are
very hungry for work so the price could be lower than
estimated. Commissioner Monaghan asked if the estimate is
for the entire project or just Phase I. Mr. Frazier said
the estimate is for Phase I only. Metro has made some
assumptions for rock; they did not drill for rock.
Commissioner Monaghan said he would like to see Metro
accelerate this project. Chairman Haynie inquired what the
budget was for this project. Mr. Martin said this project
is in the long range plans. Manager Coleman said when the
long range plans were updated Metro had $3.5 million for the
project, but the financial plan had $2.5 million. Mr.
Frazier said the design should be 100% ready in a week. It
could be 3 to 3.5 months before the contractors could start
work on this project. Mr. Frazier said there will be a
penalty for going over the time frame. He said they do not
like to accelerate the timeframe because that could drive up
the cost of the project.
Commissioner Monaghan made a motion to proceed with
obtaining bids for the
Turner
Branch Phase I Project; Commissioner Hancock seconded, and
the motion was
unanimously approved.
VI.
Commissioner Monaghan made a motion to approve the
February 27, 2008 minutes as mailed;
Commissioner Watts seconded, and the motion was unanimously
approved.
Chairman Haynie abstained
for voting since he was not at the February 27th
meeting.
VII.
Financial Report
Chairman Haynie asked for
more information regarding the revenue deficit.
Commissioner Monaghan said Metro is short on the budget, but
great on the actual. Chairman Haynie said he would like
more explanation on the revenue shortage using the
billed/collected same month method. Manager Coleman said
traditionally Metro would post the check from CPW in the
month the check was received; that amount would be compared
to the amount budgeted. He reminded the Board that CPW said
Metro needs to look at last month’s billing versus this
month’s collections. Chairman Haynie said the year-to-date
actual versus year-to-date budget is a different number.
Manager Coleman said CPW does the majority of the collection
but not all of it. He said the budget was based on 10
months’ worth of collections from the previous fiscal year.
Metro was under budget last year and Metro had an 8% rate
increase plus a change in the rate structure. Chairman
Haynie said Metro does not carry over the debt from the
previous fiscal years. Manager Coleman said Metro is trying
to find out why they are off on the revenue. He said part
of it is Metro estimated high on the budget and are
collecting low on the revenue. Commissioner Monaghan said
Metro is not collecting low on the revenue. Manager Coleman
said yes, Metro is. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro is
collecting lower than budget, but they are collecting more
than last year. Manager Coleman reminded the Board that
Metro did have a rate change with an 8% rate increase.
Chairman Haynie said the rate change was supposed to balance
to the projected revenue. Commissioner Monaghan said the
bottom line is $446,000 better than budget. Chairman Haynie
said Metro is short of budget by $455,975. Commissioner
Monaghan said on page 5 of the packet the overage is $446,
000 of budget versus actual. Chairman Haynie said he is
talking about the sewer service charges. Commissioner
Monaghan said Metro is better than last year, but less than
budget. Manager Coleman said for the fiscal year, Metro
billed (through CPW) 8.5% more than last year, but there was
an 8% increase in rates. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to
know when the rate increase started. Manager Coleman said
January 2008, but last year it was in February. He said
Metro is only collecting 5.4% more than last year.
Collections are down about 3% compared to what is billed.
Commissioner Monaghan said it does not make sense that the
collections are less than what is being billed. He asked if
that means that customers are not paying their bills.
Manager Coleman said the money Metro receives from CPW on
what is collected is 5.4% more than the previous year. He
said comparing what is billed, Metro is 8.5% more. Metro is
comparing July, 2007 – February, 2008 versus July, 2006 –
February, 2007. Chairman Haynie said Metro will always run
behind in collections. Manager Coleman said last year Metro
collected right at 100% of what was billed; this year Metro
is collecting 94.6% of what is billed. Commissioner
Monaghan asked if this means Metro has a lot of delinquent
accounts. Manager Coleman said that he does not know; this
is based on the amount Metro receives from CPW. He does not
know how that works with their internal system. Manger
Coleman said the amount billed should be the same as the
amount collected; unless there is bad debt. Commissioner
Monaghan suggested a separate workshop on the recording
process for revenues. Commissioner Hancock asked if Metro
has received any bad debt money. Mrs. Grogan said Metro
receives that money in August. Commissioner Monaghan said
last year at this time Metro was $704,376 negative actual.
He said this year Metro is $389,663 positive; when that is
compared with budget Metro is $446,539 better than budget.
He said the expenses are about the same as the under in
collections. Chairman Haynie asked if Commissioner Monaghan
was looking at the total budget. Commissioner Monaghan
responded yes. Mrs. Grogan said in contract services there
will be a big bill for the root control next month.
Commissioner Monaghan said he looks at that amount and
thinks Metro is doing well. Manager Coleman said Metro is
doing well when comparing previous year month to current
year month. Commissioner Monaghan said right now with the
expenses being down it makes up for the decrease in
revenue. He noted Metro does have property taxes this
year. Chairman Haynie asked if the variances were
reversed. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro is $409,000
under budget. He said that makes up for the $467,063 under
budget. Manager Coleman said Metro should look again at the
overall financial plan, because the projects are coming in
over what is estimated. The income was less than what was
budgeted; the debt is fixed. Metro needs to make sure
everything will balance in the future. Commissioner
Monaghan said Metro made up for that with the last rate
increase. Chairman Haynie asked if it was a timing issue on
the utilities payment. Mrs. Grogan said she would assume so
since year to date is still balanced.
VIII.
Action Items
a.
Consideration of Contract with Auditor
Chairman Haynie said the
audit services in not typically bidded each year. He said
having auditors knowledgeable in Metro’s system usually
makes the audit more efficient. Chairman Haynie wanted to
know the cost of the audit last year. Mrs. Grogan said she
checked and it was around $9,000. She said the first
contract went through fiscal year 2004 and the fiscal year
2004 contract was for $8,500.
Commissioner Monaghan made a
motion to extend the audit contract with Elliott Davis for
three years (FY 07/08, FY08/09 and FY 09/10); Commissioner
Hancock seconded, and the motion was unanimously approved.
b.
Consideration of applying for CDBG Grant
Mr. Martin said Metro still
needs to contact 6 houses out of 132 houses. Metro is
asking for permission to apply for the CDBG Grant and if
Metro will match the funds. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to
know what is the matching fund amount. Mr. Martin said the
matching fund amount is $1.2 million and Metro could receive
a $500,000 grant. Chairman Haynie asked if Metro’s portion
is $1.2 million. Mr. Martin said yes, it is. He said the
reason Metro has a trunkline that will first needs to be
upgraded. Commissioner Monaghan asked if that would be
separate from the grant. Mr. Martin replied no, it would be
the $500,000. The total estimated cost for the project is
$1.7 million. Chairman Haynie stated Metro’s portion is
$1.2 million. He asked if this project is in the long range
plans. Mr. Martin said the project is not in the long range
plans. Metro is trying to apply for a grant. Mrs. LaForge
said the only place grants will be awarded this year is in
City limits. The County is willing to receive the grant on
behalf of Metro. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to know how
bad is the area. Mr. Martin responded the area is
horrible. Commissioner Hancock asked about the other
projects. Mr. Martin said this project gives Metro the best
chance at getting a grant. The project will be referred to
as the Seaboard Sewer Upgrade Project.
Commissioner Monaghan made a
motion for Metro to apply for a CDBG for the Seaboard Sewer
Upgrade Project; Commissioner Watts seconded, and the motion
was unanimously approved.
c.
Consideration of TSF Expansion Bids
Chairman Haynie said the
bids are listed in the packets. Custom Steel Fabricators is
the low bidder with a bid price of $1,229,000. Edgefield
Construction Company was the next lowest bid with a bid
price of $1,248,000. The difference between the two bids is
$19,000. Mr. Martin said that he and Greg McElhannon of
Davis and Floyd, Inc toured some facilities that were built
by Custom Steel Fabricators. He said from what they could
see the jobs were very acceptable. Chairman Haynie asked if
they talked to anyone about the jobs. Mr. Martin said they
spoke to a maintenance employee that was there the entire
time one of the jobs was underway. Mr. Martin said that
particular person gave them a very good review. Chairman
Haynie asked if they spoke to the people that designed the
jobs. Mr. Martin replied they did not get to talk to the
architects. He said Davis and Floyd was involved with
Custom Steel Fabricators for a job in Lamar and there were
some issues on that job. Metro met with the president of
the company and the project engineer for the TSF job
yesterday. Mr. Martin said he thinks they will do a good
job. Commissioner Watts wanted to know if Custom Steel is
aware that they are the low bid. Mr. Martin replied yes,
they are aware. He recommended for Metro to award the bid
to Custom Steel Fabricators. Commissioner Monaghan asked if
Davis and Floyd recommended them. Mr. Martin said per the
letter from Davis and Floyd “Davis and Floyd, Inc. has no
compelling evidence to prevent Custom Steel Fabricators for
constructing this project.” Davis and Floyd, Inc. was
charged with making a recommendation and GMD does not feel
that a (yes or no) recommendation was made.
Commissioner Hancock made a
motion to award the TSF Expansion to Custom Steel
Fabricators for the bid amount of $1,229,000; Commissioner
Watts seconded, and the motion was unanimously approved.
IX.
Old Business
a.
Consideration of LMI Customer Charges
Chairman Haynie said prior
discussion minutes on the low to moderate income (LMI)
grinder pump charge were included in the packet.
Commissioner Monaghan said he is still of the opinion that
Metro can have a class of customers related to the grant.
Commissioner Monaghan asked Mr. Hemphill how Metro could
resolve this issue. He said Metro has already received an
opinion from the Attorney General of South Carolina. Mr.
Hemphill noted the Attorney General opinion is published for
the public to read. He said they carry more weight than
just a private attorney. Commissioner Monaghan said the
residents cannot afford the $12 monthly grinder pump charge
and did not know they would be charged when they connected
to the sewer system. He said they are very low income
families. Commissioner Monaghan said the charge will
jeopardize Metro’s ability to obtain more LMI grants for
that area of the lake. Commissioner Hancock inquired about
the agency that he gave Mr. Martin information on. Mr.
Martin said he received a note back from Mr. Gentry that he
(Mr. Gentry) has not had any success in receiving money.
Commissioner Monaghan said he thought it was a condition for
the grant not to charge the LMI residents the monthly
grinder pump fee because DHEC said that Metro had to own and
maintain the grinder pumps. Commissioner Monaghan asked if
Metro did a survey of all the other sewer districts in the
state to see if they had a separate class for LMI
customers. Manager Coleman said he is familiar with other
sewer agencies having the same rate for LMI customers, but
the LMI customers have a way of receiving money from other
agencies. Commissioner Hancock said a City or County could
do that, but not a special purpose district. Commissioner
Monaghan wanted to know what would happen if Metro did not
charge the LMI customers the monthly fee. Mr. Hemphill said
another member in the class of customers (for example a
customer in Stoney Point) could raise a challenge to remove
the fee on their bill and possible receive a refund on the
charge. Commissioner Monaghan said he doubts that would
happen, but if it did then Metro would have a court case.
Mr. Hemphill replied yes, Metro would have a court case.
Chairman Haynie said it has been tested. He said that was
the basis of the Attorney General’s opinion and that is the
basis of Metro’s attorney. Chairman Haynie said his opinion
is that Metro is not a social service agency and therefore
cannot subside one customer’s rate with another customer’s
rate. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro did the social
service by receiving a grant for low to moderate income
people. He said now Metro is making it impossible for them
to connect to the sewer system. Chairman Haynie said Metro
has already connected them to the sewer system.
Commissioner Monaghan said now they cannot afford to pay
their sewer bill. Commissioner Hancock asked if the LMI
customers own the property. Mr. Martin said most of the LMI
customers do not own the property. Commissioner Monaghan
said Metro told them at the beginning that they would only
be charged $25 a month. Mr. Martin said Metro gave them the
cost of the average bill at that time. Commissioner
Monaghan said now Metro is adding the monthly grinder pump
fee. He said Metro went out with the social conscience and
obtained a LMI grant which is benefiting Metro. Now there
are some LMI customers that have connected but cannot afford
to pay their sewer bill. Commissioner Monaghan said he
thinks this is a moral issue. Chairman Haynie said he
disagrees; Metro obtained the grant because of the health
hazard. He said they qualified because of LMI and the
government stepped in to provide a system that would solve
the health issue. He said there are ways for people who
cannot afford to pay their utilities to receive help.
Chairman Haynie said Metro is not one of the agencies to
help them. Commissioner Monaghan said now Metro is
jeopardizing their chances of obtaining more LMI grants.
Commissioner Monaghan thinks that Metro has a public health
mandate, a mandate to take care of the people within the
Metro District. He said now Metro is jeopardizing their
chances of obtaining more LMI grants. Chairman Haynie asked
if Commissioner Monaghan wants Metro to provide this service
for free. Mr. Martin said the issue is the $12 additional
monthly grinder pump fee charge. He said Metro did not tell
the LMI customers of that charge when Metro first talked to
them. Commissioner Hancock said at that time there was no
$12 monthly grinder pump charge. Chairman Haynie asked why
was the $12 grinder pump fee applied to their bill. He said
so the LMI customers would not have to maintain the system.
Metro could maintain it for them. Mr. Martin said Metro is
required by DHEC to maintain the grinder pumps.
Commissioner Watts asked if the LMI customers are not
charged would Metro ever start charging them. Mr. Hemphill
said before Metro received the Attorney General’s opinion
Metro would have a waiver system in place. He said the
waiver system would put the burden on the customer to prove
they would be LMI. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to know how
many customers are LMI. Mr. Martin said Metro is talking
about 36 customers. Commissioner Monaghan noted that is
$432 a month. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro will be
jeopardizing receiving $1.5 million in grants (3 quadrants
at $500,000 each). Chairman Haynie said that is not
necessarily the case. Commissioner Monaghan thinks it is.
Chairman Haynie said he does not think the grants will be
looked at on that basis. He said that charge was added in
order to maintain those grinder pumps that were not a part
of the original grant application. Commissioner Monaghan
asked if there was another way to see if this is legal or
not. Mr. Hemphill said he cannot think of any.
Commissioner Hancock said it would take a court case.
Chairman Haynie said the Attorney General’s opinion is based
on court cases. Commissioner Watts inquired if there has
been a court case on this issue. Mr. Hemphill responded the
Attorney General based his opinion on his research. The
Attorney General’s research was based upon the premise that
this body can only do what the legislation has given it
power to do and the legislation did not specifically grant
the power than it could not do it. Mr. Hemphill said the
power that he is referring to is the power to waive a rate
or not charge a certain class. Chairman Haynie asked for
Commissioner Monaghan to delay in making a motion until all
Board Members are present because this is an action that is
contrary to our legal counsel. This action could involve a
legal action against the Commission. Chairman Haynie thinks
the entire board should be here to address something of this
nature. Commissioner Monaghan said he disagrees; the
members present can always vote no.
Commissioner Monaghan made a
motion to waive the $12 monthly grinder pump fee for LMI
customers; Commissioner Watts seconded. Commissioner
Monaghan and Commissioner in favor of the motion. Chairman
Haynie and Commissioner Hancock voted against the motion.
The motion failed for lack of a majority.
b.
Krah
Commissioner Monaghan asked
for an update on the 72 inch pipe from Krah. Mr. Martin
replied Krah is making the pipe. The construction is ready;
Metro is waiting to receive all necessary permits from DHEC.
c.
Farm Equipment
Commissioner Monaghan asked
for a status update on removing the old equipment at the
Farm. Mr. Martin responded there has been more action than
discussion. Any equipment worth auctioning has been bought
to TSF. The equipment that needed to be junked has been
sold for scrap metal. Commissioner Monaghan inquired about
the silo. Mr. Martin replied the silo has not been
touched. Commissioner Monaghan asked if there are plans to
remove it. Manager Coleman said Metro has tried to get rid
of the silo before for free and nobody would come to pick it
up. He said that was about 15 years ago. Mr. Martin said
they will check to see how much it will cost to remove the
silo. He said he does not have any prices for the bridge.
Commissioner Monaghan said he had CPW’s engineer (Carlos
Cometto) design a bridge, but it was too expensive.
Commissioner Monaghan asked if the office trailer has been
removed. Mr. Martin said Metro has received prices on
removing it. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro will need to
build a bathroom with heat. Chairman Haynie said the
bathroom will need to be handicap accessible
X.
Commissioner Monaghan made a motion to go into
Executive Session to receive legal
advice and discuss a
contractual matter; Commissioner Hancock seconded, and the
motion was unanimously
approved.
XI.
The meeting returned to open session. No action was
taken during executive session.
XII.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
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