GREENWOOD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
MINUTES OF THE
January 28, 2009
Regular meeting
The regular meeting of
the Greenwood Metropolitan District Commission was held
Wednesday, January 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m., in the
Conference Room of Greenwood Metropolitan District’s
Technical Service Facility, 110 Metro Drive, Greenwood,
SC 29646.
In attendance:
Commissioner Bob Haynie,
Chairman Richard Coleman Marsha
Meyer
Commissioner Byron Smith,
Vice Chairman Wayne Daniel Michael
Nix
Commissioner Gene
Hancock, Secretary Gayle
Grogan Danny Ware
Commissioner Michael G.
Monaghan Roy
Hemphill Mark Warner
Commissioner Henry
Watts Paige
Holley Tony Williamson
Commissioner Tim Burke
I.
Chairman Haynie called the meeting to order and
gave the statement of compliance with the notification
provision
of the Freedom of
Information Act.
II.
Manager Coleman gave the invocation.
III. Chairman
Haynie acknowledged a letter Metro received stating what
a great and professional job done by the
personnel in the
Collections Department.
IV.
Wilson Creek Upgrade
Mr. Danny Ware of Davis
and Floyd, Inc (D&F) distributed copies of the monthly
report. The monthly report will now be emailed to all
Commissioners prior to the meeting. Mr. Ware will only
bring change order summary sheet and pictures to the
Commission Meeting. Mr. Ware provided progress updates
on work that has been performed since the monthly
construction meeting report. The new end for the
generator arrived and has been installed. The
contractor is in the process of testing the generator.
The generator shelter and main electrical building work
is scheduled to start in the next few weeks. The UV
System is scheduled to start the second week in
February. SCDHEC EQC is coming next week to review the
UV System. The contractor is showing the overall
construction to be a few months ahead of final
completion. BNR #1 and clarifier #4 are expected to
start up in April. The influent pump station will
start-up before the start-up of BNR #1 and clarifier
#4. Commissioner Monaghan asked for an update on the
leak at the influent pump station. Mr. Ware said he is
waiting to hear back from Chandler Construction on
whether they are through with the work. As soon as the
repair is complete, the contractor will turn off the
de-watering pumps and let the ground water build back up
and observe the pump station for several weeks before
the pump station is in operation. Currently the
influent pump station and grit removal are scheduled to
be ready mid-March. Commissioner Monaghan asked if the
BNR #1 and clarifier #4 will be tested before final
completion. Mr. Ware said before the demolishing of the
old plant, BNR#1 and clarifier #4 will be placed into
operation. The flow that would have gone to the
trickling filters will now go to BNR#1. Commissioner
Monaghan asked if this would happen before the influent
pump station is on-line. Mr. Ware said the influent
pump station would start in mid-March or the first of
April, before the BNR #1 and clarifier #4 are on-line.
Mr. Ware presented two change orders for the
Commission’s approval. He explained each change order.
Currently the overall percentage change from change
orders is 0.23% of the original contract value. Mr.
Ware described the construction photos. Mr. Ware said
he has received a text message from Ben Wofford from
Design South stating Krah was working on retightening a
few bolts around the flange on the influent pump station
and will retest the pump station once that is finished.
Change Order #14
Adding low voltage panel
in Main Electrical Building to serve the Generator
Shelter. Cost is $4,363.80.
Change Order #15
Change Grip Pump
Disconnects to Explosion Proof. Cost is $9,253.48.
Commissioner Hancock made
a motion to approve Change Orders # 14 and #15;
Commissioner Smith seconded, and the motion was
unanimously approved.
V.
TSF Expansion
Mrs. Meyer provided the
expansion update since Mr. Bill Moore of D&F was unable
to attend the meeting. Mr. Meyer said at this point the
contractor has mostly finishing work left. In the past
week the steps at the far end have been poured. The
contractor has installed the dividing wall in the
Board/Training Room. The air conditioning in the server
room is expected to be installed later this week. Mrs.
Meyer and Mr. Greg McElhannon (need to check spelling)
of D&F did a walk through today. Both are concerned
about the lack of man power. D&F will address this
issue with the contractor. Metro is fairly satisfied
with the work that has been done. There are still some
issues with the sheet rock and painting. Mrs. Meyer
reported the structure cabling project was finished this
week. The security, keyless entry and fire protection
projects will be finished by the end of this week. The
completion date is March 17, 2008. Furniture is
scheduled to be delivered on March 18, 2008. Metro has
received a revised schedule from the contractor.
VI.
Commissioner Monaghan made a motion to approve
the December 17, 2008 minutes as amended;
Commissioner
Hancock seconded, and the motion was unanimously
approved.
VII.
Financial Report
a.
Manager Coleman said regarding the overall flow
as mentioned in the management letter the flow is
December, 2007 versus December, 2008. The year-to-date
numbers through December has one month of the decrease
in the Solutia flow. Manager Coleman said it is not
uncommon for industrial flow to be down some during the
Christmas Holiday. Manager Coleman said Metro received
a list from CPW that states the amount of money in
arrears and Metro is working on that list. Commissioner
Monaghan asked if Manager Coleman had a chance to
respond to the email he sent him. Manager Coleman said
Mrs. Grogan worked on it and she sent an email to him
(Manager Coleman). Manager Coleman will check to see if
he forwarded the email to Commissioner Monaghan. If
not, he will send it. Manager Coleman said the other
part of the email was requesting a final budget book.
He said this year Metro did not make as many copies
because some of the Commissioners have in past years
told Metro they did not want one. Manager Coleman said
the summary sheet shows all of the changes that were
made. Commissioner Monaghan said he would like a copy
of the final summary sheet. Commissioner Monaghan asked
for more explanations on the GASB 45 comment. Manager
Coleman said Metro has gone through the municipal
association and their contact is Ms. Sharon McBride.
Milliman is the company that is doing the actuarial
calculations. Manager Coleman said this is “fine
tuning” the estimate of $200,000 that was included in
the budget. Commissioner Monaghan said he thought there
was some legislative relief on this issue. Commissioner
Hancock said there was relief. Commissioner Burke said
he thought it was a timing issue as to when GASB 45 was
to be put in place. Commissioner Monaghan said they (CPW)
are not doing this. Commissioner Burke and Chairman
Haynie both said they thought the GASB 45 was delayed.
Commissioner Hancock said it is delayed but he does not
know for how many years. Commissioner Monaghan asked
for a detailed explanation on the reimbursement from
WEASC. Manager Coleman said WEASC reimbursed Metro for
the Operation Challenge Team trip to the finals. WEASC
policy is to reimburse the state winner for their travel
and hotel expenses. Commissioner Watts inquired about
interest income – attachment A. He said the actual
amount for the year was $1,031,198 but the attachment
has $1,030,434. Commissioner Watts wanted to know which
figure was correct. Mrs. Grogan said the figure on page
12 $1,031,198 is correct. Commissioner Monaghan said
the before depreciation expenses is roughly $5,500 less
than the year before. He asked if Metro is estimating
the rate increase correctly. Commissioner Monaghan
wanted to know the effective date of the rate increase.
Manager Coleman said the rate increase was effective
January 1, 2009. Commissioner Monaghan said that is a
good performance without the rate increase.
Commissioner Monaghan referenced page 19 of the packets,
he said in the millage account Metro will have
$1,403,148. Page 23 of the packets says Metro is going
to pay out $762,000 (January – June). Commissioner
Monaghan said at the fiscal year end Metro will have
$2,166,000 in the GO Account. Commissioner Monaghan
said per the debt service on page 24 is only $917,000.
He said if Metro was to subtract that, Metro is going to
have $1,248,000 in the GO account that is not
allocated. Chairman Haynie said that is why the
Commission has the Bond Resolution for reimbursement to
consider at this meeting. Commissioner Monaghan said in
the January, 2008 minutes it states the Commission
decided they wanted to issue a new GO Bond and it has
been a year and no GO Bond has been issued. Chairman
Haynie said the County was going through a reassement
and that is why Metro did not receive any figures until
January 14, 2009. Those numbers will
determine the debt limit based on the 8% cap. Chairman
Haynie said that is why Metro has the resolution at
today’s meeting so that Metro can levy up to $7
million. Commissioner Monaghan said Metro has
$1,248,000 and it probably will not be used for the debt
service on the new bond. Chairman Haynie said that
money comes in yearly to pay the debt services. Metro
is trying to “clean” the account out by having an
accelerated payment on the bond after issuance.
Commissioner Monaghan said he understands the strategy.
He wonders if there will be enough debt service off the
new bond to take care of the $1,248,000 or will the
County reduce the amount of taxes. Chairman Haynie said
Metro can only spend the money through paying the
principle and interest on bonds. Chairman Haynie said
once Metro knows the amount of money they can borrow on
the 8% debt limit; then Metro will have to back off an
amount approximated to the balance in the account. The
first payment after the bond is issued will be an
accelerated payment that will roughly equal to the
balance in the account. Manager Coleman said this is
similar to what Metro did a few years ago. Metro can
designate how much principle is coming due each year.
Ordinarily the bonds are in $5,000 increments and the
interest is on the balance and Metro would like for
those two numbers to total close to the same number year
after year. Metro could for the first year add more for
the principle payment. Commissioner Burke asked if that
would release Metro for more availability of
indebtedness. Chairman Haynie said Metro would not be
able to use the full 8% because Metro wants to get the
money out before the County changes their assessment.
. Commissioner Burke said Metro would then go to $7
million and pay back $1.2 million roughly leaving $5.8
million. Chairman Haynie said Metro is going to
accelerate payment, not the principle. Commissioner
Burke said it will still leave Metro with a balance of
$5.8 million. Chairman Haynie said Metro cannot exceed
the 8% limit. He said Metro cannot borrow 8% plus the
balance in the account. Commissioner Watts inquired if
Metro knows the assessed value. Chairman Haynie said
the value will be verified by the bond attorney.
Commissioner Hancock wanted to know what it would take
for Metro to be able to use the money toward capital
projects. Mr. Hemphill said Metro’s enabling
legislation has a hitch in it; it may take a state wide
action before Metro can use the money for capital
projects. Chairman Haynie said to him it means Metro
will always have to borrow money to do capital
projects. Mr. Hemphill said the last time it cost Metro
$100,000 just to get access to the money. Commissioner
Monaghan wanted to know if Metro has an estimated cost
of the Seaboard Project and the Hunters Creek Project.
He asked for that to be included in the next packet.
Manager Coleman said the Seaboard Project is in the
design phase with $1.7 million as a planning level
estimate costing Metro around $1.2 million plus the
$500,000 grant. The Hunter’s Creek Project is on hold.
Commissioner Monaghan asked if Manager Coleman could
provide an estimate if the Commission went ahead with
the project. Manager Coleman said the estimate is
included in the Long Range Plans that were updated
2007. Commissioner Burke inquired about the project
completion percentage for Lander University – Centennial
Hall Project. Manager Coleman said Metro is still
waiting to receive the final invoice from Lander on this
project. Commissioner Watts inquired as to how long the
Lander University Project will be on hold. Manager
Coleman said Metro is thinking the project is settled,
but Metro does not have the hold harmless agreement from
Lander in writing. Commissioner Monaghan inquired if
Metro has received any money from Kimbrook. Manager
Coleman said he is not aware of Metro receiving the
money. Mr. Daniel said Metro is finished with the
needed repairs. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to know
what Metro is doing to collect the money. Mr. Hemphill
said it was set-up that Metro would invoice Kimbrook and
they (Kimbrook) would turn the invoice over to the
County for payment. Commissioner Monaghan asked for
staff to follow up on Kimbrook.
b.
Mr. Michael Nix of Greenwood Capital gave a
report on the District’s portfolio. The 1081 account
represents the Reserve Account. Mr. Nix pointed out
that the first page shows which bonds have matured,
called or sold during the fiscal year. Page 2 of the
report provides details of the portfolio to date.
Currently Metro has a mixture of treasury and agency
securities in the account. Page four is the performance
report on the account as of December 31, 2008. Mr. Nix
directed the Commission to the next account which is the
1082 (Capacity) Account. On page five it shows the
bonds that have matured, called or sold during the
fiscal year. Commissioner Monaghan said his concern on
this account is the withdrawals. He said this account
should be near zero amount balance because this should
be used for capital projects. Manager Coleman said the
current policy that Metro uses states the Capacity
Account will have a minimum balance of $500,000. He
said the Wilson Creek 48” line could be paid from this
account. Commissioner Monaghan said if Metro is going
to ear mark the money it should be used for what it is
ear marked for or Metro should not ear mark the money.
Manager Coleman said the Capacity Account is
restricted. Metro can only use the money for extensions
or expansions of treatment plants and trunklines. It
can be used for upgrading the treatment plants. Manager
Coleman said the 1081 (revenue) Account is
unrestricted. Commissioner Monaghan said he does not
want to get to the point where there is no room to use
the money from the 1082 Account. He said the $500,000
minimum is a Metro rule, not a legal rule. Commissioner
Hancock said this money is to replace the capacity that
customers are using based on what is previously built.
Manager Coleman said Metro charges about one fifth of
the true cost. Commissioner Hancock asked if there is
something in the legislation regarding Capacity Fees.
Mr. Hemphill said a lot of the restrictions that Manager
Coleman has described regarding Capacity Fees are
basically in the statute. Commissioner Monaghan said
currently the account has $3,700,000. He does not want
what happened to the GO Account to happen to the 1082
Account. Chairman Haynie said this is Metro’s account
and Metro controls how the money is spent. Commissioner
Burke said Metro has said some of this money is for the
48” Wilson Creek line that is not funded. Manager
Coleman said Metro needs to use the money from this
account as the bonds mature as opposed to the other
account. He thinks Metro should properly time the
liquidation of the account. Mr. Nix said in the past
Metro’s first priority is to use the Revenue Bond
Proceed Account for any projects to avoid arbitrage.
Secondly, where Metro has taken money out of the Revenue
Account it was on a short term basis with the money from
the Revenue Bond Proceed Account. Commissioner Monaghan
asked if Metro can transfer money from one account to
another account. Manager Coleman said Metro cannot do
that on the 1082 Account. Mr. Hemphill said the 1082
Account is regulated by statutes. Commissioner Monaghan
said Metro uses money from the O&M Account and then in
the Commission Meeting the Commissioners can make a
motion to transfer money from the Reserve Account back
to the O&M Account. He wants to know why Metro could
not do the same thing with the 1082 Account. Mr.
Hemphill said there are some specific statutes that
dictate capacity fees and how they are handled. Mr.
Hemphill will check what Commissioner Monaghan is asking
against the statute. Commissioner Monaghan said if
Metro keeps building the 1082 Account and not using
anything out of it, pretty soon that account may be the
only account Metro has left. Commissioner Burke said it
may be Metro’s reserve account. Commissioner Monaghan
said then Metro will not be able to use the money for
other projects. Commissioner Monaghan said if there is
a project that applies to the 1082 Account, use the 1082
Account to pay for the project. Commissioner Burke said
draw down the 1082 Account prior to the Reserve
Account. Commissioner Monaghan said Manager Coleman is
saying Metro will lose interest money by selling the
bonds in the 1082 Account too early. Manager Coleman
said he will work on a plan to draw down the 1082
Account. He is not sure how long that will take to draw
the account down. Chairman Haynie said Metro can only
use the 1082 Account for trunk lines and treatment
plants. Commissioner Monaghan wanted to know why Metro
cannot use the 1082 Account for collection lines.
Manager Coleman said his interpretation of the statute
is the 1082 Account is used only for trunk lines and
treatment plants not collection lines. Mr. Hemphill
said the Cost Recovery Policy is where Metro states the
money can be used for trunk lines and treatment plants.
Mr. Hemphill said he will look at the statue in regards
to collection lines. According to the statute, Metro is
to come up with a capital improvement plan. Metro’s
capital improvement plan is set forth in their policy.
Mr. Hemphill said the policy might be able to be
amended. Commissioner Monaghan said he thinks the
policy was set pre-2000 before Metro maintained
collection lines. Manager Coleman said the Cost
Recovery Policy was updated in 2003. Mr. Nix said page
six and seven have the holdings that are currently in
the account. Page eight has the performance report for
the Capacity Account. The 2008 Revenue Bond Proceeds
(1893) Account starts on page 9 showing all items that
have been called, sold or matured. The account is
designed to match the pay request schedule for the
Wilson Creek Plant Upgrade. Page 11 lists the current
holdings in the account. Page 12 has the performance
report for this account. Mr. Nix provided the
Commission with some overall performance percentage for
all accounts. The 1081 Account was up 5.4% for calendar
year 2008 and is up 3.56% for fiscal year-to-date. The
1082 Account was up 5.81% for calendar year and is up
3.33% for fiscal year-to-date. The 1893 Account is up
3.2% for calendar year and is up 2.07% for fiscal
year-to-date. Mr. Nix said the 1893 Account is an
enhanced money market account. He said overall they are
pleased with the performance of that account given the
current financial environment. The 1081 and 1082
Accounts are in line with budget on the income
generation and the 1893 Account is ahead of budget for
the fiscal year. Overall the financial environment is
still difficult. Greenwood Capital did receive the
letter from Metro stating their instruction to not
invest in Government Agencies. Greenwood Capital did
send a memo to the Commissioners via Manager Coleman in
November/December talking about the new FDIC insured
corporate bonds program. Greenwood Capital’s evaluation
is FDIC insured bonds do qualify under state statute.
Mr. Nix asked for a legal opinion before they proceed.
He said they are actively looking at South Carolina
Municipal Bonds. Currently the yields are higher on
municipal bonds than treasury bonds. Commissioner
Monaghan asked if full federal backing means it is
insured like a bank account. Mr. Nix said yes, it is
FDIC insurance. Commissioner Monaghan inquired if there
is a limit. Mr. Nix replied not within this product.
Commissioner Monaghan asked if the government is willing
to do that with corporate bonds why not Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac. Mr. Nix responded that is a big question.
Currently they are trading right around where agencies
are trading.
VIII.
Action Items
a.
Resolution to County Council (see attachment A)
Manager Coleman said the
purpose of this GO Bond is for the replacement of sewer
trunk lines and an extension of sewer trunk lines and
the upgrade to the Wilson Creek Plant. Mr. Hemphill
said the petition is so County Council can go through
their proper steps.
Commissioner Monaghan
made a motion to approve the resolution as submitted;
Commission Watts seconded, and the motion was
unanimously approved.
b.
Consideration of Bond Resolution for
Reimbursement (see attachment B)
Chairman Haynie read the
title of the resolution into the minutes: Confirming
the intention of Greenwood Metropolitan District to be
reimbursed for certain expenditures related to capital
projects to be financed by the issuance of bonds.
Commissioner Smith made a
motion to approve the bond resolution for reimbursement
as submitted; Commissioner Watts seconded, and the
motion was unanimously approved.
c.
Consideration of Faith Home Response
Chairman Haynie said
included in the packets is a letter from the Faith
Home’s attorney approving the settlement on the
right-of-way for $3,800. Commissioner Monaghan said he
did not understand why the Faith Home would need another
sewer line. Mr. Hemphill said the Faith Home has a pump
station that pumps the effluent out the front entrance
to the sewer line. He said the new line Metro is
installing is behind their facility so if they install a
new sewer service line out the back it would gravity
flow to Metro’s line. Commissioner Burke noted the date
on the letter from the attorney had 2008 instead of
2009.
Commissioner Hancock made
a motion to settle the condemnation action on Faith Home
by Metro paying $3,825 for the right-of-way;
Commissioner Smith seconded, and the motion was
unanimously approved.
d.
Ratify Cured-in-place Emergency Line Repair
An email was sent to the
Commissioners concerning a needed pipe repair utilizing
cured-in-place pipe. The amount of the repair was
$35,227.50. Reynolds Inliner made the repair. Manager
Coleman said to get the repair scheduled Metro had to
make a commitment a week ago. The repair has not been
performed.
Commissioner Watts made a
motion to ratify the cured-in-place emergency repair for
$35,227.50; Commissioner Smith seconded, and the motion
was unanimously approved.
e.
Consideration of creating an Accountant Position
Commissioner Monaghan
presents his comments on this position to the
Commissioners. His comments are included as Attachment
C. Commissioner Monaghan read two paragraphs of his
comments “We
as the governing board are faced with an ever increasing
responsibility to protect the assets of this agency and
the citizens of the County that we serve. Total assets
at the FY 2008 year end were $158,370,973. Of the total
net assets, $21,516,648 was unrestricted and was
available to support short-term operations. As of June
30, 2008, the District had invested $101 million in
capital assets. Today’s meeting package shows that we
are currently undertaking $39 million of capital
projects and this year we will outlay another $258, 000
in capital items for our operations and maintenance
budget proposals. In addition, in Fiscal Year 2009, we
are working with an $11 million operating and
maintenance budget. Today’s meeting package also
details that we have $35 million in operating and bond
funds and a total bond debt of $65 million. With this
amount of money to control and watch over, I doubt there
is any organization, public or private, that operates
without an accountant to head its finance department.
In my view, we as the governing board have an obligation
to protect our agency’s worth by hiring an accountant.”
Commissioner Monaghan said we are in a world where every
day we see on television financial abuse. Commissioner
Monaghan thinks it is his fiduciary responsibility and
the other commissioners yours to make sure that Metro is
protected in the financial area by an accountant.
Chairman Haynie said he does not disagree with what
Commissioner Monaghan said but given the state of the
economy he does not think it is the time for Metro to be
adding another expense. He noted that Metro has won the
Comprehensive Accounting Award for several years and
they are audited annually. Chairman Haynie said this
position might want to be revisited again during the
budget process. Commissioner Hancock said he agrees
with Commissioner Monaghan that Metro could use an
accountant, but he does not see the need to hire them at
this time. Commissioner Monaghan said if Metro is going
to hire anybody now is the time to do it. Commissioner
Monaghan said it would be a terrible thing for Metro to
have a financial issue and the Commissioners not vote to
hire an accountant. He said he thinks the Commissioners
have a responsibility as the governing board to make
sure Metro’s finances is adequately looked at;
especially when you have the amount of money that Metro
has. Commissioner Burke said he has been the one that
has complained the most about the spending, but he does
not think it is responsible of Metro not to hire an
accountant.
Commissioner Monaghan
made a motion for Metro to hire an accountant;
Commissioner Burke seconded; and the motion did not pass
for lack of majority vote. Commissioners Smith, Hancock
and Chairman Haynie opposed the motion.
Commissioner Monaghan
said based on Robert’s Rule of Order Commissioners
Monaghan, Burke and Watts cannot make a motion to
reconsider. The motion can only be made by one of the
Commissioners that opposed the original motion.
Chairman Haynie said as a matter of the budget this
issue can be reconsidered.
IX.
Miscellaneous Administrative Matters
a.
Information on agreement with CPW to discontinue
water service for failure to pay GMD charges
Chairman Haynie said from
his understanding this is an amendment to the current
policy. Mr. Hemphill said Mr. Martin had asked him to
gather information on proposing a written agreement
between CPW and Metro. CPW is the collecting agency for
Metro. Mr. Hemphill said to his knowledge there is no
written agreement that states what that agency is
supposed to do. Metro does pay a per bill charge to CPW
for their service. Mr. Hemphill said there is no
written agreement in terms of defining what CPW does as
a part of the collection process. Mr. Hemphill said by
the time the packets were delivered he had a page of
information ready (page 39 in Jan. 28th
packet). Commissioner Hancock inquired if Mr. Hemphill
found anything that states as long as a CPW customer is
paying their bill they cannot be disconnected from
services. Mr. Hemphill said there are statutes that
allow for the water agency to do that. The body of the
agreement was not ready before the delivery of the
packets. Mr. Martin included a disconnection
procedure. Mr. Hemphill said he does not think those
two items go together. One is the agreement that needs
to add language that will say GMD and CPW agree to the
following items. The information from Mr. Martin is
further definition to the resolution that the Commission
adopted on November 12, 2008 in response to the
delinquent accounts in the Lakeshores Area. Mr.
Hemphill is asking the Commission to allow more time on
this so that he and Mr. Martin can get together and
discuss this issue in detail. Manager Coleman said
Metro will also need to coordinate with CPW; Metro
wanted to get some input from the Commissioners.
Manager Coleman said one important item that is not
included is “will CPW cut off a water meter for
non-payment of the sewer charges.” Commissioner Watts
inquired if Mr. Hemphill has spoken to CPW’s attorney on
this issue. Mr. Hemphill responded he has not. He
wanted to pull a draft together for discussion purposes
first. Commissioner Monaghan asked if Mr. Hemphill and
Mr. Bill Patrick (CPW’s attorney) will meet to discuss
this agreement. Mr. Hemphill said he will meet with Mr.
Patrick to discuss this agreement. Commissioner Hancock
said CPW will cut off services for non-payment of gas
and electric. Commissioner Burke noted those are all
services that CPW provides. Manager Coleman said CPW
and Metro are two different entities and the sewer
charge goes out on a CPW bill. He said the question is
“if a sewer charge (capacity fee, sewer service,
transmission fee, tap fee) that is billed by CPW and
goes unpaid, will CPW cut off the water meter.”
Commissioner Monaghan wanted to know logistically how
that would work because it is all on the same bill.
Commissioner Burke said the bill is broken out.
Commissioner Monaghan said the bill is broken out, but
if the customer is late than they are late on
everything. Chairman Haynie asked if CPW does accept
partial payment. All of the CPW Commissioners said
yes. Chairman Haynie said then it could be.
Commissioner Burke asked who does the partial payment go
to. Commissioner Hancock said the distribution of
payment is in-line (Gas, Electric, Water then Sewer).
He said what utility is not paid one month is the first
utility to be paid the next month. Commissioner
Monaghan said CPW only cuts the meter off when there is
no payments. Chairman Haynie asked if a customer could
come in and say they only wanted to pay their gas, water
and electric portion of their bill would CPW accept
payment. Commissioner Watts said the cashier will take
the money and apply it to their bill. Manager Coleman
said if the total charges for gas, water and electric is
$100 and the sewer charge is $20; the customer comes in
and pays $100 it goes to the gas, water and electric and
sewer does not get paid. Commissioner Watts said the
sewer will get paid first the next month. Commissioner
Monaghan said if the customer does not pay then CPW cuts
off the services. He said that is why he does not see
the logistics of why this agreement is necessary.
Manager Coleman said Metro currently has a situation
where the Capacity Fee has not been paid and it was
billed on the CPW bill. Commissioner Monaghan said that
is different. Manager Coleman said the customer has had
water while under construction but the Capacity Fee has
not been paid and it is time to cut on the sewer and
Metro has not received payment yet. Commissioner
Monaghan asked if that shows up as a delinquent account
and if it does not then why. *** (First tape ends. I
had to leave to find a new tape. Part of this
discussion was not recorded). *** Commissioner Burke
suggested the reconnection charge for residential
customers and a separate charge for commercial and
industrial customers.
X.
Old/Other Business
a.
Lander University
Commissioner Burke asked
Mr. Ware to speak to Mr. Moore concerning the status of
the hold harmless agreement with Lander University on
Centennial Hall.
b.
Minutes
Commissioner Monaghan
asked for Mr. Ken Davis to show Mrs. Holley how to add
the minutes from the commission meetings to the
website.
c.
Grants
Commissioner Monaghan
said if the Metro staff did not want to work with Mr.
Richard Gentry (CPW) on public relations and grants; he
wants to know what plan Metro has to cover these needs.
Manager Coleman said Mr. Tony Williamson is handling
Metro efforts to obtain grants. Mr. Williamson said
Metro has been working hard with South Carolina’s US
Senators to make sure the projects Metro has ready are
getting on the lists to possibly receive federal and/or
state funding. He is also working with the Upper
Savannah Council of Governments to help develop a state
list of projects. This list is similar to what the US
Government has. The schedule for the CDBG Grants has
just been published. Metro is working on developing a
project that would start where the Seaboard Project
Grant stops to expand to other LMI situations there.
Mr. Williamson is writing a federal apportions for the
Panola Village. Mr. Williamson reminded the
Commissioners of a web cast regarding the economic
stimulus money on February 2nd at 2:00 pm.
Metro will be talking with some representatives from EPA
to get an idea of what types of projects will be
available and of the application process. Chairman
Haynie asked for an email to be sent to all
Commissioners reminding them of this event.
Commissioner Monaghan asked about the grant the County
if seeking around the lake. Manager Coleman said Metro
worked with the County for Lakeshores Drive and on a
grant for a potential industrial site. Commissioner
Monaghan reminded Mr. Williamson there are three
quadrants on Shrine Club Road that Metro was going to
look for grants.
d.
Eagles Harbor
Commissioner Monaghan
inquired if Metro has heard any more about the Eagles
Harbor Subdivision. Manager Coleman said there is no
new information to report.
e.
Farm
Commissioner Monaghan
inquired about the removal of the silo at the Farm.
Chairman Haynie said he thought Mr. Martin was working
on it.
f.
Turner Branch Phase II
Commissioner Monaghan
wanted to know the status of the Turner Branch Phase II
Project. Manager Coleman said Metro has not started the
design of it, but they know it is the next phase of the
Turner Branch Project.
XI.
Commissioner Monaghan made a motion to go into
Executive Session to discuss a legal matter, a
contractual matter
and a personnel matter;
Commissioner Hancock seconded, and the motion was
unanimously approved.
XII.
The meeting returned to open session. No action
was taken following the executive session.
XIII.
With no further business, the meeting was
adjourned.
