OWUI Meeting Minutes, April 11, 2024

Thursday, Apr. 11th, 2024 6:00 pm — Olga Community Center 



  1. Call to Order:  6:04 PM 

    1. OWUI Board Members, present: 

                                               i.     Geoff Cunard, President

                                              ii.     Pat Boehm, Director of Operations

                                            iii.     Guy Woods, Treasurer

                                            iv.     Paul Groeninger, Secretary, appeared telephonically and in-person

    1. OWUI Board Members, absent:

                                               i.     Dave Noneman, Vice President

    1. Sue Min on behalf of Administration, present.

    2. Sam Prado on behalf of Operator Eastsound Water Users Association (EWUA), absent.

  1. Approval of minutes for March 2024:

    1. Geoff moved to approve the March 2024 meeting minutes; Pat seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. March meeting minutes were approved.

  2. Operator EWUA’s March Report as relayed by Geoff and Pat:

    1. March 12th: The main-to meter service line at 73 Olga Park Ln was replaced with a new poly line. The exposed main was confirmed to be 4" C900.

      Geoff further noted for the OWUI Board that OWUI has asked Operator EWUA to identify the type of main pipe exposed whenever excavation occurs, as this will facilitate creation of a OWUI water facilities inventory, confirming waterline assets and map accuracy.

      Guy offered to create the initial reference documentation, which will serve as a repository for the OWUI water facilities inventory, identifying
      --OWUI Member address
      --Type of Main Pipe Identified
      --Date of Identification
      Geoff agreed this documentation would be helpful.

                                               i.     Operator EWUA highly recommends that the 73 Olga Park Ln homeowner replace their service line from meter-to-home. Operator EWUA left the meter box unfinished to provide 73 Olga Park Ln homeowner with access. Operator EWUA can close up 73 Olga Park Ln homeowner’s meter box if they do not wish to upgrade their service line at this time.

Geoff further noted for the OWUI Board that Geoff spoke with 73 Olga Park Ln homeowner; 73 Olga Park Ln homeowner does not want the service line replaced.

 

    1. March 27th: The main valving to isolate the "Sofaer Hydrant" was exercised and found to be ineffective at isolating the hydrant or even the broader surrounding area.

                                               i.     Operator EWUA recommends excavating the Point Lawrence/ EJ Young valve cluster to verify the map and assess for valve replacement and/or additions.

                                              ii.     Currently Operator EWUA’s plan, as confirmed by Pat, is to backfill around the hydrant and leave it in service for the time being.

    1. Average production at the treatment plant for March was 9 gallons per minute. Geoff noted for the Board that the water use, as reported, was really low in March.

 

  1. OWUI Administrator’s Report
    Sue presented the following on behalf of Administration:

    1. Member Billing / Receivables

                                               i.     As of April 11, 2024, after sending out billing reminders and 2nd notices, Sue has only received two of the outstanding payments owed by Members. Also, expected receivables were adjusted after performing some billing reconciliation in April.

1.     2024 Receivables to date: $170,855.70

2.     Outstanding billing to collect: $79,350

                                              ii.     Sue to send more billing reminders and notices to Members and will process the outstanding payments as they are received.

                                            iii.     For 2025 billing, OWUI Board advised to, after sending 1st notice bills in December, auto-send 2nd notices to Members in January 2025.

    1. General Administration

                                               i.     Sue proposed increasing Administration’s annual expenses to upgrade systems from Google to Microsoft for increased security, connectivity, and capacity. Sue relayed current pricing packages and features for OWUI Board to consider.

1.     Prior to creating any new official OWUI email accounts and other major public-facing features, Sue to present such modifications to the OWUI Board for approval.

2.     Geoff moved for OWUI to proceed with upgrading to Microsoft 365 with two official OWUI users; Guy seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. Administration upgrade to Microsoft was approved.

a.     Once Sue receives OWUI official credit card from Guy who will obtain one from the bank, Sue will proceed with the upgrades.

                                              ii.     Sue proposed using upgraded accounting software, such as QuickBooks Online, for more efficient billing and potential for online payments for members, which would also increase Administration’s annual expenses.

1.     Guy to connect with OWUI Bookkeeper Jazmin about potential QuickBooks applications for OWUI.

2.     Guy to also connect with Sue from an administrative perspective about QuickBooks and related potential for improvements for OWUI.

  1. Treasurer/Financial Report
    As Treasurer, Guy reported the following:

    1. Financials, Bank Accounts

                                               i.     Total amounts in OWUI bank accounts, as of March 31, 2024: $315K

                                              ii.     Total March 2024 Expenses: $14K

1.     Out of these expenses, about $4K were in engineering expenses and $3K in repairs, which are typical operating expenses.

  1. Fee and rate schedule ideas

    1. OWUI Board continued robust discussion of potential fee and rate schedule updates that OWUI Board would need to present at the annual meeting in July 2024. OWUI Board to have an Executive Session for OWUI Board only, set for Tuesday, May 14, 4:30 p.m., and kick off an in-depth rate review and drafting session.

  2. Operations and Maintenance Report
    As reported by Director of Operations Pat:

    1. Meters

                                               i.     Pat reported to not have any major news on the meters, but that this was an ongoing project for Operations.

    1. Sofaer Hydrant update

                                               i.     Pat reported that Operator EWUA was unable to drain the pipe for the hydrant that they needed to work on, so instead, Operator EWUA tightened the valve as much as possible, which resulted positively in a working valve, working hydrant, and a very minimal drip. That being said, Sofaer Hydrant will need additional operational and maintenance procedures. Pat to follow up with Operator EWUA and receive their proposed process in continuing efforts to fully resolve the situation.

8.     OLD Business: 

a.     Intertie Update 

                                               i.     Geoff and Guy met with Doe Bay Water Users Association (DBWUA) Steve Schaefer prior to the OWUI Board Meeting on April 11, 2024, discussing various topics with DBWUA including operations, planning, and budgeting for the intertie.

                                             ii.     Geoff noted for the OWUI Board that the overall takeaways from the DBWUA meeting were that discussions went well and project status was good.

                                           iii.     DBWUA’s attorney, Bill Bender, sent OWUI a draft revised intertie agreement for OWUI Board review. During the April 11, 2024 OWUI Board Meeting, Geoff distributed the draft agreement to the rest of the OWUI Board for review and OWUI Board generally discussed various provisions.

1.     After the April 11, 2024 Board Meeting, all OWUI Board Members to review DBWUA’s draft agreement.

2.     Subsequently, Geoff, with attorney guidance, to prioritize preparing OWUI Board’s response to DBWUA’s draft revised intertie agreement.

                                            iv.     To keep moving the intertie project forward, Geoff reported that Operator EWUA, Island Excavating, and Consultant Barry Buchanan will hold bi-weekly intertie meetings with OWUI Board, commencing April 17, 2024. When Geoff receives the invite from Operator EWUA, Geoff to forward invite to the OWUI Board.

9.     New business – no new business.

10.  Public Access – no members present.

11.  Next meeting time: Tuesday, May 14, 2024  6:00PM 

12.  Adjournment: 7:44 PM