OLGA WATER USERS BOARD MEETING MINUTES-JANUARY 2023

JANUARY 10TH 2023

5PM TUESDAY

 MEETING AT THE OLGA COMMUNITY CENTER

1. Meeting called to order, 5:02 PM  Pat, Paul, Guy, Dave, Geoff, Cat present.  

2. No members present

3. Eastsound Operators Report (Dan). Dan not in attendance. Dave had spoken to Dan earlier.  He suggests we ask one of our operators (Sam?)to come to future board meetings.  Dave will contact Barry Buchanan to come up with a scope of work for our operator post Intertie.

4. Administrators report.

OPALCO has notified OWUI that we have a $272 capital credit.  Board moves to keep this credit.

DBWUA has asked for proof of property insurance, Cat will follow up with Bryan Frenyea to get this information to DBWUA

Cat asks board to use the Staff@OWUI email for important communication so we can more easily track such communications.

Cat will deposit the checks that have recently arrived from members.

Cat notes that when she visited the plant, the deadbolt on the office was unlocked and is malfunctioning. We will ask Dan to replace it.

1. Board approves  minutes for DECMBER 12TH ,2022

2. Financial report.  Guy reports that a check has gone out to pay for intertie pipe and restraints.

Guy has reached out to our bookkeeper to get a check for $50K down payment to Earthworks, and is frustrated by lag time getting out-of-state bookkeeper to respond.  Board moves to explore options for hiring a local bookkeeper to improve operational efficiency.

Guy reports OWUI lost $54K last year.  Board agrees to work on streamlining our budget to reduce expenses after the intertie is complete.

Guy noted that OWUI pays the electric bill to operate the Twin Maples pump.  Dave will ask Bryon F to clarify how the Twin Maples connection was set up.

1. Discussion/Update on Doe Bay-Olga intertie

1. Progress with Barry and Doe Bay on intertie box (Dave).  Barry is working on a value engineered solution to the control station to try to reduce the cost of the intertie. We discussed the possible failure of our aging storage tank. There is some disagreement as to which party would pay for a new tank.  More research is necessary.

1. Financial committee with Doe Bay (Geoff and Guy).

Committee is still working on final budget for Intertie (see above) Committee is now meeting bi-weekly.

1. Plan for fixing leaks and meters (Pat and Paul).

Pat and Paul will work with plant operators to identify locations for bypass meters to help find leaks.  Pat asked Geoff and Guy to explore whether state DWRSF funding can be used to fund systemwide meter upgrades to electronic, and PRV’s at all connections.

1. Payment plan for financially stressed members. So far, 2 members have worked out payment arrangements with us.

Dave offers to field queries from any other members who are having difficulty paying their current bill.

1. Other Business. Guy notes that our Small Water System Management Plan needs to be manually updated.  It was last done in 2021.  Guy will reach out to Mark Mayer for help with this task.

Olga dock receives water for free.  Dave notes that they take in plenty of revenue, and should pay for water.  Board approves a motion to start charging Olga dock for water.

One member failed a lead test, Board will contact them to let them know about it.

1. Next meeting, 5pm, Tuesday, February 7th  2023. 

1. Meeting adjourned 7:36 PM.

OLGA WATER USERS BOARD MEETING-DECEMBER 12, 2022

5:00 Meeting called to order. Board Members present: Pat Boehm, Paul

Groeninger, Geoff Cunard, Guy Woods.

1. Eastsound Operators Report (Dan not present)

2. Approval of minutes for NOVEMBER 14TH.

3. Financial report. Guy reported that our financials look good.

4. Discussion on Doe Bay-Olga intertie

a. Progress with Barry and Doe Bay on intertie box (Ongoing).

b. Financial committee with Doe Bay update Geoff and

Guy report that progress is being made in clarifying/finalizing

the budget for the intertie project.

c. Update on plan for fixing leaks and meters. Pat and

Paul report that a first step toward leak detection is installing

up to 5 meters on our distribution system to help identify

leaky areas. They will get us pricing for the meters., and

propose a budget for further upgrading meters systemwide,

and hiring a leak detection company.

d. President’s annual letter, approved by the board.

e. No further business, meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM

8. Next meeting, JANUARY 9th 2023, 5pm.

8. Adjournment.

OLGA WATER USERS BOARD MEETING-NOVEMBER 14, 2022

6:04 Meeting called to order. Board Members present: Pat Boehm, Dave Noneman, Guy Woods, Paul Groeninger, Geoff Cunard. Administrator: Catlin Noneman

OWUI Members present: Barry Gehl, Bryon Frenyea, Grace Chung, Dan Gottlieb, Hannah Boehm, Mark Mayer.                                                                       

1.     Administrators report.

2.     Approval of minutes for October 10th, 2022. Approved.

3.     Financial report. Accepted.

4.     Discussion with members on Doe Bay-Olga intertie

a.     Barry-Are the costs known?

Pat- The budget is approximately $450,000, but there are many unknowns; trenching issues could come up, the box/treatment plant is still being engineered. All costs/overages to be split w Doe Bay.

b.     Barry- Are costs going to the membership over time?

Guy- The project will be paid for with OWUI reserves, replenishing reserves will come from the yearly assessments.

c.      Dan- Redundancy is key for keeping utilities going during climate issues, what are the plans for the plant going forward?

Guy- If there are changes to hydrologic cycles on Orcas our raw water line is at higher risk than Doe Bay’s.

Pat- Combined with Doe Bay we’ll be better equiped to handle stresses on the system.

Dave- Our agreement is the plant will be deactivated, not disassembled, so it could be brought back online if needed. As well, moving our water rights gives us better options for water intake in the future.

Dan- How long would that take?

Board- Exact timeline for bringing that plant back online unknown, but not expected to take that long.

d.     Dan- How are new hookups affected? Hannah- What’s the potential for growth?

Pat & Dave- We have to identify and stop leaks before more memberships can be added, we are currently leaking in excess of 50%.

e.     Grace- OWUI needs to be thinking longer term about rehabbing the plant/changing water intake.

Pat- Currently our pipe from the intake is above ground and easily destroyed, replacing this needs to be a priority in the future.

f.       Hannah- Does OWUI need to have a certain amount of money in reserve?

Dave- The state would like to see approximately $500,000 but that is just a suggestion, not a requirement.

g.     Dave- Have we determined if we are tied to Doe Bays debt from past financial missteps?

Guy will follow up at an upcoming joint finance meeting, Doe Bay has said expenses are portioned, some are joint/some private.

OWUI is a customer, Doe Bay is a vendor.

h.     Bryon- How is the cost of water being figured, is it based on usage?

Dave- OWUI will be paying a flat fee for 40,000 gallons of water a day. The cost is based on the amount of water that flows through the meter and will be adjusted year by year as agreed upon within the joint finance committee.

i.        Dan- Is there a contract in place?

Guy- So far, our discussions have been in good faith, what do we do when we don’t get along? The agreement must be solid; we will move forward with a contract.

Pat- We need all signatures on agreement from both boards, Dave will do this.

j.        Grace- OWUI should change out all old meters for new ones.

Pat- Meters are high on the list, along with finding and fixing leaks.

5.     New Business:

a.     Pat has a meter on his property that was installed in the wrong place and needs to be moved.

b.     New meters need to be checked again and adjusted before billing.

c.      How do we tackle leaks? Add more inline meters? Pat & Paul will meet and make a list of how/what needs to be done, will report back at next meeting.

6.     Adjournment at  7:01 PM

7.     Next meeting is Monday December 12th at 5:00PM.