May 18, 2015
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Water Commissioners of
Columbus, Georgia was held at the office of the Columbus Water Works on Monday,
May 18, 2015, at 3:30 p.m., the following Commissioners being present:
Carole Rutland, Chair
Karl Douglass, Treasurer
Reynolds Bickerstaff
Sanders Griffith
Absent: Mayor Teresa Tomlinson
Mayor Tomlinson was excused from the meeting.
Receipt of the Minutes of the regular meeting on May 18, 2015, was
acknowledged by the Board and approved as written.
The Financial Report for the month of May including Ft. Benning was
provided to the Board. Motion was made and seconded to approve the reports.
Motion carried.
Joey Murphy gave a brief update on the Automated Meter Reading (AMR)
Project as outlined below:
RECAP of Monthly Meter Reading Conversion Project
? CWW reached a milestone in January with 51% of our meter population capable
of being read using Automated Meter Reading (AMR) Technology. (We are
currently at 58% as of April 2015).
? One of the major goals was to position CWW to convert from bi-monthly to
monthly meter reading and corresponding billing.
? An extensive marketing plan was developed and deployed with the major media
kick-off on March 19th.
Results from April ? 1st Month
? As planned, Routes 78-160 were converted to monthly reading and those
customers received their volumetric ?catch up? on their April bill.
? These routes represented +/- 41,000 meters or +/- 61% of our active billable
accounts.
? The transition has been managed very smoothly for the 1st month with fewer
than anticipated customer contacts.
Customer Contacts April ? 1st Month
For the fiscal month of April, customer contacts increased:
? Walk-in Customers ? a +/- 4% increase in the number of walk-ins as compared
to April 2014
? Phone Contacts ? a +/- 14% increase in the number of phone interactions with
customers as compared to April 2014
? Email/Social Media Contacts ? a +/- 14% increase in the number of electronic
contacts
Monthly Meter Reading ? 2nd Month Status & Planning
As of May 13th (1/2 of read cycle completed) CWW has maintained our current
exceptional Customer Service Levels:
? Walk-in Customers ? maintain limited customer wait time. Estimate +/- 20%
increase this month compared to May 2014.
? Phone Interactions ? maintain call volume readiness to minimize wait time and
abandonment rates. Estimate +/- 25% increase this month compared to May 2014
? Email and Social Media Interactions ? maintain current response rates.
Estimate +/- 10% increase
The Board acknowledged Mr. Murphy?s report.
Next, Mr. Murphy gave a brief report on the R. L. Tant Memorial Golf
Tournament.
FORE! A Good Cause
On April 28th, the Columbus Water Works had 112 golfers tee off for the
7th Annual R. L. Tant Memorial Golf Tournament. This tournament was the
brainchild of Robert ?Bob? Tant to support the Georgia Association of Water
Professionals (GAWP) Building Fund. Under Bob?s commitment, CWW would raise a
minimum $100,000 for the building fund. CWW met that goal in 2014! Moving
forward, the net proceeds from the tournament will be divided between the GAWP
Building Fund and CWW?s Educational Initiatives including the Environmental
Education Scholarship currently administered by Columbus State University.
Yearly Totals
Year GAWP Building Fund CWW Education Initiatives Golfers
June 2009 $21,946.51 99
June 2010 $20,327.35 108
June 2011 $21,040.81 102
April 2012 $18,309.84 85
April 2013 $16,246.26 87
April 2014 $10,074.98 $10,074.98 93
April 2015 $11,735.24 $11,735.24 112
TOTALS $119,680.99 $21,810.22
The Board acknowledged Mr. Murphy?s report.
Kevin White gave a brief update on the following activities conducted
in the Engineering Department:
NCWRF Reroofing Project
This project is part of the 2014-2015 Capital Improvement Plan approved in
March 2014. The rehabilitation will allow for the replacement of several roofs
at the North Columbus Water Resource Facility that are currently leaking
causing electrical issues. Architectural plans and specifications were
completed by Hecht Burdeshaw Architects, Inc. The bids were received on March
19, 2015.
They are as follows:
Contractor Bid Amount
S. Garrett & Company $1,178,158
Integrated Building Services $1,320,500
Columbus Roofing $1,474,576
MJR No Bid
Lott Sheet Metal No Bid
West Georgia Roofing No Bid
The architect?s estimate was $899,000. The architect/CWW and the contractor
value engineered the project and removed (two buildings) or decreased items to
reduce the cost before award. The architect has reviewed and tabulated the
bids and recommends contract award to S. Garrett & Company as the low
responsive, responsible bidder, at the value engineered price of $882,937
(Funded via 2014 Bond).
Following discussion, motion was made and seconded to award the NCWRF
Roofing Project to S. Garrett & Company at the valued engineered price of
$882,937. Motion carried.
President Davis presented the 2015-2016 Operating Budget which was
previously provided to the Board for their consideration. Following discussion,
Management requested the Board?s approval for Capital Reserves to be used for
the two identified capital improvement projects (Meter Change-Out/AMR and GC/MS
Laboratory Equipment Capital Projects) not to exceed $1,589,500.00. Motion was
made and seconded to adopt the Operating Budget for the fiscal year 2015-16 to
include an allocation from Reserves of $1,589,500. Motion carried. A copy of
the 2015-16 Budget is on file at the office of the Columbus Water Works.
President Davis provided the following items of information to the Board:
? Gwen Ruff received a thank you letter from Sue Else and LaDon Shaw of the
Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia thanking her for supporting the Columbus Women
of Distinction event this year.
? President Davis received a letter from Judson Turner, Director, GA Department
of Natural Resources, informing him that he has been reappointed to serve on
the Middle Chattahoochee Regional Water Planning Council.
? Gwen Russell received an email thanking her for attending and exhibiting at
One CSU Day.
? Gwen Russell, Zack Williams and Morton Reed received a thank you note from
the AFLAC Green Committee for participating at AFLAC?s 8th Annual Earth Day
Celebration.
? Jeremy Cummings received a thank you note from Allyson Moyer, Director of
Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education for his participation on the
Human Resources panel?s Work-Based Learning Recognition Program for Muscogee
County.
The following Division Reports were provided to the Board:
? Customer Service Report
? Meter Maintenance Report
? Engineering Report
? Field Services Report
? Information Services, Environmental Compliance and WQM Report
? Communication, Security, Community/Corporate Events Report
? Strategic Planning and Employee Services Report
? Water Resource Operations and Managed Maintenance Report
There was no discussion.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned.
_________________________________
Emory E. Blount, Secretary
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