January 9, 2012
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,
January 9, 2012, at 1:30 p.m., the following Commissioners being present:
Philip Thayer
Carole Rutland
Karl Douglass
Absent: Billy Blanchard
Mayor Teresa Tomlinson
It was noted that Treasurer Blanchard and Mayor Tomlinson?s absences
were excused.
This being the first meeting of the new year, election of Officers was
in order. The following Officers were nominated:
Office 2012
Chairman Philip Thayer
Treasurer Billy Blanchard
Interim President Billy Turner
Secretary Emory E. Blount
Following discussion, a motion was made and seconded to elect the above
Officers for the calendar year 2012. Motion carried.
Receipt of the Minutes of the regular meeting on December 12, 2011, was
acknowledged by the Board and approved as written.
Receipt of the Minutes of the called meeting on January 4, 2012, was
acknowledged by the Board and approved as written.
Cliff Arnett introduced Mr. Daniel McCabe an employee of the Columbus
Water Works to the Board. Mr. McCabe was asked to attend the meeting so that
he could be recognized due to his retirement. The following resolution was
presented as follows:
A Resolution
Whereas, Daniel F. McCabe, has been an employee of the Columbus Board
of Water Commissioners since December, 1983, is retiring; and,
Whereas, Daniel F. McCabe, has served in the capacity of Equipment Mechanic II
in the Managed Maintenance Department with the Columbus Water Works; and,
Whereas, Daniel F. McCabe, has performed in an outstanding and productive
manner throughout his twenty-eight years of service;
Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Board of Water Commissioners of
the City of Columbus, Georgia, on behalf of all the people of the City, hereby
publicly expresses appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Daniel F. McCabe for
his diligent and faithful service on behalf of the Columbus Water Works; and,
Be It Further Resolved that this resolution be spread upon the official
minutes of this Board this ninth day of January, 2012, and that the Secretary
of this Board be directed to furnish copies of this resolution to the said
Daniel F. McCabe and to the Clerk of Council of Columbus, Georgia.
________________________________
CHAIR, BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS
____________________________________
________________________________________________
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/SECRETARY, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WATER AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS RESOURCES AND
MANAGED MAINTENANCE
After presenting the resolution to Daniel McCabe, the Board congratulated him
on his many years of service with the Columbus Water Works.
Secretary Blount provided information to the Board regarding refinancing of the
2003 and 2005 Bond Series. He advised that according to information provided
by Merchant Capital, LLC, the current savings on the Series 2003 Bond to be
refunded is estimated at $2,503,767 and the savings on the Series 2005 Bond to
be refunded is estimated at $1,331,496. Secretary Blount advised the Board
that this was information for future action and a recommendation would be
provided at a later date. Also, Secretary Blount advised that a new Master
Bond Indenture needs to be adopted before any additional bonds can be issue.
Secretary Blount gave a status report to the Board on the Modification of Bond
Authorization. The schedule of events is as follows:
Initial drafts of the Master Indenture, an example of a First Supplemental
Trust Indenture pursuant to which a normal series of fixed rate bonds may be
issued, and a form of the Resolution of the City authorizing the execution and
delivery of such documents, were circulated on November 30, 2011 for review by
an internal working group consisting of CWW management and legal and financial
advisors to CWW.
After review and discussion, a second draft of the Master Indenture was
circulated to the internal working group on December 8, 2011.
Based upon progress made to date, a report was delivered to the CWW Board on
December 12, 2011.
Further comments on the current draft of the documents have been received, and
a third draft is scheduled for circulation during the week of January 9, 2012.
Upon review and approval by CWW management, the third draft will be circulated
to the City Attorney for review and approval.
Upon receipt of questions, comments and approvals from the City Attorney, a
final draft will be submitted to the CWW Board for final approval.
Upon approval by the CWW Board, the Final Resolution will be submitted to the
City Council for consideration and, if appropriate, adoption. This will
conclude the process for closing the lien of the 1985 Ordinance and authorizing
the issuance of all future series of Bonds under the terms of the new Master
Indenture.
Secretary Blount asked the Board for their comments on moving forward with a
Resolution or an Ordinance approving a new Trust Indenture, which will allow
for the issuance of future revenue bonds. After discussion, it was agreed to
move forward with a Resolution which will be approved at the February Board
meeting.
The Financial Report for the month of December including Ft. Benning
was provided to the Board. Motion was made and seconded to approve the
reports. Motion carried.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of December conducted by Engineering and Field Services.
Engineering
Veterans Parkway/Hamilton Road Water Storage Facility ? The contractor has
completed the pedestal section and the bow. Sandblasting and painting are
being done at this stage. Valve vault building has been constructed. Tie-in
connections to the existing system are scheduled for March. Overall project
completion is anticipated for April 2012.
North Columbus Water Resource Facility Upgrade
The contractor has completed installing new under drain system, new media and
new valving and controls in filter buildings 1 and 2 with air blower piping new
being installed. Work in filter building 5 has started. High Service Motor
replacement is finished and contractor is finalizing the replacement motors in
the Raw Water Pump Station. Project is 65% complete and is scheduled for
completion in July 2012.
Distribution ? Columbus
Installed 8? HydroStop and replaced hydrant on Springer Street.
Collection System Columbus
For 2011, our crews responded to after hour calls in 49 minutes (average):
Repaired sewer connection at the MCSD Administration Building where a light
pole had been placed through the pipe.
I & I Crews
Repaired a 6? sewer connection that was abandoned but never plugged. We have
corrected many of these eliminating a major source of I&I.
Ft. Benning System
Completed an 8? HyroStop and installed a new water valve on Wold Avenue.
Repaired 12? A/C water main on 2nd Infantry Division Road.
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of December conducted by Strategic Planning and Employee Services
Department.
Strategic Planning
On November 30th, Savonne Monell and Paula Goble participated in a web
conference with representatives from UtilityWorks, Inc., a company that
provides Software as a Service (SaaS) technology with the use of OneView
Performance Management, a ?cloud? based software and Effective Utility
Management (EUM) Business Intelligence & Performance Management Solution.
The OneView Performance Management System identifies and utilizes hundreds of
KPIs (key performance indicators) crucial to utility management. OneView loads
data into a dashboard to compare desired targets and actual results. In
addition, users can also compare their results to over a thousand other
utilities in the country based on size and region.
Currently, Strategic Planning is reviewing the information provided by
UtilityWorks and conducting a cost-benefit analysis to determine the full value
of this program before proceeding with a recommendation.
Employee Services
On December 13th, Savonne Monell, and Paula Goble attended the 2011 Diversity
Conference held in the Cunningham Center at Columbus State University. The
theme this year was: ?Together: Moving Columbus, GA Forward,? with the purpose
of ?Exploring Diversity & Inclusion as an Economic Driver in our Community.?
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of December conducted by Information Services Department.
Information Services
The Maximo 7.5 Upgrade has been completed. Over the New Year?s Eve weekend the
final production upgrade was performed and the Go-Live occurred on Tuesday,
January 3rd. The completion of this project was required as a precursor to the
implementation of the Maximo Mobile Work Order System (Syclo) which is
scheduled to begin on January 9th, and will provide the ability for Maximo work
orders to be received and completed by workers in the field using mobile
handheld devices.
A total of ten desktop computers were replaced during December, seven for the
Customer Service Department and three for the Managed Maintenance Department.
These replacements were completed as part of the budgeted desktop replacement
plan for the 2011-12 fiscal year.
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of December conducted by the Water Resources, Managed Maintenance and
Environmental Compliance Departments.
South Columbus Water Resource Facility
Crews are taking out the old air piping and installing fine air diffusers in
the basins at the SCWRF. This will improve our aeration process and improve
biological treatment capabilities.
The filter media was replaced in the air scrubber system for the influent pump
controls at the SCWRF.
Average Daily Flow for Month ? 24.65 mgd
Maximum Daily Flow for Month ? 46.94 mgd
Managed Maintenance
Preventive maintenance work orders ? 81%
Planned maintenance man-hours ? 35%
A defective motor contactor for the thickened sludge holding tank was replaced
at the SCWRF.
The influent flow meter at the South Commons CSO was repaired.
Two discharge valves were rebuilt in the NCWRF pump station.
Removed the mixer from the recycle tank at the NCWRF for repair.
North Columbus Water Resource Facility
Construction continues on the filters at the filtration plant.
Both raw water traveling screens have been rebuilt and are back in service.
Plant personnel are in the process of cleaning sedimentation basin #7 and
flocculator. During this time, measurements are being verified for the tube
settlers for this basin. This is the last basin that has to have tube settlers
installed.
Average Daily Flow for Month ? 23.83 mgd
Maximum Daily Flow for Month ? 26.60 mgd
Water Quality Monitoring/Environmental Compliance
CWW and the Ft. Benning Environmental Services group have joined forces to help
reduce stop ups in the sewer system on base due to grease and rags from
residential customers.
CWW?s Partner in Education, Richards Middle School, held its yearly Science
Fair. Employees from both Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) and Environmental
Compliance (ECD) were judges at this year?s event.
The ECD has been working to replace grease traps at Ft. Benning that have been
identified during the first year of maintenance as failing due to improper
installation or too small for the load from the dining facility. A new 2,000
gallon grease trap was installed at Building #5021.
ECD has recently repaired some major backflow devices at Ft. Benning that have
either been broken valves or moved from alignment with their water mains.
These devices have been 10? backflow preventers and installed in vaults.
There were a few water complaints for the month of December.
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of December conducted by the Division of Communication, Security and
Safety Programs.
Security & Safety
The Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP) Committee will meet on January 25,
2012. LEOP is designed to address natural and manmade hazards that could
adversely affect the county. Brookie Tate has been a member of this committee
since 2007, and has assisted them in live drills and exercises, emergency
planning and risk assessment methodologies. He is our expert liaison for
Columbus Water Works Chemical Spill Response and Recovery Planning.
Community & Corporate Events
Columbus Water Works 2011 Christmas Fellowship and Awards Program was held on
Friday, December 9, 2011.
Becky Butts received her Certificate for 35 years of dedicated service.
CWW partnered with the Open Door Community House to collect toys and clothing
for the needy families in our area.
On December 8, 2011, Richards Middle School held its Annual Science Fair.
Communications
The bill insert and the television spots for January will be focused on ?eTAP
(electronic Transaction and Payment)?.
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Chairman Thayer recognized Mr. Billy Turner, who graciously agreed to
be Interim President of the Columbus Water Works until the search for a new
President has been completed. Mr. Turner thanked the Board for this
opportunity.
At this time, Secretary Blount asked the Board and staff to have a
moment of silence in remembrance of former President Bob Tant who passed away
December 19, 2011.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned.
________________________________________
Emory E. Blount, Secretary
Attachments
No attachments for this document.