Minutes
These minutes are the official minutes of the MSC's January 2010 meeting held January 12, 2010 as approved at the Commission's February 16, 2010 meeting.
JANUARY 12, 2010
Minutes of the monthly meeting of the Municipal
Services Commission held January 12, 2010 at the office of the Commission,
216 Chestnut Street. The meeting was called to order at
Attendance Report:
Present:
Robert S. Appleby, President, Commissioner
H. Hickman Rowland, Commissioner
Francis L. Patterson, Secretary
Special Guests, William Barthel, President of City Council and John
Cochran, Councilman
MEETING WITH COUNCIL PRESIDENT BARTHEL AND COUNCILMAN COCHRAN
President of Council Barthel said he wanted to stop in, that he is trying to visit all the different committees, boards and commissions to open a dialog and see if they have any issues. He asked the Secretary if the MSC would be attending the City Council meeting that evening to discuss the Clearwire attachments to the Gray Street water tank. The Secretary said the MSC would be there. A discussion about Clearwire and revenues from attachments ensued.
Council President Barthel, Councilman Cochran and the Commissioners discussed the Charter amendments the MSC had proposed which would allow the Commission to borrow money. Commissioner Appleby asked about Charter changes the city was contemplating. Council President Barthel said he did not want to waste people’s time if there was little to no chance of adopting amandments. A discussion about a referendum versus a survey was discussed to measure public opinion. Council President Barthel said maybe a sit down with the Mayor Klingmeyer would be worthwhile. He asked when water grants are awarded. The Secretary said the timing for the stimulus grant had passed and the MSC lost the opportunity to secure maybe a half to one million dollars under the same scenario the city is receiving a drainage grant. The Commissioners told Council President Barthel that there are grants all the time and the Secretary said State Revolving Fund grants come out in September. The discussion ended by Commissioner Appleby telling Council President Barthel the MSC will follow the City’s lead. He said if the City wants to discuss changes with Mayor he is fine with that.
Council President Barthel asked if there is any other issues the MSC would like to bring up. Secretary Patterson said in response to City Administrator Thomas’s inquiry, the MSC was happy to help the City during the recent snow storm and there was no charge for the labor or equipment. He said the MSC has always done this when needed at no charge. He also related an incident where the Building Official disclosed information to a sub contractor rather than to the MSC or its Consultants which impacted work on the new substation.
At this point Council President Barthel left the meeting and Councilman Cochran stayed.
MINUTES
With the concurrence of all the Commissioners the minutes of the December 15, 2009 regular monthly meeting were approved without alteration.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
Secretary Patterson reported on the December 16, 2009 meeting of DEMEC in which the 2010 budget was passed with an increase to participating members for power supply. The Secretary further reported the Board approved participation in the Dover Solar Park. Subsequently, President McCullar reported at the December meeting the price for O&M had doubled and DEMEC’s participation was unlikely. The Secretary said the President now reports DEMEC is close to an agreement and a contract. The Secretary said he was confused by the switch in position and sent an e-mail to the President for clarification of what is happening. He shared the Presidents reply and answered questions about the project. The Commissioners agreed they should withhold any action until the next DEMEC meeting when the project can be fully discussed. The Secretary related the discussion which took place at the December DEMEC meeting regarding building a second generation unit at Beasley. He said Newark’s position seems to have softened but they insist construction of additional generation needs to be part of the Strategic Plan of DEMEC. The Secretary said it was agreed to resume the Strategic Planning process in an all day meeting in February. Commissioner Appleby said his feeling was that a second unit at Beasley will be approved by a majority of the Board to meet member’s future capacity requirements. Commissioner Knox asked if there was any additional news regarding AMP-Ohio and the coal fired plant they had planned to build. The Secretary said DEMEC has not heard of any alternative plan since the announcement that building a coal plant was dead.
The Secretary reported on the Riverbend in Old New Castle subdivision. He told the Commissioners the electric contractor Joe George has been cooperative in correcting the areas where the electric installations don’t comply with the approved electric plan. The Commissioners asked about Mr. Capano’s crossing of wet lands with his private electric line. The Secretary said the Corp of Engineers did not address this issue but DNREC contacted the MSC and wanted to know who installed the line under tidal wetlands. The Secretary said the state has cautioned the MSC about energizing this line. The Secretary said in water the Corp of Engineers has allowed the use of the pipe installed in the wetland through the causeway for fire purposes only. The Secretary said the Corp was going to notify the City Building Official that he issues CO’s at his own risk. The Secretary continued by saying that Mr. Capano’s water installer has made most of the changes to bring the water service into compliance with the approved water plan. The Secretary said Mr. Capano has not submitted an engineered drawing for the solution to the conflict between the water main and the storm water pipe at the entrance to Aster Blvd. The Secretary said the MSC will not provide water to houses without a CO but will provide water for fire protection only. The Secretary said there are a number of outstanding issues such as the interconnection of water and electric with Centerpoint Business Park. The Secretary told the Commissioners Mr. Capano has not applied for a permit to cross the Norfolk Southern railroad. The Secretary added that the MSC has now learned he has changed engineering firms from Civil Engineers to Landmark Engineering.
The Secretary said he received an e-mail from Shona Grace of McConnell Development which said they are working on approving the Centerpoint utility easement and apologizing for the delay.
The Secretary brought the Commissioners current on the installation of an irrigation well at TA Instruments in Riveredge Business Park. The Secretary told the Commissioners DNREC admits they made a mistake in issuing a permit and the City Building Official Jeff Bergstrom said he did not issue a permit. The Secretary said the MSC has asked DNREC to close the well. The Secretary said he has not heard from TA Instruments or Daystar Sills in these regards other than a comment attributed to Mr. Sills that he will work it out with the City. The Secretary said Covenant Electric has still not produced “as built” drawings for changes to the electric plan for TA Instruments.
The Secretary reported for Supervisor Spicer in the Electric Department. He told the Commissioners the electric crew is replacing cross arms for the riser pole carrying circuit 220 next to the Wilmington Road Substation. In addition they are extending the pole line on 8th and Clark Street to 8th and Center Street to carry circuit 220 to the entrance road to the new substation. The Secretary said from this point the 220 line will go underground. The Secretary further reported that there is nothing further on Deemer’s Landing or School Street Landing. The Secretary ended by telling the Commissioners there was no storm related outages this past month.
The Secretary reported for Supervisor Guyer in the Water Department. He told the Commissioners at Twin Spans Business Park a hydrant needs to be moved as part of the work being done on Building 400. In Riveredge Business Park he said he already discussed TA Instrument. The Secretary said the water for domestic and fire for the library is complete and Supervisor Guyer is just waiting for a certification letter for the domestic service. The Secretary noted at Deemer’s Landing approximately three stories of block work has been completed with an additional three stories to be built. Commissioner Appleby asked Councilman Cochran about the proposed development of the ABEX site. Councilman Cochran said the owner has withdrawn his application for rezoning. A discussion ensued about the proposed uses.
The Secretary continued Supervisor Guyer’s water report in which he said in Buttonwood CPR Construction has still not offered an engineered plan on how they propose to handle the conflict between the storm water pipe they must install and the existing water main. He reported that the water crew was working on the new buildings at Frenchtown Road well and Gray Street water tower preparing them for the interior painting of walls and components. On the water system improvements the Secretary said a meeting has been scheduled to review the documents which will be sent to the contractors reviewing their financial capacity to perform the work. There is still some outstanding engineering left to be done, the Secretary said, but the engineers have been given a deadline they must meet to complete their revisions. The Secretary told the Commissioners there was a break in a water main by Casmir Court which was repaired quickly. Councilman Cochran asked if the Secretary knew the type of break. He said he did not. The Secretary said Supervisor Guyer is arranging to perform a second test for Teflon precursors using a different lab recommended by the toxicologist for the New Jersey DEP. The Secretary said the New Jersey DEP has been very helpful by sharing their knowledge about Teflon precursors and how to draw samples for testing. The Commissioners asked the Secretary to give Councilman Cochran background regarding the testing which he did. The Secretary finished Supervisor Guyer’s report by saying the water meter for William Penn High School was replaced over the holidays; the MSC will attend the Council meeting to address antennae attachments to water tanks and the new backhoe will be in the week of January 18, 2010.
OLD BUSINESS
The Secretary asked and the Commissioners to confirm they are continuing their same policy regarding the PPA and that February’s PPA charge would be .00895 cents per kilowatt hour.
The Commission upon motion made and unanimous approval voted to go into Executive Session to discuss an employment offer for an Assistant Electric Supervisor. The Commissioners upon motion made and unanimous approval voted to resume their General Session.
Secretary Patterson reported on the new substation progress. He told the Commissioners that JCM, an environmental subsidiary of Landmark Engineering, was in the process of testing the soils at the new substation after the Building Official reported he believed them to be contaminated with arsenic and heavy metals. Commissioner Appleby said he thought he saw work going on at the site. The Secretary said Van Demark & Lynch staked out the area and the subcontractor, Pearce & Moretto, the sub contractor for Tri-M the General Contractor, has cleared the brush. The Secretary told the Commissioners if the soils come up positive then JCM will develop a Health and Safety Plan and Decontamination Plan which will allow the contractor to proceed preparing the site. The Secretary said the first construction will be the road, followed by the site preparation, followed by the construction of an eight foot high barbed wire fence. The Secretary said they will then work on the foundations for the transformer pad and the control building. The Secretary said DEMEC is requesting a 3 week delay in delivering materials. He added that Virginia Transformer will ship in late February and the transformer should arrive in early March. The Secretary said he has chosen Wackenhut to provide after hours security. The Secretary told the Commissioners Delmarva Power appears to be mobilizing materials for their portion of the work. He added that John Bloxom of Morris James is working with the Trustees’ attorney Andy Taylor on the distribution easement amendments.
NEW BUSINESS
The Secretary shared with the Commissioners the labor demands from the Union which he received at their December 16, 2009 meeting. He told the Commissioners Comptroller Patone and Supervisor Guyer are working with him as part of the MSC’s bargaining unit. The Secretary said he is gathering numbers to calculate what the monetary value of the different demands represent. The Commissioners questioned the Secretary about the demands. Councilman Cochran suggested the Secretary speak with City Administrator Thomas who has recently completed city negotiations.
The Secretary told the Commissioners the quarterly booklet went out at the end of December and the primary topic was smart metering. He said he got some feedback from several people that were concerned that the MSC was deploying smart meters and didn’t like the idea of them.
The Secretary introduced an amendment to the MSC’s tariff that would require contractors/developers/owners to be in good standing with the Commission in order to have the MSC review plans and provide services. The Secretary said the amendment was suggested by an attorney for Daystar Sills based on a Clean Hands provision in the County’s Building Code. The Secretary said the MSC’s attorney drafted the Good Standing Policy which would be inserted as Sub-Section B of Section III - Right of Rejection. The Commissioners questioned the Secretary further about the amendment and then upon motion made and unanimous approval adopted the proposed amendment to Section III – Right of Rejection by adding Sub-Section B Good Standing Policy attached to these minutes. The effective date of the amendment to be January 12, 2010.
The Secretary told the Commissioners it was his understanding that the MSC had a policy regarding mandatory retirement. He said he always believed that to be 70 years old which was reflected in the defined benefit pension as “late retirement”. Upon further investigation by Comptroller Patone, he added, the pension’s “late retirement” is not a policy. He continued by saying that without looking through all the documents where a policy may have been adopted he would like to have the Commissioners affirm that it is the policy of the Commission that age 70 is a mandatory retirement date. The Commissioners asked the Secretary to speak with the MSC’s attorney for his advice before they act.
REVIEW OF FINANCIAL REPORTS
Comptroller Patone made her monthly financial reports
to the Commissioners reviewing with them changes since the last month’s
reports. She said that Accounts Receivable remains consistent and she now
has one year under her belt since she cleaned up accounts so she expects
it to be consistent. In Revenue and Expenses consumption is down and legal
fees and pension expenses are up as the Commissioners are aware. She
reported the MSC is still below budget in year which there is a planned
loss. She told the Commissioners the Secretary and she have a meeting
planned with Pat McCullar and Kimberly
Schlichting of DEMEC to review the substation invoices and payments. She
spoke to the Commissioners about the fixed assets software and the upgrade
to the server as well as the billing audit the Commission will be
conducting.
Commissioner Knox asked about the process of Union negotiations and
how the Union presents its demands. The Comptroller and Secretary gave him
a synopsis of how the process was working. Commissioner Appleby asked
about Linda Stubbs and her transition back to work. Comptroller Patone
said Linda is going to see how she feels and will make her decision based
on that.
JANUARY MEETING
The Commissioners set the
date of the next monthly meeting to be February 16, 2010 at the office of the Commission, 216 Chestnut Street.
ADJOURNMENT
By
motion made and unanimous approval, the Commissioners voted to adjourn.
Approved________________
Date
Francis L. Patterson, IV
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