Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes Friday, March 8, 2019

For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on Friday, March 8, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.

Facilities Committee Minutes 3-8-19 with Attachments

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Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission

1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520

Commission Meeting Room

Friday, March 8, 2019 at 9:00 AM 

FACILITIES COMMITTEE MINUTES

PRESENT:                             

Ben Turnipseed, Chairman

Steve Copeland, Commissioner

Andrew Burroughs, Deputy Executive Director

Mark Ryals, Superintendent

Kirk Young, Superintendent

Janice Meridith, Exec. Commission Administrator 

ABSENT:                               

Bob Duncan, Commissioner

Jimmy Junkin, Executive Director

Chairman Turnipseed called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM.

Chairman Turnipseed gave the invocation.

 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Commissioner Turnipseed closed the Public Comment Period.

APPROVAL

1. Minutes from Facilities Committee Meeting February 20, 2019

Chairman Turnipseed approved the minutes from the Facilities Committee Meeting held on February 20, 2019.  (Commissioner Copeland was not present at the February 20, 2019 meeting.  Commissioner Duncan was absent for the vote.)

2. North Mainland 2016 SPLOST Phase II & III Engineering Contract Award

Chairman Turnipseed advised that staff had issued the RFP on January 4, 2019 and received proposals on February 27, 2019 from the following 4 firms:  EMC Engineering Services, Inc., Georgia Water & Environmental Services, Hussey Gay Bell & DeYoung Consulting Engineers, and Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co.  Chairman Turnipseed noted that a 3 member evaluation team evaluated the proposals in accordance with the evaluation points the Commission developed.  Thomas & Hutton’s proposal received the highest evaluation score.  After reviewing the cost proposals, staff determined that the $695,035.00 amount submitted by Thomas & Hutton is reasonable and acceptable in reviewing the anticipated scope of services and overall project timeline.  Chairman Turnipseed provided that if the contract is awarded at the next Commission Meeting, and the construction bids are received in October 2019, construction on the project could be started before the end of this year.

Commissioner Copeland made a motion seconded by Chairman Turnipseed to recommend that this recommendation move to the full Commission at the March 21, 2019 meeting to enter into a contract with Thomas & Hutton in the amount of $695,035.00 for the Engineering Services related to this project.  Motion carried 2-0-1.  (Commissioner Duncan was absent for the vote.)

3. Academy Creek Influent Pump Purchase Approval

Andrew Burroughs advised that currently at Academy Creek there are four influent pumps of which one has been sent out for repairs however the quote received for the repairs was deemed too costly.  Staff requested quotes to replace the pump.  GoForth Williamson is the sole source provider for Yeomans pump for municipality governments in the state of Georgia.  Mr. Burroughs noted that the quote received from GoForth Williams was $57,791.00, and he added that the quote that was received for the pump repairs was $50,000.00.  Staff deemed it more reasonable to purchase a new pump rather than repair the old one at the cost of $50,000.00.  Mr. Burroughs provided that Academy Creek is down one pump in the influent station at this time, however it is not causing problems at this time but in a major rain event there could be some issues. The age of the old pump is 15 years.

Chairman Turnipseed made a motion seconded by Commissioner Copeland to approve the purchase of a new Yeomans Model 14206 submersible pump in the amount of $57,791.00.  Motion carried 2-0-1.  (Commissioner Duncan was absent for the vote.)

4. Surplus Equipment Approval

Andrew Burroughs briefed the Committee on the Bobcat excavator which has a 3 foot bucket that is oversized for the areas Water Distribution would be digging in.  This is an original piece of equipment transferred to JWSC as part of the merger, and is not used but is in relatively good condition.  Staff recommends surplusing the excavator and receiving some value back for it.  This piece of equipment will not be replaced as it is not needed in the organization.  Mr. Burroughs advised that as per policy this piece of equipment must be declared as surplus to dispose of it, and that it would be posted on GovDeals website for sale to the highest bidder.  Even though JWSC has not used the excavator, it has been maintained and kept in good condition.

Commissioner Copeland made a motion seconded by Chairman Turnipseed to move that the BGJWSC Asset #WDE-106 be approved to move forward to the full Commission to be declared as surplus and be disposed of in a manner most beneficial to the BGJWSC.  Motion carried 2-0-1.  (Commissioner Duncan was absent for the vote.)

Chairman Turnipseed advised that discussion item #2 would be discussed first due to operations staff being present for the discussion.

DISCUSSION

2. Sludge Dewatering/Drying, Hauling, Costs, etc.

Andrew Burroughs provided that currently the sludge hauling is performed by Republic Services.  The roll-off boxes are rented from Republic and they provide the services to pick up when called.  This includes sludge and grit from all 3 plants.  20 yard boxes are used for the sludge and 12 yard boxes for the grit.  Mr. Burroughs advised that there are multiple fees involved with the contract.  The disposal is currently being taken to Broadhurst Environmental Landfill which is owned by Republic Services.  Mr. Burroughs continued to brief the Committee on the associated costs involved including disposal fees, pick-up fees, fuel and environmental fees, etc.  During the past year JWSC has paid Republic $519,968.36 to haul 5,070.22 tons of sludge. He further noted that JWSC has been approached by another hauling company proposing to reduce the pick-up charges by $75. Assuming all the other fees are the same, this would reduce the cost to haul to $272,969.12.  Mr. Burroughs presented another more attractive option to reduce the hauling costs which would for the JWSC to purchase the equipment necessary to haul the sludge internally.  This would require the purchase of a roll off truck and multiple roll off boxes in order to allow the plants to continue to process sludge after a container was filled, and no additional personnel would be required.  This option would allow for a total disposal cost annually to be $264,649.24 or an annual savings of $255,319.12 from using Republic Services.  Mr. Burroughs also explained that in the RFP for upgrades to Academy Creek, one of the factors that is being considered is to install a hopper/conveyor system to allow for the sludge from Dunbar Creek and South Port to be transported to Academy Creek and processed through the sludge dryer.  He calculated all of the various costs, quantities and variables as closely as possible to provide an analysis of these 3 options for the Committee.

This analysis is based on the 12 month average landfill disposal and would change depending on the amount of sludge produced by each plant. However, if more sludge is produced by each plant as the solids loading on each plant increases with time, the magnitude of these potential savings only increases. The payback period for purchasing the equipment, assuming full time operation is 9.8 months.  

3. Equipment Discussion
4. Dryer(s)

Mr. Burroughs recalled for the Committee that there are issues with the dryer at Academy Creek which have caused it to be non-functional.  A quote has been obtained from AIT Services for the full repair ($73,500), as well as quotes from a couple of local fabricators to fabricate the back plate only (est. $28,500) with JWSC completing the repairs.  Mr. Burroughs provided that the down time for the dryer causes extra costs in waste disposal and hauling of between $20,000 and $25,000. This item was discussed and approved in the full Commission Meeting on March 7 for the dryer to be fully repaired by AIT Services and these repairs will cover all significant issues and return the dryer to a much more reliable dryer by the end of April.  Superintendent Mark Ryals was present and participated in the discussion with the Committee regarding the operations and maintenance history of the dryer including the anticipated future program for operations and maintenance.  Commissioner Copeland asked for a comprehensive summary of the maintenance program planned and in place for the dryer to be included with the FY 2020 Budget.

1. Hauling Options

Hauling options were discussed within discussion item #2 above.

1. Submersible Pumps

Chairman Turnipseed discussed the various manufacturers’ pumps that are in the JWSC operations system.  Flygt pumps are typically more expensive even after the 20% discount received.  Andrew Burroughs commented that he and Kirk Young have been working together on the pumps in the pump stations.  Mr. Burroughs provided that his opinion is that a specific horsepower rating needs to be set for decisions in purchasing pumps.  Higher horsepower may require a Flygt pump, however in situations where a lower horsepower pump is sufficient the lesser expensive pumps are acceptable. 

1. Grinder Pumps

Andrew Burroughs advised that there are grinder pumps in small lift stations in the system, but JWSC does not maintain any residential grinder pumps.  The grinder pumps currently being used have been purchased from a variety of manufacturers. Andrew Burroughs presented a map indicating the North Mainland SLOST Project areas, and discussed the original route and the reroute of pumping and the capacities gained from the changes in the pump stations.  It is recognized that commonality between pumps would be beneficial and commonality of spare parts is desirable.  On the residential side, it is typically recommended to put in E1 or Orenco systems, but once the pump goes out, JWSC cannot control what manufacturer’s pump is put in by the homeowner.

Kirk Young, SP&M Superintendent was present and Chairman Turnipseed requested a quick update from him on the rehabilitation of manholes.  Mr. Young provided a brief background history, the current status and a variety of photographs for review.

1. Elevated Tank Operation, Elevations, etc. Service Area

Andrew Burroughs discussed the elevated and storage tanks with the Committee.  He reviewed a map of the mainland elevated storage tanks, including other storage tank and water production facilities information as contained within the packet provided.

4. North Mainland SPLOST Presentation

Andrew Burroughs presented the original map of the SPLOST North Mainland Project for reference.  He advised that with Phase I of the project, immediate capacity was provided on the North Mainland due to pending litigation at that time.  Mr. Burroughs continued to explain all of the components of Phase I of the project including pump stations involved, the original capacities and the new capacities gained since completion of this phase.  Mr. Burroughs then discussed the current flows in each phase, along with the proposed capacities of the pump stations with the completion of Phase II and Phase III of the project.

5. Magnolia Park Water Line Replacement – Update, Schedule, Project Costs, etc.

Chairman Turnipseed noted he had met with Todd Kline and the plans had been revised for this project.  EMC is currently working on those revisions.  He inquired as to when the City is planning to bid the construction portion of the project.  Mr. Burroughs responded that revised plans were received on the first of the month which are currently under staff review.  The preliminary review appears to include all requests as JWSC made.  The City is also currently reviewing their plans.  The estimate cost of this project is around $1.5M and funding is to come out of the R&R Budget.

6. Present Map with Areas to be Studied on St. Simons Island – Smoke Testing & Dye Study

On the north end of St. Simons Island, Pump Station 2032 and the Hampton Point Development pump station are the 2 basins to be tested and were selected due to highest degree of infiltration found during the flow monitoring study. The south end and central portions of the island will have more smoke testing done due to the older infrastructure and some clay lines.  Pump station 2002, East Beach, The Island Club, Hamilton Landing, Glynn Haven, Black Banks, and Sea Palms East will all be smoke tested. McKim & Creed is expected to begin the smoke testing sometime in early April.  Announcements will be put out, and door hangers will be placed in the respective neighborhoods 48 hours in advance.  The smoke testing will take 150 days and then 30 days for the final reports to be available.  While the smoke testing is in progress any repairs that can be done right away will be addressed at that time.

7. Private Asset Policy for Smoke Testing Results

Andrew Burroughs discussed the drafting of the private asset policy for the smoke testing results.  This arises from the question of how does JWSC handle the problems that are found are on private assets from the smoke testing?  Mr. Burroughs noted that on the sewer side, JWSC owns the lateral up to the right of way; anything past the right of way is the homeowner’s issue.  We are assume that as a part of the smoke testing, we are going to find quite a few private asset issues such as broken laterals.  Small issues such as replacing clean out caps are not a problem, but JWSC is not able to assume the liability of digging on private assets and repairing them.  Mr. Burroughs advised that the Glynn County Code offers 4 possibilities for JWSC to pursue as a part of this:  The homeowner can be required to fix the issues within 30 days (which can be aggressive based on the situation of the homeowner); JWSC can charge the homeowner with a sewer rate that is commiserate with their I&I contributions to the systems; JWSC can require the owner to disconnect the lateral until it is repaired; or JWSC can go in and inspect each lateral to verify the work has been done.  Mr. Burroughs provided that JWSC would like to gather a list of pre-qualified plumbers for using in repairs, plus make agreements with those pre-qualified plumbers of what the costs could be for certain repairs on private properties in order to “fix” those costs for the homeowners to avoid exaggerated charges.  Mr. Burroughs also commented that there may be cases where the private asset repair costs could be quite expensive for the homeowner, and it may be beneficial for JWSC to get those repairs done to reduce I&I and then allow the customer to repay JWSC for those expenses.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:38 a.m.