Minutes – May 21 2014

Minutes of Prudential committee Meeting

Jericho fire District No. 1 (Foothills Water system)

May 21, 2014

Attendees: Brian Stevens, Ann Kroll Lerner, Mac Lippert, Fred Lavenberg, Les Allen

Ann reported that the Vt. Gas conversion work, LP to natural gas, at the reservoir/pump house was completed.

Fred reported that the Customer listings upgrade is a work in progress. Due to the cost reduction conversion to a Yahoo based e-mail system, getting all customers into this database is taking some time.

Les reported that the Source Protection Plan update work, performed by S.O.S. was completed. This and the dependent application for a Phase II/V monitoring waiver has been prepared for submission to the ANR Drinking Water and Ground Water Protection Div. This monitoring for volatile and synthetic organic chemicals can be conditionally waved based on historical experience.

Les reported completing a 39 question survey from the DWGPD Capacity Program of the ANR.

Our customer complaints about water discoloration was discussed. Our system operator recommends customers with this experience, flush out their water heater. He also proposed that they (S.O.S.) conduct their annual distribution line flushing soon and include the scheduled half (one of two sides) reservoir cleaning. These work tasks were approved by the PC (Prudential Committee).

Our underground Injection Control (back wash holding tank and leach field) failed inspection. The cause was our neglect, three years ago, to pump out accumulated manganese from the settling tank and some of that sludge was pumped into the leach field, causing its dysfunction.  The ANR has ordered the leach field replaced (by 9/1/14). Green Mountain Engineering is preparing for us, an estimate to do this.

Brian led a discussion of our finances, using several documents that he prepared. He projects that we will reduce our cash reserves at YE by $4,000. There were two principal causes for this; 1) the expensive (in mid-winter) distribution line rupture repair and 2) creek bank re-construction of the flooding last year. Otherwise, expenses have tracked to expectations.

The second part of our financial review was the capital replacement reserve fund. This is money needed for anticipated but irregular items, such as well pump replacement and filter element re-bedding. This fund needs to provide $28,000 for six projects expected within six years. The year end reserve fund amount will be further reduced with the unplanned leach field replacement. Although yearly budgets have historically provided for reserve funding through budgeted surpluses (and accumulated cash reserves from prior years are adequate to provide for near-term equipment replacements), the Prudential Committee may want to consider a future rate adjustment to compensate for the current year deficit.

A development project proposed for a section of the D. Davis farm, with access from the Foothills, will add septic tanks/fields within our wellhead protection area. This is the area from within which bacteria is “reasonably expected” to migrate to the well source within the 2 year degradation time. We have expressed our concern to the Jericho Development Review Board, which, procedural, will defer to the Vt. ANR, Water Resources Section, for septic system approval.

Charlie Wiegand has performed $450 worth of free work to clear rocks and boulders from our river property, without which we could not have the usual brush-hogging work done.

Respectfully submitted,

Leslie Allen, Clerk, JFD#1