CHADDS FORD TOWNSHIP SEWER AUTHORITY

MINUTES

October 16, 2007

The 216^th meeting of the Chadds Ford Township Sewer Authority was held on this date in the Chadds Ford Township building.

Present: Chairman Vincent Del Rossi, Vice President Anthony J. Cutrona, Secretary Marc Altman, Treasurer Keith C. Klaver, Member at Large Paul Koch,

Also in attendance were John E. Spitko, Jr., PE, Authority Engineer; and Joseph DiMatteo, Delcora Remote Systems Foreman.

Chairman Del Rossi called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Mr. Klaver reported that he and the assistant secretary/assistant treasurer met with Supervisor Garry Paul, Township Engineer Joe Mastronardo, and Township Code Enforcement Officer Richard Jensen to review the commercial and residential lists for the Turners Mill tapping fees. The asst. secretary/asst. treasurer is waiting for 15 property sketches needed to complete the mailing. Mr. Klaver also announced that the Township had approved a bid for the grinder pumps for the residential property owners; the cost is $2130.00, less than expected.

Mr. Klaver, Mr. Paul and Mr. Mastronardo met with some representatives of Painters Crossing to discuss various information needed from the Township so that the Painters Crossing engineer could proceed with the plans for the new pumping station. It is highly likely that the pumping station may not be operational as of January 1, 2008.

MINUTES:

The minutes of the October 16, 2007 meeting were approved with changes noted by Mr. Klaver.

Page 3, item 5: Mr. Klaver clarified that he believes that it is unfortunate that the Painters Crossing Condominium Association will be billed for sewer service beginning January 1, 2008 even though the pumping station may not be operational; as a result of the Township Ordinance, Painters Crossing will be billed beginning January 1, 2008.

Treasurer’s Report, Item 1: Mr. Klaver requested that the individual board members’ comments be condensed to the following… “After a full and complete discussion by all Board members, it was agreed that the interest and administrative costs of the loan would be charged to Painters Crossing only to the extent that such amounts exceed interest income generated from the proceeds of the loan.” The paragraph with Mr. Sheridan’s comments shall remain. The Board agreed.

Page 5, Old Business: Mr. Klaver requested that a sentence be changed to “Although Mr. DelRossi had the return receipts for the e-mails, the DEP stated that a formal, written response was needed in order for the DEP to process formally and respond.”

The minutes of the September 18, 2007 meeting were approved on a motion by Mr. Klaver and seconded by Mr. Cutrona after the corrections were made.

ENGINEER’S REPORT:

Mr. Spitko reviewed his written report.

Inspections for the private wastewater treatment plants in the Township are scheduled for Thursday, November 8, beginning at 9 a.m.
Mr. Spitko spoke with Kevin Matson of Kelly Associates, the engineer for Brandywine Summit II, and Mike Lyons, the BSII attorney, regarding the establishment of an escrow account. Funds have not yet been received for the escrow account.
Mr. Spitko discussed with the Board the process for the approval of planning modules and planning exemptions. He communicated to the engineer and attorney for BSII that due to issues at the Ridings Plant there is a delay in approving the planning exemption. The Board advised Mr. Spitko to submit the approval of the planning exemption along with clarifying information about the proposed solutions to the issues at the Ridings plant.
The punch list for the Turners Mill plant is completed.

SOLICITOR’S REPORT:

1. Mr. Sheridan e-mailed to the Board a written report.

2. Mr. Del Rossi had asked Mr. Sheridan to clarify if the installation of the disc filter could be done as a maintenance item through DELCORA or a contractor. Mr. Sheridan directed that estimates be received before the bid process is considered. The disc filter is expected to be delivered in January.

3. There was a question as to whether the Painters Crossing Condominium Association has provided adequate documentation regarding the Association’s approval process for the loan. The loan agreement has been signed; however, the assistant secretary/assistant treasurer was directed to clarify with Mr. Sheridan that he has received all supporting documentation before releasing the signed loan agreement.

4. The liens and/or writs for sheriff service have been filed on the properties specified by the Board. All fees for these items are rebilled to the property owner.

DELCORA REPORT:

Mr. DiMatteo reviewed his written report for the month of September.

1. Two violations all related to total suspended solids were reported to the DEP for the month of September. The inefficiency of the sand filter is contributing to the violations.

2. Chlorine use has increased due to the high daily temperatures increasing the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Mr. DiMatteo reported that he investigated costs for the CFTSA chemicals. He said that other than for the aluminum sulfate, the costs are in line for the small quantities CFTSA purchases. Mr. DiMatteo believes he has located a less-expensive vendor for the aluminum sulfate; he will check on any service and delivery charges imposed by that vendor before suggesting a change in vendors. Mr. Klaver noted that he attended a discussion at the annual Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association Meeting about the statewide purchasing program. However, that program is geared for larger facilities than the Ridings plant.

3. More than 16,000 gallons of sludge was removed in September. The use of aluminum sulfate continues to positively affect the thickening of sludge. It is expected that sludge will not need to be removed again until November. As well, the aluminum sulfate is resulting in a phosphorus measurement of 1.3; the limit in 2008 will be 2.0.

4. Mr. DiMatteo reiterated that chemicals could be stored in the space now occupied by the sand filter when the filter is removed. A solution is still being investigated to prevent the chemicals from freezing during the winter.

5. Regarding the blockage of the sand filter reported last month, DELCORA determined that a personal piece of equipment was the cause of the blockage. CFTSA was not charged for any labor related to the dis-assembly, cleaning, emptying, refilling, and re-assembly of the filter. Every couple weeks the sand becomes so dirty that it has to be lanced and “jet-cleaned.”

6. A new filter feed pump will be re-calibrated by FLYGT from high-voltage to low-voltage so that they are running at the desired speed.

7. Mr. DiMatteo requested that 9 small trees be removed from in front of the control building and that several large trees on the pond side of the plant be trimmed. The leaves from the tall trees fall into the tank and can potentially clog it. Chadds Ford Tree has provided a quote of $2800.00 to complete the project. The assistant secretary/assistant treasurer will send a letter to the property owners whose homes are nearest the plant to advise them of the project.

8. Aqua Wastewater pumped grease out of the wet well at the Woodlands Pump Station. The Woodland Drive area has been identified as a major contributor to grease in the sewer system.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Mr. Klaver reported that the Authority is in a strong financial condition as far as investments. The Painters Crossing loan proceeds have been segregated into a separate account at Sovereign so the interest earned may be tracked.
Accounts payable are high due to the balance due to Siemens for the disc filter.
The profit and loss sheet indicates nine months of income and nine months of expenses so it is indicative of the Authority’s financial position. Mr. Klaver pointed out that the sand filter plant operating costs are high. Other than for the sand filter, much of the operating costs are in line or under budget.

Non-operating income is $350,000.00, resulting in an operating loss through September before depreciation of slightly more than $25,000.00. The operating loss was budgeted to be $50,000.00. Mr. Klaver attributed the difference to the fact that interest income is higher than anticipated and some of the costs for the I&I inspection and other monitoring costs by DELCORA have not yet been incurred. He also noted that costs have been managed well by Mr. Del Rossi and DELCORA.

5. On a motion from Mr. Klaver and a second from Mr. Altman, the Authority authorized payments of $16,375.44 for monthly bills; $1838.74 for ACH; $1645.00 for August payroll; $52.90 for Quickbooks expenses; and $165.08 for debit card purchases.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Mr. DelRossi reported that David Linehan of Yerkes Associates requested changes to the shop drawings for the disc filter and to operations manual to reflect all the contract specifications and forwarded those to changes to Siemens.

NEW BUSINESS

1. The Board briefly discussed the possibility of implementing a two-tier rate structure for non-residential customers. Mr. Klaver noted that some of the non-residential customers are billed for one (1) EDU, but use significantly less water than an estimated average of 217 gallons per day. He shared with the Board members a proposal to be reviewed at the November meeting and to be considered as a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding billing of selected non-residential customers of the Turners Mill plant.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

None

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. (Altman/Koch)

Respectfully submitted,

Mary J. Walter, asst. secretary/asst. treasurer