CHADDS FORD TOWNSHIP SEWER AUTHORITY

MINUTES

 

April 15, 2008

Meeting No. 222

 

The 222nd meeting of the Chadds Ford Township Sewer Authority was held on this date in the Chadds Ford Township building.

 

Present: Chairman Vincent Del Rossi, Secretary Paul Koch, Treasurer Keith C. Klaver, Member Roland Martin. Also attending were J. Michael Sheridan, Esq.; Authority solicitor; Joseph DiMatteo, Delcora foreman; and Mary J. Walter, asst. secretary/asst. treasurer. Not present: Vice-Chairman Marc S. Altman.

 

Chairman Del Rossi called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m.

 

MINUTES:

The minutes of the March 18, 2008 and March 27 meetings were approved on a motion by Mr. Del Rossi and a second by Mr. Koch. Mr. Klaver abstained from the vote on the March 18 minutes.

 

DELCORA/RIDINGS WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT:

Mr. DiMatteo reviewed his written report.

  1. In March 2008, the plant processed an average of 45,000 gallons per day. Three violations in total suspended solids were reported for the month. 
  2. Aqua Wastewater removed 2000 gallons of sludge from the holding tank at the Ridings plant, 1,200 gallons from the filter feed tanks at the request of Siemens and 1000 gallons from the Eckman Pump Station. The filter feed tank also was cleaned again April 14 due to flocing caused by alterations to the amount of the aluminum sulfate used, as requested by Siemens (see #3 below). The filter feed tank usually is cleaned every four to six months.
  3. Mr. DiMatteo reported that the Siemens Disc Filter was in operation for the whole reporting period.  The plant is in all compliance with all parameters except TSS, which the disc filter was supposed to correct. Grab and composite sampling results indicate Total Suspended Solids levels of approximately 13 mg/l, which is above the 10 mg/l compliance limit and the 5 mg/l efficiency limit.  A review of the process through microscopic particle size revealed that a majority of the particle sizes are less than the media membrane proposing that a majority of the solids are passing through the unit.  Mr. DiMatteo will use the sand filter as necessary to divert portions of the flows.

 

Process alternatives have been requested by Siemens, along with an alteration to the aluminum sulfate chemical feed system from its existing feed location at both SBR Tanks to the front end of the Disc Filter to try and increase floc particle size.  The changes to the process resulted in several process upsets, including a large increase in floc that passed through the filter and clogged equipment. Siemens

 

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purchased a new chemical fed pump to insure that the dose of aluminum sulfate is accurate.

 

Mr. Del Rossi reported on a conference call with Siemens representatives. Mr. Del Rossi noted that he verbally informed Siemens that the process upsets and the failure of the disc filter have financial and operations consequences related to the consent order the Authority will sign with the DEP. Mr. Del Rossi gave Siemens seven days to propose a solution to ensure the filter achieves compliance. Mr. Koch stated that the Authority should not be incurring any fines with the DEP because of the failure of the disc filter and should not be incurring expenses to help Siemens develop its product. He asked if Siemens is paying any additional chemical and engineering charges. Mr. DiMatteo has submitted bills to Siemens. He believes the Authority should further discuss payments with Siemens representatives when they are on-site.

 

Mr. Andrews further noted that Siemens, at present, is trying to optimize chemical addition to meet compliance. After that, Siemens will attempt process changes to control how much chemical will be added. Siemens has ordered a new membrane for the disc filter; the membrane takes 12 weeks to fabricate. Mr. DiMatteo clarified that he believes Siemens’ optimal solution will be a combination of chemical additions and a new membrane. However, Mr. Del Rossi noted that there still is a question as to how the particle size will affect the process, even with more chemical and a new membrane.

 

After further discussion, the Board agreed that Mr. Sheridan should send a letter to Siemens after the seven-day deadline noted by Mr. Del Rossi. The letter should detail the following: Mr. Del Rossi’s comments during the conference call, the Authority’s expectation that Siemens absorbs additional costs incurred by the Authority during the disc filter start-up, possible DEP fines and penalties due to the failure of the disc filter, possible treatment plant upgrades required by the DEP due to the failure of the disc filter. Mr. DiMatteo confirmed that his reports to the DEP for the month of March noted that the disc filter was in service and process changes were made at Siemens’ request during the reporting period.

 

  1. The immersion heaters for the disc filter were installed.

 

5.   DELCORA staff sealed a leak at the Eckman Pump Station.

 

 

 

 

 

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ENGINEER’S REPORT

  1. Mr. Andrews was asked to review the impact of having wastewater from a beauty salon discharged to a wastewater treatment plant. He said that the toxicity of the hair care products does not affect the proper functioning of a wastewater treatment plant. Based on Mr. Andrew’ report, the Board will recommend that the Township Board of Supervisors rescind its ordinance to require hair salons to use holding tanks. Mr. Del Rossi moved, and Mr. Koch seconded the motion.
  2. The Chapter 94 Report was submitted on March 28, 2008. Mr. Klaver had concerns with the Report and asked about three areas. First, how were the EDUs determined in the Report since EDUs originally were assessed at 265 gallons per day for certain EDUs and others more recently assessed at 217 gallons per day for the Ridings plant. Second, he noted that the Report incorrectly states that 150,000 gallons (instead of 140,000 gallons) as the capacity for the Turners Mill plant. Lastly, Mr. Klaver said the Report incorrectly indicates the determination of fractional EDUs for the Turners Mill plant. He also indicated other inconsistencies with the Report. Mr. Andrews will review the Report and report his findings at the Authority’s next meeting.
  3. Mr. Andrews has reviewed materials related to the Turners Mill plant to determine what final plant specifications were agreed to.
  4. A report was submitted to the Authority and the Township Supervisors with concerns about setting up a statewide nutrient limit system. Mr. Andrews believes if the system is implemented as it now is in Chester Cheek, it will require very expensive plant modifications throughout the state and also will affect stormwater discharge quality in the Township. The EPA is required to issue final limits by June 1; the DEP then can set its own limits, which must be as stringent. Mr. Andrews said that current treatment technology is not able to reliably meet the proposed limits.
  5. Mr. Andrews reported that Painters Crossing received authorization from the DEP on February 28 to build its pump station. Apparently there are some issues with PECO that are holding up construction.

 

 

SOLICITOR’S REPORT:

  1. Mr. Sheridan reported he will schedule an August settlement date for the Pennvest funding when the calendar on the Pennvest website is updated.
  2. At Mr. Del Rossi’s request, Mr. Sheridan reviewed the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Act. Under the Act, the Authority may file a lien for user fees and for sewer improvement or construction fees at any time. Priority is established by the date of the filing of the lien if there are other claims against the property or if the property is sold.

 

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  1. Mr. Sheridan will further review the agreement that the Township and/or Authority has with Parkside Associates regarding the billing of 28 EDUs
  2. associated with the property on which the Ethan Allen store is now located. The question is how much Parkside/Ethan Allen must pay in user fees now that the land has moved from a vacant status to a commercial status. Mr. Klaver noted that the 28 EDUS allocated to the Ethan Allen property may exceed the number of EDUs that are required; however the Authority should charge user fees for all

28 EDUs since the EDUs are not transferable to any other users.

  1. The Board requested that Mr. Sheridan send a letter to a resident who is climbing the Ridings plant fence to turn off lights at night, specifically the alarm light on the disc filter. Mr. Sheridan also advised the Authority post no trespassing and video surveillance signs.
  2. Mr. Klaver inquired as to Mr. Sheridan’s comment in the minutes of the March 2008 meeting regarding potential concern for the non-billing of water usage when a customer was not connected to the sewer system. After discussion, it was noted that the context of the discussion at the March meeting about potential criticism was recorded in error. Related to the discussion concerning the non-billing of water usage, the Board requested Mr. Sheridan send a letter to the owner of the last non-residential property that is not connected to the Ridings plant to determine the property owner’s plans for connection. The property has not been connected due to a consistent change in ownership. Since the property owner has been billed water usage, Mr. Klaver suggested those charges be reversed, also in light of the discussion concerning non-billing of water usage. This approach will be consistent with what has been suggested to the Supervisors regarding non-billing of water usage for Turners Mill non-residential users who are not yet connected to the Turners Mill plant.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT:

  1. Mr. Del Rossi prepared a profit and loss statement comparing the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2007. Mr. Klaver requested this statement be prepared for every meeting.
  2. Mr. Klaver noted that even though the balance sheet for the quarter indicates a net income of $9236.00, the approximate $15,000.00 due for the I&I project and the fine to the DEP are not accounted for in that amount.
  3. Mr. Klaver updated the Board that the return on the investment account with Sovereign Bank has gone down concurrent with the decline of U.S. interest rates. He requested that the Board approve a request to participate with the Township in a program to move funds to 6- to 9-month CDs with several banks to obtain the best rate of return. The Township and the Authority will have separate CDs. Mr. Klaver moved and Mr. Del Rossi seconded a motion to transfer up to $500,000.00 to 6- to 9-month CDs with the banks that will afford maximum return on the investment. Motion carried.

 

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  1. Mr. Klaver reviewed the terms of the loan with Sovereign Bank. The 10-year loan is at a long-term rate of 4.3%. He noted that the Authority probably could refinance the loan for 20 years with DVRFA at a rate of 3.8-3.9%. He believes the Board should consider refinancing a portion of the Sovereign loan and use a portion of the investment account funds to retire the debt by the end of the year. He noted that prior to the decline in interest rates, the rate of return on the investment account had been higher than the rate on the fixed debt.
  2. The treasurer’s report and the accounts payable report including monthly bills of $18598.86, Quickbooks costs of $80.02, debit card purchases of $278.55, ACH payments for Verizon and PECO of $1825.55, ACH payment for the Sovereign Bank loan $6378.69, ACH payment for the DVRFA loan of $7,386.34, payroll of $1845.83, and payroll liabilities of $1629.49 were approved on a motion duly made and seconded (Klaver/Koch).

 

 

OLD BUSINESS

  1. The charcoal filter was installed at the manhole at 24 Raven Drive. The resident reports no order since the filter was installed.

 

 

NEW BUSINESS

  1. Mr. Del Rossi submitted proposed revisions to the Authority’s billing policy. The discussion centered on reducing the finance charges/interest charges (e.g. late fees) on unpaid user fees from 10% to 6% annually. Mr. Klaver noted that the request for the reduction is based on the fact that the Authority’s cost of capital is close to 4% and that the Authority in theory should neither be making nor losing money. Mr. Koch asked if the 6% would cover the cost of the administrative and accounting fees associated with the “late fee” process, such as sending statements. He also asked if the reduction from 10% to the 6% still would provide a financial incentive for users to pay their fees. Mr. Klaver noted that the administrative and accounting costs are imbedded in the user fees. He also noted that in most of the cases of non-payment of user fees, the non-payment has been a result primarily of financial hardship and more than likely would not be affected by the finance charge/interest charge rate. The July 1 invoice will indicate the new finance charge/interest charge of 6%. The finance charge/interest charge on unpaid tapping fees would remain at 6%.

 

Mr. Del Rossi further proposed that interest charges/interest charges be assessed monthly but that a statement be mailed only quarterly to users with open account balances. Sending statements monthly is not economically efficient due to small amount of some of the finance charges. He also proposed that the grace period for payment of user fees be reduced from 45 days to 15 days.

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The Board also discussed the billing of non-residential user fees based on water use estimates. Water use records are not available in a timely manner from Chester Water Authority or from users who provide water meter readings from their well pumps. Actual water use readings for an entire year would be obtained at year’s end and users’ account balances would be reconciled based on those readings. Mr. Klaver suggested that instead of billing estimated water use based on the standard EDU formula for users that clearly do not use 217 gallons per day, the Authority and the user discuss a mutually agreeable estimate of water use.

 

The Board also reviewed the penalties associated with water usage over EDUs as stipulated in the Authority’ Resolution 2, and clarified the Board’s obligation to assess those penalties.

 

On a motion from Mr. Koch and a second by Mr. Del Rossi, the Board approved a resolution to reduce the interest charges/finance charges on user fees from 10% to 6% annually.

 

Mr. Sheridan expressed concern with the proposed stipulation in the billing policy that a 60-day letter be sent only when an account is three quarters in arrears. The proposed policy will be revised per discussion and be re-considered at the May meeting.

 

  1. The Board discussed conducting a rate study in anticipation of the acquiring of the Turners’ Mill plant in August 2008 for a rate change to be effective January 1, 2009. Mr. Koch and Mr. Del Rossi raised concern that the Board does not have valid data for costs and expenses associated with the Turners’ Mill plant and should wait until valid data is available before conducting a rate study. Mr. Klaver noted that the Authority should have a substantial amount of revenue and cost information by the fall of 2008. When the Authority assumes operations, the Authority will know the final amount of larger expenses like the operating agreement with Delcora, insurance and interest costs. Other variable costs, like plant operating and maintenance costs, can be estimated by Delcora; however, given Turners’ Mill is a new plant, such costs should not be as significant as Ridings. On a motion from Mr. Klaver and a second by Mr. Koch, the Board authorized the Authority engineer to provide a proposal for a rate study at the May meeting.

 

  1. Based on a change to a Township ordinance, the Authority must assume responsibility for inspection of all grease traps in the Township. At present, the Township Code Enforcement Officer Richard Jensen conducts the inspections. The Board agreed that Mr. Jensen should conduct the inspection for the 2nd quarter. Mr. Andrews will consult with his firm about how other authorities

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conduct grease trap inspections and the feasibility of engaging a contractor to conduct the grease trap inspections going forward.

 

  1. Mr. Del Rossi reported on the resolution passed by the Chadds Ford Township Supervisors at their April meeting authorizing CFTSA Board members to assist Chadds Ford Township with the transition of the Turners Mill plant from Toll Brothers.

 

 

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

                       

ADJOURNMENT   The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m.   (Del Rossi/Martin)

 

Respectfully submitted,

Mary J. Walter, Asst. Secretary/Asst. Treasurer