HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-0419 Regular Meeting MinutesTrophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes REGULAR MINUTES TROPHY CLUB MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS April19, 2016 at 6:00P.M. 100 Municipal Drive, Trophy Club, Texas 76262 The Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 Board of Directors, of Denton and Tarrant Counties, met in a Regular Session on April19, 2016 at 6:00 P.M., in the Boardroom of the Administration Building, 100 Municipal Drive, Trophy Club, Texas 76262. The meeting was held within the boundaries of the District, and was open to the public. STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTIES OF DENTON AND TARRANT § DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Jim Moss Neil Twomey Kevin Carr Jim Thomas Jim Hase STAFF PRESENT: President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer Director Director Jennifer McKnight General Manager Laurie Slaght District Secretary Renae Gonzales Terri Sisk Mike McMahon Karl Schlielig Pam Liston GUESTS PRESENT: Finance Manager Administration Manager Water Superintendent Wastewater Superintendent General Legal Counsel CP&Y CP&Y Scott Wetzel Kevin Glovier Patrick Arata Erika Nieto Town of Trophy Club Police Chief JD Vines Ramon Escanez Steve Groh Texas County and District Retirement System Pepper Lawson (Webber) Webber Webber CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCE A QUORUM President Moss announced the date of April 19, 2016, called the meeting to order and announced a quorum present at 6:00p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS No citizens comments REPORTS & UPDATES 1. Fire Department Report for March 2016 1 of10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes a.Operations Report b. Volunteer Recruitment Report c.Status of Standard Operating Guidelines {SOG) General Manager McKnight stated that Patrick Arata, Trophy Club Police Chief has been overseeing the Fire Department since the departure of Danny Thomas approximately two weeks ago. Chief Arata told the board that he has put out a request to the Trophy Club Emergency Volunteer Association {TCEVA) on their website for administrative help at the fire department. Director Thomas expressed concerns about letting children ride in a fire truck. Thomas stated that his concern is for the safety of children and the liability of the District if there is an injury or if a call is received while a child is on the truck. Director Moss stated that the department has been giving children rides on the fire truck for 15 years and there has never been an incident and he would leave it to the Chief to review the policy. Director Carr stated that years ago there was an incident at an event when an adult fell off the truck. He added that he understands that Texas law does not allow children in the front seat without specific safety precautions. Carr stated that his understanding is that a child was sitting on the lap of an adult and in the fire truck there is not much room in the seat and the window is directly in front of the seat. Chief Arata stated that child safety seats are not required if you are driving under a certain speed limit parents must ride with the child and he believes they just went for a ride around the block. Arata also stated that there are policies and procedures in place for ride-alongs but they will take a look at the policies if desired by the Board. Director Twomey would like to have Chief Arata review the policy and report back to the board. General Manager McKnight agreed to review the policy with Chief Arata and would like to review the SOG related to ride-alongs. Attorney Liston reviewed the waiver that has been provided for ride-alongs in the past and would like to make changes to make it better. Director Carr acknowledged that this program is very good for public relations but he is concerned about District liability. Carr wanted to note that he was referring to 545.412 Texas Transportation Code-Child Safety Seats in his prior comments. Director Twomey stated that the response time for District 4 has drifted up to 8 minutes again. Twomey stated that he and Lou Opipare were working to address this issue and would like to have Chief Arata review this and make some recommendations. Arata feels reducing the response time is a very measurable goal that can be achieved. General Manager McKnight updated the Board regarding the status Standard Operating Guidelines ("SOG's"). At the January 19, 2016 regular meeting the Board directed that the SOG's be reviewed by legal counsel and this has been completed. Suggested changed were to review the SOG's for the use of, "staff" and "uniformed staff" and make clarifications to the documents assuring that those terms are in fact who the policy applies to. McKnight stated that Chief Arata has requested the District consider using the same software as the police department for creation and maintenance of SOGs. Arata stated that the police department is using Lexipol software which generates SOG's based on best practices. McKnight said that due to the current situation we are in without a fire chief we are looking at an additional 7-8 weeks to have the captains review the SOG's and that staff will work diligently to get these completed. Director Carr asked Chief Arata how is the employee morale in the station. Arata stated that it has only been a few weeks since the departure of the previous fire chief and that morale has improved dramatically since then. 2 of 10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Chief Arata stated he is committed to keep General Manager McKnight aware of everything that is happening in the fire department and that they will work as a team to make sure that they get things going right. Arata is working with the captains to make sure that everyone is performing effectively. CONSENT AGENDA 2. Consider and take appropriate action to approve the Consent Agenda. a.March 2016 Check Register b.March 23, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes c. March 31, 2016 Special Meeting Minutes d.Quarterly Investment Report: 2"d Quarter FY 2016 e.Cash Needs Report f. Tax Collections Report-2"d Quarter FY 2016 Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Carr to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously REGULAR SESSION 3. Receive presentation regarding District retirement system by representative of Texas County and District Retirement System. Erika Nieto, Employer Services Representative with Texas County and District Retirement System, gave the board an overview of the District employee retirement plan and answered questions related thereto. 4. Consider and take appropriate action regarding Change Order No. 3 presented by Webber Cadagua for wastewater treatment plant upgrade project. JD Vines with Pepper Lawson Waterworks stated that Pepper Lawson was recently purchased by Webber but will continue to operate as Pepper Lawson. Mr. Vines provided a handout for change order #3 for the bypass piping. Vines stated the original change order was for $72,000 and has been reduced to $54,000 to recognize the cost savings had they rented valves instead of purchasing them. Mr. Vines stated he understands the engineers recommend that the district only pay $13,000 but that amount does not cover labor or all the costs. Vines stated that the cost Webber requested in the change order includes an additional 340 feet of pipe and the cost of the valves. He stated that the change in the pipe layout was the call of the engineers and they were following the engineers' request. Vines added that Webber was able to obtain the valves in seven days whereas it typically takes six weeks. Scott Wetzel, District Engineer with CP&Y, explained to the Board the numerous errors that have been made by the contractor. Wetzel said he questions if Webber obtained the valves in seven days because after the issue was reported on November 12, 2015, the issue was not resolved until January 7, 2016. Additionally, Wetzel noted that the change order includes a cost for platforms and if Webber would have laid the valves on their sides, the platforms would not have been necessary. Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Carr to table this item and have Webber provide supplemental information to justify the costs they have requested. 3 oflO
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion carried unanimously 5. Discussion regarding status of appeal of retail water and sewer rates pending with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. General Manager McKnight stated that the hearing will likely be scheduled to start the last few months of 2016 or the first of 2017 and it would likely be April of 2017 until a final decision is obtained. Attorney Liston stated that the Administrative Law Judge severed the petition by the Town of Trophy Club Public Improvement District customers and they will not be permitted to intervene. Liston stated that the judge ruled that the PID residents are customers of the Town, not the District, and do not have the right to petition District water and sewer rates. Director Thomas asked for clarification as to why the District had attorneys involved in the ratepayer's appeal of the rates. Attorney Liston stated the Ratepayer Petition filing with the Public Utility Commission triggered a mandatory response from the District. Liston stated that the Board did its fiduciary responsibility by using legal counsel to handle the matter as it is a legal hearing similar to a bench trial. McKnight wanted to reiterate to the Board that this is like a bench trial. She stated it is therefore necessary that we have to have legal representation to present our case. McKnight stated that if the Public Utility Commission determines the district should recover the cost associated with the appeal and a surcharge is assessed, it will only be assessed to District customers. The assessment would not affect the PID as they are customers of the Town. President Moss called a recess at 8:09p.m. President Moss reconvened the meeting at 8:20 p.m. 6. Discussion regarding timeline for holding water system improvements bond election on the November 8, 2016 uniform election date. (J. Thomas) General Manager McKnight stated that over the past few months the Board has been discussing a capital improvement plan (CIP) for the water system. Last month the Board discussed the possibility of issuing tax bonds to fund some projects which will require a bond election. She presented a timeline to assist with their decision regarding holding a bond election in November: May 111h Board Meeting June 21st Board Meeting July 19th Board Meeting August 16th Last Board meeting before final date to order an election for November August 22"d Last day to order an election October 24th early voting begins November 8th Election Day McKnight recommended the District hold at least two public hearings regarding the bond election to give citizens the opportunity to learn about the projects to be funded. She said the public hearings would need to be held after August 16th and before October 24th. 4of10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes 7. Consider and take appropriate action regarding project funding through the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) including: a. Review SWIFT funding timeline. b. Determine amount to issue through revenue pledge bonds and/or tax pledge bonds. c. Approve Resolution No. 2016-0419C requesting financial assistance from the Texas Water Development Board and authorizing the filing of an application for assistance through SWIFT. d. Approve engineering agreement from CP&Y for application assistance and completion. General Manager McKnight stated the District's abridged application for SWIFT funding was prioritized and we received an invitation to apply for funding. She stated the SWIFT program allows the District to pay bonds over a 30 year period and the interest rate is subsidized by the Texas Water Development Board. McKnight stated the District was approved for a phased projects. Due to the timeline they require for closing the bonds, phase 1 for $4.4 million would have to be funded through revenue bonds. McKnight stated that the deadline for the SWIFT application is May 11, 2016. McKnight stated that it is possible that Westlake is not going to participate in the Fort Worth project. She stated the only District capital improvement projects eligible for the SWIFT funding are the Fort Worth lines. Director Twomey stated he would like to take the capital projects to the voters and get public approval for tax backed bonds. He stated he would prefer to forgo the SWIFT funding all together and seek tax bonds instead. Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Carr to directthe General Manager to forgo SWIFT funding at this time and possibly bring it back to the board in 2017. Motion carried unanimously 8. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Resolution No. 2016-0419A expressing the District's official intent to reimburse with proceeds of obligations issued to finance improvements to the District's water supply and distribution system. General Manager McKnight asked the Board to table this item as the board did not take action on SWIFT funding. Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Twomey to table this item. Motion carried unanimously 9. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Bond Counsel Legal Services Agreement with Freeman and Corbett. Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Thomas to approve the bond counsel agreement with Freeman Corbett as presented. Motion carried unanimously 5 of 10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes 10. Consider and take appropriate action to approve additional testing of meters replaced through meter change out program. {Twomey) Director Twomey stated that after looking at previous reports from meters that have been pulled he would like to see if the board would like to set a policy to test more old meters after they are changed out. Director Twomey and General Manager McKnight agreed that next fiscal year she will include funds in the meter change out budget line item to test 10% of meters replaced. Discussion only, no action taken 11. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Order No. 2016-0419 adopting amended Agenda Policy. {Moss) Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Hase to approve Order No. 2016-0419 adopting amended Agenda Policy. Motion is amended by the first and the second to add into the policy that the Board President, General Manager and General Legal Counsel can add item{s) to the agenda without additional director approval. Motion as amended carried unanimously 12. Consider and take appropriate action to establish an amount for reserve funding in accordance with the District Cash Reserve Policy. Terri Sisk, Administration Manager gave the Board an overview on the District's Cash Reserve Policy that was approved by the Board on July 21, 2015. The policy states that it is the fiscal duty of the Board to prepare for unforeseen events and that cash reserves will be available for one-time emergencies, unanticipated expenditures and unforeseen revenue shortages. The current Cash Reserve Policy states that the District will fund at a level of 50% of highest fiscal year operating budget over previous three years. The District will endeavor to reach the 50% in a five year period. The amount to be set aside annually and will be established by board action at a meeting open to the public. Sisk stated the staff recommends $221,118 or 25% be deposited into the reserve account for the current fiscal year. General Manager McKnight stated that funds set aside in cash reserves will be restricted funds and can only be used if approved by the Board of Directors. Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Carr to set aside 20% this year and to include 20% in future budgets. Motion carried unanimously 13. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Resolution 2016-0419B amending the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget. 6of10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Carr to approve Resolution 2016-04198 amending Fiscal Year 2016 Budget. Motion carried unanimously 14. Consider and take appropriate action regarding issuance of three-year revenue note for water system improvements including: a. Determine amount of note. b. Determine issuance cost(s) for inclusion in note. c. Authorize General Manager to perform all necessary actions to obtain and close on note. General Manager McKnight stated that she spoke with District Financial Advisor, Andrew Freidman, regarding the issuance of a 3 year note. McKnight stated that Mr. Freidman stated that if the Board would like to obtain a short term revenue note, the District has the capacity to borrow approximately $730,000 plus the cost of issuance. Director Twomey stated his idea for a short term note was for it to be issued next fiscal year to replenish reserve funds that were used for the ammonia injection system and for the cost repairing the sewer line. He said he anticipated setting the rates this year to cover the debt for the short term note. Director Hase stated he does not want to obtain a short term note to replenish reserves at this time and Twomey agreed. Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Hase to recommend to staff to build into the water and sewer rates an amount to replenish the reserve fund with $550,000 within three years to recoup the costs expended from the reserves for the aerial sewer line and the ammonia feed system projects. Motion carried unanimously 15. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the March 2016 combined financials and variance report. a. Combined financials b. Variance report Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Twomey to approve the March 2016 combined financials and variance reports. Motion carried unanimously REPORTS & UPDATES 16. Fire Committee monthly report. (Twomey) Director Twomey stated that due to recent management changes at the Fire Department the committee was unable to have their April 13 meetings however they met today. The police chief who is now the interim fire chief has agreed he will work with the General Manager. 17. General Manager Monthly Report for March 2016 7 of 10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 a.Water System Operation b. Meter and Meter Head Change Out Program c. Wastewater System Operation d.Website Analytics e.Finance Update •Utility Billing Reports •Permits Collected f. Project Status Updates April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes •TXDOT Sound Wall Construction: Potential Sewer Line Encasement •Pebble Beach, Timberline, and Pin Oak Court Water Line Upgrade Project •Campus Circle Water Line Relocation Project •Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project •Repair of Aerial Sewer Line near Wastewater Treatment Plant •Ammonia Feed System •Request for Proposals for Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) g.Eiection Update General Manager McKnight presented the board with her monthly update and answered questions related thereto. McKnight gave the following updates regarding capital improvement projects: TXDOT Sound Wall Construction -The District received notice from the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) that a sound wall will be erected along Highway 114. TXDOT requested that all utility providers with lines located within the ROW review the sound wall location to see if there lines will need to be relocated. McKnight stated that it does not appear that any District lines will need to be moved, however, the sound wall will cross over our sewer lines and it is possible those lines may need to be encased depending on the weight of the sound wall and to prevent future problems if there were a problem with the sewer line. This will be a cost to the District as the lines are in the TXDOT right of way. McKnight is requesting a meeting with TXDOT to obtain more detail regarding this project. Pebble Beach, Timberline and Pin Oak Court Water Line Upgrade Project -Staff is waiting for the completion of paving and will then complete the walkthrough of the project. Campus Circle Water Line-All of the water lines have been installed. We have one more sample to collect and the project will be completed. Ammonia Feed System-Staff has been working with the electrical engineer to finalize that portion of the project and this should be ready to go for bid next week. Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project; •Installing the roof for Classifier and administration building •Laying the classifier building walls (cinderblock) the brick comes after the cinderblock. •Laid down two 8" MBR #1 & #2 effluent lines to the effluent. •Removed west aeration basin off-line, for the repair of the west aeration airline. After completing the repair place the basin back on-line. •Poured the concrete for foundation for new generator pad. 8 of10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Repair of Aerial Sewer Line near Wastewater Treatment Plant; •Rey-mar installed the two concrete supports for the 24" sewer line. •Laid down the lines for the portable pump from manhole to wastewater plant raw influent pump station. Request for Proposals for Electronic Data Management System: M3 Network is completing the RFP and will meet with staff to finalize. President Moss asked McKnight who is going to oversee getting the recommended changes from ESCI implemented. McKnight stated that implementing the recommended changes from ESCI will be an ongoing process and that Director Twomey had been working with the former fire chief. She stated hopefully when a new chief is brought in the process can continue. The Board convened into Closed Session at 10:03 p.m. CLOSED SESSION 18.Pursuant to section 551.071, the District will consult with its attorney on a matter in which the duty of the attorney to the Governmental Body under the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with the Open Meetings Act or to seek advice of counsel on legal matters involving pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offers: a. Legal advice regarding appeal of retail water and sewer rates pending with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. b. Legal advice regarding lnterlocal Cooperation Agreement for Administration of Fire Protection Services received from the Town ofTrophy Club. c. Legal advice regarding 2008 lnterlocal Cooperation Agreement for Fire Protection Services with the Town of Trophy Club for provision of fire service to the Town's Public Improvement District. (Twomey) d. Legal advice regarding District responsibility for fire protection services designated in District Fire Plan approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). (Carr) President Moss reconvened the Board into Regular Session at 11:22 a.m. REGULAR SESSION 19. Consider and take appropriate action regarding Closed Session items. Agenda item 18. (b) Legal advice regarding lnterlocal Cooperation Agreement for Administration of Fire Protection Services received from the Town ofTrophy Club 18. (d) Legal advice regarding District responsibility for fire protection services designated in District Fire Plan approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). (Carr) Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Twomey to direct the General Manager to notify the Town Manager that based on advice of legal counsel, the Town Fire ILA that was submitted to replace the 2013 Fire Personnel Services was not acceptable to the Board. It appears that the Town ILA that was submitted combined the 2013 Fire Personnel Services and the 2008 Fire Services to the PID I LA's. Also, the ILA did not address those properties out of District and out of the PID or cover the entire MUD District. The Board directs the General Manager to provide the Board with options for managing the fire department at the May 2016 meeting. 9 of10
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 For: Carr, Twomey, Moss and Thomas Against: Hase Motion passed 4 to 1 April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes 20. Items for future agendas: Director Thomas would like to add a search engine to the District Website. 21. Announce next regular meeting date on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 6:00p.m. and special meeting to canvass the General Election on May 18, 2016 at 9:00a.m. ADJOURN President Moss adjourned the Meeting at 11:25 p.m. Jim Moss Kevin R. Carr, Secretary 10 of 10