HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-0511 Regular Meeting MinutesTrophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes REGULAR MINUTES TROPHY CLUB MUNICIPAl UTiliTY DISTRICT NO. 1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS May 11,2016 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 Wednesday, May 11, 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 Finance Manager Terri Sisk Administration Manager Mike McMahon Water Superintendent Karl Schlielig Wastewater Superintendent Rick Lasky Interim Fire Chief Pam Liston General legal Counsel Kevin Glovier, P.E. CP&Y GUESTS PRESENT: Gregory Wilson Bill Rose Director Elect Director Elect CAll TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCE A QUORUM Vice President Twomey announced the date of May 11, 2016, called the meeting to order and announced a quorum present at 6:00p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS REPORTS & UPDATES 1. Fire Department Report for April 2016 a.lntroduction of Interim Fire Chief Rick Lasky b.Operations Report c. Volunteer Recruitment Report 1 of 8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes General Manager McKnight introduced interim Fire Chief Rick Lasky. Lasky provided an overview of his background that includes more than 35 years in fire service. He stated that work needs to be done on the Standard Operating Procedures "SOP's" and the Emergency Management Plan and he is working to improve and update those items and bring them back to the Board by August. Lasky praised Captain Shane Beck for his assistance. Director Twomey inquired about response times which were addressed in the ESCI study and the Fire Committee. Lasky stated he is working with staff on map drills and deployment standards to improve response times. Lasky stated that map drills will train the staff and avert the need to look at a map on calls to save time. He said staff is also learning where every fire hydrant is located and these training procedures will improve response times. Director Carr stated that he is very concerned about the maintenance of the fire station. The District spent 3.1 million to build the station in 2010 and it appears to be in need of many repairs. Director Twomey thanked Chief Lasky and welcomed him to Trophy Club. Twomey updated the Chief on the actions of the Fire Committee and the ESCI report. Twomey stated that the District is committed to providing the best fire service possible. President Moss welcomed the incoming Board members Bill Rose and Greg Wilson and invited there input on any item in which they wanted to speak. Director Twomey also welcomed the incoming Directors. Director Twomey "this will be my last regular board meeting I would like to thank my fellow MUD Board Members for allowing me to serve the District, customers and my fellow tax payers. I know the state of the District finances are currently outstanding and we are on the verge of continued realized superior water services and fire protection while minimizing the cost to our residents. At the same time I want to acknowledge the staff because at the next meeting not all the staff will be here. While the system has grown tremendously, the number of staff has not proportionately increased. We are doing a lot more with basically the same staff we had years ago. And while in today's world we see individuals who are more interested in constant self-promotion, the District staff has quietly met and exceeded the Boards expectation in my opinion and the results are self-evident from the District leadership to the everyday individual worker. All I can say to the District employees is that I want to thank you for your service and your dedication." Director Carr-"I want to congratulate Mr. Rose and Mr. Wilson on the election and I look forward to working with you. Mr. Twomey and Mr. Moss, Neil, I have known you for twenty five years and Mr. Moss, twenty years I think. They both have been involved in Trophy Club for a long time and have touched many things. As a resident, a director and a person, I appreciate their service and what they have done for us. I wish them all the luck." General Manager McKnight welcomed the new directors and added, "Neil and Jim, I cannot tell you all how much I am going to miss you. I will always remember my first meeting with Jim and his wife and having dinner together when I first came here. From the moment I met Jim and the rest of the Board, I knew that Trophy Club was a great place because there are just too many great people here and they really touched me. I don't think that people realize all of the work that directors do in the background. It is incredible. Sometimes they get so deep into things that I don't know if I can pull them back out. The one thing I can definitely say is that Susan is going to be happy she is not getting my 7:15 a.m. phone calls anymore. I am an early riser and I forget that not everyone is. I talk with Jim numerous times a week and I am going to miss our conversations. So thank you both 2 of 8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes for all you have done for the District and for your fellow citizens because you have really made a difference in Trophy Club. II CONSENT AGENDA 2. Consider and take appropriate action to approve the Consent Agenda. a.April 2016 Check Register b.April19, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Thomas to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously REGULAR SESSION 3. Consider and take appropriate action regarding Change Order No. 3 presented by Webber Cadagua for wastewater treatment plant upgrade project. General Manager McKnight presented a journal and timeline of issues with Webber Cadagua. Kevin Glovier P.E., District Engineer, explained that the costs presented from Webber Cadagua are inflated and that once a contractor takes it upon themselves to make changes and not follow the plans, those cost are not the responsibility of the District but those of the contractor. Glovier stated that any questions regarding the tie in should have been brought to him prior to the work being done, not after. Director Thomas did a walk-through at the plant with staff and presented a slide show of pictures showing several deficiencies and damage that are a result of the contractor. Director Twomey is very concerned about the safety of staff with the standard of work being performed at the site. Director Carr does not feel any payment for the change order is warranted due to all the errors that have been made including the numerous electric lines being cut. Carr stated that the contractor knew that the plant would have to be operational during the upgrades and they have made very reckless mistakes numerous times. Carr would like to make sure that the contractor's employees are qualified to be operating the equipment they are using and that safety standards are being followed. Director Carr added that the District has paid much more in staff time to follow up on these contractor mistakes that no additional funds should be expended whatsoever to Webber Cadagua. Kevin Glovier, PE stated that all tie-ins have to be approved by the Wastewater Superintendent, Field Supervisor, Scott Wetzel, PE (CP&Y) and himself. Glovier added that the only communication tactic that has seemed to work is to withhold payment or not approve the tie-in. Director Thomas stated that while he believes that all the damage caused by the contractor negates the payment they are requesting, he would support payment for the platforms. General Manager McKnight clarified the original amount requested in Change Order No. 3 was $72,000 and after discussion with the contractor it was reduced to $54,000. McKnight stated that at the previous meeting the Board requested the contractor provide detailed back up and what they have provided is not sufficient detail. 3 of 8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion made by Director Moss and seconded by Director Carr to reject payment for Change Order No. 3 submitted by Webber Cadagua for the wastewater treatment plant upgrade project. For: Twomey, Carr, Moss and Hase Abstain: Thomas Motion passed 4-1 4. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the Fiscal Year 2017 budget cycle calendar. Motion made by Director Twomey and seconded by Director Thomas to approve the budget calendar with the date the assessment rate will be provided to the Town added nto the calendar. Motion carried unanimously 5. Consider and take appropriate action regarding annual rate study and timeline for completion. General Manager McKnight stated that the presented schedule does not require actionbut is informational only. Discussion only, no action taken. 6. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the amount to include on the ballot for a potential November 8, 2016 bond election to fund water system improvement projects. Director Hase stated there is not enough time to get a tax based bond approved in time to pay Fort Worth for the upcoming Northside 30 inch water line project, so we would have to use performance based bond then refund it when callable. Director Twomey would like to have bond counsel advise the board regarding the proper disclosures and the options regarding defeasance and the propositions that must be on the ballot. Motion made by Director Hase and seconded by Director Twomey to delay action on this item until Director Elect Wilson and Rose are seated in the June meeting. Motion is amended to include direction to staff to look at a bond election amount of $18 million and provide additional information at the next meeting. Motion as amended carried unanimously Greg Wilson requested the board delay taking any action on agenda item no. 6, 10 and no. 11. 7. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Resolution No. 2016-0511 requesting financial assistance through revenue bonds in the amount of $4,580,000 for water system improvements from the Texas Water Development Board and authorizing the filing of an application for assistance through the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT). Bill Rose stated he supports the application for SWIFT funding. 4 of 8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No.1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Thomas to approve Resolution No. 2016-0511 requesting financial assistance through revenue bonds in the amount of $4,645,000 for water system improvements from the Texas Water Development Board and authorizing the filing of an application for assistance through the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) Motion carried unanimously 8. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Water Service between the City of Fort Worth and the Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 for the construction of a Northside II 30-inch Water Main and Allocated Capacity. Motion made by Director Hase and seconded by Director Carr to approve Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Water Service between the City of Fort Worth and the Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 for the construction of a Northside II 30-inch Water Main and Allocated Capacity for an estimated cost of $404,000 Motion carried unanimously 9. Consider and take appropriate action to approve awarding a generator maintenance contract to Worldwide Power Products and authorize General Manager to execute all necessary documents. Motion made by Director Moss and seconded by Director Carr to award a contract to Worldwide Power Products for generator maintenance and authorize the General Manager to execute all necessary documents. Motion carried unanimously 10. Consider and take appropriate action to approve Second Amended lnterlocal Cooperation Agreement for Fire Protection Services with the Town of Trophy Club to amend section 3.01 (Funding) as outlined in the letter of agreement dated May 2, 2016. Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Twomey to table this item and bring it back for further discussion at the June Regular meeting. Motion carried unanimously 11. Consider and take appropriate action regarding options for ownership, management and operations of District Fire Department. Director Thomas stated that he spoke to Mayor Sanders on Saturday and he came up with a list of options including pros and cons that he would like to have the Board consider for how the fire chief will report: 1. Leave everything as is with the chief reporting to the MUD General Manager for Fire Services activities and to the Town for EMS activities District for fire, Town for EMS. 2. Create a new ILA that gives all operational control of the fire department to the Town Manager. 3. The Town purchases the fire department and all assets from the District. 4. Create a new fire ILA in which all fire personnel become fire employees and the MUD contracts 5 of 8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes EMS services back to the Town. Director Twomey stated that after the Town Council met in April, he sat down with Mayor Sanders to discuss why the Board had concerns regarding the Fire Station. Twomey stated the concerns related directly to the management of the fire department. Twomey said he told Mayor Sanders that the District has been concerned about the SOP's and the attitude of the Town Manager contributed to non-responsiveness of the fire chief. This benign response was emanated from the Town Manager comments to the staff and acting Chief Arata referred to this in my meeting with him on April 19th. The District and the Town Fire Committee looked at the financial effects but when we were meeting we got a negative blow back from the Chief. Twomey said that at a later date when the committee brought in the District General Manager and the Town Manager, the Town Manager commented that he had nothing to do with the Fire Department and a person actually sitting on the town council at the time asked the Town Manager if he had read the ILA. At that time, fire fighters contacted Director Twomey and another board member asking to air their complaints anonymously. Among the accusations were theft of assets, theft of medication, improper time card submissions, cronyism and an abusive work environment. Director Twomey clarified that the District retained an outside company to review the policies of the fire department operations due to the issues that had been brought forth by employees but the Board was unable to get resolve from the prior fire chief. Twomey stated that a summary of the complaints was drafted by District legal counsel and was sent to the Town Manager. The Town Manager responded that he would not take any action. Twomey explained that the lack of management and oversight of the fire department has been of greatest concern to the Board. Motion made by Director Hase and seconded by Director Carr that in the longstanding interest of both the Town and the District in having a single manager for both firefighting activities and emergency medical services (EMS), the MUD Board directs the General Manager to prepare an interlocal agreement (I LA) in response to the ILA proposed by the town on this subject. We the MUD Board believe the fire/EMS chief and associated employees should report to the MUD General Manager because this would avoid the complications inherent in the fact that MUD fire protection is provided to both Trophy Club (including the PI D) and portions of Westlake. This is not true of Emergency Medical Services. Motion carried unanimously 12. Presentation of parking allotment diagram at 100 Municipal Drive after future ground storage tank is constructed. (Thomas) Director Thomas presented his study and diagram of the annex building parking lot for discussion. 13. Discussion regarding status of appeal of retail water and sewer rates pending with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. General Manager McKnight updated the Board regarding the status of the appeal. McKnight stated that testimony will begin the end of June and go through the end of September. 14. Discussion regarding Notice of Enforcement dated April 21, 2016 received from the Texas 6 of8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). General Manager McKnight stated she was setting up a meeting with TCEQ in Austin to discuss facts that were not included in the TCEQ staff report. She stated the meeting could possibly be on this coming Friday and that she and legal counsel will attend and report back to the Board. 15. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the April 2016 combined financials and variance report. a. Combined financials b. Variance report Motion made by Director Carr and seconded by Director Hase to approve the April 2016 combined financials and variance report. Motion carried unanimously REPORTS & UPDATES 16. General Manager Monthly Report for April2016 a. Water System Operation b.Meter and Meter Head Change out Program 144 of 145 changed out. c. Wastewater System Operation d. Website Analytics e.Finance Update •Utility Billing Reports •Permits Collected f. Project Status Updates •TXDOT Sound Wall Construction: No longer affecting the sewer line. The sound wall has been relocated and will not cross the sewer line. •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-Line repair is complete and final project will come in under budget. •Ammonia Feed System-we should be taking bids mid-June •Request for Proposals for Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) RFP has been advertised. g. Update regarding May 7, 2016 Director Election. The Board convened into closed session at 9:48 p.m. CLOSED SESSION 17. Pursuant to section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, 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 7 of 8
Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes Commission of Texas. The Board reconvened into Regular Session at 10:14 p.m. REGULAR SESSION 18. Consider and take appropriate action regarding Closed Session items. No action taken. 19. Items for future agendas: None 20. Announce special meeting date on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 9:00a.m. to canvass the General Election and the next regular meeting to include swearing in of new directors on June 21, 2016 at 6:00p.m. Director Twomey announced the Special Meeting will be held on May 181h at 7:30p.m. in the Boardroom and the Regular Meeting will be held June 21,2016. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 10:14 p.m. A;: a:= Kevin R. Carr, Secretary Treasurer 8 of8