OWUI Meeting minutes Feb 7, 2023

OWUI 

Olga Water Users, Incorporated 

MONTHLY BOARD MEETING MINUTES

             Tuesday Feb. 7th, 2023 5-7 pm — Olga Community Center 

1. Call to Order: 5:04PM  Board members present, Pat Boehm, Guy Woods, Paul Groeninger, Geoff Cunard.  EWUA Operator Sam Prado, Members Mark Mayer, Sandy Taylor

2. Approval of minutes for January: Guy moves to approve, motion carries.

3. OWUI Operators Report:  Sam Prado, Operator 

a. New E.J. Young Leak & Repair (total cost? EWUA hasn’t sent a bill) Line to bypass meter was broken.  Meter was removed, pipe cut and capped. Board discussed re installing the meter and adding a PRV to that line Pat has asked for a redundant digital meter to be moved to his primary service location. 

b. Intertie progress: Road crossing permitting in progress., Pat noticed ⅓ of the pipe stored in his field has been installed.

4. OWUI Administrators report 

1. Website & Communication update Geoff updates website with meeting agendas/minutes, intertie news.

2. Online access update for admin duties.  Geoff has recovered passwords usernames etc. Will proceed with pursuing WALT account to apply for DWSRF funding for meter modernization.

5. Treasurer/ Financial report 

6. OLD Business: 

a. Intertie Update 

i. SWUMP update needed- did we all read? 

1. M. Mayer: History 

2. Mark says update is easy.  He will give instructions to Admin, Guy will provide budget info.  Intertie needs to be included.

ii. Final engineering & plan: Final parts list is out for quote, vault at control station is still being researched.

b. Leak Detection Update   Pat and Paul will meet with Island Ex and Dan Burke to discuss locating and installing bypass meters at each branch to detect leaks, as well as pressure reducing valves to safeguard the system.

c. Bookkeeper search update: In progress

7. New business 

a. Leak forgiveness discussion 

i. Lever: they overpaid and will be reimbursed according to current board practice of forgiving leak usage, ie: they will be charged for 5% of excess use compared to last year.  Board will recommend that anyone who has had leaks should by a Flume flow detector to monitor usageand alert them of leaks.

ii. Rodenberger   Admin discovered that their usage this year was less than last year’s usage, so water was likely leaked after September meter read.  She paid this year’s bill, and leak issue will be revisited next year.

iii. N Capdeville  His meter reading was inaccurate. He has been re- billed, and meter issues will be resolved.

  B.  Doe Bay Membership  Doe Bay requires us to buy a  membership in DBWUA  so they can sell us water. Motion to buy a DBWUA membership passes.

8. Public Access:

 Sandy Taylor proposes some potential cost saving measures for the intertie control station.  Board will forward them to our engineer.

9. Next meeting time March 7th, 2023 5:00PM 

10.Adjournment 7:01PM 

11. Executive session

OLGA WATER USERS, INCORPORATED. owuistaff@gmail.com

OLGA WATER USERS BOARD MEETING MINUTES-JANUARY 2023

JANUARY 10TH 2023

5PM TUESDAY

 MEETING AT THE OLGA COMMUNITY CENTER

1. Meeting called to order, 5:02 PM  Pat, Paul, Guy, Dave, Geoff, Cat present.  

2. No members present

3. Eastsound Operators Report (Dan). Dan not in attendance. Dave had spoken to Dan earlier.  He suggests we ask one of our operators (Sam?)to come to future board meetings.  Dave will contact Barry Buchanan to come up with a scope of work for our operator post Intertie.

4. Administrators report.

OPALCO has notified OWUI that we have a $272 capital credit.  Board moves to keep this credit.

DBWUA has asked for proof of property insurance, Cat will follow up with Bryan Frenyea to get this information to DBWUA

Cat asks board to use the Staff@OWUI email for important communication so we can more easily track such communications.

Cat will deposit the checks that have recently arrived from members.

Cat notes that when she visited the plant, the deadbolt on the office was unlocked and is malfunctioning. We will ask Dan to replace it.

1. Board approves  minutes for DECMBER 12TH ,2022

2. Financial report.  Guy reports that a check has gone out to pay for intertie pipe and restraints.

Guy has reached out to our bookkeeper to get a check for $50K down payment to Earthworks, and is frustrated by lag time getting out-of-state bookkeeper to respond.  Board moves to explore options for hiring a local bookkeeper to improve operational efficiency.

Guy reports OWUI lost $54K last year.  Board agrees to work on streamlining our budget to reduce expenses after the intertie is complete.

Guy noted that OWUI pays the electric bill to operate the Twin Maples pump.  Dave will ask Bryon F to clarify how the Twin Maples connection was set up.

1. Discussion/Update on Doe Bay-Olga intertie

1. Progress with Barry and Doe Bay on intertie box (Dave).  Barry is working on a value engineered solution to the control station to try to reduce the cost of the intertie. We discussed the possible failure of our aging storage tank. There is some disagreement as to which party would pay for a new tank.  More research is necessary.

1. Financial committee with Doe Bay (Geoff and Guy).

Committee is still working on final budget for Intertie (see above) Committee is now meeting bi-weekly.

1. Plan for fixing leaks and meters (Pat and Paul).

Pat and Paul will work with plant operators to identify locations for bypass meters to help find leaks.  Pat asked Geoff and Guy to explore whether state DWRSF funding can be used to fund systemwide meter upgrades to electronic, and PRV’s at all connections.

1. Payment plan for financially stressed members. So far, 2 members have worked out payment arrangements with us.

Dave offers to field queries from any other members who are having difficulty paying their current bill.

1. Other Business. Guy notes that our Small Water System Management Plan needs to be manually updated.  It was last done in 2021.  Guy will reach out to Mark Mayer for help with this task.

Olga dock receives water for free.  Dave notes that they take in plenty of revenue, and should pay for water.  Board approves a motion to start charging Olga dock for water.

One member failed a lead test, Board will contact them to let them know about it.

1. Next meeting, 5pm, Tuesday, February 7th  2023. 

1. Meeting adjourned 7:36 PM.

OLGA WATER USERS BOARD MEETING-DECEMBER 12, 2022

5:00 Meeting called to order. Board Members present: Pat Boehm, Paul

Groeninger, Geoff Cunard, Guy Woods.

1. Eastsound Operators Report (Dan not present)

2. Approval of minutes for NOVEMBER 14TH.

3. Financial report. Guy reported that our financials look good.

4. Discussion on Doe Bay-Olga intertie

a. Progress with Barry and Doe Bay on intertie box (Ongoing).

b. Financial committee with Doe Bay update Geoff and

Guy report that progress is being made in clarifying/finalizing

the budget for the intertie project.

c. Update on plan for fixing leaks and meters. Pat and

Paul report that a first step toward leak detection is installing

up to 5 meters on our distribution system to help identify

leaky areas. They will get us pricing for the meters., and

propose a budget for further upgrading meters systemwide,

and hiring a leak detection company.

d. President’s annual letter, approved by the board.

e. No further business, meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM

8. Next meeting, JANUARY 9th 2023, 5pm.

8. Adjournment.