The City of Lewisburg

The City of Lewisburg Finance Committee Meeting Minutes August 19, 2014 The Paul R. Cooley Council Chambers

The City of Lewisburg Finance Committee met Tuesday, August 19, 2014 in Regular Session at 6:00 p.m. in the Paul R. Cooley Council Chambers located at Lewisburg City Hall, 942 Washington Street West, Lewisburg, West Virginia.

PRESENT: Chairman Mark Etten, Mayor John Manchester, Council members Beverly White, Joshua Baldwin, Heather Blake, Joseph Lutz, Treasurer Susan Honaker, Fire Chief Wayne Pennington, Chief of Police Tim Stover, Deputy Police Chief Chris Teubert, and Public Works Director Mark Carver.

VISITORS: Greg Belcher with Chapman Technical Group.

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Mark Etten called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

July 8, 2014

Council member White made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 8, 2014 Finance Committee meeting as presented. Council member Baldwin seconded the motion. With all in favor the motion carried.

Water System Improvements Contract No 4 Water Treatment Plant Pay Request No. 13

Chairman Etten stated the pay request represented a reduction in the retainage from 6% to 2 ½ %. He stated the only remaining work is concrete work in the plant and to install a spiral stair case. The remaining amount due to Alvarez Contracting is $66,050 after this payment of $463,993.

Council member Lutz made a motion to recommend to Council the approval to pay Alvarez Contractors $463,993 for Water System Improvement Contract No. 4 Water Treatment Plant Pay Request No. 13. Council member Blake seconded the motion. With all in favor the motion carried.

1 RADIO READ PROJECT UPDATE

Greg Belcher with Chapman Technical Group reported that a letter had been received from Sensus and they had agreed to replace 181 defective meters by the first of September, and with the replacement of these meters it is hoped that the read failure rate will be down to the national average. The two towers have been relocated and the new tower installed as of July 15, 2014.

Mayor Manchester asked if a physical inspection has been done of each of the relocated towers and of the new tower. He inquired if the concern of the towers being welded to the tanks had been addressed with C. I. Thornburg in writing. Public Works Director Carver stated that Thornburg is stating they had permission in written form from the City stating they had permission to weld the towers to the tank. Carver stated he had requested a copy of the correspondence but as of today had not received a copy.

ENGINEERING REPORT ON WATER LINE IMRPOVEMENT/LEAK REDUCTIONS

Greg Belcher stated the City has 115,000 feet of pipe in the ground that may need to be replaced. If the City would hire three individual to form a crew to whose sole purpose was to replace these lines the cost would be approximately $150,000 a year. They would be able to replace 6,000 feet of pipe per year therefore taking 20 years to replace the 115,000 feet of pipe. Comparatively, if the City would contract the project out, the project would cost $9 to $10 million dollars to replace the 115,000 feet of pipe.

Public Works Director Carver stated he had the money in his current budget to hire 2 additional employees in that budgeted line item. The Committee requested Carver to review his budget and to make a list of what equipment would be necessary to equip a new 3 man crew whose main purpose would be to work on replacing the pipe.

Chairman Etten requested the item be placed on the Public Works and Finance Committee Agenda for the September meetings for review.

WATER LEAK REPORT

The water leak report prepared by the Public Works Director showed a loss rate of 36.40 % for the month of July 2014.

Council member Blake stated she would like to see a cost put with the lost water and Chairman Etten request a graph showing the past 12 months of lost water rates be added to the monthly report.

2 PHASE II WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

Greg Belcher stated the City has received a nonbinding funding commitment from the IJDC for Phase II of the Water System Improvement Project for $15 million at 2% for 30 years.

The estimated project schedule is as follows:

Property Acquisition December 2014 Design Completion March 2015 Request BCL from IJDC March 2015 Rate Ordinance April 2015 PSC Filing of Certificate of Need April 2015 PSC Approval December 2015 Advertise for bids January 2016 Open Bids February 2016 Loan Closing May 2016 Start Construction June 2016 Complete Construction June 2014

COMMUNITY FIRE SERVICE PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Fire Chief Wayne Pennington stated that a Community Fire Service Performance Review would supplement the strategic plan. The Review would help determine the needs of new fire stations and their location. Pennington stated the $6,000 fee is not in the current budget.

Council member Baldwin stated he likes the idea of an outside review and feels it would be money well spent.

Council member Baldwin made a motion to recommend to Council to enter into an agreement with ISO Community Analytic Services to perform a Community Fire Service Performance Review at a cost of $6,000 with the monies being moved from contingencies to the Fire Department budget. Council member White seconded the motion. With all in favor the motion carried.

POLICE DEPARTMENT PAY SCALE ADJUSTMENT PROPOSAL

Chief Stover presented the Committee with two proposals to bring the police department pay scale in line with other departments in the area.

Chairman Etten asked the Chief to prepare the true cost of the two proposals including benefits and overtime and the item will be placed on the September Finance Committee agenda for review.

3 ADJOURNMENT

Council member Lutz made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:27 p.m. Council member White seconded the motion. With all in favor the motion carried.

Please note because of time constrains all items could not be discussed during the Finance Committee and those items that were not discussed were discussed at the Council meeting immediately following the Finance Committee meeting.

Respectively submitted Susan Honaker Treasurer