IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
Minutes
October 28, 2015 – 7:00 pm
McKilligan’s Residence 4705 Highway 31
Trustees present: Gillian Froese, Laurie Hartland, Ron McKilligan, Lance McLaren
Secretary Treasurer: Tammy Horick
Meeting called to order at 7:05 pm.
Approval of agenda
MOTION to approve agenda. Moved by Laurie Hartland, seconded by Lance McLaren. All in favour. Passed.
Approval of last Trustee minutes (September)
MOTION to approve September meeting minutes. Moved by Lance McLaren, seconded by Ron McKilligan. All in favour. Passed.
Approval of Financial Report (Tammy Horick)
Balance Statement to Sept 30, 2015:
$141,217.45 in Cash plus $1,919.84 still expected in 2015 tax revenues.
$234,693.75 in Total Liabilities and Equity, which includes capital assets.
Two GICs created at KSCU on Sept 2 at 1.03%, redeemable after Dec 2, 2015:
Capital Expenditure Charge per Bylaw 2: $19,823.38
Renewal Reserve per Bylaw 60: $37,528.06
One GIC at KSCU at 2.1% matures March 2017, but can be broken at any time:
Renewal Reserve per Bylaw 60: $40,000
Income Statement to Sept 30, 2015:
Payroll expenses of $683.11 for 19 hours of Secretary Treasurer in August.
General and Admin expenses are higher than budgeted because of laptop purchase ($1,696 instead of $1,330).
Cash availability:
about $43,000 in cash is available immediately,
$40,000 available immediately, but getting better interest,
about $57,000 will be available December 2.
MOTION to accept September financials as circulated. Moved by Gillian Froese, seconded by Ron McKilligan. All in favour. Passed.
Maintenance Report (Ron McKilligan)
Water shutoff, bleach and flush scheduled for October 31 from 8 am to 4 pm.
Three dead trees threaten the intake building, so Ron and Brad Hartland hope to fell them on October 31. One tree is on Don Scarlett’s land, but he’s the one who told Ron about it and is fine with them bringing it down. The trees are diseased birch, so the wood is not likely to be useful.
A member notified Ron that the creek level was very low. Don Scarlett dialed down his hydroelectric generator and that helped it rise. There are other water permit holders on Fletcher Creek that have higher priority access, based on time of permit issue. The Board was very appreciative that Don reduced his water usage as he was still within his allotment and is ahead of FCID in the queue. The FCID system is set up to pump water from the lake if necessary.
Still need to cap the standpipe on Hwy 31.
MOTION to accept September maintenance report. Moved by Laurie Hartland, seconded by Lance McLaren. All in favour. Passed.
OLD BUSINESS
Action items from last Trustee minutes
Three members have outstanding taxes. Tammy sent a reminder to one but the other two have been in arrears for more than 2 years. One property now appears to be vacant, but FCID hasn’t received a land transfer notice.
ACTION: Tammy to send out the remaining 2 reminders, and inquire about the vacant property.
Pat Gibbings has typed 10 of 19 active bylaws into an easily readable PDF format. This is a great improvement on the very old and faded hard copies, and can be put on the website for all members to access.
Tammy obtained a copy of missing bylaw 43 from Local Government Branch, which Pat has also typed into a PDF file.
Lance notified Graham and Robert Cunliffe that turbidity testing will be suspended until March 15, at which time the need for it will be reviewed.
ACTION: Tammy to thank Graham and Robert in the next Newsletter or on the website.
ACTION: Tammy to place BWA notice ads quarterly, next ad in November.
The POE information letter by Bob Froese from the 2011 FCID package was reviewed by trustees during the meeting, and revisions discussed:
No POU units will be installed as a small POE unit is comparable in cost with greater benefit and would be installed instead (see the Sept 14, 2015 minutes).
Backflow prevention may need to be installed on a case-by-case basis.
Amendments to relevant FCID bylaws will need to be passed to define ownership and maintenance requirements. The units will be property of FCID.
There will be no pilot project phase.
RDCK had previously offered to purchase some units for FCID to trial. This would allow FCID to compare the cheaper spin down filter with the much more expensive next Sand. If desired, the POE system can be upgraded from spin down to next Sand filter after the fact.
ACTION: Tammy to ask RDCK Director Aimee Watson if the offer is still available.
FCID will be submitting a construction permit application to IHA on behalf of its members, although the POE vendor will be paid to do the paperwork.
No power, no water. The POE unit will shut down during a power failure. Members should either keep stored water or a backup power supply for the POE unit.
Is the FCID liable if the system leaks and causes damage? Is a waiver needed?
ACTION: Gillian to contact Western Financial Group in Kaslo regarding insurance implications, as they’ve probably insured other similar groups.
Replacement of UV bulbs is based on time in use, not amount of water passed.
ACTION: Lance to ask Aqua Clean if turning the UV bulb off and on is a problem, such as when a member leaves for an extended period.
The cheaper spin down filter is available with Aqua Clean’s 12 gpm unit. But is it worth the added cost to include the more expensive next Sand filter in the FCID standard unit (i.e. extended life, easier maintenance)?
ACTION: Lance to ask Aqua Clean for a cost-benefit analysis of the significantly more expensive next Sand filter (~$1,000). Is next Sand cheaper in the long run? What are the benefits? Would using the cheaper spin down filter reduce the lifespan of the entire system?
Homeowners could be asked to pay for additional electrical and renovation costs if necessary to install the POE unit.
Who’s going to be available if something breaks? Over what hours? Will they be compensated or volunteer?
Phone tree, email and website will be used if there are sudden problems, such as high turbidity or a need to shut the water off.
ACTION: Tammy to find out actual cost of turbidometer and when purchased.
ACTION: Tammy to provide Laurie with a summary of tax rates over the years.
ACTION: Laurie will update the 2011 POE letter. Gillian will get the source file to her.
Tammy emailed the IHA Water Supply System Approval application and Gar Creek Water Users Association contract to trustees.
Aqua Clean confirmed that a cheaper spin down filter is available for 12 gpm. There was no obvious solution for temporary hookups to standpipes without electrical or even a building (e.g. a camper). This affects at least one FCID connection. The connection will need to be shut off unless an electrical source and POE installation site can be arranged.
Pat and Tammy are working on adding new documents and information to the website, which will including reviewing the water conservation section.
POE/POU treatment plan
Approval of vendor
MOTION (by email on October 7, 2015) to move forward with procurement of Aqua Clean Water Treatment Ltd.’s services for the FCID POE Community Water Treatment Project. Moved by Lance McLaren, seconded by Ron McKilligan. Laurie Hartland in favour. Gillian Froese absent. Passed.
A cheque to Aqua Clean was signed for $2,100 to complete the IHA construction permit application. This includes resubmissions if necessary until IHA approval is obtained. Permit approval is expected to take roughly 3 months to a year.
POE system size will be dictated by the size of the water line coming in to the house, not usage (i.e. # bedrooms, # bathrooms) as previously thought. FCID water system connections use either a ¾” or 1” pipe. The maximum flow is 8 gallons per minute (gpm) for a ¾” pipe and 10 gpm for a 1” pipe under ideal conditions. Ron could only get 6 gpm in his house, which has a ¾” line.
Members with a ¾” line connection will likely get an 8 gpm system.
Members with a 1” line connection will likely get a 12 gpm system
If the connection is just a standpipe with no access to electricity, then FCID will either need to turn the water off to that connection or make some other accommodation acceptable to IHA.
Implementation steps
Approval of the project by all members is required by IHA for the construction permit application. The installation of a POE system on all FCID connections is required to get the Boil Water Advisory removed from the FCID water system. Members must agree to a POE unit installation on their connection(s) to get continued access to the FCID water system.
An information letter and Request for Approval form will be sent out to all members with a self-addressed stamped envelope, while Aqua Clean proceeds with the construction permit application and technical specs.
A contract and maintenance schedule for members will be drawn up, using the Gar Creek Water Users Association documents as a model.
A maintenance document detailing what to do and when to contact FCID will be written.
A bylaw amendment will address POE unit ownership and maintenance responsibilities.
Once installations have begun, turbidity testing will resume with the turbidometer.
More steps will be identified in future meetings. It was suggested at the last meeting that Renee Ansell of IHA be invited to meet with the trustees.
NEW BUSINESS
Website maintenance and updates
Pat has found updating the website frustrating, due to fiddly formatting problems. Tammy will work with her on this, as well as adding new information and some cosmetic changes in the coming months.
Correspondence
Central 1 asked if FCID is still interested in registering with them so members who bank at credit unions can pay their taxes on-line like other bills. Registration is free but it would only potentially benefit 2 or 3 members, as KSCU members can already make their payment on-line. To keep payment options simple, it was agreed to not sign on with Central 1. In 2016, members will be able to pay by:
Cheque
On-line transfer for KSCU members (free)
E-transfers, available through most financial institutions for a nominal cost to the member (about $1 service charge, depends on the bank).
ACTION: Tammy to notify Central 1 that FCID will not sign up with them.
Columbia Basin Watershed Network (CBWN) now sends out regular newsletters and announcements. Tammy asked if the Board would like to have this correspondence forwarded to all of them, and it was agreed to continue to do so.
Announcements
Next meeting is Monday, November 16 at 3:30 pm at 346 Washington St.
Adjournment at 9:35 pm.