COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC WORKS
Minutes of September 24, 2009

The regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Public Works was held on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., in the Boardroom at 121 West Court Avenue.

 Meeting attendees are listed in the Print Friendly PDF version above.

                                                                                        

            Commissioner Hancock was absent due to open heart surgery.                                                                                

           

Vice Chairman Watts expressed appreciation for the quality of the minutes. A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan and seconded by Vice Chairman Watts to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on August 13, 2009 and the regular meeting on August 27, 2009; the motion was unanimously approved.

 

Manager Reeves recalled a question from the last financial report regarding a transfer to Metro, noting that the amount shown on the current report is the difference between actual project cost to CPW and the amount of the bonds allocated for that project. He added that Ms. Ogletree was asked to look again at whether there could be a reallocation of bond funds to cover this amount of money so that that line would be eliminated. Manager Reeves added that the price for the project was more than anticipated; $600,000 was put in the bonds for that project and it had actually cost a little over $800,000; if the additional allocation could be found, then that would be eliminated. Manager Reeves referred to page 15 of the financial statement. Commissioner Monaghan requested that electronic package pages be numbered in the future for the entire package to make it easier to go to each page. Mr. Auman responded that should be possible. Commissioner Monaghan commented on some of the numbers on the financial report being too small to be read. Manager Reeves continued that the bottom line states that CPW receives 80% and SCANA receives 20%; the contract was just renewed and the percentages changed to 85% and 15% effective in July. He noted that Ms. Ogletree was aware of two months of credit amounts and would change it accordingly. Commissioner Monaghan asked if it was a calculated number, if the actual money had come in, and if they checked and determined it was not enough. Manager Reeves responded that he would check when Ms. Ogletree returned. He added that it may be that they calculated it at 85% and let them know about the change. Commissioner Monaghan stated that there should be a routine so that when you receive something it would be matched to the statement. Ms. Bishop responded that the number does actually come off of the bill, so they calculated it and the statement at the bottom was probably not changed, adding that the number does actually come off of the bill. Manager Reeves requested verification.

 

A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan and seconded by Vice Chairman Watts. Vice Chairman Watts inquired about the desks mentioned in the Manager’s memorandum. Manager Reeves responded that the accounting area had custom-built desks because of the amount of paperwork; the contractor was asked for a price to rebuild those desks upstairs. They are waiting for a comparative cost to purchase desks and a recommendation would be made once that information is available. With no further discussion, the motion to accept the low bid was unanimously approved.

 

A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan to approve the low bid in the amount of $498,882 from Gar-Con, Inc. for CDBG Water Upgrade Phase II; the motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Watts, and unanimously approved.

Manager Reeves clarified that the second request was in two parts, an upgrade A and an upgrade B, with Gar-Con, Inc. the low bidder at a total cost of $517,515.

A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan to approve the low bid of $517,515. The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Watts, and unanimously approved.

Vice Chairman Watts asked if business had been done in the past with Gar-Con; Manager Reeves responded that they had worked one of the first projects and were found to be satisfactory.

 

1.  Manager Reeves reported on two recent awards given to the W. R. Wise Water Treatment Plant. The first was the 2008 Water Fluoridation Quality Award given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Department of Health and Human Services for consistent and professional adjustment of the water fluoride content to the optimum level for oral health for twelve consistent months.  The second award was the 2008 AWOP Excellence Award presented by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for successfully achieving the optimization performance goals of an area wide optimization program and achieving an optimized performance level that exceeds the present regulatory requirement. The Commissioners congratulated the Water Treatment Plant and asked that the awards be shared with the newspaper.

2.   Manager Reeves read a resolution as follows: “Whereas, the Commissioners of Public Works of the City of Greenwood as a public body responsible for providing water, natural gas, and electricity to consumers in and around the City of Greenwood, South Carolina; and whereas Greenwood CPW furnishes potable water to approximately eight (80) percent of the residents in Greenwood county; and whereas, slowing and preventing the loss of forest cover in the upper reaches of the Saluda-Reedy watershed would preserve the quality of our water supplies in lake Greenwood and ensure sustained flows into the lake; and whereas, Greenwood CPW is committed to protecting the quality and quantity of our water supplies; now, therefore, be it resolved that, the Board of the Greenwood CPW offers its support to the efforts of Upstate Forever to quantify the water quality and quantity  benefits of protecting upstream forestland by (1) identifying the long-term costs of increased treatment and new supply that would result if forestland were not protected and using this information to engage various stakeholders in the protection of this forestland, (2) identifying the monetary benefits of water quality and quality improvements that result from protection of working forestland in terms of avoided costs, and (3) identifying potential future sources of funding for this program and building upon the work of the Saluda-Reedy Watershed Consortium.” 

      A motion to adopt the Resolution was made by Commissioner Monaghan. Vice Chairman Watts expressed disagreement and asked who was on the Upstate Forever Board. Commissioner Monaghan commented that this resolution would not cost CPW any money and was not the resolution for $25,000. Manager Reeves clarified that this particular resolution would only provide moral support, not financial support. With no further discussion, Vice Chairman Watts seconded the motion, and the motion was unanimously approved. 

      Commissioner Monaghan noted that they are looking to establish a local office. He expressed that their overall purpose of keeping Lake Greenwood clean as our water source is good, adding that the resolution involves keeping the watershed pristine up in the mountains.

4.   Mr. Gentry reported on a website called Recovery.com showing some of the projects approved in South Carolina.  Commissioner Monaghan expressed a need to talk with the people in Washington. Manager Reeves reported that a meeting was held the previous week with Ted Kinghorn at which time he was urged to do something. He added that staff feels that we should have a handle within the next few months on whether the earmarks being proposed will go in; it is the position of staff that if no tangible evidence is seen within the next few months, the recommendation would be to discontinue the relationship. Manager Reeves noted that the agreement can be terminated with notification. 

 

A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan and seconded by Vice Chairman Watts to go into Executive Session to discuss a contractual matter; the motion was unanimously approved.

The meeting returned to open session. Mr. Patrick stated that there was discussion during Executive Session of a Water Line Extension Agreement

between the CPW and Mr. Herbert Anderson. He continued that this was a five-year agreement for extension of a water line outside of the city limits on County Road 644 and Mountain Shore Drive, which had a balance of $41,936 to be repaid by Mr. Anderson if there were not sufficient taps made on that line during the five-year period. Because of the depressed economy and slowness of lot sales, Mr. Anderson has requested that the Commissioners grant a one-year extension to that five-year agreement, which has now expired. Mr. Patrick stated that a one-year extension would be until August of 2010. He noted that the Commissioners were inclined to authorize the Manager to grant that one-year extension to Mr. Anderson to give additional time to secure water taps on that line.

A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan to authorize the Manager to extend the Agreement with Mr. Anderson; the motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Watts, and unanimously approved.
     

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