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COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC WORKS The regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Public Works was held on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., in the Boardroom at 121 West Court Avenue. Meeting attendees are listed in the Print Friendly PDF version above.
A motion to purchase the SUV from Vic Bailey Ford was made by Commissioner Monaghan, seconded by Commissioner Watts, and unanimously approved.
1. Mr. Barnett reminded the Commissioners that $20,000 in matching funds was approved back in the fall for the CPW Cares Program. He noted that up to this point, a little over $7,000 had been sent to United Ministries, leaving a balance of around $12,408. He noted that in years past, the Commissioners had authorized sending the remaining balance of those funds to United Ministries. 2. Mr. Barnett referred to discussion at the last meeting at which time Chairman Hancock had asked about new hiring incentives coming out of a Job Incentive Creation Bill. He reported that the information gathered thus far indicates that it does not apply to public entities like CPW, and only goes to private entities and institutions of higher education. 3. Commissioner Monaghan asked about progress of renovations in the IT department. Mr. Auman responded that there is only one item left as far as construction. Commissioner Monaghan asked specifically about moving the computer room. Mr. Auman noted that was a separate project because it involves UPS and HVAC people. They are getting the costs together now and hope to have that by the next meeting. Commissioner Monaghan referred to agreements mentioned in the meeting package with Ware Shoals and Ninety Six and asked if that would need to go before the Board. Mr. Chapman responded that it was brought before the Board earlier by Manager Reeves. Those are basically the sampling already being done; they asked for additional sampling and we provided them with a unit cost. It was decided that we would charge for all of the samples where we had not been charging. Commissioner Monaghan inquired about results of a meeting with the Budget and Control Board and Department of Commerce; Mr. Chapman responded that they received input during the meeting at which time they found out that there is not a lot of money right now with the Budget and Control Board, but an application is going forth with the Department of Commerce for another CDBG project, and also, the groundwork for a future CDBG application. According to Senator Graham, we could possibly apply for a $1 million CDBG grant for a true regional system to go toward Troy with the thought of getting the County on board since Councilwoman Edith Childs has shown a lot of interest in that area. Once we make the connection to Troy, we would then be a true regional system. Right now, the Troy area buys water from McCormick County. Mr. Chapman noted that once we tie the two water systems together and are a true regional system, we can then hit the Budget and Control Board up for consideration of leveraging grant monies against CDBG and federal set aside. Mr. Barnett added that they had not given up on Laurens. Commissioner Monaghan referred to network projects and asked about the progress of the new budget system. Mr. Auman responded that that project had started before the last budget cycle. He noted that they had basically outgrown the previous spreadsheet system. The staff programmer is still working on an in-house budget system and is also incorporating staff feedback and suggestions; just the initial phase was done for the past budget cycle, with work ongoing for the upcoming budget cycle. Commissioner Monaghan inquired about “long-range tools” shown under AS/400 development, and if that was dealing with long-range plans to get rid of it. Mr. Auman noted this was really more related to the new billing systems; “tools” is actually where they are paying programming costs now and are looking instead at buying tools. Commissioner Monaghan asked whether they would get rid of the AS/400 at some point. Mr. Auman responded that they are still looking into it and recalled comments made at the time of the IT audit. He stated that for now, it would cost a lot more to replace it than to keep it; however, they may be only about two years away from either upgrading or replacing the hardware. He added that they are already looking at other systems and would not wait until the last minute. Commissioner Monaghan commented that the Board should have some input with where older PC’s go when replaced, and asked for a proposal at the appropriate time; Mr. Auman indicated that would be done. 4. Commissioner Watts referred to comments made earlier regarding selling water to Troy and asked about plans for Bradley. Mr. Chapman responded that there is no public water supply out to Bradley; if they eventually get down to Troy, they could ultimately pick up Bradley and other rural areas as part of a ten to twenty-year capital improvement plan, provided funding can be identified. Mr. Barnett noted a cost of several million dollars to get there, not including the distribution cost. Mr. Chapman reminded the Commissioners that during discussion of the Grace Street Plant property several years ago, the option was presented to the County that if they funded a $5 million bond, we would pick up Bradley and all of the rural fire departments; that was rejected. 5. Chairman Hancock asked for an update on the bottled water situation; Mr. Chapman responded that surveys to gauge interest are underway. He continued that he was getting costs from suppliers for bottles, and hoped to have a business plan ready around September or October, before budget time. 6. Chairman Hancock inquired about gas prices. Mr. Smith responded that gas prices had rallied a little the last week, but now had skipped up a little bit. He noted that storage status had deteriorated somewhat from the beginning of winter because of a relatively cold winter. Since gas prices have still not really rallied, they are looking at doing option collars. Commissioner Monaghan commented on a matter of interest after the big explosion in the coal mines, and asked if any methane gas was tapped for use from that area before the explosion. Mr. Smith responded that he was not sure what was being done in Pennsylvania. Chairman Hancock noted tapping being done at the landfill with methane wells coming out. 7. Mr. Barnett presented a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 2008, and commended Ms. Ogletree and staff. The Commissioners expressed their appreciation.
A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan and seconded by Commissioner Watts to go into Executive Session for personnel and contractual matters; the motion was unanimously approved. The meeting returned to open session. A motion was made by Commissioner Monaghan and seconded by Chairman Hancock to waive a tap fee for Piedmont Technical College. The motion passed by a vote of two to one, with Commissioner Watts voting “no”. A motion was made by Commissioner Watts authorizing the Assistant Manager to sign an agreement with Itron; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Monaghan, and unanimously approved.
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