SREWSC Board Meeting Minutes for 11/03/2021
Attending: Chip Schwamb, Bob Schneider, Rik Martinez, Laura Steffy
Absent: Hamish Fordwood, Christie Yowell
Notes are imbedded in agenda topics below.
AGENDA
1. ESTABLISH QUORUM CALL TO ORDER MEETING
a. Done - Chip
2. REVIEW AND APPROVE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING
a. Done – Rik motioned to approve; Bob seconded; unanimous
3. OPERATIONS REPORT
a. Bob did not yet have the reports from PGMS for the month so no
Directors Report was available; monthly usage at the Schneider
household was down as expected (17K reduced to 8K)
b. Tim and Bob discussed the propane tank level for the backup
generator and agreed that Tim will monitor the level and call for a
fuel refill when it is required.
c. Discussed the expiration of the ‘Late Charge Waiver’ policy that was
invoked due to COVID; Bob/Rik/Chip all agree that there is no need
to extend it – Board is willing to work with any member who needs
water service billing relief. Consider providing notification at annual
meeting.
d. Some members (i.e. Laura, Christie) may have received erroneous
‘Water Disconnect Notices’ from PGMS; Laura has posted to
SREWSC website that PGMS had an issue with billing this month so
other members will be aware of the possible issue.
e. No new information on the connection for service on lot next to Bob
that is under construction.
4. TREASURER REPORT (Chip presentation on behalf of Hamish)
a. Using Broadway Bank statement as reference for account status
b. January 1, 2022 is renewal date for CD
c. HTGCD License has been renewed and paid
d. Insurance payment (D&D) has been made
e. PGMS billing error was detected and corrected
f. Audit is still incomplete; there is a question regarding last years tax
reporting (via Christine of Shoebox Bookkeeping)
g. ACH billing payment options were discussed – this is the automated
direct withdrawal service that PGMS offers; Chip believes that
parameter limits can be applied to ensure payments are
reasonable; may become more of an issue if USPS delivery services
become unreliable or delivery is significantly delayed. No decision
was made but no objections were identified during discussion.
h. Laura motioned to accept the report as presented; Rik seconded;
unanimous
5. REPORT ON TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD CONFERENCE 10/21
a. Chip attended the conference and described it as ‘quasigovernmental trade association’ conference
b. Two key topics of note: Asset Management and Contamination
c. Regarding Contamination, SREWSC is at a lower risk since we do not
rely on surface water; some comments did mention that our
groundwater sources have a higher risk of contamination than
others due to the porous nature of the karst surface layer in our
aquifer.
d. Regarding Asset Management and compared to other small
community water services, SREWSC asset management appears to
be in ‘good shape’ with redundant systems (two wells, two storage
tanks) and a backup generator with switching system. Chips visit
with a member of the Lost Springs WSC (Jim Kerkendahl sp?)
revealed that they had significant issues and loss of service during
the Valentine's Day Winter Storm (2021). They requested, and Chip
provided, a tour of the water plant to share with them the assets
we have put in place. See Lost Springs WSC.doc (separate
document) for details.
e. Chip mentioned that the TWDB was offering a ‘no cost’ leak
detection service to members; may be worth follow up.
6. SB3 REQUIREMENTS
a. Chip unsure if ‘SB3’ is accurate for the legislature bill; not to be
confused with the Education Code
(https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/871/billtext/pdf/SB00003I.pdf) , this is more
likely Project 52299, Senate Bill 3, 87th Legislature, Regular Session,
Compliance Guidance - Texas Water Code (TWC) §13.1396 which
refers to Emergency Preparedness Plan (see instead Emergency
Preparedness Plan FAQ (texas.gov))
b. This is not a requirement for SREWSC but would be prudent for us to
create
c. Begins with a Risk Assessment; followed by mitigations and plans to
address identified risks.
d. Tim Young offered to assist in creating the plan and would be a
valuable source of experiential knowledge.
e. Rik offered to follow up with a Risk Assessment from the TCEQ site.
7. OPEN FORUM 3 MINUTES PER SPEAKER
a. Rik noted that Eminent Domain filing is due and will be completed
by end of year
b. Chip noted that aquifer level, as measured by HTGCD sensor in our
well, indicates a 6’ rise
c. Rik to change Drought Status display board at kiosk by entrance to
SRE. Status (sign) will display ‘No Drought’.
8. SCHEDULE NEXT MEETING (proposed early January 2022 preparation for
annual meeting 2/2022
a. Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday December 15, 2021 at 701
Skyline Ridge Lookout (Rik to host); note new start time of 5:00 PM
(not 5:30). Chip suggested that we begin discussing/planning
Annual Meeting.
9. ADJOUN
a. Rik motioned to adjourn; Laura seconded; unanimous. Meeting
adjourned 6:45 PM