HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.a 080624 Minutes MINUTES
CLAY COUNTY UTILITY AUTHORITY
August 6, 2024
The Board of Supervisors of the Clay County Utility Authority (CCUA) met in Regular Session in the Board
meeting room at the Administrative Office of the Clay County Utility Authority, 3176 Old Jennings Road,
Middleburg, Florida, on the above-stated date.
Item No. 1 —Call to Order
Chairman Starnieri called the meeting to order at 2:00 P.M.
Item No. 2—Invocation/Pledge of Allegiance
Vice-Chairman Lebesch offered the Invocation and led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item No. 3—Roll Call
Roll Call was taken with Chairman Starnieri, Vice-Chairman Lebesch, Mr. Gardella, Mr. Hingst, Mr. McNees,
Mrs. Taylor, and Mr. Petty in attendance.
Also present at the meeting were Executive Director Jeremy Johnston, Chief Operations Officer Darryl Muse,
Chief Engineer Paul Steinbrecher, Chief Financial Officer Karen Osbourne, Chief Human Resources Officer
Kim Richardson, Service Availability Manager Melisa Blaney, Service & Billing Manager Diana Strickland,
GIS & Asset Systems Manager Ben Freeman, Contract and Procurement Specialist Darrin Parker, Service
Availability Specialist Jennifer Cron, Training & Development Coordinator Ashley Taliaferro, Administrative
Assistant Operations Alicia Baker, Administrative Assistant Engineering Annecia Asberry, and Grady H.
Williams, Jr., legal counsel to the CCUA.
Item No. 4—Approval of Minutes
a. Board of Supervisors Joint Audit/Finance & Personnel Meeting, July 16, 2024
After discussion, Mr. Gardella moved, seconded by Vice-Chairman Lebesch, and carried 7-0, to approve
the minutes of the Joint Audit/Finance & Personnel Meeting held on July 16, 2024.
b. Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting, July 16, 2024
After discussion, Mr. McNees moved, seconded by Mr. Hingst, and carried 7-0, to approve the minutes
of the Regular Meeting held on July 16, 2024.
Item No. 5—Approval of Consent Agenda
After discussion, Vice-Chairman Lebesch moved, seconded by Mr. Petty, and carried 7-0, to approve
the Consent Agenda as follows;
1) Approval of Payment of Warrants
Warrants totaling $5,245,219.82
a. Schedule of payments to Sole Sources
b. Schedule of Emergency Repairs/Purchases—None
c. Schedule of items initiated under Emergency Contract—None
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d. Schedule of payments from the Emergency Account-None
e. Schedule of claims paid under the Sewage Backup Response Policy—None
f. Statement from Grady H. Williams, Jr. LL.M.
2) Request for Asset Disposal Authorization—None
3) Sole Source Designation—None
b. Approval of Capital Budget Activities
1) Requests for Award of Procurement Contracts and/or Ratification of
Procurement/Construction Contracts or Contract Renewals—None
2) Approval of Supplemental Agreements and Change Orders—None
c. Approval of Financing Requests—None
d. Approval of Contract Usage—None
e. Approval of Developer Agreements, Warranty Deeds &Easements
1) Developer Agreement CU23/24-17—Wastewater Service to 373 Polk Avenue (Leroy and
Jessie Riddle) — 1 ERC wastewater, 1 ERC environmental impact, 1 ERC debt service -
$6,951.67
2) Developer Agreement CU23/24-18 — Jennings Farm Amenity Center & Bike Trail
Restrooms (Jennings Farm Homeowners Association, Inc.) — 8.50 ERC's water, 3.50
ERC's wastewater, 8.50 ERC's AWS, 8.50 ERC's SJRWMD, 3.50 ERC's environmental
impact, 3.50 ERC's debt service - $32,608.26
3) Developer Agreement KU23/24-46—Water and Wastewater Service to 3436 Peoria Road
(D. Wayne and Marietta Nichols) — 1 ERC water, 1 ERC wastewater, 1 ERC AWS, 1
ERC SJRWMD, 1 ERC environmental impact, 1 ERC debt service - $21,342.79
4) Developer Agreement KU23/24-47—Wastewater Service to 3165 Creighton Forest Drive
(Scallop Time, LLC) — 1 ERC wastewater, 1 ERC environmental impact, 1 ERC debt
service - $11,980.85
5) Developer Agreement KU23/24-48—Wastewater Service to 3292 Creighton Lane (James
and Patricia Kossol)— 1 ERC wastewater, 1 ERC environmental impact- $22,014.12
6) Developer Agreement KU23/24-50 — Wastewater Service to 105 Old Jennings Road
(First Coast Women's Services) — 1.25 ERC's wastewater, 1.25 ERC's environmental
impact, 1.25 ERC's debt service - $16,702.44
7) Grant of Easement—223 Cedar Run Drive - Grantor—John and Catherine Eledge
8) Grant of Easement— 1613 Blanding Blvd—Grantor—Dan-Cin Properties, LLC
Item No. 6—Customer Account Adjustments—None
Item No. 7—Executive Director's Business
a. Request for Tentative Approval of the Proposed 2024/2025 Fiscal Year Budget for Publication
Chief Financial Officer Karen Osbourne presented the proposed 2024/2025 Fiscal Year Tentative
Budget for advertisement purposes. After discussion, Mr. Gardella moved, seconded by Mr. McNees,
and carried 7-0, to grant tentative approval of the proposed 2024/2025 Fiscal Year budget for
advertisement purposes, as presented by Ms. Osbourne. Ms. Osbourne reported due to the efforts by
staff,the final rate increase will be somewhat less than what is being advertised.
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b. Enterprise Resource Platform Update
Executive Director Jeremy Johnston provided an update on the Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP)
deployment. This report was for the Board's information only; no action was requested or required on
this item.
c. Middleburg Service Area Development Policy& Cost Recovery Presentation
Service Availability Manager Melisa Blaney made a presentation to the Board regarding the Middleburg
Service Area Development Policy & Cost Recovery. The Middleburg Service Area ("MSA") was
developed to extend water and wastewater service to existing and future commercial developments in
Middleburg, as based on a map which was included in the agenda package. As part of the 1999 MSA
policy, the recovery method of CCUA investment is allocated on an acreage basis; therefore, each parcel
that connects to the infrastructure will pay an allocated charge multiplied by the total number of acres in
each parcel. This allocated acreage charge is reviewed annually in to reflect inflation and carrying costs
for the CCUA's investment. With carrying charges added to CCUA's investment, the proposed MSA
distribution and collection infrastructure charges for the 2024/2025 fiscal year are $5,744 for water and
$11,018 for wastewater. No action was requested or required on this item at this time, the updated fees
are included in the proposed 2024/2025 Fiscal Year Budget.
d. Proposed Consent Order for First America Products
Chief Operations Officer Darryl Muse presented the proposed Consent Order for First America Products.
CCUA is the regulatory Control Authority of three (3) commercial customers, known as Industrial Users
(IUs), in the Industrial Pretreatment Program. As the Control Authority, CCUA is responsible for
administering and enforcing CCUA's Pretreatment Resolution No. 2021/2022-05 (Resolution), and Rule
62-725, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). One (1) of the three (3) IUs is First America Products, a
nutritional supplement manufacturer that discharges its industrial wastewater, consisting primarily of
tank washdown, into CCUA's collection system. On December 14, 2023, First America Products
discharged a large amount of heavily colored wastewater to CCUA's collection system. The red slug of
wastewater was visible to Miller Street Wastewater Treatment Facility Operators when it entered the
plant at the headworks. A slug discharge is any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including
but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge. Discharging heavily colored
water to CCUA's collection system is a violation of the Resolution and Rule 62-725, F.A.C. A Consent
Order was drafted and issued to First America Products as formal enforcement to resolve the violation.
The Consent Order documents the violation, orders corrective actions that, once implemented by the IU,
will help to prevent future violations of the same nature, and recovers costs incurred by CCUA during
the investigation of the violation. First America Products' owner agreed to the terms and signed the
Consent Order on July 18, 2024, and staff requested authorization to have Mr. Johnston execute the
document on behalf of CCUA. After discussion, Mr. McNees moved, seconded by Vice-Chairman
Lebesch, and carried 7-0, approve the Consent Order and the Executive Director's counter signature to
finalize the document and establish the effective date of the corrective actions.
e. Approval of Volunteer Paid Time Off Policy
Training & Development Coordinator Ashley Taliaferro presented a proposed Volunteer Paid Time Off
Policy for consideration. CCUA actively promotes and encourages participation in volunteer activities,
reflecting our commitment to social responsibility and community engagement. In line with this
commitment, Mrs. Taliaferro requested the implementation of a Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
policy to support CCUA's staff. VPTO is a structured initiative designed to support and encourage
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employees to engage in volunteer activities during regular working hours. After discussion, Vice-
Chairman Lebesch moved, seconded by Mr. Gardella, and carried 7-0, to approve the VPTO policy as
presented.
f. Other
Mr. Johnston reported there were no staff activations or damage sustained at any CCUA facilities from
Hurricane Debby. He also reminded the members due to the upcoming election, the next Board meeting
will be held on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. The proposed agenda for the next meeting includes
presentation of CCUA's Annual Report and Rate Study. He also suggested the Personnel Committee
meet on Tuesday Sept 3, 2024, at 1:00 P.M. to discuss his evaluation and the Annual Report. The
Personnel Committee WITHOUT OBJECTION agreed to schedule the meeting as requested.
Item No. 8—Business discussed at Committee Meetings -None
Item No. 9—Legal Business
a. Other
Mr. Williams provided a brief update to the Board on CCUA's pending legal matters.
Item No. 10—Old Business/New Business -None
Item No. 11 —Public Comment -None
Item No. 12— Supervisor Comments
Mr. Gardella shared he was excited about the increased focus on staff development and volunteerism.
Mrs. Taylor thanked everyone for their efforts getting ready for the storm and shared she was thankful Clay
County did not receive much damage from the storm except for some localized flooding.
Mr. Hingst thanked Katie and the IT Department for their assistance and expressed his appreciation for the
effort staff took to be able to find ways to cut the budget to lower the proposed rate increase. He also shared he
will not be attending the next meeting.
Vice-Chairman Lebesch expressed how much she appreciates staff digging into the budget to be able to find
additional ways to reduce the proposed rate increase. She requested the Board be provided with a report on the
volunteer hours and organizations which were assisted next year as a result of this new policy. She also shared
her son going into the military and said she was very excited to experience this as a parent.
Mr. McNees inquired if volunteerism was a part of staff's annual review. Staff provided additional information
on this topic.
Mr. Petty inquired if staffs volunteer efforts and the purchase and use of hybrid vehicles would be used in
CCUA's marketing efforts and thanked staff for reduction in proposed rate increase.
Chairman Starnieri said he appreciates the budget reduction and shared he is going to miss serving on the
Board.
Item No. 13 —Adjournment
Chairman Starnieri adjourned the meeting at 2:38 P.M.
James Starnieri, Chairman
Janice Loudermilk, Recording Secretary
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