HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.a 091625 Minutes MINUTES
CLAY COUNTY UTILITY AUTHORITY
September 16, 2025
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
Vice-Chairman McNees called the meeting to order at 2:00 P.M.
Item No. 2—Invocation/Pledge of Allegiance
Mr. Hingst offered the Invocation and led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item No. 3—Roll Call
Roll Call was taken with Vice-Chairman McNees, Mr. Bourre, Mr. Hingst, Mr. McCall, Mr. Petty, and Mrs.
Taylor in attendance.
Also present at the meeting were Executive Director Jeremy Johnston, Chief Operations Officer Darryl Muse,
Chief Financial Officer Karen Osbourne, Chief Engineer Darrell Damrow, Service Availability Manager Melisa
Blaney, Facilities Manager James Moore, Procurement Manager Angelia Wilson, Communication & Public
Relations Specialist Ashley Taliaferro, Administrative Assistant Operations Alicia Ellis, Procurement Buyer
Courtney Hinson, and Grady H. Williams, Jr., legal counsel to the CCUA.
Item No. 4—Employee Recognition
a. Marla Champion— 10 years
b. Tyler Parks—5 years
Executive Director Jeremy Johnston introduced and presented a certificate to Customer Service
Supervisor Marla Champion in recognition of her ten years of service. A certificate was also presented
to Water/Wastewater Maintenance Mechanic Tyler Parks acknowledging his five years of employment
with the CCUA.
Item No. 5 —Approval of Minutes
a. Board of Supervisors Personnel Committee Meeting, September 2, 2025
b. Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting, September 2, 2025
c. Public Rate Hearing, September 8, 2025
After discussion, Mr. Petty moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried, 6-0, to approve the minutes of
the September 2, 2025, Personnel Committee Meeting and Regular Meeting, and the September 8, 2025,
Public Rate Hearing.
Item No. 6—Approval of Consent Agenda
After discussion, Mr. Bourre moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried 6-0, to approve the Consent Agenda
as follows;
September 16, 2025
a. Approval of Payment of Warrants
Warrants totaling $2,679,523.11
a. Schedule of payments to Sole Sources—None
b. Schedule of Emergency Repairs/Purchases—None
c. Schedule of items initiated under Emergency Contract-None
d. Schedule of payments from the Emergency Account—None
e. Schedule of claims paid under the Sewage Backup Response Policy-None
1) Request for Asset Disposal Authorization—None
2) 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 GC24/25-8— Saratoga Springs Subdivision, Phase 1B—Consisting
of 211 Lots (SRTG Dev Owner, LLC) — 211 ERC's water, 211 ERC's wastewater, 211
ERC's reclaimed, 211 ERC's AWS, 211 ERC's SJRWMD, 211 ERC's debt service -
$1,213,798.31 (deferred$1,165,365.66)
2) Developer Agreement KU24/25-39—Water and Wastewater Service to 2027 Theta Court
(Jacksonville Homes, LLC) - $2,939.89
3) Developer Agreement MU24/25-23 — Water Service to 560 Arthur Moore Drive
(Stephanie and Charles Wright) — 1 ERC water, 1 ERC AWS, 1 ERC SJRWMD, 1 ERC
debt service - $2,328.47
4) Developer Agreement MU24/25-24 — Additional Capacity Fees for 91 Branscomb Road
Suites 17 & 18 (CEK Investments II, LLC) — 0.236156 ERC's water, 0.236156 ERC's
wastewater, 0.236156 ERC's AWS, 0.236156 ERC's SJRWMD, 0.236156 ERC's
environmental impact- $1,601.03
5) Partial Release of Developer Agreement— Goose Creek Estates — Grantor— Clay County
Utility Authority—Grantee
6) Partial Release of Easement - Parcel No. 29-04-25-008068-000-01 — Grantor - Clay
County Utility Authority-Grantee - LGI Homes-Florida, LLC
Item No. 7—Customer Account Adjustments -None
Item No. 8—Business discussed at Committee Meetings -None
Item No. 9—Executive Director's Business
a. Briefing by PFM -Related Proposed Financing
Mr. Johnston introduced Jeremy Niedfeldt, Managing Director of PFM Financial Advisors LLC, who
addressed the Board regarding recent changes in interest rates in advance of the planned 2025 Loan
closing which have triggered a pre-payment premium on the existing 2023 Loan. The anticipated pre-
September 16, 2025
payment premium is $800k, however the interest rate dropping from 4.34% to 4.29% will net CCUA an
approximate $1.1m benefit after the penalty is deducted. This report was for the Board's information
only; no action was requested or required on this item at this time.
b. FY 2025/2026 Proposed Budget for final adoption on October 1, 2025
Chief Financial Officer Karen Osbourne presented a request for approval of the budget and rates for the
2025/2026 Fiscal Year which included the 2025/2026 Operating Budget, Self-Insurance Budget, Capital
Budget, Five Year Capital Plan, Departmental and Capital Budget and Rates. After discussion, Mr. Petty
moved, seconded by Mr. Bourre, and carried 6-0, to accept the Fiscal Year 2025/2026 Budget for
incorporation into CCUA's annual resolutions which will have an effective date of October 1, 2025, as
presented.
c. Proposed Software Licensing, Maintenance and Support Agreement with Sages Networks, Inc.
Procurement Manager Angelia Wilson presented a proposed revised Software Licensing, Maintenance
and Support Agreement with Sages Networks, Inc. for a cloud-based platform for plan review,
permitting, inspections, and related workflows. As requested by the Board, the agreement now includes
a clause to not exceed a 4% increase over the previous year's annual cost after the initial five-year term
of the contract. After discussion, Mr. Bourre moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried, 6-0, to
approve execution of the contract as requested.
d. Request for approval of an Easement Agreement with Mr. and Mrs. Zambito to accommodate the
Challenger Drive water main extension project
Service Availability Manager Melisa Blaney presented a request for approval of an Easement
Agreement with Mr. and Mrs. Zambito to accommodate the Challenger Drive water main extension
project. CCUA has initiated the installation of approximately 4,000 linear feet of new 12-inch water
main along Green Oaks Lane and Challenger Drive to create a looped distribution system. This
easement enables the final phase needed to close the loop, improving system reliability, stabilizing
pressures, enhancing fire flow, and providing redundancy during maintenance or unexpected outages.
To construct and maintain a segment of this improvement, CCUA requires a perpetual utility easement
across Parcel No. 17-04-25-007950-005-02, which is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Zambito. The proposed
compensation is $12,500 for an approximate 3,727 square foot easement. Staff requested(1) approve the
Easement Agreement with Mr. and Mrs. Zambito, (2) authorize the Executive Director (or designee) to
execute and record the easement and any ancillary documents, and (3) approve a not-to-exceed amount
of $14,000 for consideration, recording, and closing costs. After discussion, Mrs. Taylor moved,
seconded by Mr. Hingst, and carried 6-0, to approve staff's requests as presented.
e. Change Order No. 3 —Deduct for Unused Allowances for Peters Creek WRF Expansion and Pipeline
Chief Engineer Darrell Damrow requested authorization to execute Change Order No. 3 to the
construction contract with Wharton-Smith, Inc. for Bid No. 2022/2023-A05 - Peters Creek WRF
Expansion and Pipeline, which reduces the contract value by $90,088.60. This project included contract
allowances established for potential unforeseen conditions and specialty work items. The project
reached substantial completion on February 11, 2025, and members of staff have determined that the
remaining allowance funds are not required to complete the work. As such, Change Order No. 3
provides a deductive adjustment to the contractor's contract amount, reconciling the unused allowance
September 16, 2025
balance and aligning the final contract value with the actual work performed. This is a standard contract
reconciliation measure and does not impact the scope or schedule of the project. After discussion, Mr.
Bourre moved, seconded by Mrs. Taylor, and carried 6-0, to approve Change Order No. 3 to the contract
for Bid No. 2022/2023-A05 with Wharton-Smith, Inc.
f. Other
Mr. Johnston shared with the Board the legislative session will begin in January, and he will be
providing comments to Clay County's legislative delegation and will be participating in the upcoming
Utility Council and the Florida Water Forum. He also thanked the Board for their support and comments
contained in his evaluation.
Item No. 10—Legal Business
a. Executive Director's Evaluation Results Fiscal Year 2024/2025
CCUA's Legal Counsel Grady Williams briefly discussed with the Board the results of the Executive
Director's annual evaluation and reported Mr. Johnston's final evaluation score was 95.43, which
equates to an overall rating of 4.77%. Based on this score, Mr. Johnston would be entitled to a merit
raise of 3%, consistent with the existing Executive Director's Evaluation Policy and Procedures. After
discussion, Mr. Bourre moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried 6-0, to approve the results and
scoring, adopt and accept the Executive Director's Performance Evaluation, and approve a 3% merit
increase based on existing policy, as presented by Mr. Williams. Personnel Committee Chairman Taylor
shared a date will be set for a brief Personnel Committee meeting at 1:30 P.M. prior to an upcoming
Board meeting to discuss the results of the salary survey from Bolton Partners, Inc. and their
recommendations for staff positions and a potential market adjustment for the Executive Director's
annual salary.
b. Other
Mr. Williams briefed the Board on Florida's current open-carry policy and how it pertains to CCUA's
facilities and public meetings.
Item No. 11 —Old Business/New Business -None
Item No. 12—Public Comments -None
Item No. 13— Supervisor Comments
Vice-Chairman McNees thanked staff for their preparation for today's meeting.
Item No. 14—Adjournment
Vice-Chairman McNees adjourned the meeting at 2:37 P.M.
Michael C. McNees, Vice-Chairman
Janice Loudermilk, Recording Secretary
September 16, 2025