HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.a Minutes 050526 MINUTES
CLAY COUNTY UTILITY AUTHORITY
May 5, 2026
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 McNees called the meeting to order at 2:00 P.M.
Item No. 2—Invocation/Pledge of Allegiance
Mrs. Taylor offered the Invocation and led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item No. 3—Roll Call
Roll Call was taken with Chairman McNees, Vice-Chairman Petty, Mr. Bourre, Mr. Hingst, Ms. Lebesch, Mr.
McCall, 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, Service Availability Manager Melisa Blaney, Senior Accountant Theresa
Antonucci, Communication & Public Relations Specialist Ashley Taliaferro, Administrative Assistant Operations
Alicia Ellis, and Grady H. Williams, Jr., legal counsel to the CCUA.
Item No. 4—Board Proclamation
Communication & Public Relations Specialist Ashley Taliaferro read the Water Reuse Proclamation. WateReuse
Florida, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the St. Johns River Water Management District are
encouraging their partners to promote water reuse and conservation. They are also requesting organizations adopt
proclamations declaring the week of May 17-23, 2026, as Florida Water Reuse Week. This designation offers the
opportunity to increase awareness about the importance of protecting water resources by practicing efficient and
effective use of reclaimed water. After discussion, Mrs. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried 7-0, to
approve execution of the proclamation, as presented.
Item No. 5—Approval of Minutes
a, Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting,April 21, 2026
After discussion, Ms. Lebesch moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried 7-0, to approve the minutes of
the April 21, 2026, Regular Meeting.
Item No. 6—Approval of Consent Agenda
After discussion, Mrs. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. Hingst, and carried 7-0, to approve the Consent Agenda as
follows;
a. Approval of Financial and Operational Activities
1) Approval of Payment of Warrants
Warrants totaling$1,340,290.50
May 5, 2026
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
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
(1) OMNIA Partners Contract No. 001299 (Workplace Solutions)
e. Approval of Developer Agreements,Warranty Deeds &Easements
1) Developer Agreement CU25/26-14—Water Service to 1590 Rainbow Road(Ruth Howard)—
1 ERC water, 1 ERC AWS, 1 ERC SJRWMD, 1 ERC debt service - $4,814.20
2) Developer Agreement KH25/26-10 — Water and Wastewater Service to O'Reilly Auto Parts
Store located at 215 N. Lawrence Blvd (O'Reilly Automotive Stores, Inc.)—2 ERC's water,
1.50 ERC's wastewater, 2 ERC's AWS, 2 ERC's SJRWMD, 1.50 ERC's environmental
impact, 1.50 ERC's debt service - $11,764.80
3) Developer Agreement KU25/26-37 — Water and Wastewater Service to 374 Blanding Blvd
for Seven Brew Coffee (Pine20 Blanding, LLC) —3 ERC's water, 2.50 ERC's wastewater, 3
ERC's AWS, 3 ERC's SJRWMD, 2.50 ERC's environmental impact, 2.50 ERC's debt
service - $18,142.52
4) Developer Agreement RU25/26-3 — Additional Wastewater Service to Black Creek
Methodist Church of Middleburg at 3925 Main Street (Black Creek Methodist Church of
Middleburg, Inc.) - $3,612.61
Item No. 7—Customer Account Adjustments -None
Item No. 8—Business discussed at Committee Meetings -None
Item No. 9—Executive Director's Business
a. March 2026 Financial Package
Chief Financial Officer Karen Osbourne presented the March Financial Package for consideration. She
reported Operating income is $738,239 (6%) over budget due to unfavorable revenue and a favorable
expense variance. Operating revenue is $1,520,860 (4%) under budget and Operating expenses are
$2,259,098 (9%) under budget. CCUA has gained 556 active water accounts and 564 active sewer accounts
for the fiscal year 2025/2026. After discussion, Ms. Lebesch moved, seconded by Mr. Bourre, and carried
7-0,to approve the March 2026 Financial Package, as presented.
b. Customer Engagement&Website Launch Presentation
Mrs. Taliaferro provided a presentation regarding the launch of CCUA's new website and provided
information on the plans used for increased customer engagement. This presentation was for the Board's
information only; no action was requested or required on this item. Mr. Johnston recognized Mrs. Taliaferro
for her efforts on this project.
May 5, 2026
c. Request to continue engagement with the North Florida Utility Coordination Group (NFUCG) through a
Memorandum of Agreement
Executive Director Jeremy Johnston presented a request for approval of execution of the Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) for the North Florida Utility Coordination Group. CCUA participates in this group with
eight (8) other utilities in North Florida. Collectively, the members of the NFUCG represent roughly 1.2
million people in North Florida. The members of the NFUCG aim to represent their customers regarding
water supply planning and regulations in the North Florida region. The Florida Depai tment of Environmental
Protection, St. Johns River Water Management District, and Suwannee River Water Management District
govern water supply planning and regulations in North Florida. These jurisdictional agencies update the
North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP) every five (5) years. In addition, these agencies
protect natural resources through the development, implementation, and maintenance of regulations called
Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs). Many stakeholders seek to influence water supply planning in the
NFRWSP and MFL regulation development. The common mission of providing safe, reliable, economical,
and sustainable water supplies for our customers makes the NFUCG effective in influencing water supply
policies. Together the utilities within the NFUCG bring significant technical and legal expertise to aid in the
development of good scientifically based water supply policy. The efforts of the NFUCG directly affect
CCUA in the fact that water supply planning and regulations govern CCUA's Consumptive Use Permits
(CUPs). CCUA maintains CUP 416 for the main systems and CUP 431 for Keystone Heights. While we
renewed CUP 416 in May 2025, our active participation with water supply planning and regulation remains
essential. The MOA between the member utilities remains essentially the same as the previously agreed
MOA from 2023. The only change in the MOA from prior renewals consists of slight changes to the
participation allocations based on each utility's water demand. After discussion, Mr. Bourre moved,
seconded by Mrs. Taylor, and carried 7-0, to approve execution of the MOA, as presented by Mr. Johnston.
At the request of the Board, Mr. Williams will review the agreement to ensure there are no legal concerns
regarding possible or potential appearance of collusion between the entities and provide a report at the next
meeting.
d. Other
Mr. Johnston encouraged the members to review the FWEA Utility Council 2026 Annual Report which
was included in the FYI section of today's meeting agenda. He also shared Enterprise Systems &
Analytics Manager Ben Freeman and Utility Engineer Zachary Loeb provided presentations regarding
CCUA's Asset Management Program and Project Quench at the recent Florida Water Resource
Conference. The next meeting will include presentation of the proposed 2026/2027 Fiscal Year Budget
and discussion regarding CCUA's proposed Financial Performance Management and Capital
Improvement Performance Management policies. He also informed the Board staff will be participating
in the upcoming Florida Water Reuse Summit which will be held at JEA's H2.0 facility in Jacksonville.
Item No. 10—Legal Business
a. Other—None
Item No. 11 —Old Business/New Business -None
Item No. 12—Public Comment-None
May 5, 2026
Item No. 13—Supervisor Comments
Mr. Hingst shared he will be absent from the meeting on May 19, 2026.
Chairman McNees thanked everyone for their efforts and for the presentations today.
Item No. 14—Adjournment
Chairman McNees adjourned the meeting at 2:33 P.M.
Michael C. McNees, Chairman
Janice Loudermilk, Recording Secretary
May 5, 2026