HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.a Minutes 051926 MINUTES
CLAY COUNTY UTILITY AUTHORITY
May 19, 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
Chairman McNees 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, Chief Engineer Darrell Damrow, Assistant Chief Engineer Joe
Paterniti, Customer Service & Billing Manager Diana Strickland, Service Availability Manager Melisa Blaney,
Environmental Compliance Manager Heather Webber, Procurement Manager Darrin Parker, Communication &
Public Relations Specialist Ashley Taliaferro, Contract & Procurement Specialist Courtney Hinson,
Administrative Assistant Operations Alicia Ellis, and Grady H. Williams, Jr., legal counsel to the CCUA.
Item No. 4—Employee Recognition
a. Joseph Paterniti, WEF Arthur Sidney Bidell Award
Executive Director Jeremy Johnston introduced Assistant Chief Engineer Joe Paterniti who was recently
awarded the WEF's Arthur Sidney Bidell Award. Mr. Paterniti explained the history and significance of
the award and how honored he felt to be selected as a recipient.
Item No. 5 —Approval of Minutes
a. Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting, May 5, 2026
After discussion, Mrs. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. Bourre, and carried 7-0, to approve the minutes
of the May 5, 2026, Regular Meeting.
Item No. 6—Approval of Consent Agenda
After discussion, Ms. Lebesch moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, 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 $3,853,577.05
a. Schedule of payments to Sole Sources—None
b. Schedule of Emergency Repairs/Purchases—None
May 19, 2026
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
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
a. Proposed Approval of the Fifth US Motors Contract Renewal ITB No. 2020/2021-
A7
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. 01-162 Documents and Records Management
e. Approval of Developer Agreements, Warranty Deeds & Easements
1) Developer Agreement CU25/26-16 — Water and Wastewater Service to 1740 Blanding
Blvd for Branan Field Dental (2026 Branan Field Middleburg LLC) —4.50 ERC's water,
2.00 ERC's wastewater, 4.50 ERC's AWS, 4.50 ERC's SJRWMD, 2.00 ERC's
environmental impact, 2.00 ERC's debt service - $17,899.66
2) Grant of Easement — RideOut Elementary School — Grantor — School Board of Clay
County
Item No. 7—Customer Account Adjustments—
a. Elizabeth Duke—Additional Leak Credit
Customer Service & Billing Manager Diana Strickland presented a request from Ms. Elizabeth Duke of
1715 Marybeth Drive, Middleburg, Florida for a 100% leak credit. An intermittent toilet leak was
identified at her residence, occurring at an estimated rate of approximately 120 gallons per hour. Ms.
Duke stated she was unable to successfully repair the toilet flapper and elected to replace the toilet
entirely. After discussion, Mr. Bourre moved, seconded by Mr. McCall, and carried 7-0, to uphold the
CCUA's Leak Credit Policy, offering a 50% credit and a twelve-month payment plan to the customer.
Item No. 8 —Business discussed at Committee Meetings -None
Item No. 9—Executive Director's Business
a. Proposed FY2026/2027 Budget and Timeline
Chief Financial Officer Karen Osbourne presented the proposed 2026/2027 Fiscal Year Budget which
includes a proposed 5.5% rate increase. Ms. Osbourne also presented a proposed timeline for meetings
associated with the proposed budget and the required public notice publication dates for the Board's
consideration. After discussion, Vice-Chairman Petty moved, seconded by Mrs. Taylor, and carried 7-0,
to accept delivery of the proposed 2026/2027 Fiscal Year Budget as required by CCUA's Enabling
Legislation, reschedule the Joint Budget Committee meeting at noon on July 7, 2026, and approve the
remaining proposed budget timeline, as submitted by Ms. Osbourne.
May 19, 2026
b. Proposed Financial Performance Management and Capital Improvement Program Performance
Management Policies for Fiscal Year 2026/2027
Mr. Johnston and Ms. Osbourne discussed the proposed Financial Performance Management and Capital
Improvement Program Performance Management Policies for Fiscal Year 2026/2027. CCUA is
preparing for a period of rapid growth, aging infrastructure, and increasing construction and borrowing
costs. The proposed Financial Performance Management and CIP Performance Management Policies set
clear, industry-standard targets that support long-term planning, rate stability, and responsible debt
management. These policies strengthen CCUA's financial position and enable the organization to
proactively manage growth and infrastructure needs. The key elements include setting financial
performance targets for debt, reserves, and liquidity, strengthening Renewal & Replacement, self-
insurance, and rate stabilization funding, aligning CIP planning with growth forecasts and asset lifecycle
needs and enhancing transparency through consistent financial and CIP reporting. If approved, these
policies would take effect October 1, 2026, supporting the FY 2026/2027 budget and positioning CCUA
to responsibly manage growth, maintain service reliability, and safeguard financial health. The
documents which were provided as a part of the agenda package were for the Board's review; no action
was requested or required at this time.
c. St. Johns River Water Management District(SJRWMD)Phase III Water Shortage Order
Mr. Johnston introduced St. Johns River Water Management District's Intergovernmental Coordinator
Doug Conkey who provided a presentation and discussed the SJRWMD's Phase III Water Shortage
Order which was issued on May 11, 2026. He shared both he and the District appreciate the consistent
water conservation messaging which is provided on the CCUA's website and being sent to customers
via email.
d. Other
Mr. Johnston shared the annual Hurricane Manual is a part of the FYI Section of today's agenda. He
also reported members of staff have successfully completed their annual role-playing storm scenario
which strengthens communication between the departiiients and analyzes staff's proposed responses to a
hurricane event.
Item No. 10—Legal Business
a. Legal feedback regarding the request to continue engagement with the North Florida Utility
Coordination Group through a Memorandum of Agreement
CCUA's Legal Counsel, Grady Williams addressed the Board regarding his review of the renewal of the
Memorandum of Agreement with the North Florida Utility Coordination Group, and shared he has no
issue with the renewal of the existing agreement. He shared during the next renewal cycle he would
work with the members of the group through Mr. Johnston to possibly add additional verbiage to future
renewal agreements.
b. Other-None
Item No. 11 —Old Business/New Business -None
Item No. 12—Public Comments -None
May 19, 2026
Item No. 13—Supervisor Comments
Chairman McNees thanked staff and Mr. Conkey for their presentations today.
Item No. 14—Adjournment
Chairman McNees adjourned the meeting at 3:50 P.M.
Michael C. McNees, Chairman
Janice Loudermilk, Recording Secretary
May 19, 2026