Table of Contents
Meeting called to order at 17:06 #
In attendance: #
- Advisory Council Members
- Skip Fairchild
- Bruce Richards
- Carl Seamon
- Town Supervisor Joel Gagnon
- Water District Operators
- Scott Wendt
- Tod Sukontarak
Privilege of the Floor #
Joel asked that committee members use their town email accounts to communicate about water district issues. It is a protection of personal email to do so. Town Clerk Janice Adelman will help anyone get set up if there are problems.
Approval of Previous Minutes #
The 9/1/21 meeting minutes were unanimously approved.
There were no warrants or vouchers
#
Business Topics #
- Our current budget is $42,975.
- Candace Balmer, from RCAP solutions, among her recommendations to the water district was that the committee members get a better understanding of our budget in order to make annual recommendations to Town Board in budget planning.
- Given the $7,500 cost of this year’s water leak at Van Buskirk Gulf Road, the north end of our distribution system, the committee discussed adding a contingency to the budget to prepare for such future occurrence. It was unanimously agreed to recommend to TB add $5,000 to next year’s budget.
- The current balance in the district account is $328,000.
- Despite reservation based on the potential for an agricultural rate, the committee voted unanimously to approve changing our water rate structure to one based on 80% consumption and 20% tax levy as well as dropping the quarterly base charge.
- West Danby water rates have never changed and the new structure encourages water conservation while still allowing for the more highly assessed properties to assist in revenue shortfalls at the end of the year.
- The new structure can and likely will be adjusted as we find it needed.
- Tod has renewed his 3 year operator’s license.
- He will be coordinating with Mark Manzari soon to begin leak detection services that TB approved the expenditure of $3K to do.
- There is a newly vacant house on Station Road whose curb box will be part of the location finding. It appears to have been covered with a cement driveway.
- In Tod’s phone conversation meeting with Candace Balmer, they discussed the need for an agricultural rate structure as being defensible which is a bit subjective; she gave Tod the contact information for the NYRWA riders in our region; they discussed ideas for getting another operator; and she suggested Tod get started with an asset management plan for the district.
- Town Board postponed acting on helping the West Danby Cemetery Committee pay for removal of a dying Maple tree that may endanger the fire hydrant on Valley View Road.
