The District Board of Directors met on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at 4:30 P.M.
The Board of Directors considered the first draft reading of the 2023 JCSUD Annual Budget. The budget presented was the product of several months of diligent work by the District staff and Budget Committee. The budget demonstrates fiscal responsibility to maintain water rate stability during an uncertain economy, all while applying strategic planning to manage growth and implement capital improvements on a timely basis. The 2023 JCSUD Annual Budget will be considered for final approval by the Board of Directors next month during the November Board Meeting.
The Board of Directors awarded Dake Construction the contract for the Water Plant 27 Pump Station Improvement Project and approved the Reimbursement Agreement for the Plant 27 Pump Station Improvement Project. This project stems from the need to utilize the full pumping capacity of Plant 27 toward other pressure planes and prepare the pump station to provide increased flow from the future 30-inch supply line from the City of Mansfield. Unlike the Contribution in Aid of Constructions (CIAOC) projects, Plant 27 would be funded by the District and reimbursed by development that comes into the system inside Pressure Plane(s) 01, 08, 24, 25, and 34.
The Board of Directors awarded Atkins Brothers Equipment Company, Inc. the Construction Contract for the 16-inch Joshua Main Street Project. This project consists of installing approximately 7,100 linear feet of 16-inch water line with fittings along Main Street in the City of Joshua from an existing elevated storage tank (P34) to the intersection of Main Street at SH 174. Five bids were received for this project, with the lowest bid from Atkins Brothers for $3,489,256.40. In principle, the District has made agreements with the City of Joshua to pay a match of $1,750,000 to help fund the project. The project has a contract time of 240 calendar days, approximately eight (8) months.
The Board of Directors also approved the AMI Infrastructure Project, which would bring the District’s AMI Network to the standard of acceptance for percentage of available reads to 98.5%. The Board of Directors approved proceeding with 27 collectors for a cost of $446,600 to increase read rate and redundancy to the standard for acceptance of 98.5% over a 3-day window. Also, the District will execute a contract to require Mueller to pass JCSUD acceptance testing before releasing the final payment and to provide any additional collectors necessary to meet acceptance criteria.
Josh Howard, Deputy GM, presented the Board of Directors with an assessment of the District’s current Profit Sharing and 457 Plan for employees. Recommendations were made to consider lowering the eligible age from 21 to 18, allowing employees to enroll in the plan after six months of service instead of twelve months, allow monthly participant enrollment instead of quarterly, and changing the vesting period to a shorter period than seven years. The Board of Directors approved the formation of an ad hoc Board Committee to review and potentially amend the Profit Sharing and 457 Plan to the proposed eligible age, service, enrollment, and vesting schedule.
The Operations and AMI Departments have continued to work aggressively to reduce water loss within the system. In the last 210 days, total water loss percentages have decreased to 7.49%. The staff has accomplished this by meeting weekly to discuss strategies to mitigate water loss through training on best practices, timely addressing system damages and repairs, and evaluating infrastructure with a high report of leakage.