DEERFIELD REGIONAL STORM WATER DISTRICT
REGULAR DISTRICT BOARD MEETING
Landen Station, 3292 Montgomery Road
Loveland, OH 45140
April 11, 2006
President Walter Daniels called the meeting to order at 6:35 P.M.
ATTENDANCE:
Those present at the meeting were:
Board Members: Walt Daniels, Susan Berger
Attorney: Eric Luckage, Esq., Albers & Albers
Engineering: Jamie Coleman, Ph.D., CDM Inc.
DRSWD Admin. Asst.: Cathy Herrick
Public: Jeff Smith
Jeff Thomas was absent with prior notice given to the Board.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The Regular Board Meeting minutes dated March 14, 2006, and Special Meeting minutes of March 22, 2006, were presented and reviewed.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Susan Berger made a Motion, seconded by Walt Daniels to accept the meeting minutes of March 14, 2006, and March 22, 2006 as written. Vote: All Yes.
Susan Berger reported that she had reviewed the new accounting program and provided the Board with a recap report indicting the current balance of $9,460.63 and that she would be entering the budgeting information and have that available for review at the next regular meeting.
Susan Berger presented the monthly invoices for approval and payment by the Board as follows:
Payment of the Bills:
· Cathy Herrick, wages in the amount of $630.00, also expenses for postage in the sum of $10.71;
· Minute Man Press invoice 68440 for costs associated with copying expenses in the sum of $21.53;
· Susan Berger reimbursement for costs associated with printing brochures for open houses/ public education in the sum of $56.45;
· Community Press invoice 1403500, for publication of legal notice for annual report in the sum of $11.40;
· Pulse Journal invoice 7094960, for publication of legal notice of annual report in the sum of $16.64;
· Beuke Printing & Mailing Company invoice 8299, for printing and bulk mailing of postcards announcing open house information in the sum of $1220.00;
· Warren County SWCD for DRSWD’s portion of the fees associated with radio advertisements for public outreach purposes in the sum of $750.00.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Walt Daniels made a Motion seconded by Susan Berger to accept and pay the invoices as listed above. Vote: All Yes.
SPECIAL ORDERS
None.
President Walt Daniels introduced a member of the public, Mr. Jeff Smith, 3930 Irwin-Simpson Road, Mason, Ohio, who was in attendance and wished to address the Board. Mr. Smith’s comments will be documented in the New Business, Comments from the General Public section of these minutes as setout in the agenda for this meeting.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND GENERAL ORDERS
CDM Update: With respect to the billing contract negotiations with Warren County, Dr. Coleman reiterated that he was still awaiting the outcome of Warren County’s compilation of the database information regarding Deerfield Township residents. He added, the Warren County Water and Sewer Department are undergoing the task of matching the data between the auditor’s records and with this they should be able to identify the storm water only accounts more easily. Dr. Coleman said he hoped to have more information concerning the progress within the upcoming week.
Public Open Houses: The Board briefly discussed the recent open house meetings that were held to educate the public about the upcoming storm water user fees. They felt the meetings were well received and noted that approximately 60 residents were in attendance. Walt Daniels inquired as to the status of Dr. Coleman’s attempts to reach Mr. John Harris, President of the local Chamber of Commerce which the Board would like to coordinate further outreach to the community leaders and businesses. Dr. Coleman reported that he had made several attempts to contact him but had not yet received a reply. Dr. Coleman said that he would again try to correspond with Mr. Harris.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Jamie Coleman will continue to attempt to contact the Chamber of Commerce, via Mr. John Harris, President and keep a running list of his attempts to do so. Dr. Coleman will email copies of his correspondence to Cathy Herrick to be kept on record for future reference.
The Board agreed that they did not feel it was necessary to conduct additional open houses at this time but would utilize other avenues of outreach to create public awareness of the impending user fees.
Policy for Residential Fixes/Assistance: Walt Daniels said that the Board will be discussing this issue on an ongoing basis, especially as the public members come to the Board for assistance. Mr. Daniels said he felt it was important to try to decide what the District can do for these individuals versus immediately referring them to the Township for answers. There was a brief discussion about policies which are currently in place in other communities and how they might be incorporated within the District. Walt Daniels added, since we are our own entity and other examples are joint in nature, we can examine these other policies but still make changes to develop our own approach.
It was agreed that the District needed to more thoroughly discuss this issue with the Township and see where the responsibility for these types of problems lie. Eric Luckage added that some things to consider in examining the extent to which the District can offer assistance to individuals would be the budgeting amounts available, as well as, logistical information. Mr. Luckage said that a possible scoring system might be put into place, with problems of a more serious nature being placed higher on the scoring list. It was agreed that this would be an on-going project and without additional information, a set policy could not be compiled at this time.
2006 Budget Requests: Walt Daniels asked if there had been any reply received as of yet with respect to the budget request for the 2006 appropriation from Deerfield Township. Susan Berger informed the Board that she would follow-up on this as to date, there was no action yet taken by the Trustees.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Susan Berger shall contact the Deerfield Township Trustees and inquire as to the availability of the funds and the timeline as to when the 2006 DRSWD’s Budget Request may be granted.
S. W. Ohio Storm Water Collaborative Update: Susan Berger reported that the collaborative began airing radio advertisements on March 27, 2006. Ms. Berger also advised that the collaborative website at www.saveohiowater.com was up and running and that there were over 4000 hits reported at this time. President Daniels inquired as to the possibility of tracking these hits and receiving a printout of same. Ms. Berger said that information would be available and that there would be more each day as the radio spots being utilized, enticed listeners to visit the website to search for information to answer daily questions for awards. She further added that we will gather these stats at the end of the year to include in our annual report for public outreach efforts.
Susan Berger also reported that Mr. Dave McElroy had graciously absorbed the costs associated with sustaining the website of the collaborative, for the entire Warren County area. President Daniels requested that a letter of thanks be sent to him for this generous gift.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Cathy Herrick shall compose a letter from the Board to Mr. Dave McElroy expressing the gratitude of the Board for absorbing the costs associated with maintaining the S.W. Ohio Storm Water Collaborative website for the Warren County area including the DRSWD.
Regulations Update: Eric Luckage touched briefly on this ongoing project saying that he had not continued any further drafting on this document as there are so many areas presently in flux with policies, etc. He added that the regulations will be better served as more information is gathered and they would be further discussed at a later date and on a continuing basis, as previously mentioned.
NEW BUSINESS
Billing Agreement with Warren County: Eric Luckage introduced a draft copy of the proposed utility billing agreement to be utilized between DRSWD and Warren County, for the purpose of collecting storm water user fees within Deerfield Township. The final agreement shall setout exactly what Warren County and/or the District will be exclusively responsible for. Mr. Luckage added this is only a draft and that all items listed are up for discussion and can be changed to suit the needs of the District and the County. Mr. Luckage summarized his concerns in the following areas: ensuring collection of delinquencies and certification of delinquencies, landlord/tenant responsibility, creation of new accounts, the method of computation and amount of the County’s fee for such services, and the status of residents who receive their bills from Butler County.
Jamie Coleman reported that he, Susan Berger, Chris Brausch and Eric Luckage (via telephone) conducted a work session where they discussed the various issues pertaining to such an agreement. The meeting resulted in many questions and different scenarios that could affect the actual agreement. It was agreed by the Board, that this area would again be revisited after meeting with Warren County, at which time they hoped to learn some important answers to help clarify and complete a functioning billing system.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Susan Berger agreed to meet with Warren County and present the Board’s questions and concerns regarding the composition of a Utility Billing Agreement between Warren County and the Deerfield Regional Storm Water District.
Work Session and Communications with Deerfield Township: Walt Daniels reported he had met with Dan Evers and Larry Weis of Deerfield Township and discussed various issues regarding the Township’s vision of the storm water responsibilities that the Township will retain and those which will be handled by the District. The previous Township board had wanted the District to handle all storm water issues in the Township, but the current Township Board seems to want to retain certain functions. By decision of the Board, it was agreed that Walt Daniels, Jamie Coleman and Chris Brausch would again meet with Dan Corey, Dan Evers and Larry Weis to further their communication efforts and coordination with the Township.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Walt Daniels will arrange a work session with Dan Corey, Dan Evers and Larry Weis of Deerfield Township, with the attendance of Jamie Coleman and Chris Brausch of CDM, to further communication efforts with Deerfield Township and DRSWD and to aid in establishing regulations and codes for the District.
COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS Susan Berger during the past month had created a “fact sheet” in response to an inquiry from a member of the public who had many questions regarding storm water and the user fees. A copy was included in each Board member’s informational packet. The Board agreed this was a useful tool and decided that a packet containing this information and other brochures that were previously created by CDM could be assembled and kept at hand for persons interested in receiving by request.
Ø Action Taken/Required: Susan Berger and Jamie Coleman will compile informational folders to be utilized for outreach purposes for public inquiries and education.
Susan Berger also discussed our present website saying that she felt it was not as conducive to our needs as it could be. She felt that the District should possibly consider a web site of its own. She asked that the Board consider this idea and if not a separate web site, ways to enhance the existing materials available on the Deerfield Township site. She added that Fran Klatte had advised her that the District could make any changes or additions that they wished to see with her assistance.
Walt Daniels inquired of Jamie Coleman as to the status of the public member, Mr. Larry Rude and his request for assistance from DRSWD. Dr. Coleman stated that no additional action had been completed at this time but that he would revisit the issue and report back his findings as found.
COMMENTS FROM GENERAL PUBLIC
Mr. Jeff Smith, 3930 Irwin-Simpson Road, Mason, Ohio, addressed the Board concerning Walnut Homes developing the area adjacent to his home where he has lived the past 6 years and possibly causing drainage problems on his property. Mr. Smith expressed his concern regarding the talk of placing a retention pond on the development area as well. He went on to say that the drainage water sits in his front yard now and he fears with this development, the situation will become increasingly worse. Mr. Smith said the culverts and drainage ditches are presently being blocked by debris and he is not sure who is responsible for this occurrence. President Daniels asked Dr. Coleman if he had any knowledge of this development and the drainage problems in the area. Dr. Coleman said he would attempt to contact Mr. Dave Ross of Walnut Homes and investigate the situation further and report back on his findings. Walt Daniels suggested he might also want to consult with Lois McKnight and check the building plans on file with the County.
President Daniels also suggested to Mr. Smith, he should contact Larry Weis, Public Works Director, Deerfield Township, and inquire as to whether or not this area is in public right-of-way as the Township may assist him in clearing any drainage ditches, especially if the storm water is designed to drain into the Simpson Creek water shed.
RESOLUTIONS
Eric Luckage presented the following previously adopted resolutions for signature of the Board: Resolution 2006-17, Approving payment of the bills as presented; Resolution 2006-18, Accepting the nominations of officers of the DRSWD, Walt Daniels, President, Jeff Thomas, Vice-President, and Susan Berger, Secretary/Treasurer; Resolution 2006-19, Approving the expenditure of District funds paying the District’s share, one-eighth of the first year of administrative costs associated with the SW Ohio Storm Water Collaborative website, with cost not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00); Resolution 2006-20, Approving and accepting the District’s 2004 and 2005 Financial Statements as presented by Paul Rennick of Balestra, Harr & Scherer, CPA’s; and Resolution 2006-21, Authorizing Susan Berger to make the necessary revisions for the Storm Water Management Plan 2005 Annual Report, as discussed, to execute all related documents, and submit said revised Annual Report to the Ohio Environmental Agency.
MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT
Walt Daniels made a Motion, seconded by Susan Berger, to adjourn at 8:29 P.M. Vote: All Yes.
Next Regular Meeting: May 9, 2006.
The Deerfield Regional Storm Water District Board meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m., unless otherwise notified.
Attest:
_________________________________
Susan Berger, Secretary/Treasurer