November 21, 2022 - Meeting Minutes

 

Brewster Village Council met in regular session with Mayor Chuck Hawk presiding.

 

The meeting took place in the Brewster Community Room.

 

Council Members bowed their heads for the invocation provided by Clerk-Treasurer Kris King, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

 

Charles Hawk, Mayor

Dale Fox, Council Member                           David Godwin, Council Member               

Tom Hilliard, Council Member                       Brett Long, Council Member                      

Sydney Radich, Council Member                  Mike Schwab, Council Member                 

 

John Anthony, Solicitor                                  Michael L Miller, Village Administrator

Kris King, Clerk-Treasurer

 

Mayor Chuck Hawk asked if there were any additions or deletions to the November 7, 2022 Council meeting minutes. There were no additions or changes.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER FOXMOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RADICH and motion carried to approve the minutes as presented.  The vote: All yes.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER GODWIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RADICH and motion carried to accept the bills in the amount of $ 345,853.77.  The vote:  All yes.

 

Sandra Shilling, Priscilla Cunningham, Tim Martin, Chief Nathan Taylor, Officer Aaron Keener, and Fire Chief Chris Colucy.

 

Tim Martin of 5760 Manchester Ave, Lawrence Township is a member of the Gathering Place Church and attended to give his opinion of the parking changes in front of the church.  He stated 78 feet of no parking doesn’t serve any purpose.  Mr. Martin stated individuals need to take responsibility for their own driving.  He stated that if an individual is going to get in an accident, its better to happen at that location at 25-35 MPH than somewhere else at 55 MPH.

 

 

There were no guests.

 

CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES:  Titles of each read by Solicitor John Anthony. 

ORDINANCE 57-2022: An Ordinance to Authorize the Execution of an Efficiency Smart Schedule with American Municipal Power Inc.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER GODWIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD and motion carried to approve the legislation as presented.  The vote: All yes.

 

Second Reading:An Ordinance Amending Chapter 78 Parking Schedules Schedule 1. Restricted Parking Of The Village’s Codified Ordinances To Add No Parking On The West Side Of Wabash North From North Side Of The Right-Of-Way Line Of 5^th Street Southwest North Approximately 78 Feet.

 

Second Reading:An Ordinance Authorizing The Amendment And Adoption Of An Employee Ohio EPA Certification Incentives Policy And The Addition Of The Policy As Defined To The Village Employee Handbook.

 

Second Reading:An Ordinance Authorizing The Amendment And Adoption Of An Employee Job

Assignment Compensation Policy And The Addition Of The Policy As Defined To The Village Employee Handbook.

 

Second Reading: An Ordinance Authorizing An Amendments To Employee Handbook Policy 3.19 And The Addition Of That Policy As Modified To The Village Employee Handbook.

 

Second Reading: An Ordinance Authorizing The Adoption Of An Employee Fire & EMS Certification Incentives 3.18F And The Addition Of The Policy As Defined To The Village Employee Handbook.

First Reading:  An Ordinance Vacating a Portion of Lake Erie Place (an 18-foot-wide alley) running east 140 feet from the east side of the right-of-way of Wabash Avenue south to another alley, Burlington Court.

 

First Reading: A Resolution of Temporary Appropriations for 2023.

 

First Reading: A Resolution Authorizing the Amendment and Appropriation of Additional Funds for the 2022 and declaring an emergency.

 

First Reading: An Ordinance of Supplemental Appropriations and Amending Ordinance #16-2022 and Ordinance #44-2022 relating to Appropriations Providing for the Transfer of Funds Within Said Funds for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2022 and declaring an emergency.

 

MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT REPORTS:  

1. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Chief Nathan Taylor

• October Call Total: 505
• November Calls to Date: 358
• Officers:

1. We are back to full staff.
2. Officer Aaron Keener has moved to the Detectives position, he will now handle all cases for the PD.
3. As of Wednesday November 23^rd, 2022, I will be on vacation until December 5^th, 2022.

• Department:

1. Finishing up on all State Mandated training currently.
2. With the cost of uniforms and equipment going up I would like to look into changing the uniform policy. I would like to raise the full-time officers to $1,000.00 and change the part-time to be based on the number of hours they work the previous year. I have some officers that may only work a couple shifts and get the same amount as an officer who works several shifts a month. I completed a break down on how it will work and keep the yearly allowance budgeted as close to the same as possible.
3. We are still awaiting the requirements for 2023 Mandated training it looks as if they will probably not advise until after January to what and how many hours of CPT training will be required.

• Vehicles:

1. Car #3, still awaiting final estimates and insurance approval to get fixed. At this point we are looking around $10,000.00.  There are no parts available at the current time so they may end up totaling it.  There are 22,000 miles on the vehicle.
2. Car #1, getting estimates on getting this vehicle fixed. One approval is around $3,000.00, looking to get more estimates before making any decisions on how to proceed.  This is the 2017 Explorer that is used strictly for SRO and the Chief feels the damage is not that noticeable.

1.    There were 828 calls for the year.

  

COMMUNICATIONS: 

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR: Mike Miller

Council received the Village Administrator’s report last week to review.  Administrator’s report for period 11/08/2022 thru 11/19/2022:

 

COUNCIL MEMBER GODWIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RADICH and motion carried to accept the VA’s report as written and emailed to Council and to enter it into the record of tonight’s meeting.  The vote: All yes.

 

VA Miller addressed the following items that have occurred since the email went out: 

• Letters are being sent to residents affected by the upcoming water line project on Tuscarawas Ave.
• EPA is in at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• Council Member Schwab thanked VA Miller for his hard work getting the grants and loan for the Water Transmission Project.  $1.2 Million.
• Council Member Hilliard asked about the lighting on East Main Street.  We are waiting for the work boxes.

 

Administrator’s report for period 11/7/2022 through 11/21/2022:

 

OPWC Tuscarawas/Locustdale/Pinewood Water Line Replacement Project. A pre-construction meeting for the Tuscarawas/Locustdale/Pinewood Water Line Replacement Project was held October 19^th. Dirt Dawg Excavating is ahead of schedule and is planning to be onsite next week to start the Brewster Tuscarawas/Locustdale/Pinewood Water Line Replacement Project. We may start seeing some materials being delivered and their subcontractor onsite to start saw cutting the pavement on Monday or Tuesday. Obviously both the work and schedule will be weather dependent at this time of year. In addition, the OPWC Project sign has been installed at the southwest corner of Wabash and Locustdale.

 

OPWC Park Drive Phase 1. In July of this year, immediately after we received our grant from OPWC for the Park Drive Phase 1 Project and were able to bid, we put the project out to bid. The project had a bid opening date of August 1, 2022. No bids were received. We are not sure whether the no bid was a timing issue (like East Main) where it was bid too late in the year, or the estimate, or both. At that time, I informed Council that the project would be reviewed for a rebid later this year for a 2023 start.

We have completed the review. We will be slightly revising the specifications to reduce construction costs and avoid a power pole that has other entities attached that may not relocate their facilities in a timely fashion. The Electric Department is in the process of installing a new electric pole line and rewiring for/on the east side of Park Drive. That will allow for the SRTS Shared Use Path on the east side of Park Drive to be well lit, as well as address revised distribution plans. We will also be altering the manner in which bidders can obtain the bid specifications and plans to make it easier for bidders and encourage more “participation” (bids).

We will be ready to put the project out for bidding in the next couple of weeks.

Safe Routes to Schools Project – Change Order. The contractor for the Safe Routes to Schools Project has completed the final change order to “complete” the Safe Routes to Schools path. Fairless is still reviewing punch list items. The Electric Department has reinstalled the Rapid Flashing Beacon at the crosswalk. The Village has also completed restoration (soil and grass seed) where the change order was completed to assure that the project stays under budget.

 

This is a big accomplishment as the Middle School and Elementary School now have a safe connection for walking – students (and adults) can walk (or bike) from one to the other without walking through backyards or along/on the edge line of Route 62.

 

Brewster Water Treatment Facility Filter Rehabilitation and Media Replacement Project (Filter Media Project). Work continues on the Filter Media Project. The final tank, Tank #3, has been taken out of service and the filter media removed. Pit filling has been completed, the new internals have been installed, and the new filter media has been installed. Will be filling the tank, testing the water, and putting it into service the week of November 21^st. Will be putting together a punch list, so the project can be closed out.

 

OPWC - Brewster Water Transmission Main Replacement Project. As Council is aware the Village’s OPWC application for the Brewster Water Transmission Main Replacement Project was submitted on Monday September 12th. The District 19 OPWC Integrating Committee met Thursday November 17th at 1:30 pm. to finalize the OPWC SCIP (State Capital Improvement Program) and LTIP (Local Transportation Improvement Program) lists of projects to be submitted to the State for OPWC funding. We received a score of 64, which is what we projected. Our score of 64 placed the Brewster Water Transmission Main Replacement Project in a tie for third amongst other District 19 projects submitted for the State Capital Improvement Program (SCIP) pool of funds for this year. The District 19 OPWC Integrating Committee Meeting voted to fund the Brewster Water Transmission Main Replacement Project as one (1) of six (6) SCIP projects. We were awarded our full request for a $1,200,000 OPWC Grant and a $300,000 OPWC Loan (zero % for 20 years).

 

The total projected cost of the Brewster Water Transmission Main Replacement Project is $1,653,917. With a $1,200,000 OPWC Grant and a $300,000 OPWC Loan the project will require an estimated $153,917 in “cash” from Water Fund, of which $72,000 has already been encumbered for the plans. Loan payments will be $15,000 per year. The project replaces 5875 feet of transmission lines and adds 250 feet of new transmission lines. The Project also replaces or adds 27 valves so that there is better ability to isolate and bypass breaks, both within the Water Plant and in the system, as well as replacing 6 hydrants and reinstalling 67 services.

 

The next step is the slate of projects voted to be funded by the District 19 OPWC Integrating Committee will be forwarded for final approval by the State, after which a contract (and funding) will be released approximately July 1st of 2023.

 

In the past six (6) years, the Village has been awarded $2,777,433 in OPWC Grants and Loans.

 

AMPT Second Transmission Line. On Friday August 19^thAMPT presented the Brewster supplemental solution at the PJM stakeholder process meeting this afternoon. There were no questions from stakeholders. AMPT (and Brewster) are still waiting for PJM to perform their initial “Do No Harm” review. On Thursday November 10^th I participated in an AMPT members meeting, where the status was updated. PJM is still completing their review, which is expected to be complete by mid-December. Once that is completed PJM will provide AMPT (and Brewster) a supplemental project number and then officially post this into AMPT’s Local Plan. In the meantime, AMPT is moving forward with pre-engineering and engineering, with an RFP for detailed engineering design expected to be issued shortly.

Electric Department – Substation Maintenance. The substation maintenance has been completed.

 

GPD on the Village’s behalf solicited inform bids for maintenance on Brewster’s Substation. The items were split (as were the quotes) between 69kV items (AMPT) and 12kV items (Village). While individually both items were under the Village’s $50,000 threshold (the amount that requires the Village to formally bid), combined they exceeded that amount. After consultation with Law Director Antony, it has been decided to proceed with the Village contracting directly with UIS (opening a Purchase Order) for its “share” ($40,650) and AMPT contracting directly with UIS (opening a Purchase Order) for its “share” ($23,800). The Village, with assistance from GPD, supervised the maintenance on behalf of the Village and AMPT. We will bill AMPT for the portion attributable to the 69kV items. The contract with GPD is a total not to exceed price of $17,400, with the Village’s portion $9,900. The rest will be reimbursed/paid by AMPT.

 

Electric Department – Potential Battery Storage Project. The Village staff (the Mayor, Electric Superintendent Ryan Swan, Lineman Mike Radich, and I) together with Dwight Niederkofler met with representatives of Convergent Energy on Thursday September 29^th to discuss a potential Battery Storage Project that will help the Village peak shave and thereby reduce electric costs.

 

Briefly, peak shaving involves managing and/or reducing consumption during peak energy usage in the ATSI/PJM distribution areas to reduce the Villages costs. Peak shaving attempts to lower short-term demand spikes to lower/smooth out peak loads, to in turn reduce the overall cost of demand charges and transmission charges. Our Solar Project/Participation is one way to peak shave. Another is battery energy storage, storing energy at lower demand/costs and releasing it back into our system at projected peak times. The proposed project anticipates utilizing the old substation on Chestnut and would be similar to the Solar Project where the Village has no investment and “simply” agrees to purchase a fixed number amount of power at a fixed number of times per year to hopefully time those purchases so that it reduces the Village’s 1CP and 5CP Peaks, reducing our costs. Preliminary projections show a savings between $5 million and $7 million over 20 years. AMP has reviewed the numbers presented and indicated the “calculations look correct.”

 

The proposed project, like when AMP/AMPT was discussing purchasing our transmission line and other assets, the Village will ultimately end up preparing a specification so that the project (and in this case the potential lease with an associated PPA) could be put out to bid.

 

In preparation for the upcoming Council Committee Meeting on the subject, there have been a couple of follow-up meetings, including one with the Law Director to discuss among other things the RFP.

Electric Building. As was discussed at the November 7^th Council Meeting, we are at the point where we can proceed to rebid the Electric Building. Timing the advertisements and bid opening at this time of year – Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, is a tricky balance so that the timing works for contractors/bidders, and therefore we get as many competitive bids as possible. So, the schedule that has been set:

• First advertisement November 23^rd
• Second advertisement November 30^th
• Third advertisement December 7^th
• Bid Opening January 17^th at 1:00 pm

 

The schedule is set up in a way so that we can get the project on everyone’s “radar” and also provide enough time in January for bidders to complete getting firm quotes from subs and get a bid in.

 

We have also set the deadline for completion as October 31^st, 2023. That gives contractors/bidders approximately 8 months from when the contract should be complete based on a January 17^th bid opening until construction completion. This also takes into account the well-traveled belief that it will be an especially cold winter, allowing at least 6 months of good weather for construction to complete, starting in May.

 

Finally, we are highlighting that while there is an October 31^st completion date, that IF there is an issue with delivery of materials THAT AFFECTS THE COMPLETION DATE that the Village will consider extending the deadline accordingly (must provide documentation).

 

The revised estimate is $1,013,000. The original estimate was $767,500. The revised estimate includes 5% “contingency” for each item. The reasoning for that is that we saw we got no serious bids when the estimate was “low-balled.” We get much better response and better more competitive bidding when we are more realistic and slightly higher. This estimate should get us multiple bidders and we should get bides below the estimate, as we just did on the Tuscarawas Water Line Project. As I conveyed at the November 7^th Meeting, Courtney and Associates have indicated that the Electric Fund can “afford” the project based on the revised estimate without any changes to the existing rates.

 

Hillview Mobile Home Park Sanitary Sewer “Project” – CDBG Application. The Village’s CDBG application for the construction of a pump station (as well as a force main, and manhole to connect Hillview Mobile Home Park to the Village of Brewster’s sanitary sewer system) was submitted October 20, 2022 requesting a grant in the amount of $89,410, ahead of the submission deadline of Friday November 4^th at noon. We are waiting to see how we score and where we rank.

Hillview WPCLF Loan Application. I have been informed by RCAP that there is a delay in announcing the draft WPCLF list this year, but that it will definitely be out by the end of the year.

Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District – Debris Removal Grant. The Village was successful in obtaining a 90% Debris Removal Grant (DRP) from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. The grant is for $5,220. The Village 10% match ($580) will come from the Tree Fund. The contractor has completed the debris removal, so we will be submitting for reimbursement.

Natural Gas Aggregation Program. The price was struck at $0.854/Ccf for the first 24-months of our term starting this October. Residents who do not wish to wait to participate in the Village’s Natural Gas Aggregation Program have the option to choose their own supplier via PUCO, which has and will continue to have a number of suppliers on their Apples-to-Apples chart with a wide variety of costs, terms, and fees OR stay with Columbia Gas.

 

Wages – Employee Compensation Committee Recommendations. As set forth in Ordinance 93-2017, the Employee Compensation Committee has researched and reviewed employee compensation and is providing Council with a recommendation prior to September 30^th. It is a three (3) year recommendation for 2023 through 2025. Council passed the wage portion/ordinance at its last meeting. The companion pieces of legislation are:

• a revision of 3.18 OEPA Certification Ordinance, that also makes changes annually, rather than fixed as has been past practice.
• Fire Department Incentives – Employee Handbook Policy 3.18F. The rate structure being proposed for the Fire Department is a radical change from the existing pay structure, which required the new Fire/EMS Certification Employee Handbook Section just for Fire. Still under review is additional Fire Department compensation for officers. We are still discussing whether to continue stipends versus an hourly rate adder, so Officers pay is not yet addressed.
• A revision of Employee Handbook Policies 3.17 Job Assignment Compensation
• A revision of 3.19 Miscellaneous Incentives

 

Storm Drainage Projects. The current list of storm sewer projects in their priority order, with updates on their status:

These are not necessarily on a first come/first serve basis but based on their criticality and/or ability to fit into the schedule. We are also looking to repair deteriorated catch basins, so if any Council person is aware of any, please let me know. Also, if there are any storm drainage projects/issues not on this list please let me know.

 

Brewster Property – South Route 93. I am following up based on the Committee Meeting held November 7^th.

 

Efficiency Smart – Contract Renewal. The Village of Brewster’s contract with Efficiency Smart is set to expire December 31, 2022. It was last renewed in November of 2019 for three (3) years. I am providing a draft ordinance to renew the contract again for another three (3) year period from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025.

I have provided slides provided by Efficiency Smart illustrating their expectations of where we the Village end up at the end of the year, as well as the goals and costs for a renewal of a new 3-year contract. The last slide is a table we put together that compares the cost for Efficiency Smart relative to the numbers AMP provided for market power, capacity, and transmission. It is used to show how we are the lowest cost option for power supply.

The Village has been participating in Efficiency Smart for quite some time, and I recommend renewing it again.

Efficiency Smart – Trivia Contest. Efficiency Smart is going to run “Trivia Tuesday” on their Facebook page this November. Efficiency Smart had lots of engagement from this contest the past two years, and they are excited to run it again. Each Tuesday in November, they will post a new trivia question on their Facebook page. Those who answer correctly will be entered to win an energy efficiency kit. Efficiency Smart will randomly select one winner each week. For each Trivia Tuesday question answered, they are also going to award an entry into a drawing for a $100 Visa Gift card, so residents can participate each week for more chances to win.

 

Efficiency Smart – Thermostat Promotion. Efficiency Smart is offering special Black Friday Deals on smart thermostats through their Online Savings store from November 14 through December 1.

Residents can save up to $170 on a smart thermostat during the promotion. This is a good opportunity for electric customers, as some smart thermostat models will be available for free after the additional savings. Efficiency Smart will be sharing details about this promotion on their Facebook and Twitter pages on November 16th.

 

 

Council Member Godwin reported that there was a nice turnout for trick-or-treat.  The Fire Department was extremely helpful, especially Capt. Jeremy Henry.

 

COMMITTEES or COUNCIL REPORTS: The Goal of committee meeting is to discuss an issue or proposal and to provide, by a consensus of the committee members, ONE recommendation to Council.

VA Miller reviewed a PowerPoint presentation for the potential Battery Storage Project up for Council’s review.

 

OLD or NEW BUSINESS:Council Rules require a two-week waiting period before any expenditure of funds unless determined an emergency.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER GODWIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB and motion carried to approve the VA to pursue an RPF for Battery Storage for electric shaving for the purpose of reducing electric costs.  The vote: All yes.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODWIN and motion carried to approve the good faith sharing with Beach City Electric of a copy of the Preliminary assessment and design documents of the Hillview electric grid prepared by GPD Engineering in 2013 for Brewster Electric; this sharing is with no commitment by the Village of Brewster.  The vote: All yes.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODWIN and motion carried to modify the full-time and part-time Police Officers uniform allowance to reflect the Chief’s recommendation of changing the full-time to $1,000 and part-time based on number of hours worked the previous year using a sliding scale.  The vote: All yes.

  

There were no comments from the audience.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER FOX MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RADICH and motion carried to adjourn at 7:38 pm.  The vote: All yes.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

____________________________________________________

Kris King, Clerk-Treasurer

 

 

____________________________________________________

Charles Hawk, Mayor