20 February 2025 DCRSD Board Meeting Notes
Steve Renihan - President, Brett Fehrman - Vice President, Russell Beiersdorfer, Bill Shelton, Doug Baer, Jeff Stenger, and Steward Cline
ABSENT: Doug Baer
Board Attorney - Frank Kramer (absent)
Also present: Christy Harlan, Mike, and Bob Hrezo of Hrezo Engineering, Jim Thatcher, Commissioner, and Marc Emral, Register and Tamara Taylor, Bright and 7 citizens.
This meeting was video recorded by Uncle Sam Mortenson
Renihan read the Public Access Statement as legally required.
Renihan also noted that Bill Shelton had to leave for another meeting in 45 minutes
Minutes: February 6th minutes approved with the correction on p4 He wanted “and sell in a few years,” to be struck and replaced with “wait for the new infrastructure to be installed and see where we are at that time.” Stew Cline added to his meeting comments as well. Both were accepted. Approved.
Financials- Cline said that $616,214 of revenue is from the grant and that really isn’t revenue for operations. Adjusted income $115,817.21 He went thru several items clarifying the accounting and showing where things should be moved. He said they could accept the year end financial statement- noting the nuances in the numbers. Stenger thanked him for doing that. Approved the year end financials.
TABLED January financials until Treasurer, Doug Baer, reviews them.
Public Comment:
Ron Krieg by the covered bridge across from the firehouse. He wants to tap into the new Guilford line. Stenger advised him that he’d need to slow it down on the hill and get engineering involved. They deal with Hrezo first and they can give him possible contractors etc.
Robert Lischge- (formerly on the DCRSD board) He has a couple taps he owns and he wants to get it in writing that those are his. Board and Christy said he should be fine.
Lischge- Asked about the potential sale. If we are $13,000 in the red- why does a company want to buy you? He also talked about a few pump issues. Back to the district- this district is a YOUNG system compared to what’s around it. If you sell and eventually in 30 years would this new owner be around? Where is the bid of the operations without a sale? How will they get easements? The DCRSD put in sewers and turned them over. That money should have been coming in to the DCRSD in retrospect. It would help operate the system. Would an outside company care about complaints? Knows they will do their best.
John Draper- High Ridge Estates. - I have seen privatization - it does not work- It should stay a public works project. He’s still a customer at High Ridge.
Project Updates: Christy advised of a new customer on Mt. Tabor Rd area. Discussion of availability and if the line has to be a main and capacity. They need more customers on the line. She is putting together an estimate. Stenger said they need to make it a main at this opportunity.
Trying to get easement at SEI Data wrapped up for the Dillsboro project. Cline clarified several points for Christy when she was working with Mr Clark at SEI Data. Only one lift station and it is at the gas station. Costs and capacity fee at Dillsboro calculated.
Renihan appreciated Clines work on this with all the calculations. Rates not know yet.
No one has contacted Christy and Bob Hrezo about the new project out in West Harrison TIF yet.
Brett Fehrman said there were a couple issues on Marsh Rd by the Casket company. That might be an ideal candidate for a line extension. Lift station out there is private. Aurora might be there??? Just have that on our radar out there.
RFP review- Steve Renihan - said they have had some conflicting information if that vote was a legitimate vote. He said things went in a different direction then he thought it was going to go last meeting. He said this board has not made a decision one way or the other to sell he district. We need to do a rate study to be sure we can cover our expenses. We were $13,000 in the red, which is not terrible. But we do need to be responsible. We do not have a superintendent - this is a volunteer board. We need to look at that. It cost up about $8 million to get these 2 big projects. We need a superintendent. That’s going to cost us. Commissioners paid for us to get this RFP. He thinks people thought we were going to sell.
Stenger- Along those lines, I blame myself for this. If you look at the original RFP. There is some language in here that says purchase and operation. But the overall tone is about purchase. There is no mention on the timeline about having someone operate the system. He cited several places where this occurs. This Board made it very clear we wanted getting help operating.
6 PM- Bill Shelton left at this point for another meeting.
There are options in this for going to officials or the DCRSD.
Steve Renihan- We are in a due diligence process.
Stenger- we were negotiating with Greendale. We were wanting a company to do a peer review and there was one offered from Envirolink. Never got that. There was an offer from them to buy then. We all seem to agree we want management to operate this.
I know his proposal is bad and the timing is bad. We are taking on 103 customers. How many customers are paying into our $115,000. Average sewer bill is $60/month. Why keep spending money on another RFP.
Cline- I don’t believe there is anything that keeps us from considering a proposal that does not go into the Barnes and Thornburg process. He thinks they could learn a lot in the next 30 days about this- we could get one more level of detail about our questions. Cline persisted in trying to keep this RFP alive.
Cline went into details of the rate study that he requested.
Beiersdorfer expressed frustration at the slowness of this rate study.
Stenger- agreed that the rate study data he’d submitted was spot on I don’t believe we should keep going on. He brought up that he wanted to bring up the motion to reconsider. Fehrman 2nded the motion.
Cline said it’s premature to stop work when we have come this far. Barnes and Thornburg should give us answers to our questions in short order.
Fehrman said that we put projects on hold, while we keep going over and over. We don’t have the options we asked for. This is hanging over our head. If they want to redo this in the future, they can submit a better response.
Renihan said he would have liked to ask more questions.
Stenger- We have wasted more time and resources and this is a complete disappointment that this is what we have. I have invested 17-18 years of my life. I may look like a hillbilly but I am college educated. And this is a waste of that time. This is not in our best interest.
Renihan- Once we go though this rate study - people might come in here when these rates go up. (Does he think the rates won’t go up with investors owning it?)
Beiersdorfer- This is what I think of it. He tossed the RFP into the waste can. He said he was college educated too.
According to Andy Baudendistel advice to the board : the vote had to be the majority of the quorum of the board.
The By Laws-
Article II Section 5 of the DCRSD By-Laws states that “The act of the majority of the Trustees present at a meeting at which there is a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Trustees.”
Motion passes 3-2. To remove the RFP from consideration- to be done with it. Vote was Beiersdorfer, Stenger, and Fehrman, ayes. Nays were Cline and Renihan.
Stenger is working on the RFP for the Operations and they will divide it into the various operational tasks like office, billing, and field work, Plus have evidence of their ability to actually do the work. All suggestions came from the board.
New Business: none
Office Update: none
Claims: Approved - nothing form Lake Dildear or Guilford.
Discretion of the Board: Renihan- said they will get Steve Brock to move ahead with rate study especially with all the numbers they got to him. They will start with the full number of customers, and then another iteration. Fehrman-trying to blend the rates of High Ridge with the new plants?
Cline- asked to have rates combined- do not separate areas out.
Renihan- like to move faster- which is why we need a superintendent. There will be some synergies.
DCRSD board working together to get this rate study now that they have a clean start with the new customers. Doug and Stew spent a lot of time getting 7 years of data. Brock is supposed to be expediting this.
Adjourn: 6:45 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
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