MANAGER'S REPORT
06/14/2023
Budget Position Report
Operational revenues for May were $77,265.19. Operational expenses were $45,302.65. So operational revenues exceeded operational expenses by $31,962.54. There were no capital expenditures in May.
We contributed $30,736.98 to reserves:
Out to Capital Replacement Fund: $ 6,423.00
Out to Major Repair Fund: $ 20,113.98
Out to USDA Loan Reserve: $ 4,200.00
There were no draws from reserves in May, though the May USDA payment was made from the USDA Loan Reserve instead of from the Regular Maintenance Fund. This arrangement means we do not need to do the multiple interfund transfers to account for that payment. The contributions go in every month, and I record the payment directly from the reserve fund. Since the reconciliation with the County records includes all of the funds together, rather than individually, our overall records balance with the County Treasurer’s records. I have included a Financial Report, including beginning and ending balances, for the 404 Debt Service Fund for your information.
Operational expenses are ahead of the budget. Budget-wise we have 37.5% of that line remaining at the end of May with 58% of the year remaining. Operational revenues stand at 49.7% at the end of May, so we are slightly ahead in revenues. We are in good, but not great, condition in terms of budget performance.
I say “good” rather than “great” because even though all the bills are getting paid and we are contributing to reserves, there are too many deferred projects. In addition, inflation is clearly impacting our budget to a greater degree than I anticipated, and, it will make deferred projects more expensive the longer they are deferred.
We had budgeted to contribute $137,311 to the Major Repair Reserve Fund in 2023. To date we have managed to contribute $128,588.39, just $8,722 short of the annual goal.
Treasurer’s Report:
Fund Balances:
Regular Maintenance Fund: $ 13,671.64
Capital Replacement Fund: $177,861.29
Major Repair Reserve: $423,081.38
General Facilities Fund: $160,061.68
Total Funds Available: $774,675.99
Monthly Utility Totals Report.
June billing (Section 2) is $85,330.00.
Claims Request
$30,112.07
Normally we only pay the current charges on the PUD bills (and some others) in order to avoid chasing credits and/or over payments due to checks and invoices passing in the mail. Usually, for recurring expenses, they balance out over time. However, over the Winter, we racked up some significant debit balances with PUD. So I have paid the full amount on some bills in order to catch up. This may end up with some credit balances next month, but we will go back to paying just the current charges.
Water Bill Appeal
None
Receipt Register
Receipts for May were $107,140.46.
IT Issues
Work on the office network and computer has commenced. Slowly.
Capital Asset Management
Nothing to report for May.
Request for Public Information
Our process needs updating. I will be looking at this after dealing with the Risk & Resilience Certification.
No action in May.
However, our general approach is, if someone wants public information, we provide it. The only problem with that approach is that it leaves us open to outrageous requests.
Payroll Report
In your packets.
Payroll Responsibility Transfer
Implementation of the Springbrook payroll module has commenced. It is going well so far. The setup consultant is extremely helpful in making sure everything is set up properly.
We were able to compare our April input into the program with the county payroll reports. There are quite a few differences, some just a matter of pennies, others rather significant. I will be following those up in the near future.
Isolation Valves
No action in May
Cross Connection Control
Kenny has noticed that there are several service connections with possible CCC issues for which we have no record of backflow prevention devices having been installed or tested.
Kenny and Dali have teamed up to catch up the records and contact those services for which we have no records.
Production Data
The Production Summary is in your packets. Note that the Daily Average, compared to last year, is way down. That might change some as we get into Summer.
However, I am seeing this in the daily data. Every day the production is significantly less than the same day the previous year. I printed out the daily readings for May. It is a little crude because I haven’t configured a monthly day-to-day report. I may try and do that as time allows.
Another interesting data point is that, as we do hydrant testing and maintenance, we are seeing some increases in flow and pressures. We are thinking, though hard correlation data is difficult to obtain, that the years of fixing leaks are starting to pay off.
Active Projects
Several projects are in process, but seem to be going slowly as preliminary work is moving forward.
WATER SYSTEM PLAN
The signed contract has been forwarded to the engineer. The work has started. This project will jump start my work on the rate study, as it requires a six-year budget.
GHC TRANSIT
No news in May
REYNVAAN EXTENSION
The signed engineering contract has been forwarded to Northwest Water Systems.
PAPE RETAIL CENTER
No news in May
SHOP FENCE
I have not yet contacted Frank Scherer, Deputy Fire Chief, for an introduction to the new fire chief.
No action in May.
ACCESS ROADS
Both the North Bank and the Clemons access road projects have been deferred.
REYNVAAN BOOSTER STATION
Construction has been complete for some time. FEMA reimbursement has to run through the Washington State Military Department. I don’t know why.
That is a whole ‘nother application process. The paperwork is complete except for the provision of one identifier from SAM.gov. I expect that number any day. The majority of this paperwork is general and not specific for the project. So, hopefully, the application process will be much simpler for the Holbrook Lane/Schrader Lane main break.
HOLBROOK LANE/SCHRADER LANE MAIN BREAK
This project is complete. My understanding is that the approval is about to be forwarded to the Washington State Military Department.
AS-BUILTS UPDATE
I have discussed this problem with Todd Krause of Northwest Water Systems. They are now offering GIS assistance. He is of the opinion that they can get us up and running for an initial cost of between $20,000 and $30,000 and ongoing support in the $100/month range.
The objective of the ongoing support is to keep the records up to date as changes are made or new information comes to light.
This is way below what others have estimated, by a factor of six or seven. I will be moving forward to explore this further with the objective of establishing a firm estimate.
No action in May
ASHLEY & KAYLA
Deferred. Leaks will be repaired as found.
PUMP HOUSE FLOOR
I have received quotes from Millers, Smith & Loxley for this project. I have included a copy of the quote in your packets.
This came in quite a bit higher than I anticipated, but within the $50,000 Limited Public Works rules. But above the $5,000 limit (by quite a bit) for the alternative to the Small Works Roster, so I have solicited a quote from others.
This will be fabricated off-site, so is not subject to prevailing wage.
I propose to fund this project from the Major Repair Reserve.
OFFICE FLOORING
I placed an advertisement in the local newspaper for this project. So far I have received only one respondent. Bids are due at the end of June.
Because this is an installation into a district building, it is subject to prevailing wage.
POWER PANEL PLATFORM
I have received quotes from Millers, Smith & Loxley for this project. I have included a copy of the quote in your packets.
This came in quite a bit higher than I anticipated, but within the $50,000 Limited Public Works rules. But above the $5,000 (by quite a bit) so I have solicited a quote from others.
This will be fabricated off-site, so is not subject to prevailing wage.
I propose to fund this project from the Major Repair Reserve.
ON-SITE CHLORINE GENERATION
No action in May. This project is on hold for a lack time to address and for a lack of funding.
6016 Karjala
All the issues are firmly in the hands of the property owner. This item will no longer appear in this report.
Hydrant Maintenance
Plenty of action in May. A lot of hydrants are getting tested and painted. See following comments.
Leak Repairs
Three service lateral leak repairs;
225 Devonshire Road
221 Pioneer Road
Katon Road
Rate Study
No effort expended in May. I will need to bear down on this in May as it will contribute data for the Water System Plan.
New Regulations
There is a new requirement to inventory materials in service laterals. The object is to identify any components containing lead. I don’t know what the level of effort will be required. I will be studying up on it in the weeks ahead.
Personnel
Our Summer helper (Shawn Sinnett) is working out very well. You will note in the Closed Work Order Report that a lot of hydrant maintenance is getting done. Not only is Shawn smoking through a lot of hydrants, the results are excellent.
Maintenance Activity:
There is a problem with how FIIX communicates with Adobe. So I tried some other reporting formats, notably, spreadsheet format. That looks like a better option than generating the .pdf reports.
The spreadsheet format (nominally Excel, but I use Librecalc) includes more information, but I can format the report to only include data that might be of some use to the commissioners.
The “Hours” column only includes the hours spent by the crew, not the total hours spent. Some of the tasks were accomplished by one person, others by two or the whole crew.
Shawn has been keeping a personal record of hydrants painted on his phone. That kick started some thinking on my part. I couldn’t figure out an easy way to transfer the data from the phone to FIIX. But I did look into accessing some FIIX data on cell phones. It turned out to be relatively straightforward. Now the field crew and myself can access essential data, particularly work order data, on our phones. That is very handy.
Contractor Repairs/Assistance
Pioneer Road
Katon Road.
There were some in April that I missed:
Hidden Valley Mobile Home Park
Hemlock Park
Shop Organization
This is an ongoing project. Not only because there is quite a bit to do in terms of general organization, but bits and pieces, particularly scrap parts removed as a result of repairs, tend to accumulate.
The bins for small parts is working very well, though not fully implemented with record keeping in the computer. At least small parts are in dedicated bins so we can see what we have, or don’t have, so that we don’t over-order or find we are out of a critical piece at a crucial time.
Training/Certifications
No training activities in May.
Safety
We have a mini safety meeting every morning.
Vehicles
Vehicle #1: 2015 HD2500 Service Truck: The passenger side window has ceased to function properly. This will go to the dealer. The repair will be funded from the Capital Asset Management Fund. We are going to have work lights installed on this truck in order to facilitate work after dark.
Vehicle #2: 2015 ½ Ton Pickup Truck: Tires have been replaced.
Vehicle #3: 2019 ½ Ton Pickup Truck: No issues
Vehicle #4: 2008 HD3500 Service Truck: Lights and trailer hitch.
We are in touch with Wire-Works (Mike Crawford) regarding work lights for Vehicle #1 and a full set of lights for Vehicle #4. Trailer controls are also on the list for Vehicle #4. The electrical work is scheduled for the week of June 12th. Once electrical is complete on Vehicle #4 we will work on getting a trailer hitch fabricated and installed.
Web Site
The May Manager's Report is posted.
I still need someone to improve our “Pay My Bill” button. A community member has volunteered to help, but is very busy at the moment, and the consultant I have used in the past has been somewhat non-responsive. No follow up on this issue in May.
Newsletter/Consumer Confidence Report
Because I did not get rolling on the newsletter as soon as I should have, I had to do a rush job of getting it to the printer. Normally I would present a draft at a commissioners’ meeting. That didn’t work this time.
I emailed the commissioners a draft and Jim offered some comments. It is always beneficial to have a second set of eyes. Those suggestions were incorporated and the newsletter is off to the printer. It shouldn’t be a problem getting distributed by the June 30th deadline.
New Connections
None. Others previously noted are under construction. We have a couple that are not truly new connections. They are existing connections on which a previous structure was removed and a new one is under construction.
Disaster Management Planning
No action in May. I need to bear down on this. EPA will be asking for the certification soon. There will also be some work on this plan in the process of working on the Water System Plan
Long Distance Service Laterals
There has been an issue with a pair of properties located at the end of Haek Lane, on the river, across the tracks. For many years two residential connections were served by one service lateral with one meter located up on Central Park Drive.
The original owner has passed and the estate would like to sell at least one of the properties, which is difficult with no dedicated water service.
The district has had several discussions with the original owner and the representative of the estate. My original hope was to run a main down Haek Lane. However, that would be expensive and there is the question of who would pay for it. It is a moot point for the two properties in question because the railroad, some years ago, served notice that they would not approve any new easements across their right-of-way.
The solution will be to install a meter at one residence and another on the branch off to the second property. Meters will be installed at the property lines. We will have to use the service lateral that comes down from Central Park Drive. This is not an ideal solution, but it is the most realistic. The service lateral has been serving both properties, so adding the meters will not change pressure or flow. The service laterals for all the properties on Haek Lane were, apparently, run prior to finalizing the plat. There is no telling where all the service laterals run, except we are reasonably certain they do not run in the road.
The meter on Central Park Drive will remain in place, at Kenny’s suggestion, to monitor that long service lateral for leaks. Should it leak, it is an open question as to how it will be repaired.
Thoughts on Country Estates
I will discuss at the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted:
Reg Hearn
General Manager