UTILITIES COMMISSION
February 12, 2008
7:30 p.m.

The Stafford County Utilities Commission met for its regular meeting on February 12, 2008, in Conference Room A, B, C in the Stafford County Administration Center. Commission members present were Lloyd Chittum, Bob Hunt, Patricia Kurpiel, Bill Tignor, and Wendy Surman. Bob Bos, Dale Allen, Cheryl Giles and Susan Fitzgibbon were present for the Utilities Department.

1. Election of Officers – Nominations were opened for the office of Chairman, Lloyd Chittum nominated Bob Hunt. Bill Tignor seconded the nomination. There being no further nominations, the commission voted on the office. Mr. Hunt was elected by a 4-0 vote.

Nominations were opened for the office of Vice Chairman. Bob Hunt nominated Patricia Kurpiel. Bill Tignor seconded the nomination. There being no further nominations, the commission voted on the office. Mrs. Kurpiel was elected by a 4-0 vote.

Nominations were opened for the office of Recording Secretary. Lloyd Chittum nominated Bill Tignor. Patricia Kurpiel seconded the nomination. There being no further nominations, the commission voted on the office. Mr. Tignor was elected by a 4-0 vote.

2. Public Presentations – There were no public presentations.

3. Approval of Minutes – Bill Tignor noted that the date for the meeting was incorrectly recorded as January 9, 2007. The December 12, 2007 minutes were amended and then approved as written.

4. Capital Improvements Program – Bob Bos distributed copies of the FY2009-2014 Capital Improvements Program summary form for Utilities projects and provided an overview of the Capital Improvements Program (CIP). Bob explained that everything in the CIP is funded through the Utilities fund. He then briefly highlighted line items with regards to wastewater and water projects.

Chairman Hunt commented that he would like additional time to review the CIP and discuss at next month’s meeting. The other commission members agreed. Patricia Kurpiel commented she would like to discuss in more detail wastewater line item #16 (Potomac Creek PS) at the next meeting.

5. Golden Tap Award – Bob Bos provided background information about the award and explained that nominees are selected by the Commission. Bob stated he had received several nominations from department employees for Keith Dayton. Chairman Hunt provided information to new members regarding the process of how nominees are selected.

Patricia Kurpiel inquired about the benefits of the banquet dinner. Dale Allen reported he had spoken with five previous winners of the award. Four of the five recipients commented they enjoyed the dinner and enjoyed the recognition among their peers. One recipient suggested the award being presented at a Board of Supervisors meeting could be another forum for receiving the award.

After some additional discussion about the cost of having the dinner, Chairman Hunt suggested having the dinner at Augustine again this year and offering Commission members the option to pay for their dinner, if they so desire. Patricia Kurpiel made a motion to accept Keith Dayton as the recipient of the award and to continue having the dinner this year, but to discuss alternatives to the Golden Tap Award presentation at next month’s meeting. The motion was seconded by Wendy Surman and passed unanimously.

6. 2008 Calendar – Bob Bos distributed copies of a memo for 2008 meeting dates. Bob explained the November 11th meeting date would need to be rescheduled because it is the same day as the Veteran’s Day holiday. Chairman Hunt inquired if meetings could be changed to meet quarterly. Wendy Surman suggested having bi-monthly meetings and a work session could be scheduled, if needed. Patricia Kurpiel noted that she would like to see the meeting time started earlier. Bob Bos recommended having a regularly scheduled meeting, but postponing it if there were no reason to meet. Chairman Hunt requested the item be tabled until the April meeting.

7. Financial Status – Susan Fitzgibbon distributed a handout entitled Estimated Unreserved Fund Balance and explained the handout was a snapshot of the Utilities fund balance for June 30, 2008 through December 31, 2008. She highlighted the Operating revenues and expenses and the Expansion revenues and expenses. Susan also supplied a graph that compared the consumption volumes for FY07 to consumption volumes for FY08. Susan explained that due to the water restrictions, the user fees amounts were slightly below what were projected in the budget. Bob Bos informed members the water restrictions would be discussed at the February 19th Board of Supervisors meeting and there is a possibility the restrictions could be partially lifted.

Bill Tignor inquired how the interest investment decisions are made. Bob Bos responded that decisions are at the sole discretion of the Utilities Treasurer.

Patricia Kurpiel asked what the expected cash balance would be for the year 2011 based upon Rocky Pen Run. Bob Bos responded that he and Susan are currently in discussion with the County’s financial advisor regarding when and how much money to borrow.

8. Commission Members Comments – Lloyd Chittum inquired about the amount of remaining taps. Bob Bos responded that as of January 29, 2008 there were 2,522 taps remaining. Lloyd expressed concern about lifting the water restrictions. Bill Tignor commented he agreed with Lloyd’s concerns.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Tignor,
Recording Secretary