BWD Board of Trustees

Thursday - March 18: The Buckeye Water District Board met Thursday morning for their regular monthly meeting at Wellsville Village Hall. Present at the meeting was Board Chairman Mike Ryan, Members Bob Wines, Cal Carney, Dave Lloyd, Jack Call & Rick Williams. Also present was District Manager Al DeAngelis, BWD Solicitor Fred Emmerling and Administrative Assistant Tracy Allen.

It was the first meeting for the newest Board Member Rick Williams, pictured above. Williams was recently appointed by Wellsville Village Council to fill the late Jack Whitaker's term which expires 12/31/2014. Williams will chair the Bidding & Contracting Committee and will be a member of the Computer Study & Purchasing Committee.

No one had anything to say during the Public Comment portion on the agenda. In fact the only member of the audience was Middleton Twp. Trustee Eldena Gearhart who told us she was there as a learning observer. Ms. Gearhart is a first term trustee for the township that includes the Village of Negley. She said that Middleton Twp. is not currently a BWD customer.

The Board went into an approximately three minute Executive Session with Solicitor Emmerling about "employee matters". Emmerling later said it was a quick question about a procedure matter. The Board's Personnel Committee have been holding meetings to go over the employee rules book. To date nothing else has been announced pertaining to those closed door meetings.

During the Treasurer's Report, the Board approved the transfer of $300,000 from the CD fund to the Enterprise Fund. The transfer was requested by Fiscal Officer Sara Crouch at a Finance Committee meeting earlier in the week to avoid paying service fees and penalties on the Enterprise Fund. BWD has to maintain a minimum amount in that account to avoid those fees.

Bob Wines reported that the County Liaison Committee recently met with officials of the CC Engineer's Office to review progress on the Salineville Waterline Project and the future possible project of adding Frederick Heights as part of the district.

Mike Ryan reported for the Engineering Committee that Phase B of the Salineville project finally got started this past Monday at Oak Grove Rd.

For the District Manager's Report, DeAngelis advised that the RCAP environmental assessment for replacing Wellsville's water main from Hibbetts Mill into town and the expansion into Frederick Heights is now underway. The Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) is part of the Ohio EPA who requires an environmental assessment be completed prior to beginning of any project. The two assessments are costing the District $7,500 and is expected to be done within a month.

DeAngelis also reported that the annual inventory of all the District's equipment has been completed with every piece assigned an ID number.

For the District's Project Report, DeAngelis reported that New Philly's Tucson Inc. has started the second part of the Salineville waterline. That has been delayed due to winter weather conditions. It was also reported that the District has applied for a RCAP grant for a study to get a mapping system called GIS. The system maps out all waterlines in the District and through computers and satellites can pinpoint problems such as waterline breaks. The cost for the GIS system will be shared with the District and various communities. Wellsville will be one of the participating members.

The meeting adjourned at 9:14. Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 15 at 9 A.M. at Wellsville Village Hall. We want to take this opportunity to wish Sara Good Luck & a Speedy Recovery. We missed you at the meeting.

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