Peoria Standard

Village of Mapleton Water Committee met June 22.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

I. Call to Order – at 6:05 pm by Mike Beecham

II. Roll Call -- Present are trustees Mike Beecham, Justin Egan, Ron Harms, and Rhonda Hodges, treasurer, and Carolyn Kelly, clerk. Guests were Stan Bersin from Greene and Bradford and Village of Mapleton Water Operator, Fred Rench. Several residents were also in attendance.

III. Discussion of Leak Fix and Data – Stan Bersin handed out water data sheets. Meter readings indicate that the water delivery system was losing approximately 27,600 gallons per day. A leak that was located and repaired was losing an estimated 60 gallons per minute. A resident on Astle Lane thought that there was standing water in the ditch for a month. This repair has reduced loss by 60 percent. The village will need to continue to identify leaks. Mr. Bersin suggested the purchase of leak detection equipment.

IV. Machinery Purchase/Lease for Water Dept. – Currently the village leases equipment for streets and water departments from Phil Calhoun who is also the operator and a village employee. David Rudd is a secondary operator and is still listed as an employee but we would need to update his wage information. Stan Bersin suggested that Water Department should have a schedule for replacing parts that are worn or have reached their end of life instead of repairing upon failure. The capital improvement funds can be budgeted for this upkeep.

V. Back-up companies/operators for repair/maintenance/operation – Beecham said that Walker Excavating has been doing a good job for emergency repairs or repairs that require specialized equipment. The village will continue to use them.

VI. Status Water Treatment Compliance – Stan Bersin distributed copies of the IEPA violation letter. The first violation was recently written up but resulted from failure to file an operating permit after the generator was added at the water tower in 2017. The next item was a cite from April 2017 regarding a failure to file a recommended treatment plan for copper levels by the given deadline. Mr. Bersin is working out a proposed treatment plan with added orthophosphates. This must be submitted within 90 days from date of letter. IEPA has 12 months to approve the village plan and the village has up two years to install the equipment. Continued water testing may in the future show that copper levels have been reduced. Higher copper results are only an issue in homes with copper plumbing. Once the village adds a treatment process it will most likely always need to be continued. Next year’s CCR report will need to include notice of these violations. Actions that can be considered to improve outcomes would be more frequent testing and increasing the sampling size by adding locations. The last violation was a failure to issue notice regarding the lead/copper levels (lead is within allowable levels), but that was recently addressed by including the notice along with the June water bill. Notices will need to be sent every three months. Bersin distributed the most recent sample test results. Copper level results are not consistent. Sample sites with higher copper levels change and some location results rise and fall. Mr. Bersin will continue working with the water department with IEPA issues to avoid having to sign a compliance commitment agreement. Updated IEPA documents will be submitted to the agency. T-L is our water supplier and we will need to check if they are treating the water because that will affect our future treatment plan.

VII. Labor and Water Hauling expenses for Matheson -- Atherton Enterprises was hired by Matheson. Water was supplied to the industry by the village. Atherton was asked by Matheson to stand by while meter and shut-off work was being completed. Matheson is pushing the bill toward us. Due to meter malfunction, the facility was being undercharged for the water consumed at the facility. Consensus is that the village will not pay this bill and that Matheson is responsible. Also, the village has a bill from Walker Enterprises for meter vault replacement at Butler Haynes Park. This bill is to be sent to Ag-land FS in Hanna City.

VIII. Purchase of Water Source – Caterpillar is selling their water treatment facility. The cost, which is unknown, is a consideration. The availability for grants and funding will also be a factor in the ability to purchase. Careful study will be given to the costs of operating our own water supply system. Board members and the engineer will be scheduling a visit to examine the operation and property. It is also expected that this water quality will have different characteristics than our current supply. Infrastructure installation costs may also make this purchase prohibitive.

IX. Change Email – Email accounts, except for the clerk, are currently private. Each committee could have its own address. All emails regarding village business are FOIA-able, so it is in the village’s best interests to have a business e-mail account that would have an administrator. Current users prefer Gmail format and the subscription cost is less than Microsoft government accounts. GSuite accounts are $5.00 per user account.

Final Comments – Mr. Bersin attends regular board meetings at no cost. There will be a charge for his attendance at special meetings.

X. Adjourn Meeting – Motion to adjourn by Mike Beecham; seconded by Justin Egan. Meeting Ended at 7:57 pm.

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