The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District
Board of Trustees Meeting
Thursday, October 23 2014 – 6:30 p.m.
Heritage Bank Conference Room
Delhi, IA
The meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District Board of Trustees was called to order by President Steve Leonard at 6:34 PM at the Heritage Bank Conference Room.
Trustees present: Leonard, Davidson, Kray, Burger, Kramer, Colgan by Skype, Gifford by phone
Trustees absent:
Visitors: Larry Peter, Eve Peter, Lou Christiansen, Sue Christiansen, Barb DeKlotz, Ken DeKlotz,, Bonnie Hughes, Bill Hughes, Lola Galiher, Bob Galiher, Ben Pasker, Diane Bauers, John Hess, Dave Larson, Alan Shaffer, Richard Rusk, Larry Aschbrenner
Agenda was reviewed by Leonard and motion to approve the agenda by Kray, Burger second. All ayes, motion passed.
Kray asked for approval of minutes from 9/23/14, 10/2/14 and 10/16/14. Davidson made motion to approve, Kramer second, all ayes, motion passed.
Kramer reviewed the claims for October. Requests for payment from the General Fund are Alliant Energy – $20.45; Kramer Lawn Care – $375.00; L&L Consulting – $12,000.00 (Nov 2014 to Apr 2015); Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman – $160.00; Bankers Trust (Bond Registrar fees)- $250.00; Delaware County Auditor’s office (election expense) – $1,090.51; Maquoketa Valley School District (Rent of admin bldg through Apr 2015) . Kramer advised of payments for the Dam/Spillway Fund which is Lunda Construction for $701,297.28; Laurie Kramer (postage for Phase II bids to Stanley) – $25.55; News Publishing (Publication for Phase II bid) – $70.04; Register Media (publication for Phase II bid) – $108.41. There is also one payment request from the bond fund which is Bankers Trust – $120,296.25. Burger made motion to approve payments of both funds, Kramer second. All ayes, motion passed.
Kramer reviewed Financial report for month ending September 30, 2014. The General Fund began with a balance of $133,333.09 and after revenues and expenses, ended with a balance of $194,927.70. The Debt Service Fund began with a balance of $82,324.54 and after revenues ended with a balance of $242,165.84. The Dam/Spillway fund started with a balance of $4,633,876.25 and after revenues and expenses, ended with a balance of $5,336,890.52. Kramer also presented reports maintained by the County. Motion to file all financial reports by Burger, Davidson second. All ayes, motion passed.
The letter to the DNR requesting reimbursement for Phase I costs of $701,297.28 was discussed by Leonard. Burger made motion to approve, Kramer second, all ayes, motion passed.
Committee Updates
Lake Bed Clean Up – per Gifford work is continuing to proceed. The committee has arranged for lended equipment from Paladin and getting volunteers from various neighborhoods to assist.
Dredge – Leonard said the DNR is supposed to give the District a letter to allow approval for dredging around each property owners lake bed around their dock area. The agreement will be for x number of cubic yards or x number of truckloads. The letter will give specific details and we are expecting the letter soon.
Dam Construction – Colgan indicated that the major items for Phase I are done ( eg., Rock anchors, bolt system, patching, etc.) Demolition of the old electrical system is underway. The contractor is taking advantage of the good weather.
Water Quality – Kray advised the committee had a meeting to brainstorm as to what want the committee would like to accomplish and getting ready for next year.
Funding/Financing – Burger reminded the public the board gave authorization to draw $20,000 for the dredge payment so we could take advantage of better interest rates that usually occur in the fall. Burger said he would like to begin the process and explained the rates and how they are configured. Kramer indicated the County Auditor wants a letter requesting such from the LDRA President. Burger/Kramer will draft the letter and forward it to Rich Hughes, the LDRA President.
Colgan explained the need for tree removal at Rocky Nook area on the properties the District now owns because they will affect the new sewer system. He received 2 bids, one from the subcontractor and one from Weiner Co. Weiner was the low bid at $2,915.75 and Colgan made motion to approve awarding tree removal to Weiner. Kramer second the motion, all ayes, motion passed.
Davidson discussed the need to move the work platform as the 2 year agreement with Darryl Hogan has expired. Davidson said he needed the funds allocated to pay for the cost of the move and he and Rich Hughes (President of the LDRA) have decided the dredge site will be the best location. Burger made motion to approve up to $700 to move the work platform to the existing dredge containment site, Kray second. There was discussion regarding the size of the work platform and what would be required to get the equipment into the dredge containment site. All ayes, motion passed.
Colgan explained the Stanley Engineering Supplemental agreement #25 allows for engineering services during the Phase II bidding process which has already been completed and includes bid advertisement, the pre-bid contractors meeting, etc. Colgan made motion to approve the agreement, Kramer second, all ayes, motion passed.
Stanley Agreement #26 was covered by Colgan and it is an allotment that would only be spent for regulatory support if needed from Oct. 2014 to Oct. 2015 up to $10,000. Burger made motion to approve, Kramer second, all ayes, motion passed.
Stanley Engineering Agreement #27 was introduced and Leoanrd and Kramer indicated they think this agreement might cover work already done. Bill Holman is not available right now due to health issues. Burger made motion to table, Kramer second, all ayes, motion passed.
Colgan discussed the Phase II construction bids and explained they had been opened at a district meeting last week. Stanley Engineering went through the 3 bids received in detail. All of the contractors gave a no bid for the 7/17/15 completion date and 2 of the contractors met the completion date of 9/4/2015 and one required a date of September 2016. Stanley found that there were 4 areas that were consistently higher than what they have seen in the current contracting environment in the Midwest. The lowest bid is $1,300,000 million higher than the engineering estimate. We have two decisions, either accept the Cramer Construction bid or reject all the bids and rebid the project. Stanley Engineering thinks we can change items in the bid to reduce costs and rebidding would move the schedule so there is less work in the winter which can cost more. Leonard asked Colgan for his recommendation as a trustee representing the district and Colgan indicated he believes we should reject the bids and rebid it. Leonard made motion to reject the bids and to call for a special meeting or at our next regularly scheduled meeting to set new bid dates, Kramer second. Leonard is disappointed that the completion will not be in July and that the bids were so far over the engineer’s estimates. Gifford feels strongly we should reject and re-bid and doesn’t want to wait. He wants Stanley to go back to the market place and get other sources for the construction materials. Burger wants an update at the next regular meeting and set the date for re-bidding at our November meeting. There was discussion regarding when the dates for the rebid should happen and Colgan felt we should discuss further with Stanley Engineering. Leonard amended motion to reject all bids, Davidson second. Individual roll call requested, all ayes, motion passed.
Stanley Supplemental Agreement #28 was explained by Colgan that it is for Braun Co to do additional soil work near the dam to see what the composition of that soil material is. Leonard made motion to approve the agreement with a maximum of $7400, Kramer second. Colgan confirmed this is only for the coffer dam and not for the dike structure. All ayes, motion passed.
Burger explained the billing for the bonding attorneys to redo the schedule for the dredging loan is $4,500 and he would like to forward those funds to the LDRA for payment. The bonding attorneys were necessary to retain the bonds as tax exempt bonds. Kramer said she reached out to Reyner (the Treasurer for the LDRA) and he indicated the funds are available and she believes it is the LDRA debt and they should pay it. Leonard said he would like to consider tabling the issue until the next meeting. Burger said he doesn’t believe there is any reason to table the issue. Leonard made motion to change the billing name to LDRA and then pay funds to the LDRA to pay the $4,500 Dorsey and Whitney billing, Burger second. Kramer still has issue and doesn’t know what other expenses the LDRA has but is concerned about our funds and the debt the District has outstanding. Burger said the district is saving hundreds of thousands to service this loan and so it is to our benefit to pursue the refinancing and we had to involve a bonding attorney. Vote taken on motion, Davidson, Kray, Gifford, Colgan, Leonard, Burger ayes, Kramer no. Motion passed.
Bob Galiher asked how useable the work platform is and why are we saving. Davidson indicated the work platform was paid for with FEMA funds and we are not sure what FEMA will do with the platform so we have to keep it.
Doc Hess said he is puzzled by why we did the dam repair in 2 phases and now it seems we are in a bad position because one phase is almost finished and we now have to accept what comes in for Phase II. Colgan said the project was split in 2 because of permitting reasons and delays.
Galiher asked if we rejected the bids and the new bids come back higher, can we go back to these rejected bids. Leonard advised no.
Larry Aschbrenner asked if the tree removal included root removal and Colgan advised yes.
Motion to adjourn by Burger, second by Kramer. All ayes, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 7:34 pm.