The Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting
Thursday, December 17, 2015
6:30 PM
Lake Delhi Administration Building
Delhi, IA
The regular meeting of the Combined Lake Delhi Recreational Facility and Water Quality District Board of Trustees was called to order by President Steve Leonard at 6:35 PM.
Trustees present: Leonard, Gifford, Burger, Kramer, Herman, Colgan, and Davidson (arrived later)
Trustees absent: None
Recording secretary: Shelley Kallenbach
Visitors present: Larry Peter, Eve Peter, Pat Dede, Don Dede, Sara Millhouse, Dave Larson, Chloe Colgan, Brock Lorren, Chip Hughs, Jim Locke, Ben Pasker, Randy Rattenborg, Larry Aschbrenner, Marcheta Cooey-Lux
Motion to approve the agenda as read with the addition of consideration and possible action on GCI Change Order #2 was made by Colgan, seconded by Gifford, motion approved.
Motion to approve the November 19, 2015 meeting minutes as posted made by Burger, seconded by Herman, motion approved.
Kramer presented payments for approval. Claims in the amount of $3,090.97 from the General Fund for electricity, maintenance, clerical services, lobbyist services, printer cartridges, and furnace inspection were presented. Claims in the amount of $445,889.76 for powerhouse painting, dam operations, Phase 2 payment, engineering services, and diesel fuel were made from the Dam/Spillway Project Fund. Motion to approve payments as read was made by Herman, seconded by Gifford, motion approved.
Motion to approve a request to Delaware County for reimbursement for invoices paid by the District for the spillway rebuild in the amount of $218,267.27 was made by Herman, seconded by Burger, motion approved.
Motion to approve a request to the Community Fund to Rebuild Lake Delhi for reimbursement for invoices paid by the District for the dam rebuild in the amount of $218,738.43 was made by Burger, seconded by Gifford, motion approved.
Kramer presented the financial reports. The General Fund had revenues of $4,186.43 from Delaware County, and expenditures of $2,506.13 for miscellaneous expenses, ending the month at $256,151.22. The Debt Service Fund had revenues of $9,575.53 from Delaware County and expenditures of $115,323.75 for an interest payment, ending the month at $171,597.38. The Dam/Spillway Project Fund had revenues of $2,504.12 from interest and expenditures of $533,654.10 for Phase 1, Phase 2, and engineering payments, ending the month at $2,892,058.03.
Leonard and Kramer presented a high-level projected budget summary for the dam reconstruction. The projected budget estimates the total cost, including all planned and foreseen costs, at approximately $15,861,393, and total funding for the project estimated at $16,451,400.10. Therefore, barring significant additional unforeseen expenditures, the dam should be rebuilt with an excess of funding of approximately $590,007.10 remaining.
Motion to file the financial reports and projected budget summary as presented was made by Colgan, seconded by Herman, motion approved.
The Board considered possible action on Stanley Supplemental Agreement #34. This supplemental agreement had been made months ago for Stanley to evaluate dredging and siltation trap options in the amount of $17,100. However, formal approval of the supplemental agreement was not made, though the work is complete and paid for. Motion to formally approve Stanley Supplemental Agreement #34 was made by Herman, seconded by Kramer, motion approved.
The Board considered possible action on Stanley Supplemental Agreement #39 in the amount of $90,000. This is to extend the time for the Stanley contractor to work on site to monitor day-to-day operations and answer technical questions, as well as office work and Stanley negotiation with contractors regarding change orders. The extension would be through February 1st, 2016, and is necessary due to the construction delay after the June cofferdam breach. Burger motioned to approve Stanley Supplemental Agreement #39, Kramer seconded. It was confirmed that the Board’s contract with GCI does not place this cost on GCI for delays attributed to them, though it was a major point of discussion in the rebid for Phase 2, but that this will be the only cost to the Board for the delay in comparison to GCI’s significant costs. Motion approved.
The Board considered possible action on GCI Change Orders #2 through #6.
GCI Change Order #2 is related to the decision to reuse the gate actuators in the current project. This presented a significant cost savings. However, the actuators’ electricity wiring needed to be updated to allow GCI to work with them. This updated change order is in the amount of $9,000. Herman motioned to approve, Burger seconded, motion approved.
GCI Change Order #3 is for work completed on the upstream buttress. As the wing wall was not on bedrock, the wing wall had to be sealed beneath the footing to prevent water from seeping into the upstream buttress. With Stanley’s negotiation, this change order is in the amount of $39,000. Kramer motioned to approve, Herman seconded, motion approved.
GCI Change Order #4 completed the same work as Change Order #3, only on the downstream buttress. With Stanley’s negotiation, Change Order #4 is in the amount of $9,000. Herman motioned to approve, Burger seconded, motion approved.
GCI Change Order #5 is in reference to work that was required following the June cofferdam failure. A clay core wall was required to be placed on the river floor to reinforce the cofferdam, which therefore doubled the amount of earthen material necessary to remove. This resulted in a unit price adjustment based on the amount of material removed, as well as testing for the new levels of clay that were not previously mapped by the 2011 borings. This change order is in the amount of $79,000, and the Board is contractually obligated to this cost. Herman motioned to approve Change Order #5, Kramer seconded, motion approved.
GCI Change Order #6 currently has no cost impact to the Board. Additional concrete costs are shared 50/50 between GCI and the Board up to the end of the year. The delay due to the June cofferdam breach has extended the timeframe for concrete pours. However, since the weather has so far been warm, there have been no additional costs to share. If there are costs before December 31st, those costs will be shared 50/50. Burger motioned to approve, Gifford seconded, motion approved.
The Board received and filed proposals for painting the powerhouse. The Board sought proposals for salt blast cleaning and repainting the powerhouse to allow for installation of cabinetry, electronics, etc. The Board received two bids, including one from Pospisil Painting for $27,410, and one from Allen’s Painting for $3,400. The Trustees have a resolution allowing the Board President and Treasurer to approve expenditures up to $5,000 before Board approval, and so the Allen Painting bid was selected and used. The powerhouse has now been saltblasted and painted. Burger motioned to receive and file the bids from Allen’s Painting and Pospisil Painting, and to approve the Allen’s Painting bid, Gifford seconded, motion approved.
The Board considered establishing credit accounts with Delhi Lumber, Palmer Hardware, and Norby’s Farm and Fleet for small purchases necessary for dam operations. A need was expressed for accounts to allow for purchases of miscellaneous items such as snowblowers, salt, etc. necessary for operators to use on the dam on short notice. Burger motioned to establish credit accounts with Delhi Lumber, Palmer Hardware, and Norby’s Farm and Fleet with a limit of up to $500 per purchase with a list of all authorized chargers and to require signoff for purchase from a trustee, Davidson seconded, motion approved.
The Board discussed the need to consider a credit card account for operational purposes. The Board may need to purchase larger items or items that cannot be found locally for dam operations, so a credit card would be useful. It was agreed that this would be a good idea and that options should be considered. Herman motioned to table action on a credit card until the January meeting, Burger seconded, motion approved.
The Board considered possible action on a small committee to investigate the transition of the Maquoketa River Water Quality Team’s mission and duties to the Board. Over recent years, the Maquoketa River Water Quality Team (MRWQT) has been overseeing water quality, including septic maintenance, erosion control, bacteria testing, and public information. The MRWQT is seeking to transfer these responsibilities over to the Board along with remaining funds earmarked to be used for encouraging people to maintain water quality. It was discussed that water quality is a very large issue with many subsections, and a small committee is needed to determine these subsections and begin the process of focusing and researching water quality for Board recommendations on an action plan. Disappointment on the loss of knowledgeable voices from the MRWQT was expressed. Herman motioned to create a small committee with not to exceed 3 trustees and not to exceed 3 volunteer members of the public if available to create recommendations and thoughts on how the Board should proceed from a water quality standpoint, Gifford seconded, motion approved. Interested trustee members were solicited. Leonard, Gifford, and Davidson expressed interest in participation.
The Board heard committee updates.
Leonard presented updates from the Water Quality committee. The Board was represented at meetings for a large Watershed Management Authority encompassing Maquoketa River stakeholders. The Board was instrumental in beginning this process. It is seeking an agreement between political subdivisions to assess water quality and flood risk, develop partnerships and leverage resources. 28 participants were present at the meeting, including counties, conservation departments, the NRCS, and others. They are seeking to draft a 28E agreement to commit to water quality importance, especially in light of recent legal actions taken in Des Moines against authorities for water quality-related complaints. More will be coming in the next month or two.
The Lake Bed Cleanup committee stated that a significant amount of debris was lost following heavy rains the past week. This was a big plus for the lake.
The Dredging Committee is seeking ways to stop siltation from getting downstream into the lake, and a great way to do that would be to have a siltation trap near the dredge disposal site as recommended by Stanley Engineering. The Committee has found a firm in Iowa to give an estimate for such a project at $1.8 to $2 million in a 20-acre area. A final amount would be determined by the board going out to bid. If this is deemed to be an important project by the board, we will need to continue to raise money. Fund raising will be critical to the success of a sedimentation trap.
The Dam Construction Committee presented updates. A major flood occurred this past week, including 3 inches of rain last Sunday. The flow rose to 4200 cfs. The flood gates had been in a position to protect the downstream cofferdam, but with the rain, it became necessary to protect the entire site from flooding upstream. The contractors were given enough time to remove their equipment successfully downstream before the gates were opened to release the water. The downstream cofferdam was lost, but it would not have been needed within a week anyway. The workers were back to work by Tuesday working on the top portion of the dam. Only one day was lost. Remaining work includes 3 slabs on grade, 3 wall pours, and the labyrinth spillway.
The Funding/Finance Committee and Legislative Committee had no updates.
The floor was opened for public comment.
Confusion about change orders was expressed. It was explained that the original contract with GCI was for $6.1 million, and change orders cover changes to the contract due to site conditions. The plan and the costs will come out very close.
It was expressed that when considering dredge costs, the cost to remove material is often overlooked.
It was stated that in 13 days, the DNR goes to the appropriations committee to ask for watershed area funding, but Lake Delhi doesn’t qualify due to the ratios used to meet the criteria. It was asked how to change criteria to increase funding. The Board stated that this is not the sole determiner of yearly funding, and also that the creation of this watershed authority may impact funding opportunities in the future.
Burger motioned to adjourn, Herman seconded, meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.