Link to printable minutes –> WPCA February 2024 Board Meeting Minutes
OLSBA WPCA BOARD MEETING MINUTES
FEBRUARY 20, 2024 7:00PM VIA ZOOM
ESTABLISH QUORUM & CALL TO ORDER
Greg Symon, WPCA Vice President, welcomed everyone to our scheduled WPCA meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:01PM. Members of the Board in attendance: John Cunningham, Dede DeRosa, Diane Duhaime (ex-officio), Paul Graml, Greg Symon. Sue Mahoney, Bob Palazzo and Al Roy were absent. There were five Board of Governors and five additional members of the community on the call.
APPROVAL OF JANUARY MEETING MINUTES
A motion was made by John Cunningham to approve the minutes from the 01-23-202 WPCA Board Meeting. Paul Graml seconded the motion. A roll call was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORT
John Cunningham, WPCA Treasurer, provided a report of January’s financial activity including a sample of future financial reports that will be produced on a monthly basis upon completion of the WPCA financial reengineering project (Link to full Treasurer’s Report). It was reported that the current balance in the WPCA bank account stands at $5,350.44. Our annual Errors & Omission and Employment Practices Liability insurance bill was just received and after payment our bank balance will be $2404.52. As reported last month, there are a number of known expenses expected by 2nd Quarter 2024 which will make cash flow a concern. On the positive side we expect some reimbursement from the State of CT for expenses that were previously paid in cash but are eligible for Clean Water Fund grant and/or loan and will be carefully balancing inflows and outflows.
John Cunningham also reported that he is making steady progress on his reengineering project to move all loosely managed financial information into Quickbooks Online (QBO) and reconcile all vendor payments since 2012. The goal of the reengineering effort is to provide a sound, consistent, transparent platform for reporting to our board, membership, Alliance partners, and the State of Connecticut.
Paul Graml asked what the process is for requesting additional funding from the BOG should unplanned expenses arise. This is a particular concern due to the low balance in the WPCA account. After discussion all agreed that the development of more formal budget and financial management procedures on both boards would be put into place in tandem with the next budget cycle. This work is already in progress.
Board members again thanked John for the extraordinary effort he has made to improve the quality, transparency and confidence in the WPCA’s financial information.
A motion was made by Dede DeRosa to accept the Treasurer’s Report, Paul Graml seconded the motion. A roll call was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
ALLIANCE ACTIVITY
New London Inter-municipal Agreement
Dede DeRosa provided an overview of the situation with the New London Inter-Municipal Agreement. The Old Lyme Shared Sewer Project Alliance (aka OLSSPA or “the Alliance”) was continuing to negotiate in good faith based on terms discussed in September but had come to an impasse with New London last fall. New London has now agreed to resume negotiations and the OLSSPA is in the process of arranging a negotiating session with the City of New London. In this regard, the OLSSPA has requested that the Town of Old Lyme and Beach Associations pre-approve a number of terms so OLSSPA designated representatives may work towards resolving all open issues with New London in a timely, efficient and amicable manner: The WPCA voted unanimously at the November 2023 WPCA to authorize Diane Duhaime and Al Roy to continue to represent OLS in this effort. The Board of Governors will be taking a similar vote at the 2/21/2023 BOG Meeting and background information was provided to BOG Members on 2/15/2024. Several questions were subsequently asked and responses provided. The link below contains the Q&A and the original email from Diane Duhaime containing the specific contract terms under discussion.
NL IMA Questions from BOG and Background
A discussion among WPCA Board members and BOG members occurred and centered primarily on the role of the State of CT and the Town of Old Lyme in the negotiations. State of CT representatives have intervened periodically but have essentially been passive participants requesting the involved municipal parties to finalize an agreement. It is important to note that the State requires all Intermunicipal Agreements to be in place in order to rebid the project and potentially secure the additional $15M in State funding. The Town of Old Lyme is currently leading the negotiations and with the change in Selectman and a new WPCA Chairman, it is hoped that there will be new energy on the part of the Town to engage in this and other critical Alliance activities.
Cost Sharing Agreement (CSA)
Dede DeRosa and Diane Duhaime provided the current status of the CSA. The original agreement was established between OLS, Old Colony and Miami Beach in 2016. An interim update was agreed to in 2020 in order to bring the Town of Old Lyme (Soundview) into the CSA. There were three precedents for Old Lyme to officially join a fully amended CSA. Two precedents have been satisfied and in anticipation of the third and final payment being made, work is underway to complete the amended CSA in order carry the project through remaining design and construction phases of the project. It is acknowledged that there will be additional effort required to address the project structure as we move towards construction and operational phases. Planning has already commenced on this task. In the meantime the CSA focus will remain on the cost sharing model and pre-operation management process. More to come in future meetings.
OTHER UPDATES
OLS Internal infrastructure Loan Extension – on target for March
Communication Plan – the WPCA is planning a workshop-style meeting for WPCA and the BOG to review, educate and discuss critical issues as part of an overall communication plan. This will be an opportunity for new board members and residents to obtain background information on the project and provide feedback to the WPCA. Currently the WPCA is planning to utilize the March WPCA Meeting as a “dry run” with the BOG.
Correspondence – none
Resident Comments – none
The Next WPCA Board Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 7 pm
Following a motion made by Paul Graml and seconded by Dede DeRosa, the meeting was adjourned at 7:59pm .