March 4, 2021 - Special Meeting
The Town of Glen St. Mary held special meeting on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 6:00 P.M. at the Town Hall with Council membersMcCullough, Oca, Padgett, andReneau present. Mayor Rhynehardt presided over the special meeting.
The purpose of the meeting was to inform Council of a Community Development Block Grant through the Coronavirus Program (CDBG-CV). The Town also has an emergency item to be discussed regarding the Wildcat lift station.
Mayor Rhynehardt opened the special meeting and told Council Mrs. Kathy Baker was delayed in traffic so he flipped the meeting and began discussing the lift station problem found recently. The Council was directed to look at photos taken of the Wildcat lift station showing water shooting out of a hole the size of a fist on the side of one of the pipes when the pump kicks on to pump the water level down. Water plant operator, Matt Torgerson explained the sewer water is picked up from the bottom and pumped out. He has this pump turned off so we are pumping to Macclenny with only one pipe at the moment. We have sent out four bid requests but have only received one back as of today. The price came back at $66,657 and the downtime for the lift station would be about a week if everything goes fine. The bid does include an alternative of using PVC rather than stainless steel, but Matt told Council this is not his specialty of which would be better to use. He guesstimated the PVC should last 40-50 years and the stainless steel should last forever. He also provided photos of the lift stations located at George Taber and Stoddard Avenue. They both look about the same but without the hole in the pipe. The sidewalls of the other two lift stations were not as bad, but they were still wearing. The bottom of the lift stations are much thicker than the sidewalls. He pointed out the difference in price based on whether they decide to use stainless steel at the full cost or save about $10,000 to use PVC instead. This bid also includes painting the interior walls of the lift station. He explained that a special paint is used because the gases eat away and corrode the lining. He was told there is a pipe insert, but that would be even more expensive than the painting price listed. The pump still pumps, it is just leaking, which uses more electricity and puts more pressure on it. Attorney Bense suggested putting a deadline on the bid requests so that Council can decide at the regular Town meeting on March 16th. The deadline will be sent out for Thursday, March 11th so that the information can be put in the agenda packets. All companies were sent the same request by e-mail. Matt told Council the City of Macclenny suggested we request bids for the stainless steel. The companies that haven’t responded yet should have the same opportunity to give the alternative of installing PVC instead of stainless steel.
Mayor Rhynehardt then began the regular special meeting with Council member Reneau saying a prayer followed by the flag salute.
Mayor Rhynehardt opened the public hearing and introduce Mrs. Kathy Baker who was present to present the information available for the CDBG-CV program. She outlined the purpose of the grant and examples of eligible activities the Town may or may not qualify for. She went on to explain that the grant guidelines are not very specific at this time, but the DEO will take all of the pre-applications and do a comparison of all the needs and then build the application from the information. She told Council the pre-application cycle closed on March 15th. This is the first
meeting and DEO will create the application cycle after they review the pre-applications. Council member Padgett asked how many of these pre-applications Ms. Baker has done. She replied there have been five. Council member Padgett then asked how many communities were under 500. Mrs. Baker responded that she doesn’t think most of the options would qualify within the Town. Mrs. Cathy Mendolera who owns the Franklin Mercantile here in Glen St. Mary told Council that she is excited for the opportunity. She believes that several of the options don’t apply to the Town. She zeroed in on the Public Works section and gave an example of septic tanks. She stated there are entire areas limited to private septic systems. She stated that it seemed to her that if it was under Public Works it could be a safety situation. Mrs. Baker went over the due date and the window of time for each step thereafter between the review time and application cycle, but that there is no actual time line at this time. She told Council that in order to do this, the Town needs to decide tonight after the public hearing portion of the meeting. With no other public input from the public, Mayor Rhynehardt closed the public hearing and reopened the special meeting. On a motion made by Council member Padgett, second by Councilman Oca, the board voted to apply for a pre-planning application.
Mayor Rhynehardt asked if Council was happy with the sewer information. Councilman Oca was not happy with it, but we have to deal with it. Council member McCullough verified we are still getting bids that should be available at our regular monthly meeting on March 16th.
Council member Padgett asked if they can get an RPF for brokers. Attorney Bense told Council they can do that instead of getting appraisals, but they need to be written ones with the same understanding. There is no real process. Per statutes the Town can establish their own procedure. Council member asked if the Town can sell the property itself through Attorney Bense and save on the commission fees, avoiding the whole situation. Council member Padgett mentioned helping Clerk Loadholtz word up something if Council is okay with it. Attorney Bense saw no problem with that being done, as she has no financial gain in doing so. Mayor Rhynehardt told Council of some rough number he has heard regarding the property value, but nothing in writing. Council member Padgett feels the Town should give all local brokers a chance.
The Town does not need a Resolution to proceed with the pre-application for the CDBG-CV grant at this time. Mrs. Baker asked for a little bit more clarification of the grant. Council member Padgett stated she would like to apply for a project planning for the extension of the current sewer and some repairs.
On a motion by Council member Padgett, second by Council member McCullough, the special meeting was adjourned at 6:47 P.M.
