VFSA Board Meeting Minutes
March 11, 2024

The Valley Forge Sewer Authority monthly meeting was held on Monday, March 11, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. In attendance: Board members: Norman Vutz, Terri Woodman, Samuel Cupp, Richard Stipa, David Demey, and William LaPorte. Also in attendance were General Manager Leonard Pinchok, Operations and Engineering Manager Matt Jackson, and Laboratory Supervisor Richard Taylor. David Shirk, representing the Authority’s Engineer of Record, Buchart Horn, Inc., was also in attendance.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr. Pinchok introduced and welcomed Mr. Richard Stipa as a new board member representing Charlestown Township.

Reorganization– 2024

Mr. Pinchok presented the 2024 annual reorganization to the board for review. Mr. Cupp made a motion to accept the 2024 annual reorganization, replacing David Greer’s responsibilities with those of Richard Stipa. The motion was seconded by Mr. LaPorte, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Public Comment 
There was no public comment. 

Meeting Minutes

Mr. LaPorte made a motion to approve the February 12, 2024, meeting minutes, which was seconded by Mr. Cupp, and the Board unanimously approved the motion.

Public and Intergovernmental Committee

Mr. Pinchok presented the March 2024 newsletter for review. After a brief discussion, Mr. LaPorte made a motion to approve the newsletter project as presented, which was seconded by Mr. Cupp, and the Board unanimously approved the motion. Mr. Pinchok will forward the information to the printing company to produce and distribute the newsletter.

Operations Report

Mr. Taylor presented the operations report, stating there were no permit limit violations for the month of February and all outstanding lab results from January 2024 were received without violation. There are a couple of outstanding lab results from February, but do not anticipate any issues.

Mr. Taylor reported a violation of the geometric means for January 2024. The staff does not anticipate a penalty or fine from the event. There were no odor complaints recorded during the month. Mr. Cupp asked if there is anything the staff can do to minimize the risk in the future. Mr. Taylor noted the staff is now diluting samples, as approved by PADEP, for future testing.

Mr. Stipa asked how often this event has happened. Mr. Taylor responded that this kind of event has happened a couple of times over the past year. The staff continuously monitors the process, looking for an identifiable cause for such events. Mr. LaPorte made a motion to accept the operations report as presented, which was seconded by Ms. Woodman, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Financial Report

Mr. Pinchok presented the combined statement of operations for all accounts at the end of February with a balance of $27,006,469. After questions regarding the balance in the Developers Escrow account, Mr. Pinchok noted suggested changes to the report. In addition, the staff will produce a balance sheet for future meetings. Fund balances were presented for review, followed by the budget to actual summary, where the revenue fund actual for the month has a surplus of $61,691 and the treatment plant fund actual for the month has a surplus of $302,326. Mr. Pinchok briefly reviewed several line items from each fund, with explanations for budget and actual differences. Impress fund reconciliation was $488.70. Petty cash expenses for the month were $0. Credit card purchases for the month were $3,305.61. Accounts payable invoices totaled $549,452.56. Mr. Cupp made a motion to approve agenda items 2 through 6 as presented, which was seconded by Ms. Woodman, and the Board unanimously approved the motion.

New Business

There was no new business to report.

Old Business

Meadow Lane Sewer Extension

The Authority staff, Mr. Shirk of Buchart Horn, and VFSA Board members Ms. Woodman and Mr. LaPorte met on March 1, 2024, with East Pikeland officials to discuss future needs for Meadow Lane. There are several homes with failing septic systems in need of a public sewer. The township was awarded $182,200 in grant money for the sewer extension. The authority agreed to fund the extension, estimated at $30,000, beyond the grant obligation. Any funds paid by the authority would be reimbursed by the homeowners through a special tapping fee upon connection to the sanitary sewer system. The township will prepare the engineered plan, bid specs, and bid documents, which will be reviewed by the authority staff prior to meeting with the residents.

Act 537 Special Study

The authority asked for a detailed listing and connection timeframe of the additional requested EDUs from East Pikeland Township. This information will be used to determine when additional capacity will be needed at the plant and collection system pump stations. Mr. Shirk briefly described the purpose of the Act 537 Plan to the board. Mr. Shirk did not receive any public comments during the 30-day review period. The Chester County Planning Commission and County Health Department approved the Act 537 Special Study. Mr. Pinchok noted some townships were waiting for a Chester County response before adopting a resolution. Once the Act 537 Plan Special Study has been submitted to PADEP, the next step is to meet with PADEP to pursue the rating of the treatment plant. PADEP will provide the guidelines needed to determine if the rerating process will provide the additional capacity needed. The process will include testing during the summer months and the winter months as well. The testing may take six months to a year to complete.

Other

There was no other business to report.

Adjournment

Ms. Woodman made a motion to adjourn the meeting that was seconded by Mr. Cupp, and the board unanimously approved the motion. The meeting adjourned at about 8:40 p.m.

David Demey

VFSA Board Secretary