VFSA Board Meeting Minutes
November 11, 2024

The Valley Forge Sewer Authority monthly meeting was held on Monday, November 11, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. In attendance: Board members: Norman Vutz, Terri Woodman, Samuel Cupp, William LaPorte, Richard Stipa, and David Demey. 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.

Public Comment 

Mr. Tom Toole was in attendance. Mr. Toole asked if the originally submitted Act 537 Special Study Plan was approved by PADEP. Mr. Shirk replied that the plan was not approved by PADEP; however, PADEP gave directions as to what information will be required for resubmission of the plan. PADEP is concerned about the collection and conveyance of the additional capacity. Mr. Shirk indicated all concerns will be addressed prior to resubmission of the plan. Once the plan is resubmitted, Mr. Shirk does not expect approval from PADEP until August 2025. Mr. Toole asked when developers can expect to make sewer connections to the collection system. Mr. Shirk replied, once PADEP approves the plan, permitting and design will take approximately six to nine months to complete, with construction lasting approximately a year. Mr. Pinchok noted the staff will continue its due diligence in completing the project in a timely manner; however, the authority cannot control the review process of PADEP. Mr. Pinchok estimated construction to be completed within a 3-year period.

Meeting Minutes

Mr. LaPorte made a motion to approve the October 14, 2024, meeting minutes, which was seconded by Mr. Cupp, and the Board unanimously approved the motion.

Joint Board Meeting – November 7, 2024

The VFSA Joint Board met on November 7, 2024.  The agenda items included the Act 537 Special Study Plan and Treatment Plant Capital Projects 2025-2035. Mr. Pinchok and Mr. Shirk provided updated information on the progress of the Act 537 Special Project Plan and how additional information is needed before resubmission of the plan. In addition, a unified letter asking for flow projections, EDU counts, and if additional capacity is needed, will be emailed to all partner municipalities over the next few days.

The second agenda item presented was the 2025-2035 asset management plan for the treatment plant. After several discussions about the long-term projects, the Joint Board tentatively approved the 2025 capital projects budget. The capital projects beyond 2025 will need to be reviewed and discussed in more detail in 2026.

Mr. Pinchok reported the staff is finalizing several grant applications with the Local Share Account (LSA) to aid in reducing the cost of four 2026 capital projects. Each grant can be awarded up to $1 million. Final approvals are not expected until October 2025. The staff will continue to search for additional federal or state grant offers to reduce the cost of future projects.

Mr. Stipa made a motion to approve and submit four grant applications to LSA, which was seconded by Mr. Vutz, and the Board unanimously approved the motion.

Operations Report

Mr. Taylor reported there were no numerical violations of the permit during October. Mr. Taylor reported one lab result is still outstanding and expects the results to be within permit limits. There was no odor complaints recorded during the month. Mr. Laporte made a motion to accept the operations report as presented, which was seconded by Mr. Demey, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Financial Report

Mr. Pinchok presented the combined statement of operations for all accounts at the end of October with a balance of $27,144,519. 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 $574.58, and the treatment plant fund actual for the month has a surplus of $1,367,229. Mr. Pinchok briefly reviewed several line items from each fund, with explanations for budget and actual differences. Impress fund reconciliation was $1,195.54. Credit card purchases for the month were $1,075.06. Accounts payable invoices totaled $283,787.46. Mr. Pinchok mentioned Rockwell Automation only accepts ACH or credit cards as a means of payment. The authority does not currently pay any invoice through ACH but is reviewing the process for future requests. Mr. Pinchok requested approval to pay $9,818.25 by credit card or ACH. Mr. Stipa made a motion to approve agenda items 2 through 6 as presented, including payment to Rockwell Automation, which was seconded by Mr. Cupp, and the Board unanimously approved the motion.

The financial report continued with requisitions totaling $18,084.00 from the Treatment Plant Construction Fund and requisitions totaling $399,701.92 from the Capital Improvement Fund. Mr. Stipa made a motion to approve the requisitions as presented, which was seconded by Ms. Woodman, and the Board unanimously approved the motion.

New Business

2025 Draft Revenue and Treatment Plant Budgets

Mr. Pinchok will provide copies of the 2025 Draft Revenue and Treatment Plant Budgets for review, discussion, and approval in the December 9, 2024, monthly board meeting. An Administration and Finance Committee meeting will be scheduled to review the 2025 draft budgets prior to the December 2024 board meeting.

Old Business

Meadow Lane Sewer Extension

Mr. Jackson reported the project is 95% completed. The piping is in the ground, sewer lateral stubs are in place, the trench is backfilled, and the temporary asphalt is completed. The VFSA engineers and design engineer will be testing the system and final inspection next week. The homeowners are responsible for connecting the home sewer lateral to the VFSA main stub. The final invoice for the project is expected to be presented in the December 9, 2024, monthly board meeting.

Act 537 Special Study

Mr. Shirk indicated the process to complete a full version of the Act 537 Study is well underway. Buchart Horn has begun collecting data for the collections and treatment plant capacity assessments. Mr. Shirk remains confident the March 7, 2025, date to submit the draft Act 537 Plan to all municipalities for review, comment, approval, and signed resolutions is on schedule. Once the municipalities have approved and signed resolutions, the final Act 537 Plan will be submitted to PADEP by June 20, 2025. Mr. Shirk reported biweekly meetings with Authority staff will continue throughout the process until the final submission of the plan to PADEP. Buchart Horn staff has met with Ms. Kellie Boettlin from PADEP to discuss the redevelopment and resubmission of the Act 537 Plan. Mr. Shirk presented a unified sample letter emailed to all partner municipalities requesting flow projections, total EDUs, and if additional capacity is needed. The letter requested a return date by November 27, 2024.

Other

Mr. Jackson reported one of the small pump stations is running on a temporary generator until repairs or replacement can be made. He also reported the administration roof project is completed with only a few punch list items remaining. Mr. Jackson noted a majority of the roof decking had to be replaced; therefore, exceeding the $30,000 contingency, previously approved by the board, by approximately $11,000. 

Adjournment

Mr. LaPorte made a motion to adjourn the meeting that was seconded by Mr. Stipa, and the board unanimously approved the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10p.m.