St. Lucie West Services District
Regular Board Meeting
June 4, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.

(Please note: These minutes are not verbatim. A CD recording of the Regular Board Meeting is available on file.)
Board Members Present

John Doughney - Chairman - in-person Dominick Graci - Vice Chairman - in-person Viorel Mocuta - Supervisor - in-person Diane Haseltine- Supervisor - in-person
Staff Present

Bill Hayden, District Manager, St. Lucie West Services District ("SLWSD") - in-person Josh Miller, Chief District Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Maddie Maldonado, Director of Office Administration - in-person Gerard Rouse, Assistant Public Works Director, SLWSD - in-person Thomas Bayer, Assistant Utilities Director, SLWSD - in-person Searg Davidian, Stormwater Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Lorrie Bush, Aquatic Maintenance Manager, SLWSD - in-person Lisa-Marie Beans, Human Resources Specialist, SLWSD - in-person
Dan Harrell, District Counsel, Torcivia, Donlon, Goddeau & Ansay, P.A. - in-person Fairborz Zanganehl, District Engineer, Infrastructure Solution Services. - in-person Jason Pierman, Secretary/Treasurer, Special District Services, Inc. ("SOS") - in­ person
Laura Archer, Recording Secretary, SOS - in-person Stephanie Brown, SOS - in-person
Also present was Donna Rhoden of the City of Port St. Lucie; and District resident Deane Piekara.
Guests Present (Sign-In Sheet Attached)

Call to Order

Chairman Doughney called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

It was noted that 4 Supervisors were in attendance with Secretary Ney absent.

Approval of Minutes

May 6, 2024, Workshop
May 7, 2024 Regular Board Meeting

The minutes of the May 6, 2024, Workshop and the May 7, 2024, Regular Board Meeting were presented for consideration.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and unanimously passed approving the minutes of the May 6, 2024, Workshop, as presented, and the minutes of the May 7, 2024, Regular Board Meeting, as amended.

Public Comment

There was no public comment at this time.
District Attorney
DA 1 - Consider Ratification of Publication of Notice of Qualifying Period

Mr. Harrell presented the item recommending approval.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously ratifying the publication of the Notice of Qualifying Period, with the correction noted.

DA 2 - Status Report/Updates

Mr. Harrell indicated that the status report submitted had no revisions.

District Engineer
DE 1 - Status Report/Updates

Mr. Zanganeh presented his report provided in the meeting materials and noted that there were no changes. The Board had no questions.
District Manager Action Items

DM 1 - High Ranking Position - Assistant Public Works Director

Mr. Hayden presented the item and advised of his nomination of Searg Davidian for the Assistant Public Works Director position at an annual salary of $89,000, effective July 1, 2024.
Secretary Ney and Ms. Renais arrived at approximately 9:07 a.m.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine approving the District Manager's nomination of Searg Davidian for the Assistant

Public Works Director position at an annual salary of $89,000, effective July 1, 2024.
 Upon being put to a vote, the MOTION carried unanimously.	 Chairman Doughney praised the succession plan in place for internal promotions.
DM 2 -	Consider District Manager and Staff Prescriptive Goals and
Performance Objectives for Fiscal Year 2025

Mr. Miller presented his (District Manager) Goals and Objectives for Fiscal Year
2025.

The Board went over the additional items Mr. Miller will include in his report: incorporating a Cost Reduction Strategies (CRS) Program, offering employees rewards/incentives to seek ways to reduce costs. Other additions were the $295 membership of the local Chamber of Commerce and a wrap-up report at the end of the year.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously accepting the District Manager and Staff Prescriptive Goals and Performance Objectives for Fiscal Year 2025, as amended.

DM 3 - Consider Budget Adjustment 2024-03 for the General Fund R&R Fund for the 4C Structure Upgrade Project

Mr. Hayden presented the item and indicated it was reviewed during the previous day's Workshop Meeting. He asked if there were any further questions. There were none.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously approving Budget Adjustment #2024-03 for the General Fund R&R Fund transfer, as presented.

DM 4 - Payment Software for Processing Utility Payments and Fees

Mr. Hayden presented the item and asked if the Board had any further questions. There were no further questions from the Board Members regarding this item.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously rescinding prior Board approval to work with CORE and for staff to continue negotiations with the vendor, Tyler Technology, as presented.

DM 5 - Consider Proposal for the 4C Control Structure Upgrade Project

The proposal from E&W Mechanical Contracting in the amount of $142,208 for the automation of the 4C Control Structure via SCADA.

Mr. Hayden was asked if he had experience with this contractor to which he affirmed he had.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously approving the E&W Mechanical Contracting proposal in the not to exceed amount of $142,208for Project # WM027 for the 4C Construction Upgrade Project. The Available Project Budget being $316,749; This Project cost of
$142,208; leaving an Available Balance of $174,541, as presented.

DM 6 - Consider Awarding the Remaining AMI Water Meter Installations to HST Utility, Inc.

Mr. Miller presented the item and recommended approval.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously awarding Project# SW064, 1,060 AMI Water Meters to be installed by HST Utility, Inc. for the not to exceed amount of $55,650. The Available Project Budget being $1,598,248; This Project cost being $55,650; leaving an Available Balance of $1,542,598, as presented.

DM 8 - Consider New Agreement with Torcevia, Donlon, Goddeau &
Rubin, P.A., Including New Rate Increase
Mr. Hayden presented the agreement and recommended approval.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously approving the new agreement with Torcivia, Donlon, Goddeau & Rubin, P.A., including the new rate increase, as presented.

DM 9 - Other Items

Mr. Miller advised of providing the Board with his physician's summary stating that he is fit to perform his job as District Manager.
Mr. Miller advised that he would confirm if the Ethics Training would be rescheduled to September.

Mr. Miller went over his discussions with the County regarding the Reserve COD. He noted that the Reserve COD was not in their service area and would need seven miles of piping in order to accommodate them. The County has no problem with the District taking over the needs of the Reserve COD.

Mr. Miller also reminded the Board that the City of Port St. Lucie had suggested filing for an Emergency Interconnect, which will get finalization from the City Manager once he has been updated.

Mr. Pierman advised the Board that Form 1 - Statement of Financial Interests would only be accepted via electronic filing and is due July 1, 2024.

DM 7 - Consider Resolution No. 2024-06 - Adopting a Fiscal Year 2025 Proposed Budget

Resolution No. 2024-06 was presented, entitled:

RESOLUTION NO. 2024-06

A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE ST. LUCIE WEST SERVICES DISTRICT APPROVING A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.

Chairman Doughney went over the revisions to be made to the budget including increasing the budget to accommodate the hiring of a PR person to increase the District's presence on social media and written publications.

Discussion ensued regarding whether it warrants someone full or part-time. Whether it should be a person or a company or managed in-house.
Vice Chairman Graci suggested looking at firms that deal with utility systems and how they deal with the public.
If it is determined to be an in-house person, we will need a job description, request to advertise and a pay scale.
Ms. Rhoden was asked how the City of Port St. Lucie manages public relations.

Ms. Rhoden indicated she served as Utility Public Affairs Manager and found it particularly helpful in emergency situations such as a hurricane. She feels that having someone in-house would be best, as they know the utility the best.

Discussion ensued about how to incorporate this new cost into the budget. Discussion ensued regarding the amount to be budgeted.
Mr. Miller reminded the Board that the cost for a PR person/firm would be split between the funds.

It was decided that $200,000 was a sufficient amount to budget for the position and would cover a salary with benefits for an employee or if decided to go with a firm/contractor.

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine and passed unanimously adopting Resolution No. 2024-06, amended to reflect a
$200,000 allowance for a PR Program.

Consent Agenda

CA 1 - Monthly Report on Public Works Department CA 2 - Monthly Report on Utilities Operations
CA 3 - Monthly Report on Capital Improvement Projects CA 4 - Monthly Report on Billing and Customer Service CA 5 - Financial Statements for April, 2024
CA 6 -	Consider Approval to Transfer Funds for the R&R Account Requisition

CA 7 - Surplus Items

A MOTION was made by Vice Chairman Graci, seconded by Supervisor Haseltine approving Consent Agenda items CA 1 through CA 7, as presented. Upon being put to a vote, the MOTION carried unanimously.

Supervisor Requests

Supervisor Haseltine wished Mr. Hayden well on his retirement.

Vice Chairman Graci thanked Dan Harrell for attending today's meeting. He also congratulated Mr. Hayden on 35 years with the District and Searg Davidian's promotion.

Secretary Ney indicated he was pleased with the timing of today's meeting. He also noted that he was uncomfortable raising rates and passing along the fees for online payments to the customers.

Secretary Ney praised Mr. Hayden for a job well done. Supervisor Mocuta agreed with Secretary Ney's comments.

Chairman Doughney noted that Mr. Hayden was a great representative of the District over the years

Adjournment

There being no further items to be addressed, the Regular Board Meeting was adjourned at 9:52 a.m. by Chairman Doughney. There were no objections.

..

Date Approved