• Directly below are the June 13 2024 Operations Meeting Minutes.
• The April 26 Admin-Finance Meeting Minutes, and July 19 AGM-Preparation Meeting Minutes, will be posted after adoption at the October 24 Admin-Finance meeting.
• The 2024 Annual General Meeting Minutes are draft until amended or adopted at the 2025 AGM.
• Minutes from 2023-2024 can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.
• For Minutes from 2016 - 2022, please see the Archived Minutes page.
MINUTES
Trustee / Operations Meeting
4:34 pm Thursday June 13, 2024
via Zoom
Present: Chair Bryan Miles, Trustee Lee Davis, Trustee Brent Brucker, Operator Kerby Fisher, Administrator Janine Reimer, Electrical Consultant Neil McLean.
1. Approval of the Agenda Moved L.Davis, 2nd B.Brucker. Carried.
2. Approval of the Minutes
Operations Meeting of April 24 Moved L.Davis, 2nd B.Brucker. Carried.
3. Operator’s Reports K.Fisher
(a) Operator’s Report May 13
The operator reported he had completed due diligence in locating Telus lines prior to digging in the 2 hydrant replacement sites—Blair Rd & Arbutus Rd, and Patricia Cres & Manahan Rd—and had worked with excavation services in removing the 2 old hydrants and replacing with new hydrant-#2 and hydrant-#12, on the weekend of May 11-12. After installation of each hydrant, the hydrants were flushed, and checked for leaks. On completion, the operator had raked and grass-seeded each location. Photos of the work were viewed onscreen.
The operator said he had avoided having to remove encroaching trees, but did cut back some foliage to keep the area around the hydrants clear, and said he had asked maintenance staff to do similar clearing around other hydrants. He had also done a general inspection of the water system, and had met on site with Lund Marine regarding generator-1 service.
The operator had discovered a curbstop tool left sticking up from an open meter box on a trail. He secured the box and informed the meter reader for her safety. It was agreed that SSID would discuss with the owner if the hazard were to be found again.
(b) Operator’s Report May 18
The operator reported he had installed a new water connection at lot-2 on Blair Rd. He had also done a maintenance check on the generators, a followup leak check of the 2 new hydrants, and a general system inspection.
(c) Generator extra starts
There was discussion of high residential water usage in May being responsible for the extra generator starts, mostly by a single property having used excessive water in the month, but also due to a leak at another property. The trustees suggested an email be sent to the owners, to prevent recurrence.
Administrator to draft letter for trustee review
(d) Leaks at residences – update
The operator said the handful of leaking curbstops were still minor and not leaking when closed, so did not require replacement at this time. The curbstop leak at lot-97 was more advanced, and scheduled for replacement this year, but would be done when the owner was on island.
4. Upper Tank Feasibility Study J.Reimer
A proposal had been received from MSR Solutions for preparing a feasibility study to consider options for future replacement of the upper tank, which was showing areas of advancing rust and pitting on its underside. The proposal included a BC Building Code requirement that public water storage facilities be constructed for post disaster, meaning that a new or refurbished tower and tank would have to be built to withstand an earthquake.
There was discussion of the proposed drilling being unnecessary, as the site’s soil structure was already known to be mostly sand, with some silt and clay. Removal of the drilling costs could make the feasibility study doable in 2024.
There was also a suggestion of keeping the existing tower—“grandfathering” within new regulations—while only replacing the upper tank; another option to stop using an elevated tank altogether, and instead employing a booster pump at the lower tank; and discussion of the difficulty and cost of maintaining an elevated tank.
Administrator to request revised proposal from MSR Solutions
5. Electrical Options N.McLean
The trustees had requested at the previous meeting that electrical consultant Neil McLean provide suggestions for reducing excessive and unexplained generator starts. An option to seasonally adjust the float switch length was tabled for a future meeting.
Administrator to add float switch discussion to next operations meeting
Prior to the current meeting, the trustees had received an email of Neil’s research into five electrical options with different benefits and pricing. The Chair suggested that SSID proceed on the least costly item ballparked at $5700, as it was not yet known what reserve funds might be needed for the upper tank replacement.
Neil explained that two 12-volt lithium batteries could reduce generator starts by supplying power to the Thomson controller for 12 days without additional charge. Generator-1 would still start whenever there was a call for water, but would be less likely to start for the sole purpose of charging the Thomson batteries, which can be excessive during the winter. A suitable battery charger and installation would be part of the cost. Trustees had some questions, after which a motion was made to proceed.
Motion
THAT two 12-volt lithium batteries and charger be approved for purchase and installation.
Moved B.Brucker, 2nd L.Davis. Carried.
6. Groundwater At Risk of Pathogens J.Reimer
The trustees had already approved an email responding to the Drinking Water Officer’s request that a government document on Groundwater at Risk of Pathogens (GARP) be considered for its relevance to SSID water quality. The email approval was restated for the minutes.
Administrator to email SSID’s GARP review to the Drinking Water Officer
7. Task List J.Reimer
The administrator advised of 2 slow leaks at the curbstops for lots 135 and 149, with neither as an immediate concern.
Administrator to create work orders for monitoring curbstops at lots-135 and -149
8. Next Meeting AGM Planning Meeting, 10:00 am July 15
Administrator to forward AGM task list to trustees and operator
9. Adjournment 6:00 pm. Moved B. Miles
