The Hot Springs Village Public Services Committee had a festive but productive meeting on Thursday, December 14, with a few committee members wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and offering a tasty selection of Christmas-themed sweets. Serious discussion ruled the meeting with reports on recent Board Member activities, reorganization of the Public Services Department, upcoming projects, and much more.
In addition to the committee members, some notable meeting attendees were:
- Ken Unger, Public Services Director
- Brian N. Wintle, PE, Ph.D., BCEE, CHMM, Project Manager for Crist Engineers, Inc. Mr. Wintle was on hand to answer technical questions.
- Alena McCoy, Supervisor in the Public Services Engineering Department
- Chris Boutzale, Superintendent of Water and Wastewater
- Matt Broom, Associate Public Services Director
- Bruce Caverly, Board Director
- Larry Siener, Board Director and Public Services Committee Liaison
- Rick Hall, Property Owner (Retired from the North Little Rock Wastewater Utility)
Board Directors’ Report by Board Member Larry Siener
Last month was busy for the Board of Directors. “We had a baseline budget of $49 M for next year. Nearly $14 M of that is capital expenditure,” stated Siener.
“Think back to when the Village spent $14 M on infrastructure, and you will probably discover that was never,” explained the Board Director.
Siener said, “The biggest challenge to spending $14 M is finding the contractors to do the work. That will be a big challenge for Ken and his team just because the American Rescue Plan money is starting to hit Arkansas. Many people are out there chasing a lot of money, and it will be hard to find people [contractors].”
The Board also put the 2024 fee structure into place with no significant, massive increases. The 2024 monthly assessments are increasing by $10 a month [for improved lots]. “This is the last year of the assessment rate increase [that property owners voted for on November 15, 2021 ]. After that, we are back on [Southern] Consumer Price Index [increases].”
“Most rates and fee structures went up three to four percent. We are just trying to recover costs,” stated Siener.
The Board also approved Jim Patton’s assignment to rejoin the Public Services Committee.
Board Director Bruce Caverly adds to the Board Report
“Yesterday, we approved Rules for Commercial applications. We have two sets of rules. One is for commercial and one for residential, but we have combined the two into one document. This document will be made available to the public next week and will be voted on by the Board in January.”
Unger Discusses Board Meeting
The Board approved the 24″ valve and meter for the water plant. “We hope to get the materials before the end of the year, and the work will be affected in January,” said Unger.
The Board also approved the purchase of a replacement tractor so we can mow the north side of DeSoto) and cut trees in-house,” stated Unger. The new tractor will have a bucket to use for tree-cutting operations. Contracting the tree-cutting work would cost $8,000 a mile. A new tractor will reduce contractor costs.
Ken Unger on Public Services Department Reorganization
Charlie Brown, Director of Code Enforcement, resigned, effective December 23. “Rather than backfill Charlie Brown’s vacant position, leadership shifted his department responsibilities to different organizations. Effective immediately (a week or two ago), the compliance component of his department was moved under the police department. They still reside at the same location, but Tom Benfield was promoted to Manager. He [Tom] took on additional responsibilities such as the gates and animal control, and he is running the Compliance Group under Kristi [HSV Police Chief Kristi Bennett],” stated Unger.
“Permitting and Inspections – anything with a permit – new builds or anything else – moved under my umbrella. Ginger [George], who was running that organization under Charlie, was moved into a different role. She is starting a whole new department having to do with rentals. She is also still maintaining contracts.”
“We promoted Beverly Ellison to Permitting and Inspections Supervisor,” the Public Services Director continued.
“We made some pretty big organizational changes to help improve efficiencies. One of those [changes] was the promotion of Matt [Broom]. Matt is leading a new organization of teams within Public Services – for the most part, most of the Public Works entities, in addition to Permitting and Inspections. His title is Associate Public Services Director, reporting to me [Unger].”
Matt Broom Discusses Changes Made in His Organization
Broom said that almost everyone is familiar with Superintendent Todd Noles, who has much experience with the POA. Most of Noles’s time with the POA was with the Streets Department. So he is very familiar with a lot of the staff. They have an excellent working relationship. He has great relationships with the vendors and understands how to run that department. So it made sense to move Todd over to the Streets and Sanitation Department” [in the role of Superintendent].”
“We chose David Harper to fill the Lakes and Common Property Superintendent position.” Harper was a Building Maintenance foreman for Mike Sykora. He has 20 years of Lakes Management experience. He will work well with Katy [Katy Harmon, Lakes Supervisor]. Between the two of them, I am confident they will be able to handle our issues in the Lakes Department.”
Broom said he is excited about Beverly Ellison’s role in Permitting and Inspections. “She is going to make my job easier. We have some excellent inspectors and will be fully staffed with inspectors.
“Alena McCoy is valuable in the Engineering Department. We have an outstanding staff,” said Broom.
Click here to read an Interview with Matt Broom.
Unger Adds to the Reorganization Discussion
Unger said, “Just to be clear, the purpose of this [reorganization] was to align the teams where all of the things (issues) we discussed over the past year and a half are now under one umbrella. Suppose there are problems with erosion because of construction. In that case, the person over lakes is now over permitting and can hopefully drive the behavior we want to see, to avoid that [erosion] from happening.”
“Contractors that are destroying our roads – now report to the same person who has to rebuild the roads. We want good builders in the Village. We don’t want builders that will cost us time and money. I think all that we have been trying to achieve is going to happen as a result of us making this change and putting it all under Matt’s focus,” stated Unger.
Unger said that he would be concentrating on Public Utilities. “Matt has done a great job in Streets and Sanitation, and I have all the confidence in the world that the issues we have been struggling with will be resolved in 2024,” shared Unger.
Unger added, “The more eyes we can have on things, the better off we will be.” In the past, the philosophy was to isolate things to specific individuals.”
Safety Report by George Parker
There were 13 incidents for the November Safety Report:
- Four deer Strikes
- Four loss of vehicle control
- One fell asleep while driving
- Two parking lot instances
- One hit-and-run
- One mailbox strike
The Public Services Committee plans to partner with the Police Department to distribute public education safety messages relevant to the committee’s activities.
Unger Shares Two Proposed Motions for the Next Board Meeting (Wednesday, December 20)
The motions concerned emergency repairs at the GG Lift Station needed to mitigate overflows and ADEQ violations. Unger’s proposed motions were:
1. Purchase two 25-hp hydromatic pumps for the GG Lift Station.
2. Request approval for GG Lift Station parallel 6-inch force main installation.
Unger said they installed SCADA systems (to monitor overflow) on multiple east-side lift stations. At the most recent rainfall event, the GG lift station overflowed. “We know we have had numerous overflows at this location, but we didn’t realize it was happening at such regular intervals. This station technically lies outside the Village and is not easily accessible. Without an alarm system on the station, knowing what was happening there was sketchy. This is the last east-side station to the Cedar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The lift station is undersized, with two six-inch and one four-inch lines entering but only one six-inch line exiting. Brian Wintell from Crist Engineering has evaluated the situation to determine what should be done to alleviate the overflows at the GG lift station. Right now, the pumps are only 15 horsepower. The short-term answer on the pumps is that without building a new pump station (right now), we can upgrade the pumps to 25-hp pumps, maximizing the six-inch line flow. A new pump station (if needed) is in our long-term plans but will cost around $2.5 M. To double the capacity, we can install a parallel six-inch force main,” explained Unger. Unger’s proposal to modify the GG Lift Station is an emergency maintenance activity.
Although this repair will be presented to the Board of Directors in the New Business category on December 20, Unger will ask the Board to approve this motion at the December meeting due to ADEQ violations.* Unger said the pumps only have a 30-day bid time. Occupants living in a house next to the lift station have reported some overflows to ADEQ. “I think we should act on this expeditiously because I don’t think anything we do here will be wasted.
“Even if we have to build a new lift station, the 25-hp pumps will not go to waste because they will be used elsewhere in the system. We still have 55 active lift stations, some requiring new pumps. I am not concerned about this infrastructure going to waste,” said Unger.
For Crist Engineering to properly redesign the merging of the two wastewater plants and plan accurately for capacity, the amount of material going to the plant must be determined, which is an added advantage of this repair.
The cost of replacement of the pumps is around $70,000 plus tax. Nine thousand four hundred linear feet of six-inch sewer line is $92,000.
Because the committee evaluated the proposed motions and voted to support Unger’s motions, Unger hopes the Board will approve the emergency repairs.
Unger and Hale to Meet with ADEQ
Unger said that he and GM Hale will meet with ADEQ this month to present the Cortez Lift Station Plans and consolidation of Mill Creek and Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plants. The POA has filed mandatory overflow reports with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) over the past year and a half, which was not always done previously.
I expect some interesting conversation when we meet with ADEQ. My hope is that we’re showing them we are trying to solve the overflow problems that have been ongoing for a long time.”
Ken Unger, Hot Springs Village POA Public Services Director
Cortez Lift Station Discussion
The Cortez Lift Station pumps were recently replaced with more efficient pumps. While this helped reliability, it did not solve the Cortez Lift Station capacity issue. Cortez Lift Station does not overflow, but material reaches heights that cause upstream overflows in manholes located in backyards. The line from Cortez Lift Station to the wastewater treatment plant is 16″, but the pumps cannot maximize the line capacity. We can upgrade the pumps to increase the flow and also the ability to deliver the flow to the Cedar Creek Plant, bypassing the Mill Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. (The eventual consolidation of the two plants is the intended plan.)
Based on the current electrical code, Crist Engineering determined we would not be able to use the existing building and would need a new one. There will be a new generator installed. Changes at the Cortez Lift Station location will address the overflow issues and meet the code most economically.
Unger estimates the Cortez Lift Station costs to come in at $1.5 to $1.9 M if we contract everything out.
Unger Discussed Some of the 2023 Public Services Department Spending
Unger said his team managed 2023 expenses without giving up anything. “We will come in under last year’s spending. I pray we will come in below $9 M. Our budget was $10.3. We should break our revenue goal slightly. On capital, we are coming in under budget. There are various reasons for that. Some things were pushed to the future, like the firetruck. In other cases, we were able to do things more economically. We got more things done while not spending all of our capital. That is a good thing.”
Most Lift Station Issues Have Been Addressed
By the end of this year, every lift station that had an issue (outside of the Cortez upgrade) will have been addressed. We have internally replaced two lift stations and paid a contractor for a third lift station to be replaced. We lined seven concrete lift stations with an epoxy product to stop the decay caused by gases. We bypassed several lift stations to reduce operational costs. We will be in good shape on lift stations by the end of 2023. This will allow us to concentrate on other things.”
Public Utilities Must be Self-sustaining in 2026
Public Utilities will continue to be subsidized until our utility revenues increase. In 2024, utilities will be subsidized by $3.3 M due to needed projects, such as painting a water tank, redesigning the Cedar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, water main replacements, and Inflow and Infiltration work (I & I), among other expenses. Act 605 becomes law in 2026, which requires utilities to be self-sustaining.
Communication From the Committee
Unger said he wants the Public Services Committee to start communicating with the community on water conservation and infrastructure costs. Unger noted that the Finance and Planning Committee and some Board Members met about developing another communication entity, similar to FRATF.
Public Services Committee to Begin Holding Two Meetings a Month
The next regular Public Services meeting will be Thursday, January 11, at 9:30 a.m. at the Coronado Community Center. A second monthly meeting will be added in January. This informal “Expertise” meeting will be held Thursday, January 25, at 9:30 a.m., at the Coronado Community Center. The purpose of the second meeting is to discuss particular topics of interest and concern. Unger will assign the topics. Committee Member attendance at the second meeting is not mandatory.
*Note from Cheryl: In the past, the board protocol was for department heads to present motions under New Business. Then, the motion would be approved or denied at the following Board Meeting unless the item was an emergency or a matter needing to be immediately voted on due to timing issues. This gave the Board Members time to research the topic. For a while now, after COVID hit, causing supply chain issues, the Board has approved many items listed under New Business immediately. Unger said the Board intends to revert to the previous process of motions being presented under New Business and then voted on at the subsequent meeting.
By Cheryl Dowden
Contact Information for HSV Public Services Director
Ken Unger
Director Public Services
Hot Springs Village
501-226-9609
Kunger@hsvpoa.org
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