St. Lucie West Services District
Workshop Meeting Minutes
October 2, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.

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

Board Members Present

John Doughney - Chairman - in-person Dominick Graci - Vice Chairman - in-person Gregg Ney - Secretary - 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, Utilities Director/Assistant District Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Maddie Maldonado, Office Manager, SLWSD - in-person
Gerard Rouse, Assistant Public Works Director, SLWSD - in-person Thomas Bayer, Assistant Utilities Director, SLWSD - in-person Ryan Smith of Ryper Water Analytics
Jason Pierman, Secretary/Treasurer, Special District Services, Inc. ("SOS") - in­ person
Laura Archer, Recording Secretary, SOS - via phone

Guests Present (Sign-In Sheet Attached)

Call to Order

The Workshop Meeting was called to order at 9:01 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

It was noted that all 5 Supervisors were in attendance.

Approval of Minutes
August 28, 2023, Workshop
August 29, 2023, Public Hearings & Regular Board Meeting
September 18, 2023, Special Board Meeting

Under Item OM 4 of the Workshop minutes it was noted that the third paragraph should begin with "If approved ... " not "I approved ... "

Under Item OM 1 of the Special Board Meeting minutes, it was noted that the first paragraph should read, "Chairman Doughney asked for Board Member input since Mr. Hayden... "

That concluded the revisions/corrections to the minutes.

Public Hearing 1
	PH 1 - Consider Resolution No. 2023-09 - Amending Chapter Ill of the Rules of the St. Lucie West Services District Relating to Water, Wastewater and Irrigation Water System Regulations, Rates, Fees, Charges and Operating Policies for the Utility Services; Revising Schedules A and D to Provide for Annual Rate Adjustments; Providing an Effective Date

Resolution No. 2023-09 was presented, entitled:

RESOLUTION NO. 2023-09

A RESOLUTION AMENDING CHAPTER Ill OF THE RULES OF THE ST. LUCIE WEST SERVICES DISTRICT RELATING TO WATER, WASTEWATER, AND IRRIGATION WATER SYSTEM REGULATIONS, RATES, FEES, CHARGES, AND OPERATING POLICIES FOR UTILITY SERVICES; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Mr. Hayden presented the resolution and a handout with corrections. Mr. Miller advised that the legal advertisement was correct, but the Exhibits to the resolution were wrong.

Secretary Ney asked about customizing the resolution so the District does not have to advertise for a Public Hearing every time they want to increase the rates. Mr. Pierman indicated he was not sure that was possible but would check with District Counsel.

There was no further discussion regarding this item.

Public Comment

There was no public comment at this time.

District Attorney

DA 1 - Status Report/Updates

Mr. Hayden was not aware of any updates from District Counsel.

Chairman Doughney asked if District Counsel could provide a monthly update listing everything they were working on, the way the District Engineer does. Mr. Hayden advised he would request the written update for every meeting book.

Mr. Miller noted that Mr. Harrell had advised him that he was staying around indefinitely with the new law firm.

District Engineer
DE 1 - Status Report/Updates

Mr. Hayden advised that Mr. Zanganeh's monthly report was in the meeting book.

Mr. Miller advised that they submitted for a $1 Million grant for the Lake Charles Irrigation Pump Station Replacement Project

District Manager Actions Items

DM 1 - Consider Auditor Engagement Letter for Fiscal Years 2023 & 2024

Although we are awaiting the actual engagement letter from Grau, below are the numbers their office has provided:

Mr. Hayden advised that the Board had selected back in December 2020 that Grau & Associates would perform the 2020, 2021 & the 2022 year-end audits with an option to perform the 2023 and 2024 ones as well. The fee for the 2020 audit was $25,000; the fee for 2021 was $25,500; and the fee for 2022 was $27,000. The proposed fee for 2023 is $27,500 and the fee for 2024 is $28,000.

It was further noted that management was pleased with the professionalism and competence of the Grau & Associates' partners and staff and recommends that the Board approve the renewal option for the 2023 and 2024 year-end audits with Grau & Associates.

The Board had no questions regarding this matter.

DM 2 - Other Items

Mr. Hayden provided the Board Members with a District Manager job description relative to his impending retirement.

Mr. Hayden also provided an updated Organizational Chart.	Discussion ensued regarding to whom the District Manager should report.

Discussion then ensued regarding the termination process for the District Manager to which Chairman Doughney indicated that information was provided in the contract.

Vice Chairman Graci wants to include communication with the City and County and making the District Manager the Chief Information Officer to the job description.

Vice Chairman Graci asked if the District had heard anything from the commercial association regarding the conversations with Kings Isle. A lengthy discussion ensued.

Mr. Hayden then presented a draft of the November newsletter. Chairman Doughney suggested filling up the back page with rate comparisons so residents can see what other utilities charge.

Ryan Smith of Ryper Water Analytics was then introduced and indicated that he was asked to look at the District's Connection Fee and AFPI (Allowance for Funds Prudently Invested) Fee Evaluation, since connection fees have not been adjusted since 2008.

Mr. Smith noted that connection fees were only billed to the developer and constituted the connection from the water plant to the meter. He noted that this analysis was a cost recovery mechanism and explained how the calculation was determined. He then went over the assumptions, the capital investment, the capacities and the level of service per ERC (Equivalent Residential Connection). He also compared the connection fees of other similar utilities.

Mr. Smith then gave an overview of the calculation of AFPI fees per ERC. Ryper is recommending the following fees:
$2,390 for a water connection
$1,930 for a wastewater connection
$395 for an AFPI water connection
$320 for an AFPI wastewater connection

Before instituting the new fees, Mr. Smith suggests providing notice and implementing the increased fees 90 days from that notice.

At the conclusion of his comments, Mr. Smith was thanked for an excellent presentation.

Discussion then ensued regarding the need to schedule a Public Hearing for this item. Mr. Miller suggested a January Public Hearing for an April implementation.

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 August, 2023
CA 6 - Consider Approval to Transfer Funds for the R&R Account & WCF Account Requisitions

There was no discussion regarding Consent Agenda items CA-1 through CA-6.

Supervisor Requests

Vice Chairman Graci noted that the next Presidents' Council meeting would be held on November 29, 2023, in the Cascades and would feature the Assistant Chief of Police as a speaker.

Adjournment

There being no further items to be addressed, the Workshop Meeting was adjourned at 10:01 a.m. There were no objections.

Date Approved	/ J / D-:Y/z,7