PARKWAY UTILITY DISTRICT MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING
OCTOBER 10, 2019
THE STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF HARRIS §
PARKWAY UTILITY DISTRICT §
The Board of Directors (the “Board’) of Parkway Utility District (the “Oistricf’) met in a regular session, open to the public, at 12843 Tidwell Road, Houston, Texas, at 6:15 p.m. on October 9, 2019, whereupon the roll was called of the Directors, to-wit:
Brenda McNeil, President
Alphonso (“Al”) Rettig, Vice President
Jennifer Balderas, Secretary
Ron Everhart, Assistant Secretary
Gloria Woods, Director
All members of the Board were present, except Director Everhart, thus constituting a quorum. Also attending all or parts of the meeting were Mr. Jamal Singleton of Direct Waste Solutions, Inc. (“Direct Waste”), solid waste and recycling collectors for the District; Lieutenant Terry Ganey, Sargent P. Sullivan (Parkway Forest – Night Shift), and Deputy P. Trujillo (Night Shift Deputy), Harris County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office; Mr. Bill Blitch of Blitch Associates, Inc., (“Advisor”) financial advisor for the District; Ms. Diane Bailey of McLennan & Associates, L.P. (“Bookkeeper”), bookkeeper for the District; Ms. Delia Yanez of Assessments of the Southwest (“Tax Assessor-Collector”), tax assessor and collector for the District; Mr. Bradley Jenkins and Ms. Kaci Schlachter of Jones Carter (“Engineer” or “JJC”), engineers for the District; Mr. Calvin Browne of Municipal District Services (“Operator” or “MDS”), operator for the District; Mr. Gary Syzek of Systems Project Management, General Manager for the District; Ms. Karen Sears and Mr. David Beyer of Storm Water Solutions; and Mr. Reginald Wilson and Ms. Jane Maher of Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP (“NRF”), attorneys for the District.
President McNeil called the meeting to order, and in accordance with notice posted pursuant to law, a copy of the certificates of posting is attached as Exhibit A. The following business was transacted:
1. Public Comments. President McNeil opened the floor for comments. There were no public comments.
2. Minutes of previous meeting(s). Minutes of the regular meeting on September 11, 2019, previously distributed to the Board, were presented for consideration and approval. Upon motion by Director Woods, seconded by Director Balderas, after full discussion and the question being put to the Board, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on September 11, 2019 as presented.
3. Report from Direct Waste Solutions. President McNeil recognized Mr. Singleton, who presented to and reviewed the Monthly Recycle Summary, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit B. Mr. Singleton stated that there were no service interruptions during Tropical Storm Imelda. No action was requested of the Board.
4. Public Hearing on Tax Rate. President McNeil opened the hearing on the proposed 2019 tax rate. There were no comments on the tax rate from the public. President McNeil closed the hearing.
5. Adopt Order Setting Tax Rate and Levying Tax for 2019. The Board reviewed the Order Setting Tax Rate and Levying Tax for 2019, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit C. Upon motion by Director Balderas, seconded by Director Rettig, after full discussion and the question being put to the Board, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the Order Setting Tax Rate and Levying Tax for 2019, thereby levying a tax at a rate of $0.753 per $100 assessed valuation ($0.564 for debt service and $0.189 for operations and maintenance).
6. Approve Amended District Information Form. The Board reviewed the Amendment to Amended and Restated District Information Form, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 0. Mr. Wilson reported this document is recorded in the Harris County Real Property records to provide notice to purchasers of property in the District of the current tax rate in the District. Upon motion by Director Rettig, seconded by Director Balderas, after full discussion and the question being put to the Board, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Amended District Information Form.
7. Report from Systems Project Management. President McNeil recognized Mr. Syzek, who reviewed and presented the District’s General Manager’s Report, a copy is attached as Exhibit E. He stated that the District received a letter from the Harris County Engineering Department -Recovery & Resiliency Division (“HCED-RRD”) regarding the Parkway Forest Subdivision drainage improvements. He reported that the total estimated cost is $11,530,000 and it is not eligible for grant funding. He stated that HCED-RRD is requesting that the District fund 50% of the cost. Discussion ensued. Mr. Jenkins stated that JIC will respond to HCED-RRD.
8. Report from Storm Water Solutions. President McNeil recognized Ms. Sears, who reviewed a report from Storm Water Solutions, a copy is attached as Exhibit F.
Ms. Sears presented to and reviewed with the Board a proposal to install 907 feet of bollards and cable along Stonefield Manor Drive at a cost of $21,140.00, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit G. The Board discussed an alternative placement of the bollards to lower the amount of footage. Ms. Sears stated that the revised proposal will be presented at the next meeting. No action was taken by the Board.
9. Report by Harris County Precinct Three Constable, including community Crime Watch, and action relating to Security. President McNeil recognized Sargent Ganey, who reviewed the Security Report for the month of September 2019, which was previously distributed to the Board. A copy of the Security Report is attached as Exhibit H. He and Deputy Trujillo reported on officer’s shifts and coverage for the District.
10. Discuss additional security cameras at the Water Plant. Mr. Browne stated that a representative from Zaladium was unable to attend tonight’s meeting but would be able to make next month’s meeting.
11. Tax Assessor and Collector’s Report, status of delinquent tax accounts, and payment of bills. Ms. Yanez presented to and reviewed with the Board the Tax Assessor-Collector’s Report for August, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit I. Ms. Yanez reported that 98.53% of the District’s 2018 taxes have been collected as of September 30, 2019.
Upon motion by Director Rettig, seconded by Director Woods, after full discussion and the question being put to the Board, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Tax AssessorCollector’s Report and to authorize the expenditures listed therein.
12. Bookkeeper’s Report, Investment Report, payment of bills, and take any necessary action. Ms. Osborne reviewed the Bookkeeper’s Report and quarterly investment report, copies of which are attached as Exhibit J.
Upon motion by Director Balderas, seconded by Director Rettig, after full discussion and the question being put to the Board, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Bookkeeper’s Report, to authorize payment of check nos. 10263 to 10326 from the District’s General Operating Fund, and check no. 1805 from the District’s Capital Projects Fund in the amounts, to the persons, and for the purposes listed therein.
13. Discuss modified rates for Forest Park Apartments, and receive update on occupancy. President McNeil recognized Mr. Blitch, who presented to and reviewed with the Board a 2019 Apartment Rate Study, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit K. Discussion ensued. It was the consensus of the Board to revise the District’s Rate Order for the November meeting to lower the multi-family base water rates as presented in Exhibit K. Discussion ensued regarding lowering the multi-family base sewer rates. It was the consensus of the Board to revise the multi-family base sewer rates in November for 0-4,000 gallons from $63.85 to $30.87 per unit and for 4,001 gallons and thereafter to $1.58 per 1,000 gallons.
14. Operator’s Report and hearing on delinquent accounts. President McNeil recognized Mr. Browne, who presented to and reviewed with the Board the Operations Report for September 2019, a copy is attached as Exhibit L. He noted that 96% of the water pumped was billed for the period from August 15, 2019 to September 15, 2019.
Mr. Browne reviewed maintenance and repairs for September 2019 of the District’s individual and joint facilities.
Mr. Browne reported that 4,481,112 gallons were transferred from Greenwood Utility District (“GUO”) to the Tidwell Lakes Wastewater Treatment Plant for the month of September.
Mr. Browne requested that the Board authorize termination of 267 delinquent accounts in accordance with the District’s Rate Order.
Upon motion by Director Balderas, seconded by Director Woods, after a full discussion and the question being put to the Board, the Board voted unanimously to terminate delinquent accounts in accordance with the terms of the District’s Rate Order and authorize MOS to send to collections delinquent accounts in the aggregate amount of $445.86.
15. Engineer’s Report, including review of Engineer’s projects, and capital repairs. Mr. Jenkins presented to and reviewed with the Board the Engineer’s Report, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit M.
Mr. Jenkins updated the Board on Water Plant Improvements and stated that the North Ground Storage Tank (“GST”) was constructed approximately 10 feet from the fence line per revised plan sheets prepared by the previous engineer. He stated that the City of Houston requires GST’s to be 20 feet away from all structures and property lines. He requested authorization to verify the property boundaries and submit a variance request to the City of Houston. Discussion ensued.
Mr. Jenkins stated that with regards to the Water Plant piping, the City of Houston requires all plant piping to be Ductile Iron Pipe (“DIP”). He stated that the drawing prepared by the previous engineer did not specify the type of pipe in the drawings or specifications and that in review of the construction photos, it appears that HOPE pipe material was used. He requested authorization to submit a variance request to the City of Houston to allow the HOPE piping for the distribution lines. Discussion ensued. He noted that the approximate cost of submitting the variance request for both items is $5,000. It was the consensus of the Board to not take action at this time.
Mr. Jenkins stated that JIC met with the owner of Sunrise Plastic Enterprise (“Sunrise”) and Mr. Wilson to discuss the status of the annexation and the status of the utilities. He stated that the annexation request has not gone to the City of Houston due to issues with the ownership of the land. Mr. Wilson stated that the annexation fees previously paid by Sunrise are nearly depleted.
Discussion ensued. It was the consensus of the Board to propose splitting the legal and engineering fees with Sunrise.
Mr. Jenkins presented a budget worksheet of the District and joint facilities projects, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit N.
A copy of the Engineer’s Report on joint facilities matters from A&S Engineers is attached to the District Engineer’s Report under Exhibit 0.
16. Report from Financial Advisor. Mr. Blitch discussed a potential Bond Anticipation Notice (“BAN”) with the Board. Discussion ensued. Mr. Jenkins stated that he can reach out to Greenwood Municipal Utility District’s Engineer and write a letter to the City of Houston to request an extension.
17.Building Superintendent’s Report. No report was received by the Board.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD, the meeting was adjourned.
The foregoing minutes were passed and approved by the Board of Directors on November 13, 2019.