Water Quality Fees Board

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Water Quality Fees Board met on April 14, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. in the North Elkhorn Conference Room at the Tate Building, 125 Industrial Avenue, Suite 180. Harry Clarke presided over the meeting, which included five agenda items, three motions and votes, and three public comments.

The board approved the minutes from the January 13, 2022 meeting and voted to approve the FY 2021 Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association, Inc. matter. The board deferred action on the FY 2020 The University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF) item. An informational presentation on Incentive Grant Status Update was also provided. The board concluded with an "Other Matters" item that was approved.

Attendance

Present: Harry Clarke, David Lowe, Aaron Vaught, Charles Martin, Greg Lubeck, Lindsie Nicholas, Frank Mabson, Denice Bullock, Doug Baldwin, Michael Cravens, Dave Osbourne, Erik Dawalt, Britney Ragland, Graham Gray, and Shane Tedder.

Late: Donna Fogle

Absent: George Woolwine

Votes and Decisions

Motion to Approve Minutes of January 13, 2022 1:04

Harry Clarke moved to approve the minutes of January 13, 2022, with a second from David Lowe. The motion passed unanimously with all four members voting in favor: Harry Clarke, Donna Fogle, David Lowe, and Aaron Vaught.

Motion to Accept Change in Scope for Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association Project 14:27

Aaron Vaught moved to accept the change in scope for the Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association project, with a second from David Lowe. The motion passed unanimously with all four members voting in favor: Harry Clarke, Donna Fogle, David Lowe, and Aaron Vaught.

Motion to Reconvene for Special Meeting on May 5, 2022 1:26:39

Harry Clarke moved to reconvene for a special meeting on May 5, 2022, to review updated bid data, with a second from David Lowe. The motion passed unanimously with all four members voting in favor: Harry Clarke, Donna Fogle, David Lowe, and Aaron Vaught.

Budget and Financial Actions

The meeting addressed two financial matters requiring budget adjustments:

Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association Project Amendment

An amendment to the FY 2021 Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association project was approved for $1,634.47. This amendment expanded the project scope to include additional swale repair and erosion mitigation work.

University of Kentucky Research Foundation Appropriation

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation requested additional funding of $343,200.00 for the FY 2020 project. The request was necessitated by increased construction costs.

Public Comment

Three members of the public provided comments during the meeting, raising concerns about the decision-making process and grant program procedures.

Donna Fogle 47:41 expressed concern that the board was making decisions based on hypothetical scenarios rather than actual data. Fogle advocated for waiting until finalized bids were available before proceeding with any decisions.

Lindsie Nicholas 47:41 also recommended postponing the discussion until after bids were finalized. Nicholas argued that having real numbers would enable more informed decision-making and help avoid speculative outcomes.

Harry Clarke 50:58 raised questions about the appropriateness of using the change order process for grants and emphasized concerns about grant program integrity. Clarke stated that the incentive program should not be used to fully fund projects that exceed their original budgets.

Appointments

Hunter Pace was reappointed to the position of Grant Manager.

Contested Items

Funding Decision for UKRF Project

The board was divided on whether to approve additional funding for the UKRF project through a change order or to require a new application instead. Members raised concerns about establishing precedent, maintaining program competitiveness, and the absence of final bid data to support the funding request. This split vote reflected disagreement over the appropriate process for handling additional funding requests and the implications of approving funds without complete bidding information.

Scope Change for Ellerslie Project

A heated discussion emerged regarding the proposed scope change for the Ellerslie project. Clarke expressed concern about allocating funds to address issues in a recently developed area that exhibited poor construction quality. In contrast, staff members and project presenters emphasized the necessity of the work, arguing that the funds were needed to address upstream flooding and erosion problems. This disagreement centered on whether the project's benefits justified the expenditure in a newly constructed area with existing quality issues.

Approval of 01/13/22 Minutes

1:04

The board reviewed the minutes from the January 13, 2022, meeting. Harry Clarke made a motion to approve the minutes, which was seconded by David Lowe. The minutes were unanimously approved by the board.

Outcome: Approved

FY 2021 Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association, Inc.

The Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association presented a request to amend the project scope for their FY 2021 grant-funded initiative. The association sought to address additional flooding and erosion issues that were not included in the original project scope.

Project Scope Amendment

The proposed amendment would extend swale repairs from the originally planned 600 linear feet to 950 linear feet. This expansion would increase the total project cost by $1,634.47. The grantee confirmed that this additional cost would be fully covered by the Ellerslie at Delong Homeowners Association, requiring no additional public funding.

Board Action

The board unanimously approved the amendment to the project scope. Key participants in the discussion included Dave Osbourne, Erik Dawalt, Doug Baldwin, Harry Clarke, and David Lowe.

FY 2020 The University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF)

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation presented a request to amend the scope of their stormwater harvesting project due to significant increases in construction costs. 15:30

Project Cost Increase

The original project budget of $271,000 had risen substantially to an estimated $650,000–$685,000. This substantial increase prompted the foundation to seek approval for the scope amendment.

Key Speakers

The presentation and discussion involved Britney Ragland, Graham Gray, Shane Tedder, Charlie Martin, and Michael Cravens.

Outcome

The board did not reach a final decision on the amendment request during this meeting. Instead, the board agreed to reconvene on May 5, 2022, to revisit the matter after receiving final bids for the project. This deferral allowed additional time to obtain concrete pricing information before making a determination on the amended scope and budget.

Incentive Grant Status Update

Lindsie Nicholas presented an update on the status of various incentive grant projects 1:31:39.

The presentation covered progress on grants spanning the 2016–2021 period. Staff reported on the current status of multiple grant projects, with several nearing completion. The update included information on pending final reports that were expected from grantees, as well as upcoming deadlines that required attention.

Several projects were identified as requiring additional follow-up to ensure timely completion and submission of required documentation. The presentation was informational in nature, providing the body with an overview of grant administration activities and project progress.

Other Matters

Staff requested to reschedule the July 2022 meeting to July 21, 2022. The rescheduling was proposed to allow adequate time for grant scoring and recommendations. 1:44:25

Lindsie Nicholas presented this matter to the board.

The motion to reschedule the July 2022 meeting to July 21, 2022, was approved unanimously.