Hoosier Elected to SUD Board

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Ron Hoosier was elected to serve a four-year term on the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties. The results of the election were announced at the Jan. 27 meeting. Hoosier’s term begins in February. 

At the January meeting the board reviewed year-end data for 2014 and looked at progress on the Constructed Wetlands project. The board also discussed concerns about low water pressure in the Midway community.

Hoosier will assume Cliff Huffman’s Marion County seat. The board thanked Huffman, who served on the board eight years, three of those years as chair. 

Reporting on 2014 financial data, SUD Manager Ben Beavers said total revenues were 1.2 percent above budget. Water sales were 3.5 percent less than expected, but sales of water taps made up for the revenue deficit. Operating expenses for 2014 were 11.4 percent less than expected.

The installation of automated meter reading (AMR) technology, largely charged to the 2014 budget, cost SUD $300,000 according to Beavers. SUD paid for the project without borrowing money and without dipping into savings by drawing on accrued income in its cash accounts.

Beavers anticipates final data will show unaccounted-for water loss decreased in 2014, contrary to what earlier data indicated. [Unaccounted-for water loss is the difference between water produced and water registered as passing through customer meters.] A software error resulted in reports for the last three months showing inaccurately low water use from two-inch commercial meters installed during the AMR upgrade. The unreported water registered as unaccounted-for loss, and customers with two-inch meters were under-billed. 

Two-inch meter customers will receive a revised bill, Beavers said, with the additional amount owed per customer averaging $50–$100. Beavers predicted 21–22 percent unaccounted-for water loss for 2014,  compared to 23 percent in 2013.

Sewanee forestry professor Scott Torreano updated the board on the trial wetlands slated for construction at the SUD Wastewater Treatment Plant, in conjunction with a research project undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia. University of the South legal counsel Donna Pierce and the project engineering firm Golder and Associates are reviewing the licensing agreement drafted by SUD’s attorney, Don Scholes. Golder engineers will be in Sewanee Feb. 3–4 to visit the project site and discuss the design. Torreano invited Beavers and SUD board members to participate in the meetings.

Commissioner Randall Henley said two constituents asked him if SUD had plans to address low water pressure in the Midway community. SUD initially intended to install a pressure boosting station, Beavers said. SUD has tried for more than a year, without success, to get a landowner to grant the easement necessary for the project to move forward. Beavers said relocating the project closer to the airport would add $20,000 to the cost, making it difficult to justify the expense since only 10–12 Midway customers would benefit.

The board designated the fourth Tuesday of each month as the meeting date in 2015. At the Feb. 24 meeting, Hoosier will be sworn in.