October Board Meeting –
October 2, 2010
Member Q&A Bridge
The following member questions were answered by Bridge Commissioner Roger Hansen at the October 2010 Board meeting.
Q: Creosote Pile Disposal - What are the estimated costs for disposal of these toxic materials? Where will they go? How will they go to their final location? At the Public Hearing on July 24, 2010, the Bridge Commissioner indicated that this had not been determined yet and that he wasn’t sure where the piles would be disposed. Why not? Is this cost included in the projected $5 million bridge replacement budget?
A: The demolition of the bridge, which includes removal and disposal of the piles, was estimated by the engineers to cost between $160,000 and $200,000; this cost has been included in the $5 million bridge replacement budget. The demolition contractor will be required to obtain a permit to remove and dispose of the piles and the disposal site will have to be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. There are a number of locations that are acceptable, but at this time we do not know which site will be selected for permit approval.
Q: Storm Run Off Filtration System – What are the cost of the filters, the frequency of replacing the filters and the estimated annual costs to maintain the run-off filtration system? Are these costs included in the projected $5 million bridge replacement budget?
A: The Storm Water Filtration System is still in the designing stage. Conceptually, the engineers are planning on directing the storm water to catch basins where it will be filtered before being discharged into the water. The installation cost has been estimated for inclusion in the bridge replacement budget, but maintenance will be an ongoing expense. There are several types of cleanable filtration systems that would be adequate for the small amount of storm water coming off the bridge, ranging from sand filters to replaceable canisters. Preference will be given to a low-cost maintenance system that can be managed by Club employees.
Q: Well Number One – Our oldest and most productive well. The new bridge will run closer to it than before (7 feet away from the well house). What will be the effect on the well casement during bridge construction? How would this affect our available water supply? If damaged during construction how much would it cost to replace the casement? Do the pipelines need to be re-routed? What plans have been made to re-rout the well pipelines? How much would it cost to re-rout the well pipelines to facilitate access? Are these costs included in the projected $5 million bridge replacement budget?
A: The engineers do not anticipate any impact on the well casement, nor do they foresee any problems with the available water supply. The well’s environment will be improved with the removal of existing piles that are closer to the well site than the newly designed pile system will be. The surveyors have located the water lines and the need to reroute them has not been anticipated. If there is an issue with the lines going to the well being under the roadway, consideration should be given to adding that as an alternate cost in the construction contract.
Q: Interest Payment – In an email dated July 29, 2010, “The interest for this loan [Mutual of Omaha] will not be able to come out of the loan proceeds as the regulators have put pressure on banks in this area, including Mutual of Omaha, so we will need to be thinking about how we pay the interest on the line of credit once we start to draw on it for the construction. I would imagine this will be another special assessment following the Phase II assessment since we wouldn’t begin to draw on the line of credit until sometime around April 2011. We can discuss this”. Why didn’t we know about this before? When will this be presented to the members? How much would an assessment be to the members? Obviously this cost is not included in the projected $5 million bridge replacement budget.
A: At the Annual Member Meeting, it was noted that traditionally borrowers have been able to include the interest as part of the construction loan so that it would not be an out-of-pocket expense as draws were made during construction. The budget was estimated to include that interest expense, but members were cautioned that regulations could be changing with regard to this practice. Confirmation that this change was in effect was conveyed to the Board of Trustees after the Annual Meeting. The members will be informed if and when loan approval is received from Mutual of Omaha and the interest rate is identified. A Special Meeting will be held to present the entire loan package and the assessment schedule that would be required for both construction interest and loan repayment.