The Avalon Water and Sewer Service Corporation (AWSSC) held their annual and monthly meeting on Thursday night. Directors Jimmy Brown, Denice Wimbish, Manuel Rodriguez and Rickey Johnston were present; David Waishes, Robin Donaldson, and Jeremy Langley were absent. Denice Wimbish and Manuel Rodriquez were re-elected to the board with 62 total votes cast.

A question of base rate changes was discussed. Questions had been asked regarding commercial customers downgrading the size of water lines for a reduction in their base rate.

“The base rate charge would not change with a downgrade in the size of the meter or lines,” Jimmy Brown stated. “Our tariff states what the charge will be for different size meters and as long as the meter is in place, we will charge the original rate.”

The board tabled the appointment of a new secretary/treasurer. They unanimously approved the financial report and minutes from the May 9, 2013 meeting.

During the open forum, Carol Gillespie told the board she was confused as to why the corporation was electing officers when the Secretary of State involuntarily terminated the corporation on May 24, 2013. Jimmy Brown stated they had not received anything from the Secretary of State regarding this. Gillespie gave him the document from the Secretary of State. Brown stated they would research the item and do whatever it took to fix the problem.

A concerned member also addressed the board about late fees and her inability to reach anyone to check on her bill.

“It took me from May 28th until June 6th to get someone to call me back,” she stated. “We received a notice that our bill was due by a certain date and we paid the entire bill. We have had the $20 late charge on our bill for the last three months. This cannot be right,” she added.

Dean Carrell told her they would check her account and correct anything that was incorrect and notify her.

Carrell admitted there had been a few problems with the transition from Hilco to the present system.

“We took a system from Itasca and we know there will be problems, but we will do everything we can to take care of those.”

“Some people had bad experiences and were unhappy and rightfully so,” stated Rickey Johnston. “So, we are trying to do the right thing and address their concerns. This group of people here are working to fix any problems. It will take time to get our members’ confidence back.”

Denice Wimbish agreed. “We need people to let us know if they have a problem. If we are not aware of something, we cannot fix it,” she said.

In the sewer and water update, Mr. Carrell reported that they still had a 5% water loss. He also stated the water usage had increased and they gained over $7,000 last month.

“Things are getting better with the increased water usage,” Carrell stated. “ Hopefully it will continue over the summer so we can make plans to do some things we need to do.”

After a short executive session to discuss personnel, no action was taken.

There will be a called meeting on Monday, June 17, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss personnel.