Page 4 10 May 1994 The Franklin County Chronicle VOLUNTEERS HONORED AT GULF CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTE \)R.ok Eight .volunteers from the Franklin Work Camp were honored on 21 April at a Volunteer Appreciation, Banquet at Gulf Correctional Institute (C. I.). Those honored included Rev. and Mrs. Onnie Jackson (for their camp ministry), Wanda Teat and Brenda Wilson (for G.E.D. instruction), Guy Marsh, Allan and Betty Roberts and this writer (for educational instruction with the Franklin County Adult Reading Program). The event began at 6 P.M. with an invocation from Rev. Jackson, Chaplain Michael Newton and Inmate Joe Pacifico gave welcoming words to those in attendance. After the group welcome, the volunteers were treated to a banquet provided by the Food Service Department of Gulf C. I. Chaplain Michael Lister of Gulf Forestry introduced guest speaker, Jerry Kelley (principal at Wewahitchka Elementary School), at the close of dinner. Kelley praised those at the honor's benefit as "essential pieces in the rehabilitative puzzle." Kelley thanked the volunteers present for their effort to help the corrections system. At the banquet's close, approximately 30 volunteers from Gulf C. I., Gulf Forestry and the Franklin Work Camp were presented with Certificates of Appreciation for assisting the Department of Correction. Gene Brown Pre-Filed Testimony Continued From The Previous Issue ". Can you be more specific, and discuss the various adjustments as they appear in the revised MFR's? A. Yes. First, with regard to Account 601, Employee Salaries and Wages, we put a new pay raise into effect as of December 1, 1993. This was done for two basic reasons: (1) to keep up with the cost of living increase; and (2) to maintain employee morale so that we would have no turnover. These raises had been promised for some time, and it was necessary to put them into effect so we would not lose any experienced employees. We also have been required to hire a new full time office staff person, Fiona Ramion, who is paid $6.00 per hour for a basic 40 hour week. She was and is necessary to maintain our books and records in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Commission as interpreted to us by the Commission staff. In order to meet the "readilyavailable requirementoftheNARUC(ascheduleofanaccounting system) rules as Interpreted bythe Commission's audit staff, we now prepare full daily documentation on each and every transaction as ultimately reflected in our monthly general ledgers. It was impossible to provide this level ofdetail and to otherwise maintain our books and records in accord with the NARUC and PSC rules without the addition of at least one staff person in the Tallahassee office. As mentioned earlier, we also had to hire a new maintenance person to assist with the day-to-day operations on St. George Island. The person we hired is Larry Hatfleld, who is working for us at the rate of $8.00 per hour. There are a number of reasons for adding this person to our staff on the Island. We now gather all of the DEP required samples in house, whereas we previously contracted this work out at the rate of $800 per month to Southern Water Services, Inc. Second, as shown by the Baskerville-Donovan aerator report, we will be required to flush our lines on a daily basis at various dead end points on the Island, which is 20 miles long. This alone will require approximately four hours per day for one person. Third, with the proliferation of shallow wells and the increased emphasis by DEP, PSC, etc. regarding the cross connection program it is almost a full time Job for one person tokeep our system map up to date and to audit all of the development and construction which is going on throughout St. George Island, much ofwhich includes the construction of shallow wells. Fourth, at the insistence of the PSC audit staff, we are now keeping detailed work orders, purchase orders, time logs, plant records, and other records which were not kept at the same level ofdetail during the 1992 test year. Fifth, our leak detection program is taking more and more time. Also, in order to document each and every transaction on a daily basis, a great deal more of Hank Garrett's time in the office Is required to provide this detail to our Tallahassee bookkeeping office on a dally basis. In other words, Hank Garrett no longer has time to work in the field with Kenneth Shiver on routine repairs and maintenance as he did in 1992. Instead, he has to spend substantial time in the office doing managerial and bookkeeping functions, so that he is available for manual labor and repairs only on an emergency basis. Regarding Account 604, Employee Pensions and Benefits, we have enacted an employee pension and profits sharing plan effective January 1, 1994. This type of plan has been promised to the employees for several years, and it was necessary to implement it at this time to maintain employee morale and to keep the dedicated employees which we have. This plan requires a contribution by the utility of an amount equal to 5% of each employees' salary. I am not included In this plan, because I am not a direct employee of the utility company. We have also revised our health insurance program to provide basic health insurance coverage for all utility personnel. All employees of the utility were not covered by health Insurance during the test year of 1992, which was not fair or equitable. We have been able to cap these costs by providing a direct cash allowance to each employee, rather than maintaining an overall group policy which would be subject to periodic increases. Also, we have provided for $3,000 per year for employee education and seminars. I recently spent five days at the NARUC seminar at Clearwater Beach. I believe that at least two of the utility's employees involved in accounting management need to attend this or a similar seminar. Sandra Chase, who s in charge of our cross connection control program, needs to attend one or more cross connection control seminars to fully understand how to satisfy the requirements of her position. Ann Hills, who is in charge four computerized billing system, needs to attend the annual seminar that TAABS offers to keep up with the advances in the TAABS billing software. Hank Garrett is now trying to obtain his Class "B" operator's license and Kenneth Shiver is trying to obtain his Class "C" operator's license. Both of these individuals need to attend at least one or two seminars annually to keep up with all utility companyoperating requirements and other advancesin the LIBRARY DIRECTOR PROVIDES IN-SERVICE TRAINING AT FRANKLIN WORK CAMP Judy Corbus is the Multi- County SHIP Home Economics Extension Agent with the University of Florida, Franklin County Cooperative Extension Service. The Cooperative Extension service provides educational information and other services to individuals without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. For more information, Contact the Franklin County Cooperative Extension service at (904) 653-9337. industry. These seminars are sponsored by DEP, Rural Water Association and other similar agencies and entities. Seminars such as these should be attended by our employees on a ongoing basis, and it is estimated that this will cost approximately $3,000 per year. Regarding Account 631, Contractual Services-Engineering, it is necessary for the utility to have the services of a competent engineer available on an ongoing basis. We constantly need engineering advice regarding the proper operation and maintenance of the system. Also, the utility and its personnel have to meet and confer on an ongoing basis with developers, customers, and various agency personnel regarding engineering matters. This includes meetings with DEP, PSC, Northwest Florida Water Management District, Volunteer Fire Department, St. George Island Civic Club, St. George Island Plantation Owners'Association, Florida Rural WaterAssociation, an various other groups and agencies that have an ongoing interest in the utility company and its operations involving engineering issues. To assure that we will have engineering expertise and assistance available at all times, the utility entered into a retainer agreement with Mr. Wayne Coloney, effective January 1, 1992, at a cost of $500 per month. We feel this expense is reasonable and necessary to provide Hank Garrett and me with instant engineering assistance which is necessary for both of us to properly do our jobs. RegardingAccount 632, Contractual Services-Accounting, we have a retainer agreement with Barbara Withers, CPA, for $500 per month or $6,000 per year, effective January 1, 1993. This covers five hours ofwork per month. Any excess time spent by Ms. Withers is billed at the rate of $100 per hour. We primarily use Barbara Withers for our tax returns, all partnership accounting, and other complicated or more sophisticated accounting matters. Our day- to-day accounting, Including compliance with NARUC and PSC accounting requirements, Is handled by Jeanie Drawdy. She works 16 hours pe week at a cost of $20 per hour. She has responsibility for assuring that we are in compliance with NARUC and PSC accounting requirements. She prepares and files the annual reports, as well as the monthly and yearly general ledgers. Based upon the detailed and stringent accounting requirements which must be met by this utility company, we must have the services of both Ms. Withers and Ms. Drawdy, as I mentioned earlier, in order to remain in compliance with all applicable accounting requirements. Regarding Account 633, Contractual Services-Legal, the utility has entered into a retainer agreement with my professional association, Gene D. Brown, P.A.. under which the utility is obligated to pay $2,000 per month. This covers all legal services that the utility may require, except extraordinary matters such as this rate case and substantial litigation that cannot be handled by me alone. As a part of this retainer agreement, I keep detailed time records covering all legal matters which I handle for the utility company. This time Is billed to the utility at $150 per hour, which is my standard hourly rate, but I have agreed to waive all fees in excess of $24,000 peryear. During the time that Mary LaBatt was co-managing the utility with me last summer, I was requested to keep time records Tor a period of approximately 6 weeks. The result was a bill of approximately $4,000 to $6,000 per month. Since I was requested to keep detailed time records by the PSC audit staff last fall, I have been keeping time sheets on all legal services rendered to the utility. On the basis of these time records, the utility would be charged well in excess of $24,000 per year if the utility was required to pay at the rate of $150 per hour rather than an agreed fee of $2,000 per month. Regarding Account 634, Contractual Services-Management, the utility has COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSEL SAFETY DRILL INSTRUCTOR'S COURSE Two Days U. S. COAST GUARD APPROVED CERTIFICATE WHERE: Apalachicola, Florida WHEN: Session #1 31 May & 1 June '94 Session #2 3 June & 4 June '94 FREE USCG Licensing Seminars 9 -11 A.M. & 7 9 P.M. 5 June '94 For information/course registration, contact: Florida Training Systems at: 407-799-1030 or write: Florida Training Systems 405D Atlantis Rd. Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 Space is limited!!! By Brian Goercke Franklin County Library Director, Eileen Annie, visited the Franklin Work Camp on 22 April to provide inmate Jason Davis with in-service training on librarian techniques. Inmate Davis was chosen as the camp librarian for the newly created library. Eileen Annie demonstrated how to categorize different books, fill out check-out cards and place card sleeves within the books. The Franklin Work Camp is in the process of sorting its donated books and creating the proper shelving. The library is expected to be fully functional by July. Pulse wc otl ntI11h2d~t Consumer News from page 3 Finally, ifyou are thinking ofbuying an older house to remodel, remember not to "over-build the neighborhood." To reduce the risk of a loss on your investment, it is best not to increase the value of the house more than 15% over the top value in the neighborhood. For example, if you buy a house in a $50,000-house neighborhood and add a $24,000 addition, it is highly unlikely you will sell your house to a family looking for a $75,000 house. They will be looking in a s $75,000-house neighborhood. Another "rule of thumb" is the cost of the improvement should be less than 60% of the cost of building a new home of equal size and quality. j Findingyour "right" house requires time, patience, and a little homework but it is effort well spent when you end up with a home that fits your budget, your needs, and most importantly YOUI Snow Cook House P.O. Box 671 Antiques & Collectibles Weldon C. Vowell Highway 98 at 4th Street (904) 697-3539 Carrabelle, Florida 32322 Edwin G. Brown & Associates, Inc. Professional Land Surveyors 2813 Crawfordville Highway P.O. Box 625 Crawfordville, FL 32327 (904) 927-3016 GARLIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATES, INC. STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATORY AGREEMENTS TO \. PERMITTING y.;.a "'* WETLANDS JURISDICTIONAL DELINEATIONS r* SUBMERGED LAND LEASES , S ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS .. '* PROJECT SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT .; . ;. -DAN GARLICK ". ".,-,A,, . . 1^... P.O. BOX 385 ...... ., APAIACHICOIA. FL 32329-0385 ..:.. (904) 653-8899 FAX (904) 653-9656 ~I '1kk' CONTR S]I ACO Summerhill Electric, Inc. P.O. Box 444, Carrabelle, FL 32322 Lie. # ER0010221 Lie. # RA0060122 * Electrical Refrigeration * Heating & A/C Insured 697-3103 John Summerhill Beeper # 422 SELLERS ELECTRIC ~Residential Commercial \New Construction Remodeling Ed Sellers (904) 697-2638 Mobile Phone 670-7638 Ucense # Beeper 551-1292 ER 0010721 Eveready GAS AND APPLIANCE, INC. HIGHWAY 98 EAST CARRABELLE, FL 32322 PHONE # 697-3334 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR 94-0032 HEATING & A/C CONTRACTOR RA 51447 APPLIANCE SALES AND SERVICE LP GAS # 1914 GEEAL CNTACO QUALITY WORK REASONABLE RATES JOHN'S CONSTRUCTION S Remodeling & Custom Homes Roofing & Repairs | Vinyl Siding 697-2376 John Hewitt CEN. CONTRACTOR UC. OWNER NO: RG0050763 noo:NG CONTRACTOR UC. 104 WEST HWY. 98 CARRABELLE WOOD CONCRETE MASONRY PAINTING CABINETS Jimmy AdamQ Construction 'We Build Most Anything" RG 0012749 Telephone Mobile 653-7111 Home 697-3158 COASTAL REMODELING & CONSTRUCTION New Construction Commercial Vinyl Siding 697-2885 License # 94-0092 Jacob Roberts RESIDENTIAL CONTRACTOR Additions, Roofing, Patios Painting, Blockwork, Etc. DON LIVELY CONSTRUCTION GENERAL CONTRACTOR RC 0066499 RG 0065255 P.O. BOX 170 (904) 697-2078 CARRABELLE, FL 32322 Carrabelle, FL (904) 697-2276 DAN BENNET Lic. Contractor, RG0045834 RC006655S, RF0066490 New Construction Plumbing Repairs Roofing Vinyl Siding Painting Pressure Watering Pressure Watering an ongoing management agreement with Armada Bay Company, which Is an affiliated management company. This retainer agreement has been provided to the Commission staff, and It details the scope of the agreement. Basically, it covers any and all management responsibilities regarding all day-to-day utility operations. It also covers the office space which I use, as well as substantial office equipment and furniture which is owned by Armada Bay Company and used by the utility company. At the suggestion of the Commission's audit staff, I have been keeping general time records regarding my management responsibilities with the utility company. These records show that I am spending almost all of my time in managing this utility company. I intend to continue doing this until the remaining problems are solved, and until the utility secures a sufficient revenue base so that the company can be managed by a professional utility manager who does not have to face the daily cash flow crises that we have been operating under for the past several years. Regarding Account 635, Contractual Services-Other, there are a number of adjustments which need to be made. First, we need to have a contract with a competent testing lab to pick up and test our samples as required by the DEP regulations. The lab we had been using lost some of our samples last year, which caused us substantial problems, Also, the DEP personnel and our engineers have strongly recommended that we transfer our testing to a more competent qualified lab. Accordingly, we have obtained a written quote from Savannah Labs in Tallahassee, based upon all of the sampling that we are currently required to perform to meet all applicable state and federal regulations. We are no longer going to Impose upon the wives of our employees to deliver the samples to the lab. This procedure has raised numerous concerns and questions which need to be avoided. The quote set forth in our revised MFR's is the total annual amount required to properly meet our sampling requirements. Over the years, we have received numerous complaints about our personnel not being in uniform. Many of our customers have complained that they do not like un-uniformed personnel coming on their property because their tenants do not know our employees are utility authorized personnel who have authority to come on to the property for meter reading and other similar matters. We did not provide uniforms for our employees during the 1992 test year, but we now have a contract to provide these at approximately $1,200 per year. I believe this is a reasonable and necessary expense. DEP has mandated that we make arrangements for substantial maintenance of the ground storage tank. Also, ourengineers and others have advised that our elevated tank will soon begin having substantial problems unless we begin a maintenance program immediately. Based on this, we have agreed to a maintenance contract with Eagle Tank Technology Corporation of Jacksonville for the ongoing maintenance of both tanks at a cost of $20,493 per year. For many years, we have been advised that our pipes throughout the Island need to be cleaned or "pigged out" on a periodic ongoing basis. This will help us detect and repair leaks, itwill increase water pressure, it will cut down on turbidity levels and other water quality problems, and It will provide other benefits that have been explained to us. The cost of this work is $35,040 per year, which we believe to be an ordinary and necessary expense for the utility company. Continued on page 8 THE WHISTLE STOP L I I I I I -rr ~ I - V-iumuw w A.L Z-4908 Published twice monthlv on the 10th and 26tlh