Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Thomas A. Gross, Sr., Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, Medford Capel, Utilities Manager, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting. Mr. Kirby moved that the minutes of the meeting of November 15, 1999 be accepted as presented, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that the Utilities Commission has cash on hand and in banks on December 14, 1999 of $361,302.27.

Mayor Bailey called on Mr. Capel for his report. Mr. Capel said everything was going well. He said their fuel tanks were filled and they would fill the vehicles with gas on the 30th. He said he did not think there would be any problems with Y2K as they were ready. He said as long as we do not have a heavy rain storm like Floyd they will be all right.

Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Ingersoll for the MDE report. Mr. Ingersoll we got a letter in June from MDE concerning high BOD readings in March and April and they advised us of the possibility of fines for those two months. He said we wrote in August and explained that we thought these were acts in nature, in that the turnover used to be annual event following hard winters and now there were several turnovers during the milder winters. He said they may not be buying this explanation but they are tying it up with our BNR agreement. He said they have fined Pocomoke City for a similar lagoon problem within the last eighteen months, and not considered it an act of nature. He said that MDE says these fines are mandatory from the EPA but they are capped at a certain level. The fines without a cap would have been $43,000 a month but for a community of our size it was capped at $5,000 a month. He said there are solutions that we have advised them that we want to pursue, some discussed in meetings here and some discussed with MDE. One possibility was spray irrigation; another having a dry retaining pond to fill in the spring; and, of course, the remedies that Dr. Randall sent in the letter in June. He said it is very possible that the Town will be fined for the two months violations. He said he asked MDE where the fines went and was told in the Clean Water Fund. He then asked for a Clean Water Fund grant in the amount of the proposed fine. He said he did not see where those funds went into anything that would help towns in our situation.

Mr. Ingersoll said Galena has the same problem and they also feel it was an act of nature. He said a typical act of nature would be the flood from the hurricane. He said he will ask them what all they consider acts of nature and to explain the BOD variations. They can't explain it to us. MDE wants to tie the Town into a Consent Order, which would be of longer duration to correct our problems. He said during the time of the Consent Order the Town would be immune from any other fines. He said they see that as a good package, that the Town pay the two months fines and are immune from further fines. He said would bring more to the Council. He said MDE stated they do not like to impose fines but if they do not, they will come under the gun in their monthly reports to EPA. Mr. Ingersoll said the EPA would automatically give the fines. Mr. Capel said the BOD reports are monthly. Mr. Ingersoll said in a period of 72 months from the installation of aeration, we went from high BOD readings to very low.

Mr. Capel said in the months that we had the high BOD's and the high suspended solids (the suspended solids come from the algae growing in the pond) from March through the rest of the year we had millions of fish (minnows) in the pond which were reproduced. He said we had more cormorants, shoveler ducks, sea gulls and other ducks around the aerators eating the fish. He said they take 5 gallon buckets of the fish out of the chlorination chamber where they get caught and dump them up at the larger pond. He said the algae was not killing the fish. Mr. Ingersoll asked if the fish had any impact on the BOD levels. Mr. Capel said they do not. He said the report we had for November met all the levels of our permit and are in compliance. He said he does not know why the algae came up except for the warm winter. He said in anticipation of the same thing, he has the ponds down as low as he can get them (about 2 1/2 ft.) but they can only hold the water for so long. He said depending on the amount of rain we get, the ponds can come up in a couple of weeks.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any further questions. There being none, she asked the Council to review the bills. Mr. Bristoll moved that the bills be paid as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the meeting be adjourned at 7:42 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.