March 2026

Minutes

VFSA Board Meeting Minutes

March 9, 2026

The Valley Forge Sewer Authority monthly meeting was held on Monday, March 9, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. In attendance: board members William LaPorte, Terri Woodman, David Demey, Samuel Cupp, Martha Majewski, and Louis Rubinfield. Also in attendance were General Manager Leonard Pinchok, Operations/Engineer Manager Matt Jackson, Laboratory Manager Richard Taylor, and David Shirk, representing the Authority’s Engineer of Record, Buchart Horn, Inc.

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr. LaPorte welcomed and introduced Mr. Louis Rubinfield as the newest board member representing Charlestown Township.

Reorganization

Mr. Pinchok announced the treasurer position is now available with the resignation of Mr. Stipa from the VFSA board. Ms. Majewski resigned as the assistant treasurer and then nominated herself for the treasurer position, seconded by Ms. Woodman, and the board unanimously approved the motion. Mr. Rubinfield nominated himself, seconded by Ms. Woodman, for the assistant treasurer position, and the board unanimously approved the motion. Mr. Pinchok announced the need to fill the roles of both the operations/construction and personnel committees previously held by Mr. Stipa. Mr. Pinchok briefly reviewed the role of each committee and the frequency of meeting dates. Mr. La Porte nominated Mr. Rubinfield, seconded by Ms. Woodman, for the open committee seats, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Public Comment 

There was no public comment.

Meeting Minutes

Ms. Woodman made a motion to approve the February 9, 2026, meeting minutes, seconded by Mr. Demey, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Operations Report

Mr. Taylor stated at the time of the printing of the reports that all parameters for the monitoring period of February 2026 are in accordance with the NPDES permit numerical limits. There were no permit violations during the month of February 2026. All outstanding reports for January 2026 were received without violations. Mr. Taylor reported a minor sanitary sewer overflow on February 13, 2026, occurring on Otts Lane. He indicated a small amount of flow made it into an unnamed tributary. The staff notified PADEP of the manhole overflow. There was no known observed effect based on the minimal amount of flow. Pipe Data View used a high-pressure jet cleaning of the gravity main to clear the blockage. A second event occurred on February 18, 2026: there was a permit violation for a sample type not in compliance caused by the final effluent sampler malfunction, resulting in utilizing grab samples for ammonia, suspended solids, and BOD testing. PADEP was notified of the incident. The effluent sampler was repaired and back in operation on the same morning. There were no order complaints reported to VFSA during February 2026. Mr. Demey made a motion to accept the operations report as presented, seconded by Mr. Cupp, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Financial Report

Mr. Pinchok presented the combined statement of operations for all accounts at the end of February with a balance of $22,155,532. Mr. Cupp asked what the journal entry would be to record the capacity purchase. Mr. Pinchok will review the transaction with the auditors. Mr. Pinchok briefly reviewed the purpose of the 537 Special Study Plan with the board. He noted the check for $5,440,792.50 payable to Tredyffrin Township was for the purchase of additional capacity as recommended in the Act 537 Special Study Plan and would be reimbursed to the authority through a special tapping fee. Fund balances were presented for review, including budget-to-actual summaries, where the revenue fund actual for the month is operating at a surplus of $236,193 and the treatment plant fund actual for the month has a surplus of $464,720. The imprest fund reconciliation was $1,716.79. The petty cash fund reconciliation was $20. Credit card purchases for the month were $2,021.14. Accounts payable invoices totaled $498,349.92. Ms. Woodman made a motion to approve agenda item B, 1 through 6, seconded by Mr. Demey, and the board unanimously approved the motion. The financial report continued with requisitions totaling $245,234.32. The monthly Treatment Plant Construction Fund requisition expenses were $204,263.11. The monthly Capital Improvement Fund requisition expenses were $40,971.21. Mr. Cupp made a motion to approve the requisitions as presented, seconded by Ms. Majewski, and the board approved the motion with Mr. LaPorte abstaining.

New Business

Auction Items

Mr. Pinchok presented a list of vehicles and equipment to be auctioned off either through Municibid or in-house through a silent auction for certain items. After a brief discussion, Ms. Woodman made a motion to approve the staff to manage the auctions for the listed items, seconded by Mr. Demey, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Notice to Customers: Increased Sewer Rates

Mr. Pinchok reviewed how rate increases were communicated to customers. The past two years, the authority mailed notices via the USPS. The response to the mailings was very minimal. This year, Mr. Pinchok is recommending placing an ad in the local newspapers to communicate the 2026 rate increase. The notice of a rate increase was already posted on the VFSA, Charlestown Township, East Pikeland Township, and Schuylkill Township websites. Mr. Cupp made a motion to advertise the rate increase in the local papers for one day, seconded by Mr. Demey, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Old Business

Act 537 Special Study

Mr. Shirk is scheduling meetings with the member municipalities to discuss the Act 537 plan and service area mapping. Mr. Shirk submitted a supplement for work prior to the first of the year. He indicated Buchart Horn has accumulated a considerable amount of expense during the finalization process of the Act 537 plan. The efforts accrued about 185 hours of additional time at a cost of $36,800. The additional hours accumulated after the second submittal of the ACT 537 plan was not approved. Mr. Shirk noted that no additional time will be incurred for the Act 537 Plan. After a brief discussion, a motion to hold this matter for a future meeting was made by Ms. Majewski, seconded by Ms. Woodman, and the board unanimously approved the motion.

Snyder Avenue Sewer Extension

There was no additional information for this project.

Final Clarifier #1 and #2 Bid Notice

Mr. Jackson reviewed the memorandum shared with the board for the final clarifier project. He noted that the clarifiers are from the original building of the plant. Over the years, regular maintenance of the clarifiers was able to keep them in service. A preliminary engineering study revealed the need to rehabilitate the clarifiers. The final design of the clarifiers was presented to the operations and construction committee meeting in October 2025. All adjustments to the final design are completed. The staff are having the authority solicitor and insurance broker review prior to bidding on the project. The engineers’ cost estimate is lower than the approved capital project budget. The staff anticipates advertising on March 17, 2026, for a six-week period with a bid opening on April 30, 2026. Mr. LaPorte asked if the bid specifications permit fabrication from an experienced company that can replace in kind. The staff will review documents to include an experience clause to ensure proper fabrication. The staff will provide the date of the bid opening to the board members.

Other

Mr. Jackson reviewed the plans for the Perkiomen Pump Station. The final design for flood improvements is expected shortly. The wastewater treatment plant improvement project, which includes renovation work in the chlorine building and main scum pit, is expecting the final design in the next few weeks.

Executive Session

The VFSA board entered executive session at 8.15pm to discuss the personnel matters. The executive session ended at 8:55pm.

Adjournment

Mr. Cupp made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ms. Woodman, and the board unanimously approved the motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:56pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Dave Demey

VFSA Board Secretary