Chairman McNutt called the meeting to order. Carol Eighmey recognized and thanked Trustee Randy Allen for his service to the PSTIF, noting he is leaving the Office of Administration to lead the Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Eighmey also recognized John Balkenbush, DNR Tanks Section Chief, for his service and cooperation with the PSTIF and wished him well in his new job in DNR's Parks Division. Andrea Kliethermes was introduced as DNR's Interim Tanks Section Chief. Pat Eriksen informed the Board that David Pate had resigned and that Dan Henry would be taking his place; he also reported that Ray Lentz had tendered his resignation and would be leaving Williams & Company on October 14; Mr. Eriksen assured the Board that a replacement would be found as soon as possible. Chairman McNutt thanked all for their cooperation and contribution to the PSTIF's success, and wished them well in their new endeavors. |
|
| Trustees Present: |
Absent: |
Don McNutt, Chairman
James Ford, Vice Chairman
Randy Allen
Tom Kolb
Danny Opie
Tom Pfeiffer
Melvin Schebaum
Dan Schuette
Bruce Work
|
John Albert
Gary O'Neal
|
| Staff Present: |
|
Carol R. Eighmey, Executive Director
Diane Wallace, Executive Assistant
Pat Eriksen, Managing Partner, Williams & Company
Pat Vuchetich, General Claims Manager
Ray Lentz, Operations Manager
|
Claim Appeal– Gerald Mini Mart, Claim 61977
Carol Eighmey
briefly summarized the claim appeal and recommendation. Chairman McNutt asked if there were any questions from the Trustees. Jim Ford moved that the additional $626.19 which the owner has indicated he will accept as final settlement be paid. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes– July 27, 2005 Meeting
Tom Pfeiffer moved that the minutes from the July 27, 2005 Board meeting be approved with Dan Schuette's amendment as follows: On page 2 in the last paragraph under the section titled DNR Plans for FY06 for Tanks Work, change “Director Childers said his impression is that the EPA is not interested in having discussions with the PSTIF and seems to think it is a ‘private entity'” to “Director Childers said his impression is that the EPA believes that the PSTIF is a private entity and is working with the state agency.” Dan Schuette seconded. Motion carried.
Monthly Reports
Chairman McNutt invited the Trustees to review the monthly reports. Ms. Eighmey gave an overview of the trend data provided in the Trustees' notebooks, observing that claims frequency is clearly dropping.
Dan Schuette moved that the Board release funding for the three new remedial claims. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Cash Flow Projection
Chairman McNutt introduced Pat Eriksen, who gave a PowerPoint presentation on the PSTIF's projected cash flow. A copy of his presentation is attached hereto**.
Chairman McNutt thanked Mr. Eriksen for his presentation.
Report and Recommendation from Advisory Committee – PEI Training Courses
Chairman McNutt asked Ms. Eighmey and Ron Leone to recap the Committee's discussion and recommendation to purchase 2500 PEI Internet Training Courses for use by UST owners/operators who are PSTIF participants.
Discussion ensued. Trustees raised questions about who would be using the training, how many training courses would likely be used over what time period, and how usage would be tracked. Some suggested that owners/operators who use the courses could be given a discount on their participation fees; others suggested that the courses should be made mandatory.
After much discussion, it was agreed that the PSTIF Executive Director would work with PEI to address the Trustees' questions, and the vote would be postponed until the next meeting.
FY06 Plans
DNR Work Plan – Ms. Eighmey summarized the Work Plan for FY06 recently provided by DNR; she noted that the Department had decided to use $700,000 from the PSTIF for tanks regulatory work and $300,000 for the DNR's Environmental Emergency Response program. She said she had asked the Department to maximize its efforts to recover EER costs, including overhead, from responsible parties who are not insured by the PSTIF so as to minimize the use of PSTIF money for EER costs involving petroleum spills or leaks at non-insured sites. Dan Schuette agreed to talk to his staff about this.
Inspections Assignment to Rounds & Associates – Bruce Work observed that inspections need to get underway and made a motion to authorize up to 1200 inspections to be assigned to Rounds & Associates, to be completed in FY06. Jim Ford seconded. Voting in favor of the motion were Randy Allen, Jim Ford, Tom Kolb, Don McNutt, Danny Opie, Tom Pfeiffer, Melvin Schebaum, and Bruce Work. Dan Schuette voted against.
Review and Approve FY07 Funding Requests
Trustees reviewed the following appropriation requests for FY07:
Department of Revenue – Bruce Work moved to approve the request from the Department of Revenue totaling approximately $34,545, with the understanding that the Governor or Legislature may increase the figure for cost-of-living raises. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Attorney General's Office – Tom Pfeiffer moved to approve the request from the Attorney General's Office totaling approximately $31,632, with the understanding that the Governor or Legislature may increase the figure for cost-of-living raises. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Office of Administration – Tom Pfeiffer moved to approve the request from the Office of Administration totaling $133,575 for central state services. Tom Kolb seconded. Motion carried.
Department of Natural Resources – Chairman McNutt noted that the Board had not yet received a FY07 request from DNR and inquired when it would be available. Mr. Schuette responded that DNR staff were working on it.
Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees – Tom Kolb moved that the Board submit FY07 appropriations requests identical to its FY06 appropriations. Tom Pfeiffer seconded. Motion carried.
Update
on FR Enforcement
Trustees reviewed the report in their notebooks on the ongoing efforts to enforce the “Financial Responsibility” requirement for USTs. Chairman McNutt noted that the Attorney General's Office is making good progress on getting sites into compliance.
Bruce Work asked for clarification on how quickly MDNR follows up on sites that have no FR. Mike Martin briefly explained the process, stating the Tanks Section first contacts the owner/operator and sends various letters – a process that normally takes 45 days. He said the file then is referred to the Enforcement Section, where additional correspondence is sent and tank owners/operators are again given time to comply. After the Enforcement Section has worked the file for about 90 days, the matter is referred to the Attorney General's Office.
Administrative Issues
Report on FY05 Audit – Ms. Eighmey reported that the KPMG auditor had been in the office reviewing files the previous week.
Board Meeting Dates for 2006 – Chairman McNutt asked Trustees to check their calendars and report any conflicts. Jim Ford moved to approve the suggested dates and locations for Board meetings in 2006. Dan Schuette seconded. Motion carried.
Billings – Chairman McNutt called the Trustees' attention to the recent bills in their notebooks.
Tom Pfeiffer moved that the Board go into closed session to discuss and vote on matters related to legal actions, causes of action, litigation and/or personnel issues pursuant to Section 610.021, RSMo. Bruce Work seconded. Motion carried.
If
such action is approved a majority vote of a quorum of the Board,
the Board of Trustees of the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund
may go into closed session at this meeting to discuss legal, confidential
or privileged matters pursuant to Section 610.021, RSMo.
**For a copy of either of the presentations mentioned in these minutes, please contact the PSTIF Office. Please note, if presentation(s) are in electronic format, they will be sent to you as an email attachment per your request. However, as some presentations may be in hard copy only, please provide your mailing address at the time of your email request.
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