A new board member for the Pearl River County Utility Authority was presented during Thursday’s meeting.

He is Bill Winborn, a former member of the Poplarville Board of Aldermen.

The board took a few minutes during the meeting to welcome Winborn to the meeting before addressing matters on the agenda.

During discussion of the agenda, the board heard from their attorney, Mike Caples, who provided updates on the Utility Authority’s revenue. Caples said their water revenue is up, but wastewater revenue is down. He suspects the cause to be due to the abundance of recent rain, which has prevented people from watering their lawns and other outdoor plants.

A recent dyke failure at the Poplarville wastewater treatment plant also put a financial burden on their finances. The failure involved wastewater leaving the lagoon and entering nearby creeks. Residents were advised to stay out of the creeks while the matter was addressed.

Caples said repairing the failure cost the Utility Authority about $23,569. Board president Steve Lawler said the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality took the opportunity to make a training video of the repairs to the Poplarville lagoon.

“Which speaks well,” Lawler said.

Additionally, about $127,000 in sewer system repairs were conducted on Read Road in Picayune. While there were some costly unexpected repairs, Caples felt sure that the reserves would cover those expenses.

Another expense involved purchasing ultraviolet light bulbs for the wastewater processing plant in Picayune. Caples said each bulb is about $300, and they come in packs of 100, making for an additional $32,000 expense.

In all, the budget will be about $200,000 short. On a positive note, Caples said some new revenue will be derived from processing Waste Management’s leachate.

The Utility Authority is also dealing with faulty pressure switches in the Hide-A-Way Lake subdivision, which was due to a manufacturing issue. Caples said the switches are still under warranty, but the company is declining to install them.

Board member Ike Lewis felt that if the issue was due to faulty pressure switches, the Utility Authority should not have to pay to install them.

“We haven’t changed our position, it’s their job to come replace them,” Caples said.

Caples said negotiations continue in that matter.

Bids for a multimillion-dollar project will be opened Tuesday at the Utility Authority office in Picayune at 10 a.m. Assistant Executive Director Debbie Bounds said the project is estimated to cost between $6 to $7 million, and will involve videoing, cleaning and repairing the city of Picayune’s wastewater lines.

The board also discussed holding their meetings at a centralized place, instead of rotating between Picayune and Poplarville city halls. Instead, their meetings would always be held at a conference room at the Picayune treatment facility on Neal Road. Board attorney Heather Ladner suggested the board wait until their recessed meeting set for July 29 to make a decision on the matter so she can take care of some legal issues associated with making the change. The board approved a motion to table the matter until Ladner can resolve those issues.

With the absence of former vice president Tommy Breland, the board nominated a new member to the position, Ike Lewis.

“I’m not happy about it but I promise to do the best I can,” Lewis said jovially.

The board approved a motion to appoint him as vice president.

The next regular meeting is set for Aug. 21.