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Water
Filters & Copepods
The Annual meeting was attended by about 140 people. There was not a lot of excitement, and the quality of the sound system left something to be desired. One question of particular interest pertained to a water filtration system that was recently installed. An overview of this is presented below.
A question was raised by a Shareholder regarding $34,000 that was spent for a water filtration system. Wasn't that installed, the questioner suggested, merely to acceed to the demands of a certain segment of the community? And if so, what was the process by which such a purchase was authorized?
Stripped of innuendo, the questionner was referring to a rumor that the water filtration system was signed for by former Board President Jerry Waldman, without Board authorization, and in response to the Orthodox Jewish Community's insistence that water that contains "copepods" must be filtered in order to be kosher. Stripped of innuendo, it was disclosed that this rumor is true.
Stanely Friedland first tried his hand at the answer, saying that Jerry Waldman would have been castrated (yes, Mr. Friedland said this) had he not acceeded the demands that this filtration system be installed. Then Eric Mandelbaum took the microphone, and in no uncertain terms provided the following information:
- Copepods are tiny crustacans, they exist naturally in freshwater, and are harmless. Nonetheless, when it was discovered some years ago that they can exceed a certain size and thereby be detected by the human eye, they were deemed "unkosher". People who ascribe to the Jewish dietary laws have long taken to the use of filtered water as not to ingest these creatures.
- Mr. Waldman did indeed sign for the filtration system without due process. The Board "ratified" the decision after-the-fact.
- There was no practical need for the filtration system. Mr. Mandelbaum took the initiative of having water tested, and no copepods or other quality issues were found.
- To a follow-up question about whether the filtration system would address our problem of occasional dirty water, Mr. Mandelbaum pointed out that the filtration system was installed on the outside of our water system, and that the dirty water problem, due to our aging internal pipes and particularly notable after water shutdowns, would not be affected.
- Mr. Mandelbaum also noted that while there was no technical problem that led to the installation of the filtration system, just having the filtration system can lead to new problems, as the system need to be regularly maintained and the filters need periodic replacement.