2.2. ERMUSR 06-11-2013 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
UTILITIES COMMISSION
HELD AT UTILITIES CONFERENCE ROOM
May 14,2013
Members Present: John Dietz, Chair; Al Nadeau, Vice Chair; Daryl Thompson, Trustee
ERMU Staff Present: Troy Adams,General Manager;
Theresa Slominski,Finance and Office Manager;
Mark Fuchs, Line Superintendent; David Berg, Water Superintendent;
Wade Lovelette,Technical Services Superintendent;
Tom Sagstetter, Conservation& Key Accounts Manager;
Jennie Nelson,Executive Administrative Assistant
Others Present: Cal Portner,City Administrator; Peter Beck,Attorney
1.0 CALL MEETING TO ORDER
John Dietz called the May 14, 2013 meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
1.1 Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
1.2 Consider Utilities Agenda
Troy Adams requested to move agenda item 5.1 to before Open Mic.
Daryl Thompson moved to approve the amended May 14,2013 Utilities agenda. Al Nadeau
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
2.0 CONSENT AGENDA(Approved By One Motion)
Daryl Thompson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as follows:
2.1 April Check Register
2.2 April 9,2013 Previous Meeting Minutes
2.3 Financial Statements
Al Nadeau seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
3.0 OPEN MIC
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Regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission
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No one appeared for open mic.
5.1 2012 Financial Audit
The 2012 Financial Audit was presented to the Commissioners.Auditor Andrew Berg from
Abdo, Eick,and Meyers was at the meeting to present the auditor's findings. The auditors gave
ERMU a clean opinion,which is the best rating you can receive. Discussion followed. The
commissioners did not have any questions for ERMU staff.
Al Nadeau made a motion to receive and file the 2012 Financial Audit.Daryl Thompson
seconded the motion.Motion carried 3-0.
4.0 OLD BUSINESS
4.1 Purchase of iPads and ERMU iPad/Tablet Device Guidelines
The 2013 budget includes $10,000 for the purchase of iPads for the monthly commission
meetings, with the consideration that the analysis and potential final purchase will be determined
in 2013. At the April Commission Meeting, an overview of the iPad capabilities and an
introduction to its use was presented to the Commissioners. This month, a policy for handling
ipads and an overview of the costs and potential savings was presented.
Theresa Slominski noted a change on the cost calculations. The entire cost for the iPads,
including the change, will be $11,611. Discussion followed.
Daryl Thompson made a motion to approve the purchase of iPads. Al Nadeau seconded the
motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Daryl Thompson made a motion to approve the iPad/Tablet Device Guidelines. Al Nadeau
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
5.0 NEW BUSINESS
5.2 MN Statute 216B.097 Cold Weather Rule
Minnesota statute 216B.097 states that "A municipal utility or a cooperative electric
association must not disconnect and must reconnect the utility service of a residential customer
during the period between October 15 and April 15 if the disconnection affects the primary heat
source for the residential unit..."
Elk River Municipal Utilities has always followed the procedure of disconnecting shortly
before October 15th and then again shortly after the following April 15`h. This year when the
Cold Weather Rule ended, temperatures were colder than years past. John Dietz had requested
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that the Commission discuss different disconnect options (waiting until weather improves, etc)
during inclement weather.
Discussion followed. The Commission decided to leave these decisions up to
management to determine what the best option is at that time.
5.3 1St Quarter Performance Metrics and Incentive Compensation Policy Results
The Commission adopted a Performance Metrics program in December 2012, for
implementation January 1, 2013. This is a company performance based program designed to
incentivize employee commitment towards the company's success. Divided into categories
representing core values of the company and again into sub-categories that are quantifiable, this
program is designed to track goals that require companywide support of the employees to
continually achieve. When the employees work together as a team to achieve these goals, the
company recognizes a corresponding increase in value to our customers.
The Commissioners reviewed the performance metrics update, noting we are on track to
meet metrics criteria. Discussion followed.
5.4 Purchase Power Supply and Agency Membership
Elk River Municipal Utilities currently receives wholesale power from Great River
Energy (GRE) through an"all requirements"purchase power agreement with Connexus Energy,
one of GRE's 28 member electric cooperatives. In September 2008, Connexus exercised their
right to terminate that contract. The provisions of the contract require a ten year notice,
effectively establishing the purchase power agreement to end in September 2018.
Since the date when Connexus gave notice of termination of this power contract, ERMU
has diligently explored options for a future wholesale power supplier. Central Minnesota
Municipal Power Agency (CMMPA) started a Power Supply Coalition. The Coalition was
formed to gain economies of scale for reducing costs associated with a power supply study as
well as gain load for purposes of obtaining better power supply prices from a Request For
Proposal (RFP). A full power supply study was completed along with risk analysis. Based on
the studies, an RFP was sent out for the Coalition's future power supply needs. Shortly after the
bids for the RFP were received, the economy took a downturn. By the time the bids were
analyzed, they were no longer competitive with the wholesale power market. ERMU decided
not to enter into a purchase power agreement resulting from the Coalition's RFP. ERMU used
the results of the study as a basis for future wholesale power supply analysis.
In addition to the work with CMMPA, ERMU had also been researching other municipal
power agencies. In Minnesota, municipal power agencies are created through Minnesota State
Statute 453. One of the benefits of municipal power agencies is their members are other
municipal utilities. ERMU had engaged in membership discussion with: CMMPA, Southern
Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA), Missouri River Energy Service (MRES), and
Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA). Around this time, Connexus and GRE had also
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expressed interest in resigning ERMU to a power contract. ERMU began an analysis comparing
the options of renegotiation with Connexus, entering into an agreement directly with GRE, or
joining a municipal power agency. The high level results of this analysis helped to establish the
criteria most important to ERMU for a wholesale power supplier: competitive rates, stability and
positioning for reduced risk associated with regulation, sharing of information and advocacy, and
ability to have control of our future. Late in 2012 with these criteria in mind, ERMU narrowed
the options to focus on down to three: GRE, MRES, or MMPA.
There has been concern with the limitation of ERMU's current power supply agreement
with Connexus/GRE that there is not always "like interests." In addition to the differing interest
associated with the current agreement, ERMU has no board seat or vote at GRE. ERMU is at the
mercy of the member cooperatives that do not always have the same interests. This puts ERMU
in a position where we cannot influence the direction of our power supply but are rather captive
customers. This is an important issue to address. These realizations caused ERMU to be
forthcoming with Connexus and GRE about our desire to have a say in our future and a need to
have "like interests." Connexus and GRE both communicated that these concerns could be
addressed if ERMU where to sign an extension to the current power sales agreement. To satisfy
ERMU's other interests, GRE would need to allow ERMU to have a board seat that is eligible to
vote. This would not completely address the concern of"like interests." This repeatedly comes
up when GRE's interests do not align with ERMU's because the makeup of our customer base is
different than that of the typical electric cooperative member of GRE.
MRES and MMPA both offer advantages compared to GRE with respect to this issue,
however MRES has 61 members and there is no guarantee of a board seat for ERMU. MMPA
has 11 members and ERMU would have a guaranteed board seat, however would not be
involved in the day to day operation of the agency.
Another concern with our current power supply agreement is competitive rates. ERMU
currently receives the same rate signal that the other GRE non-fixed cooperative electric
members receive. This rate is currently and historically higher than other options being
considered. Although there is no guarantee for the future, historically MRES and MMPA have
the ability to maintain rates lower than GRE.
One of the greatest exposures to risk with our current power supply contract is potential
carbon regulation. GRE is deeply invested in coal. MRES serves members who have WAPA
hydroelectric allocations with the balance of their power supply coming primarily from coal
generation. MMPA is in the best position to mitigate the risk associated with carbon regulation
because of their generation portfolio. This puts MMPA at a significant advantage compared to
GRE and MRES for providing competitive rates into the future.
Based on the criteria established for the analysis, MMPA stands out as the top choice.
Through membership in MMPA, ERMU would have greater control over our future and be
better protected against the unknowns. The results of the high level analysis leave no need for
ERMU to request bids from GRE or MRES at this time. This is not to imply that GRE or MRES
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are not good power suppliers. They both have great qualities. However, MMPA is clearly the
best fit for ERMU.
Oncu Er, David Niles, and Derick Dahlen, representatives from MMPA, were present at
the meeting. The Commission asked a few questions and the MMPA representatives responded.
The commission gave Troy Adams authorization to write a formal request to join MMPA.
Al Nadeau made a motion to approve MMPA's New Member Agreement. Daryl Thompson
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Daryl Thompson made a motion to approve MMPA's Power Sales Agreement. Al Nadeau
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Daryl Thompson made a motion to adopt the Resolution Requesting Membership in
MMPA. Al Nadeau seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
6.0 OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
6.1 Staff Updates
Troy Adams talked about an easement issue with 927 Highway 10. The owner of the building
was present at the meeting. The underground electric cable that was installed when the building was
built runs along the west, south, and east property lines and does feed other customers besides this
building. This cable was installed without an easement. Troy Adams mentioned three options to
resolve this issue: negotiate an easement,relocate all of the cable to a frontage road,or feed the other
customers from a different direction and have all of the electric dedicated to this building. Discussion
followed.
The owner also questioned our Water Access Charge (WAC)and the City of Elk River's
Sewer Access Charge(SAC)fees. The WAC and SAC fees are based on how much water the
building is projected to use. The Elk River City Council is looking into reevaluating for some
customers how much water was actually used over a determined timeframe and crediting the customer
if need be. If a plan like this does pass for the SAC fees, John Dietz would recommend that ERMU
follow suit with the WAC fees. The City Council is going to decide within 60 days.
Mark Fuchs verbally added to his staff update that we sent a crew to Rochester to help with
storm outages. He also noted that we hired our summer help temporary lineworker, Tony Ross. Daryl
Thompson added congratulations to Darren Weber for his promotion to Lead Lineworker.
David Berg mentioned that there was a water main break on Proctor Ave. on May 11,2013.
This was Beaudry Oil's responsibility,but the Water Department assisted with the repair. Another
water main break on Jackson Ave. will be fixed on May 15,2013. Discussion followed.
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David Berg also talked about starting Cross Connection and Backflow Preventer program and
making a City Ordinance to be able to penalize customers who do not test their backflow preventer
annually. As of right now, we do not have any penalty or any leverage in place. This will be brought
back at a later meeting.
Tom Sagstetter added to his staff update that there have been some staff changes at the
Landfill to Gas Plant,which is slowing down the expansion process.
6.2 Set Date for Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Commission meeting will be on June 11, 2013.
The Commission recessed the regular meeting at 5:17 p.m.
6.3 Closing of Meeting: "Meeting to be closed pursuant to MN Statute 130.05, Subd.
3(c)(3) to develop or consider offers or counteroffers for the purchase or sale of real
or personal property."
We did not need to go into this closed session.
6.4 Closing of Meeting: "Meeting to be Closed pursuant to MN Statute 130.05, Subd.
3(a) for Employee Performance Evaluation"
a. Call Closed Session to Order
b. Discussion
c. Adjourn Closed Session
6.5 Adjourn Regular Meeting
Al Nadeau moved to adjourn the regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities
Commission at 6:17 p.m. Daryl Thompson seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Minutes prepared by Jennie Nelson.
John J. Dietz
Chair, ERMU Commission
Tina Allard
City Clerk
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