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6.1. ERMUSR 10-08-2013 Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Theresa Slominski — Finance and Office Manager John Dietz—Chair Al Nadeau— Vice Chair Daryl Thompson—Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: October 8, 2013 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Update DISCUSSION: We had 2,266 credit card payment transactions in September, compared to 2,206 in August. The fee for September should be $5,098.50. We will probably see an increase in payments next month before the Cold Weather Rule becomes effective. Shut-offs are scheduled for October 8th and October 10th (if a second date is necessary.) This will be the last time to turn customers off and collect payment before the Cold Weather Rule limits are in place. It is a good chance for the customer to get caught up before the winter season starts or their past due amount could potentially increase significantly during that Cold Weather Rule season. Customer Service Week is October 6th through October 12`h. It is a week every year that the staff providing customer service are rewarded and thanked for their dedicated service to our customers. To show our appreciation of them, lunch will be provided on Wednesday and tokens of appreciation will be distributed. Please take a moment to thank them for their service to our customers. The four staff that went to the NISC conference came back very excited about the software conversion and even more confident that we made the right decision in our selection. The company does a phenomenal job of listening to the customers and meeting their needs. Initially, there will be many efficiencies that will be realized for customer accounts and accounting processes. Futuristically, we are definitely with a software company that we can grow "into' as they have the technology already in place for many things we want to do with customer meter interaction, mapping capabilities, outage management, and more. IOPEAED • R/'3 Page 1 of 2 INATUREI Reliable Provider POWERED To S eRVE 123 A PCA credit of 5 mils was distributed to customers on September's billing, for$135,135.63. We have 5 more mils we could distribute and, depending on any charges in the next few months' purchased power, we hope to distribute a credit again in December. l� . !POWERED Ir Pt'r3 Page 2 of2 NATURE ) Reliable Public Power Provider POWERED To SERVE 124 *--Elk Riv Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E. —General Manager John Dietz—Chair Al Nadeau— Vice Chair Daryl Thompson— Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: September 10, 2013 6.1a SUBJECT: Staff Updates—General Manager DISCUSSION: • The amendments to the original Non-Exclusive Tower Attachment Agreements with Sprint for the Gary Street and Johnson Street water towers which had been approved by the Commission last month have now been executed by Sprint. Sprint's subcontractors are now working on upgrades. The Sprint upgrade work that had been performed on the Auburn Street water tower has been completed and a final inspection by our contractor KLM has been completed. Staff will be working to close out this project this month. • Verizon continues to work through their analysis of our Johnson Street and Gary Street water tower sites as potential locations for their 4G system upgrades. Template non- exclusive tower attachment agreements have been provided to Verizon for review. We have received the preliminary drawings from Verizon and will be submitting those for engineering and structural review. • The rehabilitation to the Freeport water tower has been completed. Staff is working with Badger State Inspection, our contracted project management, to close out this project this month. • I've been working with Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) and the other Minnesota municipal utilities that submitted 3 year notice for Mid-Continent Area Power Pool (MAPP) membership withdrawal last month. We had been working on terms for an early buy out without having to continue membership for 3 more years. We do not have final numbers but the early out for ERMU is projected at an estimated $30,000. This would likely be a budgeted expense for 2014. I will bring back more specific information at a future Commission meeting. .. POIIIID 11 RIP$ Page 1 of4 NATURE ) Reliable Public Power Prowler POWERED To SERVE 104 • The vacant Inventory/Maintenance position opening that was posted and advertised closed on September 27. Management is currently reviewing the applicants and will be setting up interviews for the week of October 14-18. • The Well #7 water main improvements project that is included in the 2014 water department capital budget will add over 2,700 additional feet of water main on the east side of Elk River in the vicinity of Twin Lakes Road and County Road 12. This water main improvement will route the output from filter plant at Well #7 located on Twin Lakes Road and connect with water main at the intersection of Twin Lakes Road and County Road 12. This project is the second phase of the Well #9 water main improvements project that was completed in 2012 and was funded from the City's Trunk Utility Fund. This addition will improve water capacity to the southeastern area of Elk River, specifically the Natures Edge Business Park. The water main additions of this project are in accordance with the City's Trunk Utility Fund policy and this request has been reviewed with the City Engineer and City Financial Director. This project is currently estimated at $300,000. Staff has requested the City for funding for this project from the City's Trunk Utilities Fund. This request was to be considered by City Council during the workshop for the 2014 CIP Budget on October 7. • The SPX/Waukesha transformer was delivered to our North Substation as planned on September 25. The trailer that it arrived on had a total length of 140ft which required the assistance of ERPD to shut down US H W Y 169 while the driver backed the truck across the highway into the substation site. The existing transformer was removed on the same day prior to the new transformer being set in place. The existing transformer weighs approximately 45,000lb; the new transformer weighs over twice as much. Both transformers were moved by crane. The whole process took the majority of the day. It is worth noting that ERPD was very flexible and helpful in assisting with traffic control. The timing of the delivery was not perfect, yet ERPD with little notice accommodated our needs. Chief Rolfe and his staff deserve a big thank you for their help. Photos are attached from your reference. The new breaker associated with the North Substation upgrade project has also been set. The relays and battery banks were tested by Great River Energy (GRE) on October 1. SPX/Waukesha personnel trimmed out the transformer on October 2. This included installing the high side bushings, arresters, and radiators. They also performed a number of electrical tests to ensure the transformer is not damaged from transportation. If all goes well, the transformer and substation will be on line by the time of the Commission meeting. This was a major project for EMRU staff which has taken over a year. From the engineering and formal bidding process to the delivery and installation, this project filled the plates of many ERMU employees. In particular, Mark Fuchs deserves recognition for shouldering the lion's share of the work. Mark made sure that where the rubber meets POWERED Dr r3 Page 2 of 4 NATURE Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D T o S E R V E 105 the road, things got done on time safely. He really did a great job. Also worth pointing out, we used engineering and construction services from GRE and were extremely happy with them. • Mississippi Cove 2nd Addition in Otsego is located off County Road 39 at the western edge of ERMU's electric service territory. The development is also partially in Wright- Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (WH) service territory. At the time this area was being developed in 2007, ERMU and WH met to discuss details of the electrical service boundaries. Unfortunately that meeting lead to the erroneous division of electric service territory. Because of a misunderstanding of where the electric service territory boundary was, WH installed underground electric distribution to approximately 7 bare ground lots within ERMU territory. I had discovered this error in early 2009 and worked through the Interim General Manager to bring the issue to the attention of WH. The error was recognized by WH and they agreed to work towards a resolution. The result of those discussions was to trade lots of equal load potential when a new development was platted in Otsego that split between ERMU and WH service territory. Because of the economic slowdown there has not been any development in Otsego that would allow for this resolution. In 2013 ERMU brought the issue back to the attention of WH to work towards an expedited resolution. Again we came to the conclusion that until development picks up we'll need to wait. I'd requested that at a minimum ERMU and WH draft an agreement outlining the resolution. We have now received a letter from WH looking to draft that agreement. The letter is attached for reference. Since we'd had those discussions earlier in 2013, the lots in question have now started to develop. As of today there are two homes being built. This is a deal changer for ERMU and we'll look to open discussion with WH again to work out a reasonable and equitable solution under the new circumstances. • On Friday September 27 the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) held an information smart grid workshop. The workshop was the fifth of a series of smart grid workshops and focused on microgrids. The notice for the workshop is attached for reference. I was invited to present with Steve Downer from MMUA on Municipal microgrids in Minnesota. This afforded me the opportunity to showcase ERMU and the significant asset to our community that our emergency generation can provide. I also highlighted our participation in Sherburne County's recent hazard mitigation planning. Our power plant is a dual-fuel diesel/natural gas facility equipped with black start capability. What this means for our customers is that in the event of a natural disaster or tragedy that would result in the transmission grid being down (i.e. tornado, ice storm, equipment failure, terrorism, etc...), we can separate from the transmission grid becoming a microgrid and generate electricity to serve critical infrastructure. Our diesel fuel [POWERED 1 Ras 3 of 4 NATUR 1 � Reliable rovder POWERED To SERVE 106 storage tanks are large enough for us to run our engines at maximum output for approximately 7 days. We could also switch them over to run on natural gas during that time. During the 2013 ice storms of southern Minnesota, Worthington Municipal Utilities operated their generation to schedule power to their community while their neighbors were out of power for approximately a week. It is difficult for anyone to be without electricity for a week, but this likely means your city's wastewater and water systems are also out of power. Clean water and proper handling of wastewater are critical to life. Because of a municipal electric utility's inherent connection with other city utilities it becomes much easier to coordinate work efforts to restore power to these critical city facilities. This is also true for coordination of power restoration with police, fire, and other governmental entities. Overall, the presentation went very well. The workshop was attended by MPUC Chair Beverly Jones Heydinger, Commissioner Nancy Lange, and Commission Betsy Wergin, as well as MPUC staff and other industry representatives. As you may recall Commissioner Wergin was formerly a Sherburne County Commissioner and was instrumental in the inception of our Landfill Gas-to-Electric Generation Facility. • I had intended of bringing back a tentative schedule for strategic planning discussions to review with the Commission at this meeting. Due to the amount of material on the agenda I've postponed the strategic planning scheduled discussion until a future date. ATTACHMENTS: • North Substation Transformer Upgrade Photos. • Letter from Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association regarding Mississippi Cover 2"d Addition Service Boundary; dated September 27,2013. • MPUC Notice of Information Smart Grid Workshop; Issued September 4, 2013. [ RUINED 11 P3 Page 4 of 4 NATURE I Reliable Public Power Provider P owLR ED To SERVE 107 Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Mark Fuchs— Electric Superintendent John Dietz—Chair Al Nadeau— Vice Chair Daryl Thompson— Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: October 8, 2013 6.l c SUBJECT: Staff Update DISCUSSION: • Had six new services. • Working on changing out a few of our older rusty live front switchgear. The new switchgear is dead front and safer to work on. • Continue rebuilding Troy and Union Street. This is an overhead 2400 volt line that we are changing to underground and upgrading the voltage to 7200. • Buried some overhead secondaries on 3`d street and replaced some street light poles. This was part of the road project the City was doing. • Continue working on feeder 94 rebuild. The first part of this job is removing the overhead three phase rear lot line that is located between School St. and Gates Ave. • Started working on the second part of the feeder 94 rebuild. We are installing primary wire to loop the transformers for the businesses east of Gates Ave. • Working on getting the new substation transformer at the north substation site back on line. • Working on changing out the 69kv breaker at the Waco substation and doing maintenance on the 69kv air switch. • Working on changing out the street light poles and light fixtures on Gates Ave. We are installing fiberglass poles and LED fixtures. 1� .. 10111EFIED I Y R'r3 Page 1 of I NATURE Poerlovtl wrPi r P OwE0.E0 TO SE0.VE 125 Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Wade Lovelette—Superintendent of Technical John Dietz—Chair Services Al Nadeau — Vice Chair Daryl Thompson—Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: October 8, 2013 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Update DISCUSSION: • The Locating department had a total of 396 locate tickets in September; seven of them being emergency tickets, three cancelations, eight meets, 363 normal and 15 updated tickets. • As of September 30th, 2013, the Security Systems Department had a total of 105 phone contacts, five systems quoted, eight system sales made, nine installs completed, 39 service calls and five personal visits. • Electric Technicians continue with the meter reading, power bill, substation checks and off-peak issues. They continue to change out the three phase meters to radio read meters. Our new Electric Technician is being trained in all aspects of the trade. • The power plant staff did the monthly run of the engines. The engines ran good with no problems. • Staff continues to collect data with the GPS for our ArcView maps as time permits. • Steve and Jeff continue directional boring on some of the rebuild projects. • I have submitted the application for the next RP3 Award. This award goes from May 1, 2014—April 30, 2017. Many thanks to the whole organization for supplying me with the needed information to meet the criteria for the four industry-recognized disciplines: Reliability, Safety, Work Force Development and System Improvement. TI.R3 Page l of l 'POWERED Reliable Power Provider P OWERED T o SERVE 126 Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission David Berg— Water Superintendent John Dietz—Chair Al Nadeau — Vice Chair Daryl Thompson —Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: October 8, 2013 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Update DISCUSSION: Pete has been working on locating gate valves. There seems to be a lot of valves that have been covered by blacktop and some have been covered with dirt over the years by road construction. Pete also has been working with Bolten & Menk to assist the GPS contractor in locating the remaining couple hundred valves, which reduces contracting time. Angela has been working with costumers on commercial irrigation rebates. She has finished painting hydrants and will now be doing hydrant and valve repairs with Pete. Angela has also been doing many well maintenance tasks, assisting the electric department with GPS work, and changing out some of the last few remaining commercial meters. Eric and Kelly have finished the final inspection at the Freeport tower and have made sure that everything was done to spec. The street projects are just about finished. Eric is checking to make sure the valves that were in the road have not been left covered with blacktop - so far five valves were under the blacktop. Sprint is working on the installation of their new antennas. Eric and KLM work with Sprint to make sure that the installation goes smoothly. He is also finishing the private hydrant inventory and there are about 192 private hydrants that need to be on a maintenance and paint schedule. • We have received the results from our Lead and Copper test. We passed in both categories. The letter from the Department of Health is attached. n POIE8r 3 Page 1 of I E0 NATURE Power Reliable POWERED To SERVE 127 M I N N E S O T A MDH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Protecting maintaining and improving the health of all Minnesotans September 26, 2013 Elk River Municipal Utilities P.O. Box 430 Elk River, Minnesota 55330 - 5600 Gentlemen/Ladies: SUBJECT: Lead/Copper Tap Water Monitoring Report, PWSID 1710004 This letter is to report the results of your recent lead/copper monitoring that is required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The results revealed the following 90th percentile levels: 90th percentile lead level =2 pg/1 (rounded as 0.002 mg/l). The action level for lead is 15.0 pg/l. 90th percentile copper level=208 pg/1 (rounded as 0.208 mg/1). The action level for copper is 1300 µg/1. Based on these results, your public water system has not exceeded the action level for lead and has not exceeded the action level for copper. By federal rule,40 CFR 141.85, you are required to provide the lead/copper results to persons served at the sites that were tested. In addition, you must provide them with an explanation of the health effects of lead/copper, list steps consumers can take to reduce exposure to lead/copper in drinking water, and water utility contact information. The notification must also provide the maximum contaminant level goals, the action levels for lead/copper, and the definitions for these two terms. Notification must be made within 30 days by U.S. Mail. If the residence is a rental property, both the occupant(s) of the residence and rental property owner must be notified. To assist you in meeting the notification requirements, we have enclosed a sample letter and a fact sheet on lead/copper in drinking water. All of the information contained in the sample letter is EPA required language and must be included in your letter and provided to the homeowner. If you would like to receive any of the enclosed documents via e-mail, please send your request to pauline.wuoti @state.nm.us. The lead/copper sampling site addresses are private data. This information was classified as "nonpublic"by the Minnesota Department of Administration in October 2004, upon the request of Minnesota Department of Health(MDH) and Minnesota community water supply systems. When notifying the persons served at the sites that were tested, provide them with the results for that address only. General Information: 651-201-5000 • Toll-free: 888-345-0823 • TTY: 651-201-5797 • www.health.stare.mn.us An equal appartunity employer 128 Elk River Municipal Utilities Page 2 September 26, 2013 PWSID 1710004 Within 10 days after notifying the residents of their results, you must complete the enclosed Lead/Copper Results Delivery Certification form and return it to us along with a copy of the letter that you sent to the residents notifying them of their results. A return envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Please note that all enclosures are sent to the addressee of this letter. Persons receiving a copy (cc) of the letter do not receive any enclosures. It is the responsibility of the addressee to follow through with the requirements. Your next round of lead/copper monitoring has been scheduled for July 2016. Sample bottles will be sent to you from a contract laboratory early in the monitoring period. The enclosed report should be placed in your records and a copy maintained on or near the water supply premises and available for public inspection for not less than ten(10) years. If you have any questions, please contact me at 651/201-4674,or Lih-in Rezania at 651/201-4661. Sincerely, Pauline A. Wuoti Community Public Water Supply Unit Environmental Health Division P.O. Box 64975 St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975 PAW Enclosures cc: Water Superintendent 129 J Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Tom Sagstetter - Conservation and Key Accounts John Dietz—Chair Manager Al Nadeau — Vice Chair Daryl Thompson —Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: October 8,2013 6.1f SUBJECT: Staff Update DISCUSSION: • Attended Tri-County Community Action Energy Resource Fair. Met with 5 ERMU customers at the event. The major topic of discussion was getting a budget plan set up. The event was a success and there were hundreds of people that attended. Will recommend shorter hours next year to Tri-Cap. For a first time event the participation was good, and the customers that attended really got value from learning about efficiency and how to save money. • Met with Rebecca Haug and John Setala on the future of Energy City and future involvement of the City. 1 was tasked by the Energy City Commission to schedule a meeting between City Administrator Cal Portner, Chairman Setala and Vice Chair Sagstetter on how Energy City will be supported in the future with staff changes in the EDA and Environmental areas. • Met with Rebecca Haug to determine what additional support ERMU can provide to the City as a result of staff changes in the Environmental department in relation to garbage and recycling services. • Working with large commercial customers on power quality issues on the customer side of the meter. • I have also been coordinating schedules with industrial customers as a result of equipment upgrades at the Waco and North Substations. • Received four commercial irrigation water conservation rebate applications. I will work with water department staff to validate installation and will apply bill credit rebates on the accounts for the Smart Controllers and the exemption from tier 3 pricing for next year once all equipment's have been verified. � (p POIEREO IT ■ II Page 1 of I NATURE Reliable Public Power Provider POWERED To SERVE 130 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION/ SEMINAR REPORT DATE Sep+• 1 - a-') /`6-0h I'[ EMPLOYEE NAME Wel\ w I A TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR OVJti—Lve A 6/126/ ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EDUCATION/ SEMINAR MA WR DATES ATTENDED S f V7-10 -0 - ?..4?LOCATION ' 1OYSLl /Pt r WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE TO ATTEND -F- Gh0 . . O(kr k € A fipsA -k r .e b 4-caoce I *Li H+ :4 Wt4J 44N41,4 /Ate_ 4o t ecM' Y ore rti bdk+ vs'j Yotier - t-tp Genf hnw -}c> do ubw�.,f COr�{'ec1-jt� kJ6fk u •1 rJ N eA QTi'Lc+ sac e "� WHAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNED BY ATTENDING )42-0SO\ LA/ 12- nn ucpp�i�klc L/4S-e CoJJef (.P o4 reMAUe cat. 3 p GI\>Z.,.O� alt S4-,11,1c-vr ,ksfa ( to,,,p _ Arms . I �e prt cCJ- 1nJnS ci rta+ 40 work CA a,J I learncJ /+ /0f: Z SO 1" et)0 I- US- bucker 4;1'4. wk k ot/as (nick hna„s-e Ar 04. 4L -- rs 164.s+ `A1 'v 112.4rr\ . WAS INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO Yes 4,tiers nAA sx i&i4P4, i.uLf 4-u rid l )er3 We//. The r` c • : cry_ _ 0 a & h AS ttey La�\I�. ('yl� S IGNA 131 IELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION/ SEMINAR REPORT DATE 9/23-7/3 EMPLOYEE NAME %.SKofly g445- TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR Overdo( `('lc_ JO/"c9( ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EDUCATION/ SEMINAR /1r/"/ v/ ' DATES ATTENDED 9//70/ ' 71c2%3 LOCATION i47tjr /t4/) /MM/ WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE � w E TO ATTEND / /rhe pro e,(Jo/Ue i S/ yo 2 clia. 14(_P.._ • o• 57/ity Kro 1c4 `7 fete 1-:`270 . WHAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNED BY ATTENDING _& 6"5 h• G¢ - u1er4 w�`fii jt. ys T'ran.n og-er /u-A.1 '/tes. To /sa low -Arty do Cer e..0- , .' 5 °Piers I i)ce_$rr I2ro/sl 1' Ways) 17 50 i�- v"cL ' y $4c vocrIc9• r (4. ,arfor n 1 sac $,i&.la4a( o«er/ia_ROk Ftzior 71t • ce4LCC'rS Ll very /cowl c...66. WAS INFORMATION INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO Ye-#5, kliOS ilj C cWor/-Ge-r'S a , se}h1'"t n 5c Au .`o prel,ehiece pbif ,gin gv. �elpC AlQ TUBE 132 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION / SEMINAR REPORT DATE -I - L 1 - 3 EMPLOYEE NAME 2. i TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR \\Y15Q O-Pf Ware t,&S&S L ovt- o ePrst. ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EpUCATION SEMINAR �N ISG DATES ATTENDED �jZ 3/; aj q/15/1 3 LOCATION , L0CM sQ WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE TO ATTEND -To 1ne(4- a Ira laar✓1 a LA-4- r'-c,w s - erg pveatra Arts u3e will be usi�Cj -�-b 6e1er Serve caw-- cusp-e.-s , •1 c if - W1 g HAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNED BY ATTENDING :7 .f OIL L C- 01 earj" rICA SSCS tc)et -) d1 v Pa r P /'n :A4 't L'- +2 • ' 0 �:I_-r' ■ '4 S /5 s o _/ a t r ncvc;IraMS, 17 Iectn✓ctci L�_L0 � S F�eS'1- 1 r f /J COI Conyers I +�u� Qhc9p koo `� , Leifer �4pcv.e 1V1C ruLN ILI W�7 1 d-L-- (-chi lih tS 'r Se /Ai AA/ 10 G� /l �- areas a' /��(V� f w,F1) . so �, CA\ c4)e11 as ynol-a/ uhl ilf rats - uic etc b "1-.txiS Sc�y- iCi r4 w 1 00 a,.l Ian - � 4U �v o vJ1 OnA kate✓ -4- 0-,ore, ;nn �✓e t1J, �'r okr �2, C Q_S IC3 WAS INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO SOIA"r-Q- Gt4- O�✓ St0.7rf' lti e2'r`v��i ^ fooer 4r a<J JVlCtri c.) GL c-)Mule 10.1 More A0w 7` � 1L 1)1'I(s are COetnpleled ahJ /wui'ecL 0... 1 --444) NAT E 133 Dux C1wxsr,bywzN S0 se,Yvt V�if�lky Ion's /�o c��t i�>Cles frt C�11- r-evi� s;//� c� .Pcen es , (.i � Y-4 in a�✓n. c oUte a& tics' os 0.4.31 on r S: Le, ts vtkpicyeS 0A well as prockte l6 S2z wi fv h.e Very Cnvple,-e avid well clone, cowiani ccaAmunt)-y v.Y\I k&?P11 Ph cyti �y r_e(specifvtL TheY Con Vey `r I in oictA Ij b.. e rec on&e k4- cue SC��1 1 vi rL c il'e//� C& J 6' L l moor, (J +p r_ 0,s W2l1 04 T'^-�- �IC ; -st/i 1 `Ntm ai c ski; , 1e2 a na.tti-€ L ? / !n .1 - recoy r Sze �ea✓li h5 ��;t , 134 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION / SEMINAR REPORT DATE 10/2/2013 EMPLOYEE NAME Lorrie Franz TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR MIC (Member Information Conference) ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EDUCATION SEMINAR NISC DATES ATTENDED 9/22-9/25 LOCATION St. Loius, MO WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE TO ATTEND Opportunity to research and prepare for the upcoming software conversion. WHAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNED BY ATTENDING This users conference was very well structured and implemented. We had an opportunity to meet NISC staff as well as talk to other NISC members, including some that had recently transitioned off the soft- ware that we currently use, onto NISC billing and accounting software. We were able to get a better picture of what the software is capable of, as well as information about implementation. Several specific classes were targeted to different accounting areas and how to use the functionality of the software. The materials from the training will be useful when we implement. NISC is very innovative in use of the software and technology, I am looking forward to driving toward these innovations. We also had a tour of the HC and the printing and mailing facility. WAS INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO Initial feed back was shared with the office staff, a more formal session will follow on Oct. 14 and will incorporate some of the training materials from NISC as well as a video taken at their facility and a panel discussion with Q&A. Details have also been shared with Theresa Slominski. L. Franz SIGNATURE 135 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION / SEMINAR REPORT DATE 10/2/2013 EMPLOYEE NAME Michelle Lee Anderson TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR NiSC Member Information Conference(MIC) ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EDUCATION SEMINAR NiSC DATES ATTENDED 9/22/2013-9/25/2013 LOCATION America's Center in St Louis, MO WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE TO ATTEND To gain further knowledge of what NiSC has to offer ERMU in software and other services. WHAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNED BY ATTENDING The software and services that NiSC has to offer is beyond anything that ERMU has had access to from our current software company. With NiSC I can see enormous growth in ERMU's future in how we are able to run our business and better assist our customers with service, outages and conservation. We were able to attend many different sessions that touched on numerous topics and though we are limited on our exposure to the NiSC software it was interesting to get a little feel of what their software has to offer us. I found that the interaction with current members of NiSC and NiSC staff proved to be just as if not more beneficial. A huge piece I took from the conference is that NiSC embraces technology and uses it to its fullest potential to assist their members in being more efficient as well as the tools that will greatly benefit our customers. NiSC has a lot to offer ERMU, we need to continue to push ourselves to a place where we are able to take advantage of all that NiSC has to offer. WAS INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO On Thursday 9/26 the group that was able to attend the MIC was able to briefly share our experience with Troy and Theresa as well as the office staff. The group that attended the MIC also met with Theresa on 10/2 to discuss how to inform staff of our experience at the MIC. We have a meeting planned for 10/14. Michelle Lee Anderson SIGNATURE 136 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION / SEMINAR REPORT DATE 9/30/2013 EMPLOYEE NAME Greg Scherber TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR Member Information Conference ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EDUCATION SEMINAR NISC DATES ATTENDED 9/23-9/25/13 LOCATION St. Louis, MO WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE TO ATTEND Evaluate the new billing software ERMU is investing in, learn more about it's strengths/weakenesses, and network with NISC employees and other users. WHAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNED BY ATTENDING The 4 attendees from ERMU each scheduled classroom sessions catering towards our own area of expertise. Technically, I learned about the online interface our customers will be using, the mobile applications available to our outside staff, and about training tools available to us as new users and what will be available for ongoing training. Personally, I learned what a dedication to service the NISC organization upholds for both it's customers and it's staff. Everyone we met on the NISC team was very professional, welcoming, and excited we were joining their"family"as they all put it. We also spoke with many users both through arranged meetings and through random conversation, and couldn't find a single negative comment regarding the organization or the software. Everyone we spoke to loves the product and services. Which was good to experience, very promising for our future. We also toured the NISC HQ and mail center, amazing facility. WAS INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO Some information to some staff, a more detailed discussion panel is scheduled with all staff to go over the entirety of our experience and what we've taken away from it. SIGNATURE 137