2.2. ERMUSR 08-09-2016 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
UTILITIES COMMISSION
HELD AT UTILITIES CONFERENCE ROOM
July 12,2016
Members Present: John Dietz,Chair;Al Nadeau,Vice Chair; and Daryl Thompson,Trustee
ERMU Staff Present: Troy Adams,General Manager;
Theresa Slominski,Finance and Office Manager;
Mark Fuchs,Electric Superintendent;
Eric Volk,Water Superintendent;
Mike O'Neill,Technical Services Superintendent;
Tom Sagstetter, Conservation&Key Accounts Manager;
Michelle Canterbury,Executive Administrative Assistant;
Others Present: Cal Portner,City Administrator;Peter Beck,Attorney
1.0 CALL MEETING TO ORDER
John Dietz called the July 12,2016 meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
1.1 Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
1.2 Consider Utilities Agenda
There were no additions or changes to the agenda.
Daryl Thompson moved to approve the July 12,2016 Utilities agenda. Al Nadeau
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
2.0 CONSENT AGENDA(Approved By One Motion)
John Dietz had a few questions on the financials,staff responded.
Daryl Thompson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as follows:
2.1 June Check Register
2.2 June 14,2016 Closed Meeting Minutes
2.3 June 14,2016 Special Meeting Minutes
2.4 June 24,2016 Closed Meeting Minutes
2.5 June 24,2016 Special Meeting Minutes
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2.6 Financial Statements
2.7 Renewal Premium for LMCIT Property/Casual Insurance
2.8 Residential and Commercial Water Connection Agreements
2.9 Summary of General Manager Performance Review
Al Nadeau seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
3.0 OPEN FORUM
No one appeared for open forum.
4.0 OLD BUSINESS
4.1 Field Service Facility Expansion Update; Purchase Agreement—PID#75-411-0220,
75-411-0250,and 75-409-0740
Troy Adams presented the executed purchase agreement for parcels: #75-411-0220,75-411-
0250, and 75-409-0740. Parcel ID#75-411-0220 and 75-411-250 make up the address 1437
Main Street,and Parcel ID#75-409-0740 is a stand-alone property across 4th street from 1437
Main Street.
With the pending purchase of the parcels,some of the next items for consideration were
discussed. Those items included:the projected timeline of the expansion project;options for the
stand-alone property;rezoning of 1437, 1627,and 1639 Main Street;relocation of wetlands;
relocation of existing utilities at the site; and the current tenants lease at 1437 Main Street. Troy
stated that we were working with the current tenants at 1437 Main Street to extend the lease
through September 30,2016,at which time we'll look at the possibility of selling and moving
the house.The Commission wanted to know if we could continue to rent the home and generate
revenue until we're ready to begin construction. Troy responded that because the property is not
in compliance with City ordinance as it has no garage,the longest we can extend the lease is
through September. He explained that it wouldn't be cost effective to build a garage if we were
only going to be leasing it out for another year. There was further discussion on the best use of
the home in the interim and options for what could be done with it once we were ready to utilize
the property.
Daryl Thompson made a motion to receive the executed Purchase Agreement for PID#75-
411-0220,75-411-0250,and 75-409-0740. Al Nadeau seconded the motion. Motion carried
3-0.
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4.2 Governance Manual
At the June 14,2016 Commission meeting,the Commission assigned the authority to the
Commission Chair to approve entering into contract with Collaborative Learning,Inc.for the
revision of the by-laws and governance policies with a not-to-exceed cap of$25,000. On June
15,Commission Chair Dietz and General Manager Adams met with John Miner from
Collaborative Learning,Inc.to review the scope of work and discuss the process and costs
associated with the project. At that time,John Dietz gave approval to execute the Professional
Services Agreement.
John Dietz provided a summary of the meeting. John shared that he had told John Miner that
the Commission was interested in just the basics to get the by-laws updated and brought into
compliance,and that they wished to do so with as minimal a dollar amount as possible. There
was discussion. Troy Adams stated that there may be an opportunity for the Commission to
meet with John Miner at the MMUA Summer Conference as he will also be attending the event;
the Commissioners expressed an interest in doing so and directed staff to proceed forward with
the coordination and notice of a special meeting.
Al Nadeau made a motion to receive the executed Collaborative Learning,Inc.
Professional Services Agreement and Exhibit. Daryl Thompson seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
5.0 NEW BUSINESS
5.1 Revised Elk River Municipal Utilities Water-General Service Tariff
Eric Volk provided some background information on the difference between permanently
installed and seasonally installed irrigation meters. Eric shared that having seasonally
installed meters has become problematic from an operational and administrative
perspective. Staff is proposing a change to the Water-General Service Tariff to have all
irrigation accounts billed the same customer charge all year long. In addition,we would no
longer require seasonally installed customers to turn in their irrigation meters at the end of
the season. Eric explained that because the customer will have the meter in their
possession all year long, they would be billed a customer charge every month instead of
only when the meter is in service. This will keep all irrigation accounts in the billing
system uniform and will help prevent irrigation meters from being installed in the wrong
locations in the spring. John Dietz wanted to know if the proposed change would increase
the cost for the customers. Staff responded that it would actually decrease the cost. There
was discussion.
Darryl Thompson made a motion to approve the proposed Elk River Municipal
Utilities Water-General Tariff. Al Nadeau seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
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6.0 OTHER BUSINESS
6.1 Staff Updates
Theresa Slominski gave an update on where they were at in the hiring process for a full-time
Accountant. She shared that we received 32 applications and will be interviewing for the
position July 18th and 19th. The anticipated start date should be some time in August.
Mark Fuchs provided details on the recent outages. The one of greatest magnitude occurred
Friday,July 8 near Northstar Business Park,Nature's Edge Business Center,and the
surrounding area. The outage was the result of a contractor hitting an underground line.Mark
explained that the outage affected residential and large commercial customers in the area we
recently acquired. There was discussion.Tom Sagstetter commented on the conversations and
feedback he received from the business owners that were impacted as a result of the outage.
There was further discussion.The Commission asked that Mark pass along their compliments to
the ERMU line crew for getting things back up and running as quickly as they did.
Eric Volk shared that we started up Well#7 today.He also shared that a tentative date for the
repair of the water main at the High School has been set for Wednesday,July 20th.
Peter Beck commented on the letter he submitted last month announcing his retirement from the
position of City Attorney and Elk River Municipal Utilities Attorney. Peter stated that he has
not set an effective date and will remain as long as the City and ERMU would like as they
determine how to proceed with the transition to a new Attorney. There was discussion on the
timetable for replacement and in the benefit of continuing to use the same Attorney for both
entities.There was further discussion. The Commission thanked Peter and commended him for
all of his hard work.
Cal Portner had just returned from Germany and provided a brief update on the highlights of the
trip. Cal stated that he and Kristin Mroz will be putting together a presentation that will provide
an overview of the things they were able to see and learn about on their trip.
6.2 Set Date for Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Commission meeting will be held on August 9,2016.
6.3 Adjourn Regular Meeting
Daryl Thompson moved to adjourn the regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal
Utilities Commission at 4:09 p.m. Al Nadeau seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
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Minutes prepared by Michelle Canterbury.
John J.Dietz
Chair,ERMU Commission
Tina Allard
City Clerk
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