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2.2 ERMUSR 2-11-2020ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES REGULAR MEETING OF THE UTILITIES COMMISSION HELD AT UTILITIES CONFERENCE ROOM January 14, 2020 Members Present: Chair John Dietz, Commissioners Mary Stewart, and Matt Westgaard Present via Skype: Vice Chair Al Nadeau and Commissioner Paul Bell participated in the meeting via interactive television as they were out of state at the time of the meeting. ERMU Staff Present: Troy Adams, General Manager Theresa Slominski, Administrations Director Mark Fuchs, Operations Director Mike Tietz, Technical Services Superintendent Dave Ninow, Water Superintendent Tom Sagstetter, Conservation & Key Accounts Manager Michelle Canterbury, Executive Administrative Manager Jennie Nelson, Customer Service Manager Tom Geiser, Electric Superintendent Melissa Karpinski, Finance Manager Tony Mauren, Communications & Administrative Coordinator Others Present: Zack Carlton, City Planning Manager 1.0 GOVERNANCE 1.1 Call Meeting to Order The regular meeting of the Utilities Commission was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by Chair Dietz. 1.2 Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 1.3 Consider the Agenda Chair Dietz stated he would like to move agenda item 5.2 Jackson Street Water Tower Grant and Rehabilitation Update to immediately follow 3.0 Open Forum. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to approve the amended January 14, 2020, agenda. Motion carried 5-0. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes January 14, 2020 Page 1 32 1.4 Water Fluoridation Quality Award Mr. Ninow announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Disease Control has recognized Elk River for achieving excellence in community water fluoridation by maintaining a consistent level of fluoride in the drinking water throughout 2018. He stated that receiving this award is a testament to the attention to detail the water operators demonstrate on a daily basis. The commission congratulated the water department on their achievement. 2.0 CONSENT AGENDA (Approved By One Motion) Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: 2.1 December 2019 Check Register 2.2 December 17, 2019 Special Meeting Minutes 2.3 Performance Metrics and Incentive Compensation Policy 2.4 2020 Schedule of Rates 2.5 Cogeneration and Small Power Production Tariff Schedules 1 and 4 Motion carried 5-0. 3.0 OPEN FORUM No one appeared for open forum. 5.2 Jackson Street Water Tower Grant and Rehabilitation Update Mr. Carlton, Planning Manager with the City of Elk River, was present and provided an update on the grant and restoration status of the Jackson Street Water Tower. Mr. Carlton shared that they have received a grant from the State Historical Society for $136,367 to rehabilitate and , the work will need to be completed by April 2021, but the hope is to get the work completed in 2020. Mr. Carlton stated that he will be meeting with Kodet Architectural Group this week to discuss the next steps in the rehabilitation process. Chair Dietz asked if the grant would be enough to cover the expenses for the project. Mr. Carlton replied that the amount of the grant, along with a $25,000 match that would be funded by ERMU, should cover the cost of the rehabilitation. As ERMU has set aside $90,000 to either repair or tear down to the tower, there was discussion on transferring the remaining funds, after the match, to the city for future maintenance costs. There was further discussion. Chair Dietz asked what the plans are for the area surrounding the tower. Mr. Carlton stated that he would be working with the Heritage Preservation Commission to explore some options on ways to improve the park surrounding the water tower; he noted that this would be a Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes January 14, 2020 Page 2 33 separate project. Mr. Adams pointed out that the timing of this restoration coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the water system that was established in 1919, and the water tower that was built in 1920. He suggested we do something to commemorate the anniversary even . He stated that ERMU has budgeted money that could be usded for a kiosk to be located at the site. Mr. Carlton stated he would know more about the timeline of the project after he meets with the architects later in the week. He shared that staff will also be working on getting the ownership of the tower addressed and transferred over to the city. 4.0 POLICY & COMPLIANCE 4.1 Annual Review of Committee Charters Mr. Adams shared that the annual review of the committee charters is an opportunity for the commission to review the purpose for the committees and whether or not they are committees. There are currently three commission-created committees: the Wage & Benefits Committee, Financial Reserves & Investment Committee, and the Information Security Committee. Commissioner Stewart recommend that employees also be educated on the purpose, authority, and makeup of the committees, and explained the benefits of doing so. Staff stated they would do so. There was discussion on the makeup of the Information Security Committee. As it was unclear who the City Councilmember representative was, Chair Dietz and Commissioner Westgaard stated they could check into it. Ms. Slominski noted that the Finance & Office Manager title that is referenced throughout the Financial Reserves & Investment Committee policy will need to be updated to Finance Manager Commission consensus was that the three commission- created committees are still required, and besides the title change, no additional changes are needed. 4.2 Employee Recognition Workgroup Update At the November 2019 commission meeting, the commission approved a new plan to recognize certain anniversary milestones for employees. The plan allows employees to choose a gift within a specified dollar amount from a catalog of items. Ms. Nelson provided an update on the status of developing catalogs with two local vendors. She shared that there has been strong feedback from employees to include the option of a gift Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes January 14, 2020 Page 3 34 card from a commission as an option, Ms. Nelson stated the Workgroup wanted to make sure there was commission consensus to do so. After discussion, the commission had consensus to include the option of gift cards from local establishments and/or chamber bucks as an option for employees to choose from. 4.3 Employee Handbook Annually, staff and legal counsel review the existing personnel policies incorporated into the ERMU Employee Handbook for compliance with changing labor laws. The Wage and Benefits Committee may recommend the commission adopt employee benefit changes. Staff may recommend operational changes that affect the personnel policy be adopted by the commission for incorporation into the handbook. Ms. Slominski presented the revised handbook and went over the changes as outlined in her memo. Mr. Adams elaborated on the credit in lieu of compensation language that was added to the handbook. Staff reached out to the commission to see if they had any questions. The commission had none. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to approve the revised Employee Handbook. Motion carried 5-0. 5.0 BUSINESS ACTION 5.1 Financial Report November 2019 Ms. Slominski presented the November 2019 financial report. There was discussion on the accumulated amortization expense and the water department connection fees. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to receive the November 2019 Financial Report. Motion carried 5-0. 5.3 Minnesota Municipal Power Agency Hometown WindPower Program The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) has a program where they install a demonstration wind turbine in every member city. The agency is looking to site one of these wind turbines in Elk River. At the November 18, 2019, joint meeting between the city council and the utilities commission, two site options were identified for further evaluation by staff and MMPA. After the joint meeting, the Sherburne County Government Center site was also discussed as a possible location for evaluation. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes January 14, 2020 Page 4 35 Mr. Adams shared that after evaluation, MMPA has determined that the Sherburne County Government Center site would not be a good fit. MMPA and staff also evaluated the two city owned site options that were identified at the joint meeting. Option #1, a lot in the Northstar Business Park off Tyler Street, and Option #2, with three possible locations at the Youth Athletic Complex (YAC). Mr. Adams presented the site plans and possible turbine locations. There was discussion. Moved by Commissioner Nadeau and seconded by Commissioner Bell to recommend to the City Council the siting of the wind turbine at third location option at the Youth Athletic Complex. Motion carried 5-0. 6.0 BUSINESS DISCUSSION 6.1 Staff Updates Mr. Tietz highlighted from his staff report that the bid opening for the power plant substation transformer will be on February 4, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. 6.2 Future Planning Chair Dietz announced the following: a.Regular Commission Meeting February 11, 2020 b.Quorum Recognition of Employee Years of Service January 15, 2020, 2:30-3:30 pm c.2020 Governance Agenda 7.0 ADJOURN REGULAR MEETING Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to adjourn the regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission at 4:07 p.m. Motion carried 5-0. Minutes prepared by Michelle Canterbury. ___________________________________ John J. Dietz, ERMU Commission Chair ___________________________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes January 14, 2020 Page 5 36