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02-11-2020 ERMU MIN ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES REGULAR MEETING OF THE UTILITIES COMMISSION HELD AT UTILITIES CONFERENCE ROOM February 11,2020 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 Melissa Karpinski, Finance Manager Tony Mauren, Communications&Administrative Coordinator Chris Kerzman,System Engineer Others Present: Cal Portner, City Administrator 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 There were no additions or corrections to the agenda. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to approve the February 11,2020,agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 2.0 CONSENT AGENDA(Approved By One Motion) Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2020 Page 1 Commissioner Stewart had a question regarding the rental revenue for the Verizon Non-Exclusive Lease Agreement.Staff responded. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: 2.1 January 2020 Check Register 2.2 January 14,2020 Regular Meeting Minutes 2.3 Verizon Non-Exclusive Lease Agreement—Freeport Street Water Tower Motion carried 5-0. 3.0 OPEN FORUM No one appeared for open forum. 4.0 POLICY&COMPLIANCE 4.1 2019 Annual Safety Report In 2019, ERMU submitted one report that qualifies under this annual safety reporting requirement; the OSHA Form 300A which is a summary of work-related first report of injuries and illnesses. Ms. Slominski presented the OSHA Form 300A that had been filed;there was one recordable case which resulted in three days away from work. Ms. Slominski also provided the 2018 filing for comparison. The commission had a few questions. Staff responded. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to receive the 2019 Annual Safety Report. Motion carried 5-0. 5.0 BUSINESS ACTION 5.1 Financial Report—December 2019 The December 2019 financial report was presented. It was noted that they are preliminary unaudited financial statements. For the benefit of the commission, Ms. Karpinski addressed a question that Chair Dietz had emailed in advance regarding the electric maintenance expense year-to-date variance from current to prior year. There was discussion. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to receive the December 2019 Financial Report. Motion carried 5-0. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2020 Page 2 5.2 2019 Fourth Quarter Delinquent Items Ms. Karpinski presented the delinquent items for the fourth quarter, including a delinquent amounts report totaling$5,708.23 for all services. She also presented the delinquent items comparisons for 2017—2019 and provided an overview of the year end totals. Ms. Karpinski noted that the graphs in the report have been updated to provide better quarterly and year- to-date comparisons. The commission had a few questions including how our delinquents compare to other utilities. Ms. Karpinski responded that our percentage of uncollectible accounts per revenue dollar for 2019 are .029%, well below the national average which is between .17% and .40%. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Bell to approve the 2019 Fourth Quarter Delinquent Items. Motion carried 5-0. 5.3 Strategic Plan and 2019 Annual Business Plan Results Mr. Adams provided some background on the Strategic Plan and explained that the purpose of the plan is to establish the long-term direction and goals for our organization and a plan of how to get there. He stressed that the Strategic Plan is a long-term, forward-looking tool. Mr. Adams presented the highlights, challenges, and results from the 2019 initiatives as outlined in his memo. Each manager spoke to an initiative that they were a project lead for and shared the results and the impact it had company wide.There was discussion. Next, Mr. Adams provided an overview of the 2019 Annual Business Plan. He explained that the Annual Business Plan is a short-term, forward-looking tool dependent upon backwards looking data analysis as provided in the form of our financial statements. Mr. Adams reached out to the commission for feedback on the tools they need to effectively monitor and evaluate the organization. Commissioner Stewart shared that she really liked the presentation of the Strategic Plan. She stated it was nice to hear each manager speak about one of their initiatives and she liked that it offered the commission an opportunity to see them shine. As far as additional tools needed for the commission to effectively govern, she suggested having a communication tool similar to what the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) provides after each board meeting, which are some bullet points of what happened at the meeting and some key talking points. Commissioner Stewart went over the benefits of having a communications tool such as this. Mr. Adams liked the idea and stated it was something we could implement. Commissioner Westgaard agreed that it was a nice update and he appreciated everyone's participation. He expressed the importance of taking the time to reflect on the results and accomplishments. There was discussion. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2020 Page 3 Commissioner Bell added that he liked this approach and hearing from everyone. He congratulated everyone on a good year. Chair Dietz stated that everyone is doing an excellent job. He concluded that we are highly thought of throughout the state and should be proud that we're considered a leader. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Nadeau to receive the Strategic Plan and 2019 Annual Business Plan Results. Motion carried 5-0. 5.4 Wage& Benefits Committee Update Mr. Adams provided some background on the vacant Information Technology/Operational Technology (IT/OT) position and the challenges of filling the position. He shared that the Wage & Benefits Committee (W&BC) met on January 14 to discuss the vacant IT/OT Manager position. Based on those discussions, the committee determined that the core competencies needed from the IT/OT manager were project management,technical aptitude, and communication, while the IT/OT specific skills were secondary to those of leadership. As ERMU's current System Engineer possesses all the core competencies,the committee had consensus to recommend changing the System Engineer position to an Engineering Manager position to provide high level policy development, leadership, and project management skills. And change the IT/OT Manager position to an IT/OT Technician to provide the complement of the specific technical skills. Mr. Adams went over the financial impact for the proposed changes. Commissioner Stewart shared her thoughts on the two-year search to find the appropriate candidate to fill the position, the necessities of finding a creative solution, and her support of promoting within. Chair Dietz concurred. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to change the System Engineer position to Engineering Manager at pay grade M10. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to change the IT/OT Manager position to IT/OT Technician at pay grade F9. Motion carried 5-0. The commission congratulated Mr. Kerzman on his promotion. 6.0 BUSINESS DISCUSSION 6.1 Staff Updates Mr.Adams highlighted from his staff report that the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) Legislative Conference will be held March 31—April 1, 2020, at the DoubleTree Hotel Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2020 Page 4 in St. Paul. As we typically have one or two commissioners attend, he asked that any commissioners that are interested let Ms. Canterbury know by the end of the week for registration purposes. Ms. Slominski highlighted from her staff report that the Employee Handbook that was presented at the January commission meeting did not include the Fire Department Participation policy information that was passed in May 2019.She noted that the error was discovered and,given that it had already been approved by the commission,was inserted into the Handbook prior to distribution to employees. Mr. Fuchs had nothing additional to add to his staff report.Chair Dietz inquired about the decorative streetlight poles that were damaged in shipment, and asked if the replacements had come in. Mr. Fuchs responded that they are expected to be here in a few weeks. In Mr. Ninow's staff report he shared that there have been five fire hydrants struck by vehicles this winter that required repairs. He noted that unlike the movies,water does not shoot into the air after a hydrant has been hit. Commissioner Stewart commentated that she appreciated the humor. Mr.Sagstetter presented the updated Energy Guide which is now called "Your Guide to Home Energy Use." He shared that this is a tool that we use for high bill complaints,and to help educate residential customers on their energy consumption and how to use it more efficiently. Mr. Sagstetter thanked Communications Coordinator Mauren for his help with putting together such a great looking guide. Ms. Canterbury provided a reminder that the annual Commissioner Orientation will be held March 10 at 2:30 p.m. in the Commission Conference Room,and requested the commissioners bring their Governance Commission Policy Book to the orientation. Chair Dietz shared that he and Mr.Adams had met with a local utility that was experiencing some challenges within their organization. He provided a recap of the meeting and noted the importance of helping others when we can. 6.2 Future Planning Chair Dietz announced the following: a. Regular Commission Meeting—March 10, 2020 b. Special Commission Meeting—Annual Commissioner Orientation —March 10, 2020, 2:30—3:30 p.m. c. 2020 Governance Agenda Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2020 Page 5 6.3 Other Business There was no other business. 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 4:39 p.m.Motion carried 5-0. Minut prepared by Michelle Canterbury. ohn . Dietz U Commission Chair Tina Allard,City Clerk Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes February 11, 2020 Page 6