Loading...
2.2 ERMUSR 04-13-2021ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES REGULAR MEETING OF THE UTILITIES COMMISSION HELD AT THE ELK RIVER FIRE STATION EOC CONFERENCE ROOM March 9, 2021 Members Present: Chair John Dietz, Vice Chair Al Nadeau, Commissioners Paul Bell, Mary Stewart, and Matt Westgaard ERMU Staff Present: Theresa Slominski, General Manager Melissa Karpinski, Finance Manager Jennie Nelson, Customer Service Manager Tom Sagstetter, Conservation & Key Accounts Manager Michelle Canterbury, Executive Administrative Manager Tom Geiser, Operations Director Chris Sumstad, Electric Superintendent Mike Tietz, Technical Services Superintendent Dave Ninow, Water Superintendent Chris Kerzman, Engineering Manager Tony Mauren, Communications & Administrative Coordinator Others Present: Peter Beck, Attorney via teleconference, Cal Portner, City Administrator Terri Heaton, representative for Baker Tilly US, LLP via teleconference 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 Oath of Office Ms. Canterbury administered the oath of office for Commissioner Paul Bell. 1.4 Consider the Agenda Ms. Slominski requested moving agenda item 5.3 Bond Sale Resolution to follow the Consent Agenda approval. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 1 37 Moved by Commissioner Nadeau and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to approve the amended March 9, 2021 agenda. Motion carried 5-0 1.5 2021 Electionof Officers Per ERMU policy, the offices of the ERMU Commission include a Chair, Vice-Chair, and a Secretary. The Commission elects the Chair and Vice-Chair to one-year terms each year during its regular meeting in the month of March. Moved by Commissioner Bell and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to reappoint John Dietz as Chair. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Bell to reappoint Al Nadeau as the Vice-Chair. Motion carried 5-0. 1.6 2021 Committee Appointments Per ERMU policy, the Commission shall appoint Committee members annually following the Commission election of officers during the March Commission meeting. The Commission also appoints Committee Chairs at that time. All appointments are for a one-year term. After discussion, the following appointments were made. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Nadeau to reappoint John Dietz and Mary Stewart to the Wage and Benefits Committee. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Bell to reappoint John Dietz as Committee Chair. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Commissioner Bell and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to reappoint Matt Westgaard and Al Nadeau to the Financial Reserves and Investment Committee. Moved by Chair Dietz and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to reappoint Matt Westgaard as Committee Chair. Motion carried 5-0. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Nadeau to reappoint Mary Stewart to the Information Security Committee. Motion carried 5-0. Ms. Slominski provided details for the new Dispute Resolution Committee. Commissioner Bell and Westgaard expressed a willingness to serve. Moved by Commissioner Nadeau and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to appoint Matt Westgaard and Paul Bell to the Dispute Resolution Committee. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Nadeau to appoint Matt Westgaard as Committee Chair. Motion carried 5-0. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 2 38 Staff also requested two volunteers from the Commission to serve on theField Services Facility Expansion Project Workgroup. Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to reappoint Al Nadeau and Paul Bell to the Field Services Facility Expansion Project Workgroup. Motion carried 5-0. 1.7 Water Fluoridation Quality Award Mr. Ninow was proud to inform the Commission that ERMU had received the 2019 Water Fluoridation Quality Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for meeting the optimal range offluoride levels for 12 consecutive months. Mr. Ninow provided some of the benefits to fluoridating community drinking water. Mr. Ninow stated that receiving the award is a testament to the daily efforts of water operators and their attention to detail in monitoring water quality. Chair Dietz had a question about the maintenance of fluoride levels. Mr. Ninow responded. Chair Dietz asked Mr. Ninow to pass along the Commission’s compliments to staff. 1.8 Recognition of Employee Achievement Ms. Slominski informed the Commission that Michelle Canterbury had completed the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association’s (MMUA) FirstLine Supervision program. The Commission applauded Ms. Canterbury. 2.0 CONSENT AGENDA (Approved By One Motion) Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Bell to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: 2.1 February 2021 Check Register 2.2 February 9, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes Motion carried 5-0. 5.3 Bond Sale Resolution Ms. Heaton appeared before the Commission to receive approval to offer the sale of bonds on their behalf. The bonds would finance $13.5 million in capital improvements for the field services facility expansion, with an additional $960,000 going to fees and a deposit to ERMU’s debt services reserve fund. Ms. Heaton noted it was a great time to go to market with there Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 3 39 being a 50-year low in interest rates. Ms. Heaton shared the scheduled sale date was April 13 at 10:30 am, with approval occurring at the commission meeting later that day. Ms. Heaton explained that these were 30-year bonds with an estimated interest rate of 2.24%. Chair Dietz had a question about the credit rating process. Ms. Heaton responded. Chair Dietz asked if there were any provisions regarding prepayment of the bond. Ms. Heaton explained that on or after year 10 of the 30-year period the utilities can prepay on accumulated interest and principal without penalty. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Nadeau to adopt Resolution No. 21-2 providing for the competitive negotiated sale of $14,460,000 Electric Revenue Bonds, Series 2021B, and request that the City Council approve the issuance of the bonds and delegate to the Commission the authority to award the 2021B Electric Bonds, per the attached resolution. Motion carried 5-0. 3.0 OPEN FORUM No one appeared for open forum. 4.0 POLICY & COMPLIANCE 4.1 Annual Commissioner Orientation Ms. Slominski began her presentation by thanking the commissioners for their contributions to the Commission. She went on tohighlight elements of Commission Policy G.3a Controlling Authority. Ms. Slominski also refreshed the Commission’s understanding of the “One Voice” standard which calls for united support once a final vote is cast and the “One Employee” standard which states the Commission’s only employee is the general manager. Ms. Canterbury shared materials on Robert’s Rules of Order which are to be followed in governance procedures. Ms. Canterbury also pointed out that the exact wording of any necessary motions can be found in the Action Requested portion of that item’s memo. Ms. Canterburythen explained the updates to thecommissionpolicy manualand reference guide. ChairDietz asked if there werestill updates to be madeto the employee handbookincluded in the commission policy manual. Staff responded that updates are ongoing. 5.0 BUSINESS ACTION Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 4 40 5.1 Financial Report – January 2021 Ms. Karpinski presented the January 2021 Financial Report. Chair Dietz asked for clarification on the totals for some of the line items. Staff responded. Moved by Commissioner Nadeau and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to receive the January 2021 Financial Report. Motion carried 5-0. 5.2 2020 Annual Report Mr. Mauren provided an explanation of the focus for the 2020 Annual Report, noting that the theme of “Facing Challenges, Finding Solutions” is intended to show customers how ERMU’s response to COVID-19 allowed the utilities to have an operationally and financially successful year. Moved by Commissioner Bell and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to receive the 2020 Annual Report. Motion carried 5-0. 5.4 Field Services Facility Expansion Project Update Mr. Kerzman presented his update on the field services facility project to the Commission. Chair Dietz asked when staff expects to break ground on the project. Mr. Kerzman responded that the current timeline is set for May, noting it will depend on the delivery times for precast concrete and structural steel. Mr. Kerzman stated that construction is expected to take 10-12 months. Commissioner Westgaard asked about the construction manager’s expectations on the upcoming bids for the project given the volatility in the market. Mr. Kerzman stated they feel they have a good handle on pricing, but there are concerns about lead times for structural steel. Chair Dietz had a question about the amount of work to be done on the property in preparation. Mr. Kerzman responded that the majority of the work is complete. Chair Dietz asked about the scheduled live burn trainings that the fire department would be conducting with the two houses on the property. Mr. Kerzman responded they are planning to have those trainings the last two Saturdays in April. 6.0 BUSINESS DISCUSSION 6.1 Staff Updates Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 5 41 Chair Dietz commended Mr. Geiser and staff for quickly resolving an outage that occurred on Business Center Drive. Mr. Sumstad shared that staff is reviewing resumes for the open journey lineworker position. Mr. Kerzman shared that there was an issue with the power plant transformer that occurred during testing which will put delivery a week or more behind schedule. Mr. Sagstetter shared that inline replacements were completed on two engines at the landfill gas facility. Ms. Karpinski informed the Commission that everything went well during the financial audit the previous week. She also noted the auditor mentioned, based on the accuracy of the materials they reviewed, it was clear that staff cares very much about their duties. Chair Dietz raised an issue that a customer brought to City Council regarding Sewer Access and Water Access Charges. There was discussion. Chair Dietz asked Ms. Slominski for an update on the potential impact to rates due to the winter storms in Texas potentially limiting the supply of natural gas. Ms. Slominski noted that there were talking points from American Public Power Association in the packet that touch on the subject. She added that because ERMU’s power provider has a supply of natural gas and a rate stabilization fund we are well positioned to absorb the impact. Chair Dietz had a question about funding for the rate stabilization fund. Staff responded. Commissioner Stewart provided additional context and comparison between Texas and Minnesota power markets. There was further discussion. 6.2 Minnesota Municipal Utilities AssociationLegislative Conference Update Mr. Sagstetter updated the Commission on MMUA’s virtual 2021 Legislative Conference. Mr. Sagstetter stated his appreciation for MMUA’s government relations services with the fast pace of legislation during the pandemic. Commissioner Stewart also commended MMUA’s depth of knowledge of their membership and how well they advocate on their behalf. 6.3 American Public Power AssociationLegislative Rally Update Ms. Slominski updated the Commission on American Public Power Association’s virtual 2021 Legislative Rally. She shared that the main focus was that there is a tight margin for legislation to pass, and that it will need to occur on the budget reconciliation bill. Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 6 42 Commissioner Stewart shared details from the third session of the rally and social events. 6.4 Future Planning Chair Dietz announced the following: a. Regular Commission Meeting – April 13, 2021 – EOC Conference Room b. 2021 Governance Agenda 6.5 Other Business Commissioner Westgaard stated that he will not be present at theMay commission meeting. It was decided to move the Annual General Manager Performance Evaluation and Goal Settingscheduled for that month to June. 7.0 ADJOURN REGULAR MEETING Moved by CommissionerBell and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to adjourn the regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission at 4:33 p.m. Motion carried 5-0. Minutes prepared by Tony Mauren. ___________________________________ John J. Dietz, ERMU Commission Chair ___________________________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes March 9, 2021 Page 7 43