2.3 ERMUSR 04-09-2024ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE UTILITIES COMMISSION
HELD AT THE UPPERTOWN CONFERENCE ROOM
March 12, 2024
Members Present: Chair John Dietz, Vice Chair Mary Stewart, Commissioners Paul Bell, Matt
Westgaard, and Nick Zerwas
ERMU Staff Present: Mark Hanson, General Manager
Sara Youngs, Administrations Director
Melissa Karpinski, Finance Manager
Tony Mauren, Governance & Communications Manager
Tom Geiser, Operations Director
Chris Sumstad, Electric Superintendent
Dave Ninow, Water Superintendent
Chris Kerzman, Engineering Manager
Jenny Foss, Communications & Administrative Coordinator
Others Present: Jared Shepherd, Attorney; 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 Oath of Office
Mr. Mauren administered the oath of office for the reappointment of Commissioner Bell.
1.4 Consider the Agenda
Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to approve the
March 14, 2024, agenda. Motion carried 5-0.
1.5 2024 Election of Officers— Chair and Vice Chair
Mr. Mauren invited the Commission to discuss and elect the chair and vice chair positions,
each for 12-month terms.
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There was agreement among the Commission to maintain the officer appointments from the
previous year.
Moved by Commissioner Bell and seconded by Commissioner Zerwas to reappoint
Commissioner Dietz as Chair and reappoint Commissioner Stewart as the Vice Chair.
Motion carried 5-0.
1.6 2023 Committee A000intments
The Commission discussed previous committee appointments and the chair positions. There
was agreement among the Commission to maintain the committee appointments from the
previous year.
Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Zerwas to make
the following committee and chair appointments for 2024:
Reappoint Chair Dietz and Commissioner Stewart to the Wage and Benefits Committee
with Chair Dietz to continue to serve as committee chair.
Reappoint Commissioner Westgaard and reappoint Commissioner Zerwas to the
Financial Reserves and Investment Committee with Commissioner Westgaard to
continue to serve as committee chair.
Reappoint Commissioner Stewart to the Information Security Committee.
Reappoint Commissioner Westgaard and Commissioner Bell to the Dispute Resolution
Committee with Commissioner Westgaard to continue to serve as committee chair.
Motion carried 5-0.
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 Check Register— February 2024
2.2 Regular Meeting Minutes — February 13, 2024
Motion carried 5-0.
3.0 OPEN FORUM
No one appeared for open forum.
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4.0 POLICY & COMPLIANCE
4.1 Commission Policy Review — G.2c —Agenda Planning
Mr. Mauren presented the memo which included proposed updates in the attachments. Mr.
Mauren explained most of the updates were proposed to bring the policy in alignment with
the Governance Agenda that the Commission approves annually.
During discussion, Ms. Youngs provided background that the three -minute time limit for
presenters during Open Forum was bringing the policy up to date with what had been
approved at the June 2023 meeting.
Moved by Commissioner Zerwas and seconded by Commissioner Bell to approve the
proposed updates to Commission Policy — G.2c — Agenda Planning. Motion carried 5-0.
4.2 City Code Review —Article V. Division 5 —Public Utilities Commission
Mr. Hanson presented the memo which included proposed updates in the attachments. Mr.
Hanson explained that the City is currently reviewing this portion of its code which covers all of
its commissions. He continued that the majority of the updates proposed by staff for the
Utilities section involved reorganizing the headers and matching the language to what was
used for other commissions to make them more uniform. Mr. Hanson added that the language
now clarifies that the Utilities are governed independently while still a City entity.
Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Stewart to approve
the proposed updates to City Code — Article V, Division 5 — Public Utilities Commission.
Motion carried 5-0.
4.3 Annual Commission Orientation — Policv Manual Update Review
Mr. Mauren presented the summary of updates to the policy manual and reference guide
attached to the memo.
Chair Dietz asked if there is a legal review of the Employee Handbook.
Staff confirmed that there was.
5.0 BUSINESS ACTION
5.1 Financial Report —January 2024
Ms. Karpinski presented the report for January 2024.
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In response to Commissioner Stewart's inquiry about the Maintenance Expense line which
shows a $32,000 variance over the previous year, Ms. Karpinski explained that this was
due to increased labor for electric mapping work as the mild winter permitted mapping to
occur over a longer period. Ms. Karpinski also explained that the increase is somewhat
offset by a reduction in typical seasonal expenses such as snowplowing and repairing
infrastructure struck by vehicles due to icy roads.
During discussion about higher Water Access Chargers in the month of January, Mr.
Ninow explained that there are multiple industrial customers building new facilities. There
was discussion.
Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Bell to receive the
January 2024 Financial Report. Motion carried 5-0.
6.0 BUSINESS DISCUSSION
6.1 Staff Updates
There were no staff updates.
6.2 City Council Update
Commissioner Westgaard provided an update from the City Council meetings which dealt with
topics including preliminary plat for an education institution, interim use permits, and an
easement vacation.
6.3 American Public Power Association Legislative Rally Update
Mr. Hanson led the verbal update on the American Public Power Association (APPA) Legislative
Rally in Washington D.C., which he attended along with Chair Dietz and Commissioner Zerwas.
He explained the message to legislators and/or their staff encouraged continued support to
allow public power utilities to achieve affordability, reliability, and sustainability. Mr. Hanson
continued that important topics included significant supply chain issues, increased costs for
transformers, financing tools to allow municipal utilities to refund loans within ten years, and
to allow local banks to increase their loan threshold from $10 million to $30 million. There was
discussion.
Chair Dietz shared his impression from staffers that there is genuine concern for small utilities'
issues.
Chair Dietz asked Mr. Hanson to look into whether it would be appropriate for ERMU to join
the APPA subcommittees that meet at the legislative rally. There was discussion.
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Commissioner Zerwas shared his perspective that the senate staff members seemed very
knowledgeable on the topics being presented. There was discussion.
6.4 Future Planning
Chair Dietz announced the following:
a. Regular Commission Meeting —April 9, 2024
b. 2024 Governance Agenda
6.5 Other Business
There was no other business.
7.0 ADJOURN REGULAR MEETING
Moved by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Bell to adjourn the
regular meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission at 4:02 p.m. Motion carried
5-0.
Minutes prepared by Tony Mauren.
John J. Dietz, ERMU Commission Chair
Tina Allard, City Clerk
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