6.1d EMRUSR 01-14-2025��i
Elk River
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
FROM:
ERMU Commission
Tony Mauren — Governance & Communications Manager
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
January 14, 2025
6.1d
SUBJECT:
Staff Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
• Bill inserts for January 2025 include 1/3 sheet residential and commercial rebate flyers
and the SmartHub Auto Pay Program flyer (attached).
• In addition to bill insert topics, social media posts this month feature the commission
meeting notice, holiday office closures and garbage service delays, 2025 rates, tree
trimming, and scholarship information.
• The ERMU student scholarship has been updated for 2025, as we now independently
offer up to two $1000 scholarships to high school seniors in our service territory who
plan to further their education towards a career in water, electric, or conservation
related fields (application flyer attached). This approach to the scholarship program is a
departure from previous years when we partnered with Minnesota Municipal Utilities
Association's (MMUA) Tom Bovitz Scholarship. MMUA is in the process of reevaluating
its scholarship program and have confirmed it will no longer run through local utilities.
• Communications staff updated the residential and commercial new customer packets to
include the Who Owns What infrastructure flyers (attached). These inserts were created
in 2022 and have previously been distributed to customers. Adding the inserts to their
respective packets is intended to ensure that customers begin their service with ERMU
having a solid understanding of ownership responsibilities.
• On January 6, Communications Coordinator Jenny Foss and I sat down with safety, grant
writing, and communications staff from MMUA to discuss a new community safety
training initiative. As a group we discussed MMUA's intention to roll out a program
funded by a Susan Harwood Training Grant, bringing free OSHA training on chemical
safety to local businesses as a means to enhance the way ERMU serves its community. It
was a great discussion where our staff was able to provide insight on how to best
communicate with utility customers as well as offer recommendations for logistics like
registration. We will provide updates on this initiative as it develops.
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ATTACHMENTS:
• Bill Insert —Residential Rebates
• Bill Insert —Commercial Rebates
• Bill Insert — SmartHub Auto Pay Program
• ERMU Scholarship Program
• Who Owns What — Residential
• Who Owns What — Commercial
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