"Providing Hometown Reliability"
The Board of Public Works convened in regular session at 8:30 a.m. at the Marshall Municipal Utilities Business Office. Board members present were Chuck Hird, President; Ken Bryant, Vice President; Steve Mills, Secretary; and Spencer Fricke, Member. Also present were City Administrator Dave Haugland and City Councilman Dewey Hendrix.
The agenda was approved on a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Bryant. General Manager Kyle Gibbs reviewed the safety briefing. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed on a motion by Mr. Bryant, seconded by Mr. Mills.
Human Resource Manager Megan Baldridge presented the Board with a revision to the Safety Department's Excavations and Trenching Policy. She stated the revisions didn't modify anything, but just clarified a few areas. On a motion made by Mr. Bryant, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board approved the revisions to the Excavations and Trenching Policy, as presented, effective immediately.
Electric Production Director Carl Crawford provided the Board information on unit #10 and #11 cooling towers. The current fill is 25 yrs old, deteriorated and needs replacement. The materials will be purchased and installed with in-house labor and the cost should not exceed the $15,000 budgeted. On a motion made by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board authorized the purchase of materials needed for replacing the existing fill on unit #10 and #11 cooling towers.
Administrative Services Director Ken Gieringer explained to the Board the process taken to receive utility payments through a credit card transaction. Currently any customer who has a bill over $400 and wants to pay with a credit card, the payment must be split into multiple transactions. Director Gieringer reviewed the possibility of changing or adding a vendor to process the credit card transactions. Due to the way the vendors charge for each transaction it is not feasible to change the current system without MMU incurring fees.
Water Treatment Chief Operator Kenny Clause updated the Board on the THM reduction project. The contractor has gotten the mud mat poured. They are now dealing with broken pilings from the previously flooded reservoir that snapped off at ground level. They need to deviate from the approved shoring plan but have to wait for approval to ensure safety.
Wastewater Treatment Chief Operator Rick Bailey reported the new maintenance building is finished and they have started moving into the new maintenance building. He also informed the Board that the comment letter for the Sewer Use Ordinance and Local Limits Review had been received from DNR. Comments have been sent to SKW for review.
Electric Distribution Director Jeff Bergstrom updated the Board on the LD&B Master System Study. The study is close to completion. LD&B is planning on attending the August 31st Board meeting to present it along with options for the second 161kV tie line. The meters for the AMI electric meter replacement pilot should arrive soon. There is a delay on the collectors; they are being upgraded from 3G communications to 4G communications. Commissioning on September 19th is still being planned. Crews have hooked up the Water Treatment Plant Sodium Hypochlorite building to temporary power and they will be switching the high service pumps to temporary power next week.
Underground Facilities Director Grant Piper informed the Board the thermometers installed in #3 reservoirs has been moved to #1 reservoir. The collected temperate data will be sent off for analysis to make sure the mixers are doing what they were supposed to do. The water tower mixer was installed on the 8th. Sewer replacement on Ted/Bond and Wall has restarted. The vacuum excavator will be delivered tomorrow.
General Manager Kyle Gibbs reported on the results of MoPEP Rates and Resources Work Group meetings he attended.
On a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Bryant, accounts payable were approved and warrants ordered issued from the following funds:
WATER OPERATING FUND $ 118,143.78 ELECTRIC OPERATING FUND $ 1,259,728.89 SEWER REVENUE FUND $ 122,278.40 INTERNET OPERATING FUND $ 37,742.67 NATURAL GAS OPERATING FUND $ 460.75 ELECTRIC CONSUMER DEPOSIT FUND $ 11,325.00 Total $ 1,549,679.49
In other business the Board discussed how to handle the adjustment requested by Hamilton Properties for a high water use bill. After much investigation of the meter, possible causes of inaccurate readings, and the rules for a high water bill adjustment, this incident does not meet those rules. Management has no recommendation for the Board. On a consensus of the Board they agreed to not grant the adjustment. A letter will be drafted and sent to the customer explaining.
The next Regular Board meeting will be Thursday August 31, 2017.
On a motion by Mr. Bryant, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board adjourned the regular meeting at 9:42 a.m. to go into an executive session to discuss matters under Mo Rev. Stat. 610.021 concerning: legal, confidential or privileged information [1]; and personnel actions [3].
Roll call: Ken Bryant yes
Steve Mills yes
Spencer Fricke yes
Charles Hird yes