Marshall Municipal Utilities

Board Meeting Minutes

December 30, 2008

The Board of Public Works convened the regular session at 8:30 a.m. at the Marshall Municipal Utilities Business Office. Present were Spencer Fricke, President; Charles Hird, Vice President; and Jim Heinzler, member. Mike Mills, Secretary, was absent.

The agenda was approved as presented. On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, the minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed.

The following bids were opened December 18, 2008, for rehab of two sections of clay sewer pipe.

Company	Price of Section 1	Price of Section 2	Price of Both Sections 1 and 2
Spray Com Utilities Inc.    Sedalia, MO	$15,900	$13,900	$29,800
SAK Construction, LLC    O’Fallon, MO	$11,228	$11,811	$23,039

Underground Facilities Director Monty Chase reported the low bid met specifications. On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, the Board accepted the bid from SAK Construction, LLC for $23,039.

Electric Production Director Jim Johnson reported the paint on the green metal siding on the Power Plant continues to peel and is exposing the metal. In some areas the galvanized siding is rusting where the paint has peeled. Several options have been investigated but sandblasting and repainting the siding seems to be the best option at the lowest cost. The paint does contain lead and appropriate environmental and regulatory compliance measures will need to be taken. Director Johnson indicated an engineering firm would be retained to ensure that the specifications would cover all necessary regulations. On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, the Board approved requesting bids for this project.

Employee Relations Manager Megan Baldridge reported Doug Newell has requested an extension to his leave of absence. On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, the Board approved the leave of absence extension for Mr. Newell until January 8, 2009, if needed, with continuation of health insurance.

Environmental Services Director Ginny Ismay reported it is time for the yearly well maintenance project at the Water Treatment Plant. This includes treating five wells, pulling two well pumps for inspection and needed repair, and removing the pump motors from those two wells for inspection and needed repairs. It was the consensus of the Board to proceed with this annual project using quotes.

The following bids were opened December 5, 2008, for lime slakers at the Water Treatment Plant:

Company	Lump Sum Bid for One Belt Feeder	Delivery Time	Lump Sum Bid for Two Belt Feeder	Delivery Time
Hartsaw Equipment Co.    Olathe, KS     ALT.	$31,740 $21,115	12–14 wks (measurement control system)	$60,890	12–14 wks
Merrick Industries, Inc.    Lynn Haven, FL	$27,321	12 wks	$54,642	12 wks
Sidener Environmental Serv.    St. Louis, MO	$57, 583	8-10 wks	$115,166	8-10 wks

Director Ismay indicated the low bid met specifications. On a motion by Mr. Hird, seconded by Mr. Heinzler, the Board accepted the bid from Merrick Industries, Inc. for $54,642 for two slakers. Director Ismay explained that one slaker would be installed and run to see if it works properly before the second slaker would be installed.

At the December 8, 2008, Board meeting, the Board approved replacing the second polymer pump at the Wastewater Treatment Plant using sealed bids. Since that time, the vendor that sold MMU the first pump in 2007 has agreed to sell the second pump at the 2007 price. Director Ismay indicated this would be preferable in order to minimize spare parts and training. The Board had no objections to accepting the vendor’s offer.

Electric Distribution Director Jeff Bergstrom reported MMU’s electric meter tester will not test the new electronic meters. On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, the Board approved requesting bids for an electronic meter tester.

Director Bergstrom explained the repairs have been completed to the No. 1 switch interrupter and the section of line from the No. 1 switch to Norton Substation, but the cause for the interrupting rod to break has not yet been determined. PAR Electrical Contractors’ work on the transmission line maintenance has been delayed due to the weather.

Director Bergstrom reported a representative of Nelson Tree Service is contacting customers regarding the upcoming tree trimming project. This project should begin the week of January 5, 2009.

Administrative Services Director Ken Gieringer reported procedures have been changed to purchase FDIC insured CD’s instead of Treasury Bills to avoid a negative return on investment. Hopefully, this will be a temporary change until the market settles back to normal.

Director Gieringer reported of the 5,500 electronic meters to be installed, approximately 2,300 are installed.

General Manager Kyle Gibbs asked for the Board’s comments on a draft letter to Consolidated Public Water Supply District #2 of Lafayette, Johnson and Saline Counties declining their request to implement wholesale water rates on a step-rate structure. The Board concurred with the content of the letter.

On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the following Board of Public Works officers were elected for 2009:
Charles Hird, President
Mike Mills, Vice President
Jim Heinzler, Secretary

On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, accounts payable were approved and warrants ordered issued from the following funds:

	WATER OPERATING FUND			$	  151,542.32
	ELECTRIC OPERATING FUND			$	1,255,228.38
	SEWER REVENUE FUND			$	  116,941.81
	INTERNET OPERATING FUND			$	    7,997.80
	NATURAL GAS OPERATING FUND		$	    3,352.28
	ELECTRIC CONSUMERS DEPOSIT FUND		$	    3,700.00
	WATER TREATMENT PLANT IMPROVEMENT RES.	$	  125,815.60

On a motion by Mr. Heinzler, seconded by Mr. Hird, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the regular meeting at 9:23 a.m. to go into executive session to discuss matters related to security systems (Mo. Rev. Stat. 610.021 [19], if authorized). Roll call: Mr. Heinzler yes Mr. Hird yes Mr. Fricke yes