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Marshall Municipal Utilities

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Board Meeting Minutes

November 12, 2009

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

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

Environmental Services Director Ginny Ismay reported the SCADA system at the Water Treatment Plant needs upgrading and expanding. The entire project would span at least a couple of years. Replacement of the well control radios would be the first part of this project. It is recommended that fiber optics to the wells be installed instead of using radios, either licensed or unlicensed. On a motion by Mr. Mills, sec-onded by Mr. Fricke, the Board approved proceeding with replacing the well control radios with fiber optics as the first part of upgrading and expanding the SCADA system at the Water Treatment Plant.

Director Ismay reported truck #206 is fourteen years old and has over 100,000 miles on it. This vehicle is developing problems on a regular basis. On a motion by Mr. Fricke, seconded by Mr. Mills, the Board ap-proved requesting bids for a new half-ton, two-wheel drive truck.

A discussion was held on alternatives to cleaning/replacing the filter media at the Water Treatment Plant.

Electric Distribution Director Jeff Bergstrom indicated an additional 200 feet of drill stem is needed for the boring machine. The extra length would have helped in completing the underground replacement projects on South Lake Drive and in Westport, and would be helpful when the replacement of single-phase overhead lines is started. On a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board approved purchasing 200 feet of drill stem for the boring machine using quotes.

Director Bergstrom reported a capstan winch is needed for the digger derrick truck to install short sections of underground that cannot be pulled in by hand, and also to lift equipment and roll up wire. Currently, this work is being done by hooking the pull rope to the back of a pickup or flatbed, which presents a safety is-sue. On a motion by Mr. Fricke, seconded by Mr. Mills, the Board approved requesting bids to have a cap-stan winch installed on the digger derrick truck.

The following bids were opened November 4th, 2009, for selling used and junk transformers.

# of Transformers Available = 	44	# of Transformers	Lump
						Bid		 Sum

B & B Transformer				44		$8,446.88
    Farmington, MN
Solomon Corp.					44		$8,821.25
    Solomon, KS
City of Salisbury				14		$1,890.00
    Salisbury, MO

Director Bergstrom indicated Salisbury was the high bidder for 14 of the transformers, B & B Transformer for 13 of the transformers, and Solomon Corp. for 17 of the transformers, for a total of $9,681.88. On a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board accepted the highest bid for each individual trans-former from the company that would take it.

Director Bergstrom reported the new switchgear for the North Street Substation should be completed and put in service next week.

Administrative Services Director Ken Gieringer reported the extra strength wastewater surcharges for in-dustries are recalculated annually. Currently the charges are set at $.28/pound for BOD (biochemical oxy-gen demand) and $.16/pound for TSS (total suspended solids). On a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board approved setting the BOD surcharge at $.24/pound and the TSS surcharge at $.14/pound effective for billing after January 1, 2010.

Director Gieringer reported the Purchasing Policy was approved in 1994 with a requirement that it be re-viewed annually, which has been done. Procedural changes to the policy should be addressed at the time they are identified and not held for an annual review, which would make an annual review unnecessary. On a motion by Mr. Fricke, seconded by Mr. Mills, the Board approved removing the annual review require-ment of MMU’s Purchasing Policy.

Director Gieringer reviewed an unaudited financial comparison of the last two years.

Underground Facilities Director Monty Chase reported the large format copier is more than fifteen years old and the large format printer is more than ten years old. Both units need to be replaced. A media center would do all the copying and printing needed, plus adding the ability to scan large drawings. On a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board approved requesting bids for a new media center capable of copying, scanning and printing large documents.

Director Chase reported truck #201 is a 1997 model with over 100,000 miles on it and it needs to be re-placed. On a motion by Mr. Fricke, seconded by Mr. Mills, the Board approved requesting bids for a new half-ton, two-wheel drive truck.

Electric Production Director Jim Johnson reported the Unit #5 overhaul is going well. A pilot valve, which is part of the governor control, has been ordered but will not be delivered until sometime in February 2010. The old pilot valve will be reinstalled until the new one arrives. The overhaul should be completed by the first of December.

General Manager Kyle Gibbs reported the Underground Facilities Department has worked one year with no recordable injuries as of November 1, 2009.

General Manager Gibbs reported phases II and III of the Smart Grid stimulus grant money were cancelled due to all current allocations being spent in phase I.

General Manager Gibbs reviewed some of the aspects of the foundation drain disconnection program work plan that was approved by the Board in April 2006. At that time, this plan and an ordinance were sent to the City Council for their approval. To date, the Council has taken no action. The Board requested that a plan for staff, equipment, etc. to implement the program be developed and presented for the Board’s con-sideration.

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

	WATER OPERATING FUND		$	  104,638.22
	ELECTRIC OPERATING FUND		$	1,038,996.30
	SEWER REVENUE FUND		$	  156,865.27
	INTERNET OPERATING FUND		$	   14,371.33
	NATURAL GAS OPERATING FUND	$	    1,106.12
	ELECTRIC CONSUMER DEPOSIT FUND	$	    2,325.00

On a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the regular meeting adjourned at 9:40 a.m.