"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 Spencer Fricke, President; Chuck Hird, Vice President; Ken Bryant, Secretary; Steve Mills, Member. Also present was Kirk Arends, City Council Member; Dave Haugland, City Administrator and Mike Mills; Marshall Resident.
The agenda was approved as presented on a motion by Mr. Hird, seconded by Mr. Bryant.
On a motion by Mr. Bryant, seconded by Mr. Mills, the following Board of Public Works officers were elected by acclamation for 2017, following historical rotations.
Chuck Hird, President
Ken Bryant, Vice President
Steve Mills, Secretary
Mr. Hird assumed the Chair.
General Manager Kyle Gibbs reviewed the safety briefing. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed on a motion by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Bryant.
Underground Facilities Director Grant Piper requested approval from the Board to replace sewer main on Grant Ave., Ted Ave., Bond Ave., and Wall St. The main is 6" clay pipe and in poor condition for rehab using the cured in place pipe (CIPP) method. Plans are to replace the 6" clay pipe with 8" PVC. The project will be done using in-house labor and equipme On a nt with an approximate cost of $150,000. motion made by Mr. Bryant, seconded by Mr. Fricke, the Board approved replacing the sewer main on Grant Ave., Ted Ave., Bond Ave., and Wall St. at an approximate cost of $150,000, using in-house labor and equipment.
Director Piper then asked the Board to approve the requesting bids for a hydraulic breaker. The current one is approximately 18 years old; parts for it either obsolete or hard to find, and it is not rated for the PSI being put out by the machine it is attached to. On a motion made by Mr. Mills, seconded by Mr. Bryant, the Board approved requesting bids for a backhoe mounted hydraulic breaker.
Electric Production Director Jim Johnson updated the Board on the recycling received from ConAgra. There were 8 loads of cardboard shipped in December. Director Johnson informed the Board of the need for a new bailer to handle the amount of material coming from ConAgra. The Board requested management to research bailers and put together a set of specifications for a new bailer.
Electric Distribution Director Jeff Bergstrom briefly discussed the need for replacing the single phase 200 amp revenue meters with the Board due to communication module failures.
Employee Relations Manager Megan Baldridge updated the Board on MMU's workforce demographics. Fourteen full-time employees are eligible for full retirement and eleven are eligible for early (reduced) retirement under LAGERS. Management and senior level employees make up the bulk of those eligible.
Administrative Services Director Ken Gieringer presented the Board the amount of bad debts written off in December, historical amounts and options for reducing them. The Board discussed the options provided but made no decision on how best to collect.
Director Gieringer then elaborated on replacing the single phase 200 amp revenue meters and the remote read electric meter system. The current meters and system are provided by two different companies. Many of the current meters have display problems, communication problems with the system, dead meters and no technical support for the system. The number of meters with problems is growing, resulting in installing meters similar to those that were replaced 10 years ago. We have been looking for a system from the same vendor who supplied the current electric meters. Director Gieringer presented the Board a quote to review. The Board and Management discussed the problem and options but took no action.
General Manager Kyle Gibbs presented the Board the MMU annual report for 2015/2016.
General Manager Gibbs provided more information regarding the decommissioning of unit #5. The Board discussed the options but took no action.
On a motion by Mr. Bryant, seconded by Mr. Mills, accounts payable were approved and warrants ordered issued from the following funds:
WATER OPERATING FUND $183,430.63 ELECTRIC OPERATING FUND $1,500,832.61 SEWER REVENUE FUND $145,118.38 INTERNET OPERATING FUND $36,224.66 NATURAL GAS OPERATING FUND $2,380.94 ELECTRIC CONSUMER DEPOSIT FUND $5,250.00 Total $1,873,237.22
The next Regular Board meeting will be Thursday February 2, 2017.
On a motion by Mr. Mills seconded by Mr. Bryant, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the regular meeting at 10:06 a.m.