2004-08-24 JPWB Minutes
JOINT POWERS WATER BOARD MINUTES
Regular Meeting of
August 23, 2004
6:00 PM JPWT Plant Board Room
6 00 PM Call to Order by Challperson, Don Peterson
Board Members Present Joyce Paullm, Wayne Kessler, Tom Hagerty, Gerhardt Kottke, Tom
Fay
Board Members Absent None
Staff Present Chns Cathn, H R Green, Kelly Browmng, Veolta Water NA, Shelly Keyes,
Veoha Water NA
Staff Absent None
Chauperson Peterson added a diSCUSSIon of current WAC charges to the agenda under New
Busmess MOTION BY HAGERTY, SECOND BY KOTTKE TO ADOPT THE REVISED
AGENDA MOTION CARRIED UNANRvIOUSL Y
There was no one present under the Citizen Forum
MOTION BY PAULLIN, SECOND BY FAY TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY
26,2004 REGULAR MEETING MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
MOTION BY KESSLER, SECOND BY PAULLIN TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA
AS PRESENTED MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
There was no Unfinished Business
Under New Business, George Etlertson of Northland Securities discussed the pOSSIble
refinancIng of the Senes 1999 General ObligatIon Water Revenue Bond Edertson explamed
that Northland Securities had assisted With the refinancmg of the origmal1978 bonds m 1999
whIch stIlI eXist as revenue bonds New bonds were also Issued In 1999 through the City of St
MIchael, who had the best bond ratIng for obtalmng maXlIDum interest, With Joint Powers
member Cities each pledgmg to guarantee a portIon based on system connections The 1999
bonds have a call date of February 1, 2009 when they may be pre-paid or refinanced Ellertson
suggested a one-tIme advance refundmg, winch locks current low mterest rates for future saVIngS
winch average $20,359 per year begmmng m 2010 The refundmg would achieve a net present
value savmgs percentage of 4 86 and would once again flow through St Michael, with a 2022
final maturity, the same as the 1999 bonds The Board consensus IS to have each CIty
admmIstration review the finanCial informatIon With a member ofNorthIand SecuntIes Board
Members will make a determInation regardmg refinancmg after input from each CIty
In other New Business, Browning presented a request from Schulte's Green House for a
reductlOn on thelf water bill Browning explamed the current tiered water rates were created for
reSIdentIal usage and promotes water conservatIon by charging more as additIonal water is used
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JOINT POWERS WATER BOARD MINUTES
Regular Meeting of
August 23, 2004
6:00 PM JPWT Plant Board Room
TIered rates are required to encourage water conservation wluch is reqwred to be demonstrated
for DNR appropnatlon approvals when new wells are proposed Browmng noted some cities do
offer a flat commercial rate for water usage and the Board may want to consider the optIon at
year end when settIng next year's rates Brownmg offered to gather further InformatIOn and
suggested the engmeers for each CIty may want to dISCUSS the topic at therr upcommg meetIng
Board Members agreed to discuss the commerCIal rate agam when settIng the yearly rate
changes
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In additIOnal New Business, ChaIrperson Peterson discussed the concern CIty of Albertville has
WIth the current Met CounCIl formula used to detennine WAC fees Peterson explatned the
current WAC fees discourage new business from moving into the area and suggested a reviSIon
Catltn remarked that the water rates were set to cover operation and WAC fees cover new wells
and towers If the WAC fee IS lowered, the rates would have to be Increased to collect the same
amount of money Kessler questIoned 1f other local towns use the Met CouncIl formula and
CatlIn responded that he knows Elk RIVer does and there are many other small towns that follow
Met CouncIl gwdelInes BrownIng noted the engineers from each crty would be meetmg soon
and could consIder optIons or revIsed formulas Peterson agreed and suggested a master list of
certatn bUSInesses the reVIsed formula could be applIed to Board Members WIll wart for further
Information follOWIng the upcommg engineer meetmg
Under Engineering, CatlIn recommended payment of Pay Request Number One for $56,620 00
to Traut Wells for Well 7 MOTION BY PAULLIN, SECOND BY KESSLER TO APPROVE
PAYMENT TO TRAUT WELLS FOR WELL 7 MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CatlIn also recommended payment of Pay Request Number One for $15,841 25 to J R Freche
forWell7ValveStatIon MOTION BY PAULLIN, SECOND BY FAY TO APPROVE
PAYMENT TO J R FRECHE FOR WELL 7 VAL VB STATION MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY
Catltn dIscussed a change order mcrease of$8,165 00 for Well 7 Valve Station to exchange the
packaged HV AC unit for a spIrt unrt, additional ductwork and electncal outlets MOTION BY
KESSLER, SECOND BY PAULLlN TO APPROVE THE CHANGE ORDER FOR WELL 7
VALVE STATION MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CatlIn recommended advertIsing for bids on the water plant expansion MOTION BY
PAULLIN, SECOND BY HAGERTY TO ADVERTISE BIDS FOR THE WATER PLANT
EXPANSION MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
CatlIn updated Board Members on the land purchase for Tower 3 A five acre parcel of the
Hoffman property will be appraISed wrthm the next couple of weeks. The parcellS adjacent to
land already owned by Joint Powers and would be suitable for a tank, tower and additional wells
No actIon IS requrred by Board Members at this ttme
JOINT POWERS WATER BOARD MINUTES
Regular Meeting of
August 23, 2004
6:00 PM JPWT Plant Board Room
Under Operations/Office, Keyes proVIded an update on the 2003 audIt Abdo, Elck & Meyers
field staff members are fimshmg up depreCIatIon schedules, after whIch tIme partner Steve
McDonald WIll reVIew the audrt Keyes was confident the audit would be ready for the next
meeting
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Browmng discussed the Jomt Powers webSlte and asked Board Members what personal
mformatlOn they would lIke to proVIde customers Kessler suggested each member's name along
theIr correspondmg cIty hall phone number and the other Board Members agreed Browning also
requested Board Members stay after adjournment for a websrte photo
Brownmg presented the V orderbruggen bIll and credIt request for the Board's reVIew The
customer's second quarter bul was about double what It normally was even though he had been
out of town for most of the quarter The meter had been tested and came back fine FIeld staff
had checked for leaks and could not find any The customer's bIll hIstory showed normal usage
between 15,000 and 25,000 with only the last quarter's usage as 54,350 BrownIng noted the
customer has already paId the bIll, but wanted Board Members to evaluate the sItuation Fay
suggested the Board WaIt for thIrd quarter bIlling to see what usage IS billed before deciding and
the other Board Members agreed No actIon taken at thIs time
MOTION BY PAULLIN, SECOND BY HAGERTY TO APPROVE THE LIST OF CLAIMS
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
MOTION BY FAY, SECOND BY HAGERTY TO ADJOURN 6 58 P M MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY I I
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Recording ecretary