2025-02-24 Joint Powers Water Board MinutesJoint Powers Water Board
Regular Meeting Minutes
February 24, 2025
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1. Call to Order. The regular meeting of the Joint Powers Water Board was called to
order by Chairperson Olson, on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 6:05 p.m. at the Joint Powers
Water Board Water Treatment Plant, 11100 50th St NE, Albertville, MN 55301.
Board present: Mike Amery, Gretchen Barrett, Joe Hagerty, Rob Olson, Zach Schoen, Bob
Zagorski.
Board absent: None.
Staff present: John Seifert, General Manager; Jennifer Thomas, Office Manager.
Staff absent: Dustin Carlson, Water Department Supervisor / Facilities Manager.
Engineering present: Chris Larson, Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. (SEH).
Engineering absent: None.
City Administrator present: Adam Nafstad (City of Albertville).
2. Approve Agenda. Hagerty moved, Amery seconded, to adopt the Agenda as
presented. Motion carried 6-0.
3. Approve Consent Agenda. Barrett moved, Zagorski seconded, to approve the
Consent Agenda below. Motion carried 5-1 on 3.1 (Amery abstained from approving
Minutes due to absence) and 6-1 on 3.2 – 3.5 below.
3.1 Approval of January 27, 2025 Regular Board Meeting Minutes
3.2 Approval of February 2025 List of Claims
3.3 Approval of February 2025 Budget Report
3.4 Approval of February 2025 Cash Balances Report
3.5 Approval of January 2024 Monthly Operations Report
4. General Business. None.
5. Engineer.
5.1 SCADA Improvements Project. General Manager Seifert and Engineer Larson
have reported that Short Elliott Hendrickson contacted three qualified bidders
via written communication, inviting them to a pre-bid meeting at the Joint
Powers Water Board offices. All three bidders confirmed they received Bidding
Document Addendum Number 1, which addressed questions from the pre-bid
meeting. During the public bid opening on February 6, 2025, only one bid was
submitted by In Control, Inc. ($581,626). Following the bid opening, the two
non-responsive bidders provided the following explanations: One bidder cited
confusion about the bid date, believing it was the 26th instead of the 6th. The
other bidder reported difficulties in securing bonding in time to qualify as an
eligible prime contractor. Based on these findings, staff recommends accepting
Joint Powers Water Board
Regular Meeting Minutes
February 24, 2025
Page 2
the bid from In Control, Inc. ($581,626) for the SCADA Improvements Project.
Zagorski moved, Hagerty seconded, to accept In Control, Inc.’s bid of $581,626
for the SCADA Improvements Project. Motion carried 6-0.
5.2 Final GSR Design Sizing Recommendation. General Manager Seifert and
Engineer Larson reviewed the Joint Powers Water Board’s existing water storage
capacities and locations. They also discussed the necessity for increased storage
to accommodate ongoing development and growth in the area. The current
ground storage reservoir (GSR) project includes budget evaluations for adding a
3 MG ($6.7M), 4MG ($7.5M), or 5MG ($8.0M) GSR. The Board discussed the
storage needs and the types of storage options available (tower versus GSR).
To avoid the need for additional planning shortly after the current GSR project is
finished, and given the relatively low additional cost, Staff recommends
constructing a 5MG GSR at a cost of $8.0M. Schoen moved, Zagorski seconded,
to approve the construction of a 5MG GSR at a cost of $8.0M. Motion carried 6-
0.
6. Operations.
6.1 2025 – Well # 2 VFD Replacement. During the investigation into the
operational issues of Well No. 2, General Manager Seifert informed the Board of
a critical failure in the well's Variable Frequency Drive (VFD), necessitating its
replacement. Staff, in collaboration with Joint Powers VFD contractor and
electrician, confirmed the failure of internal components. Given the age of the
current unit, replacement parts are either unavailable or priced unreasonably.
Staff secured two bids for the replacement of the Well No. 2 VFD: Malloy Electric
($10,239.54) and Ideal Services ($11,134.00). Staff recommends accepting the
bid from Malloy Electric for $10,239.54 to replace the VFD. Amery moved,
Barrett seconded, to approve the acceptance of Malloy Electric’s bid
($10,239.54) for the replacement of the VFD for Well #2. Motion carried 6-0.
7. Other Business / Announcements / Correspondence.
7.1 Minnesota DNR Payment for Water Conservation Annual Permit. The
Board previously authorized Staff to approve payment of up to $25,000 for its
Minnesota DNR Water Conservation Annual Permit. The actual cost of filing was
$19,025.81.
8. Adjourn. Zagorski moved, Amery seconded, to adjourn the Joint Powers Water
Board meeting at 6:44 p.m. Motion carried 6-0.