Duluth Public Utilities Commission.

411 West First Street City of Duluth Duluth, Minnesota 55802 Minutes - Final Duluth Public Utilities Commission. Tuesday, October 20, 2020 5:15 PM Council Chambers, City Hall, 411 West First Street NOTICE: The Duluth Public Utilities Commission will be holding its October 20, 2020 meeting by other electronic means pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13D.021 in response to the COVID-19 emergency. Some members of the Board will be participating through video conference. Due to the COVID-19 emergency and the closure of City facilities, public comment will not be taken in person. However, members of the public can monitor the meeting and provide public comment on agenda items through WebEx Events. Visit https://duluthmn.gov/live-meeting to access the meeting. The public is also encouraged to submit written comment to jbenning@duluthmn.gov prior to the meeting. Please include “October 2020 DPUC Agenda” in the subject line, and include your name and address and the agenda item you are speaking to. The agenda can be found online at https://duluthmn.gov/boards-commissions/duluth-public-utilities-commission/. Please note that all public comment is considered Public Data. CALL TO ORDER President Ryan called the meeting to order at 5:16 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Chris Adatte, Councilor Gary Anderson, Chris McIntosh, Councilor Derek Medved, Rob Prusak, Carrie Ryan; Councilor Joel Sipress arrived at 5:21 p.m. Staff Present: Bob Asleson, Jim Benning, Leanna Gilbert, Greg Guerrero, Tom Johnson, Chris Ostern, Eric Shaffer, Kerry Venier PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD No citizens had comments at this time. APPROVAL OF MINUTES DPUC031 Sept. 15, 2020 DPUC meeting minutes draft Indexes: Attachments: 09152020 DPUC meeting minutes draft Commissioner Prusak motioned to approve the minutes, and the motion was approved by all present. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Stormwater program management City of Duluth Page 1 Duluth Public Utilities Commission. Minutes - Final October 20, 2020 DPUC032 Stormwater credit ordinance draft Indexes: Attachments: Stormwater credit ordinance draft Staff prepared a draft ordinance amending Chapter 43. Eric Shaffer and Bob Asleson explained the proposed changes. Once the ordinance is in effect, the Commission could then set the discount percentages by resolution. After some discussion, Commissioner Sipress motioned to recommend approval of the ordinance to City Council, and the motion was approved unanimously. DPUC034 Draft BMP Credits Indexes: Attachments: Draft BMP Credits The Commission will continue to discuss the proposed credits at the next meeting. UPDATES FROM STAFF DPUC033 WLSSD 2021 Budget Letter Indexes: Attachments: City of Duluth WLSSD 2021 Budget Letter Staff provided a letter from WLSSD with their approved 2021 budget. Kerry Venier gave an overview of the letter contents. There will be an increase of a little under 2%, and we budgeted for about 2.5%. We will find out actual costs when they send us another letter in January or February. Eric Shaffer reported that everything is wrapping up. Most of our utilities are in, but numerous jobs are still waiting to be paved. There are about two weeks of natural gas projects left on the blanket project. Commissioner Anderson asked whether the hot water system would be available for heating downtown this winter. Staff will look into it. COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS Commissioner Sipress may have found someone interested in serving on the Commission. They have a background in environmental issues and public health. He will follow up with them in the next couple of days. Commissioner Adatte gave a brief introduction of himself, since this is his first meeting. President Ryan stated that we would need one more commissioner when Commissioner Prusak’s term ends next spring. Commissioner Medved stated that there is another applicant, Steve Lipinski, who is waiting to be interviewed by City Council. They would fill Commissioner McIntosh’s seat, and Commissioner Sipress’ potential applicant would fill Commissioner Prusak’s seat. City of Duluth Page 2 Duluth Public Utilities Commission. Minutes - Final October 20, 2020 This is Vice President McIntosh’s last meeting. He will submit a formal resignation. Commissioners and staff thanked him for his service. UPCOMING COUNCIL ACTIONS No actions were mentioned. PREVIEW OF UPCOMING BUSINESS The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 5:15 p.m. The Commission will elect a new vice president and continue to discuss stormwater BMP credits. KNOWN ABSENCES FOR FUTURE MEETINGS No absences were mentioned. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m. City of Duluth Page 3