Utility Commission

MINUTES OF THE WATER COMMISSION MEETING – APRIL 17, 2012 Call to Order The Water Commission meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M. by Kevin Coffey, Chair Roll Call PRESENT: Kevin Coffey, Chair Mike Bevers Tim Bevers Larry Van Lankvelt Tim Wegand ALSO PRESENT: President Vanden Berg, Director of Public Works Roy Van Gheem, MCO Rep. Jerry Verstegen, Village Administrator Charles Kell, Finance Director Teri Matheny, Village Clerk Vicki Schneider Public Appearance for Items Not on the Agenda None Approval of Minutes Water Commission Minutes of December February 21, 2012 Moved by Commissioner Coffey, seconded by Commissioner Wegand to approve the minutes of February 21, 2012 as presented. All Ayes – Motion Carried Review/Discussion on Pumphouse #2 Improvements Study J. Verstegen stated that he would like to bring this item back to the Commission in May or June as all the recommendations made in the study are not planned for and staff needs time to review and discuss the recommendations made in the study. J. Verstegen indicated the study will be used as a road map for the future and the priority items will be looked at for implementation this fall. J. Verstegen asked Commissioners to review the study so it can be discussed at a future meeting. Discussion took place. No action was taken. Update on Water Tower (Cell) Leases C. Kell stated that the T-Mobile lease had been approved by the Village Board and the lease amount of $1,500 was agreed upon and the Public Works Director’s concerns with the contract were also addressed and resolved. C. Kell stated he sent a proposal back to Md7, LLC the company that is trying to renegotiate the AT&T lease and he noted the lease amount proposed was $1,900 a month and they could add equipment without an increase in the rent payment but no subleasing would be allowed. C. Kell stated that Md7, LLC would be presenting our proposal to AT&T and he will provide an update to the Commission once he hears back from the company. C. Kell reported that J. Verstegen has been in contact with Open Range reps on getting the proper documents signed and removal of the equipment off the water tower. J. Verstegen updated the Commission on the status of the T-Mobile equipment installation on the Stephen St. Tower. Progress Reports MCO Operations Update J. Verstegen reported on the spring maintenance issues and an issue with the booster pump at Well #1 that appears to have been an isolated issue with a check valve failure. J. Verstegen reported that the bill for this repair will be around $6,000. J. Verstegen reported that hydrant flushing was started this week with the exception of the areas near the Sanitorium Rd. project. Letters were sent to property owners in this area to inform them of the delay in flushing due to the project and the letter stated that they will be notified at a later date as to when the flush will take place. J. Verstegen reported that there were three  Water Commission Meeting Minutes – April 17, 2012 - Page 2 water breaks in March and they were on Buchanan St., Sanitorium Rd. and a large break occurred on Randolph Dr. J. Verstegen reported that they changed out 113 meters in March and that puts them at 290 for the year and a normal year meter change out is 650 – 800 meters. J. Verstegen reported that the Sanitorium Rd. project is consuming time but they would like to get more meters done this year because of the Main Street project next year. J. Verstegen also reported on other projects that they will be working on in 2012. J. Verstegen reported that the cross-connection projects are going well and they are back into working with the commercial inspections and they have been working with Nestle to try to get the issues at the plant cleaned up. Director of Public Works R. Van Gheem reported on the status of the projects taking place on Cherryville Rd and Sanitorium Rd. R. Van Gheem also reported on the monitoring that has been going on at Nestle to gather data to try to solve the outstanding issues at their plant. R. Van Gheem reported that they have been working with Kaukauna to install a 12 inch water main connection on Main Street that would be used only in case of an emergency. Finance Director T. Matheny reviewed the monthly budget report and she also commented on the letter that was sent to the State Legislature Assembly on Energy and Utilities that opposed amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 182 which concerns increased costs to the Village’s ratepayer and taxpayers. T. Matheny informed the Commission that the bill did not move beyond the Committee but the issue may come back in the future. T. Matheny provided Commissioners with a copy of the PSC Reform Act and she noted that this reform has very little impact to the water utility. T. Matheny also provided a copy of the PSC report on new rules that are being proposed and if these rules go final, there will be an agenda item in the future to review how the rules will impact the utility. T. Matheny provided the Commissioners with a copy of the PSC report that was filed and she noted that with the change of the utility to an AB class there are more detailed reporting requirements for the utility’s assets and staff will be working on tracking this information in a more detailed format. T. Matheny stated she and Jerry are also looking at KU data regarding fire protection charges and they are doing a review to make sure all the data is accurate. Discussion took place on lost water issues and staff commented on the audits they are doing within the billing process and in the plant to try to determine what sources are causing the water loss. Staff noted that the water loss reported in the PSC was 13% and the PSC requires further reporting if the loss exceeds 15% but the goal of staff is to get that number down to 8% or 9%. Staff also commented on new rules that will be going into effect regarding lead services and other requirements and staff stated they will keep the Commission updated on the changes. Approval of Vouchers Commissioners reviewed the bills list. Moved by Commissioner M. Bevers, seconded by Commissioner T. Bevers to approve and authorize payment of the vouchers as presented in the amount of $129,758.85 and draw from their respective funds. All Ayes – Motion Carried Unfinished Business None  Water Commission Meeting Minutes – April 17, 2012 - Page 3 Items for Future Agenda With the election of Commissioner Van Lankvelt to the Village Board, Commissioners’ discussed the options for replacing Commissioner Van Lankvelt. President Vanden Berg will be accepting applications from interested citizens and the Village Clerk will post the Commission openings on the Village’s website. The appointment will be made by the Village Board. Commissioner Bevers indicated he will not be seeking a renewal of his term when it expires in October. Adjournment Moved by Commissioner Wegand, seconded by Commissioner M. Bevers to adjourn the meeting at 7:08 p.m. All Ayes - Motion Carried VILLAGE OF LITTLE CHUTE By: Kevin Coffey, Chair Attest: Vicki Schneider, Village Clerk