Waunakee Utilities Commission

Waunakee Utilities Commission Meeting June 24, 2019 Members Present: Paul Endres Chris Zellner John Roessler Roxanne Johnson Shirley Nelson Steve Kraus Gary Herzberg Others Present: Tim Herlitzka Mike Peters – WPPI Energy Dave Dresen Randy Dorn John Roessler called the regular meeting of the Waunakee Utilities Commission to order at the Waunakee Utilities facility at 322 Moravian Valley Road. Minutes Moved by John Roessler, seconded by Shirley Nelson, to approve the minutes of the May 28, 2019 Utilities Commission meeting. Motion carried. Bills The list of bills was reviewed. Moved by Chris Zellner, seconded by Paul Endres, to approve payment of the following bills: Total Vendor Description $ 275.63 4 Control, Inc. Substation weed spraying 236.09 Ace Hardware Miscellaneous parts/supplies 270.20 Anderson, Chad & Candace Refund 4,686.30 Border States Electric inventory & URD maintenance 147.12 BP * Gasoline for trucks 272.63 Brown, Steven & Dionne Kilen-Brown Refund 165.12 Cintas Corporation Uniforms 1,146.00 Core & Main Inventory & meter expense 502.00 Coverall North American, Inc. Cleaning service 762.69 Crescent Electric URD maintenance 1,724.53 Delta Dental Monthly dental insurance premiums 25,999.80 EFTPS * 941 taxes 6,911.52 Empower Retirement * Deferred Compensation & Roth 960.36 Endres Mfg. Company Transformer maintenance 2,047.47 Exxon Mobil * Gasoline for trucks 279.60 Fastenal Company AMI project for water & sewer 172.68 Heinrichs, Michael Refund 139.20 Karls, Dana Mileage reimbursement 250.00 Kuhn, Alyssa Scholarship 21.04 Mahoney, Sarah Refund 3,348.20 Martelle Water Treatment Chemicals for wells 36.29 Martin, Paul Refund 91.43 McKenny, Brian Refund 1,138.00 MEUW Watt-Hour workshop, annual conference & management training program registrations 420.30 MG & E Boosters, wells, service building & lift stations 4,525.00 Midwest Testing LLC Large meter testing 290.00 Monona Plumbing & Fire Protection Shop maintenance 100.00 Municipal Wholesale Power Group 2019 member dues 26.46 NAPA Auto Parts Truck parts/supplies 365.00 North Shore Bank * Deferred Compensation 365.00 North Shore Bank Deferred Compensation 187.85 Office Depot Office supplies 717.00 Overhead Door Company Shop maintenance 66,579.79 Payroll* 6/7 & 6/21 35.57 Pellitteri Data shred 25.13 Piggly Wiggly Office expenses 265.00 Pinnacle Landscaping, Inc. URD maintenance 142.95 Pitney Bowes Equipment rental 1  100.89 Purcell, Heather & Kevin Refund 16,011.42 Quartz * Monthly health insurance premiums 93.79 Quest General Contracting LLC Refund 21,468.17 Resco Inventory, URD maintenance & tools 95.00 Schneider, Adam EV fast charger rebate 639.66 Securian Financial Group * Life insurance premiums 3,841.55 SEERA c/o Wipfli, LLP Focus program fee for May 205.00 Stafford Rosenbaum Legal: SCADA contract & wetland setback review 1,650.56 SBank of CP/Credit card payment * School expenses, truck repair, MEUW meeting expenses, office expenses, safety school exp., shelving for shop, clothing, parking exp., tools & wall clock 662.56 Strand Associates, Inc. SCADA system project 212.70 T.A.S. Communications Answering service 915.79 TDS Telecom * Monthly phone & modem service 174.58 Trace, Sam Mileage reimbursement 35.00 Tri-County Paving Water maintenance 315.65 UPS Store Shipping charges for bill stuffers 680.90 U.S. Cellular * Monthly cell phone service 23,959.64 USIC Locating Services Locating services 109.84 Vande Zande, Christopher & Kris Refund 143,148.13 Village of Waunakee Flexplan, refuse/May and electric & water taxes 675.00 Waunakee Area Chamber Chamber event sponsorship 129,340.00 White Construction TDS fiber/joint utility duct project 125.00 WI DNR Annual water use fees 39,665.70 WI Dept. of Revenue * State & sales taxes paid 660,028.47 WPPI Energy May power bill 31,464.17 WPPI Energy Hosted e-mail & financial and accounting software, member network assessment & monitoring, utility billing & customer information software, WPPI WAN , licensing fee from Elster, cyber security, shared meter technician, meter data collection & mgmt., Verizon charges, upgrade to office equipment & energy assistance administration 14,182.93 WI Retirement System * Retirement - May 26.00 WI State Lab of Hygiene Water samples 420.05 Yahara Materials, Inc. Maintenance of services 250.00 Zwettler, Joseph EV fast charger rebate Bills Received Subsequent to Packet Delivery $ 371.00 American Water Works Association Membership renewal 276.00 Boardman Clark Legal: Customer refund & WPL customer acquisition 380.27 Border States Inventory 55.04 Cintas Corporation Uniforms 3,933.77 Crescent Electric Inventory, tools & shop lights 107.17 Dish Network Monthly service 25,174.00 Energis Holdings, LLC Substation maintenance 28.00 Herlitzka, Tim Mileage reimbursement 529.28 Hometown News Energy Assistance & graduation ads 3,000.00 Infrastructure Technologies, LLC Service agreement for sewer camera system 500.00 Maly Roofing Company Roof repair 600.00 MEUW Training registrations 967.53 Minuteman Press Bill stuffers and business cards 263.92 Office Depot Office supplies 805.30 Resco Electric maintenance 712.85 Strand Associates, Inc. Assistance with I/I matter $ 1,253,831.23 Motion carried. Public Comment There was no public comment. 2 Presentation from WPPI Energy and Discussion of Electric Rate Comparison Mike Peters, the WPPI Energy CEO, made a presentation about membership in WPPI, power supply matters, the services offered by WPPI, and other current topics of interest. The current power supply fuel mix, including carbon dioxide reductions since 2005, was also discussed. The carbon reduction plans for other utilities in the state and region over the next several decades was also addressed. The latest electric rate comparison was presented. Rates are lower compared to both of the neighboring electric utilities for all customer classes. Annual costs for average residential customers are $252 lower than Alliant Energy and $468 lower than Madison Gas and Electric. Annual costs for the average large customers are $5,712 lower than Alliant Energy and $37,692 lower than Madison Gas and Electric. Recommendation to Village Board to Approve Payoff of 2010 Mortgage Revenue Bonds on the October 1, 2019 Call Date Ehlers, the financial advisor to the utility, periodically reviews the outstanding debt to determine if any opportunities exist to lower interest costs and they recently provided information that the 2010 Water and Electric Mortgage Revenue Bonds could be refinanced at a savings to the utility. The 2010 bonds have an outstanding balance of $1,325,000 with a remaining interest rate that averages over 4%. Ehlers has projected these bonds could be refinanced at a savings to the utility as interest rates on a refinanced issue are projected to be approximately 2.3%. However, after a more detailed review, and considering the estimated $57,400 costs associated with the refinancing, staff has recommended paying off the 2010 debt on the next call date of October 1, 2019 with existing cash and investments since the interest we’re receiving on these amounts averages approximately 2.5%. Several schedules were presented and discussed summarizing which existing funds would be used for the payoff and the unrestricted cash and investment balances after the payoff. If the payoff is made, the unrestricted cash and investment balances for the water and electric utilities would remain over the 135-day benchmark established by the utility commission. The water utility has lower cash balances compared to the electric utility and potential greater future cash needs and the electric utility could provide an advance to the water utility if cash is needed in the future. Ehlers has been made aware of this proposed plan and they have indicated support for it. There are $3,000 of estimated legal and financial advisor fees associated with the payoff of the debt on the call date. After a discussion, a motion was made by Roxanne Johnson and seconded by Gary Herzberg to approve a recommendation to the village board that the 2010 Water and Electric Mortgage Revenue Bonds be directly paid off on the October 1st call date. Motion carried. Sanitary Sewer System Infiltration and Inflow The commission was provided an update on various information discussed at the May meeting. Charter Communications Lease at North Substation Site The commission was provided information on the status of a lease with Charter Communications at the North Substation. Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project The commission was provided a project update, including proactive calls staff make to customers regarding small water leaks. 3,213 electric meters have been installed and 831 water units are now in service. 3 Village-Wide Construction Projects Utility staff provided information about the Arboretum Village and Veridian projects. Operations Report The electric superintendent and water/sewer manager provided updates on various projects including new services and the numerous service interruptions caused by incorrectly marked locates and contractor errors. General Manager’s Report The general manager updated the commission on the status of hiring a new locating company, changing staff email addresses to @waunakeeutilities.com, the 2014 results of water testing for PFAS, and the 25-year anniversary of Dave DesRochers. Financial Statements The May financial statements were presented. Operating income is at budget for the month and is over budget for the year to date. Electric operating revenue is $436,000 lower than budget for the year. Purchased power expense is $457,000 lower than budget. Electric operating results trail results from the prior year and will be monitored in the future. Locating costs are higher than budget due to the large projects going on in the service territory. A motion was made by Chris Zellner and seconded by Roxanne Johnson to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted: _____________________________ Commission Secretary 4