Waunakee Utilities Commission

Waunakee Utilities Commission Meeting April 27, 2020 Members Present: Paul Endres Chris Zellner Roxanne Johnson John Roessler Shirley Nelson Steve Kraus Gary Herzberg Others Present: Tim Herlitzka Randy Dorn Dave Dresen Jon Trautman (CLA) John Roessler called the regular meeting of the Waunakee Utilities Commission to order at the Waunakee Utilities facility at 322 Moravian Valley Road. The meeting was held virtually due to COVID-19 and the State of Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order. Minutes A motion was made by Steve Kraus and seconded by Gary Herzberg to approve the minutes of the February 24, 2020 Utilities Commission meeting. Motion carried. Bills The list of bills was reviewed. A motion was made by Steve Kraus and seconded by Shirley Nelson to approve payment of the following bills: March Bills Presented in April Total Vendor Description $ 145.02 Ace Hardware Miscellaneous parts/supplies 227.58 AFLAC * Monthly premiums 325.00 APG of Southern Wisconsin Ad for community guide 250.00 Blair, Jim & Kathy EV fast charger rebate 400.00 Bond Trust Services Corporation Paying agent fees 15,546.76 Border States Inventory & UG maintenance 372.68 Capital City Cleaning & Supply Shop/office supplies 268.20 Cintas Corporation Uniforms 10,250.00 CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP Annual audit - partial billing 66,240.00 Core & Main Water & sewer meters 502.00 Coverall North American, Inc. Cleaning service 693.50 Crescent Electric Inventory 18.40 Dane County Sheriff's Office Police report copies and photos 539.00 Dane Lumber & Home Center Shop maintenance 1,724.53 Delta Dental Monthly dental insurance premiums 4,500.00 Dixon Engineering, Inc. Well 3 reservoir roof project 27,061.31 EFTPS * 941 taxes 7,720.00 Empower Retirement * Deferred Compensation & Roth 10,000.00 Esri Annual license costs 1,295.78 Exxon Mobil * Gasoline for trucks 304.50 File 13 E-Waste Solutions Disposal of various electronic equipment 3,052.00 GLS Utility, LLC Locating services 355.90 Hoon, Walter Refund 2,631.21 Infosend, Inc. Billing costs 821.76 JFTCO, Inc. Mini backhoe maintenance 1  191.48 Karls, Dana Mileage reimbursement 3,379.90 Martelle Water Treatment Chemicals for wells 1,015.13 MG & E Boosters, wells, service building & lift stations 298.38 Mid-State Technical College Meter tech training 24.15 Naples Rolfing, Inc. Refund 356.30 Northeast WI Technical College Tuition & fees for apprentice line worker 75.00 Northern Lake Service, Inc. Water samples 1,000.00 North Shore Bank * Deferred Compensation 51.35 Office Depot Office supplies 67,127.58 Payroll* 2/28 & 3/13 0.99 Piggly Wiggly Shop/office supplies 142.95 Pitney Bowes Equipment rental 98.00 Power System Engineering Electric mapping 2,215.79 Public Service Commission Costs regarding asset sale to ATC & rate case 17,285.96 Quartz Health Benefit Plans Corp. Monthly health insurance premiums 19,843.77 Radian Research, Inc. Electric meter tester 38,262.73 Resco UG maintenance & inventory 526.76 Rhyme Business Products * Monthly lease payment & usage charges 639.66 Securian Financial Group * Life insurance premiums 3,964.08 SEERA c/o Wipfli, LLP Focus program fee for February 2,180.44 Soldner, Bridget & Charles Refund 273.00 Stafford Rosenbaum Legal: Bank agreement & easement documents 1,116.56 SBank of CP/Credit card payment * Training expenses, AMI water/sewer expense, safety gear, PPE, DOT crash report, shop part, safety school exp., hotel exp., engine oil & office supplies 117.63 T A S Communications Answering service 968.29 TDS Telecom * Monthly phone & modem service 374.13 Tesco Tools/equipment for metering 170.78 Trace, Sam Mileage reimbursement 933.90 Tyndale Company, Inc. FR clothing 202.54 UPS Store Shipping charges 1,014.60 USABlueBook Meter supplies & water/sewer meters 534.43 U.S. Cellular * Monthly cell phone service 970.00 Village of Waunakee * PSC credits from 2019 completed work orders 137,754.95 Village of Waunakee Flexplan, refuse/Feb. and electric & water taxes 44.20 Weaver Auto Parts Truck supplies 45.00 Wil-Kil Pest Control Pest control 350.00 Williamson Surveying Woodland Crest easement 45.00 WI Dept. of Natural Resources Water operator certification 18,869.00 WI Dept. of Revenue * State & sales taxes paid 635,555.74 WPPI Energy February power bill 5,858.12 WPPI Energy Hosted e-mail & financial and accounting software, member network assessment & monitoring, utility billing & customer information software, WPPI WAN, cyber security, shared meter technician, meter data collection & mgmt., Verizon charges, computer expense, low-income administrative service fee & member network support 2  15,315.97 WI Retirement System * Retirement - February 26.00 WI State Lab of Hygiene Water samples Bills Received Subsequent to Packet Delivery $ 3,062.15 Allen, L.W., LLC Retainage on 2019 SCADA project 321.50 Boardman and Clark Legal - ATC sale and HR question, utility regulation report 10,058.66 Border States Inventory 170.00 Crescent Electric Inventory 112.42 Dish Network Monthly service 240.93 Hartman, Steve Mileage reimbursement 28,774.20 Irby Inventory 375.00 MEUW Flagger training course 74.98 Office Depot Office supplies 71.96 Resco Inventory 101.47 T.A.S. Communications, Inc. Answering service 168.00 Tyndale Company, Inc. Clothing $ 1,177,996.64 April Bills Total Vendor Description $ 119.39 Ace Hardware Miscellaneous parts/supplies 227.58 AFLAC * Monthly premiums 154.08 Alder, James & Dawn Refund 977.98 Allen, L.W. Lift station maintenance 289.00 APG of Southern Wisconsin Advertising 65.70 Arlington Hardware Co. Water inventory 97.50 Boardman Clark Legal: ATC sale 14,551.20 Border States Inventory & hydrant maintenance 57.02 BP Fuel for vehicles 626.47 Cintas Corporation Uniforms 44,160.00 Core & Main Water & sewer meters 502.00 Coverall North American, Inc. Cleaning service 1,724.53 Delta Dental Monthly dental insurance premiums 112.42 Dish * Monthly service 950.00 Dixon Engineering, Inc. Tower inspection 41,250.42 EFTPS * 941 taxes 11,580.00 Empower Retirement * Deferred Compensation & Roth 1,736.40 Exxon Mobil * Gasoline for trucks 398.00 Fire-Rescue Supply, LLC Gas monitor testing 5,696.00 GLS Utility, LLC Locating services 53,248.00 Honeywell AMI meters 3,121.38 Infosend, Inc. Billing costs 957.27 Itron, Inc. Meter reading equipment maintenance 177.38 Jacobson, David & Melissa Refund 921.10 MacQueen Equipment Vac truck maintenance 4,391.16 Madison Investments Quarterly management fee 473,648.39 Madison Metro Sewerage Dist. 1st Qtr. Serv. - Village $368,404.59, SPL $103,384.87 3  and lab samples 2,250.00 Marek, Dave Refund 11.00 Meffert Oil Co. Fuel for vehicles 7,262.50 MEUW Regional safety program & class registrations 709.33 MG & E Boosters, wells, service building & lift stations 2,170.74 Minuteman Press Bill stuffers 150.00 Monona Plumbing & Fire Protection Quarterly fire sprinkler inspection 87.58 NAPA Auto Parts Parts for trucks 1,500.00 North Shore Bank * Deferred Compensation 102.79 Office Depot Office supplies 120,997.69 Payroll* 3/27, 4/10 & 4/24 148.91 Pepsi Madison Equipment rental & soda 19.27 Piggly Wiggly Shop/office supplies 98.00 Power System Engineering Electric mapping 1,582.23 Public Service Commission Costs regarding asset sale to ATC & rate case 750.00 QTI Consulting, Inc. Wage study 17,285.96 Quartz Health Benefit Plans Corp. Monthly health insurance premiums 2,743.40 Resco Inventory & minor materials 2,000.00 Reserve Account * Postage for meter 582.70 Rhyme Business Products * Monthly lease payment & usage charges 511.00 Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. Water & sewer mapping expenses 639.66 Securian Financial Group * Life insurance premiums 3,971.65 SEERA c/o Wipfli, LLP Focus program fee for March 250.00 Shucha, Bonita EV technology initiative 73.27 Six Mile Properties, LLC Refund 462.00 Stafford Rosenbaum Legal: Bank agreement 3,401.31 SBank of CP/Credit card payment * School expenses, office/shop supplies, MEUW meeting lunch exp., conference registrations, well & shop maintenance, hand cleaner, clothing, AMI project costs, meter maint., tools & wipes 9,803.62 Strand Associates, Inc. Water storage sizing & siting and Heritage Hills water 19,652.62 Stuart C Irby Co. Inventory & street light maintenance 99.24 T A S Communications Answering service 966.38 TDS Telecom * Monthly phone & modem service 122.98 UPS Store Shipping charges for bill stuffers 534.43 U.S. Cellular * Monthly cell phone service 8,966.21 USIC Locating Services, Inc. * Locating services 52.54 Utter, Mary Refund 142,091.06 Village of Waunakee Flexplan, refuse/Mar., electric & water taxes and re- bills for: Human Resource services, mechanic and SSM Health 170.00 WI Dept. of Natural Resources Water operator certification & water use fees 21,121.36 WI Dept. of Revenue * State & sales taxes paid 10,439.67 WI Dept. of Revenue Gross revenue license fee 622,402.73 WPPI Energy March power bill 4  5,644.02 WPPI Energy Hosted e-mail & financial and accounting software, member network assessment & monitoring, utility billing & customer information software, WPPI WAN, cyber security, shared meter technician, meter data collection & mgmt., Verizon charges, computer expense, low-income administrative service fee & member network support 15,289.75 WI Retirement System * Retirement - March 26.00 WI State Lab of Hygiene Water samples 237.71 Yahara Materials, Inc. OH maintenance Bills Received Subsequent to Packet Delivery $ 227.58 AFLAC Monthly premiums 16,465.62 Border States Inventory 5,125.00 Core & Main Inventory 1,335.16 Crescent Electric UG maintenance 112.42 Dish Network * Monthly service 269.98 E-conolight Shop lighting 3,116.17 Infosend Billing costs 225.00 MEUW Conference registration 15,592.20 Resco Inventory 526.76 Rhyme Business Products Monthly lease payment & usage charges 109.65 USABlueBook Water testing 7,941.41 Utility Sales & Service Truck maintenance 17,541.68 Village of Waunakee Re-bills for: Mechanic, flexplan & insurance 295.00 Wil-Kil Pest Control Exterior insect control 300.38 Yahara Materials, Inc. OH maintenance & materials for Westview $ 1,758,305.69 Motion carried. Public Comment There was no public comment. 2019 Audit Report, Financial and Operational Highlights and Analysis of Cash Reserves Jon Trautman of CLA presented the 2019 Annual Financial Report and Management Communications letter. The utility has again received a clean audit opinion and there are no significant items noted in the Management Communications letter. Utility staff also presented a variety of graphs summarizing 2019 financial highlights and operational statistics. After a discussion, a motion was made by John Roessler and seconded by Chris Zellner to approve the 2019 Annual Financial Report and Management Communications letter. Motion carried. The cash reserve policy requires an annual update to be made to the utility commission of the cash reserves compared to the 135-day benchmark and staff presented this using December 31, 2019 audited balances. Cash reserves for all three utilities were reported at or above their benchmarks. 5 Well 3 Booster Pump Maintenance The utility has adopted a policy to inspect each of the five wells and booster pumps once every eight years to make sure they are operating properly and two pumps and motors at the Well 3 reservoir are scheduled for inspection in 2020. A proposal from CTW was presented for the base price not to exceed $17,780 plus the possibility that the motors might need replacement. After a discussion, a motion was made by Chris Zellner and seconded by Shirley Nelson to approve the CTW proposal including possible costs to replace the motors. Motion carried. Records Retention Policy – Customer Billing Data A proposed records retention policy relating to customer billing data was presented in an attempt to streamline the amount of storage space needed at the utility for these records. The proposed policy is in compliance with record retention requirements outlined by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. After a discussion, a motion was made by Gary Herzberg and seconded by Paul Endres to approve the policy. Motion carried. COVID-19 Update The commission was provided an update on the operational impacts from COVID-19. Temporary Modification to Vacation Carryover Policy The utility handbook regarding vacation time allows 40 hours to be carried over to June 30 of the following year with the approval of the general manager in writing. There are several utility employees who have had to postpone or cancel vacations due to the ongoing health emergency. In an effort to provide flexibility to staff, a one-time option to extend the carryover period to December 31, 2020 was presented for consideration. After a discussion, a motion was made by John Roessler and seconded by Steve Kraus to extend the December 31, 2019 vacation carryover period of up to 40 hours to December 31, 2020. Motion carried. Electric Rate Increase The commission was provided an update on the status of the rate increase, including proposed PSC staff adjustments to lower the amount of the original increase requested. Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project The project is currently on hold. Village-Wide Construction Projects The commission was provided an update on the status of the two new convenience stores planned in the village and utility matters at the Heritage Hills subdivision. The utility will likely need to cost share certain future water and sewer capacity and redundancy expenses related to the subdivision and areas of future development around the subdivision. This will be discussed at a future meeting. Operations Report The electric superintendent and water/sewer manager provided operational updates. 6 General Manager’s Report The general manager discussed the closing on the sale of the overhead line to ATC, the upcoming bid opening for the Well 3 Reservoir roof project, and a proposal from WPPI Energy that would afford members the opportunity to provide grants to community-based groups in need. Financial Statements The March financial statements were presented, including a review of the utility investments. A motion was made by Gary Herzberg and seconded by John Roessler to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted: _____________________________ Commission Secretary 7