WAUNAKEE UTILITIES COMMISSION

Waunakee Utilities Commission Meeting November 28, 2022 Members Present: John Roessler Chris Zellner Shirley Nelson Paul Endres Roxanne Johnson Gary Herzberg Steve Kraus Others Present: Tim Herlitzka Randy Dorn John McLain Jared Heyn John Roessler called the regular meeting of the Waunakee Utilities Commission to order. Minutes A motion was made by Shirley Nelson and seconded by John Roessler to approve the minutes of the October 24, 2022 Utilities Commission meeting. Motion carried. Bills The list of bills was reviewed. A motion was made by Steve Kraus and seconded by Gary Herzberg to approve payment of the following bills: Total Vendor Description $ 53.34 Ace Hardware Hardware, cleaners, pliers, torch heads 238.38 AFLAC * Monthly premium 455.28 APG (Adams Publishing Group) Web and energy assistance ads 211.50 Aspen Garage Door, Inc. Well 1 garage door repairs 100.99 Auto Value Parts Stores Part for fuel pump 1,009.00 Baker Tilly US, LLP Audit services 2,556.51 Bogie Enterprises Inc. * Sewer camera repairs 250.00 Cable, Steve & Joan* EV charger rebate 511.69 Cintas Corporation * Uniforms 132.99 Core & Main Water meter expense 502.00 Coverall North America, Inc. * Cleaning service 5,576.80 Crescent Electric Conduit, minor materials 1,738.46 Delta Dental Dental insurance 1,750.00 Dixon Engineering, Inc. Review plans to modify lease area at water tower 16,485.06 Employee Trust Funds * Retirement 29,642.29 EFTPS * 941 taxes for 9/29, 10/21 7,754.92 Empower Retirement * Deferred compensation & Roth - November 288.11 Fabick Cat Truck parts 8,040.40 GLS Utility, LLC Locating services 23.97 Gallina Management, Inc. Refund 283.05 Grant, Ken & Mitzi Refund 3,663.87 Info Send Bill and print services 235.69 Lakeside International, LLC Truck parts 135.00 MEUW Training 582.32 Madison Gas & Electric Utilities 118.97 Main Street Market Piggly Wiggly * Office expenses 173.40 McDonough, Tim & Michelle Refund 11.56 Meyer, Marianne Refund 112,100.95 Midwest General & Mechanical Contr. Lexington Booster Station project 30.06 Mobile Assistant Inc. Refund 241.05 Napa Auto Parts Truck parts 200.01 Nesheim, Garrett Mileage reimbursement 1,100.00 North Shore Bank * Deferred compensation 160.30 Northern Lake Service, Inc. Water samples 80,864.56 Payroll* November 194.06 Pederson, Rich and Glennete Refund 3,292.12 Pomps Tire Service Truck repairs 171.38 Public Service Commission of WI Review Rg-3 rate tariff 1,775.00 QTI Consulting Salary market review 21,079.81 Quartz Health Health insurance 1  3,901.40 Resco Transformers 563.15 Rhyme Business Products * Copier lease 1,381.05 Ruekert-Mielke Maintenance 192.50 Schwab Stump Grinding LLC* Stump cutting 727.84 Securian Financial Group * Life insurance premiums 4,586.69 SEERA c/o Wipfli, LLP* Focus on Energy program fees 576.10 SJE Ashlawn Lift Station pump maintenance 454.50 Stafford Rosenbaum Legal services Office supplies, shop supplies, tools and parts, RP3 application, Chamber 7,773.54 State Bank of CP/Credit card payment * golf outing, employee training 825.67 Strand Associates Verleen tower project, fire flow review, pump failure 139,614.96 Stuart C Irby Co. Inventory and transformers 208.00 T A S Communications * Answering service 972.69 TDS Telecom * Monthly phone and modem service 190.63 Trace, Sam Mileage reimbursement 660.00 Trending Now Promotions Clothing expense 365.73 Triggs Plumbing AMI project 1,485.95 Tyndale Company, Inc. Clothing expense 124.32 UPS Store* Shipping fees 23.82 UPS Store Shipping fees 54.13 USA BlueBook Supplies 280.64 U.S. Cellular * Monthly cell phone service 155,153.30 Village of Waunakee Flex plan, mechanic, refuse/October, electric & water taxes and re-bills 2,990.77 Waunakee Veterinary Clinic Refund 3,482.46 Wex Bank (Exxon Mobil)* Fuel WI withholding tax for November/refunds not cashed by 19,824.25 WI Dept. of Revenue * customers/License Fee 2023 installment 16,902.95 WI Dept. of Revenue * State Sales and Use Tax for October 63.30 Wil-Kil Pest Control Pest control 811,517.28 WPPI Energy* Meter data collection & mgmt., utility billing & CIS, shared meter technician, low-income admin. service fee, hosted e-mail & financial and accounting software, cyber security, member network assessment & monitoring, member network support, member/WPPI WAN and Verizon charges 279.44 Yahara Materials, Inc. Materials for maintenance project Bills Received Subsequent to Packed Delivery 230.45 Ace Hardware Parts 238.38 Aflac Insurance 258.12 BSA Signage Refund 132.14 Cintas Uniform expense 819.00 Clear Vision ProWash Window cleaning 102.85 Crescent Electric Minor materials 260.00 Herlitzka, Tim Mileage Reimbursement 5,722.45 Martelle Water Treatment Chemicals 1,332.87 NWTC Bookstore Apprentice schooling 1,125.00 Parisi Construction Sidewalk repair 1,466.69 Radian Repair metering tool 7,966.31 ST. Johns Properties Refund 8,772.60 Stuart C Irby Co. Inventory and transformers 112.99 T A S Communications * Answering service 45.00 Tri-County Paving Project materials 63.30 Wil-Kil Pest Control Pest control $ 1,507,560.06 Motion carried. Public Comment There was no public comment. Customer Request for Refund of Sewer Charges The Commission discussed a customer request to modify the months used in the calculation of the averaging for residential sewer billings. Specifically, a customer has requested that the current averaging used in the 2 calculation for the months of May through September be extended through October. The customer also requested a refund of certain sewer charges incurred during the month of October. After a discussion, a motion was made by Chris Zellner and seconded by Steve Kraus to keep the current sewer averaging method for the months of May through September and deny the request for the refund. Motion carried. 2023 Health Insurance Costs Jared Heyn provided the Commission with information about the health insurance plan changes and cost increases for 2023. The overall cost increase to the Utility is estimated to be 5.05%, or $14,020. Purchased Treatment Cost and General Inflationary Sewer Rate Adjustments The automatic adjustments to sewer rates for the increase in the cost to treat wastewater from the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) and general inflationary cost increases were discussed. MMSD has informed the Utility that costs are estimated to be $2,426,077 in 2023, an increase of $223,473 (10.1%). MMSD costs represent approximately 74% of total sewer utility operating expenses. The Commission indicated consensus that the general inflationary cost increase would not be included in rates for 2023 at this time but may be considered once final 2022 operating results are known. The average residential sewer customer will have an increase of $2.60 per month and the average commercial customer will have an increase of $8.64 per month starting on January 1, 2023. 2023 Budget The 2023 budget was presented. After a discussion of the various items contained in the budget, a motion was made by Chris Zellner and seconded by Paul Endres to approve the 2023 budget. Motion carried. Discontinuance of COVID Sick Leave Policy The Commission reviewed the recent action of the Village Board to discontinue the COVID sick leave policy. After a discussion, a motion was made by John Roessler and seconded by Shirley Nelson to approve the staff recommendation to discontinue the COVID sick leave policy. Motion carried. Employee Recruitment and Retention Strategy The Commission was provided information on the challenges faced by Village departments in hiring and retaining employees. In response to these challenges, the Village Board recently approved several policy changes designed to help attract and retain staff. After a discussion, a motion was made by Gary Herzberg and seconded by Roxanne Johnson to approve the following policy changes:  All new employees will be granted a minimum three weeks of vacation. o The increased vacation benefits will extended to current employees earning less than three weeks effective January 1, 2023 and years thereafter.  The initial allotment of vacation for new hires will be to a level that equals the allotment with their current employers provided it does not exceed the maximum vacation level currently offered by the utility of five weeks.  New employees will be provided an initial sick leave balance of 40 hours. 3   Under certain circumstances, and in consultation with the Commission President, the General Manager will be authorized to adjust existing employee wages if that employee receives an official job offer to perform similar duties with another employer, not to exceed a 5% increase.  All existing employees will be provided a one-time $1,000 retention and inflationary bonus, with an employee option to accept the bonus as cash, a contribution to the deferred compensation program, or a contribution to the health savings account. If approved, employees will be required to decide on the method of payment by December 5 in order to be paid via the normal payroll process by the end of 2022. Motion carried. Village-Wide Construction Projects No projects were discussed. Operations Report The Commission was provided a brief update on various operational matters. General Manager’s Report The General Manger provided an update on various operational matters. Financial Statements The financial statements were presented. Compensation Committee Appointments The Commission reviewed the work done with the committee in previous years and decided against convening the group this year. A motion was made by Gary Herzberg and seconded by Chris Zellner to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted: _____________________________ Commission Secretary 4