Waunakee Utilities Commission

Waunakee Utilities Commission Meeting October 23, 2023 Members Present: John Roessler Roxanne Johnson Steve Kraus Paul Endres Joe Zitzelsberger Shirley Nelson Others Present: Tim Herlitzka John McLain Randy Dorn Jared Heyn Excused: Kristin Runge 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 September 25, 2023 Waunakee Utilities Commission meeting. Motion carried. Bills The list of bills was reviewed. A motion was made by Steve Kraus and seconded by Paul Endres to approve payment of the following bills: Total Vendor Description $ 106.28 Ace Hardware Parts, plants, tools, fasteners 103.14 Aflac* Monthly premium 931.58 APG (Adams Publishing Group)* Web and energy assistance ads 17.89 Arlington Hardware Co. Inc. Parts 77.96 Auto Value Parts 477.20 C & M Hydraulic Tool Supply Inc. Tools 407.36 Cintas Corporation Uniform service 502.00 Coverall North America, Inc. * Cleaning service 201.82 Dennis Kirch Construction Refund on account 14,752.35 EFTPS * Taxes 8,356.10 Empower Retirement * Deferred compensation and Roth 86.78 Gilles Construction Refund on account 8,398.00 GLS Utility Locating services 111.50 Grainger Water department tools 22,098.00 JF Ahern Co. Sprinkler system repairs 13,304.00 J & R Underground Boring 152.07 Karl Schick Refund on account 4,783.17 Lake Ridge Bank (credit card payment)* Google, Adobe, and Microsoft charges, training, equipment repairs, tools, office supplies, shop towels, monitor, desk, keyboard 309.29 Madison Gas & Electric Utilities 613,776.00 Madison Metro Sewer District 3rd quarter billing 144.49 Main Street Piggly Wiggly Office supplies 6,787.50 MEUW 4th quarter safety program fees 150.00 Monona Plumbing and Fire Protection Quarterly fire sprinkler inspection 56.22 Napa Auto Parts Filters 2,300.00 North Shore Bank * Deferred compensation 43,080.37 Payroll* September 10,200.00 Primus Marketing Electric meters 15,723.47 Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Annual Remainder Assessment fee 20,389.06 Quartz Health insurance 677.20 Resco Inventory, metering 1  1,326.80 Reynolds Rigging & Crane Substation maintenance 584.12 Rhyme Business Products* Copier lease 70.50 Ruekert-Mielke Mapping 98.77 Sankbeil, Kim Mileage reimbursement 540.01 Securian Financial Group* Life insurance premiums 4,827.73 SEERA Focus on Energy* Focus on Energy Program fees 66.00 Stafford Rosenbaum Legal services 5,676.86 Strand Associates Assistance troubleshooting SCADA system 8,375.00 Stuart Irby Inventory, minor materials 325.00 Sunny Celebrations MEUW 95th Anniversary celebration 413.00 T.A.S. Communications* Answering service 1,008.62 TDS Telecom* Monthly phone and modem service 170.00 Tyndale Enterprises, Inc. Clothing 275.99 U.S. Cellular * Monthly cell phone service 300.00 USPS P.O. Box fee 107,010.62 Village of Waunakee Flex plan, mechanic, refuse billings, electric & water taxes and re-bills, drug testing, resurfacing project, Verleen Avenue project 600.00 Waunakee Rotary Foundation Rotary Lights program support 91.75 Waunakee Tribune Newspaper 2,396.71 Wex Bank (Exxon Mobil)* Fuel 71,506.26 WI Dept. of Revenue * Withholding tax, sales & use tax, gross revenue license fee 63.30 Wil-Kil Pest Control Exterminator services 28.00 Wisconsin State Lab Lab fees 1,148,689.54 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 Bills Received Subsequent to Packet Delivery $ 113.45 Ace Hardware Supplies 149.44 Arlington Hardware Co., Inc. Supplies for water fill line 3,800.00 Bowers consulting Staff training event 231.22 Buschke, Bailey Mileage reimbursement 139.74 Cintas Corporation Uniform service 1,669.43 Delta Dental Dental insurance 15,545.74 EFTPS * Taxes 26,696.48 E.P.S. Centennial Substation ten year maintenance testing 17,431.62 ETF * (Employee Trust Funds) Retirement 3,828.42 Infosend Bill and print services 4,419.31 Madison Investments Investment advisor fees 43,004.57 Payroll * October 12.12 Ripp, Craig Expense reimbursement 2,640.96 Wisconsin Department of Revenue * Withholding tax $ 2,262,587.88 Motion carried. Public Comment There was no public comment. Proposal for Engineering Services for the Division Street Substation and North Substation Projects The Commission was provided an overview of the projects planned at the Division Street and Easy Street Substations in the coming years. An engineering proposal was presented from Forster Electrical Engineering, 2 for an amount not to exceed $240,000. Details of the proposal were shared with the Commission. These long- term projects are expected to be completed by spring, 2027. After a discussion, a motion was made by John Roessler and seconded by Joe Zitzelsberger to approve the engineering proposal. Motion carried. Capital Budget Staff provided an overview of the 2024-2028 capital budget, including the financing plan for projects. A borrowing will likely be needed in 2024 to pay for the costs to construct the new water storage and pumping facility. After a discussion, a motion was made by John Roessler and seconded by Shirley Nelson to approve the capital budget. Motion carried. The operating budget will be presented at the November meeting. Continued Participation in the Focus on Energy Program Staff provided an overview of the past participation in the Focus on Energy program. Overall there is a very strong level of participation from Utility customers. Municipal utilities participating in the program have been asked to indicate whether they would like to continue in the program for an additional three years. After a discussion, a motion was made by Steve Kraus and seconded by Joe Zitzelsberger to continue participation in the program for an additional three years. Motion carried. Employment Offer for the Electric Department Limited-Term Employee Staff provided an overview of the recommendation to offer full-time employment as an apprentice line worker to the electric department limited-term employee, citing the workload expected to last into the coming years. After a discussion, a motion was made by Paul Endres and seconded by Roxanne Johnson to approve offering full-time employment to the limited-term employee. Motion carried. Wage Scale for Limited-Term Office Staff The Commission discussed the staff recommendation to increase the wage of the limited-term office employee by $2.50 to more appropriately reflect the responsibilities of the position. After a discussion, a motion was made by Steve Kraus and seconded by Shirley Nelson to approve the increased wage. Motion carried. Village-Wide Construction Projects A brief update was provided about the extension of Division Street. Operations Report Various operational items were discussed. General Manager’s Report The General Manager provided a recap of the MEUW 95th Anniversary event hosted at the Utility, the status of the missing AT&T check, low pH levels by an industrial user, a recent sewer backup, and a new outage management system scheduled to be implemented in the coming months. Financial Statements The September financial statements were presented. 3 A motion was made by John Roessler and seconded by Shirley Nelson to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted: _____________________________ Commission Secretary 4