Waupun Utilities

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Waupun Utilities Commission Monday, October 14, 2024 Meeting called to order by President Heeringa at 4:00 p.m. Present: Commissioner Heeringa, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Kunz, Commissioner Ledesma, Commissioner Siebers, Commissioner Thurmer and Mayor Bishop. Absent with Notice: Commissioner Daane Motion made by Ledesma, seconded by Homan and unanimously carried, to approve minutes from September 9, 2024 meeting. Motion by Thurmer, seconded by Kunz and unanimously carried, bills for month of September 2024 approved as presented. President Heergina welcomed visitors. Present in person: Brian Wilderman and Sue Binnebose. Present Virtually: Jason Whitford. Mr. Brian Wilderman and Ms. Sue Binnebose were present to speak to the commission about the upcoming Birthday Party Open House Event. Both Mr. Wilderman and Ms. Binnebose expressed their thoughts of scheduled event timeframe. On motion by Ledesma, seconded by Siebers and unanimously carried, year-to-date financial reports through August 2024 approved as presented by Finance Director Stanek. Electric operating income was $320,700. Water operating income was $347,200. Sewer operating income was $121,600. General Manager Brooks provided updates on the GM and electric operations reports. The tax roll process is currently in progress, with 360 letters sent to customers with delinquencies. Electric disconnections will stop when the winter moratorium begins. The electric department leadership met with engineers to collaborate on the Main substation relay project. The project will be done in two parts. Project completion date is anticipated by end of 2025. Additionally, the backyard rebuild projects have been successful, with the electric department staff making significant progress. Treatment Facilities and Operations Superintendent Schramm presented the treatment facilities and operations water and wastewater report. Membranes for Trains 1 and 2 at the water treatment facility have been replaced. A lighting study for the ABNR system conducted over the past eight weeks indicates that red light wavelengths penetrate deeper into the biomass, enhancing Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels and yielding more favorable outcomes. The distribution and collection crew has started the annual leak detection program, utilizing loggers to monitor noise during early morning hours to identify potential water leaks in the system. Finance Director Stanek presented the 2025 Draft Budget Summaries for the electric, water and sewer utilities. Budgeting concepts are consistent year to year and modifications are made based upon known circumstances for each utility. The overall 2025 budget is forecasted to decrease $1,442,400 or 7.3% over the 2024 budget largely due to a new customer in the industrial park, water/sewer main reconstruction on Rock & Newton Streets and construction completion associated with the wastewater ABNR upgrade. The Budget summary also includes an overview of the sources and uses of funds for each utility and changes from the prior year’s budget including; average cost of living wage adjustments and expected step increases based on Commission approved compensation study, health insurance increases, operation and maintenance expense increases based on rising inflationary costs, new wastewater treatment expenses associated with operation of ABNR processes, additional GIS and outage management services from our primary IT provider, water well investigation study and sewer collection system modeling. Forecasted revenues are based upon recent historical consumption data and an additional large customer in the industrial park. Capital equipment and vehicle replacements for assets past their useful life are also included in this budget. General Manager Brooks reviewed the 2023 Financial Benchmark Report for the electric utility, provided by WPPI Energy. This report compares key performance indicators for our utility with similar-sized utilities, highlighting both strengths and areas for improvement. The findings indicate that our utility operates efficiently and effectively manages our operating costs in comparison to our peer utilities. Waupun Utilities Commission October 14, 2024 Meeting Minutes Page 2 General Manager Brooks presented proposed revisions to the Waupun Utilities Compensation and Benefits Manual pertaining to vacation benefits and expenses. Vacation benefit modifications will be tabled for a future meeting. Proposed revisions of the reimbursable expenses portion, pertaining to work travel daily meal per diem, is to follow federal per diem rates as established by the General Services Administration (GSA) for designated areas. Motion by Ledesma, seconded by Homan and unanimously carried, expenses revision of Waupun Utilities Compensation and Benefits Manual was approved. On motion by Kunz, seconded by Thurmer and unanimously carried, meeting adjourned at 6:18 p.m. The next regular commission meeting will be held on November 11, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. Jen Benson Office & Customer Service Supervisor