THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
April 20, 2020
The regular meeting of the Board of Public Works was held on April 20, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. via a GoTo Meeting by computer and phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those in attendance were President John Neer, Vice President Kevin Butner, Board Member J.D. King, Board Member Brian Terry, General Manager Stephanie Wilson, Operations Consultant Scott Lucas, Assistants to the General Managers Bryce Butner and Ben Stueve, Controller Jennifer McLeland, Mayor Talt Holman, City Administrator Avis Marshall and City Councilman Tony Petre.
President John Neer called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Board Member J.D. King made a motion, seconded by Board Member Brian Terry, to approve the minutes from the March 16, 2020 meeting. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
First item on the agenda was a review of financials for March 2020 and year-to-date. For the electric fund, the decrease in consumption due to mild weather had a direct effect on revenues but is anticipated to rebound in future months. It is still unknown the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on residential and commercial consumption for electricity, water, and natural gas due to residents staying at home and businesses needing to close or reduce hours of operation.
Next item on the agenda was Approval of Change Order #2 for the Street-Side Apron – Retaining Wall, Stairs and Sidewalk Project at City Hall. Upon the work beginning on March, 30, 2020, it was discovered that the area under the street-side apron was compromised with sand and grit that had accumulated over the years. The change order addressed labor to form 1,680 square feet of concrete for side parking, 177.3 ton of 1” clean rock installed, provide and install 6” pipe for building gutters, plus provide and install 4” drain pipe for building walls. A motion was made by Vice President Kevin Butner, seconded by Board Member J.D. King, to approve Change Order #2 for Holman Construction, LLC in the amount of $10,236.01. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Next item on the agenda was Approval of Change Order #1 for Retaining Wall – 4-Bay Garage at 301 Vine Street, Macon, Missouri. Upon excavation of the dirt at the site it was determined that grading, drainage and a retaining wall to protect the building needed to be addressed. Raising the elevation for the building, installing a 120-foot retaining wall and drainage issues are addressed in the change order. Board Member Brian Terry made the motion, seconded by Board Member J.D. King, to approve Change Order #1 for JT Holman Construction, LLC in the amount of $42,250.00. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Next item on the agenda was Approval to Proceed with Fixed Asset Replacement – Mohawk 20,000 Pound Two Post Lift for the Utility Mechanic Shop. The State of Missouri bid received through Mohawk Lifts is for a two-post lift, in-floor hydraulic lines, weight indicating pressure gauge, controls and installation. The new lift will be installed in the current mechanic shop and the existing lift will be moved to the 4-bay garage upon completion. President John Neer made the motion, seconded by Vice President Kevin Butner, to proceed with the purchase from Mohawk Lifts in the amount of $20,987.89. The motion passed with four votes yes and none against.
Next item on the agenda was Approval to Excuse Late Fees, Penalties and Temporarily Cease Performing Disconnects of Utilities for Non-Payment of Customer Accounts during the COVID-19 Pandemic. MMU has not charged any of these fees since March 23, 2020. Vice President Kevin Butner made the motion, seconded by J.D. King, for MMU to forgo any late charges or disconnects from March 23 – June 1, 2020 and to reevaluate in June 2020. The motion carried with four votes for and none against. MMU will continue to work with customers on extended payment due dates and provide assistance options.
Under manager reports, General Manager Stephanie Wilson shared that MMU’s electric utility had received a Certificate of Excellence in reliability for 2019 from the American Public Power Association (APPA), based partially on MMU’s 99.9991% average system availability index per APPA. Macon along with 142 other electric utilities nationwide qualified for the recognition. This is the third time in the last four years MMU has received it and is a testament to productive system maintenance, investments in infrastructure and overall general health of MMU’s electric system supported by a dedicated employee group. Ms. Wilson also noted promotion of the Budget Billing program for the 2020 cycle and that draft reports are being reviewed from the 2019 independent financial audit.
Assistants to the General Manager, Ben Stueve and Bryce Butner provided updates for the Macon and Audrain Energy Centers. Preparations for the Combustion Turbine Engine exchange in Macon have began. The Macon Energy Center is scheduled to be down from April 18th to April 24th. They also noted that the Special Services Group preformed substation checks and replaced a ruptured transformer at Substation 2 which provides critical voltage readings. Staff installed sidewalk heat wire and hooked up electrical panel at City Hall/MMU business office. Electric Distribution has performed Missouri One Call locates, removed overhead lines and equipment on W. Bourke from 2019’s overhead to underground project, changed out streetlight poles, and installed longer arms at various locations along with cutting trees from right-of-ways for clearance. Underground Facilities dressed up yards from previous installation projects, poured concrete on N. Rollins for sidewalks and driveways and poured concrete street patch on Highland Street for a manhole.
Regarding updates from Supervisors Ed Samel at the Water Treatment Plant and Ronny Smith at the Wastewater Treatment plant, at the water plant it was noted that in addition to general operations and maintenance telemetry issues with the west water tower were addressed. At the Wastewater Treatment Plant additional sludge inflow into the plant has been processed with an extra shift working for two weeks and the headworks construction project was submitted for potential grant funding as a shovel-ready project relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act legislation.
After approval of accounts payable and setting the next regular meeting for Monday, May 18, 2020 a motion was made by President John Neer, seconded by Board Member J.D. King, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed with four votes for and none against. President John Neer adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m.