THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORK
September 16, 2019
The regular meeting of the Board of Public Works was held on September 16, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Those in attendance were President Tim Watts, Vice President John Neer, Board Member J.D. King, Board Member Kevin Butner, General Manager Stephanie Wilson, Operations Consultant Scott Lucas, City Administrator Avis Marshall and Mayor James Talt Holman.
President Tim Watts called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Vice President John Neer made a motion, seconded by Vice President J.D. King, to approve the minutes from the August 19, 2019 and August 29, 2019 meetings. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
First item on the agenda was review of monthly financials for August 2019. Three payrolls for the month had an impact on each fund’s expenses as well as infrastructure maintenance and timing for other operational activities.
Next item on the agenda was Approval to Purchase a Cab & Chassis for a Digger Derrick Truck. Scott Lucas presented a quote for $102,273.00 for a 2021 Freightliner M2. Pre-order for 2021 deliveries is required with a sufficient amount of lead time to replace our current 2003 Model 7400 International Altec Digger. Board Member J.D. King made a motion, seconded by Board Member Kevin Butner, to approve the bid. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Next item on the agenda was Approval to Order Additional Tantalus Automated Meter Infrastructure Meters from Anixter, Inc. Due to the 16-week lead time, General Manager Stephanie Wilson requested to pre-order 1,184 electric meters to be paid for after January 1, 2020 for the amount of $194,192.00. This order will complete a three-year project to change-out meters from a radio reading device to an automated infrastructure where hourly data can be captured. Vice President John Neer made a motion, seconded by President Tim Watts, to proceed with the order of the AMI meters to complete the project. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Next item on the agenda is Recommendation of Approval for City of Macon, Missouri Resolution No. 20190903 – Edits to the City of Macon, Missouri & Macon Municipal Utilities Employee Policy Manual. At the September 3, 2019 City Council meeting a resolution was adopted contingent on Board of Public Works approval. The updates reflect how shifts are to be reflected in time worked for the police department. President Tim Watts made a motion, seconded by Vice President John Neer, to support the resolution. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Next item on the agenda was a Recommendation of Approval of Wastewater Main Relocation related to Walnut Street Culvert Replacement (West) Change Order #1. Due to MDNR requiring that the culvert box have a deeper floor than the current box in order for at least one-foot of silt in the box so as to not impact the waterway, MMU is being asked to pay for relocation of the wastewater main on Walnut Street at a cost of $42,525.00. The wastewater main was found to be an issue when JT Holman Construction arrived to replace the culvert box. The change order was approved at the City Council meeting that was held on September 3, 2019 with the contingency that the Board of Public would approve the change order. Vice President John Neer made the motion, seconded by President Tim Watts, to approve the change order. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Last item on the agenda is the Approval of Bid for Wastewater Main Extension on Karat Place. Willis Brother’s Inc. submitted a bid of $10,280.00 for the extension of the 8-inch wastewater collection main to serve a home being built at 308 Karat Place. MMU staff reviewed the bid and are in agreeance with the cost. President Tim Watts made the motion, seconded by Board Member Kevin Butner, to proceed with the wastewater collection main extension. The motion carried with four votes for and none against.
Under manager reports, Ms. Wilson shared with the Board a need to replace or refurbish the downtown Christmas decorations. While MMU does not currently own the stars & angels decorations, it has facilitated putting them up and taking them down each year plus storage. After discussion, it was decided that Ms. Wilson will visit with the owners of the current decorations and compare options of refurbishing the existing ornaments or purchase new for the 2020 season. Regarding placing banners on brackets on poles along Missouri Street through town, Vice President John Neer made the motion, seconded by Board Member J.D. King, to proceed with the purchase of 15 Christmas banners. The motion was carried with four votes for and none against. Ms. Wilson then invited the Board to attend the retirement reception for David Terry on September 20, 2019. David has been an employee with MMU for 24 years.
Under Operations Consultant Scott Lucas’ updates he provided activities for the Macon & Laddonia Energy Centers. Along with Solar Turbines, Inc., Special Services Group staff assisted with semi-annual maintenance and implementations for the Multi-Unit Display capabilities for the Macon, Laddonia, Fredricktown, and Columbia sites. Additionally, the staff has been working on the Operations Center remodel and mowing.
Electric Distribution crew has spent a majority of time on the West Bourke Overhead-Underground Primary project, another month is expected before the project is complete. Other projects consisted of changing out AMI meters, MO One-Call locates, street light repairs and assisting Special Services Group in Laddonia. Two recent electricity outages were related to squirrels and a semi-truck hitting various poles. Underground Facilities crew has completed the quarterly natural gas cathodic inspections, sprayed for vegetation control at all regulator stations, farm taps rectifier stations and inspected signs along the route. Additionally, the rehabilitation of the exterior of the west water tower should be complete in the next few weeks, response to the Public Service Commission drug and alcohol review will be sent soon, and the Small Community Engineering Assistance Program grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to identify storm water inlets and McClure Engineering’s report to address removing additional stormwater from the wastewater collection system will also be complete soon.
Updates provided by Supervisor Ed Samel at the Water Treatment Plant were that bids were collected for the concrete apron for the garage. Low bid of $3,200.00 was awarded JT Holman Construction on September 13, 2019. Request for engineering qualification are being developed for addressing the Long Branch Pump Station plus flow restrictions in the event that water is needed from Clarence Cannon Wholesale Water Commission.
Supervisor Ronny Smith meet with Scott Adams with MDNR and Joe Heafner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review files and sample effluent. Engineers from Burns & McDonnell will meet with MMU staff to discuss the headworks project on September 18, 2019.
After approval of accounts payable and setting the next regular meeting for Monday, October 21, 2019 at 4:00 p.m., a motion was made by President Tim Watts, seconded Vice President John Neer, to hold an executive session regarding Legal (Rs. MO.610.021(1), Leasing, Purchase, or Sale of Real Estate (Rs. MO.610.021(2), and Personnel (Rs. MO.610.021(3). The votes were as follows: Tim Watts; yea, John Neer; yea, J.D. King; yea, and Kevin Butner; yea.
When the meeting reopened at 5:30 pm it was immediately adjourned by President Tim Watts.